“Open wide,” Rhett says, and flicks another tampon at me. It hits me in the face. It doesn’t hurt. The gesture, however, opens a gaping wound inside me, and I’m transfixed. Is this really happening? Should I pinch myself out of what is clearly a horrible nightmare?
“What the shit, Rhett?!” I finally blurt out, surprised by my own tone. Where’d that come from? I need more! I need a friggin’ flamethrower to turn them all to ashes.
He’s relentless. Without a single emotion flickering across his sharp features, he turns my backpack upside down. Books, pens and notebooks fall out, making a mess at my feet. The sounds they make upon impact drill holes into my very soul. But it’s not enough. No, Rhett’s not done yet. He shoves the empty backpack into my chest with such strength that I’m pushed back a couple of feet.
The rest of my tampons are out on display for everyone to see. I’m speechless. Hurt. Their laughter stabs my eardrums, like forks on a blackboard. Rhett moves like a shadow. I don’t even notice it until he stands so close, that there’s hardly a breath of space between us.
“Run, Elly. Run fast and run far,” he says, anger burning in his emerald green eyes.
He walks away, motioning for Kellan and Gage to follow him. The girls go after them like overexcited Pomeranians - beauty queens beaming at their gladiators, fresh out of the arena, victorious in battle. The others are still laughing, trading murmurs and whispers about me. Some are brazen enough to point fingers in my direction.
I can still smell the whisky from Rhett. It lingered on his lips and tongue, the same lips and tongue he used to tell me off. The same lips and tongue that had told me I was different from all the girls he’d ever met, just a month ago.
My body is shaking, my limbs weak and gooey. But at least they’re gone. I’m left on my own in the parking lot, in front of the Range Rover, my stuff all over the ground. My tampons are glaring back at me. It’s not like I can hold it in… Why should I be ashamed? Why am I ashamed?
One thing is clear, though. As they all go in, and the first bell rings, I realize the hard, unpalatable truth. People are incredibly different, depending on their habitat. I met a big, sweet Kellan. We made love. A tall and charming Rhett. We talked for hours on end. A comforting and funny Gage. We quit smoking together, and we kicked ass in the canoe races across the lake. These versions I’ve just met are not The Hotshots I know. No. They’re assholes. Heartless bastards who get off on bullying me in the parking lot, on my very first day at this piece of shit school.
I should’ve listened to my instinct. I should’ve found the strength to walk away from them, not toward them. Only one question remains, now, and it’s not in my nature to leave it unanswered. What happened since summer camp? What made them turn against me like this?
What the hell did I ever do to them?
And how sweet will revenge taste?
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