Excuse Me, I Quit! novel Chapter 8

Evan's P.O.V.

I had a suspicion Annie's mother had been abusing her for years but I wasn't sure. Her mother looked like an ordinary woman who was all smiles when she was in front of strangers. Even me. But every time I saw new bruises on Annie's face, I knew immediately that her bitch mother had something to do with it. And the other day, Annie slipped and told me about her mother hitting her for breaking the old pair of glasses. Even though I was the one responsible, she got punished for it.

Anger flickered inside my brain when I saw the deep cut on her forehead this morning. It was still raw and red.

"What the hell happened to your forehead?" I said and brushed her hair aside to take a closer look at the wound.

"I fell and hit my head on the staircase railing," she said quietly. Seems legit but I didn't believe the fact she just 'fell' for one second. It made me upset.

"And how do you just 'fall' inside the house?" I asked and stared at her intently.

"Um...well...I tripped. I can't see well so..." she fidgeted uncomfortably. Ah, so now she is gonna use the whole 'I can't see well' excuse. Nice one.

"Whatever, did you bring the homework? Or did the fall make you more stupid?" I barked.

"N..no I have it right here," she said and handed me the worksheet. My heart twitched a little. She still did what I asked even though she was injured. And here I was, insulting her like a shitbag.

"Does it hurt?" I grazed my finger near her wound.

"A little," she said meekly.

"I don't really think you are stupid, you know that don't you?" I said and looked at her tenderly. She had her head bowed, not making eye contact with me. She nodded. Her glasses fogged up.

"Why the hell are you crying for? If your hear hurts that much, go home. Or the hospital," I said.

"I don't wanna go to the hospital," she said.

"Then go home," I suggested.

"No! I can't skip school. My mom will..." she didn't finish her sentence.

"Then we can go to my house. Go tell the nurse you don't feel good so you don't get in trouble for skipping," I said.

"B...but won't you get in trouble?" she asked.

"Don't worry about me and worry about yourself. Come on," I said and took her arm to take her to the nurse's office.

"She is not feeling good and I'm her only ride home so can you release us early?" I announced once we were at the nurse's office.

The school nurse looked at me then looked at Annie. I could tell she was suspicious of me as I had the reputation for being a no-good bully.

"Are you okay honey? Is he bothering you?" she asked Annie.

Wow! She is just gonna say that right in front of me? Rude bitch.