Because I knew this meant taking another step for Clint and me.A step I felt weâd both been ready for.âYou want to rehearse?âI peeked over at Michael. âWhat?âHe snickered. âRehearse. You know, what youâre going to say to him tonight.âI shrugged. âNah. Iâm good. I usually wing it with stuff like this.ââYouâre going to wing it when it comes to telling Clint how you feel for the very first time>ââI mean, I usually wing it with my English speeches and I do just fine with those.âHe paused. âYou didnât plan out that speech you gave last year?âI shook my head. âNope.ââThat massive speech you gave on 1984 sort of applying today.ââAre you not hearing me right? Clean out your ears, Michael.âHe chuckled. âHoly shit, youâre amazing. You know that?âI smiled. âAnd I hope thatâs one of Clintâs many reactions tonight.ââIf it isnât, Iâll kick his ass for you.ââMichael!ââWhat? Come on, Rae. I see how happy he makes you. I see how much this boy means to you. And if he doesn't love you o
And I decided she would be. If she knew what was happening right now, sheâd be proud. Possibly screaming at me like Cecilia currently was. But sheâd be proud after the fact.Not today, Dad. Youâre done with this shit today.The only thing I processed was the smell of alcohol. The only thing I felt was my fatherâs storm unleashing against me. He held so much anger within him. He had such fury in his fists. The only thing I saw were his angry eyes coming at me as I shoved him in his chest, listening as Cecilia screamed in the background.âStop it! Iâm calling the police if you donât cut it out right now!âHer voice faded away. Fell into the background as I moved and ducked my father. Whatever this storm brewed from, I wasnât going to be my fatherâs punching bag any longer. If he wanted a fight, a fight is what heâd get. And Iâd make sure to repay him for every fist that ever connected with my face. Iâd repay him for every bruise he ever wrung around my neck. Iâd repay him for every knee
I felt myself blush. âOkay, yes. We are officially together. So, yeah. Weâre going to prom together.ââYou still donât sound too sure of that. Is everything going okay with his recuperation?âI shrugged. âI mean, heâs always struggling with his dad. Which Iâm sure is affecting his recuperation efforts. But heâs okay. Far as I can tell.ââIâd like to get his dad in a room for a few minutes.âI scoffed. âWouldn't we all.ââSo, how are the two of you? You know, now that heâs on the mend?âI felt myself blush deeper. âI guess weâre good.ââYou guess, huh?ââYouâre a dick, you know that?âHe chuckled. âMaybe a bit. Can I ask you something, though?ââOf course. I mean, you have to spit it out soon because I only have one more minute, butâââDo you love him?âThe question didnât catch me as off-guard as I figured it would. In fact, it was easy to answer. I bit down onto the inside of my cheek as I turned to face Michael. And with a nod of my head, I answered his question.âYeah. I really thi
I stopped for one last breather a couple of blocks away from my house. I watched it looming in the distance, sparkling underneath the harshness of the sun. Sweat dripped down my back as I sighed. I watched the off-colored white glisten against the deep red shutters of the house. During the entirety of my childhood, I remembered that house in three distinct ways. Three different sets of colors that all popped more than the houses around it. Maybe it was the fresh coats of paint put on it every year that kept the house lively. Maybe it was the fact that it was the biggest house on the block. Or, maybe, it was the fact that we had the only house with a wrap-around porch as well as a wrought iron front gate that was barely utilized.Either way, it stood out.I picked up the pace. I went from standing still to walking. To speed walking. To jogging. I burst into a sprint, pumping air through my lungs and feeling them expand into my back. I felt the last pangs from my ribcage fall free, rele
âWhat? I mean, seriously. Come on. Your dad canât actually think any of this was your fault. They almost killed you. They were drunk, from what I could gather from that night. They should be rotting away in jail. Or juvie. Or something.âI shrugged. âMy father pretty much showed his ass in that office. Said things like I needed to be focusing on school instead of chasing down four guys Iâd provoked.âAlyâs jaw dropped open. âWhat!?ââHe also said Iâd been a problem child my whole life. Essentially tried to paint me as some bad boy trying to get the one-up on someone before they got the one-up on me. He told the lawyer that he didnât see those boys pressing assault charges on me when I started the fight. So why should I press attempted murder charges on them simply because they were seeking out revenge like most young boys do?âMikeâs face turned red. âIs it always like this with your father?âI sighed. âI mean, letâs just say Iâve talked a big game in the past with bruises Iâve come t
I snickered. âWhich is apparently not very good. I know somethingâs wrong. Do you want to talk about it?âClint dropped his bag. âJustâthat shit with the lawyer yesterday.âI nodded. âWhat happened?âHe leaned against the brick wall of the school. âDadâs back in town.ââOh, no.ââOh, yeah. I told Cecilia time and time again not to tell Dad about the fucking lawyer. And of course, she didnât listen. Sheâs awesome, but she never fucking listens. Itâs like she thinks Dadâs actually gonna be this decent-as-fuck person one of these days. Then she gets shocked and hurt and scared when he loses his shit. Sheâs been married to him for four years! The fuck is she thinking!?âI placed my hands against his chest. âDeep breaths. Come on, take them with me. There we go.âI walked Clint through some even breathing. He was shaking against my hands, and I needed him to settle down. That explained everything. With his father back in town, shit always popped off. I smoothed my hands over his torso, try