by Iris Taylor
He shoved her away with one hand, not even looking at her. “She knows.”
I tried to sit up and back away from him, but seeing this, he lunged and lifted me up with one hand twisted around my shirt, choking me so I could barely breathe. “Stay away from things that don’t concern you, slut. You will regret messing with me.”
His tight grip might have choked me, but my legs were free, and I kneed him in the groin where the family treasures were, causing him to inhale sharply in pain and release me as he doubled over.
“Fuuckk....”
I ran.
Behind me I could see Victor appearing by their side. Curious, I turned to see what he would do. He was holding Elijah down, his fist readied. He caught my eye and signaled for me to run. I nodded.
I grabbed my bags from the table and waved my friends goodbye. “I’m going to hide in the principal’s office,” I informed them hastily. April looked confused. “I’m gonna see if she can cover up this one.”
I needed to put this obviously witnessed assault into both my and Elijah’s records. It was that or not have it reported at all, and I didn’t want that.
Looking at my friends, I added, “If you can, try get Simon to eat.”
My brisk walk to Miss Marshall’s office was thankfully uneventful. I knocked and entered when I heard her voice.
“Miss Bradley,” she said in surprise, somewhat coolly. “To what do I owe this visit?”
I decided to play the role of the harassed victim. “I – he just kicked me at lunch. Elijah. He pulled my hair and swung me onto the floor and he kicked me on my side...”
I lifted my shirt to show her, confident there would be a mark there. Sure enough, an ugly dark red bruise had already formed.
Her eyebrows shot up and she hurried to close the open door behind me. Ushering me into a seat, she asked, “When did this happen? And where?”
“Just – just now – in the cafeteria. I was lining up to get some food and he said something about me being fat.” I paused. “And when I said something in reply he pulled my hair and got me on the floor and kicked me.”
She looked thoughtful. Not concerned about me the way any other normal principal would have been, but a calculative type of thoughtful. “And there were lots of other students around then?”
I nodded.
She sighed. “Very well. Please report yourself to the nurse’s office and I will do my best to settle this.”
Settle this. What on earth did that mean?
“Thank you. I hope you will show the other students how bullying is not tolerated by the academy. As you know very well, this is not the first time.”
Her head snapped up in surprise – maybe there was just too much emotion behind my words. Nonetheless she nodded, signaling our time was up and for me to leave.
I quietly headed for the nurse’s room and let her fuss over me after taking an aspirin. My headache from earlier today was throbbing painfully now, coupled with the pain on my side. After about half an hour, I was allowed to go to my next class to continue sitting for my tests.
It felt like a long, long, afternoon, and even though I hadn’t had too much trouble answering the exam questions, I simply wasn’t in my element.
Checking my phone, I realized I hadn’t asked my mom to pick me up. I would have to wait for her to finish work or ask Brody. Simon and the girls were nowhere to be seen, and I didn’t want to impose on them after the long day.
“Cara, hey. Why are you here all alone? Need a ride?”
My insides warmed up hearing Victor’s voice. He looked better today, clean-shaven, his hair less unruly. His top buttons were undone, and I looked away before I could imagine the hard, chiseled chest he was hiding under his shirt.
“Actually, I do, if you don’t mind. I forgot to tell my mom to pick me up, and I haven’t asked Brody if he was free.”
His jaw tightened. “I’ll take you home, don’t worry. In fact, why don’t I send you home everyday? It’s not a big deal to me. In fact,” and here he lowered his head almost shyly, it was so endearing,” I’d be super honored if you would let me.”
I smacked him on the arm. “Okay, shall we take this one day at a time? Today would perfect. We’ll see what kind of gentleman you are before we talk about tomorrow.”
He laughed. We walked towards his car, which today was a blue BMW convertible, and I waited as he opened the door for me before going over to his side. He truly was being gentlemanly.
Inside I laughed as he strapped me in before putting on his own seatbelt. He had to move in close to me to reach, and I felt my heart thud realizing how close his mouth was to my body.
Before my hormones could take over, I decided to switch on the radio and surf the channels, finally settling in for Memories by Maroon 5. Lying back in the leather seat, I closed my eyes and let the music wash over me. I didn’t want to think too hard about anything right now. The song was right – everyone hurt. It was a matter of when, not if.
Even with money, people still hurt. But they are more deserving, my mind piped up nastily. Elijah, Adrienne, Victor, Jessica – they weren’t exactly the happiest of people.
My mind wandered towards my parents. They had been happy and content. I had never heard them fight, not once. My mother had been showered with kisses and love, as I had been. We had lived a simple life we were satisfied with, until my father was gone. I was glad my mother had met another good guy. Julian was nothing like my father, but a good guy all the same. I knew that made her a lucky girl, striking gold twice, and I hoped it would last this time.
I felt Victor’s hand reach out for mine. “How bad is it?” He asked quietly. I saw his jaw had tightened.
“There’s a bruise but it’s not too bad. He only managed to kick me once.” And I truly and really riled him up. I hope I didn’t just make things worse for those poor girls. I really needed to rein in my temper sometimes. It felt good to say those things to him and get such a reaction, but not at the expense of anyone else’s safety.
“He’ll pay for it.” It was a promise I could see in his deep, angry eyes as he looked straight at the road.
He held my hand the entire way, not once trying to make more conversation, and I was grateful. His company was becoming more and more familiar, and despite myself, I was hopeful this time. If there was one thing I had learnt over the years, it was that I never gave up on life, and that included having hope. I knew having hope would only set myself up for disappointment, but it was the only way for me to pick the pieces up and move on. Hope made me move my mom and I to Ravenshaw Falls, and hope was what made me hold onto Victor’s hand as he drove me home now.
As the car eased onto the side of the road, I saw that Brody was outside, cleaning Julian’s car. He looked up when he saw us, and his eyes narrowed. I gave him a small wave and looked at Victor. It seemed the guys were having a staring match, Victor’s grey eyes a shade darker and stormier.
“Um, Victor? That’s just Brody. Julian’s son?” Did the guys know each other?
Victor’s fierce gaze slowly relaxed into a neutral one, and I saw that Brody had resumed his energetic wiping. Any harder and the car’s bound to get scratches. I inwardly rolled my eyes. I didn’t understand what just happened, not at all.
“The new older brother, huh?”
I started at that. “Well, I don’t think I can say that yet. I’ve only known him for a few weeks and our parents haven’t exactly mentioned committing any further.”
“Well, he certainly acts like an overprotective brother. Either that or he likes you,” Victor said wryly.
“Nonsense,” I replied, swatting him. “You’re reading too much into him.”
Victor didn’t reply. Instead, he took my hand and brought it to his lips, kissing it. It would have been romantic if his eyes weren’t on Brody the entire time. His caveman attitude was a little too much and I pulled my hand away.
“Behave. I’m going in. If you want me to go home with you tomorrow, all this,” I said g
esturing at him and waving my arms, “had better be gone.”
I turned and opened the door, but a little smile lit up my face. Victor was being ridiculous, but I liked it all the same.
Chapter Sixteen
“Oh, brother.”
I turned to look at what had caught Lucia’s attention. Simon and Connor were having a hot and heavy make-out session smack in the middle of the cafeteria where Connor’s group of friends sat. Simon was almost sitting on Connor’s lap, their faces glued to each other’s, and their food was untouched. Cat calls and whistles were directed at them but they seemed oblivious to it all.
“Oh, wow! When did they make up?”
“This morning, right before school. I had to pry Simon away from Connor’s face so we could get to the first test on time.”
I was happy for my friend. I was sure he wouldn’t spare us any details, so I refrained from asking Lucia any more for now.
“Get a room!” someone bellowed, and after another passionate round of kisses, they finally pulled apart, only to be greeted with applause from everyone around them. Connor appeared shy to have attracted so much attention, but sported a happy smile. Simon, on the other hand, appeared ecstatic, his eyes bright and shining, and my heart filled with joy for him.
“Well, I guess they sorted out whatever issues they had,” I commented. Lucia looked at me like I had grown a second head.
“Doubt they could. Connor’s dad found out he was gay and threatened to disown him. That’s the original reason Connor broke up with him in the first place.”
“Oh. But Simon told me it was because they were going to different colleges next year and needed to spend time apart,” I replied, confused.
“That was partly it, too. The other part is Connor’s family’s denial. I guess they gave up caring.”
I looked at my best friend again and my heart went out to him. Life really wasn’t so straightforward when it came to love. I hoped he would be strong enough to weather all the bumps along the way.
“Hey.”
I looked up to see Victor. He was holding his tray, and looked somewhat uncomfortable. “Mind if I join you?”
I quickly made space for him and watched as my friends exchanged looks between them. I hadn’t updated them about being on good terms with Victor again, so I could imagine their surprise.
We chatted about the day’s tests. It seemed Victor wasn’t doing too badly without my tutoring, and I told him so. He flashed me a grateful smile. “I guess learning the basics laid the groundwork for the rest of it. But I’d be so happy if I had more one-on-one time.”
I laughed. “We’ll see. Let’s take a look at your grades once they come out.”
After finishing off my food, I stood up to grab myself a coffee. “Anyone want one?”
I could see Lucia waiting to pounce on Victor, no doubt trying to get answers out of him. Victor was already looking uncomfortable and antsy. I stifled a laugh. By the time I came back, a latte in one hand and a black coffee in the other for April, Lucia had already relaxed somewhat and gave me two thumbs up. “He’s changed, I think,” she whispered not so quietly.
I rolled my eyes but smiled. At least I had friends who were looking out for me now.
“I think you have the green light to send me home after school every day,” I whispered theatrically to Victor, whose eyes lit up as I said that. He held my hand and squeezed it before letting it go so I could enjoy my coffee.
April sat there, watching us, her eyes round at first. She still looked star-struck around him, despite all the things she knew about him now. I guess it was hard to get past his good looks. He had a presence that grabbed everyone’s attention wherever he went. It went beyond just his dark hair and deep grey eyes, or his footballer’s physique. He had an easy smile, one that portrayed a certain charm and golden boy persona that he turned on when he had company. His distancing himself from his popular group of friends did nothing to detract from his own winning presence and captivating charm.
After a while, Simon joined us at the table. I saw that Connor had left the cafeteria – it was about ten minutes to the next class. His eyes narrowed when he saw Victor sitting next to me but he didn’t say anything.
“I’m famished!”
“You mean all that saliva didn’t keep you full?” Lucia asked drily, as she pushed some sandwiches and a carton of chocolate milk towards him. Simon’s eyes brightened at her words, and he started wolfing down the sandwich hungrily.
“You’re just jealous,” he replied with his mouth full. “And consider me busy most afternoons until further notice. I got a lot of catching up to do.”
“Uhuh. Catching up, yeah right. More like, banging.”
I laughed, somewhat uncomfortably. Lucia did sound jealous. Simon didn’t seem to care either way, and continued to gloat. He was so obviously on cloud nine, and no one was going to bring him down from there. Victor was looking at them both with a smile, and took my hand to play with my fingers.
Simon looked at the gesture and commented, “Looks like I’m not the only one who patched things up.”
I tried to pull my fingers away from Victor, but he held my hand tightly. “I’m here begging her for forgiveness, daily, if she will have me.”
He looked down at our hands. “And I want to say sorry to all of you as well, for all the stupid things I’ve done to you all these years, whether I realize it or not.”
April was the first one to speak up. “Apology accepted. Not that you did anything personally to me, but just for being a part of those group of pricks.”
My jaw dropped. I didn’t see that coming from her.
Lucia shrugged. “As long as you don’t hurt Cara again, I’m willing to overlook everything you’ve done. But I’ll be keeping an eye on you.” It sounded like a thinly-veiled threat, but Victor didn’t seem fazed. He simply nodded solemnly.
“Well, you caught me at a good time. I say you can stay and hang out with us if you want. Just don’t let me catch you hurting our Cara anymore.” Simon emptied the last of his carton of milk loudly.
I smiled. I was in a happy place right now. I was surrounded by my friends and Victor, whatever he was. Sam was behind bars, the videos were pulled down, and we had some evidence to use against the Adrienne and Elijah. Things were about as sorted as they had ever been in my life.
“IS THIS MISS BRADLEY?”
I held up one finger to signal for Victor to wait as I cradled my phone against my ear. “Yes, this is her.”
“Miss Bradley, I’d like to arrange for you to come back to the station to talk to us again.”
I felt some trepidation at the words. “Alright. May I ask what this is about?” Was Sam going to be set free?
“You’ll find out once you get here, Miss Bradley. I’m afraid it’s not something we could discuss over the phone.”
I nodded, although I knew he couldn’t see me. “Is right now okay?” I would as Victor to drop me off at the police station instead of at home.
“Yes, that would be fine. See you soon.”
My heart beat wildly after the phone call. It seemed urgent, and I wondered if they had found something new. Surely Sam’s case didn’t stand a chance? He didn’t have the money to hire himself a good lawyer either.
“Everything okay?” Victor asked, rubbing my shoulder. As I looked into his concerned eyes, I replied, “I hope so. That was the police. They want another word with me. It sounded pretty urgent.”
His lips thinned into a hard line. “That guy won’t get away with anything.” His firm conviction reassured me somewhat. If others could see that, then it was probably true: Sam’s crimes were as grave as I knew them to be.
Along the way there, I rested my head back in the car seat, my hand in his, willing myself to stay strong. I felt like throwing up my lunch, and instead focused on Victor and what he was doing to me.
We had spent several afternoons together, unwinding after the exam season. One afternoon we had gone ice skating, and I found
out the guy was really good on his feet. It was as if he had full control of his movements, and the thought had made my mind go down the gutter.
Another day we had walked down by the river, watching children play with bubbles and balloons and painters display their work. It had been a very relaxing day, and we had shared a sloppy cheeseburger and a smoothie. Victor had a very quirky sense of humor, bordering on lame, and I found that hilarious and told him so. The one thing he didn't excel at, and I was secretly happy to have discovered this.
"Cara. We're here."
I looked up to see us parked outside the brick building I was beginning to become familiar with. My heart thudding, I stepped out of the Audi and told him I'd give him a call once I was done.
Officer Williams was in his office when I entered. "Good afternoon Miss Bradley. Have a seat."
He was a burly man with greying hair and a stern expression, one I imagined served him well. He cleared his throat as I perched down onto a swiveling chair across from him.
"I'm sorry for not being able to divulge any details over the phone. It's to do with the harassment you have been subject to at school. I understand there have been several instances of this. I'm afraid I need you to tell me about them, as much as you can."
And so I told him everything that had happened since I joined the academy. From the littlest to the biggest of things that I could think of, I made sure not to spare any details. When I was done, I took a deep breath. I wanted to tell him what Simon and Lucia found out about Adrienne and Elijah, but didn't want to get them into trouble for breaking into the principal's room.
He looked at me with a thoughtful countenance. "Do you know why you are subject to such bullying, Miss Bradley?"
"They called me a hillbilly and shunned me from day one. Doubt there's much more to it than that."
He nodded. "Well, that and it sounds like you've been putting up a good fight and they're not liking it. Listen. Someone else has come forward with complaints not dissimilar to yours. I can't tell you much more beyond that, but if you know anything more at all, anything," he emphasized, "I want you to call me at this number. It's my personal cell phone."
