Chapter 5 – Torment
–LIA’S POV–
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As tears threatened to spill from my eyes, Blake frowned, scooting his chair even closer to mine.
“Hey, hey, relax,” he said, gently cupping my cheeks. “It’s gonna be alright. I will speak to the teacher for you. We’ll tell her what happened.”
I shook my head, the first hot tear rolling down my cheek. “There is no point. The teachers never do anything against The Hounds. It’s like they’re afraid of them or something.”
Blake shook his head. “I’m sure they’ll listen to me,” he said, wiping away my tears. “Do you trust me?”
I frowned. It was too early to trust him, but I nodded anyway.
“Then relax and come with me. You wait outside the class, I’ll go in and talk to him. Is it a him or a her?”
“Why does it matter?”
“I gotta decide whether to sound scary or charming, of course.”
Somehow, even in that stressful situation, Blake managed to pull a laugh from my lips.
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He grinned. “Better. You look so much more beautiful when you’re smiling.”
My cheeks heated up again, and I lowered my gaze, smiling harder. I pushed my spectacles up my nose, sniffing.
“Come on, let’s go fix your problem.” He stood up, taking my hand in his. I followed his lead, taking a deep breath as we made our way to the teacher’s office.
“She sits in there,” I pointed. “Her name is Mrs. Dylon. I don’t think she’s going to listen to you. She doesn’t really like me too much.”
“Why not? Aren’t you the smartest person in your class?” he asked.
“I am, but with the constant bullying, it gets hard to focus or to show up to class,” I muttered.
Blake scowled. “I’ll deal with these Hounds soon. Anyway, you wait here. Give me a moment to work my magic.” He winked at me, and then knocked on her door, before going inside.
I stared at the closed door, my mind deciding to replay the moment he held my hand, when he cupped my cheeks, when he saved me from the fall.
What had I done to suddenly deserve someone like him by my side? Where did he come from? And why? I was… fine. When
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did fate decide I needed him?
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He was… an angel. A literal guardian angel. And he definitely looked the part too.
I frowned, shaking my head. What was wrong with me? This wasn’t what mattered right now. There were more pressing issues, like losing my scholarship and dropping out of school.
A few moments later, Blake stepped out of the room, holding the door open.
“Come in, she wants to see you,” he said, smiling at me.
What? Had he done the impossible?
I timidly went inside, pushing my glasses up my nose and approaching Mrs. Dylon’s desk. She stared up at me with her eyes slightly narrowed.
“What happened today, Ms. Snow?”
“The Hounds,” I said softly. “They wouldn’t let me get to class.”
She slowly shook her head. “These children are a menace. Mr. Adams told me you were sick.”
I frowned. “Zane?”
Did Zane try to cover for me?
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She nodded. “I could tell he was lying, so I decided not to believe his story. But Mr. Walker’s made more sense. I will allow you to retake today’s quiz. But you have to do well, Ms. Snow.”
“I will,” I nodded. “I promise. If you want I can sit for it right this instant.”
“Alright. Go to class. I’ll be with you in a while.”
“Thank much, Ma’am.”
you s
I quickly hurried out of her office, with Blake following behind me. The second we were outside, I turned to him.
“Thank you, Blake. I really don’t know how I’ll ever repay you. You’ve saved my life twice in two hours. Thank you,” I almost cried.
Blake laughed. “You don’t need to repay me, but if you insist, you could start by being my friend. I’m new here, don’t really know anyone. It would be nice to have someone guide me around this place.”
“Of course, anything you need,” I said with a smile.
“Oh, and one more thing.”
“Yeah?”
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“Will
1 you go out with me on your birthday?”
My eyes widened slightly. “You… why?”
“What do you mean?”
I pursed my lips. “I don’t know.”
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He laughed. “I’ll take that as a ‘yes‘, then. I’ll pick you up at four in the evening. Does that work? Unless you have other plans, of
course.”
“No, no. I’m free. Totally free.”
“Here, save your number.” He handed me his phone, and I quickly dialed in my number and called myself, before returning him the phone. “Great then. You better get to class. See you around, Lia.” He tapped my nose with his finger, before walking away, leaving me staring his back with my insides turned into mush.
at
For the first time in forever, I stared at myself a little longer in the mirror before leaving my bedroom.
Today, I did not dread school. Not at all. Because now I had someone I wanted to see, a friend, even a protector.
I didn’t expect him to save my ass every time The Hounds
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bothered me. But at least they wouldn’t cross limits anymore.
School felt safer with Blake Walker in there.
I walked up to my locker and opened it, my eyes darting around constantly for him. We hadn’t spoken much since yesterday, even though he had taken my number. He didn’t text first, and I didn’t want to bother him, or to make him feel like I was imposing myself on him.
After all, I was very aware of our differences. He was gorgeous, a boy every girl in our school would thirst for. Very soon, he would be one of the popular kids, and there was a chance he wouldn’t even say hi to me after. I didn’t want to get too attached to him. I couldn’t risk my feelings like that.
“Hello, Lia,” Ajax’s voice rang behind me, making me flinch and turn around. I was glad to see he was alone, with Warner or the others nowhere in sight. “Where’s your bodyguard today?”
“Who?” I muttered, immediately realising how stupid I
sounded.
“Blake Walker, of course. Your hero from yesterday.” Ajax leaned against the lockers.
“I—I don’t know.” I turned away to leave, but found Warner, Sheila and Aaron walking towards me. I swallowed, letting out a
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sigh.
“Going somewhere?” Aaron asked.
“You didn’t think we’d forget about you, did you?” Sheila grinned.
I glanced at Warner who was silent, simply staring at me.
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“Unfortunately for you, Loser Lia,” Ajax stepped closer to me, making me flinch away, “your bodyguard isn’t at school today. I checked.”
“What do you want now?” I asked,
“You thought you’d get away with slapping one of us?” Warner asked, walking up to me.
“You left me no choice,” I seethed. “You had it coming.”
“Did we?” He asked, grabbing both my wrists. My eyes widened, and I dropped my cellphone. “How about now?”
“Let go of me,” I said, struggling to get my hands free.
“Or what?” Warner tightened his hold, bringing one of my hands closer to his face. “You’re gonna slap me too? I dare you to try.”
“Warner, it’s hurting,” I cried, glaring up at him. “Let go of me.”
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“Guess what, Lia? Your little hero isn’t here today. We’ll see who saves you this time,” Warner chuckled.
Clasping one hand over my mouth, he practically lifted me off the ground and dragged me to the side, the rest of The Hounds. following after us with amused smiles. I tried to scream, but my voice came out muffled. Warner dragged me to my locker, and I realised what he was about to do. Despite struggling with all my might, I couldn’t stop him from forcing me inside it, whilst Ajax pulled out a roll of tape.
I tried to scream at the top of my voice, but the sound was barely heard. A few passers–by looked, then turned away as usual. Ajax taped my hands together, and then my mouth, before Warner slammed the locker shut. I screamed and cried for help, but no one could hear me. And even if they could, no one would help. Helping me would mean inviting trouble to themselves, and why would anybody want that?
Tears rolled down my cheeks, as I looked around in the dark, hearing the bell go off. The sound of chatter and footsteps drowned out my muffled cries further, until the corridor was completely empty. I banged my taped fingers against the door, but it was no use. Only I could open the locker, and that too from outside. Even if someone came to help, they wouldn’t know the combination, and with tape on my mouth, I couldn’t yell it
out.
I leaned my head against the door, sobbing uncontrollably now. I had no idea how long I’d be left in there. When someone would
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call for help. When I’d be taken out. The walls were closing in on me further, and the darkness was blinding. A few more minutes
in there, and would pass out. The air seemed to be
growing thin.
What had I done to deserve this torment?
There was only a single face flashing before my eyes. Blake’s. And it was the one I expected to see, when the locker suddenly began to rattle.
My eyes widened, and I straightened up, letting out muffled shouts. The locker kept rumbling, as though someone was trying to rip it open.
And then they somehow succeeded, making me immediately fall forwards, towards the ground. Cold air surrounded me, and an arm caught me before I’d fall face first on the ground. I was pulled out of the locker by my arms, and gently set down on my feet.
But the relief I’d felt a second ago vanished when I saw who got
me out.
It wasn’t Blake.
It was Zane Adams.
Which meant that this wasn’t over.
