Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 91560 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 458(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91560 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 458(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Tonight is just one more reason.
8
MAYA
It’s unusual, having a day in which nothing too major happens. Maybe the universe decided to throw me a bone for once since it’s my birthday. Amazing how little I ask from life now.
Things seem almost quiet. Wren caught my eye as I hurried through the cafeteria, grabbing lunch before taking it to the library, which is quickly becoming my new favorite hiding spot. I was able to eat in peace while telling myself to forget how hurt she looked in the heartbeat when our eyes met.
If only I could make her understand it’s for the best. She doesn’t need me. She’s better off with Briggs and his shitty friends, including Tucker. He was mysteriously absent from the group. Another little gift.
By the time my last class is over, one thing is clear: the large bottle of water I drank in the library is coming back to haunt me in the form of an almost painfully full bladder. I’m the first person out of my chair once the instructor dismisses us, heading straight for the door and down the hall to the closest ladies room. We were let out a few minutes early, thank god, which also means the room is empty as I hurl myself through the swinging door in a row of stalls.
Though it’s not empty for long. Before I’ve had the chance to do my business, the door to the hall opens with an almost silent whoosh and footsteps ring out against the tile floor. More than one person, from the sound of it. Great. Not that I have a shy bladder or anything, but I don’t love peeing with an audience.
After a moment or two, it’s not the presence of an audience that bothers me. It’s the silence. Deafening. It lasts long enough to stir dread in my heart. Peering through the crack next to the door, I can barely make out the sight of girls leaning against the counter in front of the sinks, standing perfectly still. Waiting. Waiting for me? They’re facing the row of stalls, none of them moving. It’s beyond eerie. All of a sudden, I wish I had waited until I got home to use the bathroom. When will I learn? Now that Tucker sicced people on me by making me a laughingstock, the sooner I get off campus after class, the better.
Finally, a voice breaks the silence, ringing out sharp and loud. “What’s taking you so long, bitch? Do you think you can hide from us all day?”
I know that voice. I know who it belongs to. There’s barely time for my heart to drop before she pounds against the metal door hard enough to make it rattle. She stands in front of it, her face pressed to the crack. “See you,” Tiana whispers. “Hiding like the little bitch you are. What, afraid to come out and say hi?”
While her friends snicker, I search wildly for something to say. “What, are you this interested in hearing me use the toilet?” I counter, earning me a few soft laughs while Tiana pounds on the door again, harder this time.
“Fucking coward. What, you don’t think we could get in there and pull you out if we had to? Why don’t you face me like a woman?” she asks. “Come on. There are a few things I want to say to you face to face.”
“What could you have to say to me?” God, this is humiliating. I would die of shame if I was capable of feeling much of anything. “Just leave me alone, please. I didn’t do anything to you.”
“Right. Because it’s that fucking easy. Just admit what you did,” she snarls.
“What did I do?” I am seriously lost. “Are you sure I’m the person you want to be stalking? Maybe there’s somebody somewhere else on campus who’s peeing right now. Maybe you should bother them instead.”
I might as well be talking to myself. “Come out, come out, little Maya,” she croons. “And I’ll tell you everything. But I’m not leaving until you get out of there. I have all day.” I watch her from under the door as she turns in place, leaning against the metal between us. Dammit. What do I do?
What kind of question is that? I know what I have to do, and it doesn’t involve cowering in a fucking bathroom stall all day while Tiana waits for me. Maybe I could wait until somebody else comes in, ask them for help, but that would mean having any actual friends around here. I don’t even have Wren anymore—not that I would want to bring her into this, since Tiana has already made her life miserable. Maybe she would be a little nicer now that Briggs is part of the picture, but I doubt it. Unless he’s around to see exactly what Tiana is doing, she is going to wreak as much havoc as she can. Some people get off on being that way.