I knew being overprotective would come in handy one day. Memorizing your sister's schedule and living location may seem a bit stalkerish, but - trust me- it definitely has its perks. Otherwise, how would I have been able to get to Penny's dorm so quickly?
I had absolutely no idea what I would meet behind that door. I couldn't even be sure she was in there; but, Penny's predictable. And, if I know her as well as I thought I did, that's where she would be.
This probably wasn't one of my better decisions. After I had lost track of my little sibling- imagine that, a world class soccer player outrun by a girl- I had returned to the locker room to continue getting ready for the upcoming game. However, my mind and heart just weren't in it. Despite my reconciliation with Danny, I had two other problems annoyingly poking my frontal lobe with a sharp stick: Penny and Cooper. It seemed as if I was always leaping one step forward, only to be shoved two steps back. Huh. Must be another one of those Kherrington traits.
My coach was still nowhere to be found, even mere minutes before warmup, and our team captain seemed ready to crumble under the immense pressure of leading us into one of our biggest games of the season.
It was when my left foot was being shoved into a cleat that I had my epiphany.
All those games I missed when I had quit...we had won. Albeit not as easily- which doesn't have anything to do with me, of course. Secondly, the majority of the team would gladly pick Barrabas over me in a heartbeat. Pilate would wash his hands, the Roman soccer players would cheer, and I'd be a goner. And lastly, this game already wasn't looking too hot. If the look on our captain's face foreshadowed anything, it was a definite loss.
So, why waste my time playing for a team that hated me and was bound to lose, anyway? I wasn't quitting, only weighing the pros and cons of picking soccer over Penny. When it came down to it, who needed me more?
With the answer that glaringly obvious, practically tattooed to my forehead, I was out of there before anyone could miss me.
I took the last turn so sharply, I swear I heard tired screeching. Penny's door was straight down the hallway, last door on the left, adorned in flowers and other girly shit and-
I was there. And so was Penny. I heard her voice, clear as day, through the thick door. Who cares if I was pressing my ear against it? Minor details.
But... Something wasn't right. I was feeling a strange sense of déjà vu-- a clouded memory of creeping over the stair banister, watching my baby sister and her asshole boyfriend dig through my candy stash. That voice! There it was, weaving in and out between Penny's frantic utterances. Then, all was quiet.
Oh, hell no!
"Penny!" I raged, banging my fist against the door. Quiet was bad. For all I knew, they were making out or --
"Penny! Open the door!"
If she didn't open this door soon, I was willing to take drastic measures; I wasn't afraid to pull the fire alarm again.
My fist was growing sore from the constant pounding, and I faintly heard a door down the hall open with a "What the hell, dude?"
"Penny!" I tried one more time, eyes already searching the hall for an axe or saw or a sturdy bench like they had used in Titanic.
Finally, the door opened, and my piercing gaze was met with the sight of my flustered sister. Her eyes were red- rimmed, puffy crescents enveloping the glassy orbs. Dust-brown tendrils framed her face haphazardly, and tear tracks were clear on her flushed cheeks. My sister was a wreck.
However- worst of all- were her lips. Chapped and misshapen from nervous teeth; that was to be expected. But I'm not stupid. I know the only thing that makes lips that cherry red is something I don't even want to think about her doing: sucking face with her asshole of a boyfriend.
"Where the fuck is he?" I demanded, shoving past Penny and striding into the spacious room. What the hell? It was vacant. I could see every corner, ever wall, floor to ceiling, and no sign of Zachary Oliver.
"Owen-" she began, placing a careful hand on my arm.
"Where is he?" I repeated, beginning to strip her bed. That fucker was in here somewhere, and he couldn't hide for long.
"Owen!" my sister exclaimed, attempting to stop my rampage, despite the fact she knew it was futile. Another Kherrington trait: a temper with the capability of an explosion rivaling that of an atomic bomb.
When there was no trace of him on, in, or under her bed (I'd turned the mattress aside just to be sure) I whirled around to do another visual scan of the room. I was missing something; I had to be.
"Owen, what in the world is wrong with you?"
"Where is he?"
"What? Who?"
"Where is he?"
"Why do you keep saying that?"
"Where the fuck is he, Penny? I fucking heard him!" I wasn't one to yell at my baby sister, but she wasn't one to lie to me, either.
I caught her confused gaze with my own, willing her to let down her walls and and tell me where the fuck he was. What if he had hurt her? What would have happened if I hadn't come when I had? What if she had gotten pregnant? Fuck.
Of course, she was the one to avert her eyes first; Penny had a hard time with eye contact when she was hiding something, a weakness that I wasn't below using to my advantage.
"Don't you have a game?" she asked hesitantly, sidling past me and back toward the doorway. I knew she wasn't scared, no matter how angry I was. So, whatever she was hiding was in that direction...
"Screw soccer! I saw you run out of Coop's office, crying. Then I come here and you're with that asshole."
"Who are you-" she started to say, still playing innocent.
I shook my head in disbelief. Her eyes had yet to meet mine, flickering back and forth between the carpeted floor and the open doorway.
"Just stop, Penny. Tell me where Zach is before I fucking tear this room inside out. I'm not joking."
Two more footsteps toward the door, and I had my answer.
The dorm door opened inwards, and behind the wall it rested against was another door: her closet. It should have been so obvious,
"Owen, no," Penny pleaded as soon as she had realized I knew where her little Boy Toy was hiding.
"You're not supposed to see him," I seethed, stalking toward the closet. "You're not supposed to be alone. With him. In your fucking dorm room." She actually tried to stand between me and the closet door. What had gotten into this girl today? Hell, what had gotten into her this school year? She certainly wasn't innocent, wide-eyed Penny anymore.
I wrenched open the door, hand raised to yank that asshole out of there and beat the living shit out of him for ever even thinking about my baby sister. Fuck the answer keys! Those were not worth Penny's defilement at the hands of this monster.
Zach, however, had other plans.
He's got a mean right hook. I should know; My face has had the pleasure of making its acquaintance. Twice.
I stumbled, taken aback at the fist that had essentially popped out of nowhere. I guess I should have been a little more subtle with my approach.
The douchebag bounded out of the closet, fist coiled back and ready to strike again. Penny was saying something in the background, but red hot anger only allowed my muddled brain to process one thing, and one thing only: take that fucker down!
I sprang to my feet, using the momentum to land an uppercut onto his unscathed jaw. I dodged his sorry attempt to knee me in the groin- sissy move- and landed another punch to his pretty boy face,
He fumbled, swaying slightly with the loss of balance and the stars surely clouding his vision.
"Come on, fucker! Don't just fucking stand there! Hit me!"
Okay, so I probably sounded like a complete idiot, especially considering he already had hit me. But he was just standing there, rubbing his face and not even fighting back.
Penny chose this opportune moment to take advantage of our standstill and wormed her way between our heaving bodies.
"Penny, move," I commanded, not even bothering to look at her. I wouldn't put it past the asshole to try something funny with my sister standing right there.
Naturally, she didn't heed my command. Instead, she placed trembling palms to our chests, pushing back in a feeble attempt to get us to back off one another. "Please," she begged, voice shaky and choked with tears. Zach wrapped his arms around her, her back to his front, as if she were some sort of shield. Red invaded my periphery and threatened to take over once more, but.. I couldn't let it. Not with my baby sister in the line of fire. If she got hurt...
"We had a deal, Kherrington," Zach reminded me, warning clear in his tone. I'd heard those words countless times before and, quite frankly, I was sick of them.
"I don't give a fuck," I bit out, wondering if I could clip him form the side without harming Penny.
"Then I guess Dana will have to give a fuck for you."
My sister glanced up then, eyes hazed In confusion. "Dana? What are you guys talking about? What deal?"
Zach had the gall to take her chin in his hand, gazing down at her "lovingly". Sick.
"Don't worry, Pidge. It's nothing."
"No, it's not nothing! I want to know what the hell is going on between you guys! You're at each other's throats every time you're in the same room together!" Penny's voice was high and shrill and I resisted the urge to cover my ears; it was a wonder the windows weren't broken.
"Pidge..." Wow, I'd never seen the asshole at a loss for words. His eyes bounced around rapidly, mind desperately trying to come up with something it say to appease my sister. Good luck with that, buddy.
Wait. He was blackmailing me. To get to her. Something he didn't want her to know. Well, fuck, there was the solution surrounded by blinking lights, right in front of my damn eyes.
"Why don't you tell her, Zach? You're in an open, honest relationship, aren't you?"
I had him backed into a corner.
The snap of his teeth was audible as he unwound his arms from around my sister, shoving her out of the way.
I let the red take over.
I met him punch for punch, kick for kick. "Don't you ever fucking push her!" I shouted, voice nearly shaking the walls, "Tell her about the answer keys! The ones I stole!"
The asshole roared, but he knew he was losing this battle, and losing fast.
I let my fist smash into his chest, knocking the breath out of him. "Tell her how you blackmailed me! Tell her how you USED her!"
Over all the sounds of skin meeting skin, I made out Penny's gasp of disbelief. Good. I didn't want my sister upset, but she deserved to know--deserved to know who Zachary Oliver really was.
I caught sight of his left fist in my periphery, dodging it and landing one home on the side of his head. I felt my knuckles tear open, and grinned with the grim satisfaction that I had the obvious upper hand In this fight.
All of a sudden, an iron grip grasped my shoulders and pried me away from my punching bag, I struggled uselessly, as the person who had me in their hold overpowered me easily..
"Owen David Kherrington!" A deep bass roared, "Stop, right now!"
I would know that steely tone anywhere.
Well. Fuck.