Beautiful Bully

Secrets

The next day.

Isabel was talking to her parents about her newfound feelings for Simon. Whilst her mom was very excited about this and immediately started thinking about what to name her first grandchild, Isabel's dad frowned.

"You said he already has a girlfriend," he remarked.

"Yes, but that can be dealt with."

Tyler raised his eyebrows. "And how, exactly, do you plan to deal with her? I hope you are not thinking of bullying her into breaking up with him.

Isabel looked deeply insulted.

"Of course not, dad! Why would you think that?" she exclaimed. "No, what I meant is that teenage relationships don't always last. Right? So there's a good chance the two of them will break up, and I will be able to swoop in and get him to be my boyfriend."

Her father still did not look convinced. "That's what you meant when you said you'll deal with her, eh?" Tyler asked sceptically.

"Yes, dad. That's what I meant."

"Okay. I have to go buy some groceries now. Don't do anything reckless, honey."

He then left the house and Beatrice quickly turned to her daughter.

"Now that your goody goody of a dad isn't here, tell me. How are you going to deal with this Christina girl?" she asked.

"Exactly what dad was afraid I was gonna do. But first I have to get Simon to really trust me. It will make things much easier if we get along well before I make my move."

"Invite him over, then. Tell him you want him to help you with Literature."

"That's actually a good idea," mused the brunette high schooler. The girl then called him and asked him to come over and help her out. He naively promised to do so, before she hung up the call. Isabel then went to her room and applied her make up, getting ready for his arrival.

She waited impatiently until the boy finally arrived at her place.

"Hi," she said. "You did tell me you would help me work on my writing skills, right?"

"Sure! Happy to help."

The way he smiled at her melted Isabel's heart and she patted the chair next to her. He sat down.

Beatrice brought over a basket which contained some pastries for Simon and Isabel.

"Thanks, Mrs. Greer," he said.

"You're welcome, darling. Enjoy."

She left the room, but not before winking at her daughter surreptitiously, without Simon noticing anything. Isabel winked back just as subtly, before focusing on Simon as he started giving her advice.

"Your sentences are a little too long," he noted. "Instead of using so many commas, you could break your analysis up into multiple shorter sentences."

He also gave some tips on how best to write about the context of each short story they were studying and about the author's agenda.

Isabel found his voice soothing yet she could also sense some deep sadness in it and asked him "Is something on your mind right now?"

He was surprised.

"Why do you ask?"

"Well, you just sound kind of sad."

Simon sighed. "Yeah, there is a little bit of an issue."

"What is it?"

"I just turned 19 today."

"Wow, I had no idea! Happy birthday!" she said to the boy.

"Thanks," he murmured. "But I haven't celebrated my birthday in years now."

"Why not?" asked the teen swimmer. She was curious. It made him uneasy and he struggled to find the right words. Finally he spoke.

"It happened on my eighth birthday. A lot of people were invited over to the party. Friends, relatives and some neighbours. It was supposed to be a fun day and at first it was quite fun. But then shit went wrong."

Isabel's eyes went wide. She never heard him speak in such a bitter tone before.

"My best friend at the time....She was supposed to come over with her parents. But then a truck hit their car..."

"My God."

Simon sighed. "If God's real he wouldn't have let that crap happen. He wouldn't let my best friend's parents get killed on her way to my birthday party. He wouldn't make her, the only survivor, blame me for her parents' deaths!" Then he noticed her expression. "Sorry. I should not have shouted. It's just... Even now, after so many years have passed, I still...."

Isabel gently placed a hand on his thigh. She said "You mustn't blame yourself."

"Why do you think I blame myself?" he asked automatically.

"You don't have to say that you do. I can see it in your eyes. You were only a kid, Simon. Even if you weren't, it's still not your fault that some shitty driver hit your friend's car." Then, after a pause, she asked "So where is that girl now? After her parents died, what happened to her?"

"Went to live with her grandparents. Never talked to me again after that."

"Grandparents?"

"Yeah. She does have an uncle but he's always in and out of prison with his various issues. So they took her in."

Isabel stared at him but didn't say anything else on the topic. She only told him that he has to let go of his guilt and move on. "It's not healthy, the way you're still blaming yourself over 10 years after this happened."

"Thanks," muttered the boy. He gave her an appreciative smile and she blushed. She then had him help her out more with her essay writing, before they took a break.

Isabel chatted with her mother while Simon took a walk in the garden.

"So what are you going to do next?" Beatrice asked her.

Isabel said "Not sure yet."

"Well, I'm sure you'll work something out. Why don't you ask him to stay over for dinner?"

"That's a great idea. You know what? I'll do that."

The brunette teen then headed outside, talking to Simon in the kitchen. Beatrice watched the two teenagers fondly.

Tyler approached her from behind. "Do you think he will reciprocate?" he asked his wife, wrapping his arms around her.

"Oh, definitely. Our daughter might not have been nice to him at the start but I'm sure she will win over him soon," replied Beatrice.

Author's Note : Sorry this chapter took me some time to write, everyone. What did you think of it?