It's too many tears

To drown them out

So hold on 

✝ Chapter Ten | Hold On. ✝

The walk to school on Monday morning was a lonely one.

You can bet that Adam caught a ride with his new friends, and you can also bet that I didn’t want to ask Jack for a ride.

After what I saw last night, it was out of the question.

When he drove me home, we didn’t speak. The only words he said to me were “see you tomorrow”. Even then, I didn’t respond.

Transporting drugs was one thing, but selling them?

I knew he was too good to be true. I shouldn’t have given him the time of day from the start, because I really hate that empty feeling developing in the pit of my stomach.

But when I walked through the main doors of East River, the sinking feeling plunged deeper into my stomach as I stared helplessly at my fellow peers. Anybody who followed the-hashtag-dot-net knew about the picture. And they couldn’t be any more blatant about it.

“Look! It’s Loose Lexi!”

“I almost didn’t recognize her with clothes on!”

I shifted my gaze away from the crowd and stared down at the floor. I couldn’t let them get to me. I had to be strong.

That soon went out of the door when I felt two hands wrap tightly around my butt cheeks.

Yeah, this was not going to go down well.

I whipped around abruptly and fisted my hands into the shirt of the naïve boy who violated me. His eyes went wide as I tugged him down to my level. “If you touch me one more time, I’ll kick your balls so hard that you won’t be able to have kids,” I said with wry amusement. “And if I were you, I wouldn’t take that lightly.”

He swallowed harshly, fear glistening in his eyes.

“Do you understand?” I lifted a brow, inquiring.

He bowed his head, rapidly nodding.

I gave him a sweet smile laced with enough venom to let him know I wasn’t playing around. Satisfied, I released my hold on his shirt. He stumbled back to his group of friends, scared out of his mind.

The warning bell echoed above us and reluctantly, people began to walk to their classes.

I wasn’t even inclined to go to the cafeteria for breakfast. I didn’t even want to be here. All of this was so unfair. I didn’t deserve any of it.

The bell rang once more but this time, a voice followed. “Lexus Lennon to the main office. Lexus Lennon to the main office. Thank you.”

I let out a small whimper and dragged myself to the main office. Great, now I was in trouble. I didn’t need to give my mother more reasons to ground me.

As soon as I got there, a lady redirected me to the principal’s office. Surprisingly, there were no clocks in the room, so I didn’t know what time it was or for how long I sat. To pass the time, I ended up counting the family photographs of Principal Bradmoore and his two daughters, Stacy and Stephanie.

I counted thirty-two, thirty-three if you count the painting on the back wall.

The door opened suddenly and a petite girl walked in. One glance at her tight brown curls and I could tell it was Stephanie. She was wearing a flared black skirt with matching knee high socks and heels, an outfit that didn’t really fit the occasion.

She danced around her father’s desk before plopping down on his swivel chair. “Hello, Lexus.” She shot me a quick smile as she leaned back in her chair.

“Where’s your dad?” I demanded, sitting on the edge of my seat. “Why am I here?”

“You are here because I wanted to talk to you.” Her soft, dainty voice traveled throughout the room, permeating the air with its hidden evil. It was people like her that would end up taking over the world. No one would ever suspect that a pretty brunette would cause so much destruction.

“What is it?” I spat, growing more impatient. “If this is about me-”

“Being the laughing stock of the school? No. I honestly do not care about your personal life. But, I do think it’s kind of funny. Anything that causes you distress is worth the laugh, Ms. Lennon.” Stephanie smiled sweetly as she pulled out a file from one of the drawers.

“Please don’t call me Ms. Lennon. We are the same age.”

She stared at me for a little while longer. “Yes, that is true. But we are of two different species. You’re unintelligent, raunchy and you don’t seem to have a censor for that filthy mouth of yours. I am smart, classy, and I know proper etiquette. So yes, I will continue to address you by your surname."

I shifted in my chair uncomfortably, letting the information sink in. I didn’t bother to argue because I knew she would come up with a good counter argument, and I wasn’t in the mood to be outsmarted. Instead, I changed the subject. “So, you’re saying you’re just going to let this chaos continue? You’re not going to do anything about it?” The moment I needed Stephanie’s strict laws the most, she decided to be passive.

“Patience is a virtue.” That sweet innocent smile was back on her face again. “Soon, that stupid website will blow up in everyone’s faces. Then, and only then, will people realize the need for my system.”

My brows furrowed. “How are you so sure that it will backfire?”

“It already has,” she giggled. “You are the prime example. It won’t take long before it happens to someone else. The cycle will continue and soon enough, order will be restored without me even lifting a finger.”

I raised a brow. I never thought Stephanie would be this devious. “You made that website, didn’t you?”

Stephanie let out a sarcastic laugh. “Yes, because I would create something that would allow my students to talk about me behind my back.”

“Do you even care? You have a suspiciously nonchalant attitude.”

“Because,” she barked as she slammed her hands on the table. “A man cannot be a true leader if he cares about what other people think of him.”

I rolled my eyes and rested my head back on the seat. What Stephanie needed was a boyfriend. She was acting like she the president of the United States. I would vote Obama over her any day. “Why am I here?”

“Right!” she exclaimed. “Your mother requested a tutor for you.”

“What!” I nearly shouted. “Why?”

Stephanie gave me a cold stare before she continued. “The problem is, all of our tutors belong to different cliques.”

“That’s a good thing, right? I don’t even need one. My mom was probably on some hard liquor when she asked for one.” Despite my constant protests, my mom still managed to get me a tutor. “Really. Thanks for all the help, but I don’t it.” I stood abruptly and made a run for the door.

“Sit down, Ms. Lennon!” her voice bellowed. “A tutor is what your mother requested, and a tutor you will get.” She flipped open the file folder and glanced down at the papers. “So, I will take time out my schedule to tutor you.”

“WHAT!” Shock and utter disbelief was written all over my face. My hands had somehow gripped the door handle a little tighter. “What the hell? I don’t want you of all people tutoring me.”

It awed me how composed she seemed. Her fingers were intertwined as she stared back at me with a blank expression. “You have dyslexia. My little brother has dyslexia and I’ve helped him. I am the best candidate.”

“How do you know about that?”

She gestured towards the folder. “It’s in your file.”

“You read my file? Are you even allowed to do that?”

She suppressed a sigh and quickly scribbled on a sticky note with a purple pen. She rose from the swivel chair and pressed the note into my chest with force, almost pushing me into the door. “There’s your note to get back to class. Meet me outside of this office after school.” She flashed me an award-winning smile as she opened the door for me.

“Whatever,” I mumbled as I slipped out of that perfume-infested office.

✝      ✝      ✝      ✝

By the time lunch rolled around, I had been thoroughly ridiculed by my classmates and anyone also who was brave enough to publicly humiliate me.

Those who weren’t as brave still talked behind my back and giggled as I walked by. My mind told me to do horrible things to them, but I knew it wouldn’t end well for any of us.

I sat at a table near the window that was far away from anyone else. I never had a problem with being alone before. I had a problem with being alone while everyone talked about m. This whispered and allegations bit at my mind until it got to the point where I lost my appetite.

A familiar male voice spoke from behind me. “Hey Lexi.”

I didn’t need to turn around to know it was Adam. I continued to stab my salad with my plastic fork. “What do you want?”

He settled himself into the seat next to me and chortled loudly. “We always sit together,” he pointed out.

“Really?” I questioned as I turned to face him. His dark, shaggy hair hung loosely over his left eye. He still wasn’t wearing his glasses and I decided they weren’t going to make an appearance anytime soon. “For the past week, you ditched me. Not once, not twice, but consistently.”

Adam glanced around the cafeteria before he finally brought his eyes to mine. “I’m sorry, Lexi.”

I shook my head in disbelief. The way he looked at me with those deep blue eyes made me want to believe he was sincere. “Whatever,” I muttered, returning my eyes to my food.

He leaned in closer. “At least now you know what it feels like to be constantly blown off.”

I snapped my eyes to his. “You’re shitting me,” I deadpanned. “You did this on purpose?”

A pleased grin spread across his face. “Guilty.”

As much as I didn’t want to, I caught myself smiling. It was a relief that he was just ditching me to teach me a lesson. He was annoying in many ways, but I really did care for him. “You are an ass.”

“But I’m your ass, right?” He threw his arm around my shoulder and pulled me closer to him. “Wait…that sounded weird.”

I laughed and pushed him away from me. “Watch it. You’re supposed to be mad at me for sleeping with Jack.” Now that I thought about it, I didn’t see Jack today.

“But you didn’t really sleep with him.”

“Not according to everyone else.”

“Lexi,” he said slowly, drawing out each letter. “They’re just assholes.”

“Oh, trust me, I know.”

Loud mingled voices surrounded us shortly, and the leader of the group, Lou Sanders, emerged from the crowd. He wore a conceited grin as he sat across from us. His friends continued to jeer at me as he spoke. “Hey there, sweet tits,” he greeted me, the grin growing wider. “How was Jack Addister? Did he fulfill all your needs?”

I only stared at him, challenging him with my eyes.

“Leave her alone,” Adam spoke up, a fiery tone in his voice.

Lou diverted his gaze away from me to Adam. He narrowed his coffee-colored eyes at the boy. “Shut the hell up,” he spat, before returning his eyes to me. “Jack says that you were wonderful in bed. I think I should try you next.”

“He didn’t say that,” I blurted out. I knew he wouldn’t. Jack hated gossip as much as I did. He would never make up stuff that didn’t happen.

“Oh, really?” He retrieved his phone from his back pocket and laid it flat on the table, slightly pushing it towards me. “He took this picture of you while you were sleeping.”

I glanced down at his phone. It was a picture from the party on Friday. I was sound asleep on the same bed Jack and I shared. The only difference was Jack wasn’t next to me. The photo had to be taken before I had woken up because Jack was sleeping when I left.

“That doesn’t mean anything.” I was lying through my teeth. If he had awoken in the middle of the night, where did he go? Did he really take that picture of me?

Lou raised a brow. “Why do you think so many people were there to take your picture when you ran out of the house? He arranged it. See, you think you’re so strong and badass but you’re just as easy as every other girl. We know all of your secrets, Lexi. We know that you’re a dirty slut.”

I tasted the salty flavor of my tears before I felt them roll down my cheeks. I wanted to keep them in. Hell, I needed to keep them in for the sake of being strong. But as more time passed, the drops of water poured out of my eyes at an uncontrollable rate.

I pushed my chair out and stood to my feet, scanning the cafeteria. I didn’t even notice that almost everyone had tuned into the conversation.

I glanced down at Adam who looked at me with pure concern.

The tears kept falling.

To save myself from further embarrassment, I ran to the nearest bathroom, pushing past anyone who was in my way.

I sat myself down on one of the toilet seats and cried. 

 ✝

A/N: Poor Lexi. But whoa, did this really just happen?!

Question of DA chapter....What do you guys think of Stephanie? I don't know about you...but I'm loving her.

And also...is Jack really to blame for all this?

Again thank you guys so much for following this book and keeping up my random updates. I try to thank everyone personally for voting, comment, and adding this to their library but sometimes it gets out of hand. So, if you're reading this right now....you're awesome and don't let anyone tell you different. 

Vote, comment and share! 

~lara <3