by Mandi Oyster
I crushed his hand. I twisted my hoodie strings together. What would happen if I tried to hurt somebody? “I only meant to keep him from hitting Cody.”
Cody put his hand on my shoulder and squeezed. “Maybe they’ll back off now.”
“No … probably not.” I put my hand over his. “Now, I actually deserve their anger.”
“Don’t blame yourself,” Sarah said. “Those boys shouldn’t have hidden in the trees waiting to ambush you. Violence begets violence.”
“If you wouldn’t have stopped him, I’d have two bruised cheeks,” Cody said.
Samantha added, “Who knows what else would’ve happened?”
“None of you understand what it’s like to do this to somebody,” I said. “If you had punched Bryce, you would’ve meant to”—I waved my hands in the air while explaining my position—“and you would’ve known what you were doing to him, how much force you inflicted. Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad we got away from them. I’m glad you didn’t get hit again. But, Bryce shouldn’t have gotten hurt as badly as he did.”
Cody shook his head. “What you don’t understand, is if he hadn’t gotten hurt that bad, he would’ve been able to catch us. Or, Alvin would’ve taken off after us. Then you might’ve gotten hurt.”
I stopped walking. “I’m the one who should’ve been hurt!”
“Dacia, Cody knew what he was getting himself into,” Samantha sighed. “He can’t keep himself from trying to protect you. He cares about you too much.”
“She’s right,” Cody admitted. “I wouldn’t let anything bad happen to you if I could prevent it.”
“I put him in that position,” Sarah stated. “I’m the one who suggested he start walking to and from your lessons with you. Cody has been following my instructions.”
I clenched my hand in the hair at the top of my head and stared at the stars. “Sarah, you had nothing to do with it. I’m the one who stayed at the lake with him until after dark.” How can I make them understand I don’t want anybody to get hurt because of me? I released my hair and took a deep breath. Quietly, I said, “I never should’ve let Cody put himself in that position.”
“What?” Cody asked like that was the dumbest thing he’d ever heard. “You wanted to go with Samantha. I made you stay.”
I didn’t want to admit it, but Cody was right. I’d tried to leave a couple times, but I still felt like the whole thing was my fault. I felt like a terrible person for hurting Bryce. There was no way he could understand what had happened to him, and even though he was a rotten egg, I didn’t think he deserved it.
When we got to my room, I went over to the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of water. “Does anybody else want something to drink?”
I handed everyone water and sat down. I wanted all of us to be able to get some sleep tonight and knew that wouldn’t happen until they heard about my dream. Even though I hated talking about my nightmares, I started right into this one, careful not to leave out any details. As I told them, I became uneasy. My pulse galloped, and I gripped the armrests of the chair in an attempt to keep from fleeing the room.
When I got to the part about freezing the lake, a chill came over me. Sarah, Samantha, and Cody looked from my face to my hands and then back to my face. Their expressions were a mixture of concern and horror. I couldn’t stand for them to look at me like that. “What?”
Sarah spoke up first, “Dacia, why don’t you try to calm down?”
“I’m fine,” I said through clenched teeth. “Just stop looking at me like that!”
“It’s, uh, hard to,” Cody stammered. “You’re sitting on a froz—a frozen chair.”
Samantha nodded in agreement but didn’t say anything.
“Wha …” I began to ask before looking down. I threw my hands up and jumped out of the chair.
“It’s okay, Dacia,” Sarah said in a calm, relaxing voice.
I looked down at the frozen blue chair and wondered how I could have turned it into an ice cube without even realizing it. I pulled my hand through my hair, and a nervous laugh escaped my lips. “I guess that’s why I felt so cold all of the sudden.”
Before our eyes, the ice receded. The chair wasn’t even wet. It was as if the ice had evaporated.
I bent over, hands on my knees. “I have to get a grip on my powers. This is getting ridiculous.”
Cody rubbed my shoulder. His mouth was next to my ear, his words only for me. “You’re okay. You don’t have to talk to us anymore.”
I squeezed his hand. “I’ll finish.” I sat on the edge of the chair and went on. Stay calm. “The nightmare was vivid and terrifying.” My hands trembled. Keep calm. You can do this. “But waking up wounded … what am I supposed to think of that?”
Cody’s lips were drawn into a deep frown. Samantha folded her arms over her chest and looked at the ground.
Sarah shook her head. “My grandfather never warned me about anything like this.”
“I don’t know if I’ll be able to get any more sleep tonight—” I covered a yawn “—but you should try.”
“Yes, you’re right.” Sarah stood. “You need to try to sleep, too.”
“I’m a little scared to close my eyes.” I stared off into space. “What if next time, it’s more than just a cut?”
Sarah squeezed my shoulder. “I don’t know what to tell you.”
“Before you go, you should see this.” Samantha held up my pajama shirt.
Sarah looked from the top to me, and Cody put his arm around my shoulders. It seemed that was becoming his favorite position. “You’re going to be all right.”
“I hope you’re right, Cody.”
“I assume that happened when Nefarious grabbed you,” Sarah said.
I lifted one shoulder. “That’s my guess.”
She pinched the bridge of her nose. “I’m going to have to think about this.” She turned to Cody. “Come on. Let’s get out of here so these two can get some rest. It would be best if I went with you. That way Marcy won’t be able to say anything.”
Cody rubbed my head and stood up to leave. “See you both tomorrow.”
“Goodnight.” Samantha climbed into her loft.
“Goodnight.” I grabbed my report, climbed into my loft, threw my bloody pillow on the floor and grabbed one off the end of my bed. I dimmed my light and started writing my report. Maybe I would actually get it done ahead of schedule.
Sometime in the wee hours of morning, my pen fell to the floor, and I drifted off to sleep. I woke up to the buzzing of my alarm clock.
Standing at the sink, I brushed my teeth. I looked in the mirror. Almost half of my face was covered by a bandage. I pulled it back and gasped. The butterfly stitches remained on my face, but there was no sign of an injury.
“Samantha. Wake up.” Panic rose in my voice.
“What?” she responded with a yawn.
“Did Cody and Sarah come to our room last night?”
“What kind of question is that?” She rolled over, hugging her pillow. “Of course they came. We went over to the nurse’s office. Don’t you remember?”
“I thought I remembered, but when I looked at my face, I thought maybe I had dreamed the whole thing.”
“Why?” She sat up. “What’s wrong with your face?”
I walked over to her bed and showed her.
“Oh, my God!” Her hand covered her mouth. “If you run into the nurse, she’ll never understand!”
“You’re right. I figured I’d take the butterflies off and pretend nothing happened, but too many people saw me.”
Samantha yawned. “At least Nurse Heron didn’t think you needed stitches.”
“Yeah, that would’ve been bad.” I slung my backpack over my shoulder. “By the way, my report is done. It’s sitting by Co
okie Monster.”
“All right, Cody’s buying dinner Friday!” Samantha did a little dance.
I closed the door and let the mask of happiness slip off my face. Friday … it’s only Monday. After last night’s dream, I couldn’t help but wonder what might happen before Friday got here.
Chapter 17
Crushing Weight Of Guilt
I trudged to speech class, not looking forward to sitting in a room with the Potato Heads without Cody or Samantha around for moral support. With my head down, I opened the door. I didn’t want to see any of them, but I felt my eyes being pulled in their direction. All four sat in the upper corner of the auditorium-style seating. Bryce’s right hand stuck out of a sling. His cast appeared bulky and uncomfortable. My gut wrenched, and guilt tipped my head forward.
I took a deep breath and slunk to my seat. The classroom was filled with noisy students. I tried to eavesdrop on one of the many conversations, but none held my attention. Instead, my eyes were drawn back to Bryce’s hand. How did I do that to him? I wanted to apologize. I stood up, but as soon as they noticed me, I sat back down. Alvin narrowed his eyes at me and punched his hand.
I lowered my head. This isn’t good. Why can’t he see it’s better to stay away from me?
Mrs. Mantis walked up to the podium. “Vanessa Badger, you’re up.”
Vanessa made eye contact with all the students as she recited her speech. When her eyes met mine, she glared, and I felt her hatred. She’d stood up for me when Cassandra dumped her cappuccino on my lap. Now she hated me as much as the others did.
Since I recited my speech in Friday’s class, I stretched out and listened to the other students. Somehow I managed to keep my eyes open through all the speeches about the history of cartoons, the chores done on a farm, how cell phones work and every other topic imaginable. Exhaustion weighed heavily on me, but I fought off the urge to snooze. I wouldn’t allow myself to fall asleep in front of anybody. If I started screaming or something weird happened, even more students would think I was a freak.
As soon as class ended, I jumped out of my seat and ran down the stairs, squeezing past any students who stepped in front of me. This time I refused to give in and let my eyes be drawn to Bryce’s hand. I darted out of the room and didn’t slow down when the cool breeze hit my face.
I should’ve taken Cody up on his offer to walk me to and from my classes today. I need to quit being so stubborn.
Footsteps pounded against the ground behind me. I quickened my pace. So did they. My pulse ratcheted up another notch. I needed to get away. If I turned and saw Alvin or one of the others, I didn’t know if I could control myself.
I searched for an escape, but I was in the middle of the courtyard. The footsteps closed in on me. Adrenaline rushed through my veins, urging me to run or fight. I couldn’t fear confrontations forever. I needed to face them. I stopped and turned, my hands held in front of me ready to defend myself.
My jaw dropped.
“Cody Hawks, don’t you ever do that again!” I couldn’t believe Cody would walk up behind me without letting me know it was him. “I figured you were one of them. You’re lucky I didn’t hurt you!” The adrenaline spike left my arms and legs shaky.
He held his hands up in surrender and walked toward me. “Sorry. I needed to see if you were okay.”
My heartbeat resumed its normal rhythm. “Did Samantha tell you about my face?”
“Yeah.” He touched the bandage. “I don’t get it.”
“Me either.” His touch made my stomach flutter. I pulled away from him. “Aren’t you supposed to be in class?”
He looked down and kicked the dirt. “I was worried. You had class with your archenemies. I wanted to make sure you were safe.”
“So, now they’re my archenemies, are they?” I bumped my hip into him. “I always wanted to be a comic book superhero.”
Cody laughed.
“It’s very sweet of you, but you can’t keep skipping your classes.”
“Who says I’m skipping?” He jerked his head back and pointed at himself. “I’m fashionably late. There’s a difference.”
“You’d better get going.” I nudged him. “I’m going to sit in the classroom and work on my speech assignment.”
“You should work on your book report instead,” he suggested. “Although, you could buy the food for a change.”
“Oh, didn’t I tell you?” I shot him a sly grin. “I got up early this morning and put the final touches on it, so I guess you’re buying. Samantha’s counting on it.”
“I shouldn’t bet against you.” He shook his head, but his blue eyes held a smile. “It gives you the kick-in-the-butt you need.” By this time, we arrived at my next classroom. Cody held the door open for me. “You can go alone from here. Be a good girl, and don’t leave.”
The speech I was working on was supposed to be another how-to speech. With the way things were going, I thought maybe I should give my speech on ‘How to Intimidate Your Enemies and Worry Your Friends’. It took me twice as long to come up with a topic as it took me to write the speech.
I was putting the finishing touches on it when the other students started filing into the classroom. Cassandra and Bryce came in together. They steered clear of me, watching me as they passed by my desk. I wanted to lurch out at them to see if they’d jump. It took all the self-control I could muster not to.
Cody walked in the door a couple minutes later. He nodded toward them as he sat down, “They bother you?”
“No, I don’t think Bryce will be a problem until his hand heals.” I paused while thinking about it. “Alvin could be an issue if I run into him by myself. He seems to be holding a grudge. Hopefully, I won’t have to worry about it, though.” I rubbed my arm. “I don’t want to hurt anybody else.”
The classroom quieted down as Martha Basil entered the room. Mrs. Basil was a stern woman who was nearing sixty. She tolerated no talking in her class unless answering one of her many questions. Her hair was as white as the new-fallen snow, and her eyes were a faded shade of blue. She informed us on the first day that all we needed to do to pass her class was to turn in all our assignments and listen to her without interrupting.
When class ended, Cassandra and Bryce exited the classroom in the same fashion they had entered. I’d never thought of myself as intimidating, but if it kept them from bothering me, I could learn to live with it.
“After lunch, I’m walking you to your next class.” Cody’s voice had a hard edge. “No arguments.”
“Fine.”
His voice softened. “I’m worried about you, and I feel better knowing you’re not alone.”
“I’ve always wanted a bodyguard.” I winked at him. “It might as well be you.”
Oil Painting with Pete Quercus was without a doubt my favorite class. Mr. Quercus was only a couple inches taller than me and very muscular. He wore his salt and pepper hair in a braid that nearly reached his waist. He looked like he belonged on a Harley, not teaching class, but boy could he paint.
I stood in front of my canvas. My brush flew across it. The scene was dark, eerie, not at all what I’d expected. I’d told Mr. Quercus I was going to paint mountains with a herd of wild horses running in front of them. I stepped back, and my brush fell to the floor with a thud. I’d painted my nightmare. Nefarious stared up at me from Falcon Lake.
“Interesting.”
I jumped at the sound of Mr. Quercus’ voice.
He rubbed his chin. “You’ve got a dark side.”
I couldn’t tear my eyes from the painting. “No … it’s a nightmare.” The room felt small, and the air thickened.
“It’s not a nightmare.” He rested his hand on my shoulder. “This is an excellent painting. You’ve got real talent.”
“That’s a sce
ne from my nightmare.”
His head tilted to the side. “Maybe now that you’ve painted it, it won’t hold any power over you.”
If only.
The next day, Cody knocked on my door fifteen minutes before Samantha and I had to leave for Advanced Algebra. “Your escort has arrived,” he said, holding out his arm for me to take. “You ready, Samantha?”
“Yeah.” She grabbed her backpack.
Alvin and Vanessa stood outside Kalmia Hall when we arrived. “So now you can’t go anywhere without Cody,” Alvin said.
Cody stepped forward, but I put my hand on his chest. “I don’t recall either of you walking alone.”
“It doesn’t matter. We can wait.” Vanessa’s face twisted with anger. They turned and walked into the building, slamming the door in our faces.
“Wait? For what?” Samantha asked.
“I don’t know, but you’re not going anywhere without me,” Cody said.
“I know, I know.” I threw the door open and stomped to my seat. Will I have to hurt all of them before this is over?
I couldn’t focus on algebra; my mind kept wandering to Alvin, Vanessa, Nefarious and my afternoon lesson with Sarah. Off and on throughout the class, I looked around the room to find Alvin glaring at me. The expression on his face was one of extreme hatred. “He’s going to try to get even with me,” I whispered. “Why can’t he just realize the same thing will happen to him?”
Cody put his hand over mine but said nothing.
When class ended, we crammed our things in our bags. I was thankful it was my only class for the day.
“Alvin was making me nervous in there,” Samantha said when we stepped outside. “He kept shooting daggers at you.”
“I noticed, too,” Cody said. “You aren’t allowed to open your door without me around.”
“Cody”—I put my hands on my hips—“I appreciate your concern, but I can’t spend my life hiding from the Potato Heads.”