Chapter Seven - The Public Burn

Natalie's POV

Something wasn't right on campus.

The air felt sharp.

Like every breeze carried whispers.

The moment I stepped in through the front gates, I knew I was being looked at, dozens of eyes.

It had been weeks since I’d been here. Before, when I was glowing and naive, walked innocently, hand in hand with Jake Lawson, smiling like a fool.

Now, I was just... the scandal.

I bent down and embraced my bag, and walked into the midst of parked cars. With each step echoed too loud against tiled road, like I was stepping into judgment itself.

"Is that her?" someone whispered at my back.

"Oh my God, it’s really her."

"She actually came back?"

The whispers spread like fire, faster than fire among the students. I did not have to turn to realize that I was being gawked at. Botox girls with fake smiles, boys pretending not to care but clearly enjoying the show.

And the first sneer.

Whispered. Mean. Recognizable.

"Hey, look who finally crawled out from hiding."

I froze.

Cassandra's voice. It was snappy, sarcastic, and venomous. Echoing in the courtyard.

She stood by the fountain, two girlfriends flanking her, phone held in her hand, camera already recording. Red lipstick smeared into a snarl that turned my stomach.

"Careful, all of you," Cassandra yelled, teasing. "You want to keep your distance from her. She's very good at holding onto men. Especially, engaged ones."

The courtyard erupted in cruel laughter.

Someone whistled. Someone else muttered "baby mama goals" or something.

I swallowed hard. My throat constricted. My fingernails went white as I gripped my bag.

Don't react. Don't let them get what they want from you.

Cassandra approached me in her heels, and the hyena laughing behind her filled the air.

"Come on, Natalie," she continued, saccharines still dripping from her tone, "you 7could at least have tried to get yourself a freebie. But no, you flirted with Jake, huh? Didn't you?"

I rose up my eyes at hers. She was flawless, not a hair out of place, eyes sparkling with dirty gratification.

"I didn't trap anyone," I gasped.

She raised her eyebrows in feigned innocence. "Oh, sure. You just happened to get pregnant by your friend's fiancé. Totally normal."

Louder, nastier now. Some of the guys still hanging around there were muttering something about desperation, and some other girl was laughing, hand over her mouth.

My heart hurt, air burning my lungs. I wanted to yell. To disappear. To hit her. Something.

But I did nothing.

Cassandra paced up and down behind me like an animal. "You want to hear what's hilarious? Jake said he pitied you. He said that you begged him not to leave you. Oh God, you're embarrassing."

I winced.

That stung more.

I could sense tears well up in my eyes, but I was not going to cry. Not here. Not in front of them.

"Don't cry, baby," Cassandra snarled, her tone venomous. "Oh yes, I recall, you're the useless little cunt no one wanted. Maybe if you were even half as good at fucking as you pretend to be Jake wouldn't have—"

"Cassandra!"

It was a shout from the opposite side of the courtyard. It was low and furious. It was like thunder.

And in a moment the entire courtyard was quiet.

----

Eddie strode across the courtyard, his eyes blazing. His jaw was clenched, every step he took loaded down with a rage that bullied the others out of the way.

He didn't even look at Cassandra at first. He strode over to Natalie and towered over her and the others standing nearby.

What the hell were you thinking? he growled behind his teeth, the grip on her arm just tight enough.

"You should have waited for me."

Natalie couldn’t speak. Her words hung there, half-horror, half-shame.

Cassandra taunted them from behind. "Oh, look. Look who's coming. The bodyguard. How sweet."

Eddie turned around with a very hard glare.

"What the fuck did you just say?"

Cassandra's smile faltered. "I—

He leaned in, glaring at her. "speak one other word about her and I will personally ensure that the only thing people remember about you is how you begged to keep your name out of the school board’s report."

Her eyes snapped open. Nobody thought Eddie was making a threat. His family’s name carried weight, even if he hardly use it.

"Don't, Eddie—" Natalie choked, reaching for his arm.

There was calm in Eddie's voice now. "You think you're getting tough by humiliating her? You're pathetic, Cassandra. You and your clique of gutless losers."

He thrust his arm out across the crowd. "Go ahead, stare! Take pictures, gossip. You'll have something to wank about later 'cause none of you have lives worth talking about!"

Gaspings coursed through the students. Cassandra's face flushed. Her friends hesitated, deciding whether to stay or leave.".

Eddie turned back to Natalie, his voice gentler but no less poisonous. "You should have phoned me. You did not need to go through this shit alone."

She lowered her head and looked down guiltily. "I just wanted to be normal again."

He exhaled slowly, pushing a curl of hair from her face. His touch was soft, but his jaw clenched. "Normal does not exist anymore, Nat. Not for people like us."

Whispers started this time again, but a little quieter now and cautious. The crowd separated, leaving Cassandra standing alone, humiliated.

Eddie placed a hand on Natalie's lower back. "Let's go."

They rode down to the parking lot in silence. Her silence, his anger. With every step came words unspoken.

When they reached his car, Eddie borke the silence. "Next time, do not do this. Do not walk into the fire to test to see if you can handle the heat."

She looked out at the window, barely more than a whisper. "I didn't want to test myself. I just needed to remember who I was before others decided who I should be."

Eddie said nothing.

He just started the engine, clenched his jaw so hard, his eyes in hard stone because he knew very well within himself that the real burn had only just started.