A Nerd Hurts a Bully

12

"What did your father do if you don't mind me asking?" I asked. "I can tell you the story tomorrow, right now I need you to bring me back to the party." Walton replied. "Okay." I said. I started driving back to Manuel's house.

"Finally! Where have you 2 been?" Nadiya asks. "Just some traffic. We are okay though." Walton said. "Party's over for today. If you want to crash here, I have 3 guest rooms and 2 air mattresses. Or if you want, you can just sleep in my room." Manuel offered. "Yeah! Let's have a sleepover." Nadiya said excitedly.

I actually considered it until I replayed the moment with Max in my head. "Um sure.. I guess." I said. "Can I have a guest room?" I asked Manuel. "Okay. 2 guest rooms left." Manuel said. "Me and Walton will have a guest room, but we need one air mattress." Ben said. "Okay." Manuel said. "Um, I guess I will have a guest room." Nadiya says. "Oh. Okay." Manuel said. "I'm tired, I'm going to bed." I said. Everyone but Manuel agreed. "Are you sure you guys don't want to like keep hanging out? Maybe play some games?" Manuel asked. "*yawn* Maybe we can play one game." Nadiya said tiredly. We all groan in exhaustion. Manuel noticed it and quickly changed his mind. "You know, you guys are tired as fuck. I'll play by myself. Go to sleep." Manuel said. "Are you sure?" Ben says. "Yeah." Manuel said while wiping a tear. I'm not the only one that saw that right? "Goodnight guys!" Manuel said. Nobody said it back, so he just sighed. Tonight was a long night indeed.

Next day (Saturday)

"Guys! Why does it smell like smoke?" Nadiya yelled, waking us all up. Good thing Max wasn't here. We all walked to the living room. "Is that a cigarette burn on the couch?" Ben said tiredly. "Uh, it's probably from the party." Manuel said, looking guilty. "Nobody was smoking at the party, only drinking." Nadiya said. Manuel looked like he felt bad. "I did it, sorry. I wasn't smoking, I was just..." Nadiya cut Manuel off before he could even finish his sentence. "Just doing what? Burning yourself now? I'm getting tired of trying to help you, even if we aren't together at the moment." Nadiya said.

"You know what? I'm leaving. Enjoy your life, I guess." Nadiya said. "Oh. Okay, sorry." Manuel said. Nadiya quickly packed up her stuff and slammed the door on her way out. Manuel teared up a little, but he quickly wiped the tears away. "You guys can leave too, if you want. I understand if you don't want to be near a person like me right now." Manuel said. "Me and Walton would love to stay but we promised our friends that we would hang with them today." Ben said while packing up.

As soon as they leave, I can hear Manuel panicking. "Why can't I make anything right for once?" Manuel screamed. I really have to go, my dad wouldn't be happy because I have to do his laundry, but seeing Manuel like this isn't safe for him. "Manuel, I have to go. But we should hang out tonight." I said. "Yeah if I don't end up killing myself." Manuel muttered under his breath. "What was that?" I asked. "Nothing, don't worry about it. I'll be there." He said. "Okay, Golden Gate Bridge at 7:30 pm?" I asked. "Yes. You'll see me there." He said.

At 7:05pm on Saturday

M: hey man. heading there early.
Z: im already here, just thinking about life yk.
M: oh ok
Z: hurry up LOL
M: almost there, I don't live far
       read 7:09pm

He better come quick, I don't want to stay here waiting for someone.

"Hey." Manuel said. "Hey." I replied. "I wanted to talk to you about this morning." I said. Manuel looked scared. "Okay." He said. "Are you okay? What happened to you? You been so...suicidal." I asked. "I don't know. Probably trauma. Nothing to worry about though." He said. "What trauma?" I asked. "Nothing." He said. Maybe he just doesn't want to talk about it. "Why don't we go to the local cafe." I asked. "Okay, I guess." Manuel said.

Once we are at the parking lot, Manuel started to panic. "Manuel? Are you okay?" I asked. "He's here, oh my gosh. He's here." He says repeatedly. "Who's here? What are you talking about?" I said worriedly. "My biological father. He's here. I didn't know he would come. After everything he did to me and my mother he has the guts to show up?" He said. "That's Max's father. He's also my father. Max is only my half brother." He clarified. "What did he do to you?" I asked. He's still panicking. "Okay maybe we shouldn't be here. Let me drive." I said.

As we were switching seats, an unknown man came up to us. Manuel quickly hides his face. I rolled down the window to talk to this man. "How can I help you?" I asked. "Hey, can I speak to that dude over there? I know him and he knows me." He said. I look over to Manuel. "I don't want to talk to him, but if I don't he's going to hunt me down." Manuel whispered to me. "Okay, go talk to him. I'll be watching you guys." I whispered back. I looked back at the man. "Yeah, sure." I said.

As they were talking, I saw the man reach over to Manuel's crotch area. Manuel looked extremely uncomfortable, so I immediately get out of the car and stop the guy. "Hey! I think it's getting pretty late, we should get going, right Manuel?" I said. Manuel nods his head. Then, the man grabbed Manuel's shoulder. "This is my son, he should stay with me. You should go home." He said. "No, his mother called me and wants him back home immediately. You wouldn't want your son to get in trouble, would you?" I said. "It's okay, I'll talk to his mom over the phone." He said. "No, his mom wants him home." I say. The man sighed.

"Alright. I'll see you sooner or later, Manuel." He says before slapping Manuel's ass. Manuel gives me that look. "Okay, that's enough. Let's go." I said. "Oh my gosh, thank you for saving me from him. He would have kidnapped me." Manuel said. "It's no biggie." I said. "Do you still want to go inside the cafe?" I asked. "Yeah, sure." He said.

As we were walking in, Manuel saw someone that he wished not to see right now.