Ghost Bird Fanfiction: Sang's Lyric, The Story of Sang Sorenson's Mother

Stare Down

I stared horrified at the mess in front of me, ridiculously close to tears. I made a move to run away, but when I stepped back to turn around, I ran straight into a hard chest. The smell of pine and smoke clung lightly to the person's shirt, and when I craned my neck back to see what pile of mortification I had stepped in, I saw Kell.

He stared over the top of my head at Keefe, his dark face flushed.

"Keefe," he said in his musical voice. "That was a mistake, mate."

Kell moved me to the side, glancing down at my sweatshirt and jeans. I bit my trembling lip and looked up at him through my lashes. Whatever he saw in my face made his soften. He reached out a hand and tucked my hair behind my ear. I surprised myself by not flinching, enjoying the feel of his fingers on my skin. In that moment, he had created a bubble of safety around me. The laughter of the other students didn't touch me, and all the additional trouble I would have to go to now, including missing yet another meal, wasn't an issue. 

Just as long as he kept touching me.

"He's not worth it, Kell," I whispered to him, seeing his demeanor change as he stared at Keefe over my head.

"No," Kell says gently. "He is not. But you are, Priya."

Kell's eyes flashed to someone and I saw Taylor launch himself at Keefe. They went down in a flurry of fists. I could hear the thump of flesh against flesh and I winced, taking a step forward. A hand on my shoulder stopped me and Kell began to lead me out of the cafeteria.

"We can't just leave him there!" I argued, trying to turn around.

"He'll be fine," Kell reassured me. "Trust me. Tay is on the soccer team with Keefe, and Keefe won't rat him out because he doesn't want to be suspended from the home game this week."

"But he could be hurt, Kell," I persisted, picturing Taylor's open friendly face, and Keefe's big meaty fists.

"Priya," Kell says quietly, stopping me so that I can face him. "Trust me. He won't be hurt. Taylor knows how to fight. He is sending a warning to Keefe, that is all."

I lifted my finger to my lip, pushing it to my teeth and glancing back worriedly at the cafeteria. Kell followed my gaze and sighed heavily. "Look," he said, and went back to the door, pointing through the window. I glanced in quickly and saw that Taylor was standing behind a group of boys, and Keefe was holding a napkin to his nose. Taylor's shirt was ripped and his hair was messy, but he didn't look injured.

I glanced up at Kell. "Okay?" he asked.

I nodded my head, my shoulders relaxing and I took a deep breath.

And smelled Italian dressing.

I stared down at myself, the damage wasn't too severe, since I had a salad and an unopened bottle of water, but I still had a salad dressing stain on the center of my sweater, along with small pieces of garlic and oregano.

"Thank you for helping me," I said to Kell, and turned to leave. "Again."

"Where are you going?" Kell asked, walking quickly to catch up.

"Bathroom," I answered, "I smell like salad dressing, I'm going to wash some of it off before my next class. I'm going to the laundromat after school anyway, so it can wait until then."

My finger hovered over my lips; I had said much more than I intended.

"I have a better idea," Kell said, reaching a hand up slowly and taking my hand in his. "I will bring you to my house and you can do your laundry there."

I felt my stomach clench in nervousness and Kell squeezed my hand reassuringly.

"You have study hall and art, yeah?" he asked.

I nodded. Kell took out a cell phone and began to tap out a message to someone. I heard the swoosh that signified sent mail and he looked up at me, his dark eyes twinkling and a small smile playing on his lips.

"There," he challenged. "It's taken care of."

"I... how?" I asked wonderingly.

"James," Kell answered. "He will let the office know you needed to go home and he will get you excused absences from your classes."

He began walking down the hall, tugging lightly on my hand to pull me with him. I hitched my bag up on my shoulder. "He can just do that?" I asked.

"Yes," Kell replied. "He's bloody clever."

My bag slipped down, and I shrugged my shoulder to get it back into place. Kell must have felt me struggling because he reached over and took my bag. "I apologize," he said, and when I glanced at him, I saw that his cheeks were red.

"That's okay," I said gently. "It's not your responsibility to carry my bag."

"No," he said. "I swore in front of you, I apologize for that. Though I also should have taken your bag."

I bit my lip, trying to stop the smile threatening to overtake me. Kell continued to hold my hand as we walked through the doors to the parking lot. I got more and more nervous as we walked. I had never left school without permission before.

"It will be all right," he said, stopping and taking my other hand in his. "I promise."

I nodded my head. I wanted to believe him.He turned away from me and began stuffing our bags into the saddlebags on a motorcycle. I stared at it.

"Wait," I interrupted. "Is that what..."

He raised an eyebrow at me as I stared, unsure, at the bike. He took out a helmet and held it out to me, a look of challenge on his face. I struggled with myself.  I wanted so much to go with him, to skip school and jump on the back of the motorcycle with this guy, but that was something my mom would do, and I worked really really hard not to make the same mistakes she did.

I stared back at him, and he seemed to realize it wasn't that I was afraid, but that I was debating something bigger within myself.

"I promise, Lyric," Kell said, the challenging look disappearing. "I just want to help. If you come with me, it won't get you in trouble. I won't buy you alcohol or cigarettes. It won't be the first step down a troubled path. It will just be laundry."

I pushed my lip up to my teeth. "Just laundry?" I asked, looking into his eyes and seeing only truth.

Kell cocked his head and squinted his eyes. "And lunch," he added. "Laundry and lunch."

I let out the breath I had been holding. "Okay." I said, and reached for the helmet.

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Sorry there was such a delay between updates. I hope that you will take the time to review and comment! Thanks!