Bullet

Chapter 15 - Weighted Skeletons

Chapter 15
Weighted Skeletons

I don’t know why I stopped, really. I should have just kept on running, just like they wanted me to. Maybe running just made me look a coward. It could have automatically pinned me as guilty for knowing something I didn’t feel the need to tell anyone else. They all probably thought that I was the one who knew about Clay and his ideas. They were most likely chattering about me right now, stating that this was proof of what I’d kept to myself. Principal Ortiz was trying to settle everyone down as the voices just seemed to grow…and grow, swallowing my being whole. 

Running was what made everything easier, wasn’t it?

People ran for their lives every single day. Running was how you admitted you had a problem. People ditched their responsibilities because they were too much to handle. They either weren’t capable enough or felt that there was nothing else they could do but bolt. It was the easiest route to take, one that would ensure that you’d never have to deal with that problem again. 

But that was the thing about running from your issues. Now matter how fast or how far you ran away from that haunting problem, it would always come back to hit you eventually. You didn’t get rid of things by leaving them behind in the dust. If you didn’t face things head on, they would still be there when you got back. 

Or even worse, follow you all the way to your next destination. 

That was why I stayed where I was, my feet stuck to the floor and my heart still racing from the exertion. The doors were right there, just begging for me to throw them open and leave. It was a way out after all. I wouldn’t have to deal with anything or anyone if I just left. But I knew that I couldn’t run forever. 

Even if it wasn’t my own issue to run from.

“Have you ever thought of joining the track team?” he breathed as he approached me. The impatience of watching him slowly make his way towards me on his crutches was enough to make me want to bolt again. It’s not like he could catch up to me if I decided to go along with the idea. 

I stayed quiet. Instead of thinking up some witty reply, I started biting at my thumbnail. At least what was left of it anyway. After a few, mind-numbing and long moments, he was finally in front of me and panting heavily. 

“Can’t give the crippled kid a break, huh?” he asked, a small grin playing at his lips. 

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t surprised that he was even here right now. What happened back there was nothing short of appalling. I had never been more embarrassed and ashamed of myself in my entire life. After they said all of those things about me, you’d think that Grayson wouldn’t want a damn thing to do with me. 

Yet here he was, in all his glory, once again surprising me with his efforts I still hadn’t quite caught on to. 

He nudged me with the toe of his crutch. “C’mon. Not even a smile?”

I kept my eyes trained to the floor after that, still biting rapidly at my nail and creating a sour nub at the end of my thumb. I could feel his eyes on me, studying my every motion to see if he could read me. He was becoming so awfully good at it that it was beginning to scare me a bit. 

I felt like I couldn’t hide a thing from him anymore. 

“Callie, what happened back there was not your fault. What they said about you wasn’t true. You know that, right?” he whispered.

My tears betrayed me for the hundredth time this week, coming over the edge as I finally gained the courage to look up at him. “But it is! Can’t you see that?” I cried, my shouts reverberating against the walls. “He was my brother, Grayson! He used to tell me everything about his life. I knew his inner most thoughts and feelings about every little detail. I was his confidant. If anyone was able to know what he was about to do…it was me!”