Page 102 of Losing the Rhythm

“This is pretty cool,” Toby said. He sat right next to me.

“What’s going on exactly?” Paxon asked. “Why did we have to sneak away from the cafeteria?”

I met Justin’s gaze and something in my expression gave it away. He knew. His eyes widened as his lips tightened together.

“The school found out why Cadence and Justin weren’t around yesterday,” Bryan said. He was stiff sitting next to me, the anger thrumming through him enough to make me worried.

Paxon looked confused. “It was the self-defense class, right?”

“Yeah,” I said, but I couldn’t say anything else. It meant telling them about the kiss and that scared me. How would they react once they knew I kissed Justin? Especially if they found out I’d kissed Seth too in the past. It’d seem like I really was working my way through the guys, exactly like the rumors said. That wasn’t the case though.

But would they believe that?

I really wanted to throw up now.

Justin cleared his throat, preparing to talk. I begged him with my eyes not to say anything, but I should have known better. These guys shared so much together.

“Lillian showed me the photos.”

“What photos?” Toby asked.

“One was of Cadence and me kissing.”

I closed my eyes, feeling gazes stabbing at me. I didn’t want to see their expressions. For some reason fear and guilt gnawed at me.

“You kissed him?” Toby’s voice sounded a little bit higher pitched.

“Y-yeah. I did.”

Silence. It was nearly suffocating.

I finally braved looking and saw different expressions, ones I didn’t know what to do with, others that felt a little too condemning or heartbroken. Toby seemed curious, but Paxon seemed rather upset.

I looked down at the ground and at the lunch I had brought in. This was when it was all going to fall apart. I knew it. I could already feel it, the strain. People were upset and I didn’t want that.

But what I did wasn’t okay. I kissed Seth, and then I kissed Justin. I did that while not even understanding my own emotions. It just felt right when it happened, and I craved more of it. When I kissed them, it felt like I was finally breathing okay, not weighed down by everything.

If it ruined their friendship though…

“Right. Well, that isn’t going to help the rumors,” Toby finally said, breaking the heavy silence. When I looked at him, he only smiled, and I had to wonder what he was thinking.

“That isn’t ideal,” Paxon finally said, taking his beanie off to run his hand through his hair.

Bryan didn’t say anything, instead focusing on his glasses. He had found out earlier, but there hadn’t really been a chance to figure out what he was thinking or feeling. I was almost afraid to ask if the way he was paying way too much attention to his glasses was any indicator.

“We’ll need to keep a close eye on Cadence. Make sure she’s never alone,” Justin said.

My phone buzzed in my pocket as the guys kept talking. Since most of them were with me, and only my contacts could go through, it didn’t leave many options left. Especially since others knew I was in school and wouldn’t bother me.

Unless it was an emergency.

I quickly dug out my phone and looked at the screen.

Micah:Where are you?

“Shit.”

Me:Hiding on the roof.

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