He didn’t give me time to respond. He stormed past me and out the door, passing Creed, who I hadn’t known was standing on the porch. He had his hands stuffed in his pockets and he watched his brother pound down the steps and across my yard to his car parked in the street. Colt got in his blue Charger and sped off.
Creed sighed heavily. “We better get going or we’re going to be late.”
He wouldn’t meet my eyes. He didn’t offer words of encouragement. I didn’t know why I’d expected that—for him to coddle me. I deserved Colt’s anger. I deserved Creed’s frustration. I was a coward.
Creed didn’t speak to me the entire drive to school. He still walked with me inside, though. As we turned the corner in the hall, heading for Colt’s locker because that was where I’d kept my stuff since Cassy and her friends had graffitied mine, I slowed to a stop. Colt was at his locker, but he wasn’t alone. Amber was talking to him. She was smiling at him and flicked her platinum-blonde hair. Colt’s arms were folded over his chest and his polite smile looked tight.
Creed stopped walking a few feet after I did and looked back at me. Then he followed my gaze and saw what I was watching. He shook his head. “That girl really doesn’t know how to take no for an answer.”
Just as he said that, Amber put her hand on Colt’s bicep and moved closer to him. I dropped my backpack and my feet moved before I thought to move them. I stormed past Creed, my fist clenching at my side.
“Shi,” Creed said as if to stop me, but it was too late.
As I approached them, I cocked my arm back. Amber barely had time to notice me before my fist connected with her cheek. She shrieked as she fell against the lockers and slid to the floor.
Arms wrapped around me from behind and dragged me away. My legs gave out and whoever had me had to bear my weight. I numbly watched as people swarmed around Amber, who was cupping her cheek and crying on the floor.
What did I just do?
“You’re not going to offer me money to negotiate for a smaller sentence this time?” Principal Morgan said from where he sat behind his desk.
Mr. Morgan hadn’t asked me what had happened when he’d called me into his office. Instead, he had greeted me with, “So much for letting them dig their own grave.” Which I hadn’t bothered responding to. We’d sat in silence for a while. He’d clearly been pondering what to do with me. I, on the other hand, just wanted to get my sentencing over with.
I was leaning all the way back in my chair, had my elbow resting on the armrest, and was propping up my head with my fist. “I could, but I’m not going to.”
“And why is that?” he asked.
“I deserve to be punished.”
His eyes narrowed as he studied me for a moment. “Is there something going on with you I should know about? I know you lost your family and that would be extremely hard on anyone, especially someone as young as you.”
“No,” I answered curtly.
He nodded tightly, clearly not happy with me. “Effective immediately, you’re suspended for the rest of the school week.”
I stood from my chair and scooped up my backpack from the floor. I had forgotten I hadn’t driven to school until I walked out of Mr. Morgan’s office and saw Knox waiting. He was standing in the middle of the small lobby of the school’s front office, with arms folded over his chest and a clenched jaw. He was wearing his work clothes.
“I’m going to take you home,” he said.
I nodded and followed him out to the parking lot. The drive home was silent for the most part.
“Who called you?” I asked with my head leaning against the side window.
“Colt,” he answered. “He told me what happened and that even if by some miracle you got yourself out of getting suspended, it would still be best if you went home.” He glanced over at me. “By the looks of you, he was right.”
“I got suspended for the rest of the week.”
“Did you even try to fight it?”
“No.”
His hand tightened around the steering wheel. I could tell he wanted to say something, but he stayed quiet until he pulled into his driveway. We both climbed out. As I headed for my house, I dug my keys out of my backpack. Knox intercepted me. He snatched my keys from my hand and took my backpack from my shoulder. I barely saw him swoop down and grab me by my legs. My feet were lifted off the ground and I was being carried over his shoulder.
“Knox,” I grunted as I hung upside down.
He ignored me as he unlocked the front door of his house and carried me inside. He dropped my backpack by the small table just inside and tossed both of our sets of keys in the bowl. He took me all the way to his bedroom and set me on his bed.