The Bad Boy with a Heart of Gold

✖ Chapter 21 ✖

Monday morning arrived in a haze. Toni spent all Sunday giving me a look as if she knew more than I'd have wanted her to, and I had a feeling she was waiting for me to spill the beans as she drove me to school. I didn't. Mostly because there were no beans to spill, really. Or at least there was no use in crying over said spilled beans.

And I did want to cry, but if I allowed myself it'd force me to recognize that there was something wrong when actually things had gone exactly as I intended. There was no way Sawyer would keep bothering me after that. I was free to focus on drafting my college applications. I was free of the feelings he stirred in me every time he looked at me, because that was not going to happen again.

I just didn't want to dwell on this any more than I already had, so by the time Toni parked by the curb I jumped out of the car and all but ran into the confines of the school building, where I hoped the fact that we had completely different classes meant I wouldn't have to see him for hours on end. I was walking down the hallway with this prayer in mind when I was suddenly yanked sideways. In the blur I realized I was being pulled into the girls' restroom that was closest to the freshmen hallway, and I'd been about to start hurling insults when I whirled around and saw Courtney and Lina.

"Oh, it's you, guys."

A freshman girl came out from a stall and washed her hands giving us a wary look. This was well justified as Courtney grabbed her by the shoulders and led her out. Then she closed the door and placed her weight against it to prevent anyone else from entering. That was my second clue that something was up.

"Is it true?" she asked.

I looked at Lina, whose brown, sharp eyes were peering at me like I was an experiment. Since she offered no further explanation, I asked them, "Is what true?"

They exchanged a look. The look. It meant some sort of uh oh for me.

Courtney spared me from further anguish by blurting out, "Is it true you went home with Sawyer Logan after Homecoming?"

I laughed. It was the most ridiculous thing anybody had ever asked me and I'd just been about to dismiss it for the idiocy it was when Lina threw me a curveball.

"Then is it true that you made out with him?"

My laughter ceased and desisted. I didn't know what to say. Yes was probably going to get me killed. No was going to be such a huge lie that the guilt would be reflected on my face. Instead I opened and closed my mouth like a fish out of water, which I guessed was answer enough.

"You did not!" Courtney threw her hands up in the air. Lina put hers on her mouth. I grabbed them both by their arms.

"Were did you hear these things?"

"Everybody's talking about it," my blonde friend said with a heavy sigh. "Everybody but the three of us, because you didn't tell us anything over the weekend to come up with a plan to prevent this."

"Why are you making this sound like it's my fault?" I asked her, hackles definitely raised.

She gave me an are you kidding me look. "If you're admitting that you made out with him it means you were a willing participant. So yes, this was partially your fault."

Lina pushed Courtney behind her and grabbed my shoulders. "What she means to say is that we're hurt you didn't tell us something this momentous."

I cast one last glare at our friend before focusing on Lina. "I didn't know what to say." I cringed at how stupid that sounded. "Or maybe I was embarrassed? I went and did the thing you warned me off from and, ugh. It wasn't like me."