You, Me, and All The Spaces In-between

CHAPTER 9

I woke the next morning sore and stiff, and when I crept to the mirror and lifted my shirt, bruises bloomed in ugly purple blotches across my skin. I stared at them, simultaneously mesmerised and horrified. I'd never gotten into a fight before, and the sight of all those injuries was a shock to my system.

Elena opened the door, and I hastily yanked my shirt down, covering my injuries.

"Sorry," she whispered. "I was coming to wake you up. I made pancakes if you want some?"

"Yes, please," I replied, making for the door. Pain shot up my side, and I fought to hide my wince. "Hey, can you give me a ride on your way to work?"

Elena hesitated, tilting her head, then sighed. "Fine. But you better be ready."

I spent the rest of the morning in a slow, gruelling pace, cringing at every movement. Anger simmered in the pit of my stomach, and dread seemed to weigh my every step as I entered school that morning. But I'd already made the decision not to tell Robert, or any of my friends, about the ambush; they'd only worry, and besides, I had better things on my mind...Like what I was going to say when I met the owner of 'This Burning Heart.'

Mr. Reiner had informed us that we'd be texting our anonymous partner soon, and I couldn't wait to gush about the book with mine. The thought was the only thing propelling me to English, a class I very nearly skipped that morning.

As I walked through the door, Cash whistled from the back, surprise colouring his voice. "Damn, Miller, what happened to your face?"

I scowled at the floor and walked quickly to my seat. My face was still blotched with bruises, but I'd stolen some of Elena's concealer to try and cover up most of the damage. I thought I'd done a decent job, but judging by Cash's reaction, and Robert's as I sat down, I guess I hadn't.

"Dude, did you trip or something?" Robert demanded, openly gaping. There was concern in his face, and the sight of it strengthened my resolve to keep the attack a secret. Robert had enough things going on; he didn't need to be worrying about me.

"Oh, you know," I began in my best Bryce impression, "I was doing some sick BMX tricks on my epic bike, and I had a bad fall. It was so not chill." I'd hoped to play it off as a joke, but Robert was still looking at me strangely when Mr. Reiner walked in.

"Sorry, class, for running late," he apologised, as though he wasn't late for every lesson. There was a big brown stain on his jacket, and as he peeled it off as he explained, "There was a freak coffee accident. Just so you know: It wasn't my fault."

"Like we believe that," I muttered. Robert didn't laugh.

"As a result of said accident," Mr. Reiner continued, "my laptop was also caught in the crossfire. Which means I can't take the roll. So." He produced a piece of paper and a pen from his bag, holding them up triumphantly. "I've come up with a solution. Kindly write your name and homeroom on this piece of paper, and then pass it on."

He handed it to the closest student, and Robert and I sat in awkward silence as it did a loop around the room. Unwilling to meet my friend's suspicious gaze, I followed its movement with my eyes, watching it reach the back, pass through Cash's group, then slowly come our way.

"Seriously," Robert said finally as the paper reached him. He signed his name without looking. "You can tell me if something's going on. You can-"

"I'm fine," I insisted, my stomach twisting guilty. I quickly took the paper as he handed it to me, eager to change the subject. "Anyway, you should be focusing on your Da-"

I broke off suddenly, the words dying in my throat. My hands began to tremble, and as I stared at the paper before me, I wondered if I'd be sick.

Because there, in handwriting identical to the annotations written within 'This Burning Heart', were the words 'Cash Smith'.

A/N: Thankyou so much for getting to this point! This is kind of the point where things kick off ;) Please leave a vote and/or a comment :)