It was Monday and Kendall and Daniel had been ignoring each other all day. They'd been seated next to each other in every class, not saying a word. Imagine how awkward it was when it came time for their after-school tutoring session in the library, where they actually had to speak.
"Daniel, we've been over this a million times. Just focus!" Kendall snapped.
Daniel dropped his pencil and looked up at her. "Ok, what is up with you?" he said calmly, suppressing his frustration.
"Nothing," she said defensively.
"You've been ignoring me all day and for the past hour you've been biting my head off at every given opportunity," Daniel said.
Kendall grinned slyly. "Yeah, doesn't feel good, does it? To have someone be so harsh towards you when you have no idea why."
Daniel looked confused. "What?"
She was dismayed. "You were such a dick to me at your party. First you dragged me off the dance floor when I was having fun, then told me off for having too much fun, then punched some guy in front of me and then death-stared me like I had done something unforgivable. Then you stormed off and avoided me like the plague for the rest of the night!" She paused to take a breath. "I don't think it's fair to invite some-"
"I didn't invite you" he cut her off.
A pang of hurt struck her and she looked down, embarrassed.
He immediately regretted what he'd said as he saw her face drop. "I didn't mean it like tha-"
"Just finish the work sheet so we can both go home," she said bluntly before he could backpedal.
He sighed and did as she said. She was putting up a strong front as though she was completely unaffected, but Daniel saw right through it. He was familiar with that front. He'd been perfecting it his whole life.
***
Uncomfortable silences enveloped Kendall and Daniel whenever they were together the following week.
Kendall was happy that she had become really close with Christina, though. She was in a nearby community college so they hung out whenever they could.
Much as she adored Ethan, she was more excited about having a female friend, especially since Chris was so cool.
The weekend was over and she was dreading the week to come. Apart from anxiety about going through another painful week with Daniel, her mother was returning on Tuesday and had invited Chad and his family over again.
Kendall was in class, first period, but Daniel was nowhere to be seen. She almost felt relieved until the door swung open and he sauntered in. Kendall immediately felt that something was off.
As he sat down, she noticed he had a huge bruise on his cheek and both of his knuckles were split and scarred. He saw her staring at his hands so he shoved them under the table and faced forwards as if nothing was wrong.
"What happened to you?" she said, concerned.
"Nothing," he replied bluntly, still refusing to meet her gaze.
"Well, clearly something happened," she probed.
"It's none of your fucking business, okay?" he snapped, glaring back at her.
She flinched, feeling the familiar pang of hurt, but ignoring it. She didn't want him to see her walls crumble.
Engulfed in guilt, his face softened. Why did he keep doing that, hurting her, he asked himself. He always regretted it immediately when he saw the corners of her mouth drop and her pained expression.
***
It was Tuesday evening and dinner was finally over. However, the evening wasn't because she and Chad had once again been ordered by her mother to spend time together in her room.
This time Kendall was more relaxed. She remembered how nice and easy to talk to he'd been.
*click*
Her bedroom door closed shut and Chad walked towards her with a wicked grin.
Kendall's heartbeat quickened and she took a step back. "What are you doing?" she asked nervously, continuing to walk backwards.
Her back met the wall and he was right in front of her. "Don't act all innocent now," he purred, stepping even closer and boxing her in with his arms.
She was trapped.
"What are you even talking about?" She pleaded, panic evident in her voice.
"You've been sending me hints all night. Don't deny it." He inched his mouth to her neck and placed a kiss below her ear.
She squirmed. "Please stop. I haven't been hinting at anything."
He began to suck on her skin and she flinched at this disgusting, unwanted intimacy.
"Don't be a tease," he whispered in between sucking.
She brought her arms up between them and began pushing him. He grabbed her wrists so tightly that his nails dug into her skin and she had to stop herself from crying out in pain.
"Stop resisting, slut!" he ordered, and attacked her neck once more.
Kendall shook with fear at her helplessness. There was no way she could fight him off, but she knew someone who could. She just needed to get his attention.
She took a deep breath and let out an ear-splitting scream. Chad stumbled back and plugged his ears. She knew everyone downstairs would have heard her and it would only be a matter of time before Austin barged in the room and had Chad in a chokehold.
But Chad was furious. He stormed at her, pressing her with his body against the wall. She turned her head sideways to stop his lips from touching hers.
She feared he was about to force another kiss on her neck or deliver a painful blow to her gut to teach her a lesson, but just in time, the door slammed open and she heard gasps from the hall.
Chad jumped away as Kendall, shaking from head to foot, slumped to the floor, clutching her stinging wrists.
Austin sent Chad tumbling to the ground with a single punch while Mrs Lockwood from the corner of the room, barked orders at her son to stop.
Austin didn't stop. His anger issues were never far from the surface. They were always there, bubbling and ready to boil. Chad had just crossed a line that signed his death sentence if no one intervened. Punch after punch, kick after kick. Chad's eyes were rolled back in his head. Chad's mother was bawling her eye's out as her husband at last stepped in and tried his best to pry Austin off of his son. It was a losing battle until Austin saw Kendall shaking in the corner and finally surrendered.
Austin stood up, leaving Chad looking as though he had fallen down sixty flights of stairs and landed in oncoming traffic. His family scooped him up and after offering a couple of feeble apologies, took their leave. The apologies hardly compensated for the state Kendall was in. She looked like a wilted flower. Austin was cradling his sister's head in his arms, stroking her hair soothingly. She saw his knuckles were bleeding. Mrs Lockwood told him to go; she would look after her daughter herself. Austin began to resist but Kendall nodded at him and said she would be okay.
The door clicked shut leaving Kendall crumpled in a ball on the floor and her mother staring down at her daughter's tear-stained face.
Mrs Lockwood sat on the end of Kendall's bed and breathed a deep sigh. A small part of Kendall was waiting for a sincere apology from her mother for having put her in such a position. But Kendall knew from experience that her mother would shave her own head before she apologised for anything.
Her mother looked down at her, almost sadly. "Do you know what you have just done?" she whisper-shrieked. "You have just ruined everything!"
Kendall flinched and her lip quivered, but she looked down to hide her oncoming breakdown.
"I hope you're happy." Mrs Lockwood said flatly and exited the room without a second glance.
The moment the door slammed she felt all of the air escape her lungs as she burst into tears. She lay on her side in the foetal position as her whole body shook with despair.
Tears blocked her vision and she let the darkness consume her, sobbing for hours before exhaustion took over.