Chapter 1
I walked through the halls and pulled my hoodie closer to my face. I hoped no one would see the bruise that had formed there overnight. It wasn’t as if they pay that much attention to me anyway. Most of the student body thought of me as a loner, a freak or any number of other things they could think of and would just stay away from me. I wasn’t planning to get close to anyone and taking a chance of him or her finding out what's going on at home. I couldn't risk those around asking questions that I damn sure wasn’t willing to answer.
When I was younger, I had a few close friends and had been very social and outgoing with other people. After the abuse started, I slowly distanced myself from those around me because I didn’t want anyone to know what was going on in my own personal hell at home. I figured it would just be best to separate myself from all those who knew me and not trouble anyone else with my problems. My friends back then didn’t understand why I pushed them away, but they soon got the message. I wanted them to stay away, leaving me friendless by the time I got into middle school.
I sighed when I finally got to my locker and was able to hide my face a little better. Reaching up to get one of my morning books when a shot of pain slightly ran down my side. I crossed my arm to my side, hoping the pain would go away quickly, and breathed deeply through my nose and out of my mouth. The agony was almost unbearable.
When I had woken up this morning, I was still on the kitchen floor surrounded by the broken plate. My hand had dried up blood on it next to the knife my stepfather had given me. On top of the knife was a pink Post-it note. ‘Clean up this mess or else you know what will happen.’
I had quietly cleaned the kitchen up, desperate to not take the chance of waking up anyone. After I was done, I went to my room, moving as soundlessly as I could, and got ready for school. It was then that I saw the bruises that had formed on my face. I could only gasp in dismay.
I was so focused on the pain and memories from last night that I didn’t notice the person walking up to me until I heard a male voice.
“Hey, Kami! You okay there?” a male’s voice asked from the other side of my locker.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I just hurt my side this morning,” I lied, hoping they would get the hint and leave me alone like everyone else did. I knew people had seen me in pain before, but they never offered to help me. I closed my eyes as I heard him move around me, but he didn’t walk away.
I felt whoever it was place his hand on my shoulder and I had to keep it together in an effort not to scream out in pain. My shoulders were sore and bruised from where it had been slammed against the wall last night.
This person gently squeezing it made me clench my teeth together from the discomfort it was causing. I had to shrug my shoulder to get whoever it was to let go, since he obviously wouldn’t know that he was causing me pain.
I could hear him clearing his throat and I knew whoever it was, he wouldn’t be leaving me alone any time soon.
“You don’t look fine. Maybe you should go to the nurse and have her take a look, make sure that everything’s all right,” he said, his voice laced with concern.
“No! I’m fine!” I screamed and looked up into a pair of warm, brown eyes. Those eyes belonged to someone I never expected to show me any kind of compassion: Brandon Mitchell, the school bad boy. His eyes widened and then narrowed as he took in my bruised face, making his eyes switch from concern to rage, and he took a closer look. I don’t know how he was able to see the bruise through the hoodie, but he did.
“What the hell, Kami?” He asked while pulling my hood down and then looking at my face. “Who did this?”
The look on his face was murderous. All I could do was shake my head at him. I couldn’t tell him who did this. I couldn’t tell him how it had happened. So much worse things could take place if I did. I just stood there shaking my head at him as I felt a tear slip down my face. When the tears started slowly falling, his face softened up a little.
“Kami, don’t cry. Just tell me who is hurting you and maybe I can help you, if you let me,” he said softly, stepping closer to me.
“No one did it. I told you, I fell and hurt myself this morning,” I stated firmly, stepping away from him while pulling the hoodie back over my head. I didn’t need the rest of the student body seeing my bruised face and start questioning what happened to me too. It was bad enough that Brandon knew.
“I swear to God, if your boyfriend did this, I’m going to find him and bury his sorry ass six feet under.” He swore with his fists clenched tightly in anger. His voice had risen slightly, which caused a few people that were walking through the hall to turn and look over at us.
“I don’t have a boyfriend,” I muttered, eying the people who were looking our way. “And keep it down! I don’t need anyone else knowing about this, ok?”
“Then tell me who did this to you.” He demanded again.
I could tell by the way he crossed his arms over his chest that he was getting frustrated that I wasn’t telling him anything. The look on his face was scary, telling me that I had better tell him or else he’d find out another way.
“It doesn’t matter who, what, where, when or how I hurt myself, Brandon,” I said with an equally frustrated sigh. “Just leave it alone and go back to doing what you normally do. Leave me alone like everyone else always does.” I said the last part in a whisper. Looking back into my locker, I reached up to get the book I had attempte to pull down just a minute ago and tried to ignore the pain that raced down my side.
Before I could get to it though, Brandon grabbed hold of it and handed it to me. I reached for it, but he pulled it away and held it out of my reach. He took my outstretched hand, though, and entangled our fingers together.
“Brandon, what the hell? Give me my book and let go of my hand,” I demanded, trying to pull my hand out of his only for him to grip it tighter.
“You’re coming with me.” His voice was deep and commanding, allowing no room for argument. “We’re going to talk about this.” With that, he pulled me to him. He used the hand that held my book to shut my locker, making it latched shut. He started dragging me down the hall with all of the student body witnessing it.
As we walked down the hallway, I kept my head down, trying to make myself as small as possible. I’m was sure that everyone was wondering why Brandon Mitchell was holding my hand and escorting me down the hall. If anything, they probably thought I was the latest of his victims who fell prey to his player ways.
Brandon was one of those boys who liked to cause trouble in school. If it wasn’t disobeying the teachers and interrupting classes when he showed up, he was rough housing around in the halls with the other students just to show how strong he was. It seemed that since he had this bad boy vibe about him, the girls fell under his mercy. I was sure he had his fair share of girls in bed, making him somewhat known as a player also.
Since I stayed to myself, I didn’t even think I was on his radar. He could have any girl he wanted, so why did he pay attention to me today? Why couldn’t it be a day that there wasn’t a bruise on my face? He had decided to notice me today of all days and now it looked like there was more trouble coming my way.
He pulled me into a dark classroom and shut the door, turning on the lights. As the lights lit up the room, I turned to see him leaning against the door with his arms once again crossed over his chest. I took in his six-foot-two height with his just-rolled-out-of-bed messy brown hair. The way his shirt hugged his biceps and lay against his chest, you could tell this boy had some strength in him and was one of those guys you didn’t want to double cross.
As I took in his appearance, I saw his eyes travel up and down my body, as if he could see through my clothes and examine all the bruises that lay underneath. “Take the hoodie off,” he ordered. I just stood there like a deer in the headlights, gaping at him in disbelief. I didn’t know what to say in return, which made him kick the door and walk over to me, causing me to take a step back. I wasn’t sure what he was going to do, but all I knew was that I wanted to get out of this classroom.
“I’m not going to hurt you, Kami. I’m against hitting girls, so you have nothing to worry about.” He looked at me steadily for a moment before continuing. “I just want to see how badly damaged you are, so I can figure out how severe I need to kick this dickhead's ass. Now, I’ll ask one more time. Take off the hoodie.”
“Why does this matter so much to you?” I practically shouted at him as I kept backing away. He followed me, relentless. Why was he acting so concerned about me when he didn’t even know me? We have never been friends. Brandon just ignored me and stayed with his own group of friends. So why was he acting as if we’re friends now? This boy was confusing me and it was getting harder for me to think straight. This could end up being very dangerous, leading to mistakes that I could end up paying for.
When I finally hit the desk behind me, I fell down into the seat and had to look up at him. He leaned down and placed one hand on the back of the chair and the other on the desk as he looked down at me. He had managed to cage me to keep me in place. I had the distinct impression it was done deliberately.
“It just does, ok?” he said in reply to my question. “Now take off the hoodie and let me see how badly hurt you are. Then I’ll know how rough I need to go on this guy.”
I sat there shaking my head, trying to think of a way to get out of the awkward situation I had just gotten myself into. I looked to the front of the classroom at the white board thinking of a way to get this guy away from me. “I told you. No one did it! I fell a few days ago and hurt myself. Please, just let me go,” I pleaded with him.
He stood back up, giving me a little more breathing room, but I could still feel his eyes looking down at me. I then saw him pacing the room back and worth, letting out an irritated sigh. “Why are you protecting this person? They need to be thrown in jail.”
I looked back at him to see him walking to the classroom door now. “Since you’re so against telling me, maybe I should go to Officer Pilgrim and tell him about the bruises across your face. Then you’ll have to talk to him and answer his questions. I’m just trying to help you, Kami. Unlike everyone else in this school, I’ve noticed things. I know this isn’t the first time this has happened to you.”
“Brandon, please just let it go. There's nothing you can do to help me and getting the police involved is just going to cause more problems for me,” I replied, hoping that he finally got the picture.
That's when we both heard the school bell ring, which alerted us that we needed to get to class. Brandon had his hand on the doorknob by then. He turned and looked at me one last time. “This isn’t over,” he said firmly, walking out of the classroom. I was starting to get frustrated with all this. I just wished he would let it go.
Walking out of the classroom about the same time the other students walked in, feeling their eyes on me. I knew they were trying to figure out what Brandon and I had been doing in there. When I got into the hall, I looked over to see Brandon walking into the school office. The only thought I had at that moment was that he was going to go tell the school cop about the bruise on my face. I ran down the hall as fast as my sore body would let me, which wasn’t much more than a fast walk, to try and stop him from telling.
When I busted through the door, Brandon was slamming his hands down on the reception desk. “I don’t care if it's too late in the school year. Change my schedule to Kami Van’s now.”
“Mr. Mitchell, please just go to class. There's nothing I can do to help you,” the woman behind the desk replied in a calm voice. She looked over at me and I could tell she was trying to figure out why I had my hoodie on in the school building when it was against school policy. “Miss Van, is there a problem?” she inquired, ever the epitome of politeness.
I shook my head while walking over to them. I needed to get Brandon out of here before anyone else found out about my secret. “No, I just came to get Brandon so we can go to class.”
“I’m not going to class until this lady here changes my schedule to match yours,” he stated, keeping his eyes on the receptionist. It looked like he was having some kind of showdown with her. “Do you know how much my parents spend funding this school? I could have your job by lunchtime, lady. So, unless you want to be jobless in the next couple of hours, I suggest you go and change my schedule.”
I watched as the receptionist shrugged her shoulders, giving in to him. My jaw dropped in shock that he had just managed to intimidate the woman into giving him what he wanted. She punched a few keys on her computer before turning to me.
“Miss Van, do you have your class schedule with you?” The lady asked me. I nodded my head and got it out of my bag, trying not to think about the pain that my body was in every time I moved. I handed it to her, still trying to hide my face. However, the light hit my face just perfectly and she was able to see the bruise.
“I see what you mean now, Mr. Mitchell,” she said, turning around to type on the computer. “I’m glad to know she has you willing to take care of her.” She then printed out Brandon’s new schedule and handed it to him before giving mine back to me, along with hall passes for us to get to class.
“Now, Miss Van, please don’t go hurting yourself anymore. This boy here seems like he really cares about you.” She then gave us a wink before shooing us away with her hand.
We walked out of the office and I grabbed a hold of Brandon’s elbow, frantic. “What did you tell her before I got in there?”
He looked back down at me and shrugged his shoulder. “I told her that my new girlfriend seemed to be hurting herself lately. That today when she got to school, she had a bruise across her face. I told her that I was to the point that I felt the need to keep an eye on her now. That led me to ask her to change my schedule to match yours.”
I stood there speechless for a moment, letting it all sink in, “Why would you tell her a lie like that? There’s no need to be in any of my classes to keep an eye on me.” I was scared at what the implications of this could be. “The bruise on my face didn’t happen at school. I told you this morning that I had an accident. Moreover, I’m not your girlfriend nor am I one of your fan girls! I like to be left alone, so please just stop all this nonsense.” I pleaded with him once again.
“Then tell me who hurt you, Kami. It’s that simple. I know you didn’t trip or fall, so do us both a favor and stop lying,” he replied evenly. It was becoming harder and harder not to break down and just tell him. “Kami, you need help. Just trust me and let me help you. Please.”
Something inside me snapped at that point. “You don’t know shit about me! You’re just wasting your time talking to me. I’m nothing but a worthless cause,” I told him, anger and frustration warring within me. “I don’t need your protection or you running around, acting like a caring boyfriend, when you’re not!” I swallowed hard. I was on the brink of tears again. I could feel myself breaking down by the second. I needed to get away from him before I finally snapped and told him the truth.
I turned to walk away, only to have him grab my waist and swing me back around, facing him. He proceeded to pull me to his chest, which made me whimper a little from the pain of him pulling me close to him. I wanted to fight, I really did, but the warmth of his arms around me was just too enticing.
“Kami, you’re not a waste of my time, nor are you worthless. I don’t know who fed you that crap, but you need to take a good look inside yourself. You need to stop and see the girl on the inside. The one who used to laugh and play with the kids around her. I don’t know what caused you to become such a hard shell, but I think you need to try to let people in and let them help you.” He finished with a sad smile.
I tried to pull away from him, but he just tightened his grip around to keep me in place. “It doesn’t matter who I used to be, Brandon.” I cried. “That little girl is long gone. There’s no bringing her back. I’m broken to the point that there is no repairing me. All you can do is let go. I’m sure there is another girl out there worth saving, but I’m not her. Now can you please let me go? I need to get to class,” I begged, my breathing heavy from all of the emotions and thoughts swirling around me.
“No, Kami, I’m not letting this go. I’ll get to the bottom of this and they’ll pay.”
I could hear the promise of retribution in his voice as he spoke. He removed his arms from my waist and caught a hold of my hand, pulling me back into the office. We walked over to the reception desk and she eyed us coming closer to her, raising an eyebrow at us. Before she could ask why we were back, he cut her off. “I need to use that,” all the while pointing to the microphone of the intercom.
She let out a loud huff of air and you could tell she was tired already of dealing with Brandon today. Most likely he’d be back in today for something or another, which made me let out a light chuckle. “Why would that be, Mr. Mitchell? I think it would be best if you two just went to class. We don’t need to start the morning off on a sour note.”
“Class can wait, this can’t,” he replied, letting go of my hand and leaning over the desk and picking the mic up. He turned it on before she could take it away from him.
“Attention, all students! This is Brandon Mitchell and I’m only going to say this once, so listen closely,” he started as the receptionist tried to pull the microphone out of his hand. He simply pulled it further away from her and with his other hand, he swung my book at her. “If I found out that any of you so much as look at my girlfriend, Kami Van, the wrong way or cause her any harm, you will personally be answering to me. That is all, sorry for the interruption.” Then he turned it off and gave it back to the lady. About the same time, the principal came out of the office. Brandon just nodded his head at him and grabbed hold of my hand, walking us back out of the office and down the hall to our class.
Walking into the classroom, I saw a few students giving us an odd look. I could hear the whispers as we entered and sat down in the seats right next to one another. Brandon laid the book he had taken from me on top of my desk with a note telling me that he would figure out what was going on. I swallowed back the tears that were threatening and stared blindly at the textbook on the desk. This was all too much to take in this early in the morning.
I laid my head down on the desk as the teacher tried to get the class back in order. All I could keep thinking about was how I hoped my stepfather didn’t find out about all this. If he did, I was sure that it would be something I was going to regret.