Purple

Chapter 3

The rain is slick against the asphalt as I walk to school. Despite the craziness of the day before, this morning feels calm. The droplets from the sky are gentle and almost lulled me back to sleep when they started up; I have my earbuds and I'm playing soft music; everything just feels like it's finally going back to normal.

Except, of course, Colton still wants to kill me and I'm still single.

My fingers brush across my jaw, eliciting a flicker of pain. I wince, letting my hand drop to my side. The ugly bruise is currently a mix of blue and purple, but it diminished in size by quite a bit. And I actually hadn't gotten any of the kickback I had expected-- instead, all of it fell and stayed on Colton. I would feel bad if the pain didn't constantly remind me of his dickishness.

Brushing damp hair from my face, I enter Millennium High's doors. As I furiously wipe my shoes on the rug, a series of white pieces of paper just beyond catch my eye. They're identical and taped to every wall.

A murmur of confusion passes my lips. After a cautious glance revealing that I'm the only one in the hallway, I approach one of the sheets, scanning it curiously. My index finger and thumb pull the typed letter slightly closer subconsciously.

Dear Millennium High,

You are selfish. You are greedy. You are prideful. You are disgusting, writhing worms in the dirt, smearing your filth wherever you crawl. You are abominations and the time to ask for forgiveness is over. Your judgment day is coming, and I will deliver the fatal blows. Be prepared. Be watchful, but know-- you can't evade the barrel of my gun.

I will rise from the ashes of your sins.

--Phoenix

For a second, my brain just... stops working. The wheels and cogs stop turning and something obviously misfunctions because I'm standing there, holding this threatening letter, and I'm just staring. There's no emotion, no elevated heart rate, nothing but a blank gaze.

"Hey," Dominic greets, approaching me from the school's entrance. His eyebrows furrow as he takes in my confused expression. "What's up?"

I can't rip my eyes away from the paper and its 12 pt. Calibri font. Words start to blend together until they're all blurred, dancing across the page in small, circular movements. I tilt my head, wondering why I'm oddly calm, not even bothering to look up at Dominic.

"Thalia?" When I don't respond, he pulls a message from the wall and scans it. His face quickly develops from a gentle curiosity to a burning anger and finally, a flicker of fear-- which he's quick to cover up.

"No," I say, shaking my head slowly. I start to rip the letters from the wall, gathering them in my arms. "No," I repeat, hot tears building behind my eyelids, as I continue to blindly tear them away. Dominic pulls gently at my arm, but I quickly wrench free of his grip; only when he spins me to face him do I still.

"Thalia?" he asks again, his tone calm and level. As his hands find my shoulders, my bottom lip starts to tremble. The papers I've taken are still nestled in my arms and shake slightly with the quivering of my body.

"No," I tell him simply, my voice hoarse. "I just-- things have been so crazy, with Caleb being a dick and Colton being out for my head, and now this... it's just too fucking much, Dom. He tried to attack me yesterday, did you know that? Right before school ended, he tried to charge me but got blocked by the crowd. I was up all night freaking out about what I'm going to do about him today, and now I find out that somebody's threatening the whole school? I've grown up with these people. I know every single face here. The thought of any of them taking a bullet or pulling a trigger is too much. All of it is just too fucking much."

"It's going to be--"

"Don't you dare tell me that everything's going to be okay," I interrupt. "You can't guarantee that. You can't tell me that they're going to find this lunatic or that Colton's going to learn a lesson from his in-school suspension and leave me alone because if there's anything I hate in this world more than fear, it's false hope."

"Okay," he agreed. "I won't tell you things will be alright, but I will tell you that we can take care of this." He lets his hands fall from my shoulders and I find that I miss the warmth. "I'll tell you what we're going to do: we're going to take these letters--" he pauses to gesture at the stack in my arms-- "to the principal and he's going to handle it because that's his job."

Taking a deep breath, I nod my head in a small, jerky movement. My pulse still erratically rushes in my ears, but it seems less deafening now.

"Then I'm going to show you how to kick Colton's ass if he ever comes near you again," he says confidently. Surprised at the finality in his voice, I lift my gaze from the floor to his eyes. There's a wicked, cunning gleam to them and a small smile tugging at the edge of his upper lip. The expression is oddly comforting.

We start to walk side by side. A small sigh escapes as shame floods my cheeks. I hate losing control-- anyone who sees your episode tends to use it to their advantage when you least expect it-- but the letter shook me more than I care to admit. Asshole ex-boyfriends and oafish bullies are what I'm supposed to handle, not kids with guns.

Noticing the sudden weariness of my composure, Dominic smiles and slings an arm across my shoulders. "We can do this, Thalia."

"I hope you're right," I mutter. The papers I'm carrying suddenly make my arms leaden, though his supportive touch eases my nerves a bit.

We stop just behind a polished wooden door reading Mr. Decker. Dominic knocks once before he opens it with an ominous creak. I pause on the threshold, hands clammy, as I know that I have the worst news to deliver and as I know that the moment I formally acknowledge the letters I hold, they become real; a tangible threat that will forever change my school, my friends, me. The fear of what lays ahead is all-consuming.

Dominic beckons me to follow him inside. I let out a breath of air, set my shoulders, and step in.