Page 15 of Run
I start to turn away but hear, “Hey, Red, I remember you.”
Ethan’s friend Sean waves at me, and I give a tight smile in return. His eyes travel up and down my body, and I suddenly feel self-conscious. A sports bra is showing under my tank top, and my shorts are too short because I sprouted like three inches last year. Lena’s been saying she’ll take me out to buy more but hasn’t.
“How’ve you been? It’s Ari, right?”
I just look at the floor. Mr. Undermire notices the distraction and comes jogging over. “Alright, gentlemen, that’s enough. Ladies, it’s time to get changed for your next class.”
We all head into the locker room. No matter how much I sweat, I never shower after gym class—as if we even have time. So, I pull on my jeans and a thin blue cardigan that Lena passed down, and pull my hair out of its ponytail, weaving it into a side braid. I’m carrying my gym clothes in a ball in front of me as I head out of the locker room and smash right into Sean.
“Oh, shit, sorry!” He picks up the shorts I dropped. “I was waiting for you.”
I turn and look behind me, but no one is there.“Uh, thanks?” I can see the group of guys he was with before, congregating behind him, glancing our way every so often.
“You’re fast,” he says, placing a hand on the wall behind my head and leaning in. “I saw you leaving all those other girls in the dust.”
“Fast girl!” one of the boys yells.
Sean rolls his eyes. “That guy’s a douche, don’t listen to him. He flunked out of kindergarten, but the teachers hated him so much they passed him, and they just keep passing him so they can get rid of him.” That makes me giggle. “Ah, there it is.” Sean uses a knuckle to lift my chin. “That’s what I wanted to see, that smile.”
His flirting makes me smile even wider, and I know the moment his friends see my broken tooth because they start to snicker.
“Hey, Sean, better not let Red go down on you with that snaggletooth. She’ll take a bite out of your dick!” one guy shouts while the rest of them hoot and holler. That draws the attention of nearby students who start to gather around. Mortified, I keep my head down and try to go around Sean, but again, he stops me.
“Don’t listen to them, they’re just perverts. They talk that way all the time. It’s not you.”
“Hey, Sean,” another one starts in. “Is red her natural color? You know how to find out, right?”
This time I’m successful in pushing past Sean, but he reaches out and grabs my wrist to pull me back. “Ari, wait—”
Suddenly he is ripped back, his grip on my wrist broken as I spring free, and he’s shoved against a locker and Ethan is there, in his face. “Don’t you ever put your hands on her!” he grits out through clenched teeth, spit flying in Sean’s face.
“Hey, I was just—”
Ethan grabs Sean by the collar of his shirt, pulls him off the locker and slams him back against it. “You were just what? Letting your dickhead friends make comments about her?”
“Ethan!” I shout, but he’s too enraged to hear me. His forearm presses into Sean’s neck as anger radiates off him.
I spin and push my way through the crowd to get away from the scene, dropping my dirty gym clothes along the way. Once I’m out of the crowd, I hear Ethan’s voice behind me. “Ari!”
I don’t stop.
“Hey.” He jogs up and stops in front of me, placing his hands on my upper arms. “Are you OK? What happened? Did he hurt you? Where are you going?”
Pulling away, I run my hands up and down my arms. “Is that it? Is that all your questions?”
“I’m serious.” Ethan rests his hands on his hips. “What did he do to you? What did he say?”
“Nothing that I haven’t heard before.” I try to step around him, but Ethan stops me, and I back away from his touch. “You’re making it worse,” I hiss.
“What? How?”
“You’re just drawing more attention to me! And you’re acting … You’re just …” When I can’t finish my sentence, Ethan takes a step closer and bends his knees a little so he can look me in the eye.
“I’m what?”
I look at him. Really look at him. I stare into his chocolate brown eyes, see the dip of the scar on his lip, and for the first time in Ethan’s presence, I’m sad. I look down at the ground, but hear his words. “Talk to me, Ari.”
“I’ve never seen you violent before. And I don’t like it.” I dart my eyes up to his and see the shock in them. “I see enoughviolence. It’s not supposed to come from you. You’re supposed to be my safe place.”
