Stained

Chapter 107

He sees right through me. "There's something else you're not telling me."

"Baby?" He implores, cupping my cheeks when I don't answer him.

"The... the school is that way," I admit, looking away. Surprised to find a little weight lifted off my chest from letting it out.

"Fuck," he curses. "You went to Cresent May? That's where..." he trails off.

I suck my lower lip into my mouth and nod my head yes. I live two minutes away from the school. It's why I went to it in the first place. And then when I moved, I had to take two buses to get to my other one. It was worth it though.

With a jolt, I realise my mistake — I just told him which school it was. I wasn't supposed to tell him which school it was!

My head whips up, only to find him throwing daggers toward where the school is with his eyes. Sure enough, from here you can see the top of the building above the line of trees. I quickly look away.

I've had to force myself to get used to seeing it but only when it is out of necessity. And there is only one necessity; my sisters' school which is connected to the high school, Crescent May primary school primary phase and sometimes, I will have to pick them up.

Otherwise, I completely avoid driving anywhere I can see the school, and end up taking the long way to places.

"Damien," I cup his cheeks, forcing his gaze back to mine. "Promise me you won't do anything."

He feigns indifference. "What makes you think I was going to?"

I narrow my eyes. "You beat up a guy for slapping my behind."

His eyes harden and I get the feeling I said the wrong thing. He opens his mouth to say something but a voice from our left interrupts him, "is that Hazel?"

My hands turn into stone on Damien's face at the familiar voice. It can't be. No, my life can't hate me that much. Surely there's an extent to the hate.

But the horror on my face has Damien turning his head toward the sound.

I force myself to mirror his movement and when I see who's there, I drop my hands from Damien's face as if it has burned me. Alex, Anthony and Roman from my first high school are approaching us.

They stop in front of us and it takes every muscle in my face to form a smile. "Hi."

Alex was in my English class and he never said anything. He actually liked the teacher and bantered with him.

I don't entirely blame him since after I accused the teacher he turned into this fun, easygoing teacher, laughing and joking with everyone.

Everyone told me Anthony had a crush on me in my first year of high school. And I never exchanged a single word with roman. However, my friend did have a crush on him and would always try to run into him, but other than that, nothing. He probably didn't even know my name before now.

"Long time no see," Anthony drawls, giving me a once over.

I can't say the same; I've seen him more than a handful of times over the years, either from my car or across the road from him on the sidewalk. I always turn my head and shield my face with my hair. Currently, my hair is up in a messy bun and I feel an incessant urge to take it out and cover my face from his leering gaze.

'It's what you're good at; hiding.'

"Yeah, it's been ages," I say, almost awkwardly. My social anxiety kicking in.

"You left our school without a word. No goodbye, notin'," Alex says. One thing that hasn't changed about Alex is his height, he's grown a little but he is still shorter than me and Roman and Anthony.