Chp.6

I limp my way home. My side aching more and more. I grunt with the pain, my bag hanging loose on my shoulders. The sun is already setting and I wonder if our parents are wondering where I am. I hope Mom didn't pack your stuff herself. I hope she remembers that I'm supposed to be doing that.

I look at my wristwatch. 06:41. I regret not taking the bus. I would have never wanted to get into a fight with Ander Marsh. The rest of high school is going to suck. And I just started.

I walk past the town square to a super market, my stomach grumbling with agony and hunger. I take out some pocket money from my shirt pocket and walk inside, the bell ringing when I pushed the door. I try to walk up to the counter properly, despite the pain.

I frown to see that he isn't there. Mr. Walker. He's the most different out of them all. A man who never said anything about you. He didn't disagree about the fact that you killed them but he didn't agree either. I find him the wisest among the community elders. He always smiles at me and asks me how I'm doing, talking casually whenever I come to his shop. His shop is the only place I go to. I don't get any torture here.

I look around for him then guess that he's probably in the storage room. So I grab myself orange juice, which you and I loved, and some bandages and ointment for later. I place them on the counter, waiting for him, tapping my fingers rhythmically in its top. I didn't call out for him. I wanted him to get done with whatever he was doing without any haste.

The door opens, and the bell rings, so I turn to look at the customer and tell him that Mr. Walker's in the storage room. But my face fells when I see who it was. The giggling and whispering group of Skylar. With her of course.

I quickly jerk myself back to the counter, lowering my head. But I know she had already seen me. There talking dies down and I could feel them looking at me.

"What are you doing here?" She sneers.

But I don't look at her, hoping Mr. Walker comes.

"I heard you got beaten by Ander Marsh." She sniggers.

Her friends giggle at that, and my skin feels hot and awkward. Where is Mr. Walker? I hate Skylar more than Ander because I can fight him if he says something about you. But that doesn't work with Skylar. She's pretty much a celebrity of the town.

"You planning on stealing?" She asks, and even with my back turned to her, I can see her flick her dark brown hair.

I scoff, "So now you count buying as stealing?"

She laughs but it even with the sweetness in it, I know it is bitter, "I wouldn't trust you even if you were the last boy living."

I turn and glare at her, and she's smile all toothy at how I'm looking with the cut, dust and bruises. I'm still holding my rib, the pain growing more with Skylar here.

"You look better than Jesse, though." She smirks. "I remember how she went crazy while we were camping. I stabbed her like anything and she screamed and screamed-"

"Shut up!" I yell at her, fighting back tears. When she specifically talks about you, I always want to cry. Because she did this. She claims to kill you. You weren't crazy Jesse. She is. Why can't anyone see that? Why can't she get over it? And I want to tell her how skeptical she is to stand in front of a forsaken café every Tuesday but not yet. Not yet. I need to be closer.

"I think she was jealous of you, Sky." giggles a girl but Skylar ignores her, staring at me intently, noticing my wet eyes.

"What?" She snarls, "You're gonna cry?"

I don't say anything, turning back to the counter.

"Even Jesse didn't cry when she was dying." She sneers and everyone laughs.

And I can't take it. I can't let her talk about you that way. I was just about to face her when I hear a girl's voice.

"Leave him alone, Skylar."

I wonder who betrayed her among the girls but when I face the person, I'm in shock to realize it was Sophie. I didn't even notice her enter. She's red with either anger or embarrassment but she repeats herself again in case no one heard her,

"Leave him alone." But this time she's quieter.

Skylar's looking at her with this rage and surprise as she hisses,

"Why are you here?"

Sophie walks past her to the counter beside me. But she doesn't give a single glance at me, just looking around to find Mr. Walker.

"I want some spare parts for my cycle." She says, a-matter-of-factly. That explains why she used the bus today.

"So your wittle bikey is broken," Skylar coos, "How very sad."

She isn't even nice to her own sister. I wonder how you weren't like that. Sometimes we argued, sure, but the next moment we'd forget all about it. And start talking like we used to. But Skylar, on the other hand, didn't even like Sophie at all. One of the reasons she deserved to die and not you.

But Sophie ignores her and mutters, "Where's Mr. Walker?"

And I realize she's talking to me.

I shrug, "Probably in the storage room."

"You didn't call for him?" She asks.

I shake my head, sheepishly. And Skylar's ranting on and on but we're ignoring her. Ignoring her talking about you. And it all feels like a blur. Like Skylar's talking gibberish and I can't understand her. And it feels... good. Because someone's helping me ignore her. Someone doesn't want to hear her blabbing either.

I couldn't help but smile to myself. I can't hear her. Skylar. She talking and talking but I feel ok.

Sophie calls out for Mr. Walker and the old man comes running out of the room, his dark skin glistening with sweat. He wipes it off but doesn't smile at me. He's looking at Skylar and his eyes are angry. He turns to me with a sympathetic look before shouting,

"Right, Skylar Turner, I want you out of my shop right now! I don't need no one taunting Lukas here."

I blink. I was so caught up in well... feeling this surge of not being the only one to hate Skylar that I didn't even know what she'd been talking about. Is that even possible?

I look towards them but they're already gone. And I smile. Sophie's still standing there. She's looking at me with a perplexed expression. I shake my head to get rid of my smile and look back at Mr. Walker. He gives me a sad look.

"I'm sorry, Luke," He sighs, "I should seriously ban that girl from coming here."

He gives Sophie a look, who nods in agreement, "I think you really should, Mr. Walker. Sky's starting to think that she's the hero of the town with all this nonsense."

I raise an eyebrow at her, questioningly. Why does she hate Skylar though? I see her clench her fists from the corner of my eyes. Something tells me that I wouldn't have been able to control myself with whatever Skylar had said. I take out a long breath of relief.

Mr. Walker looked at me closer from behind the glasses, squinting his eyes,

"Are you ok, son?" He asks, concerned, "Got into a fight?"

"With Ander Marsh." Sophie points out.

I frown at her who shrugs, "The whole town knows by now. Ander says he'll take you down tomorrow."

Of course that jerk announced that.

"Why are you telling me this?" I ask, still frowning.

"I..." She looks away for a second, "I thought I should warn you."

She quickly takes out her money and grabs a bicycle helmet from the shelf, giving Mr. Walker a smile before leaving.

"So you fought with Marsh, huh?" He shakes his head, "Let me guess..."

"He was talking shit about Jesse," I complete for him, "And I couldn't take it."

"You gotta be more careful, son." He advises, "That kid's trouble. Try to avoid him."

I nod as he puts the bandages in a paper bag. I hand him the money and he gives me the receipt.

"Thank you." I say, smiling before walking to the door.

"Wait," He calls, "Sophie gave me more than the price of the helmet. Mind giving it back to her?"

I hesitate for a second, then shrug, "She lives right around my street. Sure, I'll give it to her."

He hands me the money and I clutch it tightly in my hand.

I walk out of the shop and drink down the tangy flavor of the juice. I feel chilly and I take another gulp of it. My body feels better and my rib didn't hurt anymore.

The night sky sparkles and I realize that I'll be later then I expected. But that's ok. I walk on in the streets and it'd weird how silent it is. No one is on the street with me. All the houses close even though its seven twenty.

Everything became darker and duller for me since you left. I remember when you used to come late at night and how Mom used to scold you but you wouldn't care the least. I'd be grinning at you whenever you'd be given your punishment but you would be trying hard not to smile as well. Mostly you got away with it if Dad was around. Because you were his favorite, without any doubt. I didn't mind because I was Mom's favorite. At least I used to be.

I narrow my eyes and see a figure walking ahead. I recognize the blond ponytail and manage to run despite the agony.

"Hey!" I call out, "Wait up!"

She turns and frowns. But her lips turn into a... I think it's a smile. She's smiling to see me. That kinda stopped after you-

"Hi," She says when I catch up to her, "What's up?"

I pant and wheeze with my hands on my knees before handing her the money.

She scowls but takes it.

"It's... yours." I take a deep breath.

She looks at me with concern, pointing at her lips. I grimace but taste the blood in my mouth. I wipe at my lips and see blood on my sleeve. Shit.

"Thank you, Lukas." She says, "I better get going though."

I nod, feeling sheepish again, "Sure, sure."

"Bye." She gives another smile and walks away.

I grin, watching her leave. If you were here and find out that I talked to her then you'd be teasing me till I'd graduate. But you weren't here. And I didn't like her anymore. Not like a crush anyway. I shuffle in my bag, walking home at the same time, fishing out my camera. I scroll through the pictures and notice something. I notice something in it. I zoom at the picture, closer to Skylar's feet. And I see something. It's a... a paper. And she's looking down at it.

What is it? A piece of paper which looked more than blank. Was this paper in other pictures though? I don't have them in my camera because I delete them after I transfer them to my USB.

I pick up my pace. Because I feel closer than ever. Closer to you.

What has this paper got to do with anything? Is it some note? Or a code? Or just a coincidence? I need to know.

I reach home quicker than expected, opening the door.

I run up the stairs, ignoring my wounds but freeze when I hear a voice. His voice.

"And where were you all this time?" He asks, "You think that you're free to roam around the night?"

I look back and see him staring angrily at me. Mom standing behind him.

Dad. "Care to explain, Luke?"