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Devon looked at the school principal's horrible wooden desk with exhaustion and irritation. He had seen it so many times that he could tell how worn out it was, probably not changed in at least fifty years. But well, nobody cared about that; it still served its purpose, and Devon just stared at it to pass the time while pretending to listen to the scoldings that pierced his brain. He had heard the same sermon at least a million times, and he was almost sure he knew every word the man would say next.
Principal Dorfman had been scolding him for twenty minutes straight, yet Devon hadn't paid attention to a single word. His face hurt a lot from the strong blow he received from a guy with a wooden board an hour ago, and he was just waiting to be able to go and apply some ice and take a painkiller. If all went well, he also hoped to go straight to bed for a while.
"Devon, are you listening to me?" the principal spoke to him with annoyance.
The boy looked at him but didn't lift his head; he just moved his eyes, which only irritated the man even more.
"Can I go now?" he muttered tiredly. The area around the blow throbbed, and he just wanted to make the pain disappear for a moment.
The director was turning a deep shade of red due to anger and probably desperation. It was as if he were talking to a two-year-old and not to a seventeen-year-old teenager.
"You broke your classmate's cheekbone!" he shouted, then let out a tired sigh, pressing his nose bridge with force, "It's the fifth time this month, Devon. Tell me what's happening. Sean is in the hospital, and his parents are furious. They want to file a lawsuit against you."
The boy shrugged. He really didn't want to say that Sean, the guy whose cheekbone he had broken, had been teasing him and bothering him all week because he discovered him kissing another guy. Normally, he wouldn't care about what people said about him; it seemed pretty normal to him. The problem was when they messed with the other guy. He definitely wouldn't allow that. He also didn't care if he got expelled or arrested and sent to juvenile detention.
Devon settled into his seat, crossed his arms, and looked at the director who was waiting for some response.
"Sean was bothering another student, and I just defended him. Things got a bit... intense, and we ended up resorting to punches."
The director crossed his arms and sat on the edge of his desk. He was very upset, but he knew he had to take a deep breath. They didn't pay him enough to deal with this.
"Sean said you went straight to attack him."
The teenager rolled his eyes in irritation but refrained from letting out a loud sigh of annoyance.
"Well, let him say whatever he wants," Devon shifted in his seat, still with his arms crossed, "anyway, I don't understand why you're asking me if you're not going to believe me. Whatever he says, it seems that Sean has more credibility than me because apparently, I'm a delinquent. They're just waiting for an excuse to send me to juvenile detention once and for all. Well, here's your great opportunity."
There was a short silence, the director was about to speak again, but someone knocked on the door.
"Come in," he said without taking his eyes off the student.
The secretary peeked in a bit, looking nervous but actually quite calm.
"Mr. Gray is here," she announced softly.
Devon tensed for a moment, but he remained calm. This was the last thing he needed. They just had to tell him he was expelled to make everything go to hell.
"Okay, tell him to come in. Devon, wait outside while I talk to your father."
The boy stood up annoyed as he grabbed his backpack and left the office. He didn't look at his father when he met him outside and went straight to the hallway to await his sentence.
"I'm sorry," a voice said in front of him, and it was the first time he raised his head. His right eye was so swollen that he couldn't even see with it.
He smiled when he realized it was Eugene, the guy he had defended from Sean. Devon raised his hand gently to place it on the boy's cheek. He noticed there were tears in Eugene's eyes.
"It wasn't your fault, and I'm fine," he assured with noticeable calmness. Eugene almost believed him, but seeing Devon's swollen eye, concern enveloped him again.
They looked into each other's eyes, and Eugene let out a little laugh as he noticed how horrible Devon really looked. It wasn't just the swollen eye; he had an open lip, and a big bruise was starting to spread on the left side of his jaw.
"I brought you a cold soda to put on your face," Eugene handed him the can, and Devon took it with a smile.
He placed it next to his eye and held it there for a few seconds. It was just a matter of time before the pain became unbearable, but he was doing his best to stay calm.
"Thanks."
There was another short silence; both boys sat on the floor, leaning against the wall, looking at the lonely hallway's floor.
"Will your punishment be severe? I told the principal I could tell him what Sean did to me," Eugene asked.
Devon shook his head, placing a hand on top of Eugene's.
"Don't worry about that. I don't want you to get in trouble because of me. Besides, it's not the first or the last time I fight for the same reason."
"I'm really sorry," the boy murmured sadly.
Devon didn't say anything else and instead released a deep sigh while applying more pressure with the can on his wound. The cold was really helping to ease the pain a bit.
Not more than ten minutes passed when Devon's father came out of the principal's office and looked angrily at his son sitting on the floor. Eugene avoided the older man's gaze but felt a little sorry for what could happen to Devon.
"We're leaving," the father spoke harshly and began walking down the hallway.
Devon rolled his eyes with annoyance but stood up with Eugene's help. The boy looked at him with concern, but Devon directed a small smile at him to indicate that everything would be fine. Then he shook his hair a bit and, without saying anything else, followed his father's steps.
Both got into the man's car and remained silent for a moment. Devon closed his eyes without removing the cold can from his face, and the father gripped the steering wheel tightly. They hadn't started moving yet, but the atmosphere was very tense and uncomfortable.
"Am I going to be expelled?" Devon asked without opening his eyes. He preferred to get his sentence once and for all.
The man had already started the car, but they were moving very slowly down the street.
"No," he said seriously, "but you won't return to this school. I'll send you to Forks with your mother," he turned on the car and started driving.
Devon looked at his father with surprise and anger. He couldn't do that. Not that he didn't want to; he would give anything to get away from the man who called himself his father, but he couldn't leave Eugene or Margo.
"But why?" he avoided shouting, but
his voice came out very loud, "I don't want to go."
"Besides, you'll have to pay for your classmate's hospital bill," he continued talking, ignoring his son's question.
"You can't do this to me. He hit me too," he pointed to his bruised face.
"And you'll have to apologize to him," he kept ignoring his son's words as he continued driving.
Now Devon felt the anger flooding his veins. It wasn't fair at all. He hadn't done anything wrong.
"And what if I don't want to?"
The father suddenly stopped the car and looked at his son with intense fury while grabbing his hair with great force.
"Listen to me, Devon. I'm tired of your spoiled child attitudes. I can't stand you," he released his grip, leaving a painful sensation in Devon's head, "do what I told you, and on Saturday, you'll take a direct flight to Seattle."
Devon crossed his arms in anger. He felt the burning in his eyes from the tears threatening to come out, but he put in all his effort to hold back and pressed the can against his face, although it was uncomfortable with his arms crossed.
"I know you hate me," Devon murmured after a few minutes, "for not being normal. I know I disgust you, and you'd rather not be my father. But at least you could believe me when I say I didn't hit him for no reason."
"Just shut up!" the man breathed heavily, "I don't want you to keep talking about this. And when we get home, don't tell Margo anything about this. She's pregnant and doesn't need to stress because of your damn fault."
Devon clenched his fists with force. He felt so much helplessness inside that it hurt. His father preferred his new family over him, but unfortunately, the man hadn't been able to get rid of Devon when he divorced for the first time. But it had all been his father's whim to leave his now ex-wife with nothing, even without his son. Devon didn't understand; he could have saved so many problems if his father had just let him be in peace with his mother.
After fifteen more minutes, they arrived home. Margo was in the garden watering the plants and smiled with her teeth when she saw her husband's car park, but her forehead wrinkled when she saw Devon getting out of the car with a red face, slamming the car door. She immediately looked at the man who seemed annoyed and approached for an explanation.
"What happened?" the woman asked.
The man shook his head.
"That boy got into another fight at school."
Margo seemed alarmed.
"Why?" she took off her gloves, "Is Devon okay? Did you give him any painkillers?"
The man almost sighed with irritation.
"No. I'm going to call his mother right now to let her know he'll arrive in Forks on Saturday."
Margo seemed alarmed.
"Why?"
"Maybe there he'll learn to behave. I don't want him in this house anymore."
He didn't let his wife say anything else and went inside the house. Margo sighed tiredly and took all her gardening stuff to go inside too.
She took a glass filled with lemonade she had prepared earlier and took some painkillers before heading to Devon's room. She called a couple of times without getting any response.
"Devon. It's me, honey."
There was still no response, but she opened the door a bit and peeked her head in. The boy was on his bed, not asleep but showing signs that he had been crying since he arrived. The woman silently entered the room, closing the door behind her. She then sat on the edge of the bed and left the glass and pills on the nightstand.
She placed a hand on the boy's cheek and began combing his hair back gently.
"What happened, Devon?"
The boy swallowed hard but avoided looking at the woman.
"It was just another fight."
"I know, but it seems like this time it was something different. You never cry when it's just a regular fight," Margo smiled somewhat playfully but didn't stop caressing Devon's head.
Devon remained silent for a moment, hesitating whether to say what he thought or not. In the end, he decided to speak.
"It's just... Sean saw me kissing a guy, and he started bothering me. He always does, but I try to ignore him. It's just that this time it wasn't only against me; he locked Eugene in a bathroom, and Sean, along with four other guys, started bothering him. I lost my temper and started hitting Sean even harder until I broke his cheekbone and he passed out. A teacher had to get me off him because I kept hitting him even though he was already unconscious."
Margo didn't stop her gentle caresses on Devon's hair.
"And how did you get that blow?"
"Sean hit me twice when I was trying to defend myself, then one of his friends hit me in the same spot with a wooden board. But it's not a big deal. Sean ended up much worse."
Margo looked at him with a certain sadness.
"I brought painkillers for you. You should take them now, and I'll bring frozen peas right away. You should also get some rest; you'll feel better after sleeping."
Devon smiled a little.
"Thanks," the woman stood up, "could you..." Margo stopped before leaving, "don't tell my father, please. I didn't want you to worry about this."
The woman nodded with a small smile.
"Don't worry about that."
Margo left the room, leaving Devon completely alone. He took the pill Margo had left for him and lay down on his bed. He stared at the ceiling for a while, but at some point, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.
It was the next day that his father took him to the hospital to apologize to Sean, and although he didn't deserve those apologies at all, he did it reluctantly. He also had to give a large part of his savings to pay the hospital bill and finally had to say goodbye to Eugene.
A difficult farewell for both of them, because even though they hadn't been together for long, they had grown quite fond of each other.
On Saturday morning, Devon was already at the airport ready to take his flight.
"Don't forget to call from time to time, okay?" Margo had told him on the verge of tears, "I'll miss you a lot."
Devon smiled. He would miss her a lot too.
"I promise to call from time to time," he approached to hug her, although it was a bit awkward with her seven-month pregnant belly.
Then he looked at the three-year-old holding his father's hand and just shook his hair a bit. The boy just moved his hand in a farewell gesture.
Finally, he looked at his father. The man still seemed upset and didn't say anything. Devon released a small sigh and turned around to board his flight.
Although he had promised to call, he knew it was best to leave them forever. They were now a family, and undoubtedly, they wouldn't need him or miss him. That was okay, or at least, that's what he wanted to believe. The only one he really worried about was Margo; he hoped she would be okay in his absence since his father had a rather explosive temperament.
At least in Forks, no one knew him, and
he could have a fresh start. After all, he just wanted a quiet life, and Forks was the perfect place for that.
But Devon couldn't be more wrong.