Unfortunately, Jenks wasn’t in the mood to avoid me.
I was looking at my feet, head down, when I heard him yell my name.
As if it knew something I didn’t, my heart started hammering hard against my ribs.
Looking up, I was filled with dread as a grinning Jenks casually swaggered across the street toward me, his two friends following him with nasty smirks on their faces.
“Whit’s up, geek?” Jenks stopped in my path and I moved around him.
He grabbed my arm, pulling me to a stop.
I did my best not to show fear as he stepped into my personal space, his eyes moving down my body in a way that made me feel nauseous. “I said whit’s up, geek?”
“Nothing.” I shook my head and tried to move away, but the three of them blocked me. “Look, I’m late for home.” I wished my voice were stronger. I wished I could set them down or beat them or just somehow get them to stop thinking they could intimidate me.
“We just want tae talk.” Jenks sneered at me. “So fuckin’ stuck up. But ye always were.”
Jenks’s friend Aaron punched him playfully in the arm. “She got fuckin’ tasty, though. I’d shag it.”
I blanched, taking a step back.
Jenks grunted, glaring at me. “She’s still a fuckin’ swot.” He took a step toward me. “Maybe a guid pumpin’ would loosin ye up, though, eh?” He reached a hand out to grab at my waist and I stepped out of range.
I felt the blood rush in my ears at the decidedly dark turn of their bullying. “I’m going home.” I tried to inject authority into my voice, but the words came out in a trembling tone.
They laughed and Jenks grabbed for me again.
My shriek of alarm was immediately quieted at the sight of Jenks crashing like a rag doll into Aaron. They almost fell to the ground, only barely catching each other. Their other friend, Rube, stumbled back, too, and my eyes went from them to the person who had shoved Jenks.
My gaze traveled upward in surprise.
Towering over us all was Marco.
A very angry Marco.
His menacing glower was fixated on Jenks.
“Whit the fuck?” Jenks pushed himself off Aaron and scowled up at Marco. “Who the fuck dae ye think ye are?”
I was astounded that he’d be so aggressive with Marco. Even Rube and Aaron looked unsure.
“Get out of here,” Marco said quietly, calmly, his words soft and rounded with an accent. “I see you try this shit again and you’ll be dealing with me.”
Jenks opened his mouth as if to fight, but Marco was suddenly flanked by two friends. Seeing they were definitely not going to win against the older boys, Jenks spat at Marco’s feet and marched away, fists clenched at his sides.
I shuddered at my near escape.
“You missed the bus?”
Taken aback, I realized Marco had directed the question to me. His voice was rough, gravelly. I stared up into his blue-green eyes, eyes that were startlingly beautiful against his dark lashes and caramel skin, and I forgot to breathe for a minute.
He was gorgeous. And there was something about him… an aura around him that made me wish I were closer to him.
I nodded, still too awestruck to speak.
His eyebrows drew together. “Where do you live?”
Not awestruck enough to be stupid, I gave this person I didn’t know a suspicious look. To my surprise his lips twitched like he wanted to laugh. He held up his hands as if in surrender. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
Going with my gut instinct, I replied, “Stockbridge. St. Bernard’s Crescent.”
He glanced back at his friends. “I’ll see you later.”
They gave me curious looks but nodded and turned away, walking up the street in the opposite direction.
I was left standing in the street alone with Marco – alone with a six-foot-something seventeen-year-old boy after having been accosted by mean boys. I should have been afraid, but when our eyes met again, I felt the complete opposite. I felt safe.
“Come on,” he said gruffly, walking past me.
Baffled by my feelings, I hurried to catch up to him. “What are you doing?”
“Walking you home. I don’t trust those idiots not to come back. They bother you a lot?”
“At school sometimes. They pick on my friends and me, but they’ve never tried to…” I grew quiet. I couldn’t quite say the words out loud. I actually couldn’t believe they’d even threatened me with rape, much less that they might follow through.
I looked up at Marco to find him giving me a dark, warning look. “You need to be careful. Jenks is a soulless little shit. He shouldn’t have been here. He’s suspended from school.”
“Really? For what?”
He studied me a moment before finally deciding to tell me. “The police are investigating him. He’s been accused of raping a girl.”
My mouth fell open as my heart sped up again. “Honestly? Why haven’t I heard of this?”
Marco shrugged. “Don’t know. Just be careful though, okay?”