~My Teacher Hits Me~ (Book 1) [Rewritten]

Chapter 10: Don't Tell

They wait on a bench at the park for a cab to come and pick them up. Cas stands at the curb and Rylan sits with his jacket resting over her shoulders.

"Cas." Rylan says, her throat dry and sore.

"Yes?" He asks, giving Rylan his full attention.

"I don't want a hospital."

"Rylan, you're in pain. There might be some damage we can't see. You need a hospital." Cas glances at Dani and Tuck who are now listening intently.

"I don't care."

Dani tries to reason with her. "Rylan, you were just attacked--"

"I'm not going to the hospital." Rylan says with finality.

"Alright....we'll take you home." Cas amends. Dani frowns, but otherwise doesn't say anything.

"You can't take me home."

"But Rylan—"

"You can't! My dad will be there!" Rylan hurriedly argues.

"That's kinda the point, isn't it? He can help you decide how you want to handle this."

"I don't want him to see me like this." She chokes up as tears well in her eyes. She blinks them away.

Dani elbows Tuck, imploring him to speak up and say something--anything--that will change Rylan's mind.

"Rylan, he's your dad. He can help. If you won't go to the hospital, you need to talk to someone." Tuck points out.

"I don't want him to know."

Cas shakes his head and sighs. "Where do you want me to take you?"

"We should be taking her to the hospital, Cas!" Dani answered him angrily.

"No!" Rylan states firmly. "I'm not going to the hospital and I'm not going home either." She looks each of her friends squarely in the face. "If my father finds out about this, it will destroy him. I have to handle this on my own."

"No, you don't." Dani persists. "You have us and we'll turn those fuckers in to the police."

Rylan shakes her head. "Have you heard a damn thing I've said, Dani? If we go to the police, I'll have to go to the hospital and then they will call my dad."

"They can put Blake, Liam, and Tyler away! They won't be able to hurt you." Dani insists, growing frustrated with Rylan's attitude.

Rylan sighs and holds back a whimper when the sudden release of breath contracts the muscles in her face. She flinches at the memory of Blake's hand swinging towards her face. "Blake will go away for what? A few years? And Liam and Tyler will get even less if they get in trouble at all. Jail won't keep them away for long and then they will come back and be even more pissed off at us. What good will it really do, Dani?"

"Then what?! What do you want us to do?" Dani demands.

"Dani, calm down. I think we've all been through enough today." Tuck pleads. Everyone quiets down.

"Let's just go to my house." Cas finally decides. It is a few more minutes before the taxi appears, but then Cas, Tuck, Dani, and Rylan all pile in. Somehow Rylan ends up tucked under Cas's arm. She doesn't tell him how much it bothers her. She knows he means well and only wants to comfort her, but it doesn't have the desired effect. Rylan really doesn't want anyone touching her at the moment.

The contact makes Rylan anxious and very aware of the fact that both Cas and Dani's knees are also touching her. Are they afraid she's going to disappear? Rylan craves the space of outside. Everything about the taxi makes her feel claustrophobic.