things I saw before Thayer and Holden dragged me out of my house last night, which happened to be a pair of boyfriend jeans with holes in the knees, and a tight, plain black t-shirt. I top it off with Thayer’s hoodie, spend two minutes in the downstairs bathroom to brush my teeth, and throw my hair into a ponytail. I pause, looking at my tired reflection. My eyes are puffy, and my cheeks are red, but I didn’t bring any makeup, and truthfully, I don’t care enough to try this morning.
My stomach rolls with the anxiety that only let up while I was next to Thayer. I know it was ‘just’ a window, but the thought that someone might actually want to hurt me—really harm me—has me feeling ill at ease.
“Let’s go,” Holden hollers, pounding on the bathroom door.
I flinch, taking a deep breath, and wipe the miserable look off my face. I swing the door open, giving him the middle finger. He lunges forward, trying to bite it as I walk by, but I’m quicker. We make our way to the door, and Thayer’s standing in the foyer, waiting.
“Watch her.”
I roll my eyes. “No one’s going to do anything at school.” I’m freaked out, but even I know this is overkill.
“Maybe not, but if you watch for the signs, you might find out who’s behind it. Pay attention. If someone’s watching you for a reaction, if you notice people whispering when you walk into a room—”
I huff out a laugh. “Welcome to my everyday life.”
“Not just that. Pay attention to the people who aren’t talking to you. If they’re feeling guilty, they’re likely to avoid you.”
“Somehow I don’t think this person holds any guilt where I’m concerned,” I mutter.
He looks to Holden. “Did you fill Christian in?”
“I will at school. Operation Smother Shayne is in full effect,” he says, throwing an arm over my shoulder.
Today should be fun. And by fun, I mean not at all.
“Are you okay?” Valen asks, squeezing in between Holden and me at the lunch table. Christian sits across from us, doing something on his phone. I sent Valen a text last night, but we were late to school, so I didn’t have time to fill her in on all the details this morning.
“Yeah.” I shrug, aiming for nonchalance. “Just a little creeped out.”
“So, what exactly happened? Someone threw some kind of firebomb through your window?”
“Molotov cocktail,” Holden says around a mouthful of his burger. The sight of it makes me nauseous. Anxiety from everything going on has killed my appetite.
Valen wrinkles her nose at him. “What is that?” She picks at a piece of her soft pretzel and pops it into her mouth.
“Less dangerous than a firebomb. Usually meant to intimidate or send a message rather than do actual damage,” Christian chimes in. “Just be glad you were in the kitchen when it happened.”
“That’s actually kind of a relief,” I say.
“Okay, but it’s fire. Fire is never not dangerous. Who the hell would do that?”
I shrug, just as clueless as she is.
“Do you want to sleep at my house for a while? You know you can stay however long you want.”
“No can do,” Holden butts in. “She’s staying with us.”
Valen raises one of her perfect eyebrows. “She’s my best friend. Get your own.”
“She’s my sister,” Holden slings back. “Get your own.”
I roll my eyes at their bickering. “I want to stay close to my house until the window’s fixed, but I have a feeling I’ll be taking you up on your offer soon.”
“Fine.”
“So, when are you going to see Liam?” I ask, desperate for a change in subject.
“Today. I’m going to leave early to make the drive.”
“Douchebag,” Holden coughs into his fist and I elbow him in the ribs, making him wince.
“Is he going to make this lingering thing a habit?” Valen asks, sending him a dirty look.
“Unfortunately.”
“Get used to it, baby.” Holden smiles wide, showing his pearly whites.
“Get a life, baby,” she mocks.
“Bitch.”
“Lurker!”
The bell rings, putting me out of my misery, and Valen stands from the table, dumps her tray, then stomps off toward her class.
“Be nice to her,” I say as the three of us stand, heading for the main hall.
Holden jerks his gaze away from her retreating ass. “I’d be very, very nice to her if she’d just let me.”
I snort out a laugh. “I’ll see you after class.”
Once Holden’s out of sight, I jog to catch up with Christian who’s a few paces ahead of me. “Hey.”