The Bad Boy ✔

Chapter Twenty Four-An ominous transition

I sighed. Making my way to Jace's locker, I found my eyes falling onto Bianca. She had a pinched expression on her face. Before I could duck my head and walk past, Bianca spotted me. She smiled as she walked towards me, pulling me into a hug in the process. I felt as though I was suffocating, but refrained from saying it out loud.

"Marilyn," Bianca greeted. "How are you holding up?"

I frowned. "Uh well?"

Bianca pulled away and threw me a confused look. Then, her eyes widened and she murmured, "Oh my God, you don't know."

"Know about what?" I asked. The hair on the back of my neck prickled.

"It's Jace," Bianca breathed. "He got into a fight."

My mouth went dry as I stared at Bianca.

"He what?" I asked.

"This morning," Bianca replied. "I don't know much. He wouldn't tell me anything."

"Where is he now?" I questioned.

"In the nurse's office," Bianca answered, gesturing towards the door behind her. "It's not bad from what I could tell. It's just..." her voice trailed off. "You know he'll get into trouble if word gets out."

"Trouble with who?" John's words suddenly came back. I thought about the correctional facility. It finally was beginning to make sense.

"Authorities," Bianca mumbled. She looked down at her feet. "It's just that people have a hard time believing that Jace is innocent, you know?"

I nodded. But I didn't know. If what John said was true then it wouldn't take much to pin the blame on Jace, no matter how innocent he was. As my mind raced, I couldn't help but see the link between everything. The way Jace had left suddenly, only to return in our final year of high school. He had been in a juvenile detention centre all that time!

But the one question swimming in my mind was why?

What had Jace done that had put him in a correctional facility? I was certain that Bianca knew, but by the closed off expression she wore, I knew that I wasn't going to receive any more answers from her. I swallowed as I suddenly remembered Mrs Davis' warning to Jace. He couldn't afford to lie.

My thoughts were interrupted when the door to the nurse's office opened. I watched as Jace walked out. The skin around his left eye was purple and his bottom lip had been split. It was clear that it pained Jace to walk but he seemed to ignore his body's protests as he walked towards Bianca.

Then, his eyes fell onto me and a deep frown set into his lips.

"You should have waited at your locker. I told you I'd be there," Jace spoke.

My eyes narrowed. "You got into a fight."

He shrugged. "No big deal."

"Are you kidding me?" Bianca snapped. "It is very much a big deal."

Jace sighed as he glanced at Bianca. "It's nothing to worry about Bianca." He cast another glance at me. "Can I talk to Marilyn alone?"

Bianca scowled. "Fine," she snapped. "I was already leaving anyway."

I watched as she turned around and stomped down the hallway. For a moment, I wondered if there was something more to her reaction than concern but then I reminded myself that Jace and I weren't dating and that just a few minutes ago, we were going to end the fake relationship and drop out of the competition.

As soon as Bianca was out of earshot, Jace turned to me.

"I know we said we'd tell Davis today," Jace began, "but do you think we can hold it off until the bruises heal?" He ran a hand through his mussed up hair. "It'll be easier if she doesn't think that I'm doing exactly what she expected."