That last was to give him hope that I was done with him, not by a long shot. I walked away and got back in my car to head back, not looking at him as he struggled to get back on his feet: one down, one more to go. No one had seen Kevin all weekend, but I was sure he had to show up here at some point.
I’m not that close with him, and never have been, but I do recall that his old man is a hardass. Maybe that’s why he’s such an asshole I don’t know. I do see the discrepancy in the way my dad treats me compared to how others are treated by their parents, and I know that that shit has a lot to do with the way some kids turn out.
But I also know there are plenty of people who have fucked up home lives and don’t go around violating others. The fact that he didn’t succeed means nothing to me, I’m going to beat his ass like he did.
LORA
I didn’t pick up on it right away once Tyler drove off, but the girls were acting rather strange this morning. It’s not like we’re best friends or anything, most of them wouldn’t have given me the time of day had I not been Tyler’s stepsister, but we’re at least cordial to each other. Today I noticed a slight chill in the air as I greeted them.
I thought at first it had something to do with the party and what went on there, but by lunch, I knew something else was going on. All the whispers and odd looks were hard to miss, and by the time I headed to the cafeteria for lunch, I was starting to feel self-conscious, wondering if everyone was looking at me.
I looked over at the table where Ty was already sitting with his friends and caught him watching me. He quirked his brow questioningly before leaving his seat to come to me. “You okay, what happened?” He stood a few feet away from me and kept a bland disinterested look on his face, but his voice was anything but.
“Nothing, I’m fine.” He gave me the yeah right sure look and shoved his hands in his back pockets. Just then, Sherry walked in and headed over to the table with the girls I usually ate lunch with. The way they all looked over at me while she took a seat told me all I needed to know about the odd reception.
“What did that bitch tell them about me?”
“Who?” I saw the look of annoyance that crossed Tyler’s face when he turned to look behind him and saw her.
“Did something happen? They giving you shit or something?”
“No, nothing like that. They’ve just been acting strange, and I think I just realized why.” I just couldn’t imagine what she could’ve possibly said to make them act that way towards me.
“Come!” He took my hand and dragged me along behind him to his table. I felt all eyes staring at me and was too nervous to remind him that I hadn’t grabbed lunch as yet. This school is unlike my last high school in many ways, but their lunch menu reads like something you’d find in a five-star restaurant. I didn’t even know such a thing existed until we moved here. I guess the wealthy really do live completely different lives from the rest of us.
“Paul, watch her.” Paul winked at me with a smile while Tyler got up and walked to the food table. I could’ve cried when he came back with a salad topped with grilled chicken, which happens to be my Monday lunch since I’m crazy about the freshly made pita bread that’s served with the salad. He’d even remembered the honey packets I like to dribble on my bread. I didn’t even know that he knew what I ate for lunch since I sit across the room.
He went back to talking to his friends while I ate my salad, and he spread the honey over the warm pita. My cheeks were pink with pleasure when I looked around the room, and my eyes collided with the girls at the table across the room where Sherry had taken my place. I wish I understood the looks on their faces, but I didn’t have to guess about hers—pure hate.
“So, have you heard the latest rumor making the rounds?”
“What’s that?” Both Tyler and I looked at Paul, who looked like he was having second thoughts about opening his mouth.
“Uh, maybe we should leave that alone.”
“Nope, you brought it up, spill.” Tyler pushed, but I was already getting that sinking feeling in my gut.
“Okay I don’t know who started it, but word is that someone who was there that night has been going around saying that you, Lora, instigated that whole thing that went down with Kevin and that he didn’t try to drug you that you asked for it, or something along those lines.”