missing piece ✓

FIFTEEN

"Okay anyway, back to the topic." I situated myself closer to the wall so that I had something to lean on, Sarah quickly doing the same. "I saw him at the cinema-"

"So it was a date?" She beamed, looking up at me.

"Sarah."

She put her hands out in defence. "Alright, alright, sorry. Continue."

"Dad was at the cinema with some blonde girl and I just assumed that they worked together." I explained, Sarah furrowing her eyebrows.

"Really? What time did you go out?" She asked.

I thought about it for a moment. "It was definitely past 11PM."

Sarah contemplated, rubbing her eyes like usual, being a normal habit for her when she thinks too hard. She looked nervous, sad, but mostly angry. "He wouldn't cheat, right?"

I shrugged. Of course he would.

***

Hayden and I were currently in the middle of Math, completing an assignment on geometry. I didn't have many friends in this class apart from him. Of course I knew people, I just wasn't friends with any them.

"Why are we doing this again?" Hayden asked, slamming his head down onto the table. I watched him as he winced and then grasped his head in pain, whimpering slightly.

Laughing, I pat his back lightly, Hayden immediately shrugging me off in annoyance. "Because this is Math, and we're in school if you couldn't tell."

He rolled his eyes, looking back up at his laptop. "Very funny."

We worked for a little bit before I asked the teacher if I could go to the bathroom. Hayden begged me to stay because otherwise he would look like a loner but I left him anyway. I walked down the hallway until I spotted two familiar faces walking in my direction. Perking up immediately, I quickly turned around and tried to walk the other way out of their vision but to my luck, they saw me.

"Oh hi there Blakey. Almost didn't see you there." Lachlan smiled, but it wasn't a nice smile, one of something else. "Why are you trying to run away from us?"

I furrowed my eyebrows. "I'm not?"

The boy next to him, Zak, was looking down at me with this weird expression. I felt extremely uncomfortable considering that they were, like, two heads taller than me. I felt vulnerable, and weak. Like in a split second I could be crushed like a toothpick.

Since they weren't saying anything else I decided to speak up. "Well, if that's all then I'll be going."

I quickly tried to swerve around them only to be pushed against the lockers forcefully, the metal rattling along the walls. I kind of expected this to be honest. They're just so immature that the only way to cope with their daddy issues is to use their anger on others. Typical.

"Can you let go please?" I asked Zak politely, trying to squirm my way out of his grasp which was unsuccessful obviously. This man plays almost every sport you can at this school so me trying to force myself out of his grip would be useless. "What is your problem?"

Lachlan walked up from behind him and gave me a sharp stare. "You."

"How-"

Before I could even finish my sentence, there was a stinging sensation throughout my left cheek and then another right in my stomach. I wasn't floored, but my legs were growing more and more unsteady by the second, the taste of copper in my mouth suddenly growing stronger. Due to dizziness, I dropped my head as my body came forward to protect my stomach, arms automatically moving to protect the injured area. Air suddenly left my body as I attempted to suck it down like there was no tomorrow. Emotions were flurrying through me; shock, surprise, anger, fear, panic. I felt helpless. Weak.