Sunday flies by and before I know it, it's Monday morning again. I drive to school alone, since Ruby is riding with Zaria. 

I try to brush off the awkwardness I feel walking into school on my own, but it creeps up on me, anyway. I thought I would have gotten used to this by now, but I still miss Ruby's presence in the mornings. 

I try not to meet the prying eyes that line the hallways as I walk towards my locker. I can hear their hushed voices whispering conspiracies about why I'm not with Ruby as much as I used to be. 

I don't bother plastering on a fake smile. They can think what they want about me. At the end of the day, it shouldn't matter to me. 

I approach my locker and find that Ruby and Zaria are already there. Ruby is emptying her bookbag into it while Zaria is casually leaning against the locker right next to mine. She glances away from Ruby for a moment and locks eyes with me. 

A small smirk forms on her devious face as she watches me approach them. 

Ruby notices her looking in my direction and looks back at me. 

A warm smile appears on her face and she narrows the few feet that were between us. She pulls me into a tight hug. I feel the tension in my body melt away as I wrap my own arms around her. 

"I'm guessing someone missed me." Ruby teases. 

"Shut up." I laugh. 

We pull away and move closer to our locker where Zaria is mid eye roll. 

"How do you put up with her?" I ask Ruby, gesturing to Zaria's pretentious stance. 

"Roxie, stop." Ruby says, shaking her head. 

I shrug. 

She turns back to the locker and begins to organize the pile of books she shoved into it. 

"Don't forget who you work for, Roxanne." Zaria snickers. 

I laugh at her arrogance. "The only reason you can even set foot into that law firm is because your parents own it. It's like a glorified 'bring your daughter to work day'." 

I can tell my comment hit her by the way she hesitates to respond. The smug smile that formed on my face quickly fades as Ruby turns around to stare at me in disbelief. 

"What the f*** is wrong with y'all?" She asks, clearly annoyed by us. 

"Roxanne is obviously jealous of me because you've been spending time with me. It's not my fault you prefer my company." Zaria says. 

"Zaria..." Ruby replies, raising an eyebrow and crossing her arms. 

"It's funny how the person with allegedly better company has not a single other person to hang out with besides my best friend." I add. 

Ruby visibly gives up on stopping our bickering and steps away from our locker. 

I take it as a chance to put my own books into the locker and grab the one I need for my first period. 

"You say that but you haven't exactly been Ms. Social Butterfly ever since I got here." Zaria retorts. "Even Hakeem is no where to be found..." 

Hearing his name brings back a wave of emotions. My vision blurs a bit while I struggle to maintain my composure in front of Zaria. 

"Zaria. You're on thin ice." Ruby says, coming to my defense. 

 "All I'm saying is I wouldn't hang out with someone who was working to defend my abuser, either." She mumbles. 

I slam the locker shut and turn to face her. 

Before I can say anything, a pair of strong arms wrap around my waist and pull me into a hug. I turn my head in shock, only to find Hakeem smiling down at me. 

My breath catches in my throat. If he appeared a second earlier, he would have heard Zaria's comment. 

"You don't look happy to see me..." He comments, still keeping his arms wrapped around me. 

The tension remains thick in the air. I stare at him, unsure of how to reply. 

"Oh, you didn't tell him, did you?" Zaria says. I can hear the smirk on her face without even looking at her. 

"Tell me what?" Hakeem asks, looking up at Zaria, then back to me for answers. 

I feel paralyzed in his arms. I can't move or say anything even though I want to. 

"Zaria, stop!" Ruby exclaims, just as Zaria confidently says, "Roxanne is interning for your father's legal defense team." 

Hakeem's arms quickly drop back to his sides and he takes a few steps back from me. 

"Is that true?" He asks.

A heavy silence falls over us. 

I take a step towards him. "I'm sorry," I say, my eyes filling with tears again. "I didn't know how to tel-" I try to add, but he cuts me off. 

"You're exactly who I thought you were." He says, his tone sharp and cold. 

"Hakeem, please..." I start, but he is already marching away. 

The tears begin flowing freely down my face. I quickly wipe them with my shirtsleeve. I don't want to be seen crying before first period in the hallway. 

"You should've told him." Zaria says. 

Before I can repay her for telling Hakeem, Ruby yanks her off of the locker by her arm. 

"Roxanne was so right about you. You're sick. Stay the f*** away from me and my best friend." Ruby says, the anger in her voice is unmistakable. 

Zaria looks at her with pure shock on her face. Honestly, I'm a little shocked, too. 

Zaria's expression shifts to one of defeat and she quietly walks away. 

"I'm sorry she did that to you." Ruby says to me after a moment, walking over to wrap her arms around me. 

I sink into the comfort of her hug. "What am I going to do?" 

"I don't know. But, I'm here to help you figure it all out." She assures me. 

"Thank you." 

We stay silent for a moment before pulling away. 

"Also, didn't Hakeem run off on you on Saturday?" She asks.

"He did." 

"Why would he... You know what. We can talk about this later. We're late to first period." She says. 

I look around and find a barren hallway. I was too caught up in what just happened to notice the start of first period. 

Ruby and I quickly say our goodbyes before rushing to our classes.