Silvia sat at the lunch table with Jason and Amelia, feeling very much like a third wheel. Before, at least Olivia would have been there. But now, Olivia was somewhere safe, a place to help her heal.

She still remembered what Lucita had told her.

Pregnant…

Miscarriage…

Hemorrhaging…

Cutting…

Maybe Lucita shouldn’t have told her about the cheating.

But she had been pregnant. So that means she would have probably still ended up in that bathroom stall, on the floor, bleeding.

Or maybe not.

Maybe Silvia’s confrontation had just pushed her over the edge. Maybe it had made her careless.

The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch, giving Silvia the much-needed excuse to run away from the ill-inducing couple.

Silvia had been happy when Lucita had slapped Amelia. Of course, this meant Jason no longer joined them in the morning. Or the weekends. Or whenever the girlfriend wanted to be with him. Yeah, she wasn’t really welcome in their circle.

Hopefully, he would come to his senses soon. A part of her wished Luci had slept with him. At least then he probably wouldn’t be dating Amelia. But Luci had made the right choice.

Even now, Silvia knew Luci was struggling over her feelings about Matt, the guy she had hated for years. The guy whom she had basically dated.

The guy who clearly had feelings for her despite being in another relationship.

Maybe it was just time to move on.

For all of them.

Becca took a seat next to her, her short hair still a shock. She remembered getting the photo in the group chat, remembered how her jaw had dropped.

“I still can’t believe you cut your hair.”

“But doesn’t she look amazing?” squealed Luci, taking her seat behind Silvia.

Luci’s hair, which had been short at the beginning of the year, had now grown a little past her shoulders. She hated it, complaining about how it was too long and too short to do anything with. Her own bangs brushing the frame of her glasses.

“Too bad she still can’t get a boyfriend.”

The blood in Silvia froze. If looks could kill, Evie would be dead, given the way Luci was staring at her.

“I don’t remember inviting you to this conversation,” said Silvia, fist clenching.

“Oh, I’m sorry, didn’t mean to intrude.”

“Only an ugly person puts someone down,” said Luci, grinning.

“Oh, am I ugly?”

“Very much so.”

“Hmm, I guess that’s why my ex cheated on Vee here with my brother. How is Olive doing anyway?”

She touched Vee’s shoulder, and Luci must have seen it before Vee did because she was yelling her name at the exact moment Vee’s fist met Evie’s face.

“Don’t fucking talk about her, you fucking bitch,” she said, grabbing at her hair as Evie slapped her. It was a pathetic slap, one she barely felt as she punched her again. She didn’t hear anything, not the desks moving around her, the teacher, the kids hollering around her, her friends calling for her to stop. When the big arms that clearly belonged to security wrapped around her, pulling her off the blonde with bleeding and bruised eyes, did she finally realize how much trouble she was in.

***

She sat in the waiting room next to Evie, who was holding an ice pack against her face. He knew they had called her mother and Evie’s parents, too. Bag at her feet, she held her hands tightly on her lap.

When her mother arrived, she didn’t dare look up at her; she just followed her into the principal’s office.

“Ms. Pereira, your daughter assaulted another student—”

“We demand she be expelled,” exclaimed Evie’s parents. “This girl is violent.”

“Violent?” muttered Silvia, looking up at Evie’s parents, who just glared down at her.

“Silvia—” began her mother in a warning tone. But no, she was not the violent one between the two.

“No! They don’t get to call me violent, not while they raised a monster. This girl raped and assaulted my girlfriend to the point of—” Vee took a deep breath. No, they knew what kind of person their daughter was; they had to. Nothing she said would change anything. “Do whatever you want.”

“How dare you make such baseless accusations?” seethed Evie’s mother, her hand gripping the back of her daughter’s chair tightly.

“They are not baseless.”

Everyone turned and looked up at Ms. Enno, standing in the doorway, her dark skin glowing like an avenging angel.

“Excuse me?”

“I treated the girl, however briefly. The girl in question was assaulted on many occasions by your daughter. And, if my memory serves me correctly, it was your son who gave her the abortion pills. Pills, he admitted to obtaining illegally. Pills that were not FDA-cleared resulted in her hemorrhaging. Both of your children negatively impacted the mental, emotional, and physical well-being of an innocent girl.

“So no, I am here to make sure that Ms. Pereira does not get expelled.” She pulled out the folder she had been holding under her arm. “Here is the police report, finalized, regarding your daughter’s crimes. We cannot press charges due to insufficient evidence, unfortunately, but we have noted it. It has also been filed with the school superintendent.”

Vee’s eyes widened as Evie’s father took the envelope and looked through the report and the statements they had all given about Halloween. She watched his face blanch, then scrunch up in disgust.

“Again, unfortunately, since there is no physical evidence outside of six eye witness accounts, nothing can be done. Legally. However, your daughter has been placed on academic probation and, as such, is also eligible for expulsion after this. But I will make you a counteroffer. Two weeks’ suspension for both girls, followed by a week of detention upon their return. Sound fair?”

Evie’s parents nodded grimly, and her smug smirk was now gone. And as for Silvia, her mother held her hand warmly, looking at her proudly. If this was all the justice she could get for Olivia, she would take it.

Order ‘New Girl,’ the first in my YA Romance series.