When They See Us (Book 1.0)

Chapter Seventeen

"Sorry Macy," Rayden says and lets her legs go. Macy sits on the stairs to match her level.

"It's okay Ray. How'd you sleep?"

"Good, I slept with Mommy and Daddy," She answers adorably. Her voice is always so sweet and soft, but don't let it fool you, she is very mischievous. We both grin at her, and she runs away to eat before school. I help Macy off the steps.

"Body aches?" She nods and carefully stands up to head to the table. After we finish our breakfast, my father drives Cam, Macy, and me to school, while Rayden rides with mommy.

When we reach the school, we get a lot of stares from students when they see Macy get out of the car. I try not to pay attention to them, but I know I'll hear about it later.

Dad winks at me as we walk towards the school's entrance. "Be good Princess and no punching people."

"I'll try," As my heels click on the tile floor, I smirk and wave at her while walking away to my locker. This morning, I helped Macy with picking out an outfit. Surprisingly, she had far better clothes in her suitcase than the questionable attire she had been wearing all this time. She walks across the hall to her locker, which is right across from mine. It's been that way since freshman year. The location was less important to me back then than it is now. When I close my locker, I'm greeted by a displeased Gina.

"Bitch, what the hell happened over the weekend, and why haven't you been answering your phone?" I roll my eyes at her.

"It's complicated Gi. I had a lot of important things to do."

"More important than your Babycakes?" She pouts and bats her eyelashes.

I grin and pinch her cheek. "Unfortunately Gigi, yes."

"Ugh, whatever. So..... was she on that to-do list of yours? Cause I'm really hoping yall doing it by the looks of her jumping out your car."

"No. We aren't doing it. It's hard to explain."

"Okay, well, you can explain it at my house after school."

I glance in the direction of Macy walking towards us. "Um, I can't Gi, I have some things I have to do." My gaze remains fixated on the captivating blonde. Damn, I totally nailed her outfit today.

With a sly grin on her lips, my best friend looks between Macy and me. "Well, okay then. I'll see you in 3rd." Gina walks away, wiggling her eyebrows at us.

Macy and I head to first period and sit at our shared desk. I try to ignore the chatter that is circulating in the room. Dad asked me to stay after lunch to keep an eye on her. Dr. Low made us aware that when the urge for drugs is high, addicts will do anything to get their hands on them again. She was concerned that Macy would skip school in search of drugs if she craved it. I don't have any classes after lunch, so without a second thought, I said yes.

Her third and fourth-class teachers were advised not to let Macy go to the restroom or leave their classrooms during their hours. They never questioned it, just simply complied. Because those classrooms were across the hall from mine and Gina's, I could follow her to the restroom and walk her back to her next class before the five-minute tardy bell. It may appear to be a little extreme and tedious, but so was an addiction.

We take our seats and get to work on our assignments. About 20 minutes into class, I notice her leg shaking, and she's chewing on the sleeve of her hoodie. She is not focused on her work, which I need her to be in order to redirect her attention away from her discomfort. Without saying anything, I reach over to her wrist, pulling the sleeve from between her teeth, and slide my hand into hers, intertwining our fingers under the table.