Solivagant

~4.4 - Karla~

I splashed some water onto my face, trying to calm my beating heart. What the hell Karla? I gripped the edge of the sink tight. "Get it together." I grit my teeth. I couldn't believe I had just kicked someone. Especially at school. Especially in front of Diego. It was because of Diego I had kicked Gabrielle.

I shouldn't have started talking to Diego in the first place. When I had been put in his group, I should've asked to work by myself. Or at least tried to avoid him as much as possible. I hadn't needed to help him when the cops came, or go with him to the coffee shop yesterday. I hadn't needed to do anything for him, or with him. Instead of listening to my head, I had listened to my heart and let him in. I had opened the door a crack, and when I saw how small the danger was, I opened it up wider. Now he was in, and I hated to kick him out. But I had to. The memories kept coming back to haunt me at night, and I had just kicked a kid's ass.

"I... I liked being friends." I breathed. Never in a million years did I think that I would ever say that about anyone. Now that I've said it, I have to forget it.

Straightening, I glimpsed my reflection in the mirror. I looked so much different than I had this morning. Older, beaten, weary. Yet I looked stronger, brighter, a little more energized. Maybe I didn't have to forget it. Maybe, just maybe, I could stay. Maybe I didn't have to move again. Maybe I can trust him.

I stepped out of the bathroom, smiling softly. Until a hand gripped my hair. I grimaced, surprised. Instinctively, I reached back towards the fingers wrapped around the black strands. "Let go." I snarled, not wanting to hurt anyone else today. I thought it was Gabrielle. Or one of his goons. My hands touched slim fingers, too slim to be a guy's.

Someone giggled behind me. "We did warn you Karla." There was a swish of blonde hair, then Sylvia turned to glare at me. I assumed it was Tressia holding my hair. Now I really didn't want to hurt anyone, even though Sylvia was devil-spawn. "We told you to leave him alone, yet when he comes to rescue us, you come along behind him."

Tressia pulled my hair hard, making me wince. "W-what are you, his pet?" Her voice trembled nervously.

She doesn't wanna do this. I realized. That's why she had told me their names this morning, even though it was a dumb thing to do, and why she wasn't really holding my hair as tight as she should be. She's doing it because of her sister.

I bit my lip, resisting the urge to pull away from the brunette. It would be too easy. "Do you really think you scare me?" I asked incredulously.

Sylvia's cheeks flushed with irritation. "Tressia." She growled.

Tressia tightened her grip on my hair slightly, but from Sylvia's glare, I assumed the twin was supposed to be doing something worse. I smirked. "I'm a pet?" I pointed behind me. "You're bossing her around and making her follow along with your idiocy."

The blonde stepped close, her face only inches from mine. "You better shut your mouth bitch." She reached up and grabbed my hair. Tressia let go instantly. "You're in enough trouble as it is."

She yanked my head back. Kicking at the back of my knee. My legs buckled underneath me. She let go of my hair as I fell, smiling smugly. My head hit the ground hard, making the hallway spin. I blinked, trying to make things straighten out. As soon as I started to sit up, Sylvia kicked my stomach. I coughed as I fell back once more. Either her tiny ballet slippers had steel toes, or the tiny blonde was really strong. I'm in trouble now that I'm down.

Tressia knelt beside me, touching my shoulder gently. "S-Sylvia, that's enough." She mumbled, glancing up at her twin. "You said w-we wouldn't hurt her."

Sylvia slid her bookbag off of her back, smirking as I coughed again. "I said we wouldn't hurt her much." She swung her bag around for only a second. Then, she set it down. "We still have to teach her a lesson sister. Otherwise she'll never learn."

So she's not going to hit me with her bag. I started to sit up, rolling away from the blonde. I didn't get very far. She grabbed my hair again, pulling on it and slamming my head on the carpet floor. Spots flew across my vision. It must've been solid concrete underneath. I moaned in pain, Sylvia's laughter echoing nauseatingly in my head.