51

Everyone cheered as the three of them scampered off. But her words cut deep. I watched them rush off as someone tugged at my arm, trying to get me inside the school. Girls kept looking on, smiling and cheering my victory. I shook myself away from whoever the hell had a grip on my elbow before I scurried into school. The last fucking thing I needed to be caught doing after seeing my father yesterday was fighting. Because I knew damn good and well that selfish asshole would toss me out on my ass the second he got the chance. The second he found any reason to deem me a threat to his new wife, or to him, or to him, or to that bullshit prison I called home.

But I couldn't shake the way Rae handled herself. The way she handled me. It was reminiscent of her putting me into that damn stairwell wall.

And for a split second, I wondered where she learned how to handle herself like that.

9

Raelynn

The second I heard Clint’s words, I saw Michael snap. I saw it in his eyes, and his fist flew like w