"That piece of shit!" Beth growls in the school bathroom on Monday morning when I finally tell her about what happened between Ollie and I. "I'm going to kill that fucker!"

I shake my head in the mirror as I take a look at my tired reflection. I look a little bit more alive than I did the night of the party, but I still see a noticeable difference. My blue eyes look a bit more sunken in than they did before, and there's a hint of red in them from all the crying I've been doing this weekend. Granted, everything did get better after my study session with Baker, but I still can't shake the terrible feeling that had he not called me when he did, everything would've been different.

"Beth, Ollie is like... six inches taller than you," I say tiredly as I apply my mascara, my hand shaking slightly. "And he's on the baseball team. And he works out."

"And your point is?" she snaps while I shake my head. "Nobody touches my best friend without her permission and gets away with it! I can take him! Seriously, Summer, don't underestimate my strength!"

A small smile tugs at the corners of my lips. I love Beth. I really, really do. "I'm fine, Beth. Really. It shook me up a bit, but I'm okay. I promise."

Beth heaves a great sigh and bows her head in the mirror. "Fine. I won't hurt him. But I can't promise what Enzo and Leo are going to do to them when they find out."

My eyes widen in the mirror. Enzo and Leo are Beth's older twin brothers. They're a grade ahead of us and lift weights after school every day just for fun. They aren't part of any school sports, but they do make a game out of protecting Beth and I. Now, I will admit that Beth doesn't need much protecting. And usually I don't either. But this... this is different.

"Please don't tell them," I plead as I turn my head toward Beth. Tears are starting to well up in my eyes, and I hate how vulnerable this whole thing has made me feel. "Please? If you tell them, then they'll kill Ollie, and they'll get in trouble. And then everyone will know what happened, and I don't... I can't have that. Beth, please? Just keep it between us?"

Beth might be my best friend, but I have never been as open with her as I am right now. Her brown eyes fill with concern as she takes me in. Then she reaches up, puts her arms around my neck, and pulls me into a hug. This isn't us. We are not the touchy feely kind of friends you see with most girls. We don't cuddle on the couch and watch chick-flicks while eating popcorn. We don't do each other's hair. But I didn't know how badly I needed this until this moment. A hug from a true friend. From someone I feel really safe with.

"I won't say anything, Summer," she whispers as she pulls away, and I give her a tiny, thankful grin. "I promise. But you better hope Enzo and Leo don't ever find out, because if they do, he's a dead man."

I nod my head. "Yeah. I know. Thanks." We stand awkwardly in front of the mirror for several moments. I don't know what to say. It feels like everything I know has just shifted two inches to the left, and I keep tripping over the normal parts of my life. I'm standing frozen in the girl's bathroom, knowing that I need to finish my makeup, but suddenly not remembering how.

And that's when Beth nudges my shoulder softly. "But don't think that this incident is going to get you out of your promise to run with me in the mornings. I mean, I'm sorry that everything happened to you, but you know... I'm not that sorry."

I smile, and just like that, everything has started to fall back into place. Nothing is quite where it should be, but it's a start. "Are you sure? Because I'm getting better at running, Keeping up more. Who knows, before the semester ends, I might be able to outrun you."

She laughs. "Keep dreaming, Lumen. Keep dreaming." She checks her watch, then groans. "Okay, come on. We have to go to class. Don't want you to get a tardy today. It might completely crush you."

"Shut up," I growl playfully, and Beth intertwines her arm with mine, leading us out of the bathroom together.

***

I only have the one class with Ollie, thank God, so as long as I can get through that one class with him, I can avoid him the rest of the day. He sent me so many text messages on Sunday night that I had to eventually block him, so I know he's going to attempt to make contact soon. English goes just fine though. Mr. Watkins gives us a schedule for when our projects are actually due, and I'm pleased when I find out that mine and Baker's is due on Wednesday. I can spend tonight and tomorrow night running through the presentation with Baker a couple times before class on Wednesday to make sure we've got it right. And then it will be done, and I can focus on other projects I have coming up.

Class ends, and I already have my stuff packed up before the bell rings, so I don't have to talk to Ollie. I know it's going to happen sooner or later, but I'm hoping for later. I go straight to my locker and grab the things I need for studying that night at home. But when I make my way outside to the school parking lot, I see a crowd of kids surrounding what looks to be a fight. They're all laughing and cheering with their phones out, and I roll my eyes, finding the whole thing to be so immature. But then I hear a kid call Ollie's name, and I freeze. No... no way. It can't be.

I run to the crowd and begin pushing my way through until I get to the middle. My skin goes cold when I see Baker on the ground, clutching his stomach as blood pours from his nose like someone just turned on the faucet. I hear whoop whoops as people cheer Ollie on, but I can't watch this. I run out to the middle of the fight and grab Ollie's arm, stopping him. His eyes are angry slits, but they soften just a bit when they see me.

"Summer," he mutters anxiously. "Summer, listen... I--"

"How about we go somewhere and talk privately?" I say loudly to him. He blanches at my tone, but he doesn't argue. I give Baker a very quick apologetic look, and God I hope he sees it. Then I shout out for the whole crowd to hear, "Okay everyone! Show's over! Go home!"

A mixture of boo and ooh comes from the onlookers, and I can only imagine what they're thinking. They probably believe that there's some love triangle going on between me, Ollie, and Baker. And honestly, they're not too far off. I shake my head at the thought as I pull Ollie behind the bleachers, making sure no one else can hear me before we start talking. I stare at him expectantly, waiting for him to talk. But it seems, now that he's finally got my attention, he doesn't know what to say.

"Well?" I ask, nudging him on. "What do you have to say?"

He shrugs his shoulders and looks away from me. "I'm sorry. For what happened. At the party." I cross my arms in an effort to look tough, but it's really just to keep myself feeling safe. Being around him is making me feel nervous in a way I've never felt before. Well, not since the party, anyway. "I've really missed you, you know. And I was nervous. So I had a lot to drink before you came over. And I had a lot of pot. And things got so out of hand."

"Out of hand?" I growl, and he cringes. "You forced yourself on me! Literally forced your tongue down my throat! And then you LICKED me! And...," I trail off, because saying that he felt me up makes what happened too real somehow. "I did not sign up for anything like that, Ollie. It was so scary for me. I came for a good time, and I left terrified. Of you!"

He shakes his head. "No! I didn't mean to scare you like that! I thought you wanted to get back together too, and I thought you were into it."

I soften a little bit at his words. "Ollie, to be honest, I did kind of want to get back together." We both catch the fact that I used the past tense, and I realize now that my feelings for Ollie are dead now. Years of dreaming about Ollie Thompson, crushed in one night. "But you've broken my heart too many times. I was looking forward to that night. I thought maybe things would be different this time. But it did not go well, and I think I just... I want different things than you. I enjoy late nights at the library, or early mornings laying in my bed reading. To be honest, I just don't think we're that compatible."

His eyes darken, and I take a small step back in fear. "But you're compatible with Baker Scott?" His voice is a dangerous growl, like that of a dog protecting a bone.

I hold my hand up. "Baker has nothing to do with anything. We're classmates working on some projects together. And that night he saw me in trouble and wanted to help. That's all." I have a sickening thought, and I can't believe I didn't think about it before. "Oh my God, is that why you were fighting? Because of me?" He looks away, and I can see the shame cover his face like a blanket. His expression is answer enough. My jaw tenses. "Wow. You are a real piece of work."

I have nothing left to say. I'm shaking with unbridled fury, and all I want is to get away from him before I slap him across his stupid face. He grabs me by the arm to stop me, but I yank it away. "Summer, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I thought there was something going on, and--"

I rip my arm out his grasp. "Please," I say, my voice growing low. "Please don't touch me. Ever... ever again. And please lose my number. We're done, you and I. Permanently. Capiche?"

My rage is coming off as confidence, and he takes a step back. His eyes are hurt, but I'm too pissed off to care. I storm away, leaving the bleachers behind me, and everything I see is blanketed in a light film of red. I can't believe that some girls would be interested in a guy so possessive of them that they pick fights with their friends. Baker... is he my friend? We had a great day together working on our projects, and an even better lunch. And we are study buddies now. But does that make us friends? Only one way to find out.

I walk over to the last spot I saw Baker, hunched over on the ground with blood streaming out of his nose like tiny rivers. He's not in the spot where I left him, but a little bit of searching and I find him leaning against a wall by the gymnasium. His hair is caked in blood, and his face has definitely seen better days. He's got his head down, and at first I think he's asleep or passed out. But then I see his fingers racing across the screen of his phone, a hard line playing across his lips. He doesn't even seem bothered by the fact that he just got his ass kicked.

"Baker!" I call, and I run over to him. His eyes glance up at me, and the hard line of his lips is replaced with a tiny smile. He lifts his hand in a wave, but it's halfhearted, and I can tell that he's not doing so well. "Hey," I say as I approach him, and I place my hand on his forearm. "Are you... umm... okay?"

He nods his head. "Yup. I'm good. Why do you ask?" His voice is both teasing and sarcastic, and I blanche. He chuckles. "Summer, I'm fine. This is not the first time my face has looked like an uncooked steak, and trust me, it won't be the last. But I appreciate your concern."

I nod my head and look down at my feet. A question pops into my head, and I blurt it out without thinking. "Why didn't you fight him back?" His eyebrows raise in a question. "Ollie... I saw some of that fight. You weren't even trying to fight back."

He shrugs his shoulders. "I don't know. I don't like the way cuts and bruises look on my knuckles, I guess." This pulls a little giggle out of me, and he smiles. "But seriously... the fight hadn't been going on for very long. He caught me by surprise on my way out the door. I was in a hurry, so I didn't see him coming. And to be honest, I'm still kind of in a hurry."

"Where are you heading?" I ask. He hesitates, so I say, "I just don't think you should be driving. Your face is all bloody and gross, and if you have a concussion...." My voice trails off, because he knows what I'm trying to say without me having to say it. I don't want him to get any more hurt than he already is. "Come on, Baker. I owe you a ride anyway. Let me help you."

At this, he gives me another small grin. "Okay, fine. I just have to pick my kid brother up from somewhere. I already texted him and let him know that I'd be late, but he's only ten, and he gets freaked out pretty easy."

I pull my keys out of my pocket. "Sure thing," I reply, and we walk out to my car in the parking lot. As we pull away, I get a small glimpse of Ollie, just now leaving the bleachers. He does not look very happy, and I get a small thrill thinking back on the conversation from earlier with him. With one last look at him in my mirror, I pull away from the school, leaving my feelings for him behind.

Author's Note:
Look at our girl! Healing and growing! I know there were some of you who weren't sure about Summer at the beginning, but I hope you're starting to like her now. And don't worry, we'll be seeing a lot more of Baker Scott.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter! I promise I'm going to start working on Vale's story again soon. I've got some ideas in my head for it, but I had to take a small break for my mental health. He'll be back very soon though. Stay safe and healthy until then, my dears!
XOXO,
~Aly