I’m not ashamed of my period—no girl should be—I just want them both to go away.
Parrish doesn’t respond with words. Instead, he slits his eyes in that way of his, the one that seems to say I expect everyone around me to know what this means, to know what I want. I roll my eyes at him and grab onto Chasm’s arm, intending on dragging him to the doorway. What actually happens is that as soon as my hand makes contact with him, there’s a fluttering in my stomach that causes my fingers to clench tight, wrinkling the fabric of his Whitehall Academy dress shirt.
Chasm pauses and looks down, a frown tracing his mouth that seems impossible to interpret. Is he upset that I’m touching him? Is he upset that he likes me touching him? It could be either/or in this case. I pretend like I’m not feeling anything at all and attempt to drag him toward the door anyway.
“I was just congratulating Little Sister here on her first day at school. Impressive, for someone who comes from nothing.”
“If you came here to insult me, it won’t work.” I yank on his arm, and he takes a small step forward, either by choice or because I’m just strong as hell, I’m not sure.
“Won’t it, though?” he asks, and then he leans down and whispers something in Korean in my ear. The temptation to kick him in the nuts is strong. “Don’t think I haven’t heard you watching your shitty K-dramas in here. Shall I play the hero and save you from Parrish’s wicked claws?”
“Get out of my room,” I grind out, doing my best to drag him out the door. I need time to prepare myself for Tess. There’s just no way I’m lucky enough to escape a first day of school grilling. Chas just laughs again as I finally succeed in shoving him into the hallway. As I go to slam the door on the two of them, I notice the way Parrish and Chasm are looking at each other, like there are a million unsaid things they’re playing at right now.
I shove the door closed and flick the lock with a groan, turning around and putting my back to it. My eyes stray briefly to the bloodied sheets in the corner, but I don’t think twice about it. I haven’t had an easy month; there’s no lack of reasons that I might’ve been confused this morning.
Tess never comes by to ask how my day went; she doesn’t even bother to text me.
So much for building a mother-daughter relationship.
There’s a breeze teasing chilly fingers across my skin, and my bed feels wet. At first, I just assume that I’ve overfilled my menstrual cup again. But as I crack my eyes open, something strange happens. I find myself lying on my side in the woods.
“What the fuck?” I blurt, sitting up suddenly and feeling an icy chill take over me. My first thought is that this is a dream because, like, what the actual hell? The night is pitch-black and freezing-cold, so cold that my skin is pebbled with goose bumps and my teeth are already chattering.
As I scan my surroundings, I try to figure out if this is a dream or … not. A quick pinch on my arm hurts like hell, and when I close my eyes and try to will myself awake, nothing happens. Opening them again, I force myself to my feet, staggering slightly and cursing as pine needles and small rocks dig into my bare feet.
My first reaction is to assume that the boys dragged me out here. How they managed to move me from my bed into the woods without waking me is a mystery for another day. But really, what else could this be but a prank?
“Alright, you got me,” I mumble, brushing leaves and pine needles from my ass. “Really funny, I’m highly amused.” I stand up straight, the wind digging cool fingers into my hair and tousling it around my face. The night is as black as they come, an ebony jewel stretched across the sky and dotted with the faintest twinkling diamonds, as if the stars are smiling at me.
Only, if they are, it feels like an endless sea of mocking smiles. Something doesn’t feel right out here. The hair on the back of my neck stands straight up as I wrap my arms around myself and squeeze tight. Just like that night after the party when I thought I heard someone creeping around outside the gate, I get that same feeling now.
“Probably just reporters,” I murmur aloud, just to keep the night from seeming too cold, too empty. I’m not panicked, but maybe I should be? I fell asleep in my bed and woke up outside. Even if the boys concocted this scheme, I should probably still freak out, right? How messed up would that be? “You can come out now; I’m ready to go home.”
