The Bad Boy with a Heart of Gold

✖ Chapter 5 ✖

For a good time, call Sawyer Logan at (407)...

My jaw dropped. I even dropped the hall pass again.

"Holy-" I stopped myself before I could curse. I knew his reputation through the grapevine, and also through the fact that he just never seemed to care about anything. How freaked out would he be if some randos started texting or calling him with weird propositions? I knew I'd be. Problem was I hadn't brought a pen or a marker with me, and much as I'd hate to contribute to the wall of graffiti, I'd feel even worse if I ignored it. I'd have to come back during lunch and do the deed.

I set that aside in my mind and straightened up. I was going to call Toni and check up on her after school to see how she was doing. I wondered if she'd develop any symptoms. I wondered if she had at least somebody on her corner.

Calmness washed over me after that, now that I had some semblance of a plan. I'd start out with that. After a while I was going to try to appeal to mama, because surely she also wanted to be involved. I resolved to avoid the topic with papa as much as possible.

A loud crashing sound stopped me on my tracks. I looked around, but the hallway was completely empty. And then the sound came again and I turned to it. It came from behind the boys' restroom door. I waited. When no more noise came for a few seconds, I kept walking. After all, nothing that was going on in there was any of my business.

But then I heard a scream. Not the kind that came from pain, but the one that came from really deep, bone seated anger. Which, depending on how you wanted to look at it, was kind of the same.

I hesitated, rooted to my spot. Was this really something I wanted to get involved in?

Heck no.

I kept going. And then there was the crashing sound again.

I pivoted and knocked on the door. "Hello?" All sounds stopped for a second. "Is everything okay in there?"

I thought no one would respond, but a moment later a voice rang out with, "Go away."

The voice was familiar. If I heard it again I might just be able to tell who it was.

"Are you sure?"

A strange sound. Like gurgling.

"I'm coming in," I surprised myself saying. My hand trembled as I pushed the door open. Whatever I might have expected to see, it wasn't what I saw.

Taylor Banks and Sawyer Logan, standing five feet apart, even though it was clear as day they'd been beating each other to pulps.

I looked from one to the other. Taylor was already developing a black eye and Sawyer had a split lip. Though how he could literally grin through the pain, I had no idea.

Sawyer clicked his tongue. "Check that out, Banks. Looks like you're in trouble."

I whipped my attention to him. "And you're not? Did he put that black eye on himself?"

He stuffed his hands in his jeans pockets. "The difference is that I'm not some star jock."

"Rory," Taylor said, ignoring the other guy now that they seemed to have lost steam. "You won't tell anybody, will you?"

I snorted and folded my arms. "Are you kidding me? You did give him a split lip. Or did he do that by himself?"

"Shit," he said as he ran his hand through his hair, casting a glare at the other boy.

"Ugh, boys are so dumb," I said, shaking my head at them. I turned to leave, thinking I'd go find Mr. Davies for this, when I was yanked by my arm.

"Please," Taylor looked down at me with a frown. "No one needs to know, right?"

His grip was actually kinda painful. I tried to pry his fingers open but he just squeezed harder. I looked up with wide eyes. Was he threatening me?

And then suddenly he flew backwards and landed on his butt. Sawyer stood between us, his back to me as he looked down at the other boy.

"Hey, I can take it but leave the princess alone, asshole."

I cringed so hard at his stupid nickname that it took me a moment to realize my heart was beating so fast it was about to trot out of my ribcage. Taylor really scared me for a second there.

"I'm telling the teachers," I said, and scrambled outside before any of them could react. I clutched the nasty hall pass to my chest as I careened down the hallway, braking to a screeching halt outside of Mr. Davies' office. I knocked on the door and heard his voice, but couldn't distinguish the words with the roaring in my ears. I just knocked again until he opened.

"Rory?" he startled at my appearance. "What's going on?"

"Taylor Banks and Sawyer Logan were fighting in the south corridor boys' restroom," I said this in one rushed breath and I had to repeat myself for clarity.

I stayed rooted to the spot and watched him go. A few minutes later he came back, escorting both boys to the principal's office. Taylor stopped glaring at Sawyer for a second to regale me with a truly nasty look. I hoped this wouldn't get me in trouble somehow. But if it did, I knew Mr. Davies would put two and two together. Those were the perks of being a teacher's pet.

And then the craziest thing happened. Sawyer stopped in front of me, grey eyes scanning me up and down, a lock of his long, blond hair obscuring one of his eyes as they set on my arm. The one Taylor had seized. Then he asked me, "Are you okay?"

My lungs stopped working. My body was overtaken by the most curious tingles.

I snapped my mouth closed and nodded. They kept walking.

Reader, I was not okay.

you:

me: