Bonita

Chapter 23. Seeing Red.

NOVA

After last night, I didn't want to see any of them. Not Christian, Not Malcom, not Ronaldo, not Angelo, not Diego, not even the twins.
All I kept hearing was his voice in my head: You have it.

I.E.D.
Intermittent Explosive Disorder.

I'd looked it up this morning. It would explain a lot—my outbursts, my short temper, the way I felt afterward like something inside me had snapped, leaving only guilt behind.
But I wasn't one of those people who self-diagnosed because of Google or because someone said I had it. No. If I had it, I'd find out on my own. My way.

Until then, I wasn't dealing with any of them.

I threw on a pair of baggy pants and a hoodie—nothing special, nothing that screamed effort. I brushed my thick curls once and left them alone. I didn't ask Diego to help with it like usual. I didn't want anyone near me.
Skipped breakfast. As always.

When I told the twins I was leaving, Jonah said, "Wait, we'll drive you."
I shook my head. "No, I'm fine."

Before they could argue, I grabbed my skateboard and rolled out. The street wind hit my face, cold and sharp, just the way I liked it.

At school, I saw Levi, Kai, and Cisco by the gates.
Cisco raised an eyebrow. "Yo, you alright?"

I shrugged. "Yeah. Me and Ronaldo kinda got into an argument last night. Well... I don't even know if you'd call it an argument. It was more like me yelling and him just... sitting there."

Levi frowned. "What were you screaming at him about?"

"I don't know." I sighed. "Just... why I left. He didn't answer me, which pissed me off even more. And then he said I had I.E.D." I looked at them. "But I don't know. Maybe it's not true, right?"

None of them answered right away.
Kai finally said, "Why don't you talk with your brothers about it? If you do have it, maybe they can help you. Get you into therapy or something."

I cut in, sharper than I meant to. "I don't want to do any of that. I don't have time for it."

Levi's brows knit together. "Nova, we just don't know if doing it your way is the best idea."

I snapped before I could stop myself. "And how the hell do you know what the best way is?"

Silence.

I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "Sorry. You're right. I just—"
I stopped when I realized people were staring. Whispers. Eyes. That same kind of quiet you can feel.

Cisco followed my gaze, frowning. "What the hell's going on?"

Levi turned too. "Yeah. Everyone's looking."

Then I saw her.
Becca.
A few tables away, smirking, whispering to her little group of knockoff clones.

"She's up to something," I muttered.