Chapter 3:
The past week I've stayed home from school, unable to face anyone after Olivia's death. Her funeral is supposed to be on Saturday but I don't know if I have it in me to go. My dad is making me go to school today and I can honestly say that I'm beyond pissed about it.
"Kylan! Hurry up, you're going to be late!" my dad yelled up to me from down in the kitchen. I grunted in repsonse and messily pulled my hair into a ponytail and quickly applied my makeup. "I hate school" I pouted to myself as I dragged myself off of the chair I was sitting on. I walked to my walk closet and grabbed a pair of black yoga pants, a white tank top, and a light blue zip up hoodie with the word hollister going up the sleeve.
"Kylan!" my dad shouted impatiently. "Coming!" I shouted back. I jogged down the stairs and slipped on my black and white converses. "Don't forget your backpack" my dad reminded me. I had a bad habit of forgetting it. I looked at my dad with a sheepish grin on my face, "Uh, right... Do you know where it is?". He rolled his eyes at me, "In the closet on the hook like it's supposed to be". "Gotcha" I said as I pulled the closet door open. I grabbed my navy blue and black Jansport back pack and slipped it on.
"Bye dad, love you!" I called to him as I opened the front door and started walking out. I heard "Bye honey! Lo-" before the rest of it was muffled by the door closing. I pushed the button on my key chain to unlock my door and heard it click open. I took my back pack off and slung it into the passenger seat of my 2006 cian blue Saturn Ion. My car was my baby. I had been saving for a car since I was 7. Olivia and I had car washes and Lemonade stands to raise money for our own cars but Olivia always ended up spending the money on clothes and shoes. Tears sprung to my eyes at the thought of her. I violently wiped the tears from my eyes and started my car before driving to school.
I walked through the crowded halls and pushed my way through a group of guys who were rowdily shoving eachother. They stopped as they saw me and started whispering in not so hushed tones to eachother. "Did you hear that she went crazy after she found Olivia?" asked Jake Green. "Yea man, I heard she was out because she went to a nut house" said Eric Smith. "No shit! Who would've thought the pastor's daughter would end up in a nut house?" exclaimed Matt Brooks. By this time my resolve was wearing thin and I had to try my hardest to stop myself from attacking one of them. "Doesn't surprise me, she's always been fucked up since her mom passed away a few years ago" was the last thing Jake Green said before I launched myself towards him and punched him in his jaw making his head snap to the side.
He grabbed his jaw and looked over at me in shock but the shock was quickly replaced with pure rage. I backed away slowly and pivoted on my right foot and took off running down the hall. "Get back here Kollins!" I heard Jake yell behind me. I made the mistake of looking back and nearly tripped while making my way up the stairs. As I was pulling myself back up I felt someone start tugging on my leg. I looked down and saw Jake attempting to yank me down the stairs with a evil grin plastered on his face. "Let go!" I shrieked, trying to stop myself from being pulled down the stairs.
I took in a big breath and kicked my other foot out, aiming for any part of Jake. I heard a loud grunt and felt satisfied until I looked back and saw Jake holding his nose that was now pouring blood. His face contorted in a vicious scowl, "You little bitch!". I scrambled up the stairs as fast as I could and when I was on solid ground I took off sprinting without a second thought.
I turned the corner and collided with someone. I was in a complete panic and was about to take off sprinting again but the person grabbed my elbow and held me in place. I looked at them and was about to rip my arm out of the grasp when I noticed it was Reece. Concern was plastered on his face as he took in my breathless appearence. "I need to go" I said in a rush, struggling to get out of his iron grip. "Not until you tell me what's going on" he demanded. I looked over my shoulder and saw a fuming Jake only feet away us.
"You're so gonna get it" he said seething. He was soon out of sight as Reece pushed me behind him in a protective manner. "Back off man" I heard Reece say to Jake in a calming tone. "You expect me to back off when that crazy bitch punched me in the face and gave me a bloody nose? Just move" Jake's voice sounded strained. I felt a vibration and realized that Reece was laughing, hard. "Y-you got beat up by a girl? Oh god, that's priceless!" Reece said doubled over clutching his stomach as he laughed his ass off. Jake let out a growl, "Just move the out of the way so I can teach this bitch a lesson". That sobered Reece up quickly and he was once again in a protective stance in front of me. "Jake, back off. Now. Don't do something you'll regret" Reece's tone sent shivers down my spine. "Whatever" Jake said in a huff and walked off.
"Student's we will be having an assembly in the gym today after lunch. The assembly will be in honor of Olivia" the principal said over the speakers. Murmurs were passed throughout my third period about the news of Olivia death's. I gripped the edges of my desk until my knuckles turned white while I struggled to breathe normally. My breaths were shaky and weak as the principal droned on about upcoming events and graduation. I didn't realize I had my eyes squeezed closed until I heard my name being called by the teacher. "Kylan, I asked you a question". I opened one eye slowly then the other and noticed the entire class staring at my expectantly. "Uh, can you repeat the question please?" I asked her in a raspy voice. Mrs. Hansen hated repeating herself and was one of, if not the strictest teacher in the entire school. She glared at me, "I asked you what you were planning on doing your presentation on. I need to record it so I don't have any repeats. You would've known this if you would've been paying attention" she snapped harshly at me. I winced at her tone. Usually teachers and other members of the community were worshipping the ground I walked on because of my dad's social status so I was always shocked by how Mrs. Hansen treated me. I gulped and quietly said, "I'm doing it on Romeo and Juliet" before blocking everyone out again. She eyed me suspiciously before moving on to the next student.
As soon as the lunch bell went off I was out of my seat and rushing to my locker. I was still on the look out for Jake but thankfully I hadn't seen him since our little incident this morning. I spun the dial on my locker but it stuck like the piece of crap it was. I kicked it in frustation and tried it again. As I was on the last number I felt hot breath fan across my bare neck and a hand grab my arm and spin me around to face them. Jake stood there in all his 6'2 glory and towered over my small 5'7 frame. He pushed me against my locker and I felt the lock on it painfully stabbing into my spine. His arms quickly encaged me making my breath quicken in fear. I swallowed hard and looked up into his fierce brown eyes. His sandy brown hair was messy like he had been running his hand through his hair all day.
He smirked down at me, "Got you" he whispered. His smirk grew wider as he took in the fear etched on my face. I closed my eyes to brace myself for whatever Jake had in store for me but it never came. Instead I felt his presence in front of me dissappear. My face scrunched up in confusion. I opened my eyes and saw Reece land a punch on Jake's face and Jake collapse on the floor unconscious. My jaw dropped open. "Close your mouth babe, you don't want to catch any flies" he said with a wink before walking away. I was still in pure shock but as soon as I noticed Jake stirring on the floor I took off to the lunch room.
When I got there I just grabbed an apple and a water and made my way outside to sit on the bleachers by the soccer field. I climbed up the stairs and layed down on the very top bleacher. I let out sigh and brought the apple up to my mouth and took a large bite. My teeth pierced the skin of the apple and made a loud crunch. The sour taste of a green apple flooded my mouth making me moan and realize how hungry I actually was. I greedily took another bite and savored the taste. I closed my eyes and let my thoughts drift.
I thought of the conversation between Jake, Eric, and Matt this morning. I felt my my body tense up as I thought about the things they said. I brought the apple up to take another bite but it was snatched out of my hand. I snapped my eyes open and sat up instantly. My face paled when I saw who it was.
