I'm the Bad Boy's Princesa

Broken

I can't stand to see her like that. She looks so broken. I'm angered at myself for causing this. She was perfectly fine on her own, and I had to fuck that up. Why couldn't I just leave her be? She wouldn't be feeling like this had it been for me.

"You alright?" Nick asks this time.

I look to them. Danny and Nick both share concerned expressions. Nate, however, is glaring at nothing. He's pissed at me, still.

"Of course."

The bell rings, saving me the chance of having to explain myself. I walk into the school. Walking to my locker and taking all necessary supplies out. I walk to class slowly, not ready to enter yet. Passing a door, I realize—all to late—that it's the girl's bathroom. Serena walks out, and my world is tipped on its axis. She looks tired. Why is she here? She should be in bed, where she won't be reminded of what I did to her. Her eyes widen, a thin sheen of tears coming over them. My heart breaks at the sight of her. However, I keep my feelings off of my face.

"Hello," she whispers weakly.

I harden my expression so she doesn't see how much this breaks me. I walk away before my resolve cracks and I run back to her. I don't go to class immediately because I'm not ready to go there without her. After a couple minutes of lolly-gagging, I walk into the class. I sit at the table that's farthest from her. Everyone murmurs quietly. I can tell they're all confused as to why I'm not with her. I glance at her quickly through my peripheral vision. Her head is up and her eyes are forward.

In all of my classes that I had with her, I kept my resolve intact. I want her back so freaking much. It hurts to see her and not be with her—to not hold her or kiss her. I notice how Nathan keeps talking to her, at least she's busy. He probably hates me now. During the day, I've gotten comments from everyone, sometimes more than once. Becca would glare at me, Hailey would give me looks of disapproval. Danny has tried to keep things light but he failed. Nick just told me that I'm an idiot.

And I am an idiot, the biggest of them all. I'm not sure coming to school was the best idea. Through every class that I had with her, I kept stealing glances at her, hoping she might look back. How is she feeling? Are our friends helping her be happy? I hope so. It's killing me to see her like this. How could I do this to her?

I spent every class thinking about it. I need to find a way to get out of this, without anyone getting hurt. I know that Anthony's got power—how else would he know about us, and get Sean to spy on us? If I tell someone, there would be two possibilities. Him in jail, or someone in worse pain.

"Hey, Jacob," Danny starts. "How are you?"

"I'm fine," I tell him, offhandedly.

I watch as his shoulders slouch, and his lips purse. This is my fault, so I deserve to feel like crap. Apparently, Danny isn't okay with that.

"Dude, you've gotta tell us why you broke it off with her. You were happy, and in love."

"I can't," I say.

It's been easy to repeat that line, for what else could I say? I can't tell anyone about it. He'll do something that'll be stored on my list of regrets. Danny sighs, and I run a hand through my hair.

"Let's just go to lunch, okay? And you better eat," he says.

I nod my head. Eating something will get them off my back for a while. When I'm in the line, I only grab a chicken wrap and water. Is Serena eating? It would kill me to know that she's not because of me. I watch as Becca comes over. She gives Danny a kiss on the cheek. Then she gives me a forced smile, grabbing her food and leaving. I sigh. Danny leads me to our table and I sit. Nick is there, an actual emotion on his face. Pity. That's not the first I'd like to see him give me in a long while.