Page 4 of The Forever After Bet

Eating food.

You’re so funny.

Thanks.

Do you wanna hook up? Mrs. Clemson, the art teacher, leaves her room unlocked during lunch. We can sneak in and have a little fun.

I have to read Violet’s last note twice. I glance up at her, and she winks, puckering her lips. I repress a shudder—barely. Even if I were still a player, I’d never hook up with a random girl I barely knew. I don’t respond to her note. After Mr. Kazansky’s lecture, he hands out a worksheet. “You can work in groups. Just keep the chatter down to a whisper,” he says.

Violet doesn’t ask to work with me, thank goodness. She shoves her worksheet into her backpack and pulls out her phone. I concentrate on trying to finish the worksheet before the end of class, so I’m not paying attention when Violet slips her hand between my legs, squeezing my thigh.

I jump off my stool, completely freaked out. “Are you crazy?” I hiss.

A couple of people glance my way but quickly return to their assignments. I’ve had enough. There’s only about five minutes left in class, so I grab my stuff and go. I’ll talk to Mr. Kazansky later and tell him I was sick or something. I walk to A Hall and wait outside Mr. Lentz’s Spanish class for Jack. His eyes get wide when he sees me waiting for him. “Are you okay?”

“No, I’ve got to get out of here,” I say, blowing out a breath.

“I’ll text Ty and have him meet us at your car.”

“Thanks,” I nod.

I toss Jack my keys and crawl into the backseat, lying down. My head hurts. I want to go to sleep and forget about this day. It takes Ty forever to show up. When he gets in the car, he looks like I feel. “Dude, are you all right?” Jack asks him.

Ty glances at me but quickly looks away.

I sit up. “What is it?”

“You don’t want to know,” he says as we pull out of the school parking lot.

“If it has to do with Hannah, I want to know,” I say.

“Violet Richland tried to pick a fight with her. It happened in C hall next to June’s locker.”

I groan, slumping back, covering my hands over my face.

“She was yelling that Hannah set her up. That she’s not crazy, and any guy would be lucky to be with her. She was making zero sense and acting totally bizarre. Hannah stood there stoney-faced, letting Violet yell at her. June and I tried to get her to leave, but she wouldn’t. She didn’t say anything and just stood there while Violet circled her and yelled in her face. She wouldn’t budge. It almost seemed like she wanted Violet to hit her. I thought she was going to. Finally, Leah and Aubrey showed up and got in Violet’s face, and she backed off. June wrapped her arms around Hannah and...”

I smack Ty’s arm. “And what?”

Ty sighs, looking back at me. “She started crying.”

“Son of a—” I let the curse words fly. I want to hit something. I scrub my hands through my hair, tugging on it. “This is my fault.”

Jack scoffs. “Tell me, Cross, how was Violet Richland freaking out on Hannah your fault?”

I sit back and take a few breaths, trying to calm down. “Hannah sat next to me in chemistry. I noticed she had taken off her promise ring and wedding band. It hit me right in the gut. I couldn’t breathe, and I took off to the bathroom. When I got back, Hannah had traded seats with Violet. She passed me stupid notes all hour and wanted to hook up in the art room at lunch. Toward the end of class, Violet slipped her hand under the table and squeezed my thigh. I jumped up, asked if she was crazy, then grabbed my stuff and bolted. Normally I can handle touchy girls, but today has not been a good day.”

“I think I’ve changed my mind. You and Hannah do need to talk. I thought taking some time was a good idea, but you’re both at your wits’ end.” Jack glances at me through the rearview mirror.

“If today is any indication, she doesn’t want anything to do with me. Thanks for being their T. and watching out for her.”

“Yeah, of course. Hannah’s my friend.” Ty nods.

Jack glances back at me. “I’ll try talking to her tonight. I tried once over the weekend; she took one look at me in her doorway and ran into her bathroom, locking the door.”

“Have your parents noticed?” I ask.

Jack screws his face up, shaking his head. “They don’t have a clue. She spent most of the day at Leah’s until my mom made her come home. I heard Hannah tell my mom it was that time of month, and she had a lot of homework to do, so they left her alone.”

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