House Empty Like My Heart

Chapter 12

The next day at school started normally and turned out to be anything but "normal".

After the last lesson, I went out of school to find my brothers and I found a group of students gathered in the circle.

Inside of that circle, there was a disturbing scene was playing out. Dan was mercilessly beating up Brian. It wasn't really a fight, since the victim wasn't trying to defend themselves. It looked more like a one-sided attack. And it was brutal.

Brian looked like shit.

"Stop it," I said in a hoarse voice but then I repeated myself more loudly, "I said stop it!"

I hated violence. Hated it with passion. It didn't solve anything, why would they do that? It was nauseating to watch.

"Ellie, don't" Max commanded as he grabbed my arm to stop me from trying to pull Dan away from Brian before it becomes a murder scene.

"Tell Dan to stop, Max. Tell him to stop" I repeated with panic but Max regarded me with an emotionless face. He didn't feel pity for Brian at all, nor was he willing to listen to my request.

"Just stay out of it"

I couldn't watch. The excited crowd disgusted me and I didn't want to be a part of it so I turned around and decided to leave the scene.

Max wasn't really invested in the scene. He didn't look bothered by his brother's actions. Instead, his watchful gaze was carefully following me as I decided to turn around and leave the crime scene.

I didn't go far.

Boys weren't exactly quiet so teachers soon arrived to witness what's going on. All of the students including me were ordered to come back to our classrooms while Brian and Dan were just receiving a loud scolding from the biology teacher.

I was in social studies class when I was called to the headmaster's office. It of course had to bring the whole class's attention to me. I hated it.

As I was slowly moving towards Mr. Thompson's office I could hear a woman screaming. It was a very unpleasant shrill and unfortunately, I was getting closer to the source with each move. 

I was quietly invited in by a secretary to the office where there were already four people there. There's no way Dan would get away with it.

What if he will be suspended or worse because of me?

Brian's mother had short brown hair with blonde highlights, her designer handbag had obnoxious orange color and I was almost hundredth percent sure that her skin's natural color was hidden under the layers of fake tan.

"I demand this boy to be removed from this school. " she pointed at my brother who was perfectly calm for unknown to me reason "I thought I'm paying tuition this high to not be forced to deal with thugs but apparently I was wrong"

"Dan was just defending me, please don't punish him. You can kick me out I am the reason why this happened in the first place" I said desperately trying not to cry.

Dan looked at me surprised.

"Ellie what are y-"

"Ah of course. You're the girl who Brian was telling me about" The woman said clearly annoyed by my presence.

"Ms. Smith, please calm down. We will get to the bottom of it for now please refrain from speaking to Mr. Flynn's children until he joins us"

"Did you said, Flynn? L-like Andrew Flynn working at DA office?" She said in the hint of confusion and fear in her voice.

"Yes," that confusion was quickly replaced with realization and fear. Dan smirked at her already aware that this woman is done just like her son. Dan's good mood changed into worry when he saw me trembling and on the verge of tears.

I grabbed Dan's hand and he surprised me by pulling me close in a hug "Ellie it's okay nothing will happen" he said gently, he should be worrying more than me.

"We will see about that boy" this time woman's voice wasn't as confident, she was quiet, no longer yelling but there was still determination in her voice.

Brian's mother's determination passed as soon as Andrew entered the office. What was that aura? I shivered just by looking at him. It felt like his presence was negatively affecting everyone except Dan who was very relaxed and perhaps slightly bored.

"Right, good morning Mr. Flynn I'm glad you could arrive at such short notice. I'm afraid your son got in a fight with Mr. Smith, we're trying to get to the bottom of what caused this behavior"

"I agree this situation requires thorough analysis. Let's hear what the victim has to say" Andrew started smoothly and he gracefully took a seat in front of the principal's desk.

For some reason the person behind the desk wasn't at the moment the most important figure in the room, this role instantly shifted to Andrew who was, in a bad mood. But his mood could not be noticed by anyone else than his son who smiled gently at the thought of witnessing his father in action. 

Brian just opened his mouth but Andrew stopped him.

"I said the victim. By that I mean my daughter, not him"
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Dead Readers,

Thank you for your feedback. You really inspire me to continue writing this story. I hope you're having a wonderful day and please leave a comment if you enjoyed reading the chapter. ❤️