by D. K Lake
I take a few steps back. I vaguely remember him telling me that, and now I know why.
"Kelsey?" Stephen grips my arm, waiting for my answer.
"No, of course not."
"Then you have nothing to be upset about."
"Nothing to be upset about? You all lied to me, and were you not just in the gym, did you see what JT did?"
"Yes...he said he would give me proof but I didn't know he was going to do anything like this."
I know I have to get out of here, I don't want Mitchel to find me and feed me more lies. He lied to me. I'm just another girl to him, but one he would have got paid for sleeping with.
I know we did other stuff but I'm glad he stopped us from going any further.
Why did he do that?
Probably working up to it, he was probably planning to sleep with me next weekend.
A teacher appears at the top of the steps. I take one look at Stephen and run the other way and cut across the parking lot.
As I make it to the exit, the sky rumbles and starts to instantly darken. I pull my hood up. I want to rip Mitchel's hoodie off and toss it in the bushes but then I'll just feel worse, cold and soaked.
I quickly make my way between the houses and start walking, heading in the direction of my house. I have nowhere else to go, I don't even have any money on me. All I have is my house key in my pocket and some gum. I take a detour and get lost in the houses, I don't want Mitchel to find me if he comes looking for me. I just hope he doesn't turn up at my house. I'll have to lock all the doors and pretend to be out.
I'm so hurt and angry at him, and at myself for being so stupid and letting things go so far. I'm just thankful we didn't have sex, otherwise that could have been me in there.
The rain starts to come down and I trudge along the sidewalk under the trees. I hear a car coming but I don't panic or try to hide, JT's Mustang is loud and I would recognize it.
Instead, a familiar pink BMW pulls up beside me.
Nessie gives me a sad smile and nods her head for me to get in. I quickly climb in and wipe the rain off my face. She doesn't say anything and we sit in silence with the engine running and Imagine Dragons is playing in the background. I'm the first one to break the silence when I break down in tears.
Nessie leans over and hugs me until I calm down and then she takes me to a small diner outside of town and I tell her everything over a chocolate milkshake. I know I can't go back to school today and we've already missed most of the school day so there's no point anyway. In the end, Nessie takes me home with her, the good thing about Nessie's house is that the drive is so long you can't see who's at home and there are large black gates with security cameras so I don't worry about Mitchel finding me.
Nessie pulls up outside mine at 5 o'clock. I know I'm late but I wasn't ready to leave Nessie and face Mom just yet.
I tell Nessie I'll be fine and that I will most likely try and pull a sickie tomorrow to avoid school. I climb out and watch as she pulls away, then I turn around and make my way up my drive.
A couple more steps and I hear him. And then I hear my mother, "I've told you, she's not here! She should be but she's not. You need to leave."
"She doesn't even have her phone on her because you took it away from her. What kind of mother does that? She could be in trouble right now!" Mitchel says angrily.
I don't want to see him, I'm a mess, my makeup wiped off a long time ago, my hair is frizzy from the rain, but Nessie did dry my clothes for me.
Mitchel stands in front of the door with my school bag in his hand. I want to run away and hide until he's gone but my Mom spots me first and her eyes narrow in on me and Mitchel must notice this because he whips his head around and looks straight at me.
No hiding now.
He drops my bag and starts walking toward me while my mom looks on and crosses her arms with a deep frown on her face.
"Kelse." he breathes, almost relieved. "I've been looking everywhere for you."
"Go away." I hiss, trying to edge around him but he grabs my wrist and stops me.
"We need to talk."
"No. We don't. You need to leave."
I pull away and walk toward the front door where my mom is waiting and Paige is looking over her shoulder wondering what's going on.
"Please...I need to explain, it's not what you think-" Mitchel starts.
"I don't care anymore, Mitchel. Just leave me alone!" I nearly make it to the door but he comes up behind me and gets in front of me and I crash into him.
"Move!"
"Kelsey, come indoors. Now!" Mom orders.
I'm trying. Trust me I don't want to be out here with him.
"Get out of my way." I ground out.
"No. I'm not letting you run away from me."
"Well, that's too bad because I want to go into my house and you can't stop me, not unless you want me to start screaming? I'm sure my mom would love to call the police."
I try to walk around him but he sticks his arm out in front of me. I grab onto him and push his arm down but he hooks it around the waist and steps closer.
"Please, I need to talk to you. Come home with me." he whispers.
I catch my mom looking at us, I know she can hear us.
"No." I respond. As much as I want to go home with him and never have to look at my mother again, I can't. I can't trust him anymore and I can't do anything to piss my mom off anymore.
"Now get out of my way." I snap.
"Kelse, please. Don't do this. It's not what you think." he begs.
His eyes are pleading with me and it's only then I notice he's got a fresh bruise on his face and the cut on his forehead has reopened.
My first instinct is to touch his face and ask him how this happened. But I don't. I clench my hands at my sides and put on a good front.
"It doesn't matter what I think anymore. You're a liar. And I hate you." I spit.
The words feel like bile in my mouth. I know it's a lie, he knows it's a lie, and Mom's watching us trying to figure out what's going on.
"Let go!" I scream, shoving him away.
He stumbles back with a sad look on his face but he doesn't try to catch me again as I grab my bag and run to the front door and Mom moves aside to let me in and then she slams the door on him.
"Why was he here again? Are you sleeping with him?" she asks once the door is shut.
She must recognize him from before but I never told her who he is.
Paige sits on the bottom step, pretending to message a friend but she's really just being nosy.
"He's just some guy from school." I say, checking my bag has everything inside it.
"Why was he on my front doorstep. And where were you?"
"I was at the library with Nessie, I needed to catch up on homework. I'm sorry I'm late. And I don't know why he showed up here."
"You still haven't answered my other question."
"No, I'm not sleeping with him. I don't even like him."
My sister looks up from her phone but doesn't say anything. All I need is for her to tell Mom about the other night.
"We have English together and he missed today's class, he probably just wants to borrow my notes."
My mom looks at me like I just insulted her. We all know he wasn't here for English notes.
"Dinner will be ready in twenty minutes." Mom informs us and walks into the kitchen and just like that it's over. I was expecting a screaming match, more punishments, a lecture on boys, grounding me for another month, confiscating what little things I have left. I at least expected her to shake her head a few times in disappointment, but nothing. Paige looks just as surprised as me.
We eat dinner in silence. I want to know why Mom took off to Nebraska but I don't want to talk to her and say something to annoy her so I stay quiet and eat my chicken and rice.
After dinner, I help Paige clean up while Mom disappears upstairs.
"I didn't see you at school today." Paige says, handing me a plate to put in the dishwasher.
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"I was there for a little while but then I had to leave."
"Were you there for the cyberbullying assembly?"
"No. I missed it." I tell her because I don't want to talk about it.
"Well...it was not what we thought it was going to be. Someone switched the video to an audio CD and it was...well it's all over Facebook and the internet now. Didn't you hear about it? It's gone viral!"
"I don't want to talk about it, Paige. I'm tired and couldn't care less about Amber and her missing virginity."
Paige hands me a glass.
"They rescheduled the assembly for next week."
"Yay. Looking forward to it. Maybe next week JT will provide us with 3D glasses and we can watch the whole video." I mutter more to myself.
"Jacob Torres was expelled this afternoon, and three different students are under investigation, including him."
By 'him' she means Mitchel.
"I don't care. It's nothing to do with me."
"Dario is under investigation, he's facing a suspension." she keeps talking.
"That's what happens when you get caught up with the wrong crowd."
"Did you know anything about it? Apparently, it all started with a game of truth or dare?"
"No. No clue."
"Well, your name is on the list of students Principal Hayes wants to interview."
"Interview?"
"They're taking it really seriously. I heard the police are involved."
"Police? It was just a stupid bet and Amber was an idiot for opening her legs. I think it's clear from what we all heard that he didn't do anything she didn't ask for."
Paige picks up her phone but doesn't say anything.
"I think we're done. I'm going to head upstairs and take a shower and go to bed." I tell her.
"Goodnight." Paige says.
On my way to the bathroom, I see Mom inside her room emptying her drawers and there are boxes in the hallway. I assume she's having a clear out. When she's angry she either cleans or sorts.
I take a hot shower, change into my pajamas and hide under my covers for the remainder of the evening listening to the rain. I can still smell him on my sheets and it makes me feel worse. I can't even ring Nessie, she always knows what to say to make me feel better. Another chocolate milkshake would go down really nicely now.
43
The next morning I try my best to fake an illness but Mom sees right through me and actually stays behind to make sure I catch the bus.
At school, I hide in the toilets, the last person I want to run into is Amber, she'll probably accuse me of being a part of the whole thing. Nessie finds me hiding in a stall and I'm so relieved to see her, at least with her by my side I have back up.
But all the freaking out I did in the bathroom was for nothing because Mitchel, Amber, and Phoebe don't show up for school. Even Boston is absent, and Stephen walks around school with his head down trying to stay out of trouble and I ignore him when he tries to talk to me.
There are also rumors flying around the school that Amber has transferred. I don't know how much of that to believe, though. I can only hope.
JT did me a favor. But I would never say that out loud.
My morning goes by relatively smooth up until late morning when I am called into Principal Hayes office, there's a lady standing behind him taking notes, I have no idea who she is or what this is.
He asks me a few questions about the incident yesterday (that's what everyone is calling it) well, the teachers anyway. All the kids are referring to it as Amber's introduction into the porn industry, and everyone is joking about how she needs to work on her dirty talk.
I feel sorry for her for all of ten seconds before I remember all the things she's done to me and I still hate her.
I'm not sure if he's even allowed to ask me about this, it happened off school grounds and wasn't even during school hours, but I don't want anyone to phone my mom and tell her what's going on and that I'm being difficult and not helping out with the 'investigation'.
So when he asks me about the party and the truth or dare game, I tell him I was out of the game before the bet was made and I don't know anything else which he seems to believe and lets me leave again.
Mia looks like a lost sheep without Amber and Phoebe and she ends up sitting at the back for lunch, wedged between Harold (who actually wears little round glasses and resembles Harry Potter) and our Chinese exchange student, Jin. No one else wants her at their table, and without the other two she's got no one and it's clear that no one really liked Amber. By late afternoon someone has drawn Amber and JT in cartoon style, doing it, with speech bubbles. In the bubbles Amber is asking JT ‘is this ok?’ and JT is telling her to ‘shut up!’ and ‘stop bitching!’. The picture has been photocopied and is plastered everywhere. Nessie snatches one off the wall before the teacher tears it down, and says she's going to hold onto it in case Amber makes a reappearance.
Nessie gives me a ride home after school. She refuses to give Stephen a ride home so he has to catch a ride with someone else. She's giving him the cold shoulder as well. If he had told me about the bet (the real one) I would have avoided Mitchel at all costs and would have saved myself from falling for a liar and a user.
I try to block Mitchel out of my thoughts while I do my homework, but it's nearly impossible, every five minutes I'm checking out the window to make sure he's not outside.
I don't know why, but for some reason, I'm disappointed when I don't see him.
Mom decides to give me my phone back. I would have preferred my laptop but I don't argue with her. I can only assume what Mitchel said to her actually sunk in. But he has a point, I need my phone for safety reasons. But now I'm too afraid to turn the damn thing on in case he calls me. There's probably already a hundred messages on there. So I keep it switched off and keep it in my pocket for emergencies.
Amber doesn't come back to school the next day, and it's official, she's transferred. But for some reason, I'm not as thrilled about this as I thought I would be.
Phoebe doesn't make an appearance and Felicity fills us in on the gossip and tells us Phoebe's parents have requested that she be homeschooled.
I should be jumping around and doing a little victory dance but I can't because I feel so miserable and it's all over a boy.
Mitchel doesn't show up at school for the rest of the week and before I know it, it's Friday and I'm walking home because Nessie stayed behind to practice the new cheer routines for the game tonight and I didn't mind walking to clear my head.
But I end up having a whole conversation with myself.
I miss him.
No, you don't.
Where is he?
Why do you care? He used you!
Yeah...he did, but that doesn't stop me from missing him.
I shake my thoughts away and hurry along the sidewalk. But my stupid brain won't stop.
Turn it on. I look at my phone. Call him!
No, are you crazy?!
I put my earbuds in my ears and switch on my iPod because it's safer than switching on my phone. I get lost in Pierce The Veil, not really paying attention to anything around me. The song Bulletproof Love comes on and I can relate, and I want to throw my iPod across the street. I switch songs.
I don't notice the blue Mustang until it's too late and it's following me along the sidewalk. I stop and look at JT behind the wheel but not before I've checked the passenger seat and back seat for Mitchel, but JT is on his own. What does he want?
His face is all bruised and cut, and it's the worst I've ever seen it. I'm not surprised, though. All I've seen since the Torres brothers arrived here is black eyes and split lips. He hits the breaks and rolls the window down and beckons for me to get in the car. Yeah right.
I shake my head and he holds his hands up in the air and motions for me to remove my earbuds. I don't move and JT gets out of the car and I step back and scan the street for any sign of life. I don't know what he wants or what he might do to me when I'm on my
own. He slides along the side of the car and sits on the hood and pulls out his cigarettes, watching me. I look around at my choices, I could run across the street and disappear between the houses, but I don't know how fast JT is. He beckons me over again. I finally let out a deep breath and walk closer but not too close, and pull my earbuds out of my ears.
"What do you want?" I ask.
"Have you spoken to Mitchel today?"
"No."
"He's been trying to call you all morning."
"My battery is dead." I lie.
"All week?"
"I lost the charger."
JT narrows his eyes at me as he takes a drag and blows the smoke to the side so it doesn't hit me.
"You need to talk to him."
"No, I don't. I have nothing to say to him. Now, if you don't mind I need to get home before my mom starts looking for me."
I turn away to leave and he stands up and gets off the car.
"Kelsey, wait!"
"Why? What do you want? I don't want anything to do with you or your brother, not after what you both did-"
"I was the one that started it. It was my idea and I talked Mitchel into going along with it."
"And that makes it ok?"
"Come on, Kelsey, after the way Amber treated you and Vanessa it's the least she deserved."
"You slept with her for a stupid bet! Do you know how messed up that is? I'm just lucky I didn't go any further with Mitchel otherwise I would have been the one transferring schools."
"What are you talking about?"
"Oh, you don't know...well, I guess you wouldn't know since you've been expelled. Amber transferred schools."
"No, I already know that. And you're welcome. I meant the other thing, why would you think you would be the one transferring schools?"
"If I had slept with Mitchel that would have been me in the gym on the loudspeaker."
"What?" JT exhales and flicks his cigarette away. "You weren't part of the bet, Kelsey. That's what Mitchel has been trying to tell you. It was all my idea. I picked Amber and Phoebe because of the way they were treating you. Mitchel didn't like them because of it but he didn't know how to deal with it. If it had been a guy I would have gone round and sorted them out."
