The hood of my sweatshirt is pulled over my head as I step into the school hall, shielding me from the weight of the stares I know are waiting.
Even so, I can hear them, the whispers slithering through the air like venom.
"Look at her... She even has the audacity to step into school."
Their voices aren't loud, but they don't need to be. I feel them burrowing under my skin, settling in the pit of my stomach, twisting, tightening.
My eyes stay fixed ahead, avoiding every gaze, but I can feel them. The weight of their judgment. The silent accusations. The torture of it all.
Then comes the laughter. Sharp. Mocking. Familiar.
I look up.
Sabrina.
She doesn't bother to hide her amusement, her lips curled into a smirk, eyes gleaming with cruel delight.
Anger surges inside me, thick and suffocating, but before I can react, a voice pulls me back.
"Helen."
I turn sharply.
Dom.
He's smiling,
like always.
I want to return the smile. I want to let his familiar warmth reach me, but the will in me isn't giving in.
"We didn't know you'd be showing up,"
Dom says, his voice casual, though there's something careful in the way he speaks, like he's testing the waters.
"Neither did I," I murmur, glancing away.
Dad had insisted. I needed to get out of the house, Helen.
You need to move on. He says
Move on.
As if it were that simple.
I scan the hall, my mind already drifting, tuning out whatever Dom is saying. I'm searching for someone.
Dan.
I haven't spoken to him. He hasn't called. Has he even thought about me?
The words slip out before I can stop them.
"Where's your cousin?"
Dom freezes. His expression shifts, his eyes darting around as if checking who might have overheard.
"What are you doing? And how would I know?" He keeps his voice low, controlled, but there's an edge to it.
I curse under my breath. I had forgotten—no one at school knows about them being cousins.
"Sorry," I mutter.
Dom studies me for a moment before shaking his head. Whatever he was about to say before my slip-up, he lets it go.
"Anyway, Mom says today's the day for the DNA test," he tells me instead.
I blink. The DNA test.
"For real?" My voice betrays my surprise.
I've been so buried in my own thoughts, in my own pain, that I completely lost track of the court proceedings.
"Yeah," Dom nods.
"They have to do it now so the results are ready by the time the trial starts."
A sigh of relief escapes me.
Maybe I haven't missed too much after all.
Dom watches me, his expression softening.
"Are you okay?" His voice is gentle now, careful.
I force a smile, a flimsy shield meant to brush off the concern.
As I step into the classroom, the suffocating weight of stares returns, pressing into my back like daggers. The murmurs aren't as loud here, but they don't need to be. I feel them.
And then,
Dom moves.
His arm slips around my shoulders, pulling me into his chest. A solid, warm presence. Protective.
I tense up.
He's never done this before.
"Hey," he murmurs over my hood, his voice steady. "It's okay."
The words shouldn't mean much. They shouldn't make my throat tighten, my chest ache. But they do.
He walks me to my seat, his arm still resting lightly around me, as if to remind me that I'm not alone.
I scan the classroom, searching.
"Have you seen Selena?" I ask, placing my bag down on the table.
Dom shrugs. "Yeah, I think she had a class."
I nod absently, but then I notice something.
He's placing his bag on the seat next to mine.
I frown.
He meets my gaze, a small, knowing smile forming.
"Oh, right—this is the surprise," he says.
I blink.
"Surprise?"
"Yeah. Me and Selena talked. She thought you might need some extra support, so..." He gestures toward the seat.
"I move away from my position to join y'all,"
No words come out.
There's a part of me that appreciates it, that sees the kindness in the gesture. But there's another part, a much louder one, that doesn't know how to feel about it. About Dom being here, always watching.
Before I can figure out what to say, my eyes drift.
And I see him.
Dan.
He's standing near the doorway, watching.
Something in my chest tightens.
Without thinking, I rise to my feet, my body moving before my mind can catch up.
"Helen?"
Dom's voice is distant now. Background noise.
I keep walking.
"Dan, we need to talk,"
I say firmly, my voice steady despite the storm brewing inside me. He stands with his back turned, engrossed in conversation with his friends, acting as if he hasn't heard me.
I take a deep breath, my patience wearing thin. "Dan, we need to talk,"
I repeat, louder this time, my voice cutting through the chatter in the classroom. A hush falls over the room as curious eyes turn toward us.
Dan finally turns around, his expression laced with irritation.
"If you've got something to say, say it here," he challenges, his gaze cold and unbothered.
I stare at him, trying to process all this.
"You heard me," he continues with a mocking smirk. "Or better yet, shoo away." He flicks his hand dismissively,
Laughter erupts around us. His friends snicker, Sabrina cackles, and soon the entire class is laughing at my expense.
I feel my knees weaken, a trembling sensation creeping up my legs. My breath is shallow, my chest rising and falling too fast, too erratic.
My vision blurs as tears threaten to spill. My eyes sting with unshed emotion, my throat tight, strangled by the weight of humiliation.
"What the hell is wrong with you?"
Dom's voice cuts through the chaos, sharp and laced with anger. I hear him move behind me, the weight of his presence shifting closer. When I turn my head slightly,
I see it,
the fire in his eyes, the barely restrained fury. His entire body is tense, his fists clenched at his sides as he glares at Dan with raw disdain.
I had never seen Dom like this before. Not even once.
Dan, standing just a few feet away, tilts his head back and laughs, a slow, mocking sound that sends a cold chill down my spine.
"Ooh, her baby daddy is here," He sneers, his voice dripping with venom.
Laughter erupts from the crowd. Sabrina, standing beside him, grins maliciously, her arms crossed over her chest. The whole class joins in, their laughter ringing in my ears, echoing, overlapping, until it's the only thing I can hear.
My breath catches in my throat.
"What?!" I exclaim, my voice too loud, too frantic.
Dan's smirk deepens, feeding off my distress.
"Oh? You want to tell the whole class how you've been calling me all week?" he taunts, his eyes glinting with malice. "How you've been begging me to convince my supposed cousin here—" he gestures towards Dom with a casual flip of his hand "—to pick up your calls?"
A wave of whispers ripples through the class.
"They're cousins?" someone murmurs.
The realization spreads like wildfire, lighting up the classroom with gasps and incredulous murmurs.
Dan steps forward, reveling in the chaos he's created.
"That's right. You all act like she's some innocent victim, but let's be real—" He turns back to me, his eyes gleaming with something dangerous. "You're just a liar. And a whore."
The words hit me like a physical blow.
I feel the blood drain from my face. The room tilts slightly. My ears ring.
I open my mouth, but no words come.
I can barely breathe, let alone defend myself.
Then, before I can react, Dom moves.
With the force of a storm, he charges at Dan, grabbing him by the collar and slamming him against the wall with a resounding thud. A collective gasp rushes through the class. The laughter dies instantly, replaced by the raw thrill of a fight about to unfold.
Dom's grip tightens around Dan's throat, his knuckles white. His entire body radiates fury, the kind of fury that simmers for too long before finally exploding.
Dan barely reacts,
he simply chuckles, though his breath is uneven, his smirk faltering under the pressure of Dom's hold.
I stand there, frozen, my mouth open, my mind struggling to process everything at once. The scene feels surreal, like I've been pulled into a nightmare I can't wake up from.
A hand suddenly grabs my arm, shaking me back to reality.
"Helen!"
Selena's voice is urgent, panicked. She grips my wrist tightly, her eyes wide with concern.
"What's going on?" she asks, her voice barely above a whisper.
But I don't answer. I can't.
The crowd has fully gathered around them now, the excitement in the air palpable. I hear the unmistakable click of phones being unlocked, cameras being raised. The students start recording, their eager faces illuminated by their screens.
I follow their gaze.
Dom has Dan pinned to the wall, his arm braced against his throat, cutting off his air. Dan's lips curl into a smirk despite his predicament.
And then Dom throws the first punch.
The impact is brutal, the force of it making Dan's head snap to the side.
A scream erupts from someone in the crowd.
Dom doesn't stop. Another punch. Then another. His knuckles collide with Dan's face, his anger spilling out with every blow.
Dan falls to the floor, but Dom follows, straddling him and landing hit after hit.
Blood. I see it. A sickening contrast against Dan's smirking lips.
"Dom, STOP!" I scream, my voice cracking as tears finally spill down my cheeks.
He doesn't hear me. Or maybe he does and doesn't care. He's lost in his fury, in his need to destroy Dan for the humiliation, the pain, the words he had thrown at me like weapons.
Then—
A sudden rush of movement. A male teacher shoves through the crowd, his face twisted in shock and authority.
"STOP THIS!" he bellows.
He lunges forward, grabbing Dom by the shoulders and yanking him away from Dan, who lies limp on the floor, his chest heaving, his lip split, his face bruised.
The students erupt into chaos. Shouting. Scrambling. Recording.
My body trembles violently, my breath coming in uneven gasps.
Dom is panting, his fists still clenched, his knuckles red and raw. He jerks against the teacher's hold, his eyes burning with unspent rage.
Dan groans from the floor, but even through the pain, he grins.