One Day Soon (One Day Soon, #1)(9)

I noticed that he glanced my way occasionally, but didn’t make any attempt to come back over.

The hoodie guy inched closer and I wanted to move away. But I didn’t. I didn’t want him to know that he bothered me. Instinct told me to not reveal any weakness out here.

“I was talking to you. You think you’re too good or somethin’?”

Just say something to get him to leave you alone!

“No, I don’t think that. I’m just hanging out. I was about to leave.” I forced myself to drop my arms casually to my side, tucking my thumbs in my pockets as though I was doing just what I said. Hanging out.

“Don’t rush off. Things were just about to get started. Why don’t you come hang out with me for a while?” Hoodie Guy grabbed me by the upper arm and pulled me towards him.

I stumbled, but managed to stay upright. His fingers were digging into my flesh and I jerked my arm out of his hold. “Don’t touch me unless I tell you to,” I hissed.

Hoodie Guy chuckled and it wasn’t a nice sound. “Then tell me to,” he said, grabbing me again. “I really think you need to come over here with me.” He pulled on me again and this time he wasn’t letting go.

I cast a look around the darkened clearing below the bridge. We were surrounded by people, but no one was looking our way. And I knew that no one would lift a finger to intervene. They existed by a different set of rules down here. It was every boy or girl for themselves.

“Let me go,” I growled, trying to get free.

“Shut the f*ck up, bitch,” Hoodie Guy snarled, no longer trying to keep up any sort of pretense. He dragged me over rocks towards a wooded area.

He’s going to rape me. Or worse he was going to kill me.

“Please, just let me go,” I pleaded, not sounding remotely tough or badass anymore. I just wanted to get away.

My shoes caught on the rocks and I stumbled again, falling to the ground. Hoodie wrenched on my arm so hard that I was worried he dislocated it. “Stand up, bitch! Fucking stand up, now!”

“Is there a problem here?”

Relief thick and suffocating swept over me. I looked up, my hair in my face, my arm still firmly in Hoodie Guy’s grasp and saw Skateboard Boy staring down at me, his face hard and unreadable.

“This doesn’t f*cking concern you, Yoss. Back the f*ck off,” Hoodie Guy snarled, yanking on my arm again. My shoulder protested painfully, but I wouldn’t get to my feet.

“Actually, she’s a friend of mine, so yeah, it does concern me,” Skateboard Boy, who I had just learned was named Yoss, said. “She’s here to see me, isn’t that right?” He stared down at me, but I couldn’t see his eyes in the dim light.

I nodded desperately. “Yeah, I’m here to see Yoss.” My voice was panicky and high pitched.

“Why didn’t you say that earlier then?” Hoodie Guy demanded, still not relinquishing my arm. “Anyway, she’s gonna hang out with me now, isn’t that right, sweetheart?” His awful voice was all honey again.

“No. I’m here to see Yoss,” I argued, finally standing up and pulling on my arm with enough force that his nails broke skin.

Hoodie Guy laughed his horrible laugh as he turned to my rescuer. “Are you playin’ with * for a change?”

I frowned, not understanding what he was getting at. Yoss’s jaw tightened and his fists clenched at his side. “Come on, let’s go,” Yoss said to me, his eyes still on Hoodie.

“Okay,” I replied, scrambling to his side.

Yoss took my hand and gripped it tightly. It seemed a territorial move. Normally I would have balked at the gesture, but with Hoodie only minutes away from doing unspeakable things to me, I welcomed it.

“Don’t put your hands on her again, Tag. Otherwise I’ll have to tell Manny,” Yoss threatened, his voice low and dangerous.

I expected Hoodie—Tag—to sneer and come for me again, but he didn’t. Instead, he backed away.

“Whatever. No need for all that shit.” Tag turned and disappeared into the trees.

I all but sagged in relief. “Thank y—”

“You need to get the hell out of here,” Yoss said, dropping my hand like it had burned him.

I swallowed thickly and rubbed my arms. “I can’t,” I said, raising my voice slightly, trying to find my backbone again. The situation with Tag had scared me. And part of me wanted to listen to Yoss and go home.

But then I thought of what I’d be going home to so I stood my ground.

“Look, girl—”

“Imogen. My name is Imogen. Though my friends call me Imi,” I interrupted. Was I allowing this strangely beautiful boy to call me the nickname reserved for people I actually liked?

Absolutely.

He had saved my life. That gave you nickname rights in my book.

“Imogen, cool name.” He smiled and I smiled. It was sort of contagious. But then his face became serious again. “Imi, you don’t belong out here. That’s obvious. You’ve got a home don’t you?”

“Not one where I want to be,” I muttered.

Yoss ran his hand through his hair and sighed with frustration. “Well that’s the difference between you and every other kid out here, Imogen. You have a home you don’t want to go to. The rest of us just don’t have a home. So I don’t give a f*ck how sad and pathetic you think your life is, do yourself a favor and run your pretty little tail all the way back to your white picket fence.” He sounded angry whereas before he had been fiercely protective.