Chapter Eight: First Errand 3

Rhea's POV

I walked into school that morning with my mind already anticipating seeing him again before I had even made it through the gates. I headed straight for the senior wing to drop off his things, the bag swinging against my hip when a hand tapped my shoulder from behind.

I startled and spun around, finding Ricky there, arms crossed, watching me with that same bored disdain he always seemed to carry around.

Out of everyone in Jiles' group, Ricky was the one I liked least. He was the guy who had a different girl on his arm every other week and something about him always made my skin crawl in a way none of the others did.

I lowered my gaze and stepped aside, assuming he just wanted to get past but he didn't move. I glanced up briefly, then away again, and started walking when his voice stopped me.

"Now I see how you got tagged as the mute."

I turned back around and found him looking at me with something close to disgust.

I didn't say anything. I just turned to leave, deciding I would just text Jiles instead and find out where he actually was.

"Come back here." The authority in his voice made me pause despite myself. I turned around and he closed the distance between us.

"What are you doing here?"

I let the silence stretch deliberately before I answered. "Why?"

"You're in my class and you're asking me why? You've really got some nerve." He tilted his head, studying me like I was a puzzle. "Makes me wonder why Jiles didn't do worse to you yesterday. Guy holds grudges over smaller stuff than getting egged in front of the whole school. Most people would've quit and transferred by now."

Maybe it's because he's not like you, I wanted to say. But the words stayed stuck somewhere behind my teeth. Silence infuriated most people, I knew that much by now but it was still better than letting them hear my accent and spend the rest of the week mimicking it back at me.

"Are you just going to stand there and not talk?" he snapped.

"What's going on here?"

Jiles' voice cut through before I could decide whether to answer. He stepped out of the classroom, eyes landing on Ricky first.

"I found this Humpty Dumpty here." Ricky jerked his chin toward me, all attitude. "The one that egged you. Decided to play mute on me, apparently."

"My name is Rhea." I couldn't stop myself from saying it.

"Oh, it's Rhea?" His eyebrows shot up, mocking. "Didn't realize that since you're usually too busy being the school's resident mute expert who happens to egg my best friend in front of the entire school. And now here you are again. For what, exactly?"

He said it like I had personally wronged him, like he hadn't been the one blocking my path in the first place.

Jiles' eyes moved to me then, flicking down to the bag in my hand. I lifted it slightly, an answer without words, and he looked back at Ricky with an expression that was clearly excuse us. Ricky muttered something under his breath and walked off without another word.

Jiles turned to me again.

"Good morning," I offered, and held the bag out toward him.

He took it without a word, leaving me to swallow back whatever else I had planned to say. I watched him sort through the contents, checking each item.

Then he looked up, dug into his pocket, and a set of keys came flying at me. I caught them against my chest with both hands.

"One Gatorade. Fries and sausage. There's cash in my locker. Third one down. Be here by lunch and take the amount you used to get this.”

He turned to walk away. My eyes widened slightly, realizing this was another errand. But something in me refused to just let him walk away like that.

“Jiles, wait."

He actually turned around, bored expression fully intact. I swallowed down my nervousness.

"A-About yesterday. Are you mad at me? Because I rejected the order before going through with it?"

I have been thinking about this all night long when he didn't reply to my text. But instead of answering, he just looked away and kept walking.

"Please, wait." My voice came out steadier this time.

He stopped again.

I stood there a second, nerves climbing, before I slid my bag off my shoulder and dug through it until I found the small bottle tucked near the bottom. I held it out to him.

"It's a tea," I said, my voice dropping slightly. "I couldn't stop thinking about the medication, and the tea reminded me of what used to help me sleep. I thought maybe you might, I don't know. Want it."

"No." He started to turn again.

"Try it once." I held it out further. "I promise you will like it."

That made him actually stop and turn fully around, a small frown settling across his face.

"Now you can talk?" His tone had an edge to it I didn't recognize. "How does it feel, me hearing you talk and then just walking away from it?"

My heart started climbing, unsure where exactly he was steering this.

"Did I do something?"

"I guess that's how Naomi got away with pushing you around.” His voice stayed even. “This whole not wanting to talk attracts exactly this kind of nonsense. Not wanting to be noticed doesn't mean you have to let people walk all over you. I watched you stand there and take whatever Ric was throwing at you without a single word back and that's sickening to watch.”

He didn't wait for a response.

He turned and walked off, leaving me standing there with the water bottle still stretched out toward nothing, his words landing somewhere raw and already bruised.

I swallowed hard against the lump rising in my throat, blinked back the sting building behind my eyes, and forced myself to walk toward my classroom before anyone could see.