Weight of The Untold

Chapter 8

"Ky, are you okay?"
I nodded, slipping into my seat. Meg slid in beside me, her eyes full of questions. My head throbbed, my knuckles still tingled, and the classroom suddenly felt too loud, too full, too suffocating.

"I'm going to the library," I murmured. "I can't be here right now."

"Ky, what happened?" she pressed, following close behind me.

I sank into a quiet corner between dusty shelves. "Meg, we both know Linda has been asking for it for a long time."

She looked at me like the floor had dropped out beneath her. "Kyla, you might be expelled. Violence isn't even discussed at the Disciplinary Committee. They go straight to expulsion."

"Do I look like I care right now?"

"Stop that," she snapped-gentle, but terrified. "You have exams. Think, Kyla. Please."

"How dare you tell me what to do? Are you the slut? The pathetic orphan?"

Her eyes widened. And I heard myself-too sharp, too cruel, too unlike me.

"Answer me!" My breath trembled, rage spilling over like boiling water.

"Kyla... Davison." Her voice was small, hurt.

Guilt crashed over me so fast it made my eyes burn. "I'm sorry. Meg-I'm sorry. I'm not good company right now. Please go before I say something even worse."

"And leave you alone like this? Yeah, no. Try again."

Her stubbornness cracked the storm in my chest. I giggled lightly. God, she really was heaven-sent.

---

The day blurred by until I heard, "Ky?"

Meg nudged me. "Come on. The bell rang."

"Oh." I hadn't heard a thing. My mind had been too loud.

"I guess Linda couldn't talk to the principal," I joked weakly.

'You really know how to throw a punch.'

Emma's voice in my head made me laugh. Leave it to her to lighten the mood.

"I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" Meg said gently.

I kissed her cheek. "Bye, Meg."

---

On the bus, I found my usual seat.

'You know you're not pathetic, right?'

'Relax, Em. She's jealous. She'll never be half of who I am.'

"Hey."

Hannah slid next to me, her presence like warm sunlight after a storm. Her beauty softened everything.

"Hey, beautiful," I said, and she blushed.

"So... I heard you kicked some ass today?" she chuckled.

"So everyone knows," I groaned with a laugh.

"Ky, you're Kyla Davison. If you beat someone, the school hears about it. And you beat Linda. Of course it's news."

The bus rumbled as Deveon climbed in.

"Well, that's my cue," Hannah smiled, moving to sit-only Alec's seat was empty.

"Hey," Deveon said, taking the space beside me.

"Hey."

The bus stopped again. Alec climbed in, our eyes locking for half a heartbeat before he looked away, carrying an entire storm in his shoulders.