Unlocked

by Margo Kelly

“Probably,” I said, but even now, as Plug sat back and licked his lips, desire for him churned in my stomach. I longed for his lips to press against mine. A tinge of guilt pricked my heart, and I recalled the tenderness in Manny’s eyes, his fingers at the back of my neck, and the shivers along my spine when he first kissed me on the Ferris wheel. I had feelings for them both.

  “Hannah?” Plug said.

  I halfheartedly smiled. “Just keep your hands where I can see them.”

  “Promise.” He waggled his fingers in the air and then slipped them beneath mine. “Are you ready to talk about what happened in the bathroom last night?”

  If I told him, maybe it would minimize the fear lurking in the back of my mind. I squeezed his hand. “My eyes changed color in the mirror. Then something like a demon appeared behind me, but it disappeared when I turned to face it.”

  “You tried to face it,” Plug said. “That’s huge.” His reassurance comforted me.

  “But I lost time. I don’t remember undressing. Then when you knocked, I opened my eyes, and there was a guy behind me.” My breathing sped up, and my armpits grew wet with sweat. “He groped me with his big, hairy hands.”

  “He can’t hurt you here,” Plug said. “You’re okay now.”

  “His facial features were in shadows. I only saw his hands and felt his body against mine.” I glanced at Plug’s long fingers. “Did you see him when you came into the bathroom? Or was it another one of my delusions?”

  “I only saw you, but a demon could’ve manifested as a man and been only visible to you,” Plug said. “Did anything else happen after I left?”

  “I have no idea when you left. I slept hard on the couch until my mom woke me this morning when she left for work.”

  “Your mom got home around midnight. She was surprised to see me, but I told her we’d fallen asleep watching a movie. I doubt she bought it. I apologized and left. But when I was there, nothing else weird happened.”

  “Maybe the evil spirit used up his energy reserves attacking me physically.”

  “You researched that?” Plug asked.

  “No.” I laughed. “The extent of my knowledge comes from horror movies, which, by the way, I will never watch again.”

  Plug smiled and rubbed his callused thumb across the back of my hand. “So everything was fine in the bathroom this morning?”

  “Well, I couldn’t bring myself to open the door.”

  “That’s okay,” Plug said. “Policing your thoughts and practicing the guided imagery will help you overcome all of this.”

  I pointed at the time on the dashboard clock. “We’re late,” I said. Peregrine was a five-minute drive away, and the first bell was about to ring.

  Plug twisted the key in the ignition, and we rode in comfortable silence.

  We turned into the parking lot, and my phone chimed. Plug pulled into the spot next to Kyla’s Mini Cooper, where Nick and Kyla still sat inside. I checked my phone before I got out of the El Camino.

  A text from Manny read: Where RU?

  I messaged back: At school. Why?

  I slipped the phone into my pocket and stepped out to join the other three at the front of the vehicle. Plug held out a huge, wrapped present to me.

  “Happy birthday!” they chimed.

  “It’s not my birthday,” I said.

  “Today, it is,” Kyla said. In the bright sunlight, her violet hair complemented her marigold blouse.

  “Can’t believe you found one,” Plug said to Kyla.

  “It was a challenge with such short notice.” She patted the gift. “Open it, Hannah. It’s from all of us.”

  I set my backpack on the ground, and my phone chimed in my pocket. I ignored it and focused on the surprise. I tore off the wrapping paper, and my breath caught. I drew my fingertips across the pristine cover of the art history book, still wrapped in cellophane, untarnished by anyone’s hands.

  “We’re a team,” Plug said. “We’ll help you through this.” He pulled me into a hug. I tensed at the full contact, but I closed my eyes and reminded myself I was all right. I relaxed, and then Kyla joined our embrace. I no longer felt as if I was drowning. Plug was my life preserver, and I could conquer anything as long as I held on.

  “Okay. Let the girl breathe,” Nick said. Plug and Kyla drew back from me. The air was crisp, the sun was bright, and today was a new beginning.

  I lifted the heavy book. “Let’s take this to Rose now, so there’s no possible chance it can get damaged.”

  “Sounds good,” Plug said and nudged the book from my clutch into his own.

  The tardy bell rang.

  “Who will work the equipment for the broadcast if we’re late?” I asked.

  “They’ll survive without us,” Nick said. His white T-shirt with simple black letters read: IF LIFE GIVES YOU MELONS, YOU MAY BE DYSLEXIC. “Mr. Arnold will replace us with other students without even thinking twice.”

  Plug linked his free arm through mine and said, “As far as I’m concerned, you are irreplaceable.”

  “Thanks, Plug.”

  “Rose has a work period first hour,” Kyla said. “Let’s use the outer door.” She pointed toward the end of the building.

  “How do you know?” I asked.

  “We’ve been her students for the last three years,” Kyla said. “She’s like a mother to us, and she’ll give us a pass to get into first period late.”

  Kyla knocked on the locked door, and few seconds later, Rose opened it. The fragrance of freshly brewed herbal tea and crisply toasted bagels washed over me. I could always count on Rose’s room having a delicious new aroma.

  “Good morning,” Rose said.

  Plug set the book on the desk next to her cream-cheese-covered bagel.

  “What’s this?” Rose asked.

  “I tore a page in the book you loaned me,” I said. “My friends were generous enough to help me find a replacement for you.”

  Rose reached out and squeezed my hand. I remained calm.

  “Thank you,” she said, “but you are all tardy. You need to get to class.” She stepped away from me and tore four passes off of a tablet.

  Plug stole a bite from Rose’s bagel, and she smacked his hand.

  “That does not belong to you,” she said. He laughed through a mouthful of food. She plucked the half-eaten bread from his clutch, and then she gave us the passes.

  Nick said goodbye to Kyla, and she headed down a different hall. The rest of us jogged toward broadcasting.

  We skidded to a stop at the studio entrance. Nick blocked my view, but I knew the broadcast was already in progress, because Chelsea’s bone-grating voice carried a mile away.

  Plug wrapped his arm around my waist, and I relaxed into him. I caught his gaze, and electricity lit through me. Plug leaned in and paused. I knew he wanted to kiss me, but his eyes waited for my consent. The ache and hunger I felt for him eroded my fidelity to Manny. We were at school, and anyone could see us. Someone would tell Manny, but I almost didn’t care anymore, because with Plug I felt invincible. All my problems and the world around us faded away. I closed the distance between us and kissed Plug. He tasted like cream cheese.

  Nick cleared his throat, but Plug and I continued kissing. Plug pulled me against him, and I stroked the silver ring in his lip with my tongue.

  “Dude!” Nick said and whacked Plug’s shoulder.

  Plug drew back from me, and Manny tackled him to the floor. Rage flushed Manny’s face, and carpet burns covered his elbows.

  Chelsea screamed from the other room, and the lens of the abandoned pedestal camera drifted toward the floor. Students rushed around Manny and Plug to watch them fight. My cheeks heated up. Why didn’t Manny tell me he was coming back today?

  “Go to a public service announcement!” Mr. Arnold yelled at the broadcast crew.

  Manny pounded Plug over and over with his fist. His class ring bit into Plug’s flesh. The class ring I’d talked Manny into getting so we would remember our senior year togethe
r. Plug did nothing to fight back. He just lay there and watched each blow come at him.

  I clutched Manny’s shirt and tried to pull him off, but I was too scrawny. Nick grabbed Manny’s fist and prevented another swing from connecting.

  “Don’t hurt him!” I yelled. Nick glared at me. His biceps bulged as he restrained Manny.

  Mr. Arnold gripped Manny’s shoulders. Together, he and Nick hauled Manny off Plug. Manny got in a swift kick to Plug’s side before Nick shoved Manny in the chest. Manny bent forward, held his ribs, and howled in pain.

  “Stop!” I yelled.

  “Take Manny to the nurse,” Mr. Arnold said to Mark.

  Mark slipped his arm under Manny’s shoulder to support him. I grabbed Manny’s hand, but he yanked it away.

  Mr. Arnold clutched my elbow.

  “Let go!” I wrenched away from him.

  I reached out for Manny, but he staggered backward. “Manny—”

  “I don’t even recognize you,” he said. His eyes welled, but he lifted his chin toward the ceiling so no tears would fall. Mark urged him through the door.

  “Go help with the camera,” Mr. Arnold said to Nick. But Nick ignored Mr. Arnold and helped his friend stand. Blood dripped from Plug’s lip, his cheeks were cut, and one eye had already begun to swell.

  The group of gawking students parted to let Chelsea through from the studio to the center of the action. Her eyes widened at me, and she broke into her donkey laugh.

  “What are you wearing?” Chelsea flipped her long blond hair over her shoulder.

  “What are you wearing?” I mocked her and stepped toward her. “My tennis shoes you borrowed. The jeans Lily paid for. And that’s my blouse.” I reached out, clutched the collar, and ripped. Buttons popped off. But Mr. Arnold seized my wrist before I finished tearing the fabric off her.

  Chelsea’s tan face paled, and she covered her chest.

  Mr. Arnold steered me away with his sweaty hand, but I yelled at Chelsea. “You can’t even afford to buy your own clothes. You’re an imposter. A fake. A no one.”

  “At least I showered today,” she said. The onlookers laughed, and Chelsea turned her back to me.

  Mr. Arnold escorted me to the hallway. “Hannah, I’ve been patient with you this week, but this behavior is unacceptable. You could be expelled.”

  “You don’t have the authority to expel me,” I said.

  Mr. Arnold glared at me, but before he said anything more, Plug staggered between us.

  “We’ll go,” Plug said.

  Mr. Arnold pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the perspiration from his face. He repositioned his glasses, and then he shook his head slowly as he said to me, “Hannah, you’ve changed from the girl I knew last year. I don’t know what’s possessed you, but you’ve become violent and mean. You are unwelcome in my classroom.”

  “Come on,” Plug said and pressed my back.

  “It wasn’t my fault.” But it was. I'd kissed Plug, even though I loved Manny. It was senseless. If I had been faithful to Manny none of this would have ever happened.

  Nick followed us into the hall. “Plug, are you okay?”

  “Go help Mr. Arnold,” Plug said, “before he kicks you out of class, too.”

  “Is she worth this?” Nick whispered.

  “I can hear you,” I said.

  Nick glared at me for a second and then went back to broadcasting.

  When Plug and I rounded the corner of the hall, he pulled me into the boys’ bathroom.

  “I can’t be in here,” I said. “Someone will see us.”

  “Stop worrying about what other people think.” Plug dampened some paper towels in the sink and held them against his bloodied lip. He grimaced in pain. He lifted the paper towels and examined the damage in the mirror. His silver ring had been ripped out, and the flesh was torn.

  “You need to see the nurse,” I said.

  “Manny’s there.” Plug tried to speak without moving his lips.

  “Why didn’t you fight back?” Tears ran down my face.

  “He saw us kissing.”

  “But you didn’t fight back.”

  “If I hurt him, I’d hurt you.”

  I rested my hand on his back. Plug had been so loyal to me when I’d done nothing to deserve it.

  “Go check on him,” Plug said through his clenched jaw.

  “And leave you?”

  “You don’t belong to me.” In one swift motion, Plug spun around and kicked the stall door. It banged against the wall and then swung back and forth until it finally slowed and stilled.

  “You belong to him,” Plug whispered. “I should have respected that sooner, especially with everything going on around you right now. I’m sorry for hurting you, Hannah.”

  I studied his gray eyes. “You didn’t hurt me. You’ve helped me.”

  “I’m going home.” He dabbed the paper towel against his bloodied lip.

  “You need stitches. Let me go with you.” I squeezed his hand.

  “The office probably called your mom,” Plug said. “You need to be here.”

  “What about you, and when your dad gets here?”

  Plug shook his head. “He left for Vegas today.”

  I reached up and traced Plug’s jaw, but he pulled my fingers away.

  “Hannah, you’re going to be all right.”

  “Not without you,” I said.

  “Yes, even without me,” Plug said. “Go check on Manny. It will ease your mind.”

  I wrapped my arms around his waist and pulled him into me.

  “Call me when you get home,” Plug said.

  “I have an appointment this afternoon with the psychiatrist.”

  “Call me after,” he said and pressed his forehead against mine.

  We left the bathroom together, but separated at the end of the hall.

  “Go home,” a man’s voice said behind me. I spun around to see if Plug was still in the hallway, but I was alone. I rubbed my face, and then I covered my ears.

  “Control your thoughts,” I whispered to myself. To help focus, I counted each step to the nurse’s office.

  Mark huffed when he saw me. “Haven’t you caused enough trouble?”

  My throat tightened, and I feared if I spoke, I’d start sobbing. So I kept quiet. The room smelled of antiseptic. Manny sat on top of the nurse’s desk, and she wrapped his ribs. Bruises peeked out from the edges of the white tape.

  “Only leave this on for a few hours,” she said, “to help you get past this immediate pain.”

  Manny nodded, but his face contorted.

  The nurse noticed me and said, “Hannah, you can wait in the front office. They’ve already phoned your mother. She’ll be here soon.”

  “Can I have a minute with Manny?” I asked.

  “One minute,” she said and prodded Mark to leave with her.

  He bumped into me as he left. “Slut,” he said, loudly enough for the whole world to hear.

  Manny huffed, as though he agreed. And in that moment I knew things had changed between us forever. I flashed back to the fair when Jordan had said obnoxious things about me stuffing his shorts with money and Manny had come to my defense and told him never to talk to me that way. But now, when Mark called me a slut, Manny did nothing to defend me. The difference was at the fair I’d done nothing wrong, and today I had.

  Manny fumbled with his shirt. He started to lift it, but he stopped and groaned with the pain. The desk squeaked under his shifting weight.

  “Let me help you.” I reached for his shirt, but he held up a finger.

  “No,” he said.

  I moved closer and touched his wrist. “Manny, let me—”

  “No!” He jerked away, and for a split second I feared he would hit me, just like my father had, just like Jordan’s mother had. But instead, he stopped himself and clenched his fingers into a tight fist. Through gritted teeth, he said to me, “You kissed Eugene Polaski in front of everyone. He was all over you. Is that who you are n
ow? Do you let anyone put their hands all over you?”

  Images from last night in my bathroom flooded my mind. Those large, hairy hands touching me. Panic bubbled inside of me. I peered at Manny’s hands. His were smaller, smoother, and hairless, but his knuckles were covered with blood from Plug’s face. I gasped for air, and the edges of my vision blurred. I stumbled over to the desk chair and sank down. Manny kept yelling at me.

  “We had something special. Something forever. But now, how am I supposed to get the image of you kissing Eugene out of my head? I used to think we were alike—we wanted the same things—but ever since the accident, you’ve changed.”

  “I have not.”

  “Can’t you see how Eugene is making you different? You used to care about your appearance, but now you’re dressed like a bum in winter.”

  I covered my face and leaned forward. Nausea overtook me, and the bitter taste of bile filled my mouth. I hung my head between my knees and tried to breathe.

  A deep voice said, “You’re just like your dad.”

  I jerked up and glared at Manny.

  “What’d you say?” I asked.

  “I said he’s changing you. He’s manipulating you. Convincing you to do things you never would have done a week ago.” Manny rubbed his knuckles against his pants. “Has he convinced you to spread your legs for him, too, or just your lips?”

  My mouth dropped open. And my heart sank. His words hurt worse than any slap across my face could have.

  “Never mind,” Manny whispered. “I don’t want to know.”

  “You have no right to judge me,” I said and stood up.

  “You kissed Eugene!” Manny moved closer to me. “We were supposed to go to Princeton together. Be together forever. And instead you kissed Eugene.” Manny set a hand on his taped ribs. “I never want to see you again.”

  “Manny, we’ve been friends for years.” I clutched his bare shoulder, and he jerked away.

  “And I can’t erase the image of Eugene’s lips all over yours. I can’t even look at you without seeing him touching you.”

  “Manny—”

  “No.”

  We reached an impasse. There was no way he could excuse what I’d done. And there was no way to erase the awful things he’d said. We would never return to the way we were before the accident.