Page 109 of Lessons In Grey

“Aren’t you going to expel her?” Remi snapped, flinging her hand towards me. “She punched another student.”

“Take it up with the Headmaster,” he stated coldly.

I turned to my hand as Syn and Ash crowded me. “Let me see it,” Syn instructed. “I took a few online med courses a couple of years ago, it wasn’t my thing, but I learned a few things.”

My eyes lifted, in complete disbelief. “Are you serious?”

She smiled bashfully. “Let me see.”

I lifted my hand, her fingers cool, gentle.

“Careful,” she instructed, slowly helping me uncurl my fingers. She flipped my hand over, carefully running her fingers over each one of mine.

I hissed, my knuckles already bruising. “God, it’s like she had concrete in there.”

Syn laughed lightly, Grey’s hand sliding over the small of my back, his presence comforting. “Just bone. You didn’t break anything, which is good, but you’ll need to ice it. Don’t use it too much for a couple of days, that’s all you can do.”

My cheeks burned bright red, the humiliation spreading through me like a virus. “Thanks, Doc.”

Syn stepped back as Ash stepped forward, Grey taking my hand instead. “You didn’t have to do that.”

I shrugged as his warm fingers ran over each of mine. “You’re my best friend, of course I did.”

Ash smiled, taking my good wrist in hers. “Thank you. It was kind of hot.”

I gave her a look. “I—”

My phone pinged and Ash’s eyes were drawn down, her smile fading to confusion as her eyes found mine again, furrowing. “Did you unblock his number?”

I rolled my eyes and shoved past all of them, hissing when I bumped my hand against Grey. Fuck, that was going to suck today. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Emily,” Ash tried, walking after me.

“It’s fine, I’d rather it be me then you, it’s fine.” I had Grey. I had Grey and Matthew and maybe Azrael, which wasn’t comforting but he was there too. I would be fine.

“No, it’s not fine. It shouldn’t be anyone, why won’t you let Grey help you?”

I spun on her, my eyes immediately finding Grey. He had been almost completely silent since we had walked in, and a part of me loved that. Loved that he was so different with me than he was in front of a group.

Our eyes locked, and I saw the answers I needed, the support I needed. He didn’t need words. We didn’t need words here; I could understand him just fine without them.

My eyes shifted to hers. “Unless you are willing to pull the trigger, stop acting like it’s an okay thing to do.”

“Give me a gun and I fucking will.”

I released a breath. “No, you wouldn’t, Ash.”

“He has beaten the shit out of you, Emily,multiple times.I could. I could pull the trigger. I’d pull it in a heartbeat. Fuck my conscious if it means keeping you safe. You just punched a girl for me—”

“Killing is different!” I snapped, clenching my hands into fists, the pain shooting straight up my arm. “Fuck,” I seethed, glaring at my hand.

I inhaled deeply and released a breath. “Ash—”

“You think that the Professor is hot shit for doing it, but you won’t let me do it for you?” she pushed.

I glanced towards Syn who looked absolutely worried, and then to Grey who, to anyone else, looked like he cared for none of this. When in reality, he was proud of me, wanting me to keepgoing. God, today was already proving to be exhausting.

I turned back to Ash. “In fourth grade, you had an Uncle who had been sitting on a ventilator for six months. You loved him.”