Chapter 3
"Of course." He looked down at me, his voice soft. "I really am sorry this time."
He took my hand and started walking me toward the street. Then, his phone rang.
The Caller ID was: [The Cutest Girl in the World—Nattie].
Natalie must've renamed herself on his phone.
"Nattie?" Jackson picked up.
His expression hardened instantly.
He shoved me aside. "Julia's after her. Go home by yourself."
"But—"
He didn't wait.
He was already running off, and in the rush, he knocked me to the ground.
The figures on the corner finally stepped forward.
Julia grabbed a fistful of my hair.
She snapped, "You really thought getting yelled at in public was enough punishment? You cost me my early admission. You think you can just walk away?"
She turned to her men and said, "Get her."
Her goons swarmed me, each grabbing an arm and dragging me into the alley.
I screamed like I was losing my mind, "Jackson! Turn around!"
But his silhouette kept moving farther and farther away.
He never looked back.
And in that narrow alley, my screams echoed off the walls.
Half an hour later, I finally stumbled out, barely managing to brace myself against the wall.
My clothes were torn and hanging off me. My hair was a mess.
I had a knife clenched in my hand.
That knife was the only reason they didn't rip off my underwear.
A familiar figure sprinted toward me.
It was Jackson. He must've finally finished dealing with Natalie.
I collapsed with a heavy thud. My vision blurred, but I could vaguely make out the panic on his face as he scooped me into his arms.
His voice was shaking. "Evelyn? What happened? I was gone for one minute. How did you end up like this?
"Don't be scared. Stay with me, Evelyn. Don't fall asleep."
*****
When I opened my eyes again, there was a new Instagram notification on my phone.
It was from Natalie: [I was so nervous I mistook someone for the wrong person, and someone still insisted on walking me home. We live in totally opposite directions, you dummy!]
The comments were already blowing up.
[Oh? Someone? Who could that possibly be?]
[Right? No way it's Jackson, right?]
[If these two don't make it official by graduation, I'll eat a bug.]
I shut my phone. I didn't want to see any of that.
Instead, I dragged myself out of bed and used some foundation to cover the bruises on my face.
If Mom saw them, she'd worry again.
But when I walked into her hospital room, I froze. Natalie was there too.
"Jack's really worried about you," she said with that sugary smile. "He stayed by your side for three days without sleeping. He only left because he had to, and even then, he called me to come take care of you.
"You two really are childhood sweethearts."
She said "childhood sweethearts" like she wanted to bite through the words.
Mom had no idea what had happened. She held my hand with a gentle smile. "Natalie says you two are good friends. We talked for a long time. She told me you were gone for a few days because something happened. What's going on?"
"Nothing. It's nothing," I said quickly.
Natalie raised her voice. "How could it be nothing? Evelyn was dragged into an alley by like ten guys—"
The heart monitor spiked for a second.
Natalie curled her lips, deliberately stopping there.
Mom's eyes widened. "Dragged by ten guys? What is going on? What happened?"
"Mom!" I slapped my hand over Natalie's mouth. "She's messing with you. If that really happened, how would I walk out without a single injury?
"I've been studying for the SAT for the past three days. That's why I wasn't here."
Mom hesitated, then nodded. "That's true. The SAT is important."
Natalie added, "But she's wearing foundation—"
My hand landed across her face before I could stop myself.
Mom gasped, "Evelyn! You can't hit your classmate!"