Dawn Of Twilight

Chapter 14 : All Our Yesterdays (Part 2)

The air in the principal's office was suffocating. The ticking of the clock on the wall filled the silence, each second stretching endlessly. Erevin sat stiffly in the wooden chair, hands clasped tightly in his lap, his mind replaying the events from the day before.

Across from him sat the boy-the same boy who had tried to destroy Anna's life. He was smug, a faint smirk tugging at the corner of his bruised lips. The cuts on his face and the swelling on his jaw were glaring reminders of Erevin's fury. Beside him sat his parents, their expressions a mix of outrage and self-righteousness.

The principal cleared his throat, shuffling papers in front of him. His gaze shifted between Erevin and the boy's parents. "This is a very serious matter," he said, his voice stern. "I've been told that Erevin attacked your son and stole his phone."

"That's right," the boy's father said, his voice cold. "Our son came home bruised and bleeding. We demand action."

Erevin remained silent, his jaw clenched.

The principal turned to him. "Erevin, is this true? Did you take his phone?"

Erevin opened his mouth to speak, but before he could say a word, he felt a light tug on his sleeve.

He glanced to his side.

Anna.

She sat next to him, her head bowed, her hair falling over her face. But her eyes-when she looked up at him-were pleading. Don't tell them. That was what her gaze said. Please. Don't say anything.

Erevin's chest tightened. Every instinct in him screamed to tell the truth, to expose the boy for what he really was. But Anna's silent plea held him back.

"I didn't take his phone," Erevin finally said, his voice steady. "And I wasn't bullying him."

The principal frowned. "Then how do you explain the bruises? And the phone?"

Erevin met the principal's gaze head-on. "It wasn't like that."

"Then how was it?" the boy's father demanded. "Because right now, all we see is a violent kid who attacked our son."

The tension in the room was unbearable. Erevin could feel Anna trembling beside him. Her hands were clasped tightly in her lap, her knuckles white.

"I'm not a bully," Erevin said quietly.

The principal sighed. "Given the circumstances, I have no choice but to issue a disciplinary warning. Erevin, you'll be under observation for the rest of the term. And as for you, young man"-he turned to the boy-"you're to stay away from Erevin. We won't tolerate any further incidents."

The meeting ended, and Erevin and Anna walked out of the office in silence.

Once they were far enough from the principal's office, Erevin finally stopped. "Anna..." His voice was soft, hesitant.

She stopped too, her eyes downcast.

"You could have told them," Erevin said gently. "You could have told them the truth."

Anna shook her head. "It wouldn't have changed anything. They wouldn't have believed me."

"They would have believed me."

She looked up at him then, tears welling in her eyes. "And what would happen next? Everyone would know..." Her voice broke. "They'd know what he did. They'd see me as... as someone broken."

"You're not broken," Erevin said firmly.

But Anna only shook her head again. "It's already started."

By the next day, the rumors had spread like wildfire.