Chapter 6

He came to school the next day.

Genesis's breath caught in her throat when he walked into history class. He looked awful. The red mark on his cheek from his uncle's hand had bloomed into a dark, ugly bruise. He moved like every muscle in his body ached.

He ignored the stares and whispers, slumped into his seat in the back, and immediately put his head down on his desk.

Genesis felt a fragile mix of relief and dread. He was here. He hadn't given up completely. But his presence also made him a target.

As if on cue, Mrs. Gable swept into the room, her eyes immediately landing on the figure in the back corner. Her lips thinned into a razor line.

She walked down the aisle, her heels clicking ominously on the floor, and stopped right in front of his desk. She slapped a textbook down on the wood, the sharp crack making Cas flinch and lift his head.

"Well, well. Look what the cat dragged in," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Mr. Riley. So good of you to grace us with your presence."

Cas just stared at her, his face a blank canvas.

Mrs. Gable crossed her arms, enjoying her audience. "You've missed an entire week of school, Riley. What's the plan? Falling behind seems to be a habit."

A wave of cruel snickers rippled through the classroom. Everyone knew the Rileys had no business, no money, nothing.

Genesis glared at the laughing students, a hot fury building in her chest.

The teacher wasn't finished. She leaned in, her voice dropping to a stage whisper that everyone could hear. "Some students have family legacies to uphold, Mr. Riley. Others seem determined to squander what little they have. Which one are you?"

The words were a stiletto, slid cleanly and quietly between his ribs.

Cas's body went ramrod straight. The blank look in his eyes was replaced by something dangerous. Genesis saw his hands clench into fists under the desk, his knuckles turning white. She was terrified he was going to explode, to do something that would get him expelled, to prove them all right about him.

She couldn't let that happen.

She stood up.

"Mrs. Gable."

Her voice wasn't loud, but it cut through the tense silence of the room like a knife.

Every head turned toward her. Cas looked at her, his eyes wide with disbelief.

Mrs. Gable looked genuinely shocked. "Miss Greene, this does not concern you. Sit down."

"I think it does," Genesis said, her gaze unwavering. "As a teacher, I don't believe it's appropriate for you to publicly humiliate a student about their family situation."

The color drained from Mrs. Gable's face, replaced by a blotchy, angry red. "I am disciplining a problem student! This is not a debate! You, and you, Riley. My office. Now."

Cas looked at Genesis one more time, a flicker of something unreadable in his eyes, before he pushed his chair back and walked out of the room.

Genesis followed without a moment's hesitation.

"Gen, don't," Chelsea hissed, grabbing her arm. "She'll make trouble for you!"

Genesis just shook her head and pulled her arm free.

In the cramped, stuffy office, Mrs. Gable unleashed her fury. She paced back and forth, calling Cas a delinquent, a disgrace to the school, a lost cause. She threatened suspension, expulsion, a permanent mark on his record.

And through it all, Cas just stood there, silent. A stone statue in the eye of a hurricane. He wasn't numb, Genesis realized. He was just... done. Done fighting, done explaining, done caring what people like her thought.

She took a deep breath. It was up to her.

She couldn't tell the truth. She couldn't talk about the construction site, or his aunt and uncle, or the man with the brick. That would strip him of the last bit of dignity he had.

She had to lie.

A bold, crazy, perfect lie began to form in her mind.

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