FATHER ALWAYS SMILING

Chapter 38 ~~~~~

"Mia." Her head snapped up, tears staining her cheeks as her green eyes were red from crying. "You shouldn't be by yourself."

She glared up at me, and I noticed a new bruise peaking up from the collar of her shirt. There were probably more too. "Go away, you freak; I don't want to deal with you right now."

It was rare to see her alone like this.

I squatted down, ignoring her demand. It wouldn't be good to leave her alone where anything could happen. "Too bad, I'm not going to."

"Leave!" she yelled.

"No," I said calmly. "I'm not leaving you alone in a place like this. Something bad might happen to you."

"Like you care!" Mia screamed. "What, you think your soooo big because of what you did to Jill and the others and me?! Do you think that changes anything?! You're still a freak who should disappear!" when she said that, Mia shoved me to the ground and started to run away.

"You're not the first that Mr. Green hurt!" I shout. She stopped in her tracks and turned to look at me. Her green eyes were wide with fear and terror. Like she hoped that I was lying.

"...what?" I almost didn't catch her saying that, with how tiny her voice came out.

I stood up slowly before looking at her. "I know... I know what you've been through. I don't know all of it, but I know you're not the first."

"And how do you know?"

"Jill," when I said her name Mia flinched. "I know that man hurt Jill and about eight others. Making you the tenth..." Kaya would have been the eleventh if I hadn't caught her in time... that alone made me feel sick. It made me glad that I decided to keep an eye on her.

"That many...?" Mia's question broke my thoughts. "Even Jill...? Then that's why she..."

"Why do you think she left your group and sits by herself?" I finish for her. "Haven't you ever wondered why I would go talk to her? Or why she'd avoid you or other friends?"

Her silence gave my answer. Then she gritted her teeth and snapped out. "Then, if you know, why not tell the teachers? Why not help us? Why not stop him? Or..." her eyes went wide as she came to something. "Or did you want it to happen to us? For payback for what we did? Yeah, that has to be it!" she pointed at me. "I bet you gloated to Jill. I bet you laughed and told her she deserved it! I bet you..."

"Shut your mouth," I growled back. I was tired of her stupid thoughts.

She paled; the look I must have given her had to have been scary. "Mia, if I wanted you to be hurt, if I wanted you to be in pain for what you did to me, I can tell you right now that what you went through is not what I'd let happen to you or the others. Trust me. I'd rather burn the whole school down with everyone inside, including you, than what you went through. What's more..." I closed the distance so that we'd be inches away as I allowed all of my anger, all of my hate to come out so she would see it in my eyes. "I'd do it myself." She fell to the ground as I let out a breath. "But despite that, I don't want to do that either."

"W-why not?" her voice shaky as she looked up at me, no longer as someone she hated, but at that moment, feared. I didn't like it.

"Because I'm not that kind of person, I don't enjoy hurting people as you do. I don't want to become something I hate. Like how you hate your parents for how they hurt you."

She looked away. She knew that I knew. Maybe it was why she started to bully me, or maybe she thought I didn't deserve the life I had, thinking it was perfect.

If only she knew what my Dad was really like...

Now that I thought about it, she might have done it to get people to be on her side if I decided to tell others, making them think I couldn't be trusted.