Nowhere Kids

Who to Trust

"What the hell!" Brent turned around as I looked over his shoulder to see Courtney standing there with some girls. Brent stepped away from me, staring Courtney down.
"What do you want?" I asked as I leaned against one of the desks.
"Get out of here" she growled as she approached me. I stood up straight, ready to stand my ground, but then Brent stood in between us.
"You get out of here" he said harshly.
"Brently, what are you doing?" Courtney put her hands on Brent's chest and pouted.
"I'm done letting you push me around" he growled as he pushed her back. Tears formed in Courtney's eyes.
"You should've seen this coming. Even if I wasn't here, I heard you been pushing him past his limit.  Just be lucky..." I started but she cut me off.
"I don't want to hear anything from you! You stole my man!" She went to swing at me but Brent grabbed her arm.
"She didn't do anything wrong. It was all you Courtney. I'm sick of it"  I could see the anger in his eyes.
"At least he's not causing a scene around our students. Your lucky it's just us. If I was him, I would scream in the crowded cafeteria if you kept treating me like shit" I added while Brent held her arms.
"Whatever bitch" Courtney spit at me. "We are not done" she told Brent before storming out of the room with her friends following.
"She really can't take a hint, can she?" I asked, standing by Brent's side.
"Told you. Hey, you okay?" He asked softly.
"Are you?"  Brent looked down and sighed.
"I don't know" I smiled and grabbed his chin so he could face me.
"You were very brave" I said, making him smile. The bell rang, reminding us we were still in school.
"Will I see you after school?" Brent asked as we walked out of the room.
"Of course" I winked before walking down the hall to my next class.

"Where were you and Brent during lunch?" Barry asked as I joined him in class.
"Talking to Courtney" I sat down and turned my body towards him as we talked.
"Did she try killing you?" He laughed.
"She tried. I'll let Brent tell you the details" Barry just nodded and we took out our books.

Barry and I read to each other, taking notes on what we read as the teacher told us we had a quiz coming up. It was a pretty chill class, so I was sad when the bell rang.
"See ya later" I said to Barry as we left class. He gave a wave before we parted ways. I made my way to the gymnasium and entered the locker room to get changed. I put my things into locker and headed out to the gym.

I found Zach doing some stretches in the corner of the room.
"Hey Zach" I said as I jogged over to him.
"Oh hey Jamie" he stood up as he greeted me. "Did you hear about Brent and Courtney?"
"Uh, yeah. I was there"
"And you survived"
"Funny. Barry said the same thing" We both laughed.
"I Just hope Brent did the right thing. I mean, we all wanted this for him, but he had to be ready"
"I'm sure he was. And if he wasn't, it's probably still for the best. We'll just have to support him"
Zach agreed with me just as the teacher called us all together, bringing our conversation to an end.

We ended up playing dodgeball in class. It went well for the most part, until Zach hit me pretty hard in the face. The teacher sent me to the nurse to get an ice pack. When I got back I was allowed to sit out the rest of the day. Zach looked over at me with sorry eyes before getting back to the game. Oh, I was definitely getting him back for this.

"You good?" Zach asked as we walked out of gym together.
"Yeah, but I think it's bruising" I gently touched my cheek, wincing at the pain.
"Let me see" Zach gently grabbed my chin, turning my face towards him. "Just a little bit. Sorry about that"
"Whatever, I know you didn't mean it" I said, giving him a playful push. We both laughed and waited outside for the others.

"There she is babe!" Zach and I watched Courtney charge towards us, dragging Brent by his arm. As she got closer I noticed she had a black eye and her hair was a mess. "She did this to me"
"Are you fucking kidding me?" I couldn't believe it. She was really crazy. Courtney started crying so Brent pulled her into his chest.
"Well, did you?" I couldn't believe him. Was he really going to believe his crazy ex?
"No man, she was with me" Zach defended me.
"Then why is she also hurt?" Brent pointed to my cheek, which was probably bruised badly at this point. I tried not to cry. I couldn't believe him.
"She got hit by a dodgeball. We were in gym" Zach explained.
"They're both lying Brently" Courtney sobbed. Unbelievable. I got so fed up I had to leave.
"See you later Zach" I mumbled as I took off. I just wanted to get home and forget all this.

The walk home felt long as I tried to keep it together. I didn't want to cause a scene after all. Luckily my parents weren't home when I finally reached my house. I stepped inside and was immediately greeted by Beau. I fell to my knees, hugging his neck as I sobbed. Beau cried and nuzzled into me, trying to cheer me up.
"At least you're always there for me" I told him, gently scratching behind his ear. I then felt guilty. It was unfair to Zach that I just stormed off. He was trying to defend me, and I just gave up.

I fed Beau his dinner before deciding to go find Zach. He was probably with Eric and Barry, I could only hope Brent wasn't there.
"Be good Beau. I'll be back" I patted my pup's head before heading out the front door.

Now I just had to figure out where the boys would be. I thought back to our day, thinking if they told me any ideas. Then I remembered this morning in class with Eric. He mentioned finding a cool hangout spot at the end of one of the trails he wanted to show us.

I took my dad's car to our local trail. There was two right next to each other, leading in different directions. I had to try and remember what name Eric gave me. I studied the signs for a while before giving up on remembering. My mind was just too clouded today. I just decided to go down one path and turn around if it was the wrong one.

I made my way down the wooded path, enjoying the walk. I should have brought Beau with me, he would have loved this. As I made my way down the trail, I started wondering if I picked the right path. No one else was around, and it was pretty quiet. I decided to turn around and walk back towards the road to check the other trail.

I had my head down as I walked, lost in thought. I still couldn't believe what happened earlier. It was one thing for Brent not to trust me, as we just met a few days ago, but he didn't even believe Zach, one of his best friends. Something wasn't right.  I looked up and stopped in my tracks.

He stood a few yards ahead of me, just watching me. What was he doing here?