When I Left, He Found His Way Back-Chapter 55: Who did you tell?

Arriving at school, I grabbed my phone from the back seat. There were missed calls from Annabelle, Liam, Sandra, and Kristen.

I returned Annabelle’s call first, stepping forward to head to my classroom but my hand was gripped from behind. Before I could react, he spun me around and yanked me into a tight embrace.

My eyes widened and I tried to push him away, but he pleaded.

"Stay still, please."

My fists clenched. It was wrong of me, as a married woman, to allow such body contact, but I didn’t move away. Maybe because I was down and also needed a hug, or because I felt sorry for him. I couldn’t tell which one it was exactly.

’Hello, Jessica?’

Annabelle’s voice rang from the phone, which was still clutched in my hand, now pressed against my ear.

"Ah, hello?" I stammered, trying to extricate myself from Max’s grasp. But he held tight.

I cleared my throat, trying to compose myself. "Annabelle, what’s up? I missed your call." I asked, trying to sound casual despite the awkwardness of the situation.

’Where are you?’

"I’ll be in class shortly."

’Hurry over. Something’s wrong.’

Max pulled away, "Thank you," he said in a hoarse voice. I could see the rim of his eyes were red.

Was he crying?

"Okay, Ann. I’ll be there soon." I ended the call, "You’re crying?"

"I’m not," he turned and walked back to his car and drove off.

Was he embarrassed? fгeewёbnoѵel_cσm

I shrugged. I also have my own problems.

Arriving in class, the atmosphere was tense, basking in silence. Professor wasn’t there either. I wondered what was wrong.

"Jessica, over here!" Annabelle waved me over.

At the mention of my name, all eyes turned to me. Some glared and others just stared blankly at me. I frowned, wondering what the matter was.

"Hey, what’s going on?" I asked as I sat beside Annabelle.

"Are you pretending not to know what you did, you snitch!" someone said from behind, and before I could turn, they grabbed my hair, yanking it.

I screeched at the sudden violence and tried to pry their hand away from my hair but couldn’t.

"Get your hands off her!" Annabelle swung her bag at the person, and finally managed to get free.

My mood was already terrible. Turning around, I landed a thunderous slap across the person’s face, and spat, "Have you lost your mind?!"

The class gasped, and so did I. The person I slapped was Nathalie Woods, Sandra’s friend, and the prime minister’s daughter.

My shock was fleeting. I stood tall, enraged. I’ve been bullied enough. Tel days ago, Celine almost scalded me. Yesterday, a barista did, and today, this. I’ve had enough of these rude people!

"You slapped me?" she was in disbelief. Perhaps, no one’s ever disrespected her before.

"You started it. You should have kept your claws to yourself!" I retorted. I was hyperventilating at this point.

"It was your fault, your asshole!"she screamed.

"How the hell do I know what I’ve done if your stupid mouth won’t speak?! We communicate with our mouth, not hands, stupid!" I said, running my fingers through my hair in an attempt to comb it back in place.

"You– I’ll tear off your mouth!!" she suddenly lurched at me, but good thong someone held the crazy lady before her claws got to me.

"You should be chained," I spat. I was really angry now, probably because I’ve not found the appropriate platform to vent.

"Enough, Jessica!" the guy who held Nathalie by the waist sternly rebuked me, and I glared at him.

"Let me go, I’ll tear her mouth apart!" Nathalie said, throwing her hands and legs in the air.

The classroom was already a mess now, everyone was watching the drama, and I could see most of them were enjoying it.

"Jessica, Sandra’s been expelled," Annabelle said calmly. When I turned to look at her, she returned my stare with a bit of curiosity. "Did you make the article on the schoo–"

"No. I didn’t," an instant reply came from me, but I knew no one would believe it. And as expected, Nathalie yelled.

"Lying bitch!"

"Shut up!" I glared at her, feeling my heart pounding. This confidence I was displaying wasn’t mine. It was probably from the fact that I was very angry, disappointed, and hurt.

"That was all I needed to hear," Annabelle said, catching me by surprise.

She believed me?

She stood in front of me in a protective stance. "Now, listen up, Nathalie. Jessica is my friend, just as Sandra is yours. I understand you’re angry. I would do the same too if Jessica was hurt, so I truly understand." She paused, "Even if you don’t believe her, I do. If Jessica is not the culprit, someone else is. If you truly want to help Sandra, you should stop being rational and join us to find the real culprit."

I was dazed, staring at Annabelle’s back. We’ve only known each other for three days and she’s already standing up for me, like I’ve known her for decades. But the friend I’ve known for so many years paid someone to hurt me. I felt tears prick the corners of my eyes but I didn’t cry.

"You can choose to believe that whore, but I don’t, and I won’t!"

"She didn’t seduce your father or your boyfriend, so refrain from calling her names," Annabelle said, her voice having rough edges.

Nathalie rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Put me down," she said to the guy carrying her and he let her down after hesitating for a while. "Why are you protecting her? You’ve only just met her three days ago."

"That’s none of your business," Annabelle held my hand and dragged me out of the class.

Standing by her locker, she looked straight at me, "What’s going on? Sandra was accusing you in the group."

My brows furrowed, "Why would she? I spoke to her earlier."

"I don’t understand too. Tell me what happened."

I took a deep breath and narrated everything to Annabelle the way it happened.

"Who did you tell?"

My brows creased, I only told Hilda.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.𝒄𝒐𝙢