Somebody shoves you against the lockers in the change rooms. Another strips gym clothes away from your hands, laughing as you whimper.
“What’s wrong, straightedge?” they say. “Scared we’ll see something interesting?”
They shove you again, this time tearing a piece of your shirt. Laughter roars through the change rooms once they see the skin you desperately try to cover.
“I’m not a straightedge!” you yell, but your voice only underlines their laughter. “Just leave me alone, okay?”
There’s another pull followed by the sound of tearing fabric. Air bites another patch of skin exposed. Their laughter sounds more disgusted as you struggle to keep your clothing intact.
A kid leans forward, blue eyes piercing holes into yours. “You’ve got to let go, straightedge. If you don’t, no will love you. Not even yourself.”
~~~
“Doc,” Spencer calls, pulling your mind back to reality. “You alright? You blacked out on me.”
“What?” You shake your head. “Oh, sorry. What were we talking about?”
Spencer stares at you for a long moment, the intention behind his eyes incomprehensible. Soon enough, he sighs and reclines in the armchair, throwing a paperweight in the air.
“Some punk bitches at my school who’re trying to get under my skin. Some guy’s angry I screwed his girl so him and his friends are always on my ass about everything. Man, I would beat his face in so hard if it didn’t mean getting suspended again. I don’t want to sit at home with my stupid mother because of him, you know? It wasn’t my fault, anyway. Did you have problems with people when you were my age?”
You cough, stealing a moment for yourself. The sound of fabric tearing is still fresh in your brain.
“No,” you say. “I didn’t have any problems. Everyone loved me.”
Spencer stops his game of catch and stares at you again, a wide grin settling on his lips. “Yeah,” he says. “I’m sure everyone did.”
YOU ARE READING
Kill Your Darlings
Mystery / ThrillerBefore Spencer Crest left, he called you ‘doc’. He was your favourite patient, and in return, you were his favourite psychiatrist. You understood him in a way nobody else could. You didn’t know where he came from, who his parents were, or how he kne...
