still going at it. And why? Because of me. This was all my fault. “Kiernan! Please!”
Tears pooled in my eyes. If it had been Doug’s goal to make me feel helpless, he’d succeeded.
All I did was cause trouble for the people in my life.
The two of them grappled, fisting one another’s shirts and exchanging blow for blow. One particularly ruthless shot on Doug’s part sent Kiernan reeling backwards. He lost sight of his opponent when his hands came up to cradle his head and Doug took full advantage. Not caring at all that Kiernan was in obvious pain, he advanced on him, grinning like the heartless monster he was.
“Stop! Leave him alone! Don’t do this!”
Kiernan shook his head and took a step back. He wasn’t ready to engage. It wasn’t fair. But Doug had never been one to play fair. I knew that better than anyone.
He balled one meaty fist and, God help me, I’d made up my mind to put myself in front of it if I had to. And I would have if Mr. Walkins hadn’t chosen that moment to shove his way through the ring of spectators that had formed.
“What’s going on here?” He was followed closely by Mr. Peterson, the bulky gym teacher and together they managed to pull Doug and Kiernan apart, though it wasn’t done easily. “Principal’s office. Both of you. Now.”
Shrugging off his captor, Kiernan sought me out in the crowd and I cringed at the sight of his swollen lip the bruises already beginning to form along his jawline. Doug was escorted from the cafeteria under the watchful eye of Mr. Peterson. Mr. Walkins—being experienced in high school drama—let some space build up between them before ushering Kiernan toward the door, as well. I used the time to gather up Kiernan’s belongings along with my own, so that I was ready to follow when they left.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Mr. Walkins didn’t release Kiernan, pulling him up short as he stopped me in my tracks.
“With you . . . I—”
“You stay here. Mr. Parks has enough to worry about.”
Don’t you think you’ve caused enough trouble for one day?
“But, I—”
“Go to class, Miss Carlson.” Mr. Walkins started to walk away, but Kiernan refused to budge.
“Everything’s gonna be okay. You go to class and I’ll see you in a little bit. I promise.”
“Let’s go, Mr. Parks.” With an impatient tug, Mr. Walkins had Kiernan moving again, but his eyes stayed glued to me.
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t seem to get my vocal chords to function, but before he rounded the corner, I managed to get my lips to form the words, ‘I’m sorry.’
I went to class like I was told. I sat in my desk, opened my book, and stared at text that meant absolutely nothing to me. The teacher droned on and on at the front of the room, but I didn’t hear a single word she said. All of my thoughts were with Kiernan. The school had a zero tolerance policy when it came to fighting. How much trouble would he get in? How much trouble did I get him in ?
When he wasn’t there after class, I knew it had to be a lot. Nothing else would have kept him from keeping his promise.
Head down, I plowed through the hallways on my own. I didn’t care what anyone was saying about me anymore. Let them talk. I deserved it. After all, the pictures weren’t photo-shopped. I’d really done those things with Doug. I’d let him look at me like some kind of skeezy lingerie model. If that made me a slut, I guess that’s what I was.
The final bell rang without another Kiernan sighting. Squeezing my way through the pulsating crowds, I broke through the back doors into the senior lot, but the Beemer was nowhere to be found. I made a mental note of the crappy battery life my phone had and that I’d have to remember to charge it every day if I was going to actually start using the thing as I plugged in a quick text.
Are you okay?
His reply was almost instantaneous.
Jade? I’m so glad you texted. I’ve been trying to figure out how to reach
Tears pooled in my eyes. If it had been Doug’s goal to make me feel helpless, he’d succeeded.
All I did was cause trouble for the people in my life.
The two of them grappled, fisting one another’s shirts and exchanging blow for blow. One particularly ruthless shot on Doug’s part sent Kiernan reeling backwards. He lost sight of his opponent when his hands came up to cradle his head and Doug took full advantage. Not caring at all that Kiernan was in obvious pain, he advanced on him, grinning like the heartless monster he was.
“Stop! Leave him alone! Don’t do this!”
Kiernan shook his head and took a step back. He wasn’t ready to engage. It wasn’t fair. But Doug had never been one to play fair. I knew that better than anyone.
He balled one meaty fist and, God help me, I’d made up my mind to put myself in front of it if I had to. And I would have if Mr. Walkins hadn’t chosen that moment to shove his way through the ring of spectators that had formed.
“What’s going on here?” He was followed closely by Mr. Peterson, the bulky gym teacher and together they managed to pull Doug and Kiernan apart, though it wasn’t done easily. “Principal’s office. Both of you. Now.”
Shrugging off his captor, Kiernan sought me out in the crowd and I cringed at the sight of his swollen lip the bruises already beginning to form along his jawline. Doug was escorted from the cafeteria under the watchful eye of Mr. Peterson. Mr. Walkins—being experienced in high school drama—let some space build up between them before ushering Kiernan toward the door, as well. I used the time to gather up Kiernan’s belongings along with my own, so that I was ready to follow when they left.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Mr. Walkins didn’t release Kiernan, pulling him up short as he stopped me in my tracks.
“With you . . . I—”
“You stay here. Mr. Parks has enough to worry about.”
Don’t you think you’ve caused enough trouble for one day?
“But, I—”
“Go to class, Miss Carlson.” Mr. Walkins started to walk away, but Kiernan refused to budge.
“Everything’s gonna be okay. You go to class and I’ll see you in a little bit. I promise.”
“Let’s go, Mr. Parks.” With an impatient tug, Mr. Walkins had Kiernan moving again, but his eyes stayed glued to me.
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t seem to get my vocal chords to function, but before he rounded the corner, I managed to get my lips to form the words, ‘I’m sorry.’
I went to class like I was told. I sat in my desk, opened my book, and stared at text that meant absolutely nothing to me. The teacher droned on and on at the front of the room, but I didn’t hear a single word she said. All of my thoughts were with Kiernan. The school had a zero tolerance policy when it came to fighting. How much trouble would he get in? How much trouble did I get him in ?
When he wasn’t there after class, I knew it had to be a lot. Nothing else would have kept him from keeping his promise.
Head down, I plowed through the hallways on my own. I didn’t care what anyone was saying about me anymore. Let them talk. I deserved it. After all, the pictures weren’t photo-shopped. I’d really done those things with Doug. I’d let him look at me like some kind of skeezy lingerie model. If that made me a slut, I guess that’s what I was.
The final bell rang without another Kiernan sighting. Squeezing my way through the pulsating crowds, I broke through the back doors into the senior lot, but the Beemer was nowhere to be found. I made a mental note of the crappy battery life my phone had and that I’d have to remember to charge it every day if I was going to actually start using the thing as I plugged in a quick text.
Are you okay?
His reply was almost instantaneous.
Jade? I’m so glad you texted. I’ve been trying to figure out how to reach
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