The Broken Girl's Angel

Chapter 11: Sheltered

Cassidy

This day seems to be dragging on forever as I walk to my fourth class today, including Jaxon and Alec yet again. I never realized how difficult it would be to have multiple classes with both boys until today. Entering class, I notice that the only seat left is in the middle of the classroom next to Alec. I sigh and reluctantly walk to the chair, sitting next to the boy. An underlying fear hits me at the thought of Alec being used against me.

As I focus on the board in front of me, I feel Alec's eyes on my face every now and then, yet he doesn't say anything. I look down at my binder and begin answering the question on the board. Seconds later, I'm distracted by a piece of paper sliding on top of my work. The paper reads,

"Are you okay?" I look over at Alec and he motions for me to reply with his eyes. I look around to make sure the teacher isn't looking and began writing.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I write on the paper and quickly slide it over to the boy. I pretend to work while I wait for a response. When I receive the paper back, I open it.

"Ur not upset about this morning, right? U know you'll always be my hallway buddy. I was winking @ u 2 try and tell u that but I guess I failed :)" It reads. I look up to find Alec looking at me sincerely. I nod and laugh in response instead of wasting time writing one. I crumble up the paper just in case the teacher sees, and focus my attention back on the work. 

"Okay class, we're going to do some class reading. Open your textbooks to page 185. Are there any volunteers to start us off?" The teacher asks. The class remains silent so I keep my head down, hoping he doesn't call on me.

"Cassidy, come on up!" He cheered. 

"Sir, I-I really can't-" I say sheepishly. Doing such actions made me nervous.

"Oh, come on, I insist!" He persisted.

My heart was pounding like crazy and my hands became clammy. I absolutely hated public speaking and attention. It made me so intimidated having so many people focused on me and silently judging. I always felt so anxious getting up in front of my peers and presenting myself. I guess Alec noticed my shaky breathing because I felt his hand give my balled up fist a gentle squeeze.

"You'll be okay," He assures me with his famous smile. I nod my head and slowly rise from my seat. I could already feel everyone's glare on me as I stood up and walked to the podium at the front of the class. I look down at the open textbook and immediately all knowledge leaves my brain. I try to start reading but the words on the page begin to smear and overlap each other. My eyes try to focus and recognize at least one word in the human dictionary, but alas, they fail me tragically.

I look up only for my eyes to meet with Jaxon's which only makes me more nervous. I clear my throat, looking at the page again, just as the classroom phone rings. The teacher picks it up and mumbles a few words.

"Looks like you're going home early, Cassidy," The teacher announces in a slightly defeated tone. I look at him in disbelief and quickly scurry to my seat, packing up my belongings. I exit the room as quickly as possible without looking back. My heart rate steadies as I walk through the cool hallway. I'm thankful for the great escape but I'm curious as to why I'm going home early. I've basically never been home early with the exception of a few sick days in elementary.

An eerie feeling washes over me as I get closer to the office. Once I approach the glass doors, I see the familiar blonde haired woman. She hurriedly walks over to me and pushes me towards the exit.

"What took you so long?" She hisses in a low tone, dragging me by my arm to match her pace. She was wearing a tightly fitted black dress that stopped about midway on her thigh, and a pair of matching black heels.