This Is England » Freddie Highmore

38.

EVERYTHING SEEMED DREARY the moment Freddie and I left the hospital grounds. We sat in his car and waited for the person behind us to exit the parking lot.

I stared out the window, holding Freddie's jacket close to me as the event of the previous day came flooding back.

"Darling, are you alright?" Freddie asked as he placed his fingertips on my wrist, his touch sending chills down my spine.

I turned to face him, biting my lip.

"Freddie," I began, my voice quivering. "Evan wants to kill you."

Instead of giving a cold, hard stare, Freddie tilted his head back and laughed. He shook his head, returning his gaze back at me.

"He's not going to kill me," he says, smirking. "because I'm not going to let that happen. Daemon and his little groupie gang are going to die, whether they like it or not.

"They hurt you, and nearly tried to rape you, so because of this, I'm going to kill them. LFOUR has a rule and its to kill those who have hurt someone associated with the gang."

He picks up my chin and makes me look into his dark brown orbs. He leans in a little closer and kisses my cheek.

"I'm not letting anything happen to you, Amelia." he starts the car and pulls out of the lot, driving off to God-knows-where.

"Freddie?"

"Yes?" he asks, sparking up a cigarette in his hand as he waits for the light to go green.

"What are we?"

He blows out the nicotine toxic and stares up at the ceiling as the tendrils float up in the air.

He looks down and faces me again, giving me a warm smile.

"In love."

He doesn't say anything more as he starts to drive once again.

..

"Where have you been, Ms. Parker?" the headmaster at Cambridge asked, his fingers laced together as he looks down at my record; noticing my tremendous number of absences.

I didn't want to reveal to him about what had happened. I had to come up with something. Before I could open my mouth to speak, the door to the headmaster's office barges open; revealing my mother in that damn green pantsuit.

Surprisingly, she wasn't smoking a cigarette. She stared at me, her jaw clenched.

"What happened to you?!" she bellows, causing the headmaster and I to jump from her sudden outburst.

"I--Mother, what are you doing here?"

"I came all the way from New York to talk to your headmaster about your absences. What happened to you, Amelia?"

I didn't realize it then, but I was still wearing Freddie's jacket.

"I was in the hospital." I breathed.

"Whose jacket is that?" she crossed her arms on her chest. "Does it belong to that thug you're seeing?"

"He isn't a thug, Ma!"

"Oh bull-fucking-shit, Amelia! Ever since you met him, you became a completely different person!"

"Mrs. Parker," the headmaster spoke finally, "With all do respect, I would like to discuss the ridicule punishment for your daughter."

My mother sighs with a puff to her cheeks, then sits next to me. She doesn't even look at me, she waits for my punishment to be given.

"Amelia Parker, you are going to be suspended for a whole year."

I nodded, standing up as I make my way towards the entrance of the headmaster's office.

I slam the door behind me, making my way to the hallway of the Administration Office, where Freddie waits as he leans against the wall.

"What 'appened in there?" he asks, his eyes scanning at me up and down in concern.

"I've been suspended." I walk away from him, tears brimming my eyes.

What am I going to do now?

...