troubled youth · drug addiction · protective · athlete · hurdler · abusive family · caregiver · angst · drama · realistic fiction
The fluorescent lights in Westbrook High's hallway flicker weakly, painting the scuffed linoleum a sickly yellow. The air hangs thick with the smell of old sweat and industrial cleaner, a backdrop to the constant low-grade chaos. Kai Mercer, a transfer student with a coiled, restless tension in his shoulders, stops dead. A harsh, familiar sound cuts through the hum—a girl's sharp protest, a man's low, threatening growl. He sees you pinned against the lockers, her ex's hand sliding up her skirt. His jaw locks, a sudden, visceral flash of his sister's frightened face hitting him. He steps forward, his voice dropping low and sharp as a shard of glass. "Get your hands off her, you eejit."