I flinch at the word ‘victim’, and I know Kaleb catches it. His memory is impeccable, and from his gaze my own damning words echo in my ears:I refuse to be a victim again, and I want to make damn sure that anyone that tries to make me one regrets it.I asked him not to treat me like fragile glass, and it stings to feel like I’m failing in his eyes.
Inside me, my ice encrusted walls climb to protect me from his judgement, and I spit back, “Gina is a bitch. What do you want me to do about it?”
“Stand up for yourself, and stop letting her get away with it,” he challenges, not giving me an inch.
“That’s the first sensible thing you’ve said,” Donovan interjects, the gravel heavy in his voice with his barely contained anger. “I’m usually against attacking girls that aren’t possessed by demons, but for this bitch, I’ll make an exception. I don’t give a fuck that she’s Queen Bitch’s kid.”
Connor is scarily quiet, with eyes focused on the floor and hands curled into fists, which I know bodes well for no one. Unfortunately, I can only handle one frighteningly pissed off person at a time, and in this episode of bizzaro world, it’s Kaleb.
Slowly Kaleb’s gaze cuts from me to Donovan, and I feel like I can finally get some air in my lungs. I can’t tell if it’s due to the rarity of his anger or the intensity of his gaze, but being trapped under his stare freezes everything inside me.
Kaleb rises to his feet, the paper still crushed in his hand, and moves until he’s mere inches from Donovan.
“Of course you’d think violence is the answer,” he sneers, and Donovan’s eyes widen with surprise, before hard stubbornness cascades down his face. “Because surely the bullying will stop once you put a girl a fraction of your size in the hospital. No one knows or cares that she’s a witch-- the town will only see a fragile girl beaten up by some macho hot head that can’t think past his own fists. Or if you’re thinking of Callie doing it, then it’s reduced to a cat fight over Nolan.”
Nolan flinches at the sound of his name and stares down at the pile of paper in his hands. Guilt pulls hard at his features, and with a pained breath, he whispers, “This is all my fault.”
“No, it’s not,” Kaleb counters harshly. “It’s Gina’s fault.”
“You don’t understand, there’s more…” Nolan tries to explain, but Kaleb is apparently done with all of our shit.
“It doesn’t matter,” he interjects, his laser focus gaze shifting to Nolan, while he still invades Donovan’s space. “You broke up with her over two years ago. You told her you wanted nothing more to do with her. You are not responsible for her actions. She is.”
“Then why are you pissed off at us?” I snarl, standing up and kicking at the stupid pamphlets that started this whole mess. My numbness is gone, and in its place is a shaking anger
“Because it’s our responsibility to do something about this,” he fires back, crossing his arms over his chest and shifting so his body now faces me. “Gina has done this countless times to others throughout the years. Never once answering for her actions. She’s ruined people, and none of them found it very funny. Congratulations that you can seem to dismiss her cruelty, but the others weren’t as strong as you-- nor may be the people she bullies in the future.”
“You act like I’m condoning what she does,” I hiss, my hands curled into tight fists at my sides. This morning I remembered to wear my leather jacket, and unfortunately, the sleeves are too short to grip at. “I don’t. I fucking know what she’s doing is wrong, but I refuse to let her and her airhead army get to me!”
“Weren’t you listening?” Kaleb’s normally warm brown eyes darken as he stares into mine. “This isn’t about just you, Callie. You have the obligation to be the voice for those that can’t stand up to her.”
“Why does it have to be me?” I demand, my eyes burning to keep tears at bay and the words are a choked struggle to escape my throat. “This isn’t some after school special where you tell the teacher, and you and the bully hash out your feelings until everything is fine. This is real. This is my life, and I have my own shit to deal with that has nothing to do with her! I don’t give a shit about her petty games, and it isn’t my job to be the fucking hero who saves the day.”
“If not us, then who?” He seethes, moving until he’s so close, the scent of sandalwood and well-worn books fills my nose, and I have to look up to meet his eyes. My heart thunders in my ears, and the depth of his emotion traps my gaze. “If not now, when? What does thatcunnehave to do, before it’s too much? Before she goes too far.”
“She’s not human, damn it!” I shout, then remembering where I am and drop my voice to an angry hiss. The tears in my eyes are dangerously close to falling down my cheeks. “Her magic may be weak, but she at least has control of it. I don’t. I get mad, things explode…”
“That poor tree,” Felix laments.
“Not now, Felix!” Kaleb growls, and his outburst is met with shocked silence.
“Just because I don’t like her,” I whisper, “doesn’t mean I want her dead. I don’t want to kill anyone.”
“The fact you’re worried your magic might flare up and hurt someone is even more reason we need to do something now,” Kaleb insists passionately. “Her nextprankmay not leave you so unaffected.”
Nolan drops the pamphlets he’s collected, the mess continuing to spread across the damp floor, and he rises to his feet. He wraps one arm around my shoulders, pulling me away from Kaleb and into his side. It’s only with the heat from his body, do I realize how cold I am and how badly the tremors are quaking through me. I breathe in his spicy cologne, and I try to pull his warmth and strength into me.
With a chilling calm that hints at the darker side of him, he says, “Seriously, Kaleb. I don’t know what the hell has gotten into you, but you need to stop. Now.”
A hard tick settles in Kaleb’s jaw, and a swirling wave of sadness and disappointment washes through his eyes, before he closes them. He releases a careful breath as he puts his mask back together, and my heart breaks. I told him he was allowed to be mad. I told him it was safe to show us what he was really thinking and feeling, and when he finally does, we shut him down and demand he go back to the way he always is. Patient. Understanding. Perfect.
He walks to the other side of the hall, moving as if he’s going to punch one of the lockers there, but stops an inch before contact. Slowly, he presses his fist against the red, metal door, the pamphlet visible in his hand, and despite the slow controlled movement, there’s the creak of flexing metal-- a testament to his supernatural strength.
“Careful there,” Donovan sneers, lazily moving to the spot Kaleb vacated next to me. He leans his back against the lockers, crossing his arms over his chest. The scent of musk and leather mixes with Nolan’s cologne. As Donovan’s vibrant blue-green eyes scan the vacant hallway, he adds, “‘Perfect Kaleb’ might dent school property.”
“Seriously, D?” Felix chastises, beginning to pace back and forth. After a long moment of painful silence, he asks, “What do you think we should do? How do we stop Gina?”
“I could keep my distance for a while,” Nolan offers, but instead of pulling away like he normally does when discussing Gina, his grip tightens on my shoulder. “Just at school, until we figure out a better idea. If she thinks she’s won, she will at least stop focusing on Callie.”
