Chapter 8
“It’s nothing, Malik. Just a little scratch. Please don’t blame Sadie-
she didn’t mean it. I wasn’t careful and knocked over the IV
stand. I’m just clumsy.”
Sidekick #1 wasted no time jumping in. “That’s not what happened! Lorena offered to get lunch for Sadie, and Sadie lost
it–she totally tripped her on purpose! We all saw it!”
Sidekick #2 added, “Exactly! Lorena’s already sick, and she still thought to ask if Sadie had eaten. And that’s how she repays
her? By pushing her over?”
Malik’s fury flared in an instant, his voice laced with rage.
“Where’s Sadie? Get out here right now! How dare you let
Lorena get you food? Her father should’ve let you die in that
crash instead of saving you–at least then you wouldn’t be here
to torment his daughter!”
Inside the infirmary, Sadie heard every word loud and clear.
She let out a dry, mocking laugh.
Just like last time. Lorena’s word was gospel.
LI
The next seco, p……..
yanked open.
Sadie looked up.
Her face was pale, lips dry and cracked, her body clearly weak
and feverish.
“Sadie, you-”
Malik’s words caught in his throat the moment he saw her.
Whatever rage he’d come storming in with vanished under the
sight of her sickly, exhausted face.
Sadie doubled over, coughing violently into her hand.
Her thin back trembled as she hunched over, like she might
cough up a lung at any moment.
Malik’s tone was sharp and unforgiving. “Don’t think for a second that playing sick and acting all pitiful is going to get you out of this. I told you to take care of Lorena at school–bring her water, get her lunch. And what did you do? You made her, a
sick girl, bring lunch to you. As if that wasn’t enough, you didn’t
even show any gratitude. You tripped her instead. Do you even
have a conscience?”
Chapter B
Sadie fought to catch her breath. “I didn’t push her. She just-”
“Oh, let me guess. You’re going to say she slipped on her own?” Malik cut her off. “That’s the excuse you’re going with? Do you really think I’m that stupid? Just admit you did it.”
Sadie’s eyes stung. Still, she forced herself to straighten her back and said quietly, but firmly, “I didn’t.”
Smack.
A sharp slap landed across her face, heat and pain blooming
instantly on her cheek.
But the sting on her skin was nothing compared to the ache in
her chest.
She was so used to this kind of pain, she barely felt it anymore.
“What the hell, Malik?” Jeremy stepped in, grabbing his arm.
“She did something so cruel and still won’t admit it,” Malik
snapped. “I don’t need a sister who’s this heartless.”
At the doorway, Lorena stood with her hand wrapped in gauze,
her eyes red, her expression fragile and pitiful.
She spoke up gently, voice shaking with emotion, “Malik, I
already said–it was my fault. Sadie had nothing to do with it.”
