"Are you okay?" Elias asked as he stepped up to Alyssa's side. He gently placed his hand on the back of her upper arm.
Alyssa didn't even realize that she was crying until he asked her that. She hastily wiped her tears away, feeling embarrassed about crying in front of him.
She didn't mean to. She didn't even know why she was doing this right now. She was probably just frustrated from the incident.
"I'm fine," she muttered as she tried to step away from him. She didn't want him to see her like this.
She was supposed to be stronger than this at least. She didn't want to cry over bullies anymore. She was an adult, not some helpless high school student.
Elias didn't believe her. He took her hand and led her out of the room.
"Come on. Let's get out of here."
When the fresh air outside hit Alyssa's lungs, the fire burning through her diminished slightly.
