Chapter 67: 67. A Man and a Woman (Jude's POV)

"He is innocent."

I heard her talking to the principal, and with my wounded back to her, holding my shirt in my hand, I smirked where she wouldn't ever be able to see it.

Being spot on with my assessment of a person never felt so satisfactorily.

I joined her in lying, and so we lied together, placating the old man, fighting together as the poor stepmother and son, against the grisly father that would abuse its poor little boy. The poor child who would never set another person on fire, yearning to repeat the deed.

For Lesly to not get slapped again by someone for my sake, I told the principal that I wanted to be present if a new pair of angry parents showed up, and we went on our way, or so I thought. 

Instead, there was the girl I chocked.... Amanda was her name. Darkly, I remembered someone yelling at me to stop punching the student not long ago, someone other than Lesly.