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She flushed, but she didn’t leave

I added, "You’re like all the other girls You used my brother and you wanted to use me too"

"It wasn’t like that"

I snorted "Yes, it was You were friends with Kate I saw you guys You’re the popular girls in our grade and what? You wanted more, didn’t you? You didn’t even like ive you, but you didn’t think it through"

"MASON!"

Hearing Kate yelling my na, but I didn’t want to hear her crap at that an asked me today if I sicced Kate and her friends on you" She lad they’re etting better, but it had taken months "When Kate is done with you, that’s when I’ll start I will break you just like you broke him"

10

THE SURPRISING CONNECTION

The next week, Mr Rooney sent half the class to the library We were assigned a project to work on, but the same instructions that he enforced in his classroo Period The only person you could talk to was your table one, she scooted around the group and walked to the very back of the library

As I followed her through the book cases, she went to a table set in its own section It ay from the main lobby and isolated with bookshelves all around it

I put my notebook on the table and took a seat "I’m not a typical dumb jock, but I had no idea this was back here"

She paused, her fingers stopped flipping through her pages, and she studied me for a moment

I narrowed my eyes She still hadn’t talked to me When Mr Rooney announced the project, he pulled me aside at the door and said that I would have to talk to Marissa Then he added, "Be nice Be respectful and then back away from her I mean it, Mason"

I rolled ins, Mr Rooney I have enough headaches innow"

"You heard what I said"

I did I didn’t care I’d talk to her, but I had no intention of anything else Focusing on her again now, I frowned "You have to talk I’ a presentation all on my own to prove that I did the work"