Chapter 2 Solace In Song

• I stared at my reflection in the cracked bathroom mirror, gingerly prodding the fresh bruise blossoming along my jawline.
• Mom's rings had cut into my skin again when she backhanded me for burning the toast this morning.
• "Stupid, worthless girl," she'd snarled, her eyes glazed over with that dead-eyed drunk rage that always terrified me more than her wrath. "Can't even do the simplest tasks right. No wonder your useless father finally left."
• Though my father had been gone for years, but her words pierced me like a knife.
• I sighed, blinking back tears as I felt the corner of my eyes sting.
• Can't let the floodgates open before first period, or I'll be a runny mess all day.
• The hallway sharks will smell the blood in the water.
• Speaking of which...I took a fortifying breath and squared my shoulders, mentally preparing for another gauntlet of torment.
• Keep your head down, your mouth shut, and for god's sake, don't react no matter what Brittany hurls your way.
• Today was my one escape, my sole respite from this unending nightmare, and I couldn't risk missing it over one of that bitch's petty outbursts.
• The hallway was already swirling with overstimulated teens giddy for another week of adolescent misery as I shuffled through the double doors.
• Locker doors clanged, raucous laughter and overlapping chatter echoed off the walls, and the permeating stench of Axe body spray and hormones hung thick in the air.
• I kept my head down, scanning the linoleum tiles for any potential foot-related obstacles as I made my way to class. Just a few more hours until -
• "Well, well, look who slummed her way in again!"
• The grating nasal tones cut through the cacophony like kernel-studded nails on a chalkboard.
• I resisted the urge to wince, my shoulders instinctively hunching as Brittany's posse of jackals converged around me with cruel smiles.
• "Nice shiner, Loser Lucy!" Riley, Brittany's dumbest lackey, pointed a perfectly manicured nail at the bruise along my jaw. "Guess all that 'practice' is paying off in the sack, huh?"
• A chorus of titters and snickers erupted from the harpies. I focused on a scuffmark on the tile between my feet, refusing to meet their mocking gazes. Don't react, don't react...
• "Aw, what's the matter, Lucy?" Brittany crooned in that shrill baby-talk that made my molars grind. "Cat got your tongu- OOF!"
• Her derisive coo was abruptly cut off as a solid form bumped hard into her shoulder, sending her staggering back a step.
• "Oh! I'm terribly sorry, I didn't see you there."
• The refined, familiar lilt of Chase's accented voice was seeped in the most insincere contrition.
• A hush fell over the gathered jackals as he leveled his cool emerald stare at Brittany, one eyebrow cocked in obvious disdain.
• Brittany's eyes narrowed to slits, her lips pursing into a petulant moue.
• "You really need to watch where you're going, Transfer," she sneered, straightening her designer jacket with a disdainful sniff.
• "My sincerest apologies," Chase rejoined breezily. His gaze cut toward me briefly, holding just a beat too long before returning to Brittany. "I certainly didn't intend to interrupt your...morning Constitutional. Please, carry on."
• If looks could kill, Brittany's withering glare would have dropped him dead on the spot.
• Unfortunately for her, Chase seemed infuriatingly unperturbed, regarding her with little more than vague disinterest.
• "Whatever," she huffed, flipping her hair over her shoulder with an exaggerated toss. "Just stay out of my way, Transfer Kid."
• With one last contemptuous sneer in my direction, she pivoted on her heel and strode off, her faithful sycophants scurrying along in her wake like beaten dogs.
• A few cast uncertain looks over their shoulders back at Chase, as if afraid he might pursue them like a vengeful demigod.
• Chase watched them go with an impassive expression before turning to me with a slight smile tugging at his lips.
• "Walk with me?" he murmured, gesturing with a slight incline of his head.
• I blinked, taken aback by the unexpected overture.
• My gaze flickered briefly down the hallway where Brittany and her crew were still casting suspicious glances in our direction.
• As much as the thought of gaining a reprieve from their relentless torment appealed to me, I couldn't fathom why Chase would want to be associated with a perpetual punching bag like me.
• At my hesitation, his smile widened fractionally, crinkling those absurdly long lashes.
• "I assure you, there's no need to worry. Unlike some, I don't subscribe to this...antiquated primate social hierarchy."
• A startled laugh escaped my lips before I could smother it. My shoulders relaxed slightly as his utter lack of concern for teenage posturing put me at ease.
• This strange, intense boy couldn't care less about the rigid, self-imposed caste system that ruled Westbrook's halls - a caste system that had me permanently entrenched at the very bottom.
• "How's your day so far?" he asked in that low, melodious voice as we continued down the hallway, the suspicious looks and jeers from Brittany's pack fading into the ambient noise.
• I felt myself bristling reflexively as memories of my mother's venomous words and stinging blows resurfaced.
• To my surprise, Chase's placid features only adopted a look of concern at my palpable tension.
• "That troubling, I take it?" He arched one eyebrow in a wordless invitation to elaborate.
• I opened my mouth, fully prepared to deflect and demur as I always did, the instinctive impulse to retreat behind protective walls nearly overpowering.
• But there was something about Chase's calm, steady presence - something that beckoned to be met without preamble or obfuscation.
• "My mom...she has a bit of a temper," I admitted, the words feeling clumsy and inadequate as soon as they left my lips. I gestured vaguely at the mottled bruise along my jaw. "She doesn't always intend it, but..."
• But Chase's expression remained implacable, his eyes studying me with an intensity that should have been discomforting, yet somehow wasn't.
• I trailed off, mystified by how easily I was permitting myself to disclose such deeply guarded personal vulnerabilities.
• "I grieve that you must endure such abhorrent treatment, Lucy," he said at length, his voice barely above a murmur yet somehow resonating with profound empathy. "You are worthy of far kinder existences than these."
• His words washed over me, permeating an indelible warmth I couldn't quite describe.
• For the first time, my wretched circumstances were being acknowledged not with pity, but...something else entirely.
• Something more profound, more elemental.
• Chase regarded me silently for a long moment, seeming to consider his next words with care.
• "If I may be so bold..." He paused, exhaling softly through his nose. "I find your stoic resilience in facing such ongoing cruelties to be extraordinary, Lucy. You possess a quiet strength that many would wither without."
• The sincerity ringing in his voice robbed me of the ability to respond with anything beyond an inelegant blink.
• I could only gape, utterly transfixed by this strange, intense boy.
• An infinitesimal smile played across his lips as he reached out, brushing his fingertips ever so lightly along the exposed skin of my forearm - a simple, innocent gesture, yet it flooded me with a heat that had nothing to do with embarrassment.
• We came to a halt outside my first period classroom. Chase withdrew his hand, his expression once again inscrutable.
• "I'll see you later, Lucy," he murmured. I could only nod mutely, rooted to the spot as I watched him continue down the hallway until his form disappeared around the corner.
• It wasn't until the tardy bell pierced the air.