Lines We Crossed

Chapter 4 — Lines Crossed

Lena had been avoiding the girls’ bathroom near the gym all week Jessica and her cheer squad practically lived there between classes. But today, she’d been in such a rush to get to Biology she hadn’t thought. She just needed a quick stop, in and out.

The second she pushed the door open, her mistake became clear.

Jessica was at the mirror, swiping lip gloss across her already perfect mouth. Two other girls Riley’s girlfriend, Tasha, and a brunette Lena didn’t know stood on either side of her like guards. All three turned when she walked in.

“Well, well,” Jessica said slowly, her voice dripping with mock sweetness. “If it isn’t our little princess.”

Lena kept her head down, moving to the farthest stall. “Not in the mood today, Jessica.”

“Oh, we’re not in the mood,” Jessica mimicked in a high, nasal voice. “Newsflash, princess, your moods don’t matter here.”

A hand shot out, catching Lena’s arm before she could close the stall door. Jessica yanked her back, making her stumble.

“I hear Nate’s been real… protective of you,” Jessica said, eyes narrowing. “Guess that means you’re giving him something worth protecting.”

Lena’s stomach twisted. “Back off.”

Tasha stepped in, shoving her shoulder hard enough that Lena hit the tiled wall. “Or what? You gonna tell your stepbrother? Let him fight your battles for you?”

The brunette grabbed her backpack and dumped it on the floor, scattering pens, notebooks, and her phone across the grimy tiles. “Oops,” she said flatly.

Lena bent to grab her things, but Jessica’s foot pressed down on her phone, the heel of her cheer shoe grinding against the screen.

“You don’t belong here,” Jessica said, leaning in so close Lena could smell the sugary scent of her lip gloss. “And trust me Nate won’t always be around to save you.”

Then she shoved her. Hard. Lena’s shoulder slammed into the stall frame, pain shooting up her arm.

She forced herself to straighten, meeting Jessica’s smug gaze. “You’re pathetic.”

The words came out before she could stop them.

Jessica’s expression darkened. “What did you just say?”

“I said you’re pathetic. Hiding in here, trying to scare me, because you’re too insecure to face the fact that Nate wouldn’t look twice at you if you were the last girl on earth.”

For a second, silence. Then Jessica’s hand came up, sharp and fast. The slap cracked through the air, stinging Lena’s cheek and making her eyes water.

Before anything else could happen, the bathroom door banged open.

“What the hell is going on?” Nate’s voice thundered into the room.

All three cheerleaders froze.

He took in the scene, Lena against the wall, her stuff on the floor, Jessica’s hand still half-raised and his expression turned lethal.

“Get. Out.”

Jessica tried to smile. “Nate, we were just..”

“Out,” he repeated, his voice low and dangerous.

The girls scattered without another word.

When the door closed behind them, he stepped toward Lena, eyes scanning her face. “Did she hit you?”

“It’s fine,” Lena muttered, kneeling to gather her things.

His hand caught her chin, tilting her face toward the light. “It’s not fine.”

For a moment, they just stood there, his thumb brushing the edge of her jaw where the redness bloomed. His gaze was sharp, but something else flickered there, something that made her chest feel too tight.

Then he stepped back, shoving his hands into his pockets. “Next time someone messes with you, you tell me. Got it?”

“I don’t need you fighting my battles,” she snapped, more out of self-preservation than anger.

He smirked faintly, but his voice was softer when he said, “Too bad. You’ve got me whether you want me or not.”