Page 53 of The Tattered Gloves
I’d never been overly concerned with what people thought of them. I knew they were weird; an added bonus to wearing them. It kept people at a distance and made them think twice before approaching me.
But, in that moment, I wanted to rip them off and run away.
In that moment, I wanted to put her in her place and tell her to go to hell.
But I didn’t.
I simply stood there, holding back tears, until I had the courage to turn and flee.
But that same brick wall stood in my way, and this time, it held on.
“Back off, Katie,” Sam warned, his fingers barely brushing my shoulders.
“What’s this now? The knightly Sam sticking up for the school freak?”
“I mean it, Katie. No one needs your bullshit right now.”
She brushed him off, laughing, as she walked away.
Yet he was still touching me… still invading my space.
And so I did what I’d sought out to do in the first place, before the wall and the hands on my shoulders.
I fled.
Without saying a word.
IF THERE WAS ever a day I wished I didn’t have a conscience, it would be today.
Then, I could brush off my responsibilities and ditch work after school, avoiding Sam and the conversation that was sure to follow.
I’d walked away from him after he stood up for me in front of the whole school.
Okay, it wasn’t the whole school, but when you did something like that, everyone was bound to find out. And, if there was one thing Sugar Tree High was good at, it was spreading gossip fast.
By now, everyone knew, and it was just a matter of time before people began speculating on what Sam’s confrontation with Katie could mean.
What did it mean?
Honestly, I didn’t even want to know because as I walked into the bookstore — on time, I might add — my mind was still reliving that single moment when his hands had found their way to my shoulders.
When he’d held me in place.
It was the first time I’d ever felt fear in his presence.
It was the first time I’d been reminded he was a man, just like the rest of them.
Just like—
“What the hell was that all about?” Sam’s concerned voice pierced through the silence, bolting me back into reality.
I nearly jumped as I looked up, finding him behind the counter, while I entered through the front entrance.
His voice had shocked me, but he was still Sam.
Still just Sam.
Am I really scared?
