Free Broken by Dean Murray Page B

little classroom. I stopped off at my locker
before heading to the tutor room, but Britney was nowhere to be
seen. Probably still mad. I mentally shrugged as I swapped out
books, and set off.
    Rachel was already seated in her usual spot
in no-man's land. I debated where to sit for a second. I'd done the
right thing in standing up to Cassie, but I didn't want to further
alienate Brandon, or put myself anymore firmly in the group of
idiots who looked to Alec as their master and liege. Before I could
finish weighing the pros and cons, Rachel looked up and caught my
eye.
    The smile that appeared on her face was
tentative but genuine, and completely resolved my doubts. I
returned her shy greeting with a smile of my own, and sat down at
the table closest to her.
    Britney entered the tutor lab a few minutes
later, and frowned at me before going over and sitting at the end
of the room containing the jocks and cheerleaders. Apparently I was
supposed to have waited?
    I sighed and flipped open my book. As I
finished up my second assignment for the day, I realized I was
parched. My trusty water bottle was empty when I reached for it, so
I quietly stood and left the room. I thought I remembered where the
closest drinking fountain was. Even so, I planned on getting a
little lost before I found it. I didn't however plan on nearly
colliding with Alec as he slowly rounded the corner in front of
me.
    The tension of the near fight earlier had
distracted me from just how incredible looking he was. There was no
such refuge now. For a moment I couldn't think of anything other
than how the dark blue of his shirt brought out his tan
complexion.
    If his gorgeousness had stopped there, I
probably would've been ok, but the little spirits in charge of
keeping the universe in equilibrium must've been momentarily busy
with something more important.
    The blue buttons that kept his shirt snuggly
wrapped around his impressive torso were almost the exact shade of
his eyes, which happened to be staring at me with a trace of
something different than his normal self-assurance. In someone else
I would've almost said gratitude, but his manner was too arrogant
for that.
    More than anything else, that's what finally
shook me from my reverie. He was already talking.
    "...wanted to talk to you about what happened
today."
    Part of me wanted to wait and see what he was
going to say, to lose myself in what was sure to be a very
convincing lie designed to make him look good, and me feel like I
was on heroin for however long he favored me with his presence.
Luckily that idealistic, stupid part of me had seen too many girls
get used by smooth-talking boys. I interrupted right away.
    "You mean when your sister nearly got beaten
by that whore, and you not only didn't do anything, you stopped
your friends, from doing anything either."
    Alec flinched a little. I was a little
surprised by how satisfying it was to have him, a demigod, on the
run, but I didn't let it slow me down.
    "The fact that I, a little waif from out of
town, could defuse the situation and save Rachel no doubt sticks in
your craw, which explains why you're lurking around out here
waiting to talk to me. Because only then can you fabricate some
reason for why everything had to go down the way it did, and
thereby save face!"
    He wasn't flinching now. Instead his face had
gotten tight and remote. For a second it seemed like he was looking
right through me. "You don't understand."
    Alec's expression should have scared me. It
sent shivers down my spine, but I was too mad to back down over a
little thing like my knees nearly shaking. "Of course. That's an
easy comeback. I don't understand. You're right, I don't. I
would've done almost anything to protect my sister, but you didn't
even care that Rachel was going to get hurt."
    Now I really was scared, Alec was trembling
slightly, and he looked like he wanted to slap me. While I was
still trying to decide whether I should radiate smugness at having
verbally bested him,