Chapter 82

One month later, I found Isobel walking to her car alone. I waited by the boot, yanked a sack over her head, dragged her behind the bleachers, and beat the smug out of her. She never saw me. No one did. Then I did it again. And again. Every week, like clockwork. Every time she showed up to school with a bruise or a limp, I made damn sure I had an airtight alibi. Isobel cracked fast. Couldn’t hack it without her little entourage flapping around her. By week five of getting jumped out of nowhere, she quit showing up altogether. Her parents yanked her out and shipped her off to a boarding school overseas. With her gone, the bullies backed off. Guess they figured I might put a bag over their heads next. But I didn’t come out unscathed either. I was sixteen. I’d barely kissed a boy, let alone fought off some drunk creep in an abandoned building. So yeah, maybe that night carved something jagged into me. Maybe that’s why I took up boxing. A hand waved in front of my face. ‘Hello? You heard w