Page 23 of Hateful
I steel myself up, preparing for the worst.
Beck comes so close that I think his cheekbones might actually cut me. He leans down to put his grinning face right into mine. I have to keep my eyes trained on his to keep from thinking, even for a second, the way the sharp lines of his face make me weak in the knees.
Even now.
Even when he opens his mouth and snarls, “What? Do you want us to lose?”
“No,” I say as calmly as I can muster. I finally tear my eyes from his to scan the crowd, looking for any staff, faculty, anything that will get me out of this gracefully. There are a few professors in the back of the room, as well as the dean. As I watch, they all slip out of the room, leaving me to whatever fate Beck decides for me. Bastards.
As if that was anything but intentional.
They don’t have to say they didn’t try to stop it if they weren’t even here.
Beck notices their departure, too. He grins even more and lunges toward me as if to grab me, but I dodge backward and slam into one of the benches, which takes me out at the knees. Beck bursts into uproarious laughter as I windmill stupidly to try and keep my balance. Most of the crowd joins in.
He faked me out. He wasn’t going to do anything, he just wanted to make me flinch.
Somehow, that’s even worse.
“Scared?” Heath pipes up, coming to stand next to Beck. They’re nearly touching me, the heat from their bodies practically radiating into my reddening skin as they lean down toward me. “What’s wrong? Is the little baby scared?”
I give Heath a cold stare. Angry heat rises to my cheeks. I don’t want to say anything. I also don’t want to stand here and take this, but I don’t really have a choice. Maybe if I don’t provoke them, they’ll get bored.
From the looks of the crowd around them, they’ve forgotten anything about my little outburst at the dance. That, or they don’t care.
Or they’re too scared to care. Too scared that if they say anything, they’ll be next on The Brotherhood’s shit list.
Jasper hovers behind the two of them, looking everywhere but at me. Beck’s face is directly near mine as he looms over me. Heath is a little further back. I realize with a start that he doesn’t look nearly as into this as Beck does.
It’s like he’s just going through the motions when in reality, he’d rather be anywhere else.
“Someone ought to put you in your place,” Beck says in an almost singsong voice. “Right, Jasper?”
Now Jasper looks up. He shrugs.
“Yeah,” he says halfheartedly, still blatantly avoiding actually looking at me.
That’s good enough for Beck, apparently.
He grabs the collar of my shirt and pulls me toward him. I squeeze my eyes shut so that I won’t have to see whatever’s coming. Is he going to hit me? In front of all these people? All last semester I did everything I could to avoid this fate, including injuring myself so they wouldn’t have to—and now it’s going to happen anyway, in front of an entire crowd of people?
Angry tears prick my eyes. I just want to mind my own damn business and get good grades. I just want to be left alone. Is that really too much to ask for?
Somehow, amidst all the other emotions I’m feeling, guilt weasels its way in there too.
This is what you wanted,it reminds me.You didn’t want to be forgotten.
“He’scrying!” Beck yells, a cackle of a laugh bubbling up out of his throat.
My eyes fly open. He releases my collar and steps back as meanspirited laughter breaks out around us. Jasper and Heath both avert their gazes, but Beck stands in front of me, grinning maliciously.
“Little baby’s so scared he’s gonna cry. Maybe pee his pants. Need someone to wipe you?”
I’m not even sure anyone heard the last sentence, they’re all laughing loud enough to mostly drown him out. That doesn’t make his words any less humiliating.
I stare back at him while the angry, embarrassed tears blur my vision.
It’s stupid,so stupid.Just because I know that doesn’t stop the heat from continuing to rush in a steady stream to my reddening cheeks.
