Questions

Questions

Arabella

THE WALK TO campus was brutal today. However, it's my long day and I know I can't take a day off just because of what happened yesterday afternoon at my house. My body is covered in bruises, cuts that are covered in small bandages or Band-Aids, I've got a wrap around my ribs, and I can hardly move. Each step I take threatens to rob my breath from my lungs and put me on the floor. Again, I can't stop moving or getting to school. I've got classes to attend where I can't afford to fall behind in, two students to tutor, and I've got to work at Slice of Heaven after school today. There's no way I can take time off when it's only gonna leave me in the house at Mrs. Andrews when I'm in bed. If she's gonna take care of Vinnie for me, it will be because I'm at school or work and not because I'm laying in bed.

When I was awake, Mrs. Andrews tried to convince me to go to the hospital because she knows I won't call the cops for any reason. There's no point in calling when they do absolutely nothing. I mean, if you don't live in the poor section of town, the cops are there to save the day. Here, they don't come unless they have to with no other choice. It was something I've seen more than once as a person bled out on the street from one fight or another. The hospital was also not going to happen because there's nothing they can do to help me. I mean, the most they'll do is possibly call Child Protective Services, and that's the last thing I want to happen. It means Vinnie will be taken while nothing happens to help me. I'm no longer a minor and they won't care about me. Hell, I'd honestly be surprised if they remove Vinnie from the house, but it's not something I'm willing to risk.

My walk to school today was nothing but filled with pain as I forced myself to move faster than I wanted to. I'm honestly surprised I made it to campus without collapsing on the side of the road at least once. Thankfully, that didn't happen because I would have been out there with no one helping me. That's just how things have been over the last few years. Mrs. Andrews is literally the only one who has helped me in any way since I lost my dad. Everyone else in town would literally leave me there to rot on the side of the road and be consumed by the wild animals roaming the forest.

The gate of the campus is in sight as my vision starts to fade. My body is covered in a fine layer of sweat and I'm trembling from the pain coursing through me. While I've been hurt this bad before, I haven't had to push myself beyond what I'm capable of in order to get to school like this. As I try to force the pain away again, I look for Brock. There have been a few mornings Brock is there waiting for me. Today I don't see him. Usually he has something from the dining hall he got me because it isn't normally something I can grab when I spend most of my morning getting Vinnie ready and making sure he's eaten before dropping him off next door. Not that I had to do that this morning. Just as I pass through the gate, my body slams into something solid and hard.

"Ah!" I scream out as my ribs scream in protest and my legs give out.

The sleeves of my shirt slide up as strong, callused hands grip my arms to keep me from falling flat on my ass. Those hands hold me harder than necessary as I finally manage to look up. My breath stalls in my lungs for a completely different reason. Dante Peterson is the solid wall I just ran into. I should have known as the scent of woods and something uniquely Dante washes over me. He holds me while looking from the top of my head down to my feet. He catalogs the bruises and cuts on my exposed skin as his eyes take in every inch of my body. Every single mark on my frail body is being seen by one of the people I don't want to have anything to do with or to have know anything about me.

"What the fuck happened to you?" he barks out, his voice deep and rough as he still doesn't let go of me. "Who the fuck beat the hell out of you, Sunshine?"

I haven't heard one of the nicknames the guys called me in so long. My heart breaks with the knowledge that we're no longer friends. In fact, I don't even know why the hell Dante gives a shit about what happened to me.

"Nothing happened. I'm fine," I tell him, trying to pull from his strong grip without agitating my ribs anymore.

"Don't give me that line of shit, Arabella. Someone beat the fuck outta you and I wanna know who it was," he growls out, bringing more attention to us than what I'd like.

"It's none of your concern, Dante. I'm sure you have somewhere important to be. Or some girl to hang all over you waiting. Let. Me Go," I say, forcing my voice to be stronger than it is as pain courses through me.

"Jealous, Sunshine?" he says, the smirk I used to love seeing filling his face.

"Hardly. I'm late and need to get to class. I'm nothing to you and haven't been for a long time. So, run along and forget I even ran into you this morning," I state, pulling away as Dante lets me go. "It wasn't hard for you to forget all about me the day I lost the only person in the world who loved me. I'm sure you remember how to do it."

"This isn't over, Bella. I will find out who did this to you," he states ominously from behind me as I try to walk normally.

I'm limping as Dante's eyes remain locked on me. I can feel him watching me walk across campus toward my first class. Several other students rush from one place to another and I have to stop several times instead of getting knocked flat on my ass. After literally running into Dante, I can't afford to hit someone else. My body won't be able to handle the pain. Neither will my heart.

Dante Peterson has only gotten better looking the older he gets. They all have if I'm being honest. However, Dante was always the quiet, brooding one of the group. He's that guy who rarely says anything, but when he does say something, everyone around him stops to listen. This morning, Dante is wearing a pair of joggers which tell me he more than likely just came from hockey practice or some kind of training for it. As usual, he's wearing a hoodie with the hood pulled up over his head. It's tight on his upper body showcasing the muscles he sports from all the hours spent in the gym training. His light brown eyes still have that ring of green surrounding them, but they're cold and hard. Dante does nothing but glare at everyone around him. I'm no exception to his rule of keeping everyone at arm's length. This man is the definition of sexy in my mind and I know I can't let him get close. He can't ever find out my secrets for any reason. None of them can.

It takes longer than anticipated, but I finally manage to make it to my first class of the day. Math. I really hate my math class. Not just because of Karmen either. The professor is a dick and I don't know why he hates me so much. Brock, for once, isn't sitting with Karmen and her little band of followers. He's sitting toward the back where I usually take up a seat because it keeps me out of the view of everyone else.

His eyes linger on me as I carefully make my way closer to him before taking the seat next to him. It kills me to open my bag and dig what I need out of it for this class. Including the homework I know we'll go over. Karmen's gaze lingers on me as she takes in my movements. I'm trying so hard to move normally so I don't give her any more ammunition than she already has. If she even thinks for a second I'm injured, I'll be in for a world of hurt at her hands. The girl is vicious and will do everything she can to make sure I'm in the maximum amount of pain.

Still, Brock doesn't ask me anything about what happened or who beat the shit out of me. He remains silent at my side. Even when he slides a large cup of hot cocoa over to me, he doesn't say a word. While we can't eat in class, we can drink. Professor Rollins strolls into the lecture hall and slams his briefcase on top of his desk. Everyone snaps to attention with the exception of Karmen who continues her conversation with those around her. Professor Rollins glares around the room, stopping on me the longest. His lip curls in derision for the several seconds he glares at me.

"What the fuck is his problem?" Brock mutters, his voice barely above a whisper as he crouches down in his seat lower.

I don't bother responding because there's no point. Professor Rollins is still glaring at me and I don't want him to call me out for any reason. He hasn't even started class yet, but he'd call me out simply because he hates me with a passion for his own reasons. Instead, I take a sip of my drink and make sure I have everything out for the class so I'm not missing anything during the professor's lecture. He'll more than likely say I'm disrupting class and kick me out or something. That would just be my luck when it comes to this class and professor.

"Today we're going to have a surprise quiz. Miss Moore, I suggest you move over three seats at least so Brock doesn't have to worry about you cheating off his answers," Professor Rollins declares, continuing to glare at me.

Without a word, I get up the best I can and move down several seats with only my pencil and nothing more than that. I won't give this professor any reason to doubt me or be able to say I cheated. There is literally nothing on me or anything on the desk I'm now sitting in. Professor Rollins goes to the end of each row and hands out a stack of quizzes to be handed down the aisle. When he gets to me, he literally throws the papers at me as they float all over my desk and floor surrounding me. I have to crouch down and grit through the pain that radiates throughout my body. Professor Rollins and others laugh at me the entire time as tears fill my eyes. I don't let them fall over as Brock tries to get up so he can help me. The professor doesn't let him though, barking out for him to remain in his seat.

Fucking douche canoe!

After gathering up the papers, I hand them over to Brock after taking one for myself. My back is turned toward Professor Rollins where he still stands at my desk for a minute at most. When I turn back around, he's making his way back toward the front of the room to sit at his desk. Looking down at the quiz in front of me, it's not anything we've gone over in class. The work on the test in front of me is from the chapter we'll be covering next. One I've already gone through and done all the homework problems to. Now it makes sense as to why he remained at my desk for a few minutes instead of tossing the papers my way and moving on as he typically does. It's as if he's in my presence for any length of time I'll somehow taint him or something.

"Begin!" Professor Rollins bellows, his voice echoing in the lecture hall as I turn my focus to the quiz in front of me.

I don't know how he can get away with giving me a quiz on work we haven't gone over as a class yet, but he is. Professor Rollins is trying to catch me unaware and have a legitimate reason for failing me. At the same time, this is the perfect example why I can't afford to miss a single day of class here. If I do, I'll get behind and there will be no catching up for me. Not when I have to work, tutor, and most importantly take care of my baby brother.

It doesn't take me very long to get through the quiz since there are only twenty questions on it. Setting my pencil down, I sit back in my chair for a minute while looking through the work and answers I've written down. When I'm sure I'm ready to turn it in, I look around to find Karmen sitting at her desk, looking at the nails on one hand while typing away with the other on her phone. She hasn't even done the test. Or she already has the answers and wrote them down without showing any work. I don't know what is going on, but it would make sense for the professor to hate me so much if Karmen has gotten to him. It wouldn't surprise me in the least to know this is somehow connected to her.

"If you're done, bring your papers forward and you can leave. For next class, I want you to read the next two chapters and do all of the questions in the back of each chapter," Professor Rollins calls out suddenly.

Getting up, I grab my paper and take it to the front of the room. I'm the first one to set the quiz on his desk as Professor Rollins glares at me while starting to laugh out loud.

"I can't wait to grade your quiz, Miss Moore," he states as if he's pulled a fast one and caught me unaware of how to do the problems I was given.

"I'm sure you can't," I return softly as I turn to make my way back to gather my belongings.

Karmen is standing right there as she shoulder checks me. I grunt out in pain with it taking everything in me not to scream out the way I truly want to. The pain is immediate and intense as I almost collapse on the floor. Brock grabbing my arm to hold me upright is the only reason I'm not in a pile at her feet. Karmen smirks at me, letting me know she has realized I've been beaten to hell and she plans on using it to her advantage. Exactly like I knew she would if she discovered my secret. Looks like the next few weeks will be a living hell at home and here on campus. Well, more than it already is considering the injuries I've got this time.

Brock turns in his quiz before helping me back up to the row we were sitting in today. He gathers up my belongings while leaving me in the aisle. With both of our bags and belongings in his hands, Brock makes his way back to me before helping me from the lecture hall. He walks at a slow pace so I'm not rushing and aggravating my injuries even more. Still, he doesn't ask a single question about what happened or why I look as if I went more than a few rounds in a boxing ring. Instead, he leads me out of the building our math class is in and straight to the picnic table under one of the trees we usually sit at.

"You stay here. I'm gonna grab somethin' to eat," he states, setting down our things before disappearing toward the dining hall.

I open up my math book after pulling it back out again and start reading the chapter I left off on. I'm almost halfway through the book at this point. Still, I won't slow down. For now, I'll read the next two chapters and do all the problems before moving on to the next subject.

Brock comes back with two containers full of food and bottles of water for us. Too bad I was stuck on Fallon and the guys because Brock is amazing. He's the kind of guy I should want to be dating and spending all of my time with. The one who I know would protect my secrets if I let him in and make sure the assholes my mother brought home didn't use me as a punching bag or believe I'm going to let them get their hands on me to fuck any way they choose.

"I'm not gonna ask any questions, Arabella. I don't want to hear whatever excuses you've already come up with in your mind. All I'm gonna say is I'm here if you need me. You've got my number and I know you don't have a cell phone. Still can't believe you don't have one," he says, shaking his head in disbelief. "You need me, I'm there. I don't give a fuck about where you live, how you live, or anythin' else. All that matters is you. That you're okay and no one hurts you like this again. I'll do everythin' in my power to protect you, Bella. You just gotta say the word."

"Thank you, Brock," I whisper in response as my throat clogs up with emotion.

"I've seen how Karmen and her band of bitches treat you, Arabella. It's not right. No one does a damn thing about it. Well, when I'm with you, that's not gonna be the case any longer. Those idiots don't deserve to breathe the same air as you. When we're together, I'll keep them away or shut their shit down immediately. I'm tired of seein' you hurt on a daily basis. You're too good and pure to go through what you do. I'm done watchin' it happen. I'm sorry for waitin' so long to step up and be a fuckin' real friend to you, Arabella."

"You are a friend, Brock. The best one I've ever had. I can't expect you to go against everyone here. Just because you shut Karmen down doesn't mean five others won't pop right back up to take over where she left off," I tell him honestly because it's the same bullshit I've been dealing with my entire life. Well, since losing my dad.

"I've got all the time in the world to have your back and help you get through each day without havin' to worry about who's gonna come at you next. Or what they're gonna do. Now, eat up and we'll get some work done now since I know you gotta work tonight."

We eat our lunch in silence as I continue working through the next two chapters for Professor Rollins class. Brock pulls out his own math book and starts working on the reading for our next class. He won't need me until it comes to working through the problems. This is why Danny and Brock are having so many problems understanding the work we're supposed to be doing. Professor Rollins barely teaches the lessons he's supposed to. The man doesn't deserve to be a professor here.