CHAPTER 6

“What?” he asked bitterly and anger reflecting from his face, “You know I wonder why you are still alive! Oh, wait a minute, it’s you who feed on them. You and your little sister,” He mocked carelessly and leaned on my face putting emphasis on ‘you and your little sister’.

I was okay with everything he was saying about me up to the point when he mentioned Ashley, and that’s when I lost my cool. Rage shot through me and in an instant my hand attacked his neck and moved him around to slam his body on my locker. While his two friends were too taken off guard to figure out what to do.

“Don’t you dare, mention my sister’s name,” I hissed through my mouth filled with anger and tightened my grip so that he wouldn’t break free.

But then he started choking in my grip due to lack of air. At first I didn’t notice, I was too angry, the anger I’d been holding inside for too long. At that very moment something I never noticed before. Something so real like another person from inside me was fighting with the anger and try to put my senses right. And as expected I snapped and I saw Bratton struggling to free himself from my grip and people surrounding us,

“I’m so sorry,” I whimpered quickly releasing him and he started to cough violently. I left and I fled to the boy’s locker.

While I was in there I started to feel very guilty and someone inside was accusing me harshly, and kept repeating what I did was wrong,

“I said I’m sorry,” I found myself shouting all alone.

I got out and went to the classroom which I was already late. But I didn’t care, that was the least of my worries. I walked in the class and the teacher didn’t say a word. She just shook her head and motioned me with one hand to take a seat. And if things could get any better the only empty chair was with the Blondie I met couple days ago. She grinned all her teeth out, as if there was something funny. The last thing I wanted to see was someone so fucking happy. It made me feel like she was laughing at my problems.

Suddenly that feeling came back warning me that I had no right to think that way. As if I had no choice I found myself smiling back at her willingly. My mind was thinking about something else but my body was responding differently. It was like I was experiencing two people in one body. She patted the chair next to her for me to sit down. And yet again as if I had a choice I dropped myself on the chair and got my book out of my back pack and set it on the table.

I wanted to treat her badly so she can stay away from me because I was a time bomb which would explode on anybody who touched it. I didn’t want her to be my next victim. I didn’t want anyone else to end up in the hospital or dead because of me. I wanted to be left alone. I was planning to build a steel wall which no one was going to break. It didn’t matter if I had to fight with every ounce of my body to keep people away I was going to do it.

That feeling or that person, another person in me tried to reason with my mind not to do it. It pushed my feelings so that I could feel fear of being alone but I didn’t accept it. Those were my decisions and there was no changing them.

“Just leave me alone.” I found myself murmuring in class.

And the funny thing was that I was in second class and the Blondie was beside me again and I didn’t notice it until I felt people’s eyes boring my face. I must have been going crazy, or being possessed. That kind of feeling like your body is moving and working but you are not controlling it. Like you are watching from somewhere.

After coming back from my depth of everlasting thinking I turned around to glare at the Blondie, only to meet with a wide smile.

God! This girl smiled like a lot, no matter how cold I tried to act towards her she always kept her smile. Few minutes later the bell rang and signing that it was time for another period, at least this one I was aware. So the Blondie went with me to chemistry lab because she was in that class as well. And this class passed just like that, I wasn’t even sure if I knew what everyone was doing.

The experiments were done with Blondie, most of them anyway I was just watching most of the time and during that time I was lost half way. I used to be good in school, but not anymore. This time around I was terrible, sometimes I even wondered what I was doing in school. That’s how bad things got for me.

In flash it was lunch time. I picked up things and rushed out of the class so that I would leave the Blondie behind. I didn’t want people to see me walking with her down the hall like she was my girlfriend or something; which she wasn’t. Even if she wanted to I couldn’t let her, besides what were people going to think. She was next on the list. So I hurried to the cafeteria and thankful she didn’t ran after me.

Down the hall I passed by some of Veronica’s friends and they were talking about going to visit. I peeked at her two best friends from under my eyes and they were glaring at me. It wasn’t so bad because I was kind of used to it, so I just turned quickly when they turned to look at me.

The cafeteria was almost full of people and the line was moving a little too slowly. At least today it didn’t break as soon as people saw me. I stood there impatiently because of all the stares. I didn’t have much either, I’d been too stressed out lately and I lost my appetite along the way. So I took an apple and a bottle of soda. It’s cheesy I know, but it was the only thing I felt like taking out of the junk food they were serving. Living with my mother made me see how not so good food from school was. That was also one of the reasons.

I found my most isolated table as usual and got myself seated while staring over nothing on the table. I wanted to drift back to my thoughts but before I could do that the Blondie followed me yet again. She sat across the table facing me and this time she was acting a little different.

She didn’t talk to me, she just concentrated on her lunch plate. I ignored her and kept drinking my soda until Bratton came again to ruin my mood.

“Hey, I came to finish what we started earlier. You didn’t think it will end like that. Did you?” he was getting his fist ready and his knuckles were white showing that he was ready to pounce some punches. I was supposed to be afraid but I wasn’t, but it didn’t mean I wanted to fight with him either.

“I said I was sorry. And I just want to be left alone.” I said quietly hardly above a whisper because I knew it didn’t matter what I said to him. He was going to do what he wanted anyway.

“What did you say?” he grumbled angrily,

Honestly, I never knew why he hated me so much while I’ve never done anything to him, except for what happened in the morning.

“He said he wants to be alone,” suddenly she got off the chair and faced him.

“Look, I don’t care who you are cutie, but you are interfering with my business here.” He snarled at her obviously irritated.

But she didn’t move, “he is my business. So if I were you, I would walk away right now.” She commanded him. Which was just weird considering her height and body Bratton could crash her and she wouldn’t be able to do anything. Bratton was tall with huge body almost seven feet high and she wasn’t even six feet, so he was more like a giant to her, he towered over her. And commanding him like the way she did was a little absurd. But her ego was over the top. She totally took me by surprise there.

People started to focus their attention towards us. I was so not ready for drama, I already had too many problems to care about what they were doing. I just buried my face in my hand and head down staring at the table. What confused me was the Blondie, what the hell did she want from me? Why was she defending me! I really wished Ashley was here to take me away.

“I don’t take orders from people like you. And who are you? His next victim.” Bratton mocked her while chuckling.

“That’s none of your business. Now walk away. Cutie.” She teased him and started to turn around.

I could see rage radiate from Bratton eyes, guessing he didn’t like what she called him, “what did you call me?” he snapped raising his hand ready to grab her neck.

But suddenly faster than I could anticipate I heard Bratton’s head smashed on the table with his arm behind his back groaning in pain struggling to free himself and failed miserably. Because he couldn’t move even an inch. The girl had some sort of super strong grip, something I could never have expected from her

“Why do people never listen?” she said while holding Bratton down who was completely hopeless and powerless considering his body.

After a while he stopped struggling and he was just lying there, “let me go bitch,” Bratton complained under his teeth.

Blondie didn’t mind him, she finally let him go and he finally walked away while shooting daggers at me. As if I was the one who smashed his face on the table. He stretched his arm while cursing on his way out of cafeteria. I guess his bodyguards were good for nothing; generally they were his friends. But they always followed him around like some kind of bodyguards.

“Thanks.” I murmured to her when she sat down,

“It was nothing, I hate d bags anyway.” She didn’t seem to mind, to her it was like nothing happened and that was weird. She just smashed the quarterback’s head on the table,

“But you had no reason to do it.”

“Of course I had a reason, you.” She said calmly but that didn’t make sense. I didn’t keep talking though I just kept quiet,

“Wait, what?” the question popped out after the words were sunk in my brain,

Before she could answer the bell rang and it was time to go back to class for the remaining hours. And thankfully she had a different class this time around, so we went separate ways. But there was something still bothering me. What did she mean? That I was the reason she beat up Bratton.

Why did she pay too much attention towards me? Didn’t she already know what I was? Didn’t know the sad end everyone who tries to get close to me get? Who was she anyway? Right at that moment I came to realize that I didn’t even know her name. I just knew her as the blonde girl. I needed to know who she was, but at the same time I didn’t want to.

After school hours I left class and head to the parking lot waiting for Ashley. On my way there on the hallway I bumped into Veronica’s friends again. They were talking about her and from the way they were talking it seemed like she was doing fine. They didn’t give me that death glare anymore. Well, at least there was something good happening in my life. Out of these strange days of my life, I found myself very happy. Just knowing she got better.

Because Veronica was going to be okay. I knew she wasn’t going to be my girlfriend again, but knowing that she was going to be fine. And the fact that not all of them died gave me relief. It didn’t mean I was going to date anytime soon because of that knowledge. The fact that there was something wrong with me was still there. Veronica was one exception and she almost died as well. So welcoming new people to my life was not yet an option for me.

And now that she was fine again I thought of going to visit her at least to make sure for myself. To see her beautiful eyes and her beautiful smile that always made my day. Just like the way she did when we were together, I couldn’t wait for tomorrow to go and see her. I missed her so much.

She was among few people who didn’t give me weird look. You know most people gave me these looks. Some looked at me with pity, some hatred, but when I was with her all I could see was love and passion. That thought made me sigh and smile stupidly.

She was another person from Ashley who made me feel different. From Ashley who always encouraged me to have hope.