Caught

Chapter 19 - Thunder and Lightning

"Stop." Felix's face shows no sign of sympathy. No sign of doubt. "For once in your life Ali, just... stop. This whole time... you knew this whole time, and you didn't say anything."

It's not a question – he's made the deduction all on his own.

"I thought I could change things, Felix."

"You know what the sad part is?" He mutters. "You probably could have. I've never seen you give up on anything, and yet... it kinda seems like you gave up on this."

'That's not fair.'  I think.

Felix wasn't there when I spoke to my father last night. He wasn't there with me at that office, where I broke the law constantly so that I could figure out what my dad was doing. He can't feel the overwhelming guilt in my stomach.

Taking a deep breath, I give it one last try. "I am not my father. What he does... that's not on me. We are not the same. You more than anyone should get that."

His eyes become watery listening to me. "But Ali, you're not just anyone. You're... you're like this unstoppable force. A changemaker. You're ready to get your own brother expelled to win a ticket to university, but somehow you draw a line when your dad starts ruining my life? Not only that, but you kept it from me. After everything. After all the conversations we had last night in that truck – you didn't say one word. And that Ali? That really fucking hurts."

He turns on his heel and walks out my front door, which stayed open the entire time. Stepping onto our driveway, he stops and looks back at me. "Oh, and one more thing. I saw Addie at school last night. I saw her break in at two in the morning so she could dig through locker 218." Felix pauses, as if to hold himself back. "I'm going to turn her in. Her and Alex. I'm gonna go to the principal right when I get to school. And there's nothing you can say to change my mind."

Deciding I've had enough of his attention, Felix saunters over to his van and drives away. He leaves me, alone, standing in my entryway like an idiot.

For the first time in my life, I didn't get the last word. I couldn't convince him to understand me, couldn't convince him to give me another chance. I couldn't control anything. I feel like a bystander in my own life. I feel like I'm sitting in a car, watching the consequences of my actions unfold on a faraway TV screen, wondering where the first half of the movie even went.

*****

The city bus drops me off in front of Berkley high at exactly eight twenty. I've missed homeroom at this point, but considering recent events, spotty attendance doesn't seem so bad.

I take a few extra minutes to search around for Felix's van. His threat bounces around in my mind, and I can't begin to guess whether or not he was being serious.

'I'm going to turn her in. Her and Alex.'

If Felix really does go to the principal, I could already be too late. Too late to save the few people left in my life who don't totally hate me.

But what if I did beat him here? What can I really do?

I have no idea how to stop Felix from completely ruining Alex and Addie's lives. He couldn't care less about my opinion now. He said it himself – I have absolutely no chance of convincing him. The only way to thwart Felix's plan is to ensure that the principal doesn't believe his story. I need to make him come across as unreliable.

Too bad Felix is about as trustworthy as they come. It's going to take pure magic to make the principal take my word over his.

The only good news is that Felix's van is nowhere to be seen. Whatever happens, at least I still have a few more minutes to figure out my plan of action. I may not be the smartest person, or the nicest person, or even the most loyal, but I'll be damned if I'm not the best schemer there is.