The pep rally was in full swing, but Audrey couldn’t have been less peppy if she’d tried. Once her righteous indignation had begun to fade, the full weight of Constantine’s assault fell on her. He’d pushed himself on her when she’d clearly refused him. If he was willing to do that, she’d been right to break up with him. In fact, she wasn’t sure whether or not she ought to talk to him ever again. Something had changed, and she no longer considered him safe. That hurt, but she couldn’t ignore what had happened. That would be foolish at best.
The squad sat on the bottom of the bleachers, a matching row of yellow and blue, shoulder-to-shoulder in perfect solidarity. Audrey had picked a spot at the far end, putting as much distance as possible between her and Constantine. He didn’t even look at her. He simply stared as Principal Mason gave a tepid speech about teamwork and school spirit full of the same boring generalities he’d been spewing at them since freshman year. Beside him, Evan murmured sarcastic comments under his breath, but Constantine didn’t seem to hear him. Heck, he didn’t even blink.
During one of Principal Mason’s not-so-dramatic pauses, Clarissa moved to a spot on the end next to Audrey. She sat there motionless for a moment, waiting for their principal to start talking again. When he finally did, she leaned close to whisper in Audrey’s ear.
“You look like someone tinkled in your corn flakes,” she said. “What’s going on?”
Although Audrey appreciated the friendly gesture, she couldn’t make herself laugh no matter how hard she tried.
“It’s a long story,” she said.
“Try me.”
Audrey hesitated. “I ran into Constantine on the way to the gym.”
Clarissa tossed her long blond ponytail with obvious scorn. She’d made it clear over the past few weeks that she was Team Audrey if it came down to picking sides.
“How did that go?” she asked.
“He… didn’t want to take no for an answer.” Audrey met her friend’s eyes, trying to communicate what she didn’t want to say out loud. Clarissa stiffened, getting the picture immediately. What a relief. When Audrey had joined the team, she’d assumed Clarissa was a shallow airhead, but since then, she’d begun to realize how wrong she’d been. Behind all the bawdy jokes was a really nice person. “Honestly, it scared the crap out of me.”
Clarissa abandoned all presence of listening to the speech, and fixed Audrey with an intent look. “Are you okay?” she asked. “How can I help?”
“I’m not hurt.” But Audrey’s eyes filled with tears for some reason she couldn’t articulate. She might not be injured, but the encounter had shaken her. For years, she’d trusted Constantine, and now he’d broken that beyond repair.
Clarissa didn’t miss a thing. She put an arm around Audrey’s shoulders.
“I’ll walk you to your car, if you want. Or anywhere. If you need a bathroom buddy, or someone to talk to—anything—you let me know. And if he so much as looks at you in a way that makes you uncomfortable, I’ll get my brothers to kick his ass. They could talk to him, if you want. They’re wrestlers in college. Very intimidating. They’ll get him to back off.”
“No, I just want to let it go. The last thing this squad needs is more drama.”
Clarissa sighed. “I guess. But please let me help watch your back. It’ll make me feel better at least, and we all know that my mental health is the most important thing in this situation.”
Audrey smiled faintly at the joke. “Yeah,” she said. “Okay.”
Finally, the principal finished rambling, and a blast of noise from the marching band heralded the arrival of the varsity football team. The students leaped to their feet, cheering, and the testosterone levels in the room doubled as the players charged in, pumping their fists and punching each other on the shoulders in their excitement. Once the chaos settled down, the coach introduced the starting lineup. While Tank waited for his name to be called, his eyes scanned the dancers, alighting on Audrey at the far end. He was still smiling at her when the coach introduced him, and all the players shouted, “Tank!” in unison.
Clarissa looked from Tank to Audrey and back again, and slowly the worried expression melted off her face to be replaced with one of immense satisfaction.
“You have something going with Montgomery, huh?” she asked. “I like it.”
“He’s a good guy. We’re supposed to get together after the game tonight.”
“Good. That slimy pervert won’t mess with you when he’s around.”
Audrey forced a smile, but she couldn’t keep from worrying about Tank. She didn’t want to lie to him, but she didn’t want him to get in trouble for beating up Constantine either, and she didn’t know whether or not he was the jealous type. To make matters worse, Constantine’s behavior had completely wiped her kiss with Tank from her mind. She’d dismissed it like it didn’t even matter, whereas the first thing Tank had done when he’d entered the gym was look for her. He deserved better.
She tried to give herself a little pep talk while the coach did a much better job of riling up the student body than the principal had. Everything would be fine if she avoided Constantine. No one would get suspended for fighting, no one would be hurt, and no one would thrust their tongue into her mouth without permission. That thought made her shudder and completely undid any progress she’d made on the cheering up front. It was probably her imagination, but she swore she could still smell Constantine’s fish breath, like he’d marked her with his scent. By the time the coach finished up his speech and introduced the Dancing Devils, she wanted to vomit.
Woodenly, she stood up and took her place in the formation. At least Constantine stood on the opposite end, too far away for his thrusting tongue to reach her. The more she tried to wipe it from her mind, the more she fixated on it. She thought about the attack as the music started, and it remained top of mind through the entire routine. Thanks to all of her acting lessons, she knew her distraction and disgust didn’t show on her face. She smiled with all of her might, injecting just the right amount of attitude into the moves to sell them. As she did, the energy and delight she found in performance took her over, washing away the fear and discomfort for real. She finished off the routine with a perfect triple and a stuck landing without a single bobble in sight.
The gym erupted into cheers, and Tank led the football players in a standing ovation. A wave of post-performance endorphins rushed over Audrey, and for the first time since her hallway encounter with her ex, she smiled.
Someone grabbed her around the waist, and she squealed with laughter. She turned to scold Minami or Clarissa or Evan for sneaking up on her like that, but her captor wasn’t any of them.
It was Constantine.
Instead of the blank, intent look he’d worn in the hallway, he had his performance face on. A charming smile stretched his lips, and she would have been taken in by it if not for the emptiness in his eyes. The red welt on his neck looked painful, and as he moved, she glimpsed more red, angry skin beneath his hair. He picked her up, his arms wrapped around her waist. She had no idea what he intended to do. Spin her around? Carry her off? Molest her with his tongue again? She wanted none of that, and panic leant her an unaccustomed strength. She shoved him away with all of her might, ripping free of his sweaty hands with a sensation of intense triumph that didn’t last long at all. She flew backwards, off balance, her feet scrabbling for purchase on the shiny gym floor.
She slammed against the tile as the student body ooohed in awe and horror.
“I really am fine,” Audrey said for the fourth time as the school nurse fussed over the exact position of the ice pack. She was a matronly woman with short, grey curls and a no-nonsense, blood-doesn’t-faze-me attitude. “My shoulder took most of the impact.”
The nurse pursed her lips. “Head injuries are no joke. You really need to have your doctor evaluate you for a possible concussion.”
“I’ll have my mom take me to get checked out. I promise.”
“And no driving until you’re cleared.”
Audrey sighed. “Fine. I’ll have a friend drive me home. I swear. Can I get up now?”
The nurse nodded, and Audrey sat up to see her friends waiting for her in a nervous cluster. Tank, Minami, and Clarissa all wore identical expressions of dread, like they expected the nurse to proclaim that she had permanent brain damage while melodramatic music swelled in the background. Maybe they’d been watching too many teen dramas, where stuff like that happened all the time. Moving with exaggerated care, she slid off the brown pleather exam table and joined them in the hallway outside the infirmary. The school was cloaked in after-hours quiet, with no one else in sight.
“Are you okay?” Minami asked.
“I’ll be fine,” Audrey responded. “I bet it sounded worse than it felt.”
“It sounded awful,” said Clarissa. “I thought you cracked your head open.”
“I’m going to kill him,” Tank proclaimed, and Audrey’s stomach sank. “After that stunt he pulled in the hallway, I’ll string him up by his gizzards.”
“People don’t have gizzards. That’s chicken,” said Minami.
“That fits,” Tank responded, scowling. “That jerkoff should pick on someone his own size and see how he likes it.”
Audrey shot a look of exasperation at Clarissa, who held up her hands. “I’m sorry! I didn’t realize you hadn’t told anyone else until after I mentioned it, and then they wouldn’t stop pestering me until I gave them all the details. I didn’t mean to betray your confidence, and I should have had your back in the gym. I’m so sorry. I didn’t think he’d try anything in front of all those people.”
Her genuine regret washed away Audrey’s annoyance. She patted Clarissa on the arm. “Hey, it’s okay. I’m just a little cranky.”
“You have every right to be cranky,” said Clarissa. “But I hope you’ll forgive me.”
“No question.” Audrey started to shake her head, but it hurt so bad that she decided against it. She’d pulled a muscle in her neck when she went down, and any movement still sent shockwaves up into her skull.
“So what do we do about this?” Tank demanded, his jaw tight with tension. “The dude molested you.”
“We could report him to the principal,” Minami suggested.
“Can we please just drop it?” Audrey looked from one angry face to another. “No principal. No gizzard stringing. Just drop it.”
“But why?” Tank asked, honestly confused.
“I just want it to be over. I’m going to write him a long text about how I never want to talk to him again, and then I’m going to delete him from my life. Completely. I can’t stand any more drama. It’ll kill me if someone gets in trouble on my account.”
“The text would give you a paper trail to get a restraining order if he doesn’t listen,” said Minami. “It’s not a half bad idea.”
“Will you agree not to go anywhere by yourself?” Clarissa demanded. “I won’t agree to this you’re not safe. I don’t care if you’re mad at me so long as you’re not dead in a ditch somewhere.”
Tank nodded, his lips pressed tight like he was trying to hold back some outburst of emotion.
“I promise. I won’t go anywhere without one of you.” Audrey held up a hand. “If you trust me, I’ll trust you.”
Minami nodded.
“Okay,” said Clarissa.
They all turned to Tank. He stared up at the ceiling, blinking quickly. Audrey realized he was trying not to break down. He’d been that frightened for her. She slipped her hand into his and squeezed.
“Hey,” she said. “It’ll be okay.”
He looked down at her, took a deep breath, and nodded.
“That’s settled then,” said Minami. “What are your plans for tonight, Audrey? How can we help?”
“I need someone to drive me home. My mom will take me to urgent care. I already texted her. Then I’m going to the game with you, unless your plans have changed?”
“Nope. I’ll pick you up.”
“Then, after the game, Tank and I were going to hang out.”
“I’ve got a curfew.” Minami frowned. “I might have to leave before Tank’s ready.”
“If you don’t mind me tagging along, I’ll come,” Clarissa offered. “And I’ll stay until Tank shows up. It’ll give me the opportunity to flirt with Shawnell.” She grinned. “We’ve started a thing.”
“So we have a plan?” Audrey asked.
Minami and Clarissa nodded, but Tank hesitated again. His jaw worked as he struggled to keep hold of his emotions. But finally, he nodded too.
“Okay,” he said. “I don’t like it, but it’s not my call.”
“Thank you.” Audrey tugged on his hand, waiting until she caught his eye. “I really mean it.”
“I was worried,” he said, wrapping her up in a hug.
“Me too.”
Nora’s voice took them all by surprise, and they turned to see her sitting in her wheelchair just a few feet down the hall. She wore a sweatshirt, zipped up tight, with the hood pulled up over her hair. It made Audrey think of Constantine and his abrupt wardrobe change, and she didn’t like that. She also didn’t know what to think of Nora. She’d been squirrelly at that last rehearsal, and she’d left with Constantine. Then there was the shadowy glimpse of a person in a wheelchair down the hall when he’d attacked her. It could have been someone else in a chair—Bennie Hayward had cerebral palsy and used a fancy chair decked out with Gucci stickers—but Audrey thought it had been Nora. Would she have intervened if things had gotten out of hand? Had she been blocking the hallway so no one would see what was happening? Or had she been completely oblivious to the entire thing, and her presence had simply been a coincidence?
Audrey forced a smile, letting none of these thoughts show on her face. Until she knew for certain, she’d treat Nora with caution.
“Hey, what’s up?” she asked.
“I came to check on you. Even with the broken leg, I’m still the captain of this squad, you know.”
Nora made a point of smiling at Minami to show that she didn’t hold any hard feelings about it, and Minami nodded.
“Of course you are,” she said. “I asked if you could introduce the squad today, and Principal Mason said the schedule was too tight. But he promised you could do it next time we perform.”
“That’s nice. Thanks.” Nora looked back at Audrey. She still smiled, but Audrey sensed that the expression wasn’t genuine. Nora’s gaze pinned her with its unblinking intensity. “What were you guys talking about?”
Audrey couldn’t make herself confide in Nora the way she had with the others. Especially not with the question of her loyalty hanging in the balance. But she wasn’t sure how much Nora had overheard, so she hedged.
“Just making plans to get me home safe,” she said. “The nurse doesn’t want me to be alone since I might have a head injury.”
“Better safe than sorry,” added Clarissa.
“Sure. Accidents happen.” Nora smiled, but the expression still didn’t reach her eyes. It reminded her of Constantine, and she barely managed to suppress a shudder of disgust. “He didn’t drop you on purpose, you know. I wouldn’t believe that of any of my dancers.”
“Of course not,” Minami said, glancing at Audrey with obvious discomfort. “We picked the squad well.”
“We sure did.” Nora began to turn her chair to leave but stopped before she got very far. “Did I overhear that you’ll be at the game tonight? I’d love to hang with you.”
“Oh. Sure. That would be nice,” said Audrey, lying through her teeth.
“We can talk about plans for the future,” Nora continued with the eagerness of a door-to-door missionary desperate to share the good word. “I have lots of ideas for the squad, you know. We have so much potential. I’d love to have a chance to talk them over with you.”
The three girls made appropriate polite responses, and finally Nora wheeled away after some uncomfortable goodbyes. They all stood in silence, waiting for her to disappear around the corner at the end of the hall. When she finally did, Tank shuddered.
“Is it me, or was that creepy?” he asked.
“She didn’t even acknowledge you,” said Clarissa. “You’ve been best friends for how long?”
“Since we were in diapers.” Tank shook his head in slow disbelief. “I’ve never seen her like that. Did she even blink once?”
“Maybe it’s the medication she’s on?” Minami asked.
“You think it could be?” asked Audrey.
“I could ask my dad. Heavy painkillers do weird stuff to people. He wouldn’t be able to say for sure without looking at her, of course, but it’s worth a try.”
Tank let out a relieved breath. “Yeah, that might be it. If she needs to adjust her meds, I could talk to her dad. It would be great if you could ask, Minami. Because that freaked me the heck out.”
Audrey nodded, hoping against hope that Nora’s weird behavior was nothing but a medication snafu. Because otherwise, she would have to deal with the fact that Nora was beginning to remind her of Constantine in a most uncomfortable way. If her dance squad captain tried to stick her tongue in Audrey’s mouth, she didn’t know what she’d do.
In other news, she suspected she was beginning to develop a tongue phobia, which did not bode well for making out with Tank. Something needed to be done, but she had no idea what.