she felt it too.
By the time September rolled we were in a nice routine, hiding everything from her father. That didn’t stop him from beating on her twice a week, of course, but at least she had some place to go in the aftermath. A safe place, where she knew I’d take care of her as best I could.
And when school started back up, I found out just how in love with her I really was, and I wasn’t afraid to let her know it.
* * *
“Hey Nicky.”
I spun around at the sound of her sweet voice, smiling the way I always smiled when I saw her: like a lovesick hound dog. She wore a long, flowing skirt that went down to her ankles, and a nice pink blouse that was covered with a cardigan to keep Sarah warm from the chilly bite of October, and to cover her bruises.
“Hey babes,” I said, leaning in to kiss her. I brushed her on the arm and she winced, pulling gently away. “You okay?”
She nodded. “I don’t want to talk about that.”
We kissed again as the locker next to mine slammed shut and Shakes told us to get a room, like he always did when he caught us in a lip lock. Angie soon joined us, saying hello to Sarah and stealing Shake’s Yankees cap. Neither Sarah or I had said anything yet, but it was obvious from the way those two acted around one another that they’d eventually hook up.
“What’s goin’ on?” Angie asked. “We heading to the movies tonight or what?”
“You in?” I asked, throwing my arm around Sarah.
She didn’t say anything, and I could see the look of worry in her eyes. Now that school had started back up her father was more cautious of who she went out with, but Angie had been over there enough times that it shouldn’t be a problem for her to sneak away, as long as he thought Sarah was with her and no one else.
“Hey, it’ll be okay,” I said, squeezing her carefully to avoid hurting her fresh bruises. “Just play it like we always do.”
“Yeah, okay,” she said.
“Excellent,” Shakes added. “What are we going to see, that new horror flick? What’s it called? Evil Zombies 7 , or something like that?”
“No way,” Angie smacked him with his own hat. “I wanna see Love Sick .”
“Sarah?” I asked.
She shrugged. “I’m good with either, as long as I’m with you.”
Shakes stuck a finger down his throat, pretending to vomit. Angie kissed Sarah on the top of her head and wiped an imaginary tear from her eye. “You two are the cutest, you know that?”
“What can I say,” I said. “She’s my girl.”
First bell rang, and it was time to disperse so we wouldn’t be late for our classes. I kissed Sarah goodbye one last time and watched her head down the hall.
A group of guys were walking in the opposite direction, and one of them shot her a look, spinning around and whistling. When they got closer, I heard him say to his friends, “Man, that chick used to be so freaky, now look at her. I’d definitely tap that ass.”
I’m not a violent person by nature, but when I heard that I completely lost it. The guy was at least two inches taller and had about thirty pounds on me, but that didn’t matter. All that mattered was protecting Sarah’s honor, and there was no way I was going to let anyone disrespect her like that.
Without saying anything, I charged him from behind and threw him into the lockers. A crowd immediately began to gather around us in the halls. He spun around and threw a punch, but I ducked it and kneed him in the gut. When he doubled over, I delivered another knee to his face that broke his nose. Everything I’d been holding in up to that point with Sarah’s father—the frustration and anger I felt at not being able to do anything—gushed forth in a fury of punches and kicks that had me seeing red. To me, this guy represented all that had gone wrong in Sarah’s life, and I was hell bent on fixing it.
By the time it was over, dude was laid out on the ground covered in blood. Some of it was on my shirt, and I felt arms grasping
By the time September rolled we were in a nice routine, hiding everything from her father. That didn’t stop him from beating on her twice a week, of course, but at least she had some place to go in the aftermath. A safe place, where she knew I’d take care of her as best I could.
And when school started back up, I found out just how in love with her I really was, and I wasn’t afraid to let her know it.
* * *
“Hey Nicky.”
I spun around at the sound of her sweet voice, smiling the way I always smiled when I saw her: like a lovesick hound dog. She wore a long, flowing skirt that went down to her ankles, and a nice pink blouse that was covered with a cardigan to keep Sarah warm from the chilly bite of October, and to cover her bruises.
“Hey babes,” I said, leaning in to kiss her. I brushed her on the arm and she winced, pulling gently away. “You okay?”
She nodded. “I don’t want to talk about that.”
We kissed again as the locker next to mine slammed shut and Shakes told us to get a room, like he always did when he caught us in a lip lock. Angie soon joined us, saying hello to Sarah and stealing Shake’s Yankees cap. Neither Sarah or I had said anything yet, but it was obvious from the way those two acted around one another that they’d eventually hook up.
“What’s goin’ on?” Angie asked. “We heading to the movies tonight or what?”
“You in?” I asked, throwing my arm around Sarah.
She didn’t say anything, and I could see the look of worry in her eyes. Now that school had started back up her father was more cautious of who she went out with, but Angie had been over there enough times that it shouldn’t be a problem for her to sneak away, as long as he thought Sarah was with her and no one else.
“Hey, it’ll be okay,” I said, squeezing her carefully to avoid hurting her fresh bruises. “Just play it like we always do.”
“Yeah, okay,” she said.
“Excellent,” Shakes added. “What are we going to see, that new horror flick? What’s it called? Evil Zombies 7 , or something like that?”
“No way,” Angie smacked him with his own hat. “I wanna see Love Sick .”
“Sarah?” I asked.
She shrugged. “I’m good with either, as long as I’m with you.”
Shakes stuck a finger down his throat, pretending to vomit. Angie kissed Sarah on the top of her head and wiped an imaginary tear from her eye. “You two are the cutest, you know that?”
“What can I say,” I said. “She’s my girl.”
First bell rang, and it was time to disperse so we wouldn’t be late for our classes. I kissed Sarah goodbye one last time and watched her head down the hall.
A group of guys were walking in the opposite direction, and one of them shot her a look, spinning around and whistling. When they got closer, I heard him say to his friends, “Man, that chick used to be so freaky, now look at her. I’d definitely tap that ass.”
I’m not a violent person by nature, but when I heard that I completely lost it. The guy was at least two inches taller and had about thirty pounds on me, but that didn’t matter. All that mattered was protecting Sarah’s honor, and there was no way I was going to let anyone disrespect her like that.
Without saying anything, I charged him from behind and threw him into the lockers. A crowd immediately began to gather around us in the halls. He spun around and threw a punch, but I ducked it and kneed him in the gut. When he doubled over, I delivered another knee to his face that broke his nose. Everything I’d been holding in up to that point with Sarah’s father—the frustration and anger I felt at not being able to do anything—gushed forth in a fury of punches and kicks that had me seeing red. To me, this guy represented all that had gone wrong in Sarah’s life, and I was hell bent on fixing it.
By the time it was over, dude was laid out on the ground covered in blood. Some of it was on my shirt, and I felt arms grasping
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