And then he stopped. Shane leaned his forehead against mine, breathing heavily, our eyes still closed, and he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.
"Astra," he mumbled against my lips. "Please don't hurt yourself."
And all at once, his body fell l...
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C H A P T E R N I N E
A s t r a *.✧
I screamed, slamming my knuckles into the brick wall as hard as I could. I barely registered the stinging sensation spreading throughout my hand, the dark red blood smeared on the wall. Who cares? I should just walk into the middle of the road right now and let a car hit me. Easy way out.
I cried out, slamming my wrist into the wall once more. I choked as tears streamed down my face.
I fell to my knees, clutching my head in my hands. The adrenaline rush was dying down, slowly but surely, and the pain I'd caused to myself started to grow stronger with each passing second.
I paused, listening carefully. Someone's voice called out. At first, it was a distant echo, barely heard above the wind. I turned my head up and saw two figures coming in my direction.
I got to my feet and dashed straight ahead, not turning to look back to see if they were still behind me. I rounded the corner, plunging my hands into my pocket as the looming figure of my high school came into visibility. My legs didn't stop moving, my heart racing until I saw the white minivan with our school logo parked outside, loaded with people. I slowed to a jog.
Quickly scrambling onto the vehicle, I took a deep breath as I made my way to the back, thrusting my signed form into Mrs Smith's hand. The minivan was full, apart from three empty seats at the back, and one next to Ariana. The seats were in rows of threes on each side with a small aisle leading down the middle.
"Miss Thatcher, nice to see you join us! I was afraid you weren't going to show up."
Ariana was sitting with her latest boy-toy, a seat next to them empty. He was watching something on his phone, his hood pulled down low and his remaining hand resting on her thigh. She tried to wave me over but I took my phone out of my pocket, the battery at 11% and pretended to be busy as I walked past. Did I feel guilty?
Nope. Not one bit.
I plopped myself down into the window seat, resting my head against the cold glass. The sky was darkening outside, charcoal-grey clouds blanketing every inch of the sky. It was probably going to rain tonight; the only thing I was looking forward to.
The minivan suddenly shook as two red faces came stampeding up the side. They doubled over and then clutched the seats at the front as they tried to regain their breaths and form a coherent word.
"Never… fear…" Shane panted, trying to talk in between heavy breaths. "The king… has… arrived… you may all… applaud!" He waved his hand around and everybody burst into cheers and a round of applause broke out. I rolled my eyes.
"Mr Doughtry, Principal Ainsley had told me that you would help me and yet you show up late!" Mrs Smith crossed her arms, frowning.
"Sorry miss," he rubbed the side of his neck as the cheering died down, grinning sheepishly. "I ran into some trouble earlier on."
