Page 73 of Mistaken Prejudice

I snapped out of it when a cold hand touched me, slowly tracing my cheek.

“Get your hand off me!” I yelled and shook my head to get his hand away, but Shay-Lee grabbed my jaw and forced me to hold still.

“Stop making it so hard. I only want to talk with you.” Shay-Lee smiled. “I promised Miley we’d have a little chat, and here you are turning it into a fuss.” He rolled his eyes at me. “Am I right, Don? I only wanted to talk.”

“Yeah, Rogers. You said you wanted to chat with the little rat.” All but Shay-Lee, who simply smiled, laughed at Don’s comment before falling silent again.

“Anyway, back to our little rat over here.” Shay-Lee patted my cheek. “I asked you nicely to stay away from Miles, and you ignored me. So here I am, once again, asking you very kindly to keep your distance. I won’t be so sweet next time. Even my patience has a limit. You see, I’m afraid he’ll catch something if he continues to bathe with the, well, rats.” That sickening smile was once again glued to his face, proving how much he enjoyed this.

“Fuck you,” I spat out. He could hurt me all he wanted, but nothing would change.

“Wrong choice of words.” He got up and took a few steps back, allowing the other guys in the room to take his place.

I had no idea how many times they kicked and punched me, but by the time they were done, I was flat on the floor, covered with cold sweat and blood. My body screamed with pain, and I could hardly breathe by this point, let alone stay awake.

“As long as you choose to stay with him, Beverly Bay will become your hell, and I’ll be your personal Devil.” Shay-Lee’s voice beamed above me. Cold and merciless. “Not only yours but for the other little rats who came with you.” He paused, his eyes still on me. “Don, didn’t you say you wanted to get friendly with that rainbow kid? The one with the ugly hair.”

Jessie. Fuck me if I’d ever let them touch him.

“Fuck yes. He looks like fun.”

“Yeah, he sure does. We heard you obsessed over him ever since school started.” Shay-Lee sneered.

“Fuck off, Rogers, you know I’m not a faggot. I only want to mess up that pretty face of his.”

He laughed, and what the hell were they even talking about? Mess with his face? I wouldn’t let him touch a single hair of Jess’s head. Or any of my guys.

“Y-you won’t t-touch him,” I barked out. Every word felt like a knife stab.

“What about the Mexican dude?” someone asked, making Shay-Lee chuckle.

“Don’t be racist, you dipshit. How do you know he’s from Mexico? Besides, the dog has a name. Diesel, isn’t it?” As if Diesel would let any of them touch him. They’d be dead before they could even try.

“Yes, Diesel.” Shay-Lee’s eyes gleamed with pleasure as my best friend’s name rolled on his tongue.

“I-I won’t let you touch them.” I tried to get up but couldn’t. Every inch of my body was burning with pain, and for what? For loving Miles? So be it.

We’d be here all night if they thought they could beat me hard enough to make me give up.

“And how will you do that?” He laughed as he came closer. “Compared to me, you’re nothing.” He forced my head down on the floor with his shoe, pressing against my cheek. “Powerless.” He allowed the word to echo in the room before he continued. “It’s pathetic how meaningless you are.” His words sank in the same way his shoe pierced my skin—slowly and painfully.

And yet, the only thing meaningless in the room were his words. They meant nothing. He meant nothing.

“Y-you think Miles will let this go?” I used the only power I had right now. “He’ll never speak to you again.”

I groaned in pain as he put more weight on me.

“You won’t say a word,” he warned.

“I-is that so?”

I heard some rustling before he tapped on something, probably his phone, and the sound of a voice recording filled the space.

“Don’t ever call me again, you dirty skank.”

Oh fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

“You can rot in there for the rest of your life for all I care.”