The Quiet Ones

6. We All Have Hidden Bruises Deep Down

I sat down at the lunch table and watched as Nathan avoided looking into my eyes while Avery glared at the two of us. Her face was puzzled as she read our expressions.

"Did something happen that I don't know about?" She asked.

"Nope, nothing. Isn't that right Parker?" Nathan asked.

"No, no problem at all! Just a bit tired," I lied.

"Really Parker? Because I think you're lying to me."

"Avery I'm not. I just took a test, I'm trying to recover."

"It was a quiz and it wasn't that bad. Now tell me what is going on!"

I looked at Nathan but he kept his gaze locked on the empty water bottle in front of him. He finally cleared his throat and looked up at Avery.

"Parker's brother got hit by a car."

"What!" Avery screeched, slamming her hands down on the table and staring at me with her eyes wide.

Nathan finally glanced over at me with a smile on his lips. He set me up, I know exactly what he's doing. He's refusing to tell Avery about our near-death experience, and instead is telling her something that I need to pretend isn't a big deal.

"Oh, yeah. Late last night he was walking down the street and a car backed up into him," I lied. It's much easier to explain this than telling her a guy almost pointed a gun to my head.

"Why didn't you tell me? You never tell me anything Parker! What's next? Are you going to get married and then casually mention it a week later?"

I tried not to laugh at how much she's blowing everything out of proportion. But I still felt bad, she does have somewhat of a right to be involved in my life. She's my best friend after all.

"It's okay Avery, he's fine now. He just got a cut from when he fell onto the pavement," I said as I attempted to calm her down.

"Wow Parker, you're really handling this whole situation well, aren't you?" Nathan asked.

I glared and him and cocked my head to the side, challenging him to speak again. He could tell by my stare that the conversation was about to take a turn for the worst.

"Well Nathan, it's not like he died or anything. He was rescued, and now the whole situation is over, so we can move on."

"But that doesn't mean another car won't come along in the future and hit him again. There's still a possibility."

"Well there's always a possibility with everything Nathan. You're never fully safe."

We were now narrowing our eyes at each other, and the topic of discussion on my brothers fake car accident is long gone. Now, Nathan and I are just defending ourselves about the night before.

"Is there something else going on?" Avery asked.

"No, I promise. I'll call you tonight once I get home, okay?" I asked her.

She smiled and nodded while I stood up and began to walk out of the cafeteria, refusing to look back at Nathan. He tried to set me up and admit to Avery that I almost got us killed. I would never tell her though, because then she would diffidently make me quit the team.

When I got to the doors I locked eyes with the same boy from the day before. He smiled and began to stand up, which only caused me to fasten my pace out of the cafeteria.

The rubber soles of my shoes squeaked against the tile floor as I walked towards my classroom and tried to avoid talking to him. It's not that I don't want to talk to him, but that I'm scared I'll mess something up. He seems like a great guy and I don't want to ruin everything.

"Hey," he said, placing a hand on my shoulder to stop me from walking.

I flinched and let out and breath. I put on a fake smile and turned around to face him. His eyes were still lit up as he stood in front of me.

"Hey, how are you?" I asked.

"I'm pretty good. How are you?"

"Great. Really great."

"So, I heard about last night."

My eyes went wide and I pulled on his wrist and dragged him besides me until we were alone in another hallway. I can't risk anyone knowing I'm on one of the teams.

"How do you know about that?" I whispered.

"I know a lot more about you than you think I do Parker."

I looked at him with confusion, and stared back down at where my fingers were still wrapped around his arm. But I saw something that seemed a bit odd.

I turned over his hand while it was still in my grip, and noticed he had the same bruise mark on his wrist that I have. It's very faint and hard to see, like mine, but it's diffidently there.

"You're on the team?" I whispered.

"Far more than that."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm the leader."