11;
The rest of the day felt like a lifetime to Millie. Every class period seemed to drag on for hours, and the girl wanted nothing more than for that final bell to ring. Finn was only in her first period class, and she never saw him otherwise. It was a blessing and a curse, really. She knew how hard it was to focus knowing he was around, but all she wanted to do was talk to him.
After an hour of daydreaming and halfway listening to her French teacher's lesson, the bell finally rang. Millie hopped out of her seat, grabbing her bag and speed walking out the door. She had planned with her friends to meet at Jaeden's car after school. As she crossed the parking lot, most of the while keeping her eyes on the pavement, she felt a sudden shove to her back, causing her to fall to ground.
She winced in pain, slowly looking up to see Nicholas Hamilton standing above her. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. Did he just push her?
"That's what happens when you act like a bitch, new girl." He spat, giving her a cold smirk.
Millie felt like crying. She was scared, and noticed a red blob forming underneath her knee socks, indicating that she was bleeding from the fall. Before she could stop it, the girl felt warm tears streaming down her face, and she let out a low sob. Nicolas was gone by now, walking away with a boy named Jack, the one Sadie cheated on Caleb with.
Millie slowly tried to lift herself up, hoping no one was around to see her. After a few unsuccessful attempts to stand up, she felt two hands grab her waist, lifting her to her feet.
The girl whipped her head around, curious to see who had just helped her. It was Finn.
"What happened to you?" His voice was laced with concern, and his eyes wandered from her tear stained face to her bloody knees.
"Nic pushed me." She mumbled. Millie hated how weak she felt. Why did Finn have to find her like this?
"That bastard." Finn muttered to himself. Millie just nodded, not sure what she was supposed to say now.
"Millie" he said after a few seconds of silence, "do you need a ride home?"
Millie thought for a second, "I'm okay. Jaeden's taking me home."
It's not that she didn't want him to give her a ride, but things were complicated. It wasn't black and white anymore, it was gray. She started walking now, the pain in her knees causing her to wince slightly with each step.
"Jaeden?" Finn questioned, walking along beside her. Millie thought he sounded jealous, but she knew he probably wasn't.
"Um, yeah. He's my friend." Millie replied, not making eye contact.
Finn shook his head. "You're so confusing."
Millie stopped walking and turned towards the dark haired boy. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Finn shrugged, "exactly what I said."
"I'm confusing? One second you hate me and the next you're giving me a ride home. That's confusing." Millie's heart was pounding. She didn't expect to have this conversation today. She wasn't ready.
"None of this would be confusing if you didn't use me for a bet." Finn replied. His voice was quieter than before, as if he was telling a secret.
The words caused the girl's heart to sink.
"Finn." She whispered. That was all she could say. Nothing else made sense. None of this did. There was no apologizing, the damage was done.
"Just tell me one thing, Millie. Was any of it real? Did you ever care about me at all? Or was all of it just a bet to you?" His voice was shaking, and it hurt Millie more than the cuts on her knees.
She wanted to say something, anything, to make him forgive her. She wanted to hug him and sleep in his sweatshirt and watch him smoke cigarettes.
The girl let out a shaky breath. "I'm sorry."
Finn nodded, glancing at Millie one last time before walking away.