Lost in Hollywood

In the End

I've carried this chapter within my heart and partly written on my laptop for over a year now. Finally, it's time to let it out.

I sincerely apologize for all the emotional damage it might cause.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Cody stared at the video playing on the screen of the laptop, fighting the bile that was climbing up his throat.

He was faintly aware of the fact that Counselor Blatt was still talking, but he couldn't make out the words, they blurred into an incoherent background noise that was barely audible through the ringing of his ears. The only thing he could hear clearly was the sudden burst of laughter in the background of that video, and even if Blatt hadn't said who had filmed this piece of evidence, Cody would have known that laughter in his sleep.

Kyler Park.

He should have known Kyler would find a way to get back at him, should have known nothing was beneath that sick and twisted piece of shit, but still—

Cody kept swallowing down the bitter bile at the back of his throat. He couldn't throw up now, not in Counselor Blatt's office. Nothing said guilty like puking on someone's desk while being interrogated for drug trafficking.

The image on the screen had stopped - it was a short video, only seconds or so - and Blatt clicked the play again, starting it from the beginning for the third time.

Unnecessary. Cody blinked and turned his eyes to Blatt's desk instead of the laptop screen. He already knew what was on the video, he had registered every single frame the first time he'd seen it. It was a short, simple clip, filmed with a phone, showing him and Nicky Addison from the junior grade during lunch break a couple of days ago. Even if the film was of somewhat bad quality, you could easily see the pill bottle he handed to Nicky, the cash she stuffed into his hands in return.

Stupid. Such a rookie mistake. He should have known better than to deal in school. And on such a crowded hallway—

But how the fuck should have he known Kyler was filming him? He hadn't even thought about that bastard in weeks, with everything that had been going on with Sky and Luke and Hawk and the play.

The only good thing about the film was that you couldn't see Nicky's face - she was standing her back to the camera and a hood covered her blond hair. Nicky was a cute girl with anxiety issues that she self-medicated with weed and pills. She'd been buying from Cody for a long time and had been one of the first customers who'd contacted him after he had put the word out that he was back in business. They had history with Nicky - had slept together a couple of times too, before he had met Sky of course. Nicky was nice. She didn't deserve the shit this video would cause.

"Cody, are you listening to me at all?" counselor Blatt's voice cut through his scattered thoughts, making his glance snap up to her face. "I asked you a question."

"Umm, sorry—" Cody swallowed the bitter saliva that kept filling his mouth and ran a shaky hand through his hair. "What was the question, Counselor?"

She pointed an angry finger at the frozen screen that showed Cody handing the pill bottle to Nicky, her short nail with chipped, red nail polish sticking the screen-Cody straight to his face.

"We have an anonymous student accusing you of drug traffic in school. This video is very discriminating. Cody, can you explain this? What are you handing to this girl?"

Cody wanted to laugh, but the sound came out all broken and twisted.

"That's just Tylenol. For headache. What did you think it was, Counselor?"