RESILIENCE | BOOK 1 ✍︎

Chapter 06: Friends

I come back in at 4 am smelling like smoke, it's a bad habit that I know I should quit but I can't help it.

Everyone is already asleep and the apartment is quiet. I close the window, blocking out the honks and yells of New York at night.

I climb onto the top bunk, trying to prevent it from shaking as much as possible. Quinn is dead asleep and I don't want to wake her, she hasn't been getting much sleep lately. I don't think anyone else has noticed but the eyebags under her eyes grow daily.

I haven't been sleeping much either, that night keeps returning to me. I think there's something wrong with my brain, like someone took it out, blended it up, and poured it back in.

I know everyone is fighting their own battles right now, and I don't want to trouble anyone with my problems. It's just so hard to act normal when all I want to do is scream and cry like a child who dropped their ice cream on the ground.

I don't know why what happened to me makes me act the way I act. Everyone who doesn't make the effort to know me thinks I'm this monster. I am not an angry person, I don't know why I act like I am.

Usually, the memories blur out when I try to think of them then they come crashing down like a wave. Then I block them out and accidentally block everyone else out.

My eyes start to get heavy and I pull the blanket over me.

Maybe one day we can all get out of this city and forget about the shitty things that happened.

•

FIVE HOURS EARLIER
11: 25 pm
•••

The drive back is quiet, I don't feel bad for yelling at him. He deserved it.

I get I was out late without him letting me know but it's not like we were doing drugs. I know my dad had a rough childhood and he doesn't want me getting into trouble like he did when he was a kid.

He won't tell me the full story, I know my older brothers know because they also refuse to tell me about it. They all treat me like a baby, walking eggshells around me. Part of me knows that they are just worried because of what happened at my other schools, the posts, the text messages, and the blatant bullying.

It's embarrassing to talk about because I really didn't do anything to stop it. I just let them throw me around like some ragdoll. It's even more embarrassing that it happened at multiple schools.

So when some kids invited me to hang out with them, I was ecstatic. They actually wanted me to be there, and even though they were super close I didn't feel left out. I felt like I fit right in, for once I didn't feel like an outcast.

"Leo, son, I'm so sorry. I-I overreacted and ruined your night," My dad apologizes with desperation dripping in his tone. I don't make a move to speak so he continues, "I know you want to fit in, but you can't be skipping school."

I take a deep breath, I want to be mad at him but I can never be angry at anyone for more than three minutes. "It's okay Dad."

I see him crack a smile from my side view as we pull into the underground garage, it has all my family's cars in it and a few of our neighbors.

I catch a glimpse of myself in the side mirror, there's flour all over my clothes and hair. I sigh and grab my backpack, my dad's already in the elevator, holding it open for me.

He sends me a smile, which I return. He presses the 57th button. Our penthouse is three stories which looks like a house from the inside.

The elevator ride is silent how I like it, but when we arrive at our floor and the doors open it's chaos.

My eldest brother, William or Will as we call him, is pacing back and forth arguing with someone on the phone.

When we step in his head snaps towards us and he hangs up on the phone, "He found him!" my other two brothers and my Mom come storming in.

"Oh baby," She rushes towards me, cupping my face in her hands. "Did the kids at school do this to you?" Her voice cracks as she wipes the flour off my hairline.

"Are you fucking kidding me? Again? Dad you have to do something, this happens at every school he goes to!" August, my brother closest in age to me who is still in school yells.

"It's his first day, this is unbelievable," Will says, already starting to aggressively type into his phone.

"No, no, no. It wasn't bullies this time," I say, sagging. It's happened so many times that they think every time I go somewhere new, kids trouble me.

Danny raises an eyebrow, "So you're saying no one dumped whatever that is on you?"

I nod my head biting my lip, I go to speak but am cut off by August. "Leo, be completely honest. You don't have to protect whoever is doing this to you." He says softly, coming to stand next to Mom.

"What? No! I'm being serious. It's different this time." Do they not believe me? Will sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose, "You've lied about this before, just tell us and we can send you to a new school."

Tears grow in my eyes. "He's being honest. I found him hanging out with friends."

A smile breaks out on August's face, "Holy shit!" He grabs my shoulder and shakes them happily, I try to stop the smile that makes my way onto my face but I can't help it.

Mom clasps her hands together, getting as excited as August. "How many?"

"Six."

She pulls me into a hug, rocking us. "How about we talk about it over dinner," Dad says, motioning towards the dining room that has food set out on it.

Danny, who's the least affectionate of my brothers pulls me back. "I'm proud of you. You know that, right?"

I stare at him for a moment before smiling and looking down, "Yeah, thanks."

He nods and follows the rest of my family to the table.

I never knew a 16-year-old would get this much praise for making friends.