Lorraine's POV
The pain didn't hit me right away.
At first, there was only shock, then the sound.
A crack, so sharp and violent it didn't even seem real.
Then the blood sprayed out, warm, hot, and far too much. It spattered onto the stone floor like drops of red rain, and I just stared at it. My body swayed. My hand throbbed. I tried to scream, but my throat refused to cooperate. My lungs were frozen, like I'd forgotten how to breathe.
My middle finger was gone.
Gone.
I blinked, trying to make sense of it, but the world tilted and twisted around me. All I could see was red. All I could feel was the slow-burning realization crawling up my nerves like fire ants.
I lifted my head up
The students, so many of them now, watching from the steps, the windows, the balconies.
Surprised, yes.
But not shocked in the way they should've been.
Their faces didn't show horror. Not disgust. Not even pity.
