Page 75 of Mistaken Prejudice

Andrei

One month later

Forgotten Halloween decorations still popped out around school even though it’d been a week since the holiday.

Everyone went crazy over it, especially because of the party the football team hosted. For obvious reasons, I skipped that party and stayed at Miles’s home for the private one we had together.

I’d passed on many events in the past month because of my broken arm. I had to take a break from work, not only because of my arm but because of the state my face was in after those assholes beat the shit out of me in the bathroom. Only now did the swelling go down and my skin returned to its normal shade and not that ugly dark purple it was for the first three weeks.

Those guys, with Shay-Lee on top, deserved to be locked up for what they did to me. I knew that, and yet, at the same time, I couldn’t risk Miles finding out about my mom. About the fact that I lied to him about her being dead.

I didn’t know why I did that. Probably because I wished she were and I was ashamed of that.

Since she testified against me in court, I’d only seen her once, when she went to jail herself and I had to attend her trial.

I didn’t speak to her then or now, but she still sent me letters and called me once in a while.

I had nothing to tell her and that’s why I answered that call in the first place. I wanted to ask her to stop calling, but the minute I heard her voice, it all came flooding back and I lost it.

The moment I heard her voice, a part of me I wanted nothing to do with took over me. An angry, furious, hateful part in me that I resented.

I couldn’t have Miles finding out. I wouldn’t have him find out. I was too afraid of what he’d think of me if he saw how easily I could be shaken out of my character. That’s the reason I lied and told everyone I was robbed after work that day instead of doing the right thing.

And if that wasn’t enough of a reason for me to keep my mouth shut, I also found out that the twins’ father was a big shot with connections everywhere. Therefore, any chances of them getting what they deserved were nonexistent.

Since they ambushed me after school hours, no one found me passed out on the bathroom floor. So when I woke up, I somehow managed to drag myself to the ER where they treated my wounds.

They may have left me with a broken arm, a concussion, and bruised ribs, but I still wasn’t afraid of them. However, I wasn’t stupid, and I kept myself alert. Ready for their next strike that surprisingly, still didn’t come.

While the other cavemen of the football team thought pushing me in the halls or throwing my books to the toilets would affect me, Shay-Lee wasn’t as stupid. I wished he were. It would have been a lot easier to deal with him if that were the case. But no, the jerk had to be the devious devil he claimed himself to be.

The way those dead eyes followed me with the promise of payment was mind-fucking. I knew he was waiting for the right time to strike, and I had to be ready.

“Yo! Chica!” Jess jolted from his seat as soon as I entered the table area in the cafeteria. “Let me help you!” he said as he grabbed the tray of food from my right hand before I could even protest.

“Thanks, Jess, but I’m good.”

“I saved you a seat beside me!” he argued before placing the tray next to him and sitting back in his evacuated chair.

Before taking my seat, I noticed Jordan was, once again, joining us for lunch.

He became friends with Jessie a while back, and ever since the Halloween party, which Jess and Levi did attend, the guy stuck around. More like, around them, so much that he even came to our place a few times in the last week.

Jordan was a football player and also one of Shay-Lee’s gang, hence why I never talked with him before the first time Jess made him eat with us. Although never speaking with the dude, I did remember him from that time Shay-Lee and his guys blocked our car with theirs.

He was the only guy in their group who looked like he was forced to be there.

I still knew nothing about him. He was a quiet guy with ocean eyes that spoke louder than words. And that was good enough for me. Everything you needed to know about a person was written in their eyes.

I couldn’t say I trusted him, but I did see his friendship with Jess and Levi meant a lot to him, so for now, we were cool.

“Jordan.” I threw a nod his way, which he returned before getting back to his food.

“Dying in Advanced Algebra?” Levi asked as he checked out the book I took out of my bag in my search for my phone.

“You bet.” I smiled when I finally managed to pull out my phone and open it to check if Miles texted me while I was in class.

Miles: Meet me in the stables? *Monkey emoji*