Page 64 of Psycho

“Why? Are you looking to buy something? He mostly deals in weed, but I’m sure he has something that can help you at the swim meet.”

Her eyes flashed, and she raised her hand. I ducked out of the way before she could slap me.

She glared over at me, and I almost smiled.

There was a rumor that Nicole had taken a performance-enhancing drug last year before a swim meet and got caught. The only reason she wasn’t expelled was because her dad was a lawyer, and he pulled some strings.

“Better than being the daughter of a whore and criminal,” Jordy sneered.

“What do you want?” I asked. Did they really just corner me in the bathroom to tell me what I already knew?

“Just wondering when you will just give up already. I mean, aren’t you, like, twenty-five? What are you still doing in this school?” Jordy asked.

I sighed. “Cool. Are we done?”

“No, we’re not, bitch.”

She looked at me, her dark eyes encased in anger, and I got it.

I knew why she was so angry. The last I heard, her parents were in the middle of a messy divorce, and she and her brother were stuck in the middle of it.

“Look, I’m sorry for what happened with your dad and my mom. But it’s not my fault, and it’s not yours either.”

And apparently, that was the wrong thing to say because I didn’t even see the slap coming.

My ears rang, and I blinked, feeling disoriented.

I tried to look at them as tears blurred my vision.

Fuck, that hurt.

And it was the same place Dad had slapped me days before, which explained why it hurt so much. I was sure there was going to be a mark there.

They made another move toward me when the bathroom door opened.

They looked at each other, and probably because neither one of them could afford to get in trouble again, they took a step away from me.

A girl, probably a grade under me, walked in.

All three girls ran out of there without another word.

I leaned back against the sink, unsure if my legs could actually hold me up any longer, my hands shaking as I placed them behind me, trying to keep my balance.

My heart raced and my vision became blurry.

The girl that walked in avoided eye contact with me as she moved into the stall.

I was sure what happened in the bathroom would be spread out all over the school by the end of the day.

Great.

Six more weeks to go.

12

MICAH

I pulledup to the front of the school and waited for the last bell to ring, dismissing the students.

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