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“My daughter did nothing wrong. She is a victim.” There’s a strain in her voice that I can only describe as overprotective.
“You don’t need to sit through this,” her mom says, grabbing Monica’s arm. “C’mon.”
“Mom! Let go of me.” Monica jerks herself free. “You’re embarrassing me.”
“Embarrassing you?” She goes to her knees in front of Monica and grabs both her arms. “I’m trying to protect you from them.” She points at us as though I’m one the bad guys.
“Mom …” Monica’s face turns red. “Please, stop.”
“No, I’m taking you with me. Now.” Her mom drags her out of the chair and out of the room before any of us can even say a word. Before even Monica, herself, can explain what happened … or what I am to her.
But her mom already knows who I am.
I am the boy from that video she saw, the boy who fought over some stupid picture of her daughter … the boy who stole her fragile daughter’s heart.
And I know this isn’t going to go over well.
Monica
“Mom, stop!” I yell, coming to a full halt right in front of the car.
She made a scene in front of the entire school. There’s nothing more embarrassing than that, not even two boys fighting over who shared that damn picture.
“Mom!” I yell when she opens the car door and looks at me as if I’m supposed to get inside. “No, I’m not going home.”
“Monica, I’m trying to help you, please,” she says.
“No, I don’t need your help. I never asked you to come,” I reply.
“But you got hurt,” she says, trying to hold her emotions together. “Again. I knew I should’ve just taken you out of that school the minute things were going bad.”
“What?” I frown. “Take me out? No!”
“But you were already being bullied!” she retorts.
“He was just trying to get under my skin,” I reply.
“Who?” She makes a face. “I swear to God if—”
“I like him,” I interject before she tries to do something stupid.
She frowns. “You like him? How? He’s a bully!”
I sigh. “It’s complicated, okay? I’m not gonna explain my entire life.”
She folds her arms. “Well, you’d better explain why some boys were fighting over you and why I had to see it on social media instead of my daughter telling me herself. Those boys you’re involved with, they’re dangerous. Some band called TRIGGER. I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.” She snivels, clearly upset. “I trusted you. I gave you more freedom when you told me you could handle it.”
“I can,” I say. “I know how to handle myself.”
“But they hurt you!” she yells. “Goddammit! Now you even made me swear.”
“Sorry,” I mutter. “But how do you know they’re dangerous?”
“Another mother called me to tell me her daughter had seen you being carried inside a house after coming out of the forest.” We both suck in a breath. “What do you think is going through my mind when I hear that, Monica? After what you’ve been through?”
“I know, Mom, but it’s not what you think. Cole actually came to save me.”
“Oh, so his name is Cole?” She scoffs. “Thanks for filling me in. And saving you? From what?”
“Other boys …” I sigh and look away. “Michael and his buddies.”
“Michael?” She points at the school. “Was he that other boy inside that room?”
I nod.
“I’m going to fucking kill him.”
I have to physically restrain my mom not to go back inside.
“Mom, please! Don’t,” I say, and I push her back to the car. “Just stop. Okay? I can handle this.”
“I can’t forgive this. That boy deserves everything that’s coming for him. Which one was it? The dark-haired one?”
“No,” I quickly reply. “That’s Cole.”
“Oh,” she murmurs.
“And there’s something I have to tell you …” I tuck my hair behind my ear. “I think we’re sort of dating?”
Her eyes widen, and she makes this face I’ve never seen before like she’s about to faint right here on the pavement. “What?!”
“Don’t be mad, please.”
“You’re dating a rock star?” she squeals.
I try to cover her mouth with my hand. “Shh … not so loud. No one knows. Not yet, anyway.”
“Monica!” She forces my hand down. “Really? That’s what you’re worried about?”
“I’m not worried. But this is new to me too, okay? And I’m still trying to figure it out,” I explain.
She stares at me and sighs out loud. “Monica …”
I grab her hands. “Mom. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I just needed this to be my choice. My story. You asked me if I was ready. I am.”
“But these boys will never change,” she says.
“But I have,” I reply. “And I don’t want to be stuck in the past anymore.”
She looks down at my hands and gently squeezes them. “If you’re sure …”
“I’m sure, Mom,” I reiterate. “And Cole is in there right now, getting expelled because of me.” I point at the school. “I have to go back.”
