Chapter 41
WHEN I staggered into the alley, my left knee throbbing painfully from knocking into the table, I found no sign of Bill. The empty rows of hollow homes behind Jack’s offered too much cover. No way could I catch him. I paused, one hand on the warm metal of the emergency exit, feeling fresh pain wash through me.
That shouldn’t have been possible.
Bill had struck me like a rhinoceros. Even if I could run him down with a limp, if I caught him, he’d crush me.
Nothing can hurt me. Not now. Not ever again.
If Eric’s self-image had changed his skin and Ceren’s her hair, what would happen to a young man who’d decided to stand up for himself? A boy who’d faced his bully and won? A boy who equated winning with strength? Someone sick of being hurt?
I waited a moment, caught my breath,
