Page 18 of Beautiful Scars

All in good time.

I hear Zack coming even before he turns the corner ahead of us. His voice carries over every other sound in the packed hallway and ricochets off the metal lockers lining the hall.

It's like nails on a chalkboard.

He's not someone I would ever choose to have anything to do with. Apparently though, he likes pretending we're best friends. Emphasis on the pretend part. What’s that saying about keeping friends close, but enemies closer? I think that’s his angle. My jaw tenses and I grind my teeth.

"Hey! Levi!" Zack's voice carries over the steady drone and buzz of conversation and bursts of laughter. I can easily see him over the heads of people trying to make it to their next class. I watch as he begins pushing and shoving his way down the hall towards me and Sunny.

"What's up, my man?" he says with a wide toothy smile as he offers me his knuckles. He seems completely unbothered that he's caused traffic on one side of the hallway to come a complete stop. I doubt he even notices.

It takes only a moment for his eyes to travel from me and land on Sunny. His smile dissolves into a cruel smirk as he looks her up and down. "Huh. I didn't know you two knew each other." His tone is cold as his eyes move from Sunny to me and back again. "Sorry man, I should've told you sooner. Warned you to stay as far away as you can from this... this... thing."

He curls his lip in a sneer. Pausing, his eyes narrow, focusing in on her with laser precision. For the first time, I see a crack in my girl's armor. She shrinks from the sound of Zack's voice and takes a step back.

"I know, I know. She's fucking hot, right? I'm pretty sure she didn't tell you that she's taken though, did she? Taken with a capital T. Property of—"

"Zack. Please don't. Leave it alone for once. Please," Sunny interrupts. Her voice is a desperate, pleading whisper. "Please."

Zack doesn't take his eyes off her. It's obvious with the way he's looking at her, gauging her reaction to his words, that whatever this is isn't new to either of them.

My jaw clenches as I struggle to keep my mouth shut. If I open it now, there'll be no way for me to stop what comes out of it, andthatis a slippery slope I'm not willing to go down. Yet.

I do know, with absolute certainty, there's no way Sunny should be begging this guy for anything. Especially not for mercy. She's too good for this. Too good for him. My fingers curl into a fist.

"Awww, Sunny. What's wrong? Don't you think our new friend here deserves to know the truth?" Zack says loudly as he takes a step closer to her.

Sunny flinches as if each of his words strikes a physical blow, and it takes everything I have to maintain control. My nails bite into the skin of my palms as my fists tighten. It feels like someone lit a fuse in my skull—my entire body tenses waiting for the explosion. There's nothing I would love more than to destroy the guy standing in front of me. I remind myself that this isn't the time or the place.

When I look at Sunny, I can see she's struggling too. She's still holding her head up, but her gaze is unfocused and far away. She's not blinking, she's not moving, she's just staring straight ahead. She’s checked out. There's a small group of people clustered around us now and the hallway sounds have become softer, more muffled.

"Now, as I was saying." Zack clears his throat dramatically and puffs out his chest like he's getting ready to give the speech of his life. His eyes move over the crowd gathered around the three of us before settling on me. "I'm just looking out for you, man. Being that you're new and all. A pig can never be anything but a pig, no matter how pretty it is on the outside."

A small chorus of chuckles erupts around us. Zack's smirk turns into a broad, smug smile. My teeth feel like they're going to crack and my knuckles twitch and ache to hit something.

"See, Sunny likes her guys a little bit older, a little rougher. Don't you Sunny? You're into some real twisted shit, aren't you sweetie?" He pauses, his eyes flicking between Sunny and I. "Her mom's boyfriend owns her ass. Literally. Has she shown you the tattoo yet?"

As soon as the words leave his mouth, and his eyes settle on mine, he realizes he's miscalculated this entire situation. The smile slides off his face and he takes a step back. He's not the only one. I don't say a word—apparently, my thoughts are coming through my expression loud and clear.

In my mind, Zack's already a dead man. I can see every step of how it's going to happen, what I'm going to do to him. I can practically feel the satisfying crunch of bone under my fist, watch as he begs for mercy. A low growl works it way out of my throat but before I can take a step forward, a soft brush of warm, smooth skin across my knuckles stops me in my tracks. My breath catches in my throat and I swallow hard, unsure if I really felt it.

I close my eyes and take a deep breath in as I feel it again. Sunny glides her finger over each knuckle, tracing tiny circles, forward and back, forward and back, again and again. It's a delicate touch, almost too light to feel, but it's there. She's there. When I open my eyes, she's looking up at me with a small, sad smile on her face.

"I'm okay. It's okay. Don't do this. Not here."

"Fuck." The world stops for a moment, and I breathe the word out as an exhale. What she's asking me for is physically painful. But she's right. Not here.

This was a mistake. A huge mistake.My mistake.I can see now that I should've listened to her from the beginning. Without a word, I relax my hand and shake out my fingers, resenting the loss of her touch. It's one more thing Zack will pay for when the time is right. Some of the tension drains from her shoulders and face as I start to relax.

Before she can object, I reach out and weave my fingers through hers, turn on my heel and begin pulling her back the way we came. I don't have to look behind me to know that Zack along with everyone else is watching us make our retreat. I'm sure he thinks he's won. This isn't over though. Not by a long shot. Sunny stepping in did nothing but delay the inevitable. Zack’s over as far as I’m concerned.

Chapter Eleven

Sunny

We’rehalfwaythroughtheparking lot before I realize it.

He’s still holding my hand. Not the quick grab kind of hold that happens out of necessity. No, this is different. His fingers are laced tight and secure between mine. It’s intentional. It should make me panic.

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