New Leaves

Chapter Seven - Rebel With a Cause

Emily's POV

Everyone stared at Zig with their mouths agape. "Zig, you have a criminal record?" I asked.

"Chris, you're about to lose your standing as Hartfeld's resident criminal," Sebastian said.

"Ugh, Sebastian, shut up," Kaitlyn said.

"Hey, we all have our histories," Zig said.

"It looks like our favorite football jock isn't the only one with secrets," Sebastian said.

"No secrets here. If you want to know about it, I'll tell you."

"Well... I can't say I'm not intrigued. What exactly happened?" James asked.

"My sister used to date this total jerk. He was always belittling her, calling her names, and making threats. Sometimes weeks would go by where I had no idea what was going on because he wouldn't let her talk to me. They dated for two years, but when I was in high school, she finally broke up with him. I was helping her move her stuff out of his place... Then he showed up in the middle of it and started getting aggressive. I didn't intend for things to get violent, but... He grabbed my sister, and when I tried to pull him away, he threw a punch at me. So I beat the hell out of him. I got expelled and ended up spending the next year in juvie."

"Oh my God, but it was self-defense!" I exclaimed.

"It was hard to make that argument when there was hardly a scratch on me and the other guy was a mess."

"Wow... You really laid into him, huh?" Chris asked.

"I was not gonna stand by and let him push my sister around like that. He may not have been legally charged, but I hope now he'll think twice before ever treating another woman like that."

"That's awful that you had to bear the brunt of the consequences though," Kaitlyn said.

"Yeah, we all make mistakes. At least your intentions were good," Chris said.

"It wasn't a mistake. I would do it again in a heartbeat," Zig said. "As long as I can protect the people I love, I don't care what happens to me."

"Hmph. Leave it to a thug like you to try to justify -"

"You sure you wanna finish that sentence, Captain Trust Fund? That's what I thought."

"Um, hey, who wants to play a round of beer pong?" Zack asked.

"Ooh, yes! Let's get the table set up!" Madison exclaimed.

People branched off into groups as the party continued. I headed back inside, chatting with Kaitlyn and Abbie. "Wow... Zig told quite a story, huh?" Abbie asked.

"Yeah... I guess he really is as tough as he looks," Kaitlyn said.

"I don't know... It makes me a little uncomfortable. I mean, Chris's car theft is one thing, but... Did you see how mad he got just from retelling the story?"

"To be fair, he was just trying to protect his sister. Besides, it was a long time ago."

"But it's not just that! He totally clocked Sebastian too, and he didn't even know him. I mean, I'm the last person to defend that cockroach, but still. It seems like Zig might be prone to lashing out."

"Hey, Sebastian did grab Emily. I think Zig was just trying to help. Look, maybe he doesn't go about it in the most pleasant way, but it seems like his heart is in the right place."

"To be honest, he scares me a little," I said. "I understand that he's trying to protect others, but his temper puts me off. There are ways to handle that kind of situation without resorting to violence."