“Gram,” Raf whispered.“Sorry, dear! I just wanted to check on your dad,” Agatha apologized.“No! Everything is okay! It’s just still painful for me to think about it. My dad is fine. All of us are still hurt because the absence of mom, however we try to hold up,” I answered and smiled.“That’s good!”“Thank you very much for your cookies and tea, but I have to go!” I went to the doors. “Goodbye! Have a nice day!” I left their house, walking automatically. In fact, I was afraid that I would cry. I didn’t like others to see me in this state. But Raf ran after me.“Peanut, are you okay?” he asked, as he approached me.“Yes...” I trailed off. “You know what? Nothing is okay. It hurts every time someone mentions her. It still looks like a nightmare for me. And the thing is I really want to stop this feeling!”

When teacher turned to the board, continuing explaining, all of the students started laughing loudly. I felt like I was the one, who did that, somehow. “What? Why are you laughing?” Mr. Adams asked, bewildered. Nobody answered and we continued laughing. I couldn’t help, but laugh too. Then, Raf came in and was still laughing. “Oh, Mr. Adams! Someone glued the sign to your back! Poor you! Why are you laughing, guys? Something like that could happen to everyone!” Raf mumbled and laughed. Mr. Adams took the sign and read it. “Raffael King! This is your doing, right?” teacher screamed. “Me?! No chance in hell!” he laughed and tried to keep a straight face. “Detention!” he screamed and Raf sat back near me. “Look! You are helping someone and then they are screaming and punishing you! This is so ungrateful!” Raf claimed. Everyone continued guffawing. “Hush!” I whispered, but still was laughing.  

I looked up and saw Raf looking at our hands and then turning his gaze on me. I shook my head, narrowed my eyes and went to my seat. In fact, my seat was next to Raf, but there was Charlotte. I sat far from them with James. “Why did you do it?” I asked James, not taking my gaze from the copybook.“Well, firstly, I couldn’t make you talk to me another way. Secondly, it made him furious!” James whispered.“Are you blind? It didn’t make him furious at all! He doesn’t care! He is dating Charlotte!” I splashed out my anger.“Is it a problem for you?” He smirked.“No!”“Good, because as I said, you are a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma, and I won’t let someone else solve your mystery!” James exclaimed and backed at the spine of the chair, crossing his hands across the chest.The flash creeped across my cheeks and I stopped tal

“Hey, Kylie!” I heard a familiar voice. It was James.“God! You startled me! What are you doing here?” I asked him, heavily breathing.“Grace asked me to give you a lift!”“Oh, well!” “So you stopped hating me, right?” he asked me.“Well, I hate you less now.” I laughed and he giggled.“This is the progress!” he exclaimed. “You understand that I didn’t do anything wrong, right? This was his parents’ choice.”I didn’t say anything and looked out the window. When we arrived, we went inside the house.“Hey, Kylie!” Grace greeted, as she opened the doors.“Hi, Grace!” I answered. We hugged each other.“Come in!”We went to the living room.“Kylie!” Mason, Logan, Liam and Alexa screamed.“Hey, guys!” I said and

“Raffael King! Stop!” Coach came and started screaming.Other boys came as well and started pulling them away. But Raf didn’t move an inch. He was mad and wrathful. “Raf! Stop!” other students started screaming.He didn’t hear anyone. He was beating James up.“Raffael!” I screamed.That was when he looked up and stopped fighting.I looked at Raf and shook my head in disappointment.“Peanut...” he said.I ran to James and sat on my knees to look at him.“James!” I started calling him.He was unconscious.“James!” I screamed and started hitting him softly on his face.Then I felt his hand brushing my hand.“Everything’s okay,” he whispered, opening slowly his eyes. When I started looking at his face, I saw a lot of bruises, his eye couldn’t open up. And blood was coming fr