Safe | zarry adoption

e i g h t

Thursday, needless to say, was a disaster. When I had returned home Wednesday afternoon to a drunk, angry mother, I immediately regretted not telling Mr. Styles. Each hit I received was a harsh reminder that nothing was going to get easier.

But I couldn't let him know.

Which was why I was sitting in the shitty school bathroom instead of Mr. Styles' history class the next day. I knew that if I saw him I would cave in way too easily, so skipping class was the only option. Yeah, I'd probably get in trouble later on, but right now was all I could think about.

After fourth period was over I left the bathroom and headed to the library, happy that I hadn't been found. Looking back at myself, though, I was an idiot anyway. I started to eat my lunch — a boxed salad from the cafe — in my usual spot.

A mistake.

Not even five minutes into lunch, Mr. Styles turned around the corner of one of the bookshelves and I found myself staring at him, the only thing running through my mind being swears.

You're a fucking idiot, Kasey. Of course he would find me here. Now he's going to be mad. Who knows what he's capable of doing.

"Hey, Kasey." His voice was gentle — the complete opposite of what I was expecting. "Could I talk to you for a minute?"

"I-I guess." I didn't really have a choice, did I? He crouched down so he was level with me and looked me in the eye.

"How are you doing?" Instead of getting mad or asking why I wasn't in class or doing anything that made sense, he was asking how I was doing.

What the fuck is going on?

"F-fine," I told him, opting for an easy lie.

"Are you sure?" He sounded like he cared, but I knew he truly wasn't. He wasn't.

"Yes." My voice was firm. I looked anywhere but him.

"I see you have a lunch today," he said, changing the subject. He rocked back on the balls of his feet. "Where'd you get it?"

"Nancy's," I replied, referring to the cafe that I worked at.

"It's good to see you eating something." I was becoming skeptical of where he was going with this. "Do you usually eat at home?"

"What is hap-happening in my h-house is none of your-your business." I snapped, trying to sound as intimidating as possible with my stutter.

"Sorry, sorry, I know." Mr. Styles held up his hands like he was surrendering. "Would you mind heading back to my classroom to have a little chat?"

I shook my head, suddenly way less confident than I was before. I didn't feel comfortable being alone with Mr. Styles when he could be pissed and potentially hurt me. "St-stay here." I moved my salad to the table next to the chair I was sitting in.

"Okay, yeah, we can do that." He got up and grabbed another chair, moving it so he was facing me and no longer crouching. "I want you to know that I'm not mad at you, okay?" I nodded. "I'm not mad at you," he repeated calmly. "But I want to know why you skipped my class. I know that you were here for your other classes, and you're here now for lunch. Was it because of what we talked about yesterday?"

"Y-yeah," I said hesitantly. I didn't want him to know how much it had bothered me, but at this point I was tired of lying over every little thing.

"Kasey, I'm not mad about that. I'm not mad about anything. I just want you to be safe, and right now it really doesn't seem like you are. I'm really concerned."

"It-it's really nothing. I'm just- just clumsy." You can't let him know.

"Well, until you're ready to tell me the truth, you can talk to me about anything else you need to. I'm only here to help you." He paused to take a breath. "I would appreciate it if you would come to class tomorrow. I'm willing to help you with anything you might need, school related or not."

"O-okay," I responded quietly, not looking up at him. Mr. Styles sighed and stood up, pushing the chair back to where it belonged before exiting the library and leaving me alone for the rest of the lunch period.

so uh. its been a minute huh (yeah ik i'm the worst lmao)

i have some stuff written ahead so hopefully i'll be back to updating semi-normally !!! i hope u guys are doing well in quarantine :) thank u for all of the comments as well !! mwah <3