Tryst Six Venom by Penelope Douglas

Ugh, great. She knows. She totally knows.
I push through the crowd, heading downstairs and into the hallway that’s
flooded with more students. Eighth period has been cancelled for a pep rally,
and locker doors slam, everyone trying to put away their materials so they
don’t have to take them into the gym.
Some of us skip the rally, though, and duck out early for the day. I don’t
want to risk being caught with her out in the parking lot by the
administration, but we can certainly hide out in the locker room until school
is over.
But as soon as I get closer to her locker, the crowd thins, and I see her. A
few yards away, staring at something.
I slow my steps, following her gaze.
A noose hangs on her locker door as people pass by, some whispering,
some oblivious, and some snickering.
A noose. Like Alli Carpenter.
Liv’s hand hangs from the strap of her bag, limp like she’s been deflated,
and I look at her face, seeing shock turn to defiance as she closes her mouth
and flexes her jaw.
I just want to wrap my arms around her. I’m here. Baby, I’m here.
She heads to her locker, dials in the combination, and opens it, the noose
dangling against the metal.
Without a look to the bystanders drifting back and forth with their eyes on
her, I charge over and grab the noose, ready to yank it free of the tape.
But Liv stops me. “Leave it,” she says.
“Liv—”
“Leave it, Clay.”
I stare at her, the bite in her tone making it seem like she’s mad at me.
“Why?” I ask, trying to keep my expression even.
“Because it checks my reality,” she replies stiffly, stuffing her bag into
her locker. “This isn’t the first time. It’s a little late to care now.”
And she slams the door, heading straight for the gym. I watch her for a
moment, alone in a sea of people, and it shouldn’t be that way.
Part of me can’t wait until she leaves, because she’ll find a bigger world.
But once she knows how much better the world is outside of St. Carmen,
she’ll never come back.
I drift into the gym, barely noticing the band pounding out a fight song to
commemorate the spring sports line-up as I find her standing back, next to