Page 12 of Fractured Souls

I head towards the cafeteria and see a vending machine, so I stop and get two protein bars for $2 and a water bottle for 50 cents that I can keep and refill here with the water fountains and in my sink at home. I just have to leave the bottle in the bottom of my bag. Hopefully they don't plan on going through it. If they do, I will lie and say it was free or someone gave it to me. I eat one bar now and save the other one for later.

As I wander the halls to kill time before class, I see Ryker, Cayden, and Grayson walking towards me. They see me and stop, and Ryker beams, “Hey, Harley, did you—” He’s cut off abruptly by a growl coming from Cayden.

Ryker and Grayson look at him shocked, but he doesn't notice as he's too busy staring at me. Well, my mouth, or more importantly, my cut lip.

I start to panic, so I smile, wave, and start to walk around them, but before I can, Cayden grabs my arm and I flinch.

“Wow, Cade, chill. What's going on?” Ryker asks.

Cayden growls again and points to my lip and glares at Ryker. “Cut,” he grunts out.

Ryker turns his attention back to me, and I glance down at my feet. It's quiet for a minute, and I can't run because Cayden is still holding onto my arm. I feel two fingers touch under my chin, and I flinch again and internally cuss at myself for it.Stop being so weak!

The fingers raise my face up, and then I'm looking straight into the brightest green eyes I've ever seen. Grayson. He gives me a tiny understanding smile, then looks at my lip, and a look of anger crosses his face.

But before anyone can say anything, someone walks up behind me and throws their arm around my shoulder and tugs me towards them, so Cayden’s hand falls away from my arm.

“Hey, Harley! I haven't seen you since yesterday,” Lex says. She glances back at the guys. “Sorry, girl talk time.” Then she yanks me away from them.

Once we are out of sight, she stops and looks at me. When I see her notice the cut lip, I tense. I’m not sure how to get out of this one.

She looks at it and then back up at my eyes. “Are you okay?”

I nod and try to give an encouraging smile. Luckily, she changes the subject after that.

“I saw the guys stop you and everyone was looking, and it looked mad uncomfortable, so I got you out of there. Also, you should try to avoid those guys like I told you yesterday. They aren't good news and come from a gang on the other side of town and trust me, you don't want to catch their attention. I've heard things about them, and none are good.”

I nod, but I'm not sure what I think or how to feel. I point towards my class and then mouth ‘thank you’ to her. She looks pleased as she takes off for her class. As I'm walking, I start to think about how just two days out of that house are changing me and I know one thing for sure: I am tired of being beaten and used and abused, but I don't want to die anymore.

I want more, I want better. And I get this weird feeling it's out there for me. I just have to find it and stop all this self-pity shit.

* * *

One Month Later

It's been a month since I started school, and things are going good. Well, at school anyways.

Lex and I have become good friends. I wait for her every morning at the front of the school, and we hang out until the bell rings. She spends lunch with her friends, but during the classes we have together, we sit together and always work together when we can. She also joins me in the library during study hall when she has nothing to do as a TA. I really enjoy being around her; she has so much energy and is always smiling.

Well, that is until she sees Ryker, Cayden, or Grayson staring at me, which they do a lot. Then she gets a weird look on her face. But she always masks it so fast that I haven't really thought about it too much.

Speaking of the guys, though, things have been weird, but I guess good. They all watch me all the time. Grayson is quiet, but he is sweet with his actions. He always holds doors open for me, and he meets me at my locker all the time and carries my books and bag for me. He also walks me to any class he can. He smiles at me, but we don't really talk, besides in math which he helps me with during class.

Whenever I smile back at him, his cheeks turn bright pink; it's cute. Cayden follows us most days but keeps his distance and never talks. He feels more like a silent protector, or a stalker, but it doesn't bother me. Oddly enough, it's peaceful being around them.

Ryker is much more talkative. Any time I'm around him, he likes to chat and joke around, and I think he flirts with me, but I'm not really sure.

It's all odd to me, and Lex hates them with such a passion that I don't really know what to do. She gets mad if she sees me with them. But they just don't go away. Even with me not being able to talk, they are always around. I also, well, I don't really want them to go away. Lex is my friend, but I just… something is telling me not to listen to her about this.

She won't even tell me why she hates them, so that doesn't help me think they are bad, especially since they are so kind to me.

I find myself keeping to myself as much as possible. The last thing that I want is more people questioning bruises or just anything about my home life. The guys keep a distance too for the most part; they have mostly just watched me over this last month. Since those first two days when they were asking questions and trying to get close, they have backed off. But yet are still around.

I thought at first I was just too fucked up and they finally caught onto that, but they are still around. Just silent in a way. I feel like I should find it uncomfortable or bad, but I find that I kind of like them always watching me. Well, besides that it makes pickpocketing a little harder because I have to try to make sure their eyes aren't on me.

I've continued to pickpocket and have a total of $389. I've had to use some of it on the days that Mother and Father don't feed me but other than that, I've been stashing it all. I found a small hole in the concrete at the base of the wall right next to the stairs in the basement, and I've been rolling the cash up and sticking it in there. It works for now. Somehow, I haven't gotten caught, and honestly, I think I'm getting pretty good at it. I also enjoy it. It gives me something to do. It's becoming a hobby I guess one would say.

Though, I always worry that Mother will look in my bag after school, or they will beat me before I can get downstairs and the money will fall out of my pocket and they'll see it, so I found the best space to hide it for transport from school to the basement at home. My panties. Yep, just stuff the cash in there and I don't have to worry about it.

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