His grip tightened, and his voice dropped. “You’re bleeding, Beverly.”

I stared at him, my mouth going dry.

“What?” My voice came out thin, barely more than a whisper.

My brain was running on empty, trying to process the word “bleeding,” and the context in which Blake was using it.

My mind was completely refusing to put the pieces together.

Blake didn’t wait for me to understand.

Before I could argue, he was moving, tugging me through the hallway, weaving through students like he couldn’t get me out of there fast enough. I stumbled after him, still trying to process.

Bleeding?

What did he mean? Where? How⁠—

My stomach flipped as panic set in.

A clammy sweat broke out across my skin.

“We’ll take care of it,” Blake said, glancing back to make sure I was following. “Just breathe.”

Breathing was impossible.

No, no, no, no, this was not happening⁠—

My face went hot as the realization sank in.

My first period. In the middle of lunch. In front of everyone.

We stopped abruptly in front of the girls’ bathroom, and Blake shoved me inside so fast I almost tripped.

“Check,” he ordered, nodding toward the stalls. “Now.”

I froze. No, seriously, I couldn’t move. My legs felt like they were made of stone. I wasn’t even sure if I could breathe, let alone walk into a stall and confirm the disaster that had just occurred.

Seconds stretched into eternity. I stood there with my heart pounding so hard I could feel it in my throat.

Blake exhaled sharply, raking a hand through his blond hair. “Beverly.”

“I—” I couldn’t even form words. My lips trembled as I opened my mouth to respond, but nothing coherent came out.

I swallowed hard, still not moving.

With a frustrated sigh, he grabbed a handful of paper towels from the sink and thrust them at me. “Beverly,” he said again, more gently this time. “It’s okay. Just go check.”

I snatched them out of his hand, too mortified to even look at him, and darted into the nearest stall, locking the door behind me.

For a moment, I just stood there, staring at the graffiti on the door as if it held the secret to my survival. It didn’t. But it was a nice distraction.

Finally, I sucked in a breath and forced myself to look down.

Blood. Everywhere.

I clamped a hand over my mouth, squeezing my eyes shut as my whole body flushed with humiliation. Oh. God.

This was actually happening.

I bit into my palm to keep from crying out. My first ever period, and Blake had to be the one to notice. I was going to die. Right here. Right now. On this disgusting bathroom floor.

“B?” His voice was lower now, softer. “You good?”

“Kill me.” I pressed my forehead against the stall door, groaning. “Kill me now.”

“Not an option,” he replied without missing a beat.