DAMAGED

chapter18 ☪

•••
Kassie's POV

I woke up to my alarm, which rang earlier than usual.
Yawning and rubbing my eyes, I turned off the phone which had advised me I had a doctor's appointment.
I took my time to get ready, finishing in about an hour.
"Kassie," I heard Tuvi say from the door, "Are you and Daddy mad at each other?"
I didn't answer.
"Is the thing from yesterday already fixed?" She asked, and I knew exactly what she meant.
"I don't know, Tuvi...But it's okay." I told her, combing her hair with my fingers.
"He really does care about you, right? I mean, he was just lying, wasn't he?" She sniffled.
I remained silent.
"Look. Your dad is taking you to school today because I have a doctor's appointment. Be good, okay?" I said finally, giving her a kiss on the top of her head.
She nodded before leaving my room.

~~~

I got out of the car and closed the door. My doctor's clinic was practically waiting for me.
I went inside and checked in.
I couldn't help but think about what Wolfie must've been dealing with yesterday.
What if they did something worse than whipping him?

I was thinking of all the worst possibilities when a nurse finally called my name.
I headed inside a room and she took my heart rate, weight, height, temperature, etc.
"Everything looks fine. Any conditions we should know about?" She asked.
I stared blankly at the wall, not wanting to say what I had.
"Okay, sweetie, the doctor will be with you in a minute." She smiled after a while, making me grateful of not having to say anything.
I was about to turn off my phone when it began to ring loudly.
It was Zack.
I don't know what made me pick up. "What?" I answered.
"Hey, Kay." He greeted.
"I can't talk; I'm at the doctor's." I mumbled.
"I think you want to hear this, though. It's about Radke."
My heart began racing at the thought of Wolfie. Please don't be bad news, please don't be bad news...
"Listen, today there was a - hello?" Zack spoke into the phone.
"I'm listening." I assured him.
"There was a couple of girls claiming he was in the janitor's with them earlier today, and I also saw him kissing Esperanza."
I bit my lip. "You're lying."
"Kay, why would I lie to you about that? If you don't believe me, then see for yourself. Look up Esperanza on MyPage."
"Okay." I whispered before hanging up.
I went to MyPage on my phone and clicked on Esperanza's profile.
I felt myself shaking. Tears were already welled up in my eyes. A cold, numb feeling spread over me as I clicked on the video and waited for it to load.
Maybe after whatever his parents did to him, he got pissed. But that's no excuse...Is it?
The video began playing. It was obviously taken in school. Thousands of kids chattering and laughing filled the background.
Of course, Esperanza and Wolfie were gladly sharing the spotlight, their lips moving along faster than I knew they could. He's never kissed me like that.
Everybody around them was laughing and clapping, some girls saying "I'm next!"
Wolfie's hands slid down her shirt, holding her by the waist.
I thought he only did that to me...
The video ended with someone opening the janitor's closet's door for them.
The caption that Esperanza had put besides the video: "Had a great time with the babe!"
Tears were spilling onto my phone just as the doctor came in. I fumbled to put it in my pocket quickly.
"Kassie! What happened?" He greeted me politely.
I shook my head, wiping my eyes with my sleeve. Jarett was so right. No wonder he doesn't love me. No wonder Wolfie doesn't like me, either. Why would he want an ugly, stupid, and stubborn angel?
"I see what's going on here. The pills aren't working. You'll need an even stronger prescription." The doctor told me.
"No. I came to tell you that I-I was wondering if I could stop taking them. I mean, I haven't been taking them, and-"
"What?" He asked, bemused. "Does your fath-I mean, legal guardian, know about this?"
"No. Please don't tell him." I pleaded.
"I won't tell him if - and only if - you agree to keep taking them. It's for your health, Kassandra." He said.
Uh oh. My full name was mentioned. He must be serious.
"Okay." I agreed reluctantly.
He patted my shoulder, pity sparkling in his eyes.
They'll never stop giving me that look, will they?
"Well, everything else seems fine. Have you been having any suicidal thoughts?" He asked me, looking at his clipboard with the pen in his hand, ready to write down my personal hurricane of thoughts meant to be private.
"Addictions are bad, right?" I spoke after a while of silence.
"Yes. Why - You haven't been smoking or anything, have you?"
I ignored his question. "When you're addicted, you do something even if it's bad. It becomes a necessity. My mom said suicide was bad. She did it anyways, and when I read the letter she'd written, it stated that it was a necessity for her...Something she should have done a long time. Is - Is it possible to be addicted to death?"
He looked at me and sighed. "Kassie, have you talked to your therapist lately?"
I shook my head, still feeling the emptiness effect that the video of Wolfie had on me.
"I'll schedule you another appointment as soon as I can, okay?" The doctor told me, leaving before I got a chance to respond.
I rolled my wet eyes before grabbing my bag and checking out.
What if Wolfie's making me develop an addiction towards getting hurt?
As soon as I was in the car, locked inside safely, I let the lump in my throat explode into cries. I felt as if nothingness was physically ripping up my heart piece by piece.
He broke his promise....
Maybe I should break mine.

Wolfie's POV

The door opened. "What are you doing here?" He asked with a frown. "Cut to the chase, frown face. I'm here to apologize." I said as he tried to close the door, but I held it open easily.
"For?" Albert asked.
"Breaking your nose like you deserve." I muttered. "Are you still going to sue me? 'Cause if you do, you'll be disappointed. Nothing much to earn here."
"I don't know, man. After seeing what you did to Kassie..." He trailed off.
"Look. I don't have time for any fake rumors and shit. It's either a yes or no to the suing." I growled.
He stayed quiet for a moment. "You really hurt her, y'know. I overheard her apologizing to Jarett after her doctor's appointment. Jarett told me he was going to change her school. He didn't tell her this, but he told me. Got anything to say for yourself?"
Who the hell does this suing imbecile think he is?
"Don't stalk my girlfriend." I warned him before getting ready to walk back home.
"Wait." He yelled before I could get the chance to leave. "Why do you have like, burns or something all over your arms?"
"Mind your own business and I'll mind mine." I replied with annoyance.
"I was just-"
"Not caring? Good. Keep it up." I interrupted before leaving.

My peaceful walk back home was soon interrupted by an annoying Esperanza, who stopped her car right in the middle of the fucking street just to talk to me.
Doesn't this girl ever get caught by the cops or something?
"Hey, Wolfie! Did you see the video I posted on MyPage? It was the one we took last year, before you decided to hang out with attention freaks." She shouted over the cars.
I burst out laughing. She's calling Kassie an attention freak? Ha, look who's talking.
Cars started beeping for her to move. That's right, people. Beep her somewhere far away from me. I swear, one day I'm going to get a restraining order and five hundred police officers just to-
"Bye, babe!" She yelled before cursing and pointing a specific finger at the cars.
I ignored her and kept walking, making a mental note to myself to wear a hoodie or a jacket tomorrow so that nobody would notice the burning marks on my arms.
Oh, and also, what did Albert even mean with the Kassie thing?

Switching schools. Out of all the stupid lies people are saying to break us up...