"Do you feel that?"
Did I feel the heat from our connection? Of course I did. Anyone would have a reaction when someone touched them unannounced and without provocation.
"Stop touching me. I didn't give you permission."
He let me go and smiled. I hated when he smiled because it made him look like the sweetest person in the world. His teeth were shockingly white against his brown skin, and I couldn't keep my eyes off his face.
"How about this." He followed me as we headed to our next class. "You tell us where to find your father and I'll stop touching you."
I stopped and he bumped into me. He grabbed my arms and steadied me. I wrenched my body away and turned to poke him in the chest.
"I don't know." I punctuated each word with a stab of my finger. "Why do you care anyway?"
He took my hand and then placed his over mine on his chest. "You wouldn't understand."
I scoffed and yanked my hand from his, the loss of contact causing me to shiver. He noticed and smirked. "You do feel it."
The bell rang and I slipped into the classroom, wondering if I should just call it a day and ditch.
Waiting for your reckoning is never easy, and as the day drew to a close, my insides twisted into a painful knot. It felt like I'd eaten a bad street taco. I only wished that was what caused the tightness in my belly.
I tried to distract myself by working on a layout, but instead, watched Jax sitting in front of me. He hadn't even looked at me as he entered the room and took his seat. Today, he didn't try to get Tory to move, which was a change from the norm.
My shoulders were so tense they were practically touching my ears, and I checked my phone under the table for the hundredth time, waiting for something to happen.
It was seventy-one hours and forty-five minutes since the demand had been issued.
Jax stood from his seat and walked to the front of the room. I gripped the edge of the table, my knuckles turning white. Tory glanced over at me but didn't say a word as she looked between me and Jax.
Jax asked Mr. Garcia something and then left the classroom. I let out a breath, my hands loosening on the table.
"What was that about?" Tory whispered.
I shook my head and then my eyes widened before I dropped to the floor like I was picking something up. Tory didn't say a word as I crawled under the desk and reached as far as I could under the back and yanked Jax's backpack to me.
She shook her head and a smile played at the corner of her lips. She turned back to her computer. I unzipped the front pouch and scrunched my nose at the condoms and then rummaged inside.
I probably had less than a minute until he came back from the bathroom. I brought a bottle of pills out of a small compartment in the front pocket. There was no label, and they looked like pain relievers. I opened the lid and Tory made a noise of disapproval.
I tapped one out into my palm, shoved it in my pocket, and replaced the bottle and his backpack. I had just scooted my chair up to the desk when Jax came back in the room.
Sweat beaded his brow and I wondered if he had just used one of his condoms. I knew what went on in the bathrooms outside the science wing during seventh period. Everyone except the adults did. If he had just fucked someone, that was rather quick.
"What are you doing?" Tory scooted her chair close. "What was that?"
"I don't know." I clicked out of my files and shut down the computer. "But I'm going to find out."
The bell rang and Jax left like there was a fire under him. He was probably lying in wait like a hunter stalking its prey right outside the classroom door.
I steeled my resolve and left the room. I looked in the breezeway between the building I was in and the next over and saw nothing out of sorts. I walked cautiously to my locker, bracing myself for the inevitable.
I opened my locker and a white piece of paper was inside. I needed to tape something over the vents so they couldn't shove anything else through.
Time's up.
It didn't seem like anything could be worse than them inserting themselves into my life and Jax breaking into my