21
My mom and I walk to the parking lot in silence. There's a figure leaning against my car, waiting for me.
"Hi, Kate," my mom calls out with a false cheeriness as she veers away toward her own car.
"Hi, Mrs Cullen," Kate replies with a smile and a wave. Mom loves Kate.
"I'll be home soon," I call, gesturing to Kate. My mom turns and glares.
"You have a half hour," she calls back, before getting in her car.
"What's your mom doing here?" Kate asks. I've not been able to get hold of her all weekend since I left her with Izzy. She doesn't move away when I lean against the car next to her close enough that we touch. I hope it's a good sign.
"I got into a fight with Whitlock. Principal Greene called her in."
She shifts so she can look at me. I guess she's looking for injuries as she scans my face with her eyes, concern etched onto her face.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, he winded me, that's all." I gently rub my stomach, testing for tenderness. "How are you?"
"I spent the weekend trying to convince Izzy to make a complaint about the attack," Kate says. She offers a sidelong glance. I guess she's checking my reaction.
"Oh yeah?"
"It turns out there was no attack." She pauses as I register what she said. My head snaps up.
"Bullshit!" I protest. "I heard her screaming! I dragged the guy off her."
Kate pushes away from the car and stands in front of me, gently grabbing a handful of my t-shirt.
"She tried dismissing it as nothing all weekend. I cornered her at lunch today and she confessed what really happened." She looks directly at me. "Apparently Whitlock, Pete and Izzy were all pretty wasted. The guys had a little coke and Izzy wanted some. They said no and she went crazy, leapt at Whitlock and started screaming and punching him. Pete managed to yank her off and pin her down. That's when you arrived."
Once again Izzy Swan has managed to take everything I thought I knew about a situation and turn it on its head.
"Fuck," I murmur.
"Were you suspended?" Kate asks, rubbing my arms with gentle hands.
"No. Apparently I'll 'be watched very closely' and my mom has grounded me indefinitely." I shake my head slowly. "I still can't believe what happened with Whitlock. We all went through so much shit because she was throwing a tantrum?"
I reach out and pull Kate closer, dipping to rest my forehead against hers.
"I'm sorry." I tell her, truthfully. "I'm sorry things have been so messy lately and I'm sorry I've not been able to handle it better."
"It's okay," she says. "We're good."
I press my lips against hers, then pull back to hug her tightly. Over her shoulder I see Izzy turning and hurrying away, reminding me of Whitlock's claims about Emmett. My stomach flips nervously, as it always does when I see her.
"I'm glad," I say. "Because I have a feeling things will get worse before they get better."
~S~