A Silence Full of Sound

Chapter 19

We didn't talk on the way back. Well, most of us anyway. Lucas didn't stop.

"I just don't see what the guy's problem is. I didn't do it intentionally; it was an accident!" He said as he swung our hands as we were walking.

Sammy stayed quiet, Hailey walked with her head down and Mickie and Harley had left before we did. The near-fight between Lucas and Hunter had ended the game of football and we all decided that now was the best time to walk home.

Lucas looked at me, seeking validation for how he was feeling. I believed it was an accident. He didn't mean to hit Daniel's bench. But he didn't have to be cruel about it afterwards. Hunter was hurting, and all he needed in that moment was remorse and a little respect. And Lucas gave neither.

I looked down at my feet, watching as I walked left, right, left, right. I didn't want to validate Lucas' feelings, but I didn't want him to be upset either. And I didn't want him to feel the betrayal of me taking Hunter's side.

Was I taking Hunter's side?

Hailey bobbed her head as she walked alongside Sammy. Her cheeks still tear-stained.

What had that been about? She knew Hunter? He knew her? And what did he mean by 'you hang around with this crowd now?' Like it was a bad thing?

Hailey had seen the look of confusion I had thrown at her but she refused to acknowledge it. She hadn't looked at me since. It was unnerving.

Lucas, clearly not getting the attention he wanted, scoffed next to me and stopped walking. The momentum of it made me stop in my tracks alongside him. Looking up at him, his eyes bore into mine.

"I'm going to go home this way. Get home safe, yeah?" He said to me, irritation bubbling under the surface. I just nodded. He let go of our hands, and marched off turning left down the next street.

I looked over at Sammy, both him and Hailey had stopped and were looking at me expectantly. Sammy waited until he was sure that Lucas was gone before signing.

"Come on, let's go home."

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I didn't press Hailey on the matter. I hadn't answered Lucas' texts. Sammy and I didn't talk about the bench. And Hunter hadn't acknowledged me.

It had been two weeks and every time I walked past Hunter in the corridor, he walked straight past me as if I didn't exist. No small smile, no salute. Nothing.

I went back to the tree the day after and picked up every petal. I placed them strategically around Daniel's name hoping to make the petals look semi presentable.

And I sat under the tree and cried. Because as much as I tried to rearrange the petals, it still only looked like a squashed bouquet.

An elderly woman had come up and offered me tissues, muttering a 'thank you for your service' to Daniel, a silent prayer and then she left me in peace.

Daniel deserved better. Hunter deserved better.

I couldn't sleep. I was laying in my bed, my mind evading sleep with ease. Guilt had overridden my feeing of fatigue and now my brain was just alert.