Disowned
by Victor Thomas
Chapter 21
Kenny
I pulled open the front door of Chouteau High the following morning. It was heavier than normal. Probably it was the wind, or the entire universe was resisting me. I had skipped breakfast, but wasn't hungry. I had a recollection of walking to the bathroom, but I didn't feel fresh and clean. And when I had looked in the mirror, all I saw was a pair of tired, swollen eyes.
An emerging headache was knocking my temples when I shuffled to my locker. After three attempts to get the combination right, I finally managed to open it.
Thank goodness we have no classes together.
It was thirteen hours and forty minutes since I had sent the message. The one I never wanted to send and the one that had ended our relationship. Javier hadn't replied, no calls, no texts, no nothing. The radio silence caused turmoil in my stomach.
If he wanted to stay together, why was there no reply? It could mean only one thing; he wanted to break up too. The more I thought about it, the angrier I became, even though none of this made any sense. It was me who had dumped him and now I was mad at him. I should be happy that he didn't try to contact me, but I wasn't.
I'm pitiful.
I groaned, quietly enough for others not to hear it. I traced my finger along the edge of my calculus book, my new best friend. Me having a boyfriend, especially someone like Javier was too good to be true. Life was getting back to it's normal state, which included me and my schoolbooks.
"Hey."
Just that one word with such a razor-sharp edge in it made the hair on the back of my neck rise. I froze, wishing desperately I could make myself invisible. I gulped and turned around to see Javier staring at me with beautiful brown eyes.
"We need to talk," he said.
"Class starts in a few minutes," I protested.
Gently but decisively, he pushed me against the locker.
"What the fuck are you doing?"
"I'm getting my books for class."
His nostrils flared, and he squeezed my arm so hard it almost hurt. Still, the piercing intensity in his eyes scared me the most. I remembered him losing his temper a few times, but never this bad.
"You know damn well what I'm talking about," he roared.
"Javier…"
"Don't Javier me," he thundered.
Everyone in the hallway turned to stare at us. I shrank from embarrassment. I should have known this would happen. I should have prepared for this. But now, the only thing I could do was to stand there, still, like an idiot.
"Can you please calm down?"
I nodded toward the students staring at us.
"Why?" His voice was getting more demanding. "I'm not leaving until you tell me."
"I can't… explain it."
The anger on his face was replaced by his disbelief. He let go of me and stepped back, his arms hanging at his sides. My heart broke into thousands of pieces, but now wasn't the right time to start crying. I had done it enough last night. To be honest, I had hardly done anything else.
"So that's it?" He raised his arms. "You don't want to see me anymore?"
I flinched when I noticed Joshua watching us from the other side of the hallway. Javier gave me a meaningful look, which made my pulse race. I tried to answer, but no words came out of my mouth. My armpits were sweating and my face blushing.
"It's better we don't talk anymore," I blurted out finally.
The sadness in his eyes stabbed me in the gut. We were staring at each other, barely three feet between us, and both of our lives were falling apart. The worst was that I could only blame myself. I was the coward, had always been and would always be.
"I'm sorry."
My voice was barely louder than a whisper.
"Fucking asshole," he hissed. "I wish I had never met you."
As soon as he stormed away, I slammed my locker shut and ran after Joshua. It should have been obvious, but I had to make sure he had understood our discussion correctly.
"Joshua, wait up," I shouted.
The basketball player turned around, beaming.
"Hey there. What's up?"
"It's over," I muttered, making sure no one else was listening. "I broke up with him."
He patted me on the shoulder.
"You're a smart kid," he said. "I knew I could trust you."
I nodded, feeling my body melt into the floor. I watched him walking away, hoping I could also trust him to keep his part of the deal.
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