Page 82 of Finding a Melody

“That has to be a joke. Are you watching too many action movies again?”

“Micah.” The seriousness in my voice told him it wasn’t. “It really did happen.”

I swore his eyes were about to bulge out of his head with the way he looked at me. I waited him out, letting him process the information. I mean, it did seem like something right out of an action movie. Frankly, I hadn’t really been able to process it yet either. Other than the bandage on my forehead and some bumps and bruises, I was okay. Well, as okay as I could be.

Micah’s gaze dropped down over my body, then back to my face, going to the bandage, and then over the rest of my face. There was light bruising along my cheek, but my head wound had been the biggest. “And you’re okay?”

“I’m okay. Sore. I have another appointment at the end of this week with my actual doctor to make sure I’m really okay.” I shuddered. “It could have been so much worse.” Any more damage to my spine and the doctors warned I risked losing my ability to walk.

Micah blinked furiously as he fought his emotions. “Okay. So they’re after you. That’s not the end of the world. What is being done?”

“The police are looking into it. I think they’re trying to build a case against them for some stuff. And they send the police over to check on me in the morning and in the evening. They stick around for as long as they can before leaving.”

Leaning forward, Micah rested his head against my shoulder. “That isn’t enough. All they have to do is wait for the police to be gone before doing anything.”

“I know.” I rubbed his back, feeling his body shaking under me as he worked through the news. It must have felt like a blow to him. I felt bad, realizing I should have broken the news to him myself. If things had turned out worse, I didn’t want to think about how he’d have been notified.

“There has to be more that can be done.”

“I contacted an ex-military guy. I don’t know all of his business, but he knows my friends and he extended his help. I’m taking him up on that offer.” I glanced toward the classroom. The hallway was practically empty now as everyone got to their classes. The late bell was going to ring at any moment. “I don’t want anyone getting hurt because of me.”

“Okay. Okay.” Micah stepped back and ran a hand through his hair as he blew out his breath. He didn’t know how to take this. Neither did I, frankly, and I’d had days to absorb it all. The late bell rang and he grimaced. “I’ll talk to you later. Get in class before your teacher gets here.”

“You know you’re late too, right?” I felt like pointing out.

He gave me that wonderful boyish smile of his. “That’s fine. The teacher likes me anyway. It’s art class.”

Of course. He would have the art teacher wrapped around his pinky within a week. It wasn’t that he was absolutely amazing with art, but he definitely had the passion for it. Teachers at this school tended to like students with that kind of passion. I dipped into my classroom as Micah took off. Everyone was still staring at me as I beelined for my chair.

“What was that about?” Bryan asked. “Who is he exactly? I’ve never seen him before.”

“Micah is my childhood friend. He lived on the west coast but moved here last week. I mentioned him to you guys before.” I shrugged. “He heard about what happened and wanted to check in on me.”

Bryan didn’t seem to like my answer but there really wasn’t much else to say, especially as the teacher came running in. He looked a little flustered as he got homeroom started, then quickly transitioned into calculus.

As the day went on, the whispering got louder and worse. By the time I got to my morning study hall, I was ready to pull my hair out and it was only third period. Maybe shave it all off and start wearing men’s clothing so no one would recognize me. I hated having so many people curious about me. I had never liked the spotlight, hated it most of the time. When I performed, I at least got to focus on the music, but I didn’t have that to distract me.

I sat down at my desk and ducked my head down, wishing my hair could hide me from all the stares. Needing desperately a distraction, I pulled out my British literature homework. We had to read an excerpt and write a short essay about it. Not looking forward to it, but it was better than listening to all the whispering.

“You really know how to set off rumors,” Hazel said, taking the spot next to me. She tucked her short light brown hair behind her ear as she got comfortable.

I frowned at her. “You aren’t in my study hall.”

“No, I’m not.” She didn’t expand as she pulled out a notebook and began doodling on it. “Are you okay? I heard you were hurt over the weekend.” Her gaze went to my bandage.

“And what exactly do those rumors say?” I asked.

“That you were running off with Seth...” She glanced away, blushing hard.

“Go ahead, tell me. I won’t be offended, I promise.”

“I know it’s not true.”

“But it’s still the rumor that’s going around.”

“You were pleasuring him and it distracted him enough to send him into a ditch.”

I leaned back in my chair, my stomach dropping. That was what people were talking about?

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