"I know, I know, everyone wants to know the name of the lovely lady that's stolen the heart of our beloved QB1. Well, here's a big, fat, fiery clue!"

Moments later, Alicia Keys' Girl on Fire floated from the speakers in the cafeteria.

The moment the lyrics of the song registered to her, Molly turned to stone in her seat

"Jesus fucking Christ –" Running a hand through my hair in frustration, I looked to Rourke, who looked as infuriated as I felt. "Cut the fucking song."

"I'm on it," Rourke growled before bolting from the cafeteria.

"Oh, you think it's funny, do you?" Mercy roared, throwing her chair back and stalking towards the cheer squad, who was laughing and pointing at our table.

At Molly.

She looked at me and my heart dropped.

I just fucking knew it right there in one glance that it was done.

Every single wall we had broken down up to this point was back. Any confidence she had regained was gone.

And maybe she blamed me for this?

Would she think it’s my fault?

It kind of felt like it...

"Did you…" Tears filled her eyes and she swallowed deeply. "Know about this?"

"No." I vehemently shook my head. "Molly, no – no!"

"Excuse me." With a grace only she was capable of, she stood up and walked out of the cafeteria, dutifully ignoring the snickering and laughter.

"Molly, wait!" I called out, racing after her. "I had nothing to do with this! You've gotta believe me –"

"I do," she called over her shoulder, as she powerwalked in the direction of the girls' bathroom. "I know."

"You do?"

"Yes, Daryl, I do."

"Then where are you –"

"I'm not doing this."

Panic roared to life inside of me. "No, no, just wait a sec…" Closing in on her, I grabbed her arm and pulled her to a halt. "Can we just talk about what happened back there?"

"What's to talk about?" she strangled out, spinning around to face me. I could see the makeup smeared across her face.

"Fuck." Letting out a pained sigh, I closed the space between us and pulled her into my arms. She buried her face in my chest, sobbing quietly into her hands. "I'm so fucking sorry." Unable to stop myself, I pressed a kiss to her hair and rested my chin on her head. "It's gonna be okay. I'll fix this. I'll make them stop."

"No." She shook her head and took a step back. "I don't need you to change or fight my battles for me."

I frowned. "I wasn't – Molly, that's not what I'm doing –"

“It’s okay.” She took another step back. “I’m used to them. To their words and their actions. And they’re your friends, too, I get that –”

“Ash and Britt are not my friends, Molly!”

“It’s fine. There’s no problem here, Daryl. Like I said, I’m used to it. Same shit, different day,” she continued to ramble, backing away. “I just…I just need some time to myself. To think…”