𝑩𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝑩𝒚 𝑩𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅 | 𝘼 𝙍𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙀𝙫𝙞𝙡 𝙁𝙖𝙣𝙛𝙞𝙘

Ｃｈａｐｔｅｒ ３

    I wandered down the hallway and walked inside one of the empty classrooms. Once I shut the door behind him, I set my backpack down on the ground beside the closest desk and sat down. After placing my textbook back inside my bag, I rested my hands on top of the desk, intertwining my fingers together.

    Piers leaned against the teacher's desk situated in front of the classroom, his hazel eyes meeting mine. "What did you wanna talk about?"

    I twiddled my thumbs. "This." I gestured towards the bruise on my cheek. "Be honest with me. It's pretty bad, isn't it?"

    His jaw briefly clenched, and after a long period of silence, he answered with a comforting tone. "It isn't as bad as you think, Laura. It's hardly even noticeable."

    Digging around in my backpack, I took out a pocket mirror. I opened it and held it out in front of me, inspecting the extent of my injury. A nasty contusion began to take shape on my right cheek, blemishing my pale skin with a myriad of different colors. In short, my cheek was turning into a literal paint palette. Even the droplets of dried blood on my shirt and jacket added a couple hues to complement it. My fingertip grazed the surface of the bruise, sending tiny jolts of pain all throughout my cheek.

    I look like shit.

    I pulled out my concealer out of my bag, applying the cosmetic all over my left cheek. Out of the corner of my eye, Piers stood to his full height and paced around the classroom. From time to time, he would halt in place, and every time his eyes wandered over in my direction. After letting his gaze linger on me for no more than a minute, he would resume pacing once again. Whatever was on his mind, it couldn't have been good.

    He leaned against a nearby desk, his back facing me. His head was hung low; his clenched fists were gripping the edge of the desk. His knuckles were practically porcelain white, his veins protruding visibly from the beneath the skin of his hands. Without warning, Piers slammed his fists on top of the desk in outrage. I remained seated, twisting the cap back on the concealer before putting it away. He muttered a few words under his breath, and from the sound of it, I wouldn't have been surprised if they were swear words.

    "Damn it, Laura." Piers turned around, his hazel eyes landing on me. "How long?"

    I started to blend in the concealer using my fingertip. "How long what?"

    He crossed his arms over his chest. "You know exactly what I mean."

    I finished rubbing in the concealer and shoved my mirror into my backpack. "Ever since the school year started."

   Piers uncrossed his arms, the corners of his mouth quirking down. "Why didn't you tell anyone about this!? You and I are both well aware that this kind of harassment is not okay!"

    You really think I don't know that? You have no idea how much I wanted to put those assholes in their place...but I can't, and I can't have you or anyone else finding out why.

    "I know Piers." I abruptly stood up, picking my backpack off the ground and hauling it over my shoulder. "Whether you believe me or not, it's more complicated than it sounds. I appreciate what you and your team did back there, I really do, but this is my fight. Not yours—" The gentle knocking of the classroom door cut me off.

    I shifted my gaze over towards the door. "Come in!" Mr. Redfield's electric, blue eyes met mine as he opened the door, entering the classroom. "Am I interrupting something?"

    Perfect timing!

    A smile decorated my lips. "No, not at all sir." To be frank, I didn't want to argue with Piers. As hotheaded as he already was, I didn't want him to be more worried about me than he should be. Even if it meant keeping him at arm's length.