""Where am I?" I look around curiously, my eyes locking on every boy in the room.
Everett steps forward, a slight smile on his face. "You're in hell."
I stare at him for a moment before shaking my head, "No, seriously..."
"No, seriously," Everett...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
MY EYES LOCK on Mac as soon as I see him in the hallway. Ever since that nightmare, I've been watching him like a hawk to make sure he is okay. He still is goofy and laughy whenever I pass him. We also make this weird eye contact. I know he really wants me to talk to Abby, but our friendship breaking off is for the better.
Right now, I'm staring at Mac as he leans against Abby's locker. I chew on my lip before looking the other way just as Abby turns. As I pass them, I see Abby's eyes fill with sadness when she notices me. I force myself to look the other way and outside. The trees are mostly absent of their leaves, the bare branches looking like arms ready to hug me and scratch out my soul. Abandoned red leaves sit on the ground beside the woods that my school has. I would expect it to look muddy, or snowy outside, but it's not. The ground is just a little mushy from the dew this morning.
"Ever!" My head turns when I hear my name and I see Mac starting to walk toward me, but my whole forearm is caught in a hard hand. My head snaps up, only for me to freeze when icy blue eyes meet mine. He stares at me with so much hatred in his vivid eyes, it makes my lower back bristle.
"Tell him everything is fine," he growls. For a moment, I'm in such a state of shock, I do not know what he means, but then Mac is by our side. His eyes lock on Gabriel's rough hand still locked around the stop above my upper elbow.
"Mac," I breath. I don't know how to go about this. All the actions I've taken to protect Mac and Abby, and they may just get hurt no matter what. As if sensing my hesitation, Gabriel's hand tightens on my arm. I feel like my arm is going to drop off. "What's up?"
"Is everything okay?" Mac eyes Gabriel worriedly. "Do you want to let her go?" Mac snaps at Gabriel. My eyes widen and I start shaking.
"No--Mac!" I whine when Gabriel grunts and just punches Mac. People suddenly all take notice, their eyes darting to where Gabriel is. I notice Leif's (a boy on the football team) eyes lock on Gabriel's hand that is still forcefully holding me to him.
"Hey, man, chill out," Leif says calmly. Gabriel's head turns toward him. Something in Gabriel's expression must scare Leif because Leif visibly drains color. People look to Leif, to Gabriel, to me. My eyes set on Abby's familiar mousy hair in the crowd, her hands pushing through people to come to Mac's side. Mac lazily looks up at her, his eyes almost crossed in pain. His whole entire jaw has broken out in a nice shiner. Abby looks up with revenge clear in her eyes. She glances at me before turning to Gabriel.
"No, Abby," I step in front of her, sensing what she is about to do. "Do not say a word." I hiss.
"No, Abby," Gabriel snarls, ripping me away from her. I yelp. People immediately go rigid, ready to fight. My eyes scan the crowd. Where's Ryder? Everett? "How about you curse me out like the filthy human you are?" Gabriel spats.
"Filthy human?" Abby retorts, her face shifting into one of full determination. "I'm going to ignore that comment, you bitch. Let my friend go."
"I'm the bitch?" Gabriel says, starting to chuckle. "Last time I checked, you accused her--" Gabriel gives me a rough shake making Abby's eyes divert over to me. "--boyfriend of hitting her." The amount of hate that seeps out of Gabriel scares me so much that I start to shake like a leaf in a thunderstorm.
