My life

Chapter 14

Chloe was excited to go to school the next day, despite the scratches on her face from her feral mum, she was excited to see Elliot.

She entered the school hallway with a small smile on her face and a spring to her step but that smile faded the moment she spotted Maxwell at the opposite end of the hallway, smiling at her in that eerie way. Her heart dropped and her pace slowed. There was no way to evade him so she kept walking. She nodded at him and walked past, almost sighing in relief but someone else fell into step with her, someone she thought was familiar but couldn't remember who he was.

"Hey Chloe" he greeted. She stopped in her tracks and turned to face him.

"Who are you?"

He had that look in his eyes, one that made her want to stay as far away from him as possible.

"It doesn't matter. You saw something, something you shouldn't have."

She instantly knew what he was talking about, he was one of Maxwell's friends. She tried not to let her fear show, putting on a brave front.

"I don't know what you're talking about"

He smiled. They both knew she was lying.

"Maxwell was right, you're tough but unfortunately not a good liar. You know what I'm talking about, you know what I can do." He whispered the last part, getting closer to her, he held her gaze, the glint in his eyes evoked that familiar feeling of fear in her heart but she kept it down, holding his gaze. "You could be next"

That last sentence almost broke her brave front. She could almost hear the screams of that boy from the park, the evil things they had done to him. He stared at her, all emotions wiped from his face and it struck her, where she had seen him from. He was one of her little brother's friends. He walked away casually, like he had not just threatened her life. Her shoulders slumped and she let down the facade. Across the hallway, her eyes locked with Laila's who looked worried. She started making her way towards Chloe but stopped when she saw her turn around.

"I think Chloe's getting bullied" Laila said to Elliot. He had been busy on his phone, ignoring everyone till Chloe's name was mentioned. It was very evident that he had a thing for Chloe and it irritated Laila but she pushed it aside because she needed his help to get to the bottom of this.

"Why'd you say so?" He asked, putting down his phone. It was lunchtime and they were all seated in their usual spot.

"She's always jumpy and on edge."

"Well she's not exactly a regular girl is she?" Melvin said

"I saw her earlier with one boy, his back was to me so I didn't get a look at who he was but when he left, she looked pale, and there was tears in her eyes, like she was going to cry" Laila explained "I know something's up"

"Well something has always been up. She's always been strange" Kelvin said.

"Well it's not something good Kelvin. We need to help her if we can" Laila defended

"Yeah she's right." Elliot added

"I don't think we should get involved, we don't know what's going on, for all we know it could be a secret boyfriend that broke up with her" Kelvin said.

"Is that why she's always jumpy and on edge" Melvin asked in sarcasm.

"And she had scratches on her face?" Laila added.

They were so engrossed in their argument that they didn't notice her approaching till she sat. They cleared their throats and pretended to be casual, immediately changing the topic.

"Hey Chloe" Melvin greeted.

"Hi" she greeted back distractedly. They all exchanged glances. Lunch went smoothly, everyone sat silently observing her. If she had been in her right mind, then Chloe would have realized how odd they were all acting but she was too distracted thinking of how to escape Maxwell and his friends.

***

Once school ended, Chloe hurriedly made her way outside in an attempt to evade Laila but came face to face with Maxwell. She sighed.

"Hello Chloe?"

"What do you want? Your friend already threatened me incase you didn't know so there's no need for this" she said in frustration. She was tired of getting harassed by them. He looked surprised and amused. He opened his mouth to say something but a voice interrupted them.

"Hey Maxwell"

It was Elliot. He stood directly behind Chloe, staring at Maxwell over her head. She felt relief, knowing he was there to defend her. Maxwell nodded at him then walked away without a word. Chloe turned to face Elliot who already had his eyes on her.

"His friend threatened you?"

Chloe's eyes widened, realizing he heard her.

"Uh I exaggerated, he didn't"

Elliot knew she was lying and he wondered if he should let it go this time. Laila was worried she was getting bullied and now he was beginning to suspect Maxwell and his friends were the bullies.

"So what happened then?"

"It's nothing, it's fine"

"There's nothing fine about being threatened Chloe" he pushed.

"Please let it go Elliot"

Elliot opened his mouth to say something but shut it after hearing the desperation in her voice. He assessed her, noting the scratch marks on her face from the night before. He itched to know how she got it but was scared of pushing her away again. He sighed and grabbed her hand.

"I'm worried about you Chloe" he so low, almost like a whisper. It made Chloe's heart flutter, the fact that he was holding her hand and worrying about her. She gave him a small smile.

"Don't be" she wanted to add that she was fine but she couldn't bring herself to lie to him in that moment, not while he was holding her hand and looking at her with such genuine feelings.

"I can't help it" he responded. He took her to his car and dropped her off at her doorstep despite her protests. It made her blush, how protective of her he was being. She wiped her smile from her face the moment she stepped into her house. She was reminded of the boy from earlier, the same boy she had seen hanging out with her little brother. She sat on the couch waiting for him.