Page 45 of Stand

“I didn’t either, dude, but you started it.”

“I—Okay.” He scrubbed his hand through his hair, bringing his elbow closer to her. She smelled that clean scent again, and she didn’t want to, but she liked it. “Look. I got thrown in here too. I didn’t expect to—”

“Don’t cop out now, Professor Cavanaugh,” she taunted him. “This is your chance.” She threw open her arms. One hand hit the door and the other hit the clothes, so it wasn’t the grand gesture she’d hoped, but anyway.

“How do I know you won’t get your pals outside to beat the shit out of me the second I leave this place?”

“Ugh!” She poked a finger at him. “I wouldneverdo that! You think I’m some kind of sadistic—oh God. Youdothink that!”

“You ever stop someone from beating up one of my friends?”

“I don’tknowany of your friends.”

He raised an eyebrow. “You’ve been at school with them for three years.”

“You know any ofmyfriends?” she retorted, hoping the best defense was offense.

“Everyone knows your friends, Sam,” he said.

Shit. He had her there. Sam’s friends were the kings and queens of the grade. She hadn’t let it sink in before that that meant there had to be peasants, and she’d made him into one of them.

“They’re not all—” She huffed. Jesus, she was like Clare inThe Breakfast Club. Was she about to talk about the pressure she was under to be perfect? ’Cause she wasn’t. She only had to be herself.

And herself was pretty fucking awful if she were honest.

“Okay. You made your point.”

“I…” Now he seemed less sure of himself. “Look, I don’t mean to… I wasn’t exactly expecting this tonight, you know?”

Neither the hell was she.

“You surprised me. I didn’t plan on riding your ass. I mean—”

Sam laughed. He probably blushed, though she couldn’t see it in the dim light.

“I mean,” he went on, “I know what happened to your parents. That would fuck anyone up.”

Chills went all the way from her scalp to her toes. He’d mentioned the thing. The thing no one who knew her dared mention. “It’s nothing to do with them,” she said through suddenly numb lips.

“If you say so.” He seemed to relax a little. “I just wanna say, my dad left us when I was seven. And it sucked. Still does. So I know some of how you feel. Though my dad had a choice and yours didn’t.”

“My dad did too,” she said at once, but the chills went on, rolling over her, over and over. She began to gulp in breaths because her chest was impossibly tight. Where had all the air in this closet gone?

“Hey,” he said, coming away from his wall. “You okay?”

“Don’t—” She put out her hand, but all that did was make her touch him, and despite his skinny frame, his chest was strong and warm, and her hand clenched involuntarily.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “Hey. You wanna get out of here?”

Her eyes were squeezed shut, and she was terrified she was going to cry. For those boys outside to see her like this? “No,” she said.

He took her arm, and when she opened her eyes, he was next to her, frowning down at her with impossibly kind eyes. “Maybe sit down for a second, then.”

Her knees obeyed him before she knew it, and they both fell in a heap to the floor. Tyler’s knees barely missed her chin, and Sam found their legs entangled and Tyler’s arms around her. His breath was on her cheek, drying her tears.

They stayed like that while the guys outside the closet laughed at the sudden noise and made rude jokes. Sam couldn’t stand it. She couldn’t stand herself, her past, her friends, any of it. She shrank into herself. But that only brought her deeper into Tyler’s embrace, and he seemed quite happy to hold her. She ducked her head, letting the tears fall off her nose. Tyler’s hands began stroking her back. Goddamn him for being nice to her.

“Don’t be nice to me,” she whispered.

---