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from the wall and started rubbing the charcoal onto the wall. Music, vodka, and art were not a cure, but they soothed the soul.

    Thursday morning used to be my favorite. I stood in front of my mirror assessing the damages, and I had definitely seen better days. I had two black eyes, one worse than the other. Luckily, the swelling went down amazingly in one day. My nose, which was broken, had set nicely after I had forced it back into place. Really wish I owned cover-up . My right cheek held most of the trauma. I tousled my hair and pulled it forward to cover as much of my face as possible. I should have stayed home but this wasn’t a class you could just skip; and regardless, I had to show up to work. I dug through my clothes and found a long-sleeved thermal. I threw it on over my beater and slid carefully into my jeans. I found a thin, dark scarf Camille had given me and wrapped it around my neck, pretending I cared about fashion. I took one more look in the mirror, sliding my giant, black sunglasses on. “Covers most of it,” I sighed and headed out the door.
    I pulled into the parking lot early but still parked in the furthest spot, using the long walk to class as my own personal form of physical therapy. I walked through the halls in between all the other students and so far, no one had noticed my injuries, thankfully. I walked into class and luckily, Mr. Riley was already there. I was planning on staying but the more I thought about it, the more I knew Camille would flip and I couldn’t deal with it. This was not something she would just let slide.
    “Mr. Riley, can I have this week’s assignment? I can’t stay for the entire class.”
    “Why is that, Alice?” he asked, uninterested. I slid my sunglasses down my nose and he gasped. I hastily put them back on as Cole entered. Broken nose or not, the smell of ocean waves still came through strongly, calming and breathtaking. “Oh my God, Alice! Don’t worry about it all at. Just get better soon. You don’t have to stay at all,” Mr. Riley said.
    “Thank you, Mr. Riley. Please don’t tell anyone. The police are already working on it,” I lied. “I’d like to stay for a little while, if that’s okay.” He stared at me, more concerned, but nodded in acceptance for the time being. I walked to my seat, passing Cole. I watched him sniff the air, almost like a dog. Somehow I knew he could smell the blood on me. He turned to me staring, jaw dropped, completely pale and speechless. He started to speak but was interrupted when Camille came barging into class, practically sprinting to her seat.
    “Oh my God, girl. You scared me half to death. Where the hell have you been? I called you almost fifty times,” she said.
    “Sorry. I know. My phone is messed up. Look, I’m actually sick so I’m taking off, but I’m sure Cole can drive you after class. I’ll see you at the bar, okay?” I said, looking to Cole for an answer.
    “Yeah, that’s no problem,” he answered.
    “Okay, girl. Feel better,” she said and leaned over to hug me. I bit my cut lip, trying to hold in the scream from the pain she was causing.
    “Wait at your car,” Cole whispered in my ear without moving his lips. I walked out without another word, knowing I had heard his voice in my head.
    I walked up to my car to finally get a good look at her new blemish, a large dent on her passenger side extending past the entirety of the door and wrapping around the back fender. I guess it adds character, because I am not paying to have that fixed. It is way too hot for all of these clothes. How does Jasmine wear that damn coat all year? I slid into the car, trying to push my jumbled thoughts from my mind. I opened the glove box and pulled out my “in case of emergency” cigarettes. I rolled all my windows down and put the seat all the way back. I knew I should have just left but Cole had never asked me to wait like that. I just felt compelled to in my weaken state I supposed. I lit up and closed my