Page 37 of The Wrong Side of Kai
“I really don’t know what you’re talking about, Harrison,” I say as calmly as I can, my gaze evenly matching his. Feigning innocence seems like the logical path to take, but the snort of disbelief Harrison lets out makes it clear he already knows it was me behind last night’s scheme. Who else would it be? But he still isn’t aware that he has an enemy in Kai Washington too.
“Quit playing games,” Harrison snarls, taking a step closer to me. His arms are still crossed, but I notice that his hands are balled into fists. “I’ve told you. You’re going to regret messing with me if you don’t stop.”
“Haven’t you thought just for a second that perhaps you’re the one who should regret ever having messed withme?” I challenge, and I’m shocked by the power of my own words. They roll off my tongue so naturally, so confident and so fierce. I raise a daring eyebrow at Harrison and press my lips together. My hands are trembling, but he and his friends willnotintimidate me.
“Is this still about that video?” Harrison asks. He lowers his head so that we are eye-level with one another. “It would have been kept private if I actually cared about you.”
Noah reaches for my hat and swipes it off my head despite my best efforts to stop him. I can feel the static in my hair. “Yeah, that video was good though,” he sneers with a wink. Anthony cracks a smile.
“You’re a dog,” I mutter, snatching my hat back. I shove it into the pocket of my coat and turn to Harrison. “And yeah, this is about the video. That video is going to follow meforever. Don’t you get that or are you too self-obsessed to realize that what you did was wrong? I thought I could trust you.”
“I don’t care!” Harrison snaps. Noah’s face lights with glee, entertained by the animosity. “I’m warning you. . . If you don’t stop these games, I’ll make your life a living hell.”
“Maybe I should warn Sierra about the kind of guy you really are,” I spit, glaring back into his face. It’s hard to believe that last week I thought Harrison was a genuine guy, that I actually feltbadabout not wanting to go on that ski trip with him. It’s clear now that I had a lucky escape.
“Who’s Sierra?” Anthony asks. His and Noah’s heads swivel around simultaneously to look at Harrison.
Harrison’s eyes widen. He looks at his friends, then back at me. I wasn’t aware that his hookups with Sierra were a secret, but the stunned look on Harrison’s face has me smiling. The realization dawns on him that I now know the name of the other girl he was seeing at the same time as me. “How the hell do you know about her?” he demands, his voice seething.
Suddenly I’m the one who’s in control. “The same way I know you cheated on your SATs. Was that information supposed to be private? Private just like that video of us?” I taunt, smiling. “Yeah, sorry. No privacy around here.”
Harrison lurches forward, grabbing my arm and moving his face to mine. His lips are inches from my own, spitting venomous words rather than kissing me. “I’ve warned you,” he growls. His blue eyes are blazing with resentment, his expression so hard and cold, but still I see a flicker of panic cross his face.
“Stop touching me,” I hiss, squirming beneath him. My back is pressed against the shelves and Harrison’s body is trapping me in place. I feel threatened, just like he wants me to feel. As he bends my arm back, I realize that I am no match for Harrison. I’m just a little over five feet tall, and he’s a football player. There’s no real way I can fight back.
I try, though. I shake my arm, desperate to pull myself free from Harrison’s hold, but the more I struggle, the tighter he squeezes. I curl my free hand into a balled-up fist and slam it into his chest as hard as I can, over and over again, until Noah grabs my wrist to stop me. The two of them pin me back against the shelves.
“Hey, c’mon,” Anthony mumbles, but no one listens to him.
Harrison and Noah hold me in place, sneering down into my face, and my limbs stiffen. My heart is pounding in my chest, beating way too fast. Bile rises in my stomach.
I stare at Anthony, my terrified eyes silently begging him to do something. The three of them are best friends, always have been, but they aren’t all equal. Noah is the alpha, the quarterback on the team, the leader in every group. Harrison is his second-in-command; important enough to have people listen to him, but also with enough of a spine to make his own decisions. And then there’s Anthony, the nicest of the three, the one who tags along and doesn’t say much, whether or not he agrees with what his friends are doing. If anyone is to put a stop to this, it’ll be Anthony. He stands quiet in the corner, avoiding my eyes.
“I thought you liked attention from guys,” Noah snickers, edging in closer. “Isn’t that your thing?” His lips are so close I can feel his breath against me.
Harrison’s laugh is vile as he holds me still, but I’m too paralyzed to move even if I could. I squeeze my eyes shut as I hold my entire body rigid in the face of their cruelty. Harrison is far too close to me, his hand is still bending back my arm.
Then there’s the metallic click of a door handle being tried, and Harrison and Noah abruptly let go of me just as the door swings open. I’m panting as we all look over at the janitor.
Mr. Kratz scratches his bald head, deep lines of confusion forming across his forehead. “What’s going on in here?”
I don’t wait to offer any explanations. Instead, I take off, barging past Mr. Kratz and breaking out into a desperate run for safety. Classes have started, so the hallways are empty as I sprint down them. I burst out through the school’s main entrance and dive into the snow, my footsteps weighed down as I drag myself away. The cold air bites at my nose and ears, but I don’t waste time putting my hat back on. I just keep running, trudging through the snow toward the student parking lot until I’m off the school campus. My strides are long, my breathing heavy.
Forget school. I’m not going back there today. Screw Harrison Boyd. Screw Noah Diaz. And screw Anthony Vincent for watching on in silence. I know I can knock on Mrs. Delaney’s door and tell her what just went down, but I’m already dealing with enough as it is, and I just want toget out ofhere.I’m shaking now, but I tell myself it’s because of the cold.
I head away from school as fast as I can, past the elementary and middle school next door, past the fire station and the churches. I don’t realize where my steps are taking me until I arrive at the cemetery gates.
I pick up speed again, pushing through the gates as I desperately try to remember where to go. It’s been months since I last visited. The headstones are all dusted with snow, some of their engravings hidden completely, and I become frantic but also furious at myself for taking so long to find it. I come to an abrupt stop, take a deep breath, then look around again. Everything appears so different when it’s covered in a white sheet of snow. I move slowly, taking the time to check each headstone, until finally I find the one I am looking for.
With a gloved hand, I wipe away the snow from the headstone to reveal the engraving beneath.
DEBRA MURPHY
SEPTEMBER 5TH, 1979 – AUGUST 18TH, 2016
A BELOVED WIFE, MOTHER, DAUGHTER, AND SISTER
DEEPLY LOVED AND SORELY MISSED
