Victor, Victorious

Chapter Seventeen

Monday morning. Colin and Courtney were on their way to school together, but the girl walked quite a few paces ahead of her brother, alongside a silent street. Gunshots and police sirens didn't usually sound until after dark.

"Courtney!" the boy shouted to her. "Come on! Wait up! You know what Mom says!"

Courtney replied, "I don't need your protection! I walk down these same streets every day, just like you. I'll be fine."

"Are you mad? I can tell you're still mad."

Courtney stopped, turned to Colin. "If you know, then why're you asking?"

"Isn't it time to get over it? It's been more than a week."

"You disgust me! I don't want anything to do with you!"

Colin caught up to her. "Why do you keep forgetting that you are the one who put my phone down by Mikaela in the locker room? I didn't force you to do that. It was your choice."

"You think I don't know that? It's why I can't tell anyone it was you." Courtney glared. "When Mom finds out I was a part of it, she'll kill both of us."

"No one will find out. I made sure of it." Colin was furious. "I've already told you this! Why can't you stop freaking out about it?"

"Because I still don't know how you did what you did. Or why you did it. Mikaela's a nice girl. And what you did to her was...was..."

"It was exactly what she got for disrespecting me! You told me I should stand up for myself more. That's all I did!"

"Wow," said Courtney. "Just...wow. Get away from me." She started walking again.

Colin ran after her, grabbing her backpack strap. He yanked her around.

"I'm your big brother. Listen to me, alright? Trust me. Everything will be just fine. Move past this, 'cause you're driving me crazy."

"Let go of me!" Courtney spat a glob of saliva at his eyes, smearing his glasses. The girl smiled. "What're you gonna do to me, now that I disrespected you? Huh? What're you gonna do, tough guy?"

Old Colin would've just wiped the lenses and suppressed the anger building up inside of him.

But Old Colin was gone. New and Improved Colin took crap from no one.

So he firmly slapped his sister across her face.

Courtney staggered backwards, holding her left cheek. She began to cry.

Colin looked at his open palm. He couldn't remember ever slapping someone before. It stung, although it felt better than breaking the fingers on his other hand.

"I hate you!" Courtney shrieked. She ran off, away from him, in the opposite direction of school. Where was she going? Back home?

He didn't actually care. Old Colin would've felt a pang of guilt and chased after his sister, but now he felt nothing. Numbness.

He cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, "I know where you live!"

He removed his glasses. With the bottom of his shirt, he cleaned them. Dried the bridge of his nose.

Gross. Seriously? Who spat at people?

Suddenly, an engine revved. Tires squealed and screeched.

Colin made out a blurry black vehicle beside him, pulled up over the curb onto the sidewalk. A door swung open.

Colin sighed. What now?

The boy put his glasses back on, just in time to see a hulking teenager rush him.

"Smacking your sister around like that? Not cool, dawg!" the huge kid said as he lifted Colin off of his feet.

"Hey!" cried the boy. "What the hell?!"

Colin squirmed, but the guy holding him was too strong. Colin was thrown into the backseat of a car.

His kidnapper jumped in beside him and slammed the door shut.

The big oaf yelled to the driver, "Got him, man! Go! Go! Go!"

The car peeled out, away from where the brother and sister had just argued.

It was as if no one had been there at all.