Page 24 of Unbidden

Chapter Five

The next day, it seems the whole school knows about our dance in finishing class. Rumors run rampant.

One rumor is that Reed and Jared fought over me. Reed won, of course, knocking poor Jared out in one punch for daring to touch the whore he deemed untouchable.

Another says Reed basically fingerfucked me in the middle of the dance floor while the teacher looked the other way. Reed, being king, of course got away with it.

There were many others, but the one I thought was most entertaining was the one saying that Reed and I are secretly dating and that his attitude toward me is our form of foreplay.

While the rumors are flying and stares are in overabundance, not one person has asked me for the truth.

It’s exhausting acting as if you can’t hear the whispers and avoiding the stares. Especially the leering ones from the guys. I really want to not care, but it bothers me that everyone is so quick to believe the worst. It reminds me again that my mother left this world for a reason. The longer I stay here, the more I want to make my own escape.

Walking into the cafeteria, I realize I should have skipped lunch altogether. All eyes swing to me as I make my way to the food line. While every nerve ending inside urges me to turn around and run, I force myself to hold my head high. I’ve never been overly shy, but all this negative attention makes me wish I were more introverted.

Before I can make it to the line, a cold feeling rushes over my spine. I turn, realizing the feeling is actually liquid running down my back.

“Oops. I can be so clumsy sometimes.” Ingram’s smile is far from innocent.

“What the fuck?” I shout.

The liquid is now dripping onto the floor as I hold my arms out.

“Sorry. Didn’t see you there.” She shrugs as if it’s no big deal.

Before I can respond, a teacher is standing beside me. “Go to the girls’ locker room and clean yourself up.”

I glare at Ingram before leaving the room. I make it a couple of steps down the hall when I hear footsteps behind me, echoing my own. I spin, expecting to see Ingram, but startle when I find Keaton instead.

“Hey, are you okay?” He shoves his hands in his pockets, looking guilty.

“Yeah. It’ll wash out. I’m just going to clean up.” I start walking again, and he falls into step beside me.

“Let me show you the way. You don’t have any PE classes, do you?” I shake my head and he continues. “Didn’t think so. Come with me. They have a shower you can use too. I’ll go grab you a new uniform to borrow. They keep extras in the office for emergencies.”

I give him a small smile. “You don’t have to do that. I can wash these out and wear them wet.”

He shakes his head. “Just let me be nice to you. You make it so hard.” He wiggles his eyebrows at his innuendo.

I roll my eyes. “Fine. Bring me a change of clothes.”

He points to the door we stopped in front of. “I’ll call in when I get back and leave them right inside the door.”

I enter the locker room, eyes widening as I take it in. The locker room at my old school had lockers lining all the walls with many in the middle. It always smelled faintly of sweat and overall grossness. The dingy appearance didn’t help either.

This is not a locker room. The room I’m standing in is more like a luxury spa changing room. While there are still lockers, they’re all white with names written delicately in calligraphy. Instead of an old-school combo lock, there’s a keypad with a fingerprint access panel.

I look around the locker room until I find a wall of fresh towels. I grab one, thankful my hair is up, meaning it didn’t get wet in the assault. It takes me another five minutes to realize the doors lining the back wall lead to individual shower rooms.

Such luxury for the future of America.

I strip out of my clothes, setting them on a bench near the door, then wrap the towel around me as I make my way back to the shower. Stepping inside, I set the towel on the hanger on the back of the door. I quickly shower, using the soap that’s already in the stall.

A sound outside the shower causes me to pause. I open the door a crack and listen closer.

“Sage? It’s me, Keat. I’m placing your clothes right here.” I let out the breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding at his voice.

“Thanks, Keat,” I call back before closing the door and finishing my shower.

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