Knockout Boys

Chapter 13: Did My Time

         The week following, I was sentenced to lie in bed, and my only interactions with other humans was eating dinner with my annoying parents. I was so bored I even asked my Mom to see River, even though I could have punched the stupid girl. "Thanks a lot, River," I told her sarcastically when she came over. "Kevin hates me now."

River shrugged, standing in the doorway to my home, letting the cold air in. "Did you ask me over just to yell at me?" she said, calmly examining her black nails.

I hung my head and sighed. "No," I admitted. "I'm just bored out of my mind. Come in," I sighed and stepped back.

River stepped inside, taking off her beanie. "What happened?" she asked casually.

I scowled, following her to the living room. "He told me he flirts with everyone and I'm nothing special."

She folded her arms. Her dark purple lips were pursed. "Fuckboy." She shook her head. "And here I was, feeling bad for him. He deserved what he got."

"What do you mean?"

River hopped on the living room couch, sitting perched on the edge. "You know, getting beat up last week."

My jaw dropped. "He what?"

River raised her thin eyebrow, the one with the piercing. "You mean you haven't heard?" she said gleefully. "Paul beat him up at school! I mean, I wasn't there obviously, but everyone knows about it. Even my Mom."

"Holy crap," I exclaimed. That's it. I'm doomed. If even Kevin couldn't stand up to Paul... it was time to move out of the country. Feeling panicked, I gnawed on my bottom lip. Why couldn't people just leave me alone? I was just your average pacifist nerd that stayed out of trouble. I didn't want to fight anyone.

"Yeah, it was pretty surprising," she continued. "Your Kevin's always bragging about his fighting skills and all Paul had to do was flatten him." Her voice was chipper, as if she wasn't telling me I was as good as dead. "Paul's talking trash about you. He says he'll crush your skull in front of everybody."

I swallowed. "Kevin," I said. "Is he okay?"

River gave me a strange look. "You've seen him."

"I haven't actually." My voice cracked. "Not since we fought. He won't even respond to my texts."

"You hung out with him after I picked you up from your shrink, right, stupid?"

"Oh," I said. So that was the fight he got into? Damn, I couldn't have picked a worse time to confess my feelings. Poor Kevin was probably scared out of his mind just like I was. I gritted my teeth. What gave Paul the right to boss everyone around? If only I were bigger and stronger, I'd knock him out so he'd learn to never mess with anyone again. I'd hit him so hard he would get a concussion, and say goodbye to that football scholarship he was so obsessed with. My hands formed into fists.

"Uh, Rocky?" River said and poked my nose. "You all right? You look constipated."

"Hey, don't do that!" I snapped, swatting her hand away.

"Look, don't worry about it," she said, patting my head. "Just talk to your parents about leaving the country, yeah?"

I rolled my eyes. "You're such a comfort, River."

"No joke though, if Kevin can't help you, you should probably transfer," she said, her expression becoming serious. "Think about that later though. Let's do something fun!"

I frowned. "I'm not allowed to do anything, remember? I have a concussion?"

"Seriously? Not even Netflix?"

"Nope. No Netflix, no reading, no drawing, no listening to music... I'm not even supposed to talk that much or anything that requires concentration."

River sighed. "All right. I'll just do some reading then," she said and went on her phone to some app called Wattpad. "I hope this counts as us hanging out," she said.

"Of course," I replied sarcastically. I lay down on the couch, listening her shout "OMG plot twist!" and "That jerk!" while I stared at the ceiling. It was nice to have someone around, at least.

...

After over a month passed when I thought I'd go crazy of boredom, the doctor finally said I was fit to go. He congratulated me on getting better so fast, and it was probably because I didn't do anything that required concentration. It's not like I had a choice. The sooner I got better, the sooner I could train to fight, even if Kevin couldn't train me anymore, my Mom said she'd find me a professional. At this point, I had to do all I could to survive. Even if I transferred to River's high school, Paul and I still lived in the same neighborhood, so it was a constant danger.

I messaged Kevin, even though I hadn't for a month and I didn't expect anything except to be ignored again. Still, I would hate myself if I just let things end without a proper goodbye at least. Hello, Kevin. Just to let you know, I no longer have a concussion. I'm probably going to find a coach to teach me to defend myself. Thank you for everything you've done for me. I'm sorry things had to end this way, but there are no hard feelings on my end. ~Rocky. I sent the message, feeling my heart tighten.

The response was almost immediate. Don't be a fool. I'll train you

I blinked a few times, taking in the words. Feeling giddy, I texted him back. Ok sure sounds good. I hit sent. You're not mad at me? I added, feeling queasy in my stomach.

When do you want to train? was his reply.

I'm fine with any time. I'm free today. I miss you. I deleted the last sentence before sending it. My heart beat faster as I thought how horrible it would have been if I sent the whole text. Stupid, Rocky.

Want me to pick you up in a few?

Okay.

Nervous, I paced my house. I was all alone at home because my parents both worked. I ground my teeth. I was suddenly furious with Kevin. He was basically keeping me on a leash like a neglected dog, only paying attention to me when he felt like it. Meanwhile, I would text him over and over, chewing my nails to raw and hating myself when he didn't answer my texts. But another part of me was thrilled that he still wanted to hang out. I would see him again, after all this time. "Damn you, Kevin," I muttered. "You suck."