A Stranger To Him

Forty-four, Digging for secrets

I yawn shortly as I focus on taking notes in my notebook. My chemistry teacher reviews some last topics for our chemistry test at the end of the week. It's going to be a pretty big test, which is why I thought it would be good to take some notes in this class. I know my teacher will spill some details about exam questions, but I'll forget them if I don't write them down. 

As she takes a break to answer some questions from my classmates, I look outside to see Caine's car entering the parking lot. I frown deeply as I continue to look at his car. He gets out of the car, and I'm almost left speechless at how bad his face looks. 

Multiple wounds cover his face, and he has a black eye. I wonder if these are the wounds from the fight or if he fought another time too. If I notice how bad the wounds look from here, how bad would they be up close? He walks with difficulty too, but he's trying to hide it.

It looks like he has more wounds than there are shown. 

He kept his promise and called me after the fight, which was a couple of days ago. He told me he won the fight and wasn't injured badly, but it turns out he lied. He already sounded like he wasn't telling me something, and I know there was more to the story than he told me. It was like I was sensing how tense he was over the phone, but I didn't mention it. 

I guess I didn't think it was important. 

I wonder if one person could have done so much damage to his face when he was the one who won the fight. I figured he would get some minor injuries, but his face looks like a car drove over his face, turned around, and drove over his face again. 

His face must have looked worse after the fight, but I couldn't see him all weekend because I needed to help clean the house. My mom told me there was a family who was interested in visiting our home. They made an appointment with our real estate agent for a visit, which will be tomorrow. 

My chemistry teacher tells us what chapters we need to study for the exam before the bell rings, indicating the first period is over. I put my stuff back in my bag and check what class I have next. I have math next, which is one of the only classes I have with Caine. 

I don't really feel like seeing him though, considering he lied to me. 

If there's one thing I absolutely hate, it is lying to someone's face because it hurts people to know the truth afterward. It gives everyone a feeling like they don't trust you enough to tell you the truth, which makes people insecure. Lying always makes me feel like I'm going behind someone's back, and I hate it, which is why I don't appreciate people lying to me. 

I'm going to give him a chance to explain why he lied to me because I think everyone deserves to have an opportunity to explain themselves. It might have been for a good reason, but I still tell him how I think about lying. I know this isn't a big lie, but it makes me feel like there's more behind it. It's like he's hiding something from me. It's okay to have secrets, but why lie about your injuries?

I'd rather be hurt by the truth than protected by a lie, you know?

It's not specifically lying about his injuries I'm mad about, but the idea he's been lying about more things than just injuries. These boys are considered dangerous in this school, and it makes me anxious to know he isn't telling me about some things. 

I take the stairs down to get to the right classroom for my math class. I take place in my usual seat and take out my books and notebooks before shifting my attention outside. It's snowing outside again. It has been snowing since yesterday afternoon, and I've been excited to take a walk in the snow outside with Emily. We agreed to do so this afternoon. 

"Hey, are we still on for that walk this afternoon? Because I need to get out of my house. My parents and my sister have been fighting for the past five days, and I couldn't get out of the house because I had to study for this economics test I have next period." Emily says, sighing deeply as she takes place next to me.