Criminal for You |On Hold|

Chapter 4: A Sudden Confrontation

Summer's POV

Thursday morning brought an onslaught of rain. The icy wind and dark sky made it easier to wear a turtleneck sweater to school without looking like an idiot.

The sweater was pretty effective for hiding the bruises on my neck. This morning when I was brushing my teeth, I noticed how the bruises had darkened into ugly shades of blue and black. The toothbrush had fallen out of my mouth, and I had choked on my spit.

I knew the bruises would get darker, but it still didn't make the experience of witnessing it any better!

The main reason behind wearing the sweater instead of Damon's hoodie is that I'm going to return the hoodie to him during lunch break. I am definitely not going to wear it during school either, because everyone knows who it belongs to and that will lead to a lot of unwanted rumors and questions.

Therefore, turtleneck sweater it is.

Anyway, Aunt Jem dropped me to school in her Cadillac at seven thirty on the dot. I gotta admit that I felt pretty cool when I got out. I mean, who arrives to school in a hot pink car like that, right?

The only downside to staying over at Aunt Jem's place is that she blasts her stereo until two in the morning. GEEZ! Talk about being obsessed with music!

Yeah.. I'm a bit drowsy thanks to that, almost in a drunk way, but I think I'll survive.

I'm currently in Biology class. Normally, this is the one class that really interests me. I rarely lose my focus and make sure to write down all the important points I need to remember.

Unfortunately, today is a different story. It's not just the lack of sleep that takes a toll on my concentration. It's also the thought of Damon that leads me to frown as I doodle in a corner of my notebook.

If I could think about other things right now, I would.. but it seems like my mind just won't let him go. I keep thinking about everything that happened yesterday.

Crazy things. Weird things.

My brain is officially stuck on replay.

The way he could beat up someone senselessly yet remain unaffected, how he gave me his support in an impulsive way, how he was so reckless and cat-loving and arrogant and then having the nerve to put my dad in jail-

No.

Focus! This isn't how you're going to top your Biology class, Summer!

I look down at my doodles. I had been drawing some flowers with leaves poking out of them.

I think that looks a bit too pretty for the things I've been thinking about. I decide to add some stems with huge thorns on them as a finishing touch, a more suitable image to pair with my thoughts.

Actually, after some consideration I scribble out the flower heads entirely. There are no flowers where Damon is involved. Period.

Satisfied, I finally write down the date on the top left corner of the page and take a deep breath. Sure, I've wasted fifteen minutes of class already, but it's not too late to try and get what I can.

"The alveoli is surrounded by a dense network of capillaries," Mr. Melinsky was saying. He adjusted his glasses so that they were further up his nose.

I've noticed this habit of his. Sometimes he pushes his glasses down, sometimes up, sometimes to the middle. He's always moving them around. Perhaps it's an unconscious gesture out of.. what? Nervousness?

I wonder what Damon does when he's nervous?

Ah! No, no, no.

I grip the pen in my hand and force myself to start making bullet points on the paper.