Page 108 of Commit
“No. Not just no, but fuck no. I don’t care if you trashed his car and burned all his clothes. Him not being here? That’s on him, not you. People fight. Couples break up all the damn time. It’s high school, for fuck’s sake. But he didn’t just ghost you. He ghosted all of us. People want someone to blame, and you’re convenient. But it’s Abbot who abandoned us. It’s the coach’s fault for making us all rely so heavily on one QB. And it’s the school’s fault for letting all this shit happen. I could go on, but my point is, you’ve got no reason to be sorry. None.”
“Why are you being so nice to me?” I say through the pain.
“I’m always nice to you. I like you. Always have.”
I think back and realize he’s right. He’s always been pretty cool with me.
“Truth is, I’ve always had a thing for you. But you were my boy’s girl, and some lines you just don’t cross.”
Unless you’re Hudson. There are no lines that man wouldn’t cross to get to me. Instead of scaring me like it usually does, it gives me comfort.
“You’re sweet, but I’m married.”
“You’re what?”
I lift my hand with a wince and show him my tattoo.
“Holy fuck!” he laughs. “It’s always the quiet ones.”
I smile, hearing the commotion outside.
When the door opens, we both look over and see Principal Evans push her way inside.
“What on earth is going—” She stops talking when she spots me and winces. “Oh, goodness.” She shakes her head before clearing her throat. “Mr. Mathews, go find Nurse Henson.”
“With all due respect, Miss Evans, I’m not leaving Starling.”
“She needs medical attention.”
“She does. That’s why I had Chris call an ambulance.”
“An ambulance? For heaven’s sake, Mr. Mathews. Nurse Henson is perfectly capable of patching up a few cuts and bruises.”
She shakes her head and looks at me. “This is exactly the reason why we have a zero-fighting policy. I understand that you’ve recently lost your stepmother, but that’s no excuse. I’ll need to speak to your guardian.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Hayden growls at her.
“Excuse me!” she gasps.
“No, I will not excuse you,” he snaps.
The door opens again, this time by Chris, who hovers there so he doesn’t interrupt.
“First of all, this is more than a few cuts and bruises. Starling needs to go to the hospital to get checked out, and you know it. She was attacked with a fucking baseball bat. She could have broken bones or a head injury. Second, Claire is next door. She’s the one who did this, along with Kim and Demi. They were the attackers. Starling was the victim, so don’t speak to her like she did anything wrong. She was jumped in the school bathroom, somewhere she should have been safe.”
“I will be speaking to all parties involved to find out the actual truth?—”
“I just told you the truth. I saw it happen with my own two eyes, and I’m not the only one. Looks like Claire’s daddy won’t be able to buy his way out of this one.”
“I think it’s time you returned to class.”
“No. I told you; I’m not leaving her. Someone needs to protect her because it sure as hell hasn’t been you.”
“Mr. Mathews,” she screeches.
A loud voice roars, “Move.”
Chris jumps out of the way, but Miss Evans isn’t fast enough to avoid being shoved aside by Hudson. He drops down beside Hayden, his hands hovering over me like he doesn’t know where to touch.