A fractured fairytale

21

Before I could even attempt to reassure her, she was gone, leaving me sitting in the silence.

For the rest of the day, I dwelled on the fact that my morning had started off so well, with Rose announcing I'd passed my calculus exam. This was the subject I had always found the most difficult so passing calculus gave me some hope for the rest of my classes. But now, all I could think about was the fact she'd rejected me.

Someone had hurt her. I'd managed to deduce that much. She was closed off, kept almost entirely to herself and my guess was that it was to protect herself from getting hurt again. Maybe she'd been rejected and didn't want to experience it again. I was starting to understand how that felt.

"What the hell is up with you?" Alex asked me as I slammed my locker door shut a little too aggressively at lunch. He stood beside me; eyes narrowed. He was always assessing, always studying, always aware of everyone and everything, always ten steps ahead and it was so infuriating.

"Fuck off," I muttered, not the slightest bit in the mood for his scrutiny.

He rolled his eyes at my attitude. Of all the people in my life, he knew me best and he knew that pushing me to talk when I was in a mood wouldn't get him anywhere. He'd earned enough black eyes or split lips when we were younger to understand that now.

We made our way down the hallways, shoving through the throngs of people milling around their own lockers, towards the cafeteria. My mind was elsewhere, going over this morning's conversation over and over, picturing the pretty blonde who managed to punch me right in the heart in one short conversation, until I heard a familiar laugh.

I glanced to the left to see my sister leaning against her locker, surrounded by a few of her friends and her boyfriend draped around her like strings of ivy wrapped around an old building. Impossible to get rid of. As we neared, he looked up from where he was practically drooling down my little sisters top and met my gaze. I narrowed my eyes when a smirk crossed his face and then a second later, he swooped down, pressing his lips to her and slamming her back against the lockers, gaining the attention of everyone around.

"Fuck this," I grumbled, redirecting towards them.

He'd picked the wrong day to piss me off.

"Matt!" Alex called from behind me in warning, although I wasn't sure if he was warning me not to do anything or warning Vi that I was there. Either way, her eyes widened when she spotted me over his shoulder.

I expected her to push him off her when she spotted me approaching. I'm sure I looked as pissed off as I felt with my jaw set like stone and my hands curled into fists, I was itching to pummel into the pricks face. But instead of brushing him off, she pulled him closer, manoeuvring his hands so they curled around to grab her ass.

If I wasn't already pissed off, now I was seeing red as I reached them. I gripped the back of the guy's shirt and tugged so hard I heard the fabric rip. He stumbled backwards, struggling to find his footing as I twisted around and then all but threw him across the hallway and into the lockers opposite. Everyone around us scattered, narrowly avoiding being crushed under this guy's weight, but I didn't have it in me to care. All I cared about was the sound of him crashing into the lockers, the grunt he let out at the impact, the smacking sound of him hitting the floor like a pile of bones. Those sounds eased the tension in my muscles a fraction.

"Matt!" Vi screamed beside me.

She managed one step towards her boyfriend before I was hauling her away down the hallway. We reached an empty classroom and I shoved her inside, more aggressive with her than I ever had been. Her eyes were wide as she stumbled backwards into a desk before catching herself. "What the hell is wrong with you?" she gasped out, breathing heavily.

"You're done with him, Vi. I mean it."

She scoffed, her eyes brimming with tears as she shook her head. "That isn't for you to decide. I'm so fucking sick of you telling me what to do. You're not my dad!"

"It wouldn't matter if I was, you still wouldn't listen. You don't listen to a single thing he says either!"

Her eyes shone with rage. "I'm not a child, Matt! What I do is my business and mine alone!"

"When are you going to realise that everything we do is for your own good!"

"When are you going to realise that you don't know what's for my own good!"

I dragged air in through my lungs, trying to get my temper under control before I did or said something I knew I'd regret. "I'm trying to look out for you," I told her, my tone a little calmer than before.

"No, you're trying to control me." She straightened and took a step towards me, all her previous anger replaced with a sadness I hadn't noticed before. "If you can't be happy for me then just stay the fuck away from me," she said, her voice soft. And then, for the second time today, I heard the door close behind her and I was left in silence.