entire spine went rigid. Shit. I thought we had an agreement not to approach each other at school aside from the one class I had with him? Maximillian gave me a curious stare.
Letting out a shaky breath, I turned around to stare down the hallway, where Decker—I mean Mr. Harris—was walking toward me. “First day at school and already pissing off Mr. Harris? That must be some record,” Maximillian joked. Little did he know, I’d pissed him off a good couple of weeks before school even started.
“Yes, Mr. Harris?” I called out through gritted teeth, noting that every girl in the hallway was staring lustfully at him. And who could blame them? That suit should be against the dress code. He was far too distracting.
“You left this in my car. You’ll need it for class, yes?” he asked while giving Maximillian a cold stare that I half expected to turn my new and only friend to ice. Decker then handed me my pencil pouch. It must have fallen out of my messenger bag.
“Thanks,” I whispered before taking it from him, throwing it in my bag as I begged him to leave with my eyes.
“Going to Calculus? You’re going to be late,” he noted before glancing at his watch.
“We were just headed there,” I replied through gritted teeth.
Decker gave Maximillian another look before nodding. “Have fun. I’ll see you in class. Oh, and do you mind if we make a pit stop at the office supply store on the way home? I need some more binders.”
I could have punched him. I could have raised a fist and hit him right in the jaw and gotten expelled right then and there.
“I was planning on walking,” I replied, fuming. The crowded hallways were starting to thin, but a few stayed behind to gawk.
“In those heels? It looks like I’ll be winning my bet after all,” Decker replied in a softer voice, but Maximillian heard it. Great. Just great.
“We have to go, Mr. Harris. See you in Bio!” Maximillian interrupted before grabbing my arm and tugging me down the hallway. God bless him. If he didn’t run for the hills after this little dash of crazy, then I was definitely promoting him to best friend.
We stopped at a classroom door, and my walking companion grinned at me. “Made it here in one piece, Blakely. And with time to spare.”
“And you didn’t even ask what that was about,” I added with an awkward grin. “I’m impressed.”
“Not yet,” he replied before opening the door, allowing me to enter first. I almost wished he wasn’t such a gentleman so I could have hidden behind his towering frame as I found a seat. The classroom erupted in murmurs, and I felt eyes on my back as I found an empty seat in the last row.
So much for being invisible.
“Miss Stewart, can you please come up here?” Mr. Torres asked, making my skin crawl. Was I in the wrong place? Did I mess up already?
Mr. Torres guided me out into the hallway with a kind smile while giving a lingering student outside in the hall the stink eye before drawing his attention to me. Mr. Torres had kind amber eyes and black hair with blond highlights. His smooth brown skin and short stature put us at eye level.
“I just wanted to welcome you to MAMS and let you know that if you need anything—anything at all—the faculty and staff will support you during this transition. I can’t imagine the pain of your loss, but we’re family here, and we will help you any way we can, okay?”
I swallowed the sand-paper emotions billowing up my chest and rubbing along my throat.
Decker had told them.
I’d wanted to run away from Mama’s memory, but it looked like this school wouldn’t grant me the fresh start I craved.
But I responded the way I was supposed to, the way everyone expected me to. “Thank you, Mr. Torres,” I whispered as emotion threatened to slice through my chest and bleed me out. He smiled, probably assuming that my inability to choke out words had more to do with grief than shame.
We went back into the silent classroom with eyes on my back and a rumor to my name. As I sat down, I envisioned ruining Decker Harris.
How dare he tell my truths.
12
Decker
Fucking Max Hemsworth with his fucking smile and his fucking cocky walk. Fuck. He walked her to my class. My fucking class.
I actually liked the kid. He was nice enough, got good grades last