It’s a photo of Ian towing me across the field. Did Unknown send it to someone to help me? Caleb, maybe? He found me awfully fast…
I shudder.
There are too many people pulling strings in my life. It makes me angrier than I could expect.
Lenora’s doctor friend comes over, a portable ultrasound machine in tow, to inspect my stomach. Both women gasp when I raise my shirt. There’s a lot of probing—ow—and she finally rocks back on her heels. She fires up the ultrasound machine and squirts gel on my stomach, like they do for pregnant women.
I cringe at the idea of being pregnant.
“The ultrasound is clear,” she says. “It seems like deep bruising. Have you been nauseous? Vomited at all?”
I shake my head.
“If you do, or if the pain travels into your back, call me. If there’s blood in your urine—call me.” She raises her eyebrows. “Understand?”
I jerk my head up and down. “Got it.”
“Ice on and off. Nothing strenuous.”
“Okay.” I force a smile. “Thank you for checking on me.”
They both rise, and I lower my shirt. I lie down, covering myself with the blanket, and close my eyes. Still, I hear Lenora’s friend say, “I’d keep her activity down for at least a week. I’ll write a note for you to send into the school.”
I push myself upright. “Wait,” I blurt out. “The dance—”
“Halloween is still ten days away,” Lenora says gently. “I’m sure you’ll be recovered enough by then.” She raises her eyebrow at her friend.
The doctor smiles. “I’ll come back on Sunday and check on you.”
For the rest of the day, I drift between consciousness and sleep and try to forget Ian Fletcher.
When I wake up, it’s completely dark. The television is rolling through end credits of a movie I completely missed, and I’m impossibly groggy. I grope around for my phone, and my hand lands on… skin.
I snap my hand back. Caleb is reclined in the chair adjacent to the couch, his eyes closed.
My heart does this awful thing: it softens.
I must’ve touched his hand, dangling off the chair’s arm.
Slowly, I sit up and readjust. I smooth down my hair, ensuring my shirt is in place. And by the time I look up, Caleb’s gaze is on me.
“Feeling better?” he asks.
“Not really.” The melted bag of ice slides off the couch. “Did you…?”
Caleb frowns. “Find Ian? Do anything? No. I’ve been warned not to cause many more waves at school.”
I grunt.
He leans toward me, tucking a chunk of hair behind my ear. “Lenora said you should be good to go for the dance, though.”
I manage a smile. “I hope so.”
“I know it.”
He turns on the lamp. I squint, blocking the light with my hand as he switches seats and slides in behind me. I lean on him while he inspects my throat.
“He’s not going to touch you again. Even if I need to get the whole fucking lacrosse team to keep him away from you—”
“Isn’t Ian on the team?”
Caleb rolls his eyes. “Yeah. But he’s a twat.”
Clearly.
“Where are Robert and Lenora?”
“They went out. They’ve been hovering, making sure you were still breathing. Or snoring, like you were when I came in.”
I elbow him.
“You’ll be back to school next week,” he promises. “And then the dance. And after…”
He wiggles his eyebrows.
I break into laughter. “What are you going to do, rent a hotel room?”
He grins.
My heart skips. “Did you?”
“Where’s the surprise in that?”
“Haven’t I mentioned that I don’t like surprises?”
He laughs. “No.”
A new movie comes on, and Caleb and I fall back into silence. I actually stay awake this time, getting through most of it before the front door opens. Lenora and Robert enter in a flurry, dropping their bags and shedding coats. They come over to me, feel my forehead, pat the top of my head.
It’s nice to be cared about. Suffocating and completely unfamiliar… but nice.
Caleb rises. “That’s my cue. I’ll see you later.”
Robert and Caleb shake hands.
When Caleb’s gone, the place feels a bit colder. I try not to let it show, though, because Lenora takes his seat almost immediately.
She puts the back of her hand on my forehead again. “How do you feel?”
I shrug. “The same.”
Everything hurts.
She shakes her head. “If you want to tell us who did this, we can go to the school.”
“What?” I would’ve guessed Riley told her. Hell, the whole school probably knows already. The big bully, Ian Fletcher, takes out his anger on Margo. Again.
“We know Caleb found you, but no one will tell us anything.” She wraps her hands in mine. “Please, honey, tell us so we can put an end to this. I don’t want you to feel scared—”
“I don’t,” I say. “I’m not scared.”
It’s a bald-faced lie. I’m terrified.
She seems to analyze my face. Eventually, she nods. “Okay.”
I stand. “I’m going to go upstairs. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Feel free to sleep in,” she tells me. “I’m leaving pretty early for work.”
“Okay. Goodnight.”
I hobble up the stairs—at this point, walking doesn’t totally hurt, but I’m indulging my melodramatic side—and slip into my bedroom.
“’Bout time,” Caleb whispers.
I jump.
“What?”
I shrug, staring at the window. It’s cracked, letting in a biting chill. All the better to cuddle, I guess…
“Thought I locked it, is all.”
He smirks. “I unlocked it when I got here.”
I sigh. The idea of not going to sleep alone feels pretty damn good right about now. I can suffer my nightmares in silence, but now I don’t have to.
He already has his shoes off.
I take a step toward the bed and freeze when he reaches under my pillow. “Planning on keeping this?” he asks, holding up his t-shirt.
I snatch it back, cradling it to my chest.
He just chuckles.
“Sleep, Margo,” he says. “I’ll keep an eye out for you.”