“I said, go away.”
“Please talk to me,” Cadence pleaded.
“About what?” Avery asked. Her tone was emotionless. She stood checking her face in the mirror attached to the inside of her locker door.
“I ran away. I’m at Mark’s.”
“Congratulations. I hope you two are very happy together.”
“Avery!” Cadence screamed, grabbing her friend’s shoulders. “Look at me!”
Avery finally looked at Cadence’s face and gasped. “What the hell happened to your eye?”
“My dad.”
“He hit you?”
“Yes. But I escaped. I’m living with Mark. I’m never going home again. Actually, I can’t. Dad disowned me. God, Avery. There’s so much to tell you! I wanted to tell you this weekend, but I couldn’t get in touch with you. I called you from Mark’s phone—”
“I don’t have a phone anymore,” Avery interrupted.
The girls were silent for a moment.
“Your dad took it upon himself to call my parents and let them know what was up with you. He said he wasn’t sure if I was involved in your . . . how did he put it? Oh, yeah. Your ‘little game of deception’. They barged in my room. Took my cell phone. Saw Gavin’s number. And that’s that.”
She slammed her locker door and headed down the hall. Cadence followed.
“I’m sorry. I made a mistake,” Cadence said, tugging on Avery’s arm.
Avery stopped suddenly and turned to her friend.
“No, Cadence. You didn’t make a mistake. A mistake is when you calculate a problem wrong on your math test. That’s a mistake. Okay? You knew what you were doing in that theatre. You knew you were making a scene. You knew it could ruin you and Mark.” She paused for a moment. “And me. You knew it, and you did it anyway because you’re selfish. Don’t call it a mistake. Own what it really is. A sin.”
She turned on her heel and continued down the hallway. Cadence stood shocked. And then her shock turned to anger. She tore down the hall after Avery, catching up to her.
“Since when did you start hanging out with Gracie?” she spat.
“Fuck you.”
“I’m serious! What the hell was that comment? A sin?”
“Just telling you like it is,” Avery replied.
“I didn’t sin against you, Avery. I messed up. I made a—”
“Don’t you fucking say it!” Avery screamed. She pushed Cadence against the wall, forearm to her throat. Her eyes wild and wounded. “You have no idea what you’ve done to me! I asked you to be careful! That’s it! I made it easy for you! And what do you do? You ruin my life!”
Cadence swallowed the urge to cry. She knew it would only fuel Avery’s anger. Plus, she didn’t want her makeup to run. She worked for twenty minutes this morning to conceal her black eye as best she could.
“You’re my best friend,” Cadence whispered.
Avery narrowed her eyes.
“I know. That’s why this hurts so fucking much!”
Avery whirled around and ran for the bathroom. Cadence stayed frozen to her spot, back against the wall, feeling guilty and trapped and angry and defeated.
And scared.
Her fear intensified when a student approached her.
“Mrs. Jackson wants to see you in her office before first period,” the girl said.
“Do I have to?” The words dropped out of her mouth before she could stop them. They were small and weak and made her feel like a five-year-old.
The girl shrugged, confused.
“I don’t know. I’m just supposed to tell you to report to the office.”
I should run, Cadence thought. I should run right now.
She eyed the girl who stood looking at her strangely.
“What happened to your eye?” the girl asked.
“An accident.”
“Like a baseball hit you or something?”
“Uh huh.”
The girl shook her head. “That’s not what happened.”
Cadence blinked. “You’re right. It’s not.” She walked past the girl towards the office and was stopped by a hand on her shoulder.
The girl whispered, “Next time, fight back.”
***
“Is everything all right?” Mrs. Jackson asked. She studied Cadence’s face.
“Oh, you mean this?” Cadence pointed to her eye. “My brother opened a door and smacked me in the face.”
Ms. Jackson nodded, unconvinced.
“Cadence, I think you know why you’re here.”
Cadence shook her head. She knew precisely why she was in the assistant principal’s office, but she thought if she played dumb, she’d buy more time. Time for what, she didn’t know. Maybe for Mark to make his escape? Perhaps he was at home right now packing bags. Or at the bank withdrawing money. Wiping down fingerprints. What the fuck? She didn’t know!
“Cadence?”
“Yes?”
“It’s okay,” Mrs. Jackson said.
Cadence nodded automatically. And then she wished she hadn’t. She feared her nod was an admission of guilt, like she was telling Mrs. Jackson, “You’re right. Mr. Connelly and I are sleeping together.”
“I want to ask you a few questions,” Mrs. Jackson continued.
Cadence panicked, turning in her chair at the sound of the door opening. A police officer. She spun around and looked at the principal.