Is anyone actually eager to go to school? For the first time ever, I was. Since the dance, Danielle and I haven’t had too much time to talk. I think I was actually starting to feel like she was avoiding my messages, but chalked it up that she may actually have been busy.

I repositioned the two trays of donuts for the third time. Yeah, I actually brought donuts for the class. But just glazed. I didn’t want them to actually think I really gave a shit enough to get them a nice variety of donuts. I heard the students starting to file in, and I stood up straighter. Two more weeks. It was all for her. Always for her.

I pretended to go about my business as if her coming in the room wasn’t going to affect me. It always did. I knew she was near, before she walked in. I felt the smile creep on my face before she fully entered, and then it slowly dissipated.

The same group of girls chatted around her, and while she gave them all a smile, something was wrong. My eyes slowly traveled over her body, as she nervously tapped her foot against the floor. Her Chucks were scuffed. Probably not a big deal. Today, she wore black tights and a long-sleeved blouse, which were highly unusual for this Nevada heat. No matter what was going on in class, she never looked up at me. Not once. Even when I called on her to answer a question even though her hand wasn’t raised, she kept her head down, as if she was purposely avoiding me. Maybe she was.

The bell finally rang, and she quickly stuffed her things into her bag. Before she could try for an escape, I used my useless power as a teacher to stop her. “Danielle, can I see you for a moment.” She stilled, and her shoulders dropped. She stood silently as the rest of the students left, and the moment the door clicked, I pounced. “What’s going on?”

She continued to stare at her feet. “Did you need something?” I watched as she stood there fidgeting, and completely avoided the question. Her hair was covering her face, her arms wrapped around her. She was so not okay.

“I didn’t ask if you needed something, I want to know what the hell is going on. You can’t even look at me? Why aren’t you looking at me?”

She gave a nervous laugh, then checked her watch. “I have to go, so if you don’t need anything…”

Before she could move, I grabbed her arm forcing her to face me, and everything stopped. My other hand lightly traced the faint mark under her eye, and she flinched. “Danielle,” her name came out as a whisper. Her eyes didn’t meet mine as she looked away. It was clear she tried to cover it up, but I knew every inch of her, and saw right fucking through her. “Who did this?” She tried to move out of my grasp, and my grip tightened. “Who did this?!” My voice hardened.

She slowly shook her head, and her eyes glistened with unshed tears. “It’s nothing. It’s my fault. I was being careless, and I fell.”

My eyes narrowed as I released her. She and I both knew that was complete shit. “You fell?”

She nodded, still not meeting my eyes. I took a half step back. “Don’t lie to me. Name. Now.” She finally looked at me, and for the first time in the short amount of time I’ve known her, and yet not so short amount of time, she looked scared.

She rubbed her eyes, “It was after the party. Smith wanted to do stuff, and I told him no, and…”

“And what?!” I sharply cut her off. My fists were already clenched, and I could practically taste blood. I wanted to taste blood.

“He wouldn’t leave me alone, and I guess he saw some of the marks on my neck from when me and you…” she paused and took a deep breath looking away, and lava scoured through my veins. She went back to focusing on her shoes, but she wasn’t fast enough. I already saw a spilled tear she quickly wiped away.

I dug my hands in my pocket, just so she would know I at least looked calm, before I spoke. “What happened, Danielle?”

She took a moment before meeting my eyes. “He mentioned you. He said he sees the way I look at you, and he knows what’s going on. I told him I didn’t know what he was talking about, and he threatened to turn you in. He said I was just a big whore anyway. I fought him off, and when I still said no and pushed him off of me, and threatened to scream, he hit me.”

I exhaled sharply, still trying to reign it in. “Where did this happen?”

“Just outside my dorm.”

I nodded. My teeth were clenched so tight, and my jaw was ticking. I was calm on the outside, but I was a raging fire on the inside. I reached in my back pocket for my phone, sending a message.

“I should go.”

I blocked her exit. “I’m having someone pick you up.”

Her eyes widened in shock. “What?”

“You’ll be a hundred percent safe with them, I promise. I wouldn’t hand you off to just anybody.” I grabbed her bag, putting the rest of her things in it.

“But…but what about my classes?”

“I’ll take care of it, don’t worry. We’ll go out the back entrance, less of a crowd, if any that way.” Before she could protest, I was already ushering her out, just in time for the bright ass pink Cadillac, Betty drove, to pull up. I shook my head every time I saw her damn car. She’s decked it out with the classic white walls, and don’t even get me started on the fact that she had the seat covers designed to be what it would look like if a zebra, and a cheetah had a baby. I sighed. What a way to make this covert Betty. Danielle looked back at me skeptical. I nodded in encouragement, and assured her again she was safe, and gave detailed instructions after she was loaded in.