Perfect Student

Chapter 32

(Flashback)

I told James what happened with my dad. I didn't give him every detail, I just shared enough until my heart found a slower pace and I could breathe again. He dialed 911 so he could call the police, but I snatched his phone from his hand, making him swear not to tell. He agreed after I told him that even if the cops came, I would lie until they believed that my dad was innocent. I'm not sure why I didn't let him call. As much as I hated my dad and what he did to me, I still had a desire to protect him. He was family, and right now, he was the only family I had. 

I got home the next day from school and ran to my room, forcing myself to be silent. I walked around the room with slow, measured movements. I needed to learn how to make my footsteps imperceptible. Once I had mastered that, I went downstairs for a trial run. I tiptoed to the kitchen and grabbed a small salad mix, bringing the plastic bowl with its ingredients back to my room. I ate with headphones in, losing myself in the music. It was only as I went to bed that I realized nobody had noticed my absence. My father hadn't called me to join him for dinner. Bryce hadn't come to my room to check that I was still home safe. It was like in that single moment when my father wished I wasn't his, I had ceased to exist. 

I fell asleep with tears pouring down my cheeks, imagining that I had been born into a different family. I would have a mother with short, dark hair who would shower me in affection, hugging me every night before bed. My father would be short and balding, with a smile on his face every day. He would work from home and make breakfast for me in the morning, the same meal every day. I would grumble about it but hide my pleasure. The constant attention and discipline wouldn't be suffocating like it would be to Trinity or my other friends. It would be perfect. 

The next day was better. Bryce picked me up from school with a familiar passenger in the car. James smiled at me sweetly as I got into the car and asked about my day, ignoring Bryce's protests.

"She doesn't like talking about her day," Bryce grunting, showcasing how little he knew about me.

"I do actually," I replied casually before turning to James. "My day was good. Except one of my teachers was being a dick." 

"Language," James said, always a stickler for the rules. I grinned at the reprimand, trying to hide it from my brother.

"What happened?" Bryce asked. 

"What?" I replied, confused. It wasn't often he asked me a question about myself. James shoulders straightened and I knew he was pleased with his friend. He secretively lowered the volume of the music so I could hear Bryce speak. 

"Why was your teacher being a dick?" heexplained, sounding genuinely curious. I shrunk down in my seat a little, notexpecting the question.

"Well, she got mad at me and gave me lunch detention for absolutely no reason. So, I couldn't go see Trinity and she took my phone when I tried to text her!" I whined. Bryce laughed, making me smile, but James looked confused. He turned around in his seat and looked at me pointedly. 

"Why was she mad?" he asked. My stomach squirmed. Was he going to be upset if I told him honestly?

"I didn't bring my homework," I elucidated. It was half of the truth at least. 

"Ooh, so bad of you," Bryce teased. He had done so much worse. I felt a rush of anger in my veins, and I wanted to tell him the full truth, so he knew that I was as cool as he was. James raised his eyebrow, pressing for more information. 

"And when she asked me where it was, I told her to fuck off. She sent me to the principal's office where I told him that I stood by what I did," I finished with a smile. I bit my lip when James' jaw popped open, and he scowled. I looked at the rearview mirror to find Bryce's eyes wide. A smirk danced on his face as I told the truth.

"I didn't know you had it in you," Bryce admitted. James looked at him angrily, clearly furious that he was encouraging this.

"Adeline," James threatened, voice intimidatingly low.

"What's Dad going to think when I tell him?" Bryce asked, leaning around to see my terrified expression.

"Don't tell him Bryce! He'll get so mad at me!" I whined, as fear shot through my body and made freeze.

"We'll see," he said, smirk dancing on his lips. My breathing grew shallow as I considered what my dad might do to me. 

"Dude. You're not going to tell him that," James said, smacking his friend in the arm.

"I'm not," Bryce admitted. "But it's funny to see her reaction, isn't it?"

James looked back at me cowering in my seat and melancholy filled his eyes. His grip on the armrest tightened but he held his tongue.

When we got home, I walked quietly behind the boys, praying that Bryce was joking like he told James he was. Bryce went to the bathroom once we got inside so it was just James and I stalled at the foot of the stairs. I tried to squeeze past him, but he placed his hand a couple of inches above my chest, willing me to stop. 

"What you did today isn't good, Addy," James said, looking down at me rigidly.

"I know," I mumbled. I regret that I told him the second that I saw his disappointment.

"Why don't you go upstairs and work on your homework?" he said in that subtle way of his.

"I want to take a shower. Today's been long," I complained. Why was I arguing with him? Couldn't I just say no and walk away? There was something about him that made me want to stay. He looked down at me and smirked, making me smile.

"Shower and then homework?" he bargained. I nodded and stuck out my hand, shaking his with a grin.

When I was halfway up the stairs, I heard him call out to me. "I better not hear anything else about not turning in your homework."

"Okay, bossy," I sang back, trying to stop the fluttering feeling in my stomach. I half-hoped he would come upstairs to fight me about the nickname, but I heard Bryce call for him just seconds after I spoke.

I ran to my room and hopped in the shower gleefully. I turned on my relaxing playlist and tried to get the thoughts of James falling in love with me out of my head. He was older and not at all interested. Trinity told me to just kiss him or confess my love, but I knew it wouldn't work out. For now, I would enjoy the way he told me what to do and expected me to do good things. Sometimes it felt like he was the only person who believed in me.

When I got out of the shower, I tucked my towel around myself like a dress. I opened the door to the bathroom and steam filled my room slowly, turning it humid. I threw on comfy clothes and sat on my bed, pulling out my homework like I had agreed to.

Something silver flashed from beside my bed and I looked at the nightstand with confusion. Resting on it were two Hershey's kisses and a sticky note that had been pulled from my desk. Neat handwriting that I could almost hear in James' voice read, "Get to work. You promised."

I popped the treat in my mouth and let the chocolate melt on my tongue as I began my work.