ra's
ntic. The cruel laughter, the whispers, the looks-it was all too much. My chest tightened with a sens
g in my ears and my breath, shallow and uneven. I stumbled to one of the stalls, slamming the door
of everyone just for an accident. And then, she had the nerve to demand twenty thousand d
eak I sounded, hated how I was letting them see me like this. But the
nd my meals. A hundred and seventy-four dollars a week-hardly enough to keep us going, let alone repay anyone. And I wasn't blind to the fact that, w
the consequences. Beaten. Locked up. I'd learned th
from the hunger gnawing at me-it was the constant, suffocating pressure of living a life where nothing ever seemed to be
ively curling in on myself. I froze, not sure whether I should even answer. Who else would be here? Anothe
she come back to fin
d helpless as I looked around for a way to escape. Could I c
wearier. I stayed quiet, hoping to god that they
It sounded like someone I know. "It's Caroline."
all her other friends? Will she show her true co
I didn't respond. "I know you'r
f all people? Was it because she saved me?
hat did I ge
ise you're safe. Just o
ning the lock and pushing the door open. I walked out hesitantly, half expecting the hit to come as
p at her i
that your lunch got ruined too, and you weren't a
hed hand, unsure if I was being pranked or not. She decided to tak
she said. "
atitude welling up inside me un
as ever gone out of their way to make sure I w
ow? W
f asking. "Why are you
o the side, confused. "Wha
well. "I mean... everyone hates me. No one has ev
und of footsteps approaching the bathroo
utside, even though I couldn't see that person. "
w that voice ev
ile as she said, "Well, I don't know what you're going through, but you should hang
what her cryptic message even meant. Everything was g
leb leaning against the doorjamb, his presenc
asn't sure what had just happened, but by the time I looked back at him once again, Caleb had already turn
ensity, his natural confidence. I couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy, but at the same time, I felt a strange sense of relief. Caroline
as Caleb's hand on her waist as he steered her away from me, t
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