"Well… that was weird." Iya said as we walked away from the small crowd that had gathered. She glanced over her shoulder warily.
You got that right. I thought, looking back as well.
"Seriously," Josh replied. He glanced at me. "Is she always like that?"
I shrugged, nodding. Basically, I thought.
"Yuck," Iya interrupted. "Why do y'all even like her?"
I stared at her with a questioning look on my face. "Why do they even like her?" she corrected, shaking her head.
I shrugged, but Josh interrupted me. "Hey! Guys, look!" he exclaimed. We turned to see him staring at a poster. Mid-Winter's Formal,it read. I sighed. Mid-Winter's Formal was basically like an early prom, only without a queen or king, and only freshman were prohibited to go. I had never been to one before; no one had ever asked me.
"Iya, we should go!" he smiled at us, his eyes bright.
"Together?" Iya sneered.
Josh frowned, and stared at her as he shook his head. "No, with someone else, of course," He glanced at me and smiled. "It's only a week from today. C'mon, y'all! We should go!"
"A week," Iya shrieked. "That's hardly enough time to get a dress!"
Josh gave her a look. "Iya, a week is more than enough time to get a dress you don't need."
She placed a hand on her hips. "I wasn't just talking about me. Danny needs one too!" my eyes widened as they glanced at me. I shook my head, my mouth pressed in a firm line.
Apparently Josh liked the idea, because he smiled. "Yea, Danny! You could come too."
I kept shaking my head. I would get killed if I showed up at a dance with Josh. I was probably in huge trouble for what he did, and Destiny blamed it on me.
Iya loved the idea of it too. "C'mon, Danny," She whined, "Please? We can go dress shopping this weekend."
I shook my head again.
Iya smiled. "Good, then it's settled. We're going shopping this weekend. Bye!" she waved and started down the hallway. I gave Josh a confused look and he shrugged.
"Let's get to class." He suggested. I nodded, scampering after him as he began down the hallway towards first period. With one hand in his pocket and the other holding his binder, he slowed just enough for me to catch up to him. He slid into his seat and I followed him.
"Yea, ya gotta love her. She's a little much sometimes, but she's really sweet at others. Levi's somethin' else, too." he scoffed, leaning back in his seat and slightly shaking his head.
You're a virgin, right? My wolf interrupted.
Shocked, I replied, I'm sorry, what?
Well, I just—I mean, you know what I mean—but, I've heard a lotta talk. Are ya?
I sighed, leaning my head on my hand and rested my elbow on the table. Yea, I am.
Why do you say that like you regret it? You're beautiful, Danny. I don't understand how these guys keep their hands off of you. At the end he growled, though. Not that I want them to.
Well, I don't know. I'm just like any other girl when it comes to these types of things, but I can wait and save it for my husband—uh, when I get one.
That's a nice way to see it. I wish more of these girls would think like that. Goodness.
J?
Yes?
Can you please tell me who you—
So, are ya goin' to the dance? He interrupted suddenly.
I sighed irritably in my head. I don't want to, but Iya and Josh are making me. Apparently we're going dress shopping this weekend.
Sounds fun. He said sarcastically. Well, I'm definitely goin'. Maybe you can figure me out then.
Oh, really? How am I supposed to do that?
I'll be wearing black; the color of my coat.
Because that narrows it down.
I can't just hand you my identity on a plate. I wish I could, but I can't.
I 'hmphed' and crossed my arms over my chest, and leaned back in my seat. Josh chuckled, rolling his eyes. I stared at him for a while, questioning him with my eyes, but he only flashed a grin at me. I couldn't help but smile back until the teacher interrupted me.
"Joshua," he said, claiming Josh's attention as he approached our desk, "I don't know what year you were on in your old school, but we are on The Civil War currently. I hope you don't mind, but we will be watching 'Gettysburg' today."
Josh nodded. "Well, I think we were on the Civil Rights movement, so we would've already covered the Civil War."
His eyes narrowed for some reason before he nodded and walked away towards the computer. Josh scowled after him before sighing irritably and running his hand through his hair. I studied him for a moment, watching how he drummed his fingers on the desk as Mr. Louis started up the computer. He watched him with cautious eyes, noting every movement Mr. Louis made. I cleared my throat, making Josh turn towards me. I raised an eyebrow, questioning him. He sighed again and shook his head, rolling his eyes again. I bite my lip as I stared into his dazzling blue eyes, my cheeks heating slightly. They flashed down towards my lip. "I'd say you really shouldn't do that, but it's cute and it makes—" he cut off when the lights turned out and bold music began playing. That's when he froze.
His arms went ridged and he sucked in a breath. The class erupted in hushed whispers. "Oh, and class…" Mr. Louis began. The class quieted down some. "Don't forget to take notes." The class groaned and there was a rustle of paper being taken out. I leaned down and got some out of my bag. I glanced over to see Josh leaning on his desk, still as a statue. He glanced at me, and his jaw clenched, his eyes lingering before he returned his gaze to the screen. I watched him for a while before the mood in the room became tiresome and my eyes drooped. I lay my hand on my cheek as my eyes closed.
His lips were moving, but no words flew from his mouth although I could hear my screams perfectly well as bruises appeared on my body. His foot connected with my stomach, and I instinctively I brought my knees up to protect it. But he used his heel to turn my body over, with me lying on my back. My body shook, and my head pounded. My skin was burning in pain, but he kicked me again, sending numbing shocks up my side. I screamed again, and a howl answered me, soon followed by a vicious growl. My father froze, his eyes widening in fear. He screamed and turned to flee inside, but the wolf tackled him. The wolf snapped his teeth in my father's face, his huge paws holding him down.
Suddenly a light enveloped the wolf, and when it dissipated, a man stood over my father. He growled a wolf-like growl and swung his fist into my father's eye. He grunted, scowling and turning his face away. "Josh!" I screamed, and he turned to face me.
His face fell. "Danny, are you alright?" he asked, coming to my side.
My muscles relaxed as soon as he was around. But when his hand enfolded mine, his face blurred, and when it cleared again, he was Jake. I screamed, pushing away from him, ignoring my aching body as I crawled away. He laughed, catching my arms in his hands. Forcing me on the ground, he flipped his leg over me to straddle my waist. I screamed again and again, thrashing my hands and feet, but he pinned them to my side with his knees. He ripped a piece of cloth from my shirt and stuffed it in my mouth. He smirked at me, slowly inching my shirt up my stomach—
"Class, you might want to get this down, this is an important part in the movie!" Mr. Louis called, waking me up. I closed my eyes again, laying my head down with my arms covering my eyes. The dream was fresh in my mind and I couldn't shake it, but my body was still trembling.
A hand lightly touched my arm. I flinched, looking up to see Josh retracting his hand from my arm. His jaw was still clenched, but his eyes were soft. "Danny, you need to start taking notes, or Mr. Louis is really gonna get on your case. He's been looking over here all period—like right now." He smirked. "But I hope you had a nice nap."
I blushed, studying a hair on my arm and nodded. Hurriedly, I began scribbling down random things that happened in the movie. Definitely did not have a nice 'nap'. I thought, glancing at the boy. He was still tense, but he, too, was writing things down. I played with the corner of the paper, but only seeing a black wolf turn into a human. My wolf was lingering in the back of my mind. Was that how he changed? I glanced over to Josh. Was he Josh… or Jake? I've got to be telling myself something. I've heard dreams actually mean something. Like your subconscious telling you something important. Josh can't be J… right? There's a lot more kids with the initial J than I realized. J had said that himself. That doesn't mean that he has to be Josh or Jake. There's that kid Jacob in my Spanish class, or Justin in my third period. Besides, there's a ton of kids with names that start with J. This is gonna be impossible to figure it out by myself.
But what if it was Jake? I shuddered at the thought. No, it couldn't bee Jake. That was impossible. Still…what if it was Jake? J was…the…only person I could talk to. If he turned out to be Jake…I didn't know what I would do. It would explain why he's been acting so…weird lately. Jake used to hardly pay any attention to me. Now every time he came 'over' he'd try to talk to me.
J, can I guess who you aren't? I asked hopefully.
I… guess so… he replied reluctantly.
I bit my lip again. You…aren't…Jake, right?
Ha! I hope not!
You hope not?
You really think I'm him?
No, I was hoping you weren't him. Please tell me you aren't Jake.
One down, millions to go, he said, and I could almost see the smirk.
Amazing, I sighed.
Have you got any idea? I'll keep my promise—you guess, out loud, and I'll tell you yes or no.
How am I supposed to guess out loud when I don't know who you are? Who am I supposed to say it to?
Me, of course, as a wolf, he replied.
Second period came and went fast as the class role-played Romeo and Juliet—me reading ahead, not having a part. Although, I couldn't help but think of a certain someone when the two met, making me blush. I felt like my cheeks were still red hot when I went up to my locker to switch out my books. I bit my lip and pushed my hair behind my ear. Arms suddenly wrapped around my waist and a hand brush my hair behind my shoulder. I went rigid, and lips connected with my neck. A hand pushed my books back into the locker and closed it. I whipped around, expecting to find Josh, but instead found myself face to face with none other than Jake. I gasped and tried stepping back, but his arms brought me back to his chest. "Wrap your arms around my neck—now, Destiny's looking." He said through gritted teeth. I just stared up at him in shock. "Now, Danny, or I swear I'll pull you into the closet and take you right here. Do you understand?" he growled. I stared at him for a moment, not breathing, because I couldn't. He smirked and stepped back threateningly. I took a sharp intake of breath and wrapped my arms around his neck. His smirk stayed. "Good job, ya little tramp." He leaned down and pressed his lips to mine. I gasped, and he took the opportunity to explore my mouth with his tongue. I tried pulling away, but he caught my bottom lips in-between his teeth and made a disappointing sound. I stayed, closing my eyes and let him kiss me. I wanted so badly to turn away, but I stayed where I was.
"You s***** little b****!" a familiar voice cried. I was pulled away from Jake by my arm, only to have a fist knock me in the eye. I gasped again, holding my eye as I fell to the ground. "You f******, s***** b****! Why can't you leave my boyfriend alone?"
You can't have two boyfriends, Destiny. You're just jealous that someone finally might actually like me! I screamed at her in my head, but I just stared up at her with a blank look. Her hands balled up in fists, but a teacher appeared at the end of the hallway.
"Hey! What's going on here?" Mr. Burton, a short, chubby man with a weird beard ran—or what was running to him—up to us, stepping in-between Destiny and me. "There's no need to take sibling fighting to school. Please, leave that at home. Now, what happened here?"
Destiny glared at me. "Nothing, Mr. Burton." She growled.
"Good," he nodded, "just don't let it happen again, you hear?" he glanced at each of us before stalking away.
As soon as he was out of earshot, Destiny growled, "I'm calling Dad." And with that, she stalked away with Jake wrapped around her finger. I stared after them, my hands shaking violently.
"Danny!" a calming voice called, and suddenly Josh was crouching next to me. "Danny, are you alright?" he cupped my cheek in his hand and traced the underline of my eye where Destiny had punched me. "What happened?" I stared at him with my mouth wide open and tears popping into my eyes. He took my hand and gently pulled me up.
"Don't cry, honey, I've got you." he wiped a tear from my cheek that I hadn't realized had fallen. The late bell rung and soon everyone was out of the hallways. He pulled me into the closet Jake had been talking about as footsteps sounded down the hall. I squealed when he closed the door, locking us in the dark. As I watched his eyes, the only bit of light I could see, all I could think about was them turning darker and hands grabbing me. All I could think about was my dream and Jake straddling my waist. I backed away from Josh until my back hit a shelf. A hand enveloped mine, but I pulled back, a shiver running down my back.
"Danny, I won't hurt you." he said taking a step forward. I squeezed my eyes shut, but it didn't help at all. "Danny," he whispered so softly with another emotion that I couldn't quite pick out. I burst into tears, wrapping my arms around myself until someone's arms pulled me tight to their chest. I lay my head on his chest and gripped his shirt in my fists. He combed his fingers through my hair, making soft sounds through his lips. I focused on the feel of his fingers playing with my hair, twirling it around his finger, and found myself calming down.
"You're going to be alright, sweetheart. Do you want me to take you home?" he asked, mumbling into my hair. I sniffled, shaking my head. He nodded and pulled my hair behind my head. "You know, I've never seen you with your hair up." I shrugged and pulled away from him, wiping my eyes and pushing my hair behind my ear again.
"You know I wouldn't ever hurt you, right?" he said, refusing to let go of my waist. I continued to wipe my eyes, ignoring his question and blinking out the last of the tears. He pulled me closer. "Danny," he said firmly, "you know I wouldn't hurt you, right?" I closed my eyes and tried to block him out, but his fingers slipped up under my shirt and began drawing circles into my skin. I took a sharp intake of breath and my knees began to shake so violently that I could hardly stand up.
I'm calling Dad. The sentence suddenly popped into my head and I pushed him away, catching him off guard. Destiny was calling our father, which meant she was really pissed. I was dead, and I could almost say that literally. I wasn't quite sure whether my father would actually kill me or not for upsetting his 'little girl.' As soon as his hands were not touching me, I felt relieved, but empty as well. "What? What is it, Danny? Did I do something wrong?"
I fumbled my way through the darkness, searching for the doorknob. Instead, I found Josh blocking my way again. I pushed at him, but he took my hands in his. "Danny, did I do something wrong? Just nod yes or no. Please, if I did something wrong, I want to know so I don't ever do it again." I shook my head violently, holding back tears, and pushed at him again.
"Then why do you want to leave? Do you not like bein' alone with me? Can't we just…stay in here until lunch starts?" he asked, kissing my fingers with a hidden meaning in his eyes. Do you want me to cry again, you idiot? Leave me alone! I-I just want…to be…alone. I'm gonna die anyways today! What's the point? I don't want to be alone with you. Not right now. Not in here. I can't see anything; I can't see what you're doing. How do I know you're not gonna hurt me, huh? I've trusted people before not to hurt me—I don't even trust the two people in my life that I'm supposed to trust with my life. Why do you expect me to trust you so easily?
Suddenly, a light erupted in the closet; the door was opened. Josh's eyes dropped gloomily to the ground, a darker, heavier, droopier blue I had ever seen them. "I'm sorry," he muttered, "We should probably just get to class, huh?"
I wiped my eyes and nodded, slipping past him into the hall. I kept rubbing my eyes to get rid of the tears and any trace of them. I stopped at my locker to get my stuff. I walked fast down the hallways, but I could no longer feel Josh's presence behind me. I stopped and turned around to see him with his hands in his pockets and staring at his feet. I gazed at him for a second before realizing what he had just done for me, and what I had done to him in return. Hurriedly, I ran up to him, straight into his chest, and wrapped my arms around his waist. I caught him off guard, but it didn't take long for him to return the hug. I snuggled into his chest for a bit longer than I should have been, but eventually I turned away and began again down the hallways, blushing deeper than I had ever before. I heard shoes pounding on the floor before he appeared next to me, and we continued down the hall in silence.
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Cadwell, I—" Josh started as soon as we walked in. She stopped him, but the class was already staring at us. I hurried to my seat in the back of the classroom and tried not to draw any attention to myself.
She cut him off, holding a hand out to stop him. "I understand, Joshua. Just sit down and begin on the notes on the board."
He nodded. "Yes, ma'am," He said and went to go sit down in the seat next to me.
I heard you got into a fight; you alright? My wolf asked, making me jump a little in my seat.
I lay my head down on the desk and watched the teacher explain the writings on the board. I was too lazy to write. Uh…yea, I guess so. I think there's a bruise under my eyes, but that's it. I didn't even do anything…
Then why'd she hit you? He growled.
I kicked the floor and stared at my arm. Because, she got jealous of me and decided it was okay to punch me in the face.
What? Destiny's jealous of you?
Yeah. Her boyfriend thinks it is okay to use me to get her back because she likes another boy. He ambushed me while I was putting my books in my locker and he told me to hug him back or he'd—he'd… ta—take me into th—the closet… and—and…
Hey, hey, Danny, you're okay. I'm sorry I asked. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to.
B-but, J… I kind of want to tell you, b—but I don't know if I should.
You probably shouldn't, because I swear I'll kill him if he even threatened to hurt you.
Then I really shouldn't tell you…
He growled deeply. He's using you then…to get to Destiny?
Yeah. I don't know why everyone thinks Destiny's amazing. I mean, she's just a useless—never mind, I'm not gonna use that kinda language.
Don't matter. I know what you mean.
I'm really scared, J. Destiny's really mad at me. I'm—I'm afraid she's really gonna call Dad.
Don't worry. What's he gonna do? Beat you to death? He scoffed.
I put my wall up. Exactly, I thought, sighing and finally taking out my notebook. I could feel him knocking at my wall, and it was kinda giving me a headache. What, J? What do you want? I snapped as it grew bigger.
You didn't answer me.
Usually when I don't answer, you don't do anything, but now you've given me a headache.
Sorry.
What do you want, J? It's almost lunch.
I just wanted to talk to you. Is that so bad?
When you give me a headache, then yes!
I said I was sorry.
You're fine. I just… I just…I got kinda mad at Jake and Destiny. I'm just tired of people walking all over me. And I let them! I let them walk all over me and use me. It seems like no one thinks about anyone else anymore. All people can think about is themselves and their needs. Well, what about mine, huh? I need someone to love too, but you don't see me taking advantage of some of the boys here! Not that I could anyways, but still… people need to think about others for a change.
Sweetheart, are you sure you're okay?
I'm fine. I growled.
I don't think so, honey. You can't fool me like you do other people. I know you better than most people here. I know I may not know you that well, but right now, I'm the only person you talk to. I just want to help.
You can't, okay? No one can help me, alright. I'm way beyond help by now. The only way you could honestly help me was by telling me who you are. Before you say anything—I'm dead serious. The only way you could help me was by taking me away. And right now, you aren't willing to do that, are you?
He growled helplessly. I hate when I can't do anything.
Yeah. So do I. I looked up to see everyone leaving the classroom. "Danny, you comin' to lunch?" Josh asked, leaning over my desk. I stared into his again bright blue eyes and nodded meekly. I got up and followed him out the door.
A girl appeared next to Josh. She slung her arm over his shoulders, running her fist along his hairline. "Hey, buddy!"
"CJ!" he yelled, pushing her away while a smile appeared on his face. She was about as tall as Josh, standing a little below him. Her hair was a golden brown, a little darker than Iya's, and curled down to her shoulders. Her eyes were wide, sparkling hazel, and playful.
"Aw, c'mon, Joshy, I ain't embarrasin' you in fronta your girlfriend, am I?" she joked in a rough southern accent, ruffing up his hair.
He glared at her, scoffing, and pushing her shoulder away from him. "You're crazy," he said, rolling his eyes. She leaned down and kissed him on the cheek, making my stomach burn.
"Aha! You're little girlfriend's jealous, Joshy." She said, elbowing Josh in the stomach. He scoffed and glanced at me. I blushed, looking at my fumbling hands.
"Coffeeblue, she ain't my girlfriend." He said.
"Yet," she finished, throwing her hair over her shoulders.
"Coffeeblue!" he yelled, and I swear I saw red cover his cheeks.
She shrugged. "Hey, I'm just being truthful."
He sighed irritably. "I'm sorry, Danny. This is my cousin, Coffeeblue. She's Iya's sister."
"Hiya! Nice ta meet ya, Danielle." She held out her hand. I frowned, stared at her hand, and looked at Josh.
"CJ, her name is Danny not Danielle, and she ain't gonna shake your hand." he sighed, shaking his head. "You're so stupid sometimes…"
"What, Danny doesn't stand for Danielle?" she asked.
He sighed, and I shook my head, biting my lip and staring at the ground. "What are you doin' here anyways?" His hand brushed mine lightly, almost as if to comfort me. I pushed my hands in my pockets and walked a little faster.
"I switched my third period. I didn't want physical training, so I switched to art." She explained, shrugging.
"So, what? Now you have third lunch?" he asked. I glanced between them, taking in Josh's annoyed look and Coffeblue's energetic personality. "Hey, where's Cormac?" he suddenly asked, looking around. "Aren't you two glued to the hip or something?"
Coffeeblue pushed his shoulder, making him stumble towards me. He laughed, smiling. "Just 'cuz we're twins don't mean we do everything together. Besides, he's got second lunch. We have different classes, ya know."
"I know—I know, I was just messin' with ya." The corner of my mouth picked up. His southern accent grew stronger whenever someone from his family was around. I chewed on my lip as we walked into the cafeteria. My mood immediately dropped as I caught Destiny's flaming eyes, her jaw clamped in anger. I scurried away from them, hearing her words echo in my head. I'm calling Dad. I glanced outside to see that willow tree and felt a shiver run up my spine. I stared at the ground and made my way to the empty table in the corner where I usually sat. I peeked up through my eyelashes to find Destiny nodding contently…that was until Josh decided to come and sit by me after he got a tray full of food. She scowled, but a glint formed in her eyes and she stood, making her way over to us.
She sat across from Josh, completely ignoring Coffeeblue and me. "Hey, baby, where have you been? I've told you, our table's over there." She pointed across the cafeteria to her table with all of her popular, sick friends…like Jake.
I leaned my head on my hand and drew circles into the table to try and ignore them. "I don't care, Destiny. Why don't you get it? I'm sitting here with Danny, not you, okay? Just get over it. Not every guy in this school is going to fall at your feet when you flirt with them. Some guy actually have lives." I froze at his words, and it seems Destiny did too. Oh, no, no, no! Please tell me you did not just say that! I silently prayed as I bit my lip and squeezed my eyes shut tight.
"So you're sitting with Danny, huh? We'll see about that, Joshua." I opened my eyes at her voice and watched as she picked up the carton of milk on his tray. I was frozen to the chair as she put it above my head and slowly tipped it over. Milk ran into my hair and down the sides of my face and the tip of my nose. "You s***** little b****," she growled, emptying the cartoon over my head. There was complete silence except for my gasp in the room before it broke out in hushed whispers. Destiny's table was laughing so hard that one guy fell out of his seat, clutching his stomach and they laughed even harder.
Milk was dripping down my cheeks, racing with tears. Destiny touched my cheek, bringing milk back on her fingers. "You've got some white stuff on your face, w****." She said, smiling with a hidden joke. I stood immediately with tears running involuntarily down my face and dashed out of the cafeteria, hearing Josh and his cousin growl curse words at Destiny. Luckily the bathroom was close to the cafeteria and I locked myself in, still collapsing into a stall. I've been trying for years to go to school and not be noticed. I'd almost had it down before Josh came. I had sometimes been counted absent because teachers didn't notice me; especially on the first day. Now since Josh's been here, Destiny's done nothing but fuss over him and me. She's blaming me for his actions when I haven't even said a word to him. The only reason she did this to me was because she can't touch him. He was too 'popular' for her to make fun of. But, of course, I'm fair game.
"Danny? Danny, are you alright?" Josh called from the other side of the door, knocking loudly. "Let me in, Danny." He called. I ignored him, but instead slid to the floor and buried my head in my hands.
"You idiot! She's not gonna open the door after that. Don't you know anything about girls?" Coffeeblue scoffed.
"Then what am I supposed to do?" he asked irritably.
"Look—here comes a janitor! Go behind the corner, now! Watch and learn, little cuz." She said, teasing him.
"I guess even I can learn something from you." Josh said, but was ignored by CJ too.
"Excuse me! Mr. Janitor, sir! The bathroom's locked and I really have to pee!" Coffeeblue called.
The janitor paused and I momentarily thought he had overlooked her. "Uh…sure…hold on a sec. Ah! Here we go!" I heard the lock click open and I reached up and locked the stall I was in.
"Thank you!" CJ yelled after him. After a while, she whispered hurriedly. "Josh, c'mon!"
"Yea, yea, yea, I'm coming!" he cried. "Danny? Baby, where are you?"
I had trained myself at a young age not to make a noise when I cried. Silent tears rolled down my cheeks and I wiped at them, but didn't do anything to respond to them. "Now…let's see, if I was—" CJ began, but Josh cut her off.
"Hey, genius, she's in here. Can't you hear her?" he said. Hear me? They can hear me? How? He knocked on the stall door. "Danny? Are you alright? Please, unlock the door or I swear I'll crawl under." I made a disapproving noise, refusing to unlock it.
He sighed and I heard him crouch. "Danny, please? We ain't gonna laugh at you. We just wanna help you, sweetie." Coffeeblue said in a calm, sweet voice. "All you gotta do is unlock the door."
I was stubborn, but for once in my life, someone wanted to help me deal with my abusive sister. So I reached up carefully and slid the lock out. Coffeeblue chuckled victoriously. "See?" I didn't know what they were talking about, but I just stared up at them when they opened the door. Josh's face fell and he kneeled next to me.
He took my face in his hands and studied me, tears still trailing. "Let's clean you up, alright?" he asked slowly. I stared at him for a second before nodding and taking his hand to pull me up. "Should I take you home, honey?"
But she'll be there later. I thought, but I didn't know what to say. I didn't want to stay here, but I didn't want to go home either.
"Yea…I guess that was stupid. I meant my house, not yours. Did you want to go home with me?" he asked.
But before I could answer, the intercom sounded, saying, "Danny Kimble please report to the office. You're leaving." My heart dropped. I had never been taken out of school before. Ever. I'm calling Dad.
Oh, no. I nodded my head, my eyes wide with fear. Let him take me with him; don't let me go with my father. Both of them pulled their eyebrows together and glanced at each other. "Danny, c'mon, let's go get your stuff."
Defeated, I nodded and followed Josh as he walked out of the bathroom, CJ heading back into the cafeteria. We walked down the halls in silence, milk still dripping onto the floor, but my tears were dry. He walked me to our classroom and let me get my stuff before he sent me to the office, where my father was waiting, twirling his keys around his finger impatiently. "There you are!" he said cheerily. But I knew him, sadly, and I could tell he was faking it. A smile crept up his lips at my appearance. "What happened to you?" he asked as we walked out of the school.
I stared at the ground, ignoring him, wondering why he would pick me up. Probably gonna take me home and kill me there so there's no blood on his precious daughter's school. I thought, scowling. "First, we're going home so you can…take a shower because you smell like foul milk—not much different though. But I need you to look nice. Do you think you can handle that?"
I stared at him. Where were we going? What the heck? I climbed reluctantly into the police car and buckled myself in. "So I heard you upset my baby." He said.
I glanced at him, my eyes widening again. He scoffed, leaning back in his seat with one hand on the wheel. He looked content and happy. "Don't worry, I'll see that you get punished." He smiled wickedly, laughing darkly to himself. "And I'll get something out of it, too."
A shiver ran down my back and I began trembling. I pulled out my phone as it vibrated. You know, I heard that milk really helps soften your hair(; Josh texted me and I relaxed a little, deciding to text him and pretend I wasn't in the cop car traveling to my death.
Oh, haha! You're sooooooooooo funny! I'm laughing as hard as I can, honestly. I said back, hoping he would note the sarcasm I intended with it.
Thank ya, thank ya very much(:
You know, you really shouldn't be texting during school, mister.
I know, but I like it when you actually respond to me.
Haha. Smart boy. Hahaha. No. I do have a reason for not responding, you know. But I can't tell you.
Oh, and why not? You scared?
A little. But not for me.
"What are you doing? Give me that!" My father said as he snatched the phone away. I frowned at him. The whole reason they gave me a phone was so they could take it away from me, I swear. I looked up, scowling, already missing not talking to Josh, and found that we were already home.
He cut off the car furiously, shoving my crappy phone into his pocket and jumped out of the car. "Go on, take a shower—quick. And remember to look nice!" he growled, now in a bad mood. I rolled my eyes and hurried into the house. I swear he's bi-polar sometimes. I thought.
As I rummaged through my closet for something 'appropriate' I wondered where he was taking me. He had never taken me anywhere just to go somewhere for 'father and daughter bonding.' Sometimes I wondered if I was adopted, and that's why they didn't love me. Weren't mothers and fathers supposed to love their children no matter what? I shivered as I thought about a story I had read in the paper about a woman raping her three months old—with someone else—until the baby was about 13 months old. I shuddered as I thought, maybe not.
Maybe it's just me. No one can love me, not even myself.