Page 16 of Fighting Spirit

“Oh my God. Do we need to call someone?”

“No, I don’t think so.” I pull away and slump into one of the dining chairs. “It was all so fucked up.”

Georgie works to fill a glass of water before falling into the chair across from me and pressing the drink into my hands. Looking down, my fingers tremble against the condensation.

“Tell me everything.” She adopts the classic ‘Georgie-pose,’ arms crossed over her chest, one leg other the other as she leans back and pins me with her patented stare.

She waits patiently, not moving an inch as I drink the water, leaving a few lonesome ice cubes in the bottom of the cup. There’s a moment where I almost chuckle as I remember Rowan trying to tip the liquid down my throat.

By the time I’ve run through the whole night, the ice in the glass has long melted, and Georgie has a dumfounded expression on her face.

“They were supposed to get the actual toad.”

“Yeah, I guess there was some confusion.”

“No shit.”

“What the fuck am I gonna do now?” I press my forehead to the cool wood of the table, feeling like my body’s given up.

“You could report them?” Georgie offers. “They shouldn’t get away with that.”

I know that she’s right. What they did is a crime. But as much as I want them to be held accountable, I don’t know if I can deal with the ordeal of reporting them. I’ve seen how schools like Beaufort and Allbreck protect their athletes. Am I really expecting them to rake these guys over the coals when I didn’t even get hurt?

And I guess if I’m being honest with myself, the thought of Rowan getting in trouble fills me with unease. All he did tonight was try to make me feel more comfortable. I don’t want him getting dragged into this as some kind of unwitting accomplice.

“I’ll think about it.”

She reaches across the table to squeeze my hand, her face sporting a sympathetic grimace. Once she seems satisfied that I’m not going to burst into tears, she takes a deep breath and grins, ready to change the subject.

Ever since we started living together freshman year, she’s always been someone absolutely determined to look on the bright side, and it doesn’t appear that something so trivial as a felony is going to break that habit.

“So, Marshall came and got you?” She smirks.

“Yeah,” I let out a bemused chuckle, “he was acting really weird.”

“Weird, how?”

“Like, all protective and stuff.”

“Aww,” she coos, propping up her head with a fist. All she’s missing are some heart eyes. She’s been on Team Marshall since the beginning. Even everything that went down last year hasn’t quelled her enthusiasm.

“No, it was weird. Like, he tried to start a fight with the guy who was there.”

“He was probably jealous.”

I scoff. “Definitely not that.”

“Ruth, it sounds like he swept in like a knight in shining armor to save you,” she exclaims. “That’s some romance hero bullshit right there.”

“It really wasn’t.” I rub my hand across my face, suddenly feeling my need for sleep overtake me. “I don’t know what he was doing, but it wasn’t like that.”

“If you say so,” she says with a grin. I know she doesn’t believe me, but I’d never go there. Not anymore.

“I think he thought that Rowan was dangerous or something?”

“I mean, the guy does sound kind of weird.”

“No,” I retort, not sure why I feel so defensive of him. “He was pretty nice. I just feel bad that he ended up stuck with me.”

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