Taint (Formerly Claimed) Dark Midnight 1

Chapter 42

Last update for tonight.

Chapter 42

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Detention, this time, consisted of scraping all the gum off of the bleachers in the gym.

Sidney had been waiting for Miriam by her locker beforehand, only flinch the moment she mentioned it.  Her friend had looked like she wanted to say something—warn her…

But then Brett and Anna had appeared to sweep her away.  Leaving only enough time for one last warning look.

The only thing Miriam could do was head into the gym and just hope that Sidney's fear had been related to how much homework they had due tomorrow and not...

Something else. 

“Coach Spriller is away at a basketball game,” Carl announced the moment she walked into the gym.  "It's just you and me."

His tone made her skin crawl. 

When she didn’t reply that smug smirk shaping his mouth only grew. 

“Get to work,” he snapped, pointing to a bucket on the floor, beside something that looked like a metal paint scrapper.

Miriam took both of them warily and set her backpack down beside the door.  Then she set to work, climbing the nearest row of bleachers and bending down to scrape the rubbery yuck from beneath the seat. 

It wasn’t so bad.          

The time passed slowly, but at least it gave her time to think.

About Eliot.  About her seizures.

About everything. 

Devlin’s slip of paper weighed down her pocket like a lead ball.  She hadn’t looked at it—not even a peek.  Something about it repelled her all together.

She almost considered tossing it into the little blue bucket, right along with the rest of the gunk she scraped from the plastic seats.

But then she would remember Eliot's guarded expression and think again. 

He was keeping something her.  Hiding something—and if Devlin's threatening little note was what it took to get him to open up again, well...

Brushing the hair from her eyes, she reached for her bucket, preparing to move onto the next row, but a pair of sneakers blocked her way.

Glancing up, she shivered as her eyes met Coach Carl’s ice blue ones. 

“You’ve been quite the little Miss popular around here lately,” he said, glaring down his hooked nose.  “This time two weeks ago you were too wrapped up in yourself to say two words to anyone else.  Now it seems as if you and Sidney Martin are fast friends.”  His eyes narrowed.  “What did she tell you?”

Miriam flinched at the heated tone. “W-what?”

Unconsciously, her fingers gripped the metal scraper until the knuckles turned white.   Figners shaking, she tucked it behind her back and out of sight. 

“I know she told you something,” Carl snarled, taking a step closer.  “What.  Did. She.  Say?”

Miriam shook her head and slowly began to back away.  “N-nothing.”

“You’re lying.”  His face changed into a cold, hard expression that was downright terrifying.  Carefully, as if to make sure that she watched, he tilted his head down to the gym floor almost twelve feet below.  “Maybe a fall from the stairs would loosen your memory?”