Slammed (Slammed #1)(61)

I feel his hand on the couch as he kneels down next to me. "Will!" I gasp as I open my eyes and actually see his face. "Your eye." There's a trail of blood running down his neck from a gash above his eye.

"It's fine. I'll be fine," he says as he leans over me. "Do you mind?" he asks as his hands grasp the bottom of my shirt.

I shake my head.

He pulls my shirt up over my back and I feel something cold compress against my skin. He places the ice pack on top of the injury. He stands and opens the front door, shutting it behind him as he leaves.

He left. He just left without saying a word. I lay there for a few more minutes, expecting him to return right away, but he doesn't.

I roll onto my side and let the pack of ice fall onto the couch. I ease my shirt back down and prepare myself to stand up just as the door bursts open and my mother runs in.

"Lake? Sweetie, are you okay?" She throws her arms around me. Will walks in behind her.

"Mom," I say weakly as I return her hug and cry.

***

"It's fine Mom, really," I say as she's tucking me into my bed, asking me how my back feels for the one hundredth time in the ten minutes that I've been home.

She smiles and strokes my hair. That's what I'm going to miss the most about her. The way she strokes my hair as she looks at me with so much love in her eyes.

"Will says you got hit in the back. Who hit you?"

I wince as I try to push myself up against my pillow.

"Javi. He's in my class. He was trying to punch Will but I got in the way."

"Why was he trying to punch Will?"

"Because Will punched him. Javi walked me to my jeep when I left the club. He thought I wanted him to kiss me. I was trying to push him off of me-I couldn't get him to stop. The next thing I know Will's on top of him, punching him."

"That's awful, Lake. I'm so sorry," she says as she leans forward and kisses my forehead.

"It's fine, Mom. I'm fine. I just need some sleep."

She strokes my head again before she stands up and flicks the lights off.

"What about Will? What's he going to do?" she asks before she closes the door.

"I don't know," I reply. Because at first, I think her question is referring to what he's going to do about Javi. But after she shuts the door, I realize she's asking what he's going to do about his job.

I lie awake for hours after that, dissecting the situation. We weren't on school grounds. He was defending me. Maybe Javi won't say anything. Will did throw the first punch, though. And the third. And the fourth. And probably would have thrown the fifth if Gavin wouldn't have walked up when he did. I try to recall every small detail of the entire night, in case I'm asked to defend his actions tomorrow.

***

The next day, I wake up to find Caulder in my kitchen with Kel eating cereal.

"Hey. My brother can't take us today. Says he has something he has to do."

"What does he have to do?"

Caulder shrugs. "I dunno. He brought your jeep home this morning. Then he left again." A spoonful of fruit loops goes into his mouth.

***

I can barely sit through my first two classes. Eddie and I spend second period writing notes back and forth. I told her everything that happened last night. Everything except for Will's poem.

I feel like I'm floating as we walk to third period. Almost like in my dreams when I'm hovering above myself, watching myself walk. I feel like I'm not in control of my actions, I'm just observing them as they are carried out. Eddie opens the door and walks in first. I follow slowly behind her as I make my way through the classroom door. Will isn't here yet. Neither is Javi. I inhale as I take my seat. The bustling of the conversation among the other classmates is briefly interrupted by a crackling over the intercom.

"Layken Cohen, please report to administration."

I immediately swing around and look at Eddie. She gives me a half-hearted smile and a thumbs up. She's just as nervous as I am.

There are several people in the office when I walk in. I recognize the principal, Mr. Murphy, speaking with two men I don't recognize. When he notices me walk in, he nods and motions for me to follow him through the door. When I enter the room, Will is seated with his arms folded at the table. He doesn't look up at me. This doesn't look good.

"Mrs. Cohen, please take a seat," Mr. Murphy says to me as he seats himself at the other head, opposite Will.

I choose the chair closest to me.

"This is Mr. Chorizo, Javier's father," says Mr. Murphy, motioning toward the man I didn't recognize.

Mr. Chorizo is sitting across from me. He stands slightly and reaches across the table and shakes my hand.

"This is Officer Venturelli," he says of the other man.

He follows suit and leans across the table, shaking my hand.

"I'm sure you know why you're here. It is our understanding that there was an incident involving Mr. Cooper that occurred off of school grounds," he says, pausing in case I need to object. I don't.

"We would appreciate it if you could tell us your version of events."

I glance toward Will and he gives me an ever so slight nod, letting me know he wants me to tell the truth. So I do. For fifteen minutes I explain in honest detail everything that happened last night. Everything except for Will's poem.