The Bullet List (The Saving Bailey Trilogy, #1) Read Online Free Page B

off his wrist one by one. He unwraps the old bandaging and throws it away in a nearby trashcan. My cheeks burn red at having the cutest guy in school touching my feet.
    “Your mom didn’t take you to a doctor?” Trenton asks.
    “Well, she kind of is a doctor,” I say. It is partially a lie because my mother has never been to medical school; however she has been my personal doctor since age five.
    “I see. There you go; one more and you’ll be back on your feet no problem,” he says and reaches for my other foot. “You know what; you have some really nice feet.” He chuckles. “Well besides the blood and cuts, I mean.”
    I don’t know how to respond. “Do you have a fetish for feet or something?” I ask and regret it as soon as the sentence escapes my lips.
    He laughs politely. “No. I’ve just never seen such pretty feet.”
    “Thanks, I think,” I say, unsure if I should be weirded out by his potential foot fetish, or relieved that he doesn’t find my feet gross.
    “I’m done,” he says, and releases my foot. He then leans over me and wipes the remaining tears from my eyes with his thumbs. “Does it still hurt?” he asks, and opens his arms for a hug.
    “Not anymore,” I say, and fall into his arms. A hug never felt so good. I think how funny it is that I can’t stand Clad’s hand on my shoulder when I’ve known him so many years, but an embrace from Trenton feels so right.
    Trenton is about to let go, and I am pulling out of his warm chest, when Miemah throws open the office door.
    “Trenton, we are over!” she shrieks at him, on the verge of breaking down in tears. She then turns to me, and growls, “You are dead.”
    “She’s your girlfriend?” I ask Trenton, my eyes widening in terror.
    “Not anymore,” he declares.
    I rack my brain for a way to escape Miemah’s attention before I enter the girls’ locker room to change. However, I keep coming to the same conclusion: I am dead .
    The locker room is silent, as dead as I am about to become. I scramble to get my locker open and dress myself before Miemah can have the chance to confront me. Just as I am pulling my gym pants off, someone comes up behind me and sharply pulls my hair.
    “Ah,” I scream.
    “Quiet or I’ll kill you,” Miemah says, hushing me. “You’re going to pay for flirting with my boyfriend.”
    Miemah pulls on my hair harder, and I grasp the edges of the bench I am seated on to prevent myself from falling backwards.
    “I wasn’t flirting with him,” I say between clenched teeth. “He was trying to make me feel better because I was crying.” Letting her know that I was crying makes me feel uncomfortably vulnerable.
    “Not all the comforting in the world is going to make you stop crying when I’m through,” she spits out. “I’m having your grave dug as we speak, Sykes. Is it with two i’s or one?”
    “It’s a ‘y,’ bitch,” I sneer, falling off the bench as she gives my hair one final yank. I’m on my knees when she jabs me in the rib cage with her foot. All the air releases from my lungs. At that moment, Alana and Nessa come through the door.
    Miemah pulls back her leg to kick me in the face. Alana lets out a breathy scream.
    “Don’t! Don’t kick her!” Alana pleads, tears welling up in her eyes.
    “Alana, don’t stand up for me, she will beat you too,” I warn her.
    “Alana’s right, wait till she’s healed again, then you can tear her down real good,” Nessa chimes in.
    Miemah drops her leg and strolls out of the room, satisfied with the job she’s done on me.
    Alana comes to my side. “Are you inured? What did she do?” she asks.
    Her chest is heaving. I refuse to make eye contact because I can’t stand to see her crying.
    “She kicked me in the stomach,” I say, breathless.
    “God,” I moan.
    Alana puts her arms around my torso to hug me. I am not consoled though, because I can feel her body trembling while she cries soundlessly.
    “I’m okay. Don’t cry,” I