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  “After school started this year,” she admitted in shame.

  “Why?”

  She swallowed a lump in her throat. “After Peyton started bothering me, I just wanted to sleep. So I would come home and do whatever I had to do and then take the pills and sleep.”

  Ariana had to look away from Leighton to hide the anger growing inside.

  Zayley knocked loudly on the door. “Leighton, is Ariana in there?”

  Leighton opened the door with Ariana behind her.

  “Hurry up. We’re going to be late for school,” Zayley said.

  Leighton hurriedly opened her closet and grabbed an outfit for the day.

  “Is Sage in there, too?” Zayley said.

  “No, she’s not.” Ariana rushed by Zayley to check the guest room she was sharing with her older sister.

  “Is Mom downstairs?” Leighton asked her sister.

  “No, she left home several minutes ago. She said that she had to leave early to style a client’s hair.”

  Leighton followed Zayley down the hall to the guest room and found Ariana leaning against the wall with her arms crossed.

  Sage was gone.

  Chapter 18

  She couldn’t wait until after school to go home. She had to know why her mother didn’t want her or Ariana returning home. She carried her duffel bag into her bedroom. It looked the same as she’d left it. She opened the closet and began to pack some clothing and she did the same in Ariana’s room. She set the duffel bag on the floor next to her mother’s bedroom door and walked inside.

  The first place she headed to was the nightstand. She didn’t find anything unusual there. Then, she checked her mother’s closet—any place in the bedroom she could hide something. Her mother’s bedroom checked out okay. From there she left and walked into the kitchen. At first glance the kitchen appeared to be spotless. Sage rounded a corner and hurried over to the dining room table when she saw a pile of paperwork on top.

  She flipped through the documents and saw small cards with doctor’s appointment printed on them. She could feel her knees getting weaker by the second. She could feel her breath getting caught in her throat.

  Footsteps raced into the dining room where Sage was not sitting on the floor.

  “Sage!” Ariana called out. “I thought we were coming here after school. What the hell! We’re going to be late for school!”

  She leaned down next to Sage, knowing instantly that something was wrong. “What’s wrong?” She read the information on the paper that her sister was holding. Tears stung her eyes and threatened to spill over but she held them back.

  “Hey…” Leighton gasped at the sight of seeing them on the floor. “Are you guys okay?”

  Ariana slowly stood up and turned around to face Leighton and Zayley. “Mom’s…” She was getting choked up. Sage began to softly sob.

  Ariana removed the document from Sage’s grasp and handed it to Leighton. Zayley was standing next to her and both couldn’t believe what they were reading.

  Leighton handed the document to Zayley.

  “I don’t care what that paper says. Aunt Lola is going to be fine.”

  “Leighton,” Zayley said in nearly a whisper.

  “This year has been the most terrible year of my life. First, I had to say good-bye to my uncle. Peyton’s been on my ass since school started this year and now my aunt’s dying.”

  “Maybe we should take the day off from school and call her and Mom,” Zayley suggested.

  “No,” Sage stated, standing up. “We’re going to school. Talking to Mom—that waits until after school.”

  “She’s going to get the tumor removed from her brain and then she’ll go through chemo treatments,” Zayley added softly. “So she has a good chance of survival.”

  Sage and Ariana prayed that was true. They’d already lost their father. They didn’t want to lose their mother, too.

  Chapter 19

  The school day was a blur. Leighton, Zayley, Sage, and Ariana were trying to come to grips with their discovery. Lola was suffering from a brain tumor. The four girls were physically at school but they were mentally elsewhere. Leighton received many compliments on her hair and mumbled a quick thanks. Jade, Anais, and Harper chatted Ariana’s ear off in advanced anatomy and physiology, the only class they shared together (thank God). Sage wasn’t in the mood to bake anything in home economics while Zayley couldn’t focus in her math class.

  Leighton rushed out of class as soon as the bell rang for lunch. She felt as if she was going to be sick. She reached into her purse and pulled out a bottle of water.

  “Hey, are you okay?” Aidan said, after he’d caught up to her.

  She nodded even though she wasn’t feeling “okay.”

  She finished drinking the remainder of the water and disposed of the water bottle.

  “Is your mom and grandmother okay?” she asked him.

  “Yeah, they’re fine,” he responded.

  She heard him sigh.

  “I’ll meet you in the cafeteria in a few minutes,” she said. He held her hand, his thumb caressing her fingers for a few seconds. “I’ll be waiting for you.”

  Leighton blushed slightly not knowing how to respond and dropped her hand from his.

  She causally walked into the girls’ restroom, walked into a stall and closed and locked the door behind her.

  She heard someone enter the girls’ restroom without speaking. This “someone” had two other girls with her. Leighton could feel her breath getting caught in her throat. Then, she heard that “someone’s” voice. “People have been talking about how pretty your hair is now that you’re back to being a blonde.” That voice definitely belonged to Peyton Evers. She heard Peyton laugh a little. “People talked more about you today than me and that’s definitely a problem.”

  She stood in front of the stall Leighton was in and leaned back against it, putting all of her weight on the door. “Now I’m putting you in time out. I’m going to make you learn your lesson.”

  Leighton tried to push the door open but it wouldn’t budge. “If you scream, I’m going to come in there and it won’t be pretty,” Peyton warned. Sailor chuckled evilly while Gigi held up her phone to film the event.

  Leighton wasn’t hearing anything that they were saying; it was all white noise. She hated being confined to such a tiny space. She felt trapped. She was trapped. Her breathing was becoming more rapid as if she couldn’t catch her breath. Her heart was beating so fast, so much that she was certain she was on the verge of having a panic attack. She sat down on the floor in front of the toilet with her knees pulled to her chest and her arms wrapped around her legs.

  She was trapped and there was no way out unless she made one for herself.

  She could see Peyton’s legs underneath the stall. With all of her strength, Leighton kicked Peyton as hard as she could, causing her to nearly fall. She quickly regained her footing and the stall’s door came swinging open in her direction.

  “You tried to hit me, didn’t you?” Peyton said to her.

  “I didn’t try to do anything. I kicked you. A kick is different from a hit,” Leighton explained. For the first time ever Leighton almost smiled at Peyton. She wasn’t sure why exactly especially since she was outnumbered.

  Everyone’s phone buzzed. Gigi got to hers first:

  Today is the day that Peyton’s life changes forever.

  “Well,” Gigi began after she read the message, “it’s not Leighton.”

  “I still want to have fun with her,” Peyton said, before nearly jumping out of her skin at the sight of Sage and Ariana in her face.

  “Not as much fun as I’d like to have with you,” Sage added, taking a step towards her.

  Ariana wasted no time jumping in front of Sailor who let out a frustrated grunt. She hated to admit it but she found Ariana to be intimidating. “I’ve been having a really bad day so now wouldn’t be the time to piss me off,” Ariana said to Sailor.

  Ariana had Gigi wi
thin her range of sight. “Gigi, don’t try anything stupid,” she warned.

  “My mom’s going to be here any second,” Peyton said in a shaky voice.

  Sage shook her head. “She’s busy at the moment.”

  “And the bathroom’s closed for cleaning,” Ariana added.

  Sage took another step towards Peyton while she had her back against the wall. Sage edged her face close to the girl’s ear. “Screaming is a deed that will make things much worse for you.”

  Peyton’s own heart raced as her eyes widened in terror. She had never been so scared in her life.

  “You have been bothering my cousin, Leighton, and I really don’t appreciate that,” Sage stated. Peyton responded to Sage but not by speaking. She spit on Sage, intending for it to hit her face but instead it hit her shirt.

  Sage’s face turned stone cold, feeling as if she’d been diseased while Peyton grinned.

  Ariana knew in that instant things were about to go south and she had to be prepared for anything.

  Sage slapped Peyton hard across the face. Gigi quickly got out of the way, not wanting to get caught in the middle. Sailor pushed Ariana, trying to make it to Peyton; however, Ariana tripped her causing her to fall flat on her ass. She didn’t think twice when she grabbed Sailor by the collar of her shirt and punched her in the stomach—hard. Leighton watched the events play out in front of her wanting to help but not sure how. She’d never actually fought anyone before. She knew that someone was bound to walk in and see this and she didn’t want her cousins (who were like sisters to her) to get in trouble.

  Sage gave Peyton another hard slap, causing her to fall on the floor. Then, she grabbed a handful of her hair and dragged her into the nearest stall.

  “You think it’s funny to bully and belittle people?” Sage screamed. Peyton was crying so hard snot was coming out of her nose. She tried to resist but Sage was too strong. She forced Peyton’s head into the toilet. When she pulled Peyton’s head up for a brief second of air, she swung at Sage and missed. Sage gave her another hard slap and punched her in the abdomen, sending her spiraling backwards.

  The bathroom door swung open and Principal Evers and several teachers walked in to separate the fighting girls.

  Sage saw Principal Evers walking towards her and gave her the evil eye while Peyton ran into her mother’s arms crying.

  Two older women pulled Sailor and Ariana apart, mumbling that they weren’t paid enough to do this.

  Principal Evers pointed a finger at Sage and screamed, “You are so damn done at this school!”

  A crowd of students stood waiting outside of the girls’ restroom to see what would happen next. Principal Evers spoke with Peyton in her office. She didn’t bother to speak to the other girls.

  Sage and Ariana were suspended for five days. Leighton was shocked that she wasn’t suspended along with her cousins. She caught Peyton grinning at her. She still hadn’t learned anything yet.

  Leighton felt as if this was all her fault. She thought that if she’d done something maybe this wouldn’t have happened. This year alone Sage and Ariana had lost their father. Their mother was dying of brain cancer and now they were being suspended for defending her.

  A part of Leighton had been broken and now she was going to fix it.

  Chapter 20

  “I can’t believe this,” Lola said while sitting between Sage and Ariana on the couch in Irina’s living room. “You girls were just enrolled in your new school and now you’re suspended. What has gotten into you two?”

  Leighton was sitting on the love seat with Zayley beside her while their mother stood near the couch with her arms crossed, wanting to make sense of it all.

  “It’s my fault,” Leighton said with her head hung low. Everyone’s attention turned to her. “They were defending me.”

  “What do you mean by that?” her Aunt Lola said. She could feel her mother eagerly watching her, waiting for an explanation.

  So she started from the beginning and explained how she’d been living in hell her senior year—all because of Peyton Evers. She wanted to confess that she used to take sleeping pills just to sleep the entire night but decided against it.

  “And the principal, Principal Evers, doesn’t do anything about it because Peyton’s her daughter. She doesn’t just bother Leighton. She will target anyone. No one is safe from Peyton—not even teachers.”

  Irina put her arm around her oldest daughter and hugged her. “Why didn’t you girls tell me any of this?”

  “I thought that you’d go to the school and talk to the principal,” Leighton admitted. “It wouldn’t do any good; it would only make things worse.”

  “What happened in the girls’ bathroom before Sage and Ariana arrived?”

  “Peyton wouldn’t let me leave. She leaned against the stall’s door; and when I tried to open it, it wouldn’t open. So I kicked her. She was going to fight me until Sage and Ariana showed up.”

  “Honey, I’m going to fix her and her daughter,” her mother said.

  “Mom, what are you going to do?” Leighton asked worried. This is exactly why she didn’t want to tell her.

  “Something that will help you.”

  Leighton and Zayley exchanged glances.

  “Maybe you should take the day off from school tomorrow,” her mother suggested.

  “No, I’m going to school. She’s not scaring me away.”

  She got a text on her phone, causing it to vibrate. Leighton didn’t bother reading the message.

  “Who’s that?”

  “Probably Vanessa or Aidan. I didn’t make it to lunch.”

  “Mom, we need to talk,” Sage said to her mother, Lola.

  “Yes we do. It’s a ‘talk’ I’m not looking forward to but we need to have it—especially since you went home when I told you to stay here.” Sage, Ariana, and Lola walked outside to the deck in the backyard.

  Leighton read the text on her phone now. It was from Aidan.

  Aidan: Is it a good time for me to visit you?

  Leighton: Yeah.

  Aidan: See you in twenty mins.

  Aidan made it to her home in less than fifteen minutes. They were standing outside in her backyard watching the sunset a good distance away from Sage, Ariana, and Aunt Lola.

  “Are you okay?” he said to her with a concerned look on his face.

  “No, I’m not,” she answered honestly. “But I will be.” She looked away from him, knowing that he’d probably heard about what happened at school. “Ariana and Sage were suspended for five days for defending me against Peyton.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that,” he said in response.

  “Me too. They just transferred here. They shouldn’t have to deal with this now.”

  He blushed but she didn’t seem to notice.

  “I’m sorry that I couldn’t join you for lunch today,” she continued.

  He looked down. “It’s okay.” He paused then said, “Actually it’s not okay. I now it wasn’t your fault but I look forward to spending my lunch hour with you. And I missed that today.”

  She slightly blushed and hoped that he didn’t notice.

  “I want to hear it from you,” he said to her. “What really happened today with you and Peyton?”

  For the second time Leighton went into details about what happened between her and Peyton while they were in the girls’ restroom. And she also included how Sage and Ariana defended her.

  “That sucks,” he stated.

  “Yeah, it does,” she added. She sat down under the tall, old, tree in the backyard and he did the same. She rested her head against his chest, a gesture that caught him by surprise but he didn’t move. He simply placed his hand on her back and rested it there.

  “I hope things get better,” he said.

  “I do, too but I don’t think it will.”

  Chapter 21

  Leighton was more than ready to get her day started. She was going to show Peyton Evers exactly what she was made of. Peyton thought
everything was over just because Sage and Ariana had been suspended for five days. She and Sailor had no idea what was coming to them.

  As she prepared herself for school, she noticed that the house seemed extra quiet. It was two people short. Sage and Ariana spent the night at home with their mother, who had finally confessed to her daughters that she had a brain tumor and would soon be undergoing surgery to get it removed. Leighton was relieved that there was a good chance Aunt Lola was going to survive; however, she was still nervous about it since she knew that there was still a chance things might not turn out the way she wanted.

  “Sure you don’t want to stay home from school?” her mother said to her while she took several bites of breakfast.

  “I’m sure,” she responded, not hesitating. There was no way that Peyton was going to scare her away.

  Zayley stole several glances at Leighton but didn’t stare too long since she knew that would irritate her.

  “If anything happens at school, call me on your phone,” their mother said. “I’ll be here when you girls get home.”

  The drive to school was silent for Zayley and Leighton. Zayley watched her sister out the corner of her eye. She drove with one hand on the steering wheel, her eyes intently focusing on the road. Leighton didn’t appear angry, but deep down fire boiled in her veins. Peyton Evers locked her in a bathroom stall at school and wouldn’t let her out. Even when Sage and Ariana entered the bathroom, she never once said anything. She clenched her jaw. If she’d said something, her cousins may not be suspended right now. That was then and this is now. She was going to fix things. She was going to make everything right again. She didn’t know how. But she was sure going to try. And she was going to do it in her own way—by putting Peyton in her place. And she didn’t care if doing so got her suspended. She could always take care of business outside of school to get her point across.

  She pulled up in a parking space at school and parked in the spot that she normally parked in. She inhaled and then exhaled slowly before unbuckling her seat belt. She looked over her shoulder at Zayley and noticed that she hadn’t moved an inch. Her eyes zoned in on Leighton. “What is it?” Leighton questioned her. Their ears were both filled with the sound of someone knocking on the driver’s side window and an annoying voice was on the other end. “Hey! I was going to park there,” Peyton stated, continuing to knock on the window. “Move your car somewhere else.”