Bad: Six Sexy Gents Unmasked

by Elle Brace

  Chapter 2

  The morning started off like any other day, besides my race partner Jake coming to the school to talk about some race coming up. I just leaned against the locker listening to him talk about the race as students started filling the hall. It was common knowledge for those who didn’t follow the underground race not to look at Jake with questioning eyes, and never stop and ask a question. Some seemed confused that Jake would come here to talk to me, when I hardly ever talked to those I shared classes with.

  As Jake kept talking, I would shift my eyes from side to side as if to tell those who stopped in front of us to keep moving. Then I saw her walk into the school. Taking in her appearance, I could tell something was off with the way her hood was over her head as if she was using it to cover herself up more. It seemed hiding behind her hair like normal was not enough to hide her face.

  Then there was the way she carried her backpack only on her right shoulder, when most mornings it hung on her shoulders by both straps. Those were just some random observations, but it was how she had her right hand wrapped along her left side that really made me study her a little closer. She appeared to be in physical pain the closer she got to me. When two kids walking by bumped into her, it wasn’t hard to miss the small whimper that echoed through the halls as she tried to blink away the tears that built up under her eyes.

  When she walked by, she started moving away from people more when they got closer to her, making me more curious what was wrong with her today. This pulled me even closer to her than it did back during my freshman year. Ever since that day I saw the bruise on her wrist, I stood back, making sure no harm came to her while she was at school. If anyone said something disrespectful about her, I never hesitated to let my fist do the talking, giving me the image of a bad boy in school.

  “Man, I swear you get a hard on every time you see that girl,” I heard Jake say. “Why don’t you just go over there and talk to her?”

  I tore my eyes away from Kami and looked at him. “Shut up. You know it’s not like that. There’s just something different about her today.” I looked back at her while thinking what it could be.

  “Look, I know the class is about to start, so I’ll catch you later.” He patted my shoulder as I decided to take his advice and talk to her. It was time to stop hiding in the shadows when each day I saw her, she looked worse than the last.

  Walking over to her, I took in how she tried to lift her arm, but pulled it down to her side once again.

  “Hey, Kami, you okay?” I asked, leaning against the locker next to her. She kept her eyes down and said something about being all right, but it was obvious that it was all a lie. I walked around her, placing my hand gently on her shoulder to hear another cry of pain from her. I knew then that she was in some serious pain. “You don’t look fine. Maybe you should go to the nurse and have her take a look, make sure that everything’s all right.”

  She turned to face me and said something, which I didn’t hear as I took in the massive bruise along her cheek. I watched as her eyes light up as worry flooded her blue eyes. Anger built up in me knowing that someone has laid their hands on her, causing this kind of abuse. This time, though, I wasn’t going to walk away.

  “What the hell, Kami?” I asked while pulling down her hood and looking at her face. “Who did this?” I watched as the tears started to pour down her cheeks now as she stepped away from me and more into her locker, while saying something about hurting herself this morning before coming to school. I knew she had no idea about the difference between hurting yourself and being punched in the face. “Kami, don’t cry. Just tell me who it was that hurt you. Maybe I can help you if you let me,” I said softly, hoping she’d trust me a little more while taking a step closer to her.

  I stood there arguing with her about who caused this, but she kept on insisting that she had done it to herself, that she had an accident. It started to frustrate me more that she just wouldn’t tell me. It was a glaring fact, because I had known about this for the past four years though I did nothing about it. Why didn’t I see the signs all those years ago? I could have stopped whoever was abusing her, but now I’d be damned if she thought I would just walk away.

  Without thinking, I took the book she was holding in one hand and her hand in the other and pulled her down the hall into an empty classroom, hoping she would answer my question in a more private place. Once inside though, she still wouldn’t tell me who had caused this to her and kept saying the same thing, that she hurt herself. The more she protected this monster, the angrier I became, thinking it had to be someone of importance to her. Seeing this before, I understood how hard it was to see this kind of person thrown in jail.

  When I heard the bell ring, I made my mind up about what needed to be done. I would follow Kami around till the day of graduation, so that this didn’t happen again. If she indeed caused this kind of harm to herself, then I would see it. But if I lay eyes on anyone who was really causing this, I wouldn’t hesitate to do something about it. I was done seeing her being abused and coming to school in pain. This was going to end now, no matter what she said.

  As we walked out of the classroom, I didn’t pay attention to the students walking in. I walked to the office to get the front desk to change my schedule to match Kami’s, but the receptionist kept telling me it was too late into the school year to be changing my classes around.

  “Look, lady, I need to be in the class with her, so I can keep an eye on her. She’d been showing up lately with bruises and I want to make sure she doesn’t hurt herself anymore,” I yelled at her, slamming my hands on the top of the desk. “I don’t care if it's too late in the school year. Change my schedule to Kami Van’s now.”

  “Mr. Mitchell, please just go to class. There's nothing I can do to help you,” she replied in a more calm voice. She looked past me at someone who had just entered the office, giving them an odd look as if they were trying to figure something out. “Miss Van, is there a problem?”

  I felt Kami behind me as her hand came to rest on my arm, trying to pull me away from the desk. “No. I just came to get Brandon so we can go to class.”

  I didn’t brother to look at Kami as I kept my eyes on the receptionist, letting her know I meant business. “I’m not going to class until this lady here changes my schedule to match yours.” I knew it was time to play the big guns that would make her cave in and do what I wanted, like I did with most teachers in this school so I could get my way with things. “Do you know how much my parents spend funding this school? I could have your job by lunchtime, lady. So, unless you want to be jobless in the next couple of hours, I suggest you go and change my schedule.”

  Seeing the receptionist cast her eyes down, I knew I had won.

  “Miss Van, do you have your class schedule with you?” the

  lady asked her. As Kami went to give her the copy of her schedule, I heard the lady take a deep breath as she looked at Kami. “I see what you mean now, Mr. Mitchell,” she said, turning around to type on the computer. “I’m glad to know she has you willing to take care of her.”

  She then printed out my new schedule and handed it to me with a smile on her face before turning back to Kami. “Now, Miss Van, please don’t go hurting yourself anymore. This boy here seems like he really cares about you.”

  Nothing was said till Kami and I were back out in the empty hall. She started questioning me about what I had said before she showed up. When I told her what was said, it seemed to make her even madder about the situation. Once again, I asked her who it was that was hurting her, but she gave me the same lame answer that she had done it to herself. I was becoming sick of her protecting this person. If it was anyone in the school, they were about to find out I knew.

  I grabbed her hand and walked her back into the office. When the receptionist asked what we needed now, I pointed to the microphone. When she refused, I just leaned over the desk and picked it up myself and turned it on.

  “Attention all students! This is Brandon M
itchell and I’m only going to stay this once, so listen closely,” I started as the receptionist tried to pull the microphone out of my hand. I pulled further away and swung Kami’s book I still had in my other hand at her. “If I found out that any of you so much as look at my girlfriend, Kami Van, the wrong way or cause her any harm, you will personally be answering to me. That is all. Sorry for the interruption.”

  When I gave it back to the lady, the principal walked in, giving me the look that said it was best that I leave the office now. Grabbing Kami’s hand, I nodded my head at him and walked out of the office to our first class of the day without speaking.

  ***

  Throughout the day, I kept my eye on Kami by sitting next to her during each class. None of the teachers questioned why I changed my schedule or why I wouldn’t sit anywhere else except next to her. By the time lunch time came, I was hoping she’d open up to me, but I had no such luck. Keeping my temper at bay was getting harder since she was resolved about not telling me who was hurting her. I was also frustrated that I didn’t see anyone that would send out a red flag.

  When school ended, I figured it had to be someone outside the school. I was meaning to tell her that I was going to tag along with her for the day, hoping I could find answers, but we got swarmed by a group of girls trying to find out why I was with Kami and why I had called her my girlfriend. You see, I was known to be a player. By the time I shook them off though, Kami was nowhere in sight.

  As I walked out of the building to my car, I saw one of the girls I normally played around with standing there. “Brandon, would you mind telling me what’s going on with you and the white trash girl you called your girlfriend this morning? I know that had to be some kind of lie since I’ve never seen you with her before till now.” She spoke in a bitchy tone, crossing her arms over her chest. “If anyone deserves to be called your girlfriend, it would be me since I spend most nights with you.”

  I rolled my eyes at her. With the way she was acting, I knew this was the reason why I didn’t do well with relationships. She was nothing but a bed buddy and she knew this, so why was she acting all possessive now? I knew it was time to cut it off with her. “Look, Jasmine, there are things you don’t know about. Even though it’s been fun between us, I think its best we go our separate ways,” I said and stepped around her to get to my car.

  “No. I won’t let this go just because of some little witch who’d been in the shadows for years and decided to come out and take you away from me,” she yelled. “You belong to me.”

  I pushed her up against my car. I was not going to let anyone use the tone she used on me. “Listen, because I’ll say this one last time. This is over and I found something better than a bed buddy like you. Now leave me alone. I have somewhere I need to be.”

  ***

  She didn’t say anything else as she moved away from my car. I got inside and drove off in the direction of Kami’s house. I remember going to a few acquaintances’ houses and seeing her go inside a house that could only be the house where she lived.

  Pulling to the side, I took in the house, hoping that Kami was safe inside. I started getting a nervous feeling when I stepped out of my car and looked around the quiet street. Suddenly, someone screamed, and it came from the house. I looked up to see shadows moving along one of the windows as another scream came from that room.

  I ran to the door, tried to open it but it was locked. I peeked in from the side window next to it to see a blond haired girl walking down the stairs. I knocked on the door hoping she’d let me in so I wouldn’t have to kick the door open.

  When she opened the door, she looked me up and down with a slight grin on her face. “Hello. How my I help you?” she asked, as I heard yet another scream from upstairs, making the girl in front of me look slightly nervous.

  “Yes. I heard screaming and wanted to make sure everything was okay,” I replied, giving her a smirk while trying to figure out how to get past this girl so I could save Kami.

  “Oh, my step-sister is just watching some horror movie. It’s nothing,” she said with a nervous laugh. The way she spoke about being a step-sibling made me wonder way she wasn’t doing anything to help Kami as more screams came from upstairs. “I’m Mandy by the way.”

  I could tell this girl was trying to flirt with me by the way she started to bat her eyelashes and I knew this was my ticket to get inside the house. “Nice to meet you. Would you mind if I came in and maybe we can get to know one another a little more?”

  “Sure, come on in,” she said, moving to let me in while looking up the stairs as more screaming echoed through the house. I needed to move fast before Kami was hurt worse than she already was.

  ***

  When Mandy walked by what looked like a hall closet, I grabbed her arm and opened the door and I pushed her inside it. I closed the door and put my weight on it as I grabbed the chair nearby. I placed it under the doorknob so she couldn’t get out.

  “Sorry, but you’re really not my type,” was all I said as she started banging on the door to let her out.

  Not thinking twice, I ran up the stairs till I found the room Kami was in. I saw her lying on a bed with her hands and feet tied at the posts as some guy stood between her, telling her this was her punishment. Kami kept telling him no, but he didn’t seem to care.

  I thought it was time to let my presence known. “I think the girl said no.”

  The old man was startled to see me but that didn’t stop him from doing what he had in mind. I went and tackled the guy to the other side of the bed. I let my fist do the talking at that point, really not caring what kind of damage I’d cause knowing he inflicted the same harm to Kami.

  When I had knocked the old man unconscious, I got up to see Kami still tied to the bed. I stood in shock, finally seeing all the bruises. How she could endure the abuse confused me more than anything, but I knew I had to get her out of here. I untied one of her feet and she let out a scream. I told her it was me and it seemed to calm her down.

  After she got dressed, we left her house, still hearing Mandy banging on the door which just made me laugh. Kami looked confused as to what was going on. Driving away from her house, I knew what needed to be done, but I just hoped Kami would agree.

  Chapter 3

  Driving back into town, I looked from the corner of my eye to see Kami looking nervous. Now I knew what had been going on in that house.

  “Brandon where are we going?”

  “To the police station, so we can put those people behind bars,” I stated, about to turn to the area to city hall till I heard her tell me no. “Why not?”

  “I’ll lose everything I’ve been fighting for,” she answered. I questioned what it was she meant by losing everything when in my eyes she had nothing to lose. She went on and elaborated how she had stayed in town for an inheritance that she could only get if she graduated.

  Not really wanting to go against her wishes, I drove out of town to the back roads, trying to think of something else that could be done. I wasn’t going to let her go back to that house, but it seemed that her inheritance was important to her. We fell into an uneasy silence, watching the trees fly by and keeping our thoughts to ourselves.

  When a little white chapel that I hadn’t seen in years came into view, I knew what I had to do. But it was one of the most ridiculous ideas that I had to find a way to trick Kami into going along with it. This seemed to be the only way for me to know she is safe at all times.

  As I pulled into the parking lot, Kami looked at me in confusion. “What are we doing here?” she asked as I got out of the car and to her side of the car.

  I opened the door for her, determined on not letting her know my plans because she might refuse before we even got in the

  church. “I have an idea that might work but I need you to trust me. Just know I would never hurt you, but I’m trying to keep you safe,” was all I said as I grabbed her hand and walked to the church with her next to me.

  When we entered, the lady
behind the desk gave us a sweet smile. I remembered this same person from all those years ago when I was a little kid, but she most likely wouldn’t remember a little rebel kid who was broken like the girl next to me. “Hello, how my I help you?”

  I took in a deep breath letting go of Kami’s hand to wrap my arm around her waist and pull her closer to me, to try to show this woman we had some kind of romantic connection. “Yes, we would like to get married please.”

  The lady narrowed her eyes as she studied us before telling us she’d get the paperwork. That’s when Kami pulled out of my hold, telling me I was crazy for thinking this up, when I knew it wasn’t the cleverest idea either. When she turned to leave, I gripped her arm to stop her from leaving. “No, Kami. This is the only solution I can think of right now. I know this isn’t the smartest idea, but we can figure this out later tonight.”

  “Brandon, I’m sure that woman thinks you put these bruises on my face. We need to leave before she calls the cops and gets you thrown in jail for something you didn’t do,” Kami explained as she tried to pull out of my hold to walk out the door.

  With my back turned, I didn’t notice the lady had returned till she spoke. “If he didn’t put those bruises on your face, can I ask who did?”

  I turned back around, bringing Kami with me. “That doesn’t matter. I’m keeping her away from them now,” I said. “Now what kind of information do you need from us?

  The lady told us that we would have to wait till Saturday to be married since it was the law now. After a little persuasion, we were finally able to find a way for us to be married today, but wouldn’t count till Saturday after the seventy-two-hour period.

  Which was fine by me, but I could see in Kami’s eyes she was still feeling uneasy about all this.