I held Lennon as she cried, but all I could think about was what I was going to do to Bradley the next time I saw him. Her hands clung to my shirt. Her head rested on my chest. Anger surged through me, as I rubbed her back. I was angry at Bradley and I was angry at myself, for letting it get this far. I couldn't stop thinking of her pain, the pain Bradley had caused her. For months I had thought about what I would do when I finally found out who it was that hurt her and now that I knew, there wasn't a doubt in my mind of what I was going to do, it was a matter of when and where.
"Shh..." I muttered and kissed the top of her head. "You'll be okay, I'll make sure of it." I promised.
We sat there for a while, in silence. I just held her, as slowly her breathing returned to normal. Her sad eyes lifted to meet mine, filled with tears that were about to spill over and follow the tear stains on her cheeks. I opened my mouth, about to say something when she jumped up out of my lap.
"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." She stuttered, wrapping her arms around herself.
I stood up slowly, putting aside my anger just for a moment. I didn't want to scare her. "You don't need to be scared of me Lennon. You shouldn't have to be scared of anyone."
"Rowan..." She shook her head.
"I'm here, for whatever you need." I took a deep breath.
"I-I know."
A baby's crying filled the room, I'd forgotten we were babysitting. Dakota was awake from his nap. Lennon looked to the stairs.
"I should..." She pointed to his room at the top of the stairs.
"Yeah." I nodded and watched as she walked to Dakota's room. I turned back into the living room. What was I going to do? The pressure on my shoulders was a thousand times heavier now that I knew who did it. He couldn't get away with hurting her. I wouldn't let that happen.
I checked my phone. It was close to five o'clock. I picked up my backpack and my books.
"He's hungry, no wonder, it's almost supper." She stopped at the bottom of the stairs, holding Dakota in her arms. She was looking at me confused. "Rowan?"
"It's getting late, I should go." I gulped and swung my bag up onto my back. I started walking towards the door.
"Rowan..." She grabbed my hand. "You're not going to do anything, are you?" Lennon asked me, with a pleading look on her face like she knew exactly what I was thinking. I shook my head. "Promise me you won't do anything stupid."
"I'm not going to do anything stupid." I assured her. "Promise."
"Okay... Good..." She sighed, but she still looked worried.
"I won't, not unless you want me to." I squeezed her hand. "You going to be okay?"
"Yeah, always am." She forced a smile. I didn't believe her but I nodded anyway. "Get going then." She shooed, laughing.
"I'll see you monday." I opened the door and waved goodbye.
The drive home was a blur. My hands were clenched around the steering wheel, my knuckles white. I wanted to go straight to Bradley's house, give him what he deserved right there and then but I promised Lennon I wouldn't do anything stupid and going to his house would have been stupid. I'd be lucky to not go to jail if I did it that way and then we'd be right where we started, with Lennon alone and Bradley getting off scot free.
I parked in the driveway and just sat there for a minute, thinking. My heart was racing, I couldn't seem to calm down no matter how much I tried. I couldn't stop myself from picturing it, Bradley hurting her. My entire body shook with the thought.
"Bastard!" I hit the steering wheel, pounding on the horn by accident. "Shit!"
Even though I know knew the girl from the journal was Lennon and the guy who hurt her was Bradley, I still felt helpless. There was nothing I could do, like when my Dad died.
I got out of the car and slammed the door shut.
Lachlan was sitting on the couch, playing video games. "Hey, you're home. Mom's out on a date, she left you in charge of supper."
I couldn't deal with him, he was acting like nothing was wrong but how was he supposed to know what was going on in my head. It wasn't like he knew what happened to Lennon. Still, it pissed me off.
"How was Lennon's?" He asked, over the sound of guns firing and men grunting in the game. When I didn't answer he looked up at me. "What? Did something happen?"
"No." I made my way up the stairs. I didn't expect Lachlan to follow me.
"Rowan... What happened?"
"I told you nothing!" I threw my bag at the wall and watched it crash to the floor, knocking over my clock on it's way down.
"Doesn't sound like nothing." He deducted. I was never very good at hiding how I felt.
"Well it is." I hissed.
"Fine." He gave up on asking. "What's for supper? I'm hungry." He changed the subject. "Can we go down to the Surf?"
I sighed. How could I say no? I couldn't give him a reason without spilling my guts and betraying Lennon's privacy. I couldn't do that to her again. Telling my Mom was enough and I thought she wouldn't forgive me for that. I'd have to keep it bottled inside.
"Okay, fine, let's go." I agreed and picked my bag up off the floor. I took a shaky breath and tried my best to put the information I learned about Bradley behind me, like that was possible.
"Sweet, I've been craving some of their macaroni and cheese." He commented.
I walked ahead of him, hiding my clenched jaw. The thoughts didn't go away so easily. They were still in the back of my mind like a festering wound that I couldn't stop picking at.
We sat down at a booth and Lachlan immediately ordered a rootbeer float and macaroni and cheese. I ordered the first thing that came to mind, a burger and fries. I couldn't spend time fussing over what I'd eat, I wasn't even hungry. Lachlan went on about school, how he and some guys were thinking about going to the beach tomorrow. I wasn't really listening, I just caught the just of it.
"Hey Rowan." My head shot up at the sound of Bradley's voice. "So how's Lennon?" He asked me and my blood boiled. I stood up, getting in his face. My hands clenched in fists at my sides.
"Who wants to know?" I asked. My anger level was rising and soon my top would blow. You could have cut the tension between us with a knife.
"You've been hanging out for a while." He stated, I didn't know where he was going but I was ready for whatever and so were my fists. "You done it yet? She's good isn't she?" He laughed and my fist connected with his jaw. The feeling was addicting and the sound of his nose cracking was satisfying. I wanted to feel it again, I wanted him to feel Lennon's pain.
"Don't you talk about her! Don't you even think about her!" I hissed following him to the ground. "You son a bitch!" I spat, letting the anger take over. I hit him again and again. "Stay the fuck away from her!" Adrenaline rushed through my veins, I wasn't going to let up any time soon but I wasn't a fighter. I'd never done this before. I had no experience on how to win, I just had my wits and my anger.
"Rowan!" Lachlan shouted, but there was nothing he could do to stop me.
He fought back, taking a hold of my shoulders. "You're not as good as you think Taylors." He laughed and pushed me onto my back. His knuckles crashed down on my forehead, but I hardly felt it. "You don't scare me."
"You should be scared." I taunted and used all of my strength to flip him back over. I took a good look at the damage I'd done. I lifted my hand but someone grabbed it.
"Rowan, come on! Rowan, stop!" Lachlan begged.
I stood up, finally coming down off the high. What was I doing? My fists ached and they were bruised and bloodied. What would Lennon think of me? This would be considered stupid.
Bradley lunged at me, but Zach grabbed him from behind. "Enough!"
"Come on!" Lachlan pulled at my arm. I walked out of the Surf, still fuming.
We drove home in silence. I wasn't sure Lachlan knew what to say to me. He'd just seen his brother beat someone up. That had to be an interesting experience. I slammed the door shut and started walking towards the house.
"What are you doing? Why did you beat up Bradley? That's not like you." He pointed out. I just shook my head. "Does this have to do with earlier?"
"No, it's nothing. Leave it alone Lachlan."
"Tell me what's going on!" He pushed.
"It's none of your business. It's mine and Lennon's." I'd said too much.
"So this does have something to do with Lennon." He deducted. "Has she gotten you into trouble?"
"No Lachlan." I shook my head at his silly theory.
"Is she in trouble?" There it was. Was I supposed to lie? Yes.
"No..." I was a terrible liar.
We both spun around to look at the car pulling into the driveway. Mom stepped out of the car.
"What happened to your face?" She ran up to me, looking me over.
"Nothing..."
"He got into a fight." Lachlan tattled.
"Lachlan!" I hissed.
"What? Was it a secret?" He said, being smart.
"Boys, cool it. Lachlan go to your room. Rowan, living room." She directed us, giving me the do as I say, look.
Lachlan huffed his way up the stairs and I slumped onto the couch.
"You got into a fight?" She looked shocked and disappointed.
"It's not what you think..."
"Then do explain it to me." My Mom sat down on the couch beside me and waited.
"When I was at Lennon's she told me who it was, who, you know..." I gulped. "When we went to get supper the guy was there. He just he said something that rubbed me the wrong way..."
"You mean the guy who raped Lennon." She clarified.
"Yeah..." I muttered.
She laid her hand on my shoulder and sighed, starting to understand why I lost my temper. "I understand why you did it, but you can't just go after him Rowan."
"He rubbed it in my face. What was I supposed to do?" I put my head in my hands.
"There's no right answer."
I was starting to feel a pounding in my head. I got up and got a cold pack out of the freezer.
"Why don't you go get some rest." My Mom suggested.
I nodded. It was probably for the best to sleep on everything that happened. I could still see the look on his face and hear his voice in the back of my mind, clear as day. So, how's Lennon? It was almost as if he was taunting me, like he knew that I knew. I walked up the stairs and threw myself on my bed.
You done it yet? She's good isn't she?
What was he trying to get at? That I liked Lennon? Or maybe that I was going to rape her? Be as bad as him... That's where he was wrong, I'd never hurt her and I'd never pressure her into having sex with me. I'd wait for her, for as long as it took and I wouldn't mind waiting.
I gulped. I sounded like a hopeless romantic.
Maybe Bradley was right about one thing... I liked Lennon.
Hi guys! Its snowing where I live! We would love to hear what you guys think about this chapter.
Where do you see this book going? Who is your favorite character? Did Rowan do something stupid?