My High School Bully

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

A hand grasped mine tightly, and I screamed, opening my eyes. The water was rushing below me, but I wasn't falling. I looked up, and Austin was holding onto my hand, trying to pull me up. 

"Let go!" I yelled at him, tears streaming down my face.

"No! Give me your other hand!"

I shook my head, refusing, and I tried to wrench my hand from his grip. But he was too strong, and he used his other hand to pull me up the rest of the way. He pulled me away from the edge, and we fell into the grass. 

"Why would you do that?" I asked him accusingly. 

He looked at me sadly. "I didn't realize it was that bad." I said nothing. "Come on, let's get you to Alex." 

We walked in silence back down the street until we got back to the street. Alex was waiting for us at the front doors. As soon as he saw my face, he came running over. 

"What happened?"

Austin stepped forward and said something quietly to Alex. I couldn't hear what he was saying, but I was sure he was telling him about what I had done. When he finished, Alex didn't say anything. Instead, the three of us walked upstairs towards my room. 

I opened my door, and Alex turned to Austin. "Thanks for getting her. Goodnight."

Austin waved goodbye, then left us alone. The two of us walked into my room, and Alex shut the door behind him. 

"Why?"

The sight of Alex put me in tears again. He asked this in one of the saddest voices I've ever heard.  "I just can't take it anymore." I replied. "I need to leave this place. I hate this school. I want to transfer." 

Alex pulled me into a hug. I cried into his shoulder until he pulled away. "I'm calling your parents." He took his phone out of his pocket and dialed a few numbers. "Hey," he said, holding the phone up to his ear. "Sorry to call you so late." He walked a few feet away and explained what had happened tonight. I spread out across my bed and put the pillow over my head. I definitely wasn't ready to talk to my parents. A few minutes later, Alex nudged me, and I sat up. "They want to talk to you." He said, holding the phone out to me. I took it and put it up to my ear. 

"Hi." 

"Hi honey," my mother greeted. "Sorry to hear about what's been going on. Your father and I are worried sick. We didn't know school was that bad. Are you okay?" 

"Yeah, I'm oka--"

Alex snatched the phone from my hand. "No she's not," he said into the phone. Again, the two talked for a few minutes, but I couldn't hear what my mom was saying. 

"Yeah. Kind of. She's been having trouble with someone in her classes and work. Yeah. You thought it was an accident? No, he tripped her. Yeah, okay here she is." 

He handed me the phone once again. "Hello?"

"Hi again. I'm so sorry about that boy who tripped you."

"He's been stealing my tips too."

"What?" Alex asked angrily. I ignored him.

My mom sighed. "Okay," she said sadly. "I'll see what I can do about getting you transferred somewhere else." 

We said our goodbyes, and I hung up, beginning to cry once again. 

Alex sat next to me on my bed and stroked my hair. "It's all going to be okay." He said soothingly, wiping a tear away. 

I don't know exactly what happened after that because I was too upset, but I eventually fell asleep and woke up confused the next morning. I remembered the events of last night, and I felt a chill go through me. I just couldn't believe that Austin pulled me off of the edge. 

I arrived in my math class a few minutes later than I usually would, and instantly I was surrounded by Austin's friends. But for some reason, Austin wasn't there.

"You're late, give it to us." A boy named Mike said. He held out his hand, expecting me to give him the math homework I was supposed to do. 

Rage filled me. Last night was a bad night, and I wasn't going to start my day like this.  "No. Do your own homework." I growled. Before they could react, I turned around and left the classroom. I don't care if I missed a day of school. I just wanted to go back to my room and go to sleep. I was only a foot out the door when I bumped into Austin. He saw my face and his eyes widened. 

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Why do you care?" I said, trying to put as much hate into my tone as possible. 

Austin looked at the ground. "Look," he said quietly, and I could barely hear him. "I didn't know you were feeling that way." 

I glared at him. "Don't act surprised. You would too." 

He kept his eyes on the ground. "Yeah. I guess you're right." It was silent for a moment, and then Austin looked up again and spoke. "Listen. I am so, so sorry. I know it won't change anything I did, but I just have to tell you how--" 

"I forgive you."

"What?"

"I forgive you." I repeated. "But I won't forget."

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Thanks for reading! So, do you guys think that Austin is actually going to be nice to her, or is he just pranking her? Let me know in the comments!