Rylan flees the small music store and turns left, in the direction of the food court. Her eyes shift nervously from side to side. Liam seems to have disappeared completely. Rylan pulls her phone out and frantically texts her dad.
Can we meet early? Not feeling well.
She waits anxiously for the reply as she continues walking. A ruckus begins behind her and Rylan knows without looking that it's Liam and Blake. She peaks swiftly over her shoulder anyway. Liam stands in front of the music shop with his back to Rylan. Blake stands opposite him, speaking in a hushed yet furious tone. Rylan walks faster.
She throws another glance over her shoulder and Blake finally notices her. He smirks and starts after her. Rylan breaks out into a run, but Blake catches up quickly, grabs her by her jacket, and yanks her backwards. The sudden backwards force sucks away the air Rylan planned to use for screaming. Instead a small huff wheezes out.
"Don't cause a scene, Rylan." Blake warns.
Liam blocks Rylan and Blake from the rest of the mall. She tries to replenish her breath to work up another scream.
"Let me go." She demands as she attempts to shove Blake away.
Blake shoves back and Rylan's head cracks against the wall. She bites her lip and whimpers.
"I didn't think I'd ever see you here again. Where's Blondie this time?" He teases.
"She's at home. What's it to you?" Rylan spits.
Liam chuckles.
"Too bad. She has more balls than you do. It would've been fun to talk to her." Liam mocks.
Rylan peeks down the mall. The food court is still a long ways down and passersby are paying her no attention. Once again, no one cares. She contemplates her next move when her phone buzzes in her pocket. As if on cue, Mr. Winchester appears, walking down the opposite side of the mall towards the food court. Rylan prepares to call out to him, but Blake notices the change in her expression. He hits her in the stomach with his elbow, knocking the wind out of her.
Rylan hunches over in pain and gasps for air. Blake lifts her head up against the wall.
"What did I say about making a scene?" He reprimands.
She shakes him off and hisses through clenched teeth, "Fuck you."
This time Blake laughs. "Better watch that mouth of yours. It's getting a little too dirty for you."
Rylan springs forward to break through the tiny space between Blake and Liam, but Blake catches her on his arm, spins her around, and slams her face-first into the wall. Rylan throws her hands up to prevent her face from making damaging impact with the wall. Her cheek slams against the cold surface a half-second after her hands do.
Blake presses his hand against the back of her neck and inches her more closely against the wall. He leans in.
"I hate it when you don't listen to me. I thought I made it pretty clear when I said to leave your friends out of this."
"What's going on over here?" Some random stranger inquires. Blake and Liam turns toward the man and Rylan uses the distraction to push off the wall and twist away from Blake.
She races past the stores as Blake and Liam recover and follow her. Rylan maneuvers around chairs and tables in the food court. She puts as many obstacles between her and her pursuers as she can. Rylan's eyes roam the room and land on the familiar figure of her father. She practically body-slams him and wraps her arms around him to keep both of them from flying to the floor.
"Rylan?! What the—?" Mr. Winchester cries, stumbling backwards in an effort to stay upright.
Rylan watches Blake and Liam finally slow to a walk. Liam narrows his eyes suspiciously and Blake glares as if to say, 'This isn't over.' For now, Rylan's glad it is.
"What is going on? I thought you weren't feeling well." Mr. Winchester asks, looking his daughter over with concern.
Rylan purses her lips and knows she has to tell him something. "There were some creepy guys following me. I got scared." She leaves out that she knows them and that they attacked her.
"My God. Why didn't you call me?" He looks around for any unsavory characters.
"I was scared, dad. I thought I could get here fast enough and I thought it would look suspicious if they saw me using my phone."
"Then why did you text me you were feeling sick?"
"That was before I noticed them."
Mr. Winchester wants to believe his daughter, but a nagging edginess tugs at the back of his brain. It's the same feeling parents get when they know their child isn't telling the whole truth.
"Can we go? Please." Rylan pleads.
He shakes his head to clear it. "Yeah, of course. Let's go."
Mr. Winchester keeps a sharp eye out for these guys, but no one sticks out. When they get home, he fixes pasta for lunch. The incident bothers him all throughout the meal.
"Are you sure you're alright?"
"Yes. I'm fine."
Mr. Winchester observes his daughter as he thinks.
"You'd tell me if you were in some kind of trouble, wouldn't you?"
"I'm not."
"But you would tell me--if you were." He insists.
Rylan quirks an eyebrow and shrugs. "Yeah."
After lunch, she retreats to her bedroom. Blake is more dangerous than she realized. Today was a close call. Rylan regrets not telling her dad the truth. His help would be invaluable, but it would also be the reaction of a wrathful father. She can't tell him. Not yet. Rylan isn't prepared to watch the truth destroy her father.
She expects there to be a scene with Blake on Monday, but it turns out she doesn't have much to worry about. Blake remarkably keeps his distance. Rylan has an inkling it has something to do with her dad's call to Miss Burns. She observes her class closely and, on Tuesday, announces a seating change. Blake and his cronies are separated amongst the middle and back of the classroom and Rylan gets a seat in the front row.
"I had no idea you were so fluent in Spanish, Rylan." Miss Burns comments. "You need to speak up. I'll whip up some assignments that will actually challenge you."
Rylan smiles. "Thank you."
The move doesn't stop Blake's malicious gaze, but it does allow her to focus more. Rylan has taken her newfound liberation as a chance to focus on schoolwork. In just a few weeks, Rylan's grades have risen considerably and she has stopped skipping class. With Blake mostly out of the way, that left the insufferable Mr. Quinn.
As promised, Cas keeps a close eye on both Rylan and Dani. He has even taken to walking them to and from class so as to avoid any altercation like the last one. The Fall comes and goes slowly. Rylan's day to day is much more relaxing. She knows it can't last, but she stays in denial of that fact until the day Dani finally tells Tuck about Mr. Quinn.
Dani sprints down the hallway to Rylan's locker. Her panicked expression frightens Rylan.
"What? What is it?"
"Rylan, I'm so sorry. I had to tell him."
A million possibilities fill her head. The one that sticks out boldly is her dad.
"You told my dad?!" She squeaks.
Dani squints. "What? No." She shakes her head furiously. "I told Tuck about Mr. Quinn." Dani cries.
Rylan's heart sinks into her gut. "You did what? I thought you said that was a bad idea. Like atomic bomb bad."
"It is." Dani presses her lips together in a tight line.
"Then... why?"
"I didn't plan to... it... it just sort of slipped out."
"What has he done?" Rylan asks anxiously.
"Dani?" Tuck calls from the end of the hallway.
Rylan and Dani both look in his direction.
"You!" He raises his voice.
Rylan discerns from his pointing that he means her. His glare constricts on her as he approaches.
"This is what you refused to tell me?!"
"Tuck, I was the one who didn't want to tell you." Dani explains.
He doesn't look at her when he says, "I'm talking to Rylan."
Rylan glances between her two friends and wishes Cas was here. She isn't all too great with confrontation and she still doesn't know Tuck as well as Dani and Tuck do.
"Tuck, I wanted to tell you."
"So why didn't you?" He demands.
"Because I knew you'd react like this!" Dani exclaims.
She grasps his shoulder and he tries to shake her off.
"I asked you if something was wrong! You're supposed to be my friend!" He shouts at Rylan.
"I am," Rylan tries to say, but Tuck continues yelling at her.
"I stood up for you after Blake attacked you." He accuses. "And this is what I get in return?! You keeping secrets from me and talking behind my back?!"
"Tuck, stop it!" Dani shouts. "You're not yourself!"
"Why are you yelling at me?" Rylan demands, upset.
"You know how I feel about Dani!"
He stares into her eyes with angry intensity. Tears sting behind Rylan's eyes.
"Tuck--"
"Were you ever going to tell me?" He demands. Tuck shakes his head. "You weren't were you?"
"Of course we were."
"When?!" He yells.
"Tuck, what the hell?!" Cas butts in and pushes Tuck back. "Back off."
Tuck slaps Cas's hand off his chest.
"You're all assholes." He criticizes before striding off angrily.
Before Rylan can blink, winter has arrived and snow covers everything in sight. Tuck's outburst woke her up to the reality of her situation. Rylan resigns herself to asking for help, but not from her father. She starts writing an anonymous letter to the principal. He has to be able to do something about Mr. Quinn.
Tuck eventually apologizes for his rash reaction and makes up with the group, but his and Rylan's relationship remains distant. He hardly speaks to her outside of Art class anymore and even the conversations in Art are mainly reserved for asking for materials. The snow means no more lunch on the grassy field at the center of the school and it also means Christmas break is upon them.
Rylan slips on her dark winter coat and gloves and heads for Northvale five minutes earlier than usual. It's Monday and Rylan has finally finished the letter she set about writing weeks ago. She heads to the office to drop it off.
Rylan had spent weeks writing and re-writing the letter over and over again. She hopes it sounds the way she wants it to. Rylan drops it on the secretary's desk after a moment's hesitation, unsure whether or not she should trust a man she barely knows when she isn't even willing to trust to her own father. She quickly exits the office before she changes her mind and heads to meet Cas at the front doors as the warning bell sounds.
Rylan stares at the clock all through Ancient History while Mrs. Wright continues to babble her incessantly wrong facts. When she reaches the Geometry room, Rylan still can't focus. It doesn't help that she already understands the lesson and has finished the homework for the next two weeks. She briefly allows herself to wonder if the principal has read the letter, and if he has, what he plans to do with the information. Will he confront Mr. Quinn about it?
Rylan meets Dani at the door to Ancient Literature, Cas tailing alongside her.
"I'll meet you guys here after third period." He says, like he has every day for the past month.
"See you later." Rylan replies.
Rylan drops into her seat and pulls The Aeneid out of her backpack. They are supposed to have finished it last night. Rylan has been done with it for a week. She threads her fingers together on the tabletop and waits anxiously for Mr. Quinn to enter the classroom.
"Are you okay?" Dani whispers.
The entire room is quiet as usual. Everyone learned long ago it was better not to speak freely at all in this classroom. Rylan smiles her most convincing smile.
"I dropped off the letter today."
Dani's lips pop open into a small 'o' of surprise. She doesn't have time to say anything more in response because Mr. Quinn strides into the classroom.
"Today, you were supposed to have finished The Aeneid. Is that the case?" He looks up, his eyes calm and even as ever.
Rylan glances around the room and nods along with the rest of the class. Since the day Mr. Quinn had threatened Rylan and Dani, he had kept a calm and collective nature in his classroom. It is terrifying to most of the students, especially because it means they have no idea when he will blow up angrily, which he still does frequently.
"Use your mouths! I said, is that the case?!" He raises his voice and his jaw twitches with annoyance.
"Yes." The entire classroom choruses.
"Alright, I want all of you to pass your books to the front and clear your desks of everything except a pen or pencil."
Everyone complies and then Mr. Quinn passes out the final test over the book.
"When you are finished, bring your test to the front and I'll give you your new book, The Iliad."
Rylan flies through her test. She notices Dani struggling a bit in her peripheral vision, but she does not even dare send her an encouraging glance. Mr. Quinn would snatch her test from her before she could blink.
There are ten minutes left in the class period when Rylan finishes. She stands and brings her test to the front of the room. Rylan isn't the first to hand in her test. A couple of students already have in exasperation at not being able to retrieve the required answers from their brains.
Mr. Quinn spares Rylan a short peek from beneath his reading glasses. He watches her place the test face down on top of the four others already there and then proceeds to hand her a book. No one, except Rylan, spots the feral, almost wolf-like glint in his eye. Rylan spins on her heel and walks quietly back to her seat. Dani gets up two seconds after Rylan takes her seat to hand in her own test.
Eight minutes pass and the bell rings, signaling lunch. Dani and Rylan meet Cas at the door. When Rylan steps out into the hall, she freezes, stunned to see Tuck leaning against the wall behind Cas. She has never once seen him come with Cas; Tuck generally waits at the door to the cafeteria. He leans off the wall and gives Dani a hug, not even looking at Rylan.
Rylan defrosts herself and starts walking in the direction of the principal's office.
"Where are you going?" Cas asks, stopping her.
"I'm going to see if Principal Kennedy read my letter yet." Rylan says.
She is careful to only look at Cas, but notices when Tuck's head perks up and his eyes shift to her.
"What letter?" He inquires.
Rylan contemplates ignoring his question. It's doubtful he'll like her answer. She told Dani she was writing a letter to the principal about Mr. Quinn without specifically stating his name. Dani must not have mentioned it to him. That annoys her. Keeping information from him is what made him mad at her in the first place. She doesn't want a repeat of his previous outburst.
"The letter I wrote about Mr. Quinn." Rylan explains as if Tuck should have known this all along. She still doesn't look at him.
"What do you mean? You wrote a letter about Mr. Quinn?" Tuck asks incredulously.
Rylan stays silent and stares at the floor, wondering why this is so hard for Tuck to process. Cas glances back at the door to Mr. Quinn's room anxiously. He worries about the teacher hearing their conversation.
"Maybe we shouldn't talk about this here."
Cas's suggestion is barely heard.
"What do you think is going to happen when he finds out you sent it?" Tuck says, his temper rising.
"Why do you fucking care, Tuck!?" Rylan loses it.
After the last two weeks of his silence and lack of interest, she can't take it anymore.
"It doesn't concern you, since you could obviously care less about how this whole situation reflects on me.
"So I sent a stupid freaking letter to the principal. So what?! If he finds out it was me, then I'll accept the consequences! Me! I'm sorry you think I betrayed whatever trust you had in me. I don't know what you expect me to do to make it better. Do you want an apology? I'm sorry. Okay!? Is that enough for you? Stop making me feel like a fucking monster!" Rylan huffs and struts around the corner.
Once she is out of view, she runs like there is no tomorrow. She is surprised at herself for her outburst. She just snapped at one of her friends. A friend that has been mad at you for the past two weeks, she reminds herself.
"Rylan! Rylan stop!" Cas calls.
Rylan listens to his footfalls as he tries to catch up with her. She pushes herself harder, not wanting Cas to see the angry tears streaking down her face.
Cas yanks on her arm once he gets close enough. "Rylan, stop."
"What!?" Rylan snaps as she spins to face him. Instantly she regrets it, but she doesn't apologize.
Cas looks her in the eyes. "Calm down. Tuck's worried is all." He urges.
Rylan laughs humorlessly and looks away for a minute and wipes her eyes furiously.
"Worried? Huh, yeah, I could tell. He was totally worried about my feelings; about me getting hurt. I'm sure he's just as concerned about me as he is about Dani." She says sarcastically.
"Hey, stop it. Don't do that." Cas says sternly.
"Do what?" Rylan cries indignantly.
"Don't hide behind angry words. I'm trying to help you."
"Yeah, well I don't need your help." Rylan spits the last word like it is her enemy.
Cas's eyes soften into an expression of sympathy.
"Rylan." He murmurs quietly and outstretches his arms.
"What are you doing?" Rylan panics.
Cas beckons her into his arms. "Come here."
"No." She slaps at Cas and his arms. "Get away from me! I don't need your pity!" She shouts.
Cas steps forward and Rylan continues hitting him to get him away.
"Rylan, stop. Stop it."
"I don't need you to care." She sobs and finally relaxes into his embrace.
The hug is awkward because Rylan merely leans against him with her arms pressed against his chest as if she will push away the second she thinks she has a chance. Cas has one arm wrapped around her upper back and the other holds her head against his chest.
"Shh. We'll figure this entire thing out. You just need to give it some more time." Cas reassures.
The words don't give her comfort. Rylan has a sickening feeling she doesn't have much time left. Mr. Quinn grows antsier every day and the feral glint in his eye is only the beginning. If the threat of his temper isn't enough, there is always Blake. He won't stay idle for long. Something big is coming.
Something big and awful.