Chapter FiveKami
The rest of the week was weird. Everyone was tense because of the thing with the lockers. Some people believed me when I said I’d been with Taylor when it happened, especially after Ellie told them she’d found us outside talking under the bleachers. Others said they’d seen me do it and my boyfriend and my best friend were just covering for me. It was ridiculous, but it didn’t really surprise me.
The worst thing was when Kate came over during my free period along with all my former friends to tell me they were done with me. “It was bad enough how you let us down when the team needed you most, but writingwannabeon my locker when you know how hard I worked for years to be the team captain, that’s just low—cruelandchildish.”
“I didn’t do it,” I said, trying to remain calm.
“Oh, so it’s just a coincidence that someone wroteass kisserson the other cheerleaders’ lockers. You think we honestly believe you’re our friend and you wouldn’t do that?” Marissa asked. That stung.
“It wasn’t me!”
“Whatever,” Kate said. Then she scowled at Ellie. “I expected more out of you, Galadriel.”
“Don’t call me that.”
“You two were made for each other,” Kate responded, shaking her head. “I honestly can’t believe I used to think you were my closest friends.”
With those words, I saw a glimmer of what looked like real emotion in her brown eyes, then she turned and walked away. When had Kate become such a horrible person? Where was my lifelong friend?
“Kami, don’t listen to them, seriously,” Ellie said, trying to make me feel better. But she, too, had been hurt by the way our friends were stabbing us in the back. “Ever since she was named captain, Kate’s been on this ego trip…”
“Quitting that stupid squad is the best thing I’ve ever done.”
Ellie was still on the squad, though, and getting along with her teammates had become impossible. The one thing that saved us was Taylor. His being my boyfriend gave us a layer of protection because, despite everything, he was still the cute boy, captain of the basketball team, and half the girls were madly in love with him.
The guys didn’t seem to care about the whole locker thing as much as the girls. Some of them even thought it was funny. The exception was Danny. The fact that he’d been so upset at being called anabuserand then immediately blamed me made it clear: he was everything he’d been accused of.
I hadn’t talked to anyone about what he’d done, not even Ellie, but he had taken things too far with me more than once. And I was so stupid, I had forgiven him because I felt pressure to keep going out with the most popular guy in school and I didn’t want to disappoint my parents. Plus, it was hard for me to admit that I had let someone treat me that way. And then there was alwaysthe question of whether anyone would have believed me if I’d told them what had happened.
But then Taylor started asking questions about it one day after class. We’d just blended chicken liver with detergent to see its DNA—gross, but interesting too. Taylor had loved it, he was like a mad scientist, laughing so much the teacher had to reprimand us like five times. Afterward, as we stood talking outside, he told me how he couldn’t stop thinking about the lockers and especially what had been written on Danny Walker’s. It had stopped raining for once, and though it was cold, it was nice to see the sunshine. We walked to a picnic table, Tay sat down, and I stood there between his legs. Remembering what had happened between Danny and me. I tensed up and looked away.
But Taylor grabbed my chin and forced me to look him in the eye. “Did he hurt you, Kami?”
I didn’t want to talk about it. And I didn’t want him to know because there was nothing that could come of it, apart from another fight.
“Can we not talk about Danny?” I asked calmly. “Why don’t you tell me what you’re going to be for Halloween?”
“Don’t change the subject.”
“Taylor, I don’t want to talk about it because if I do, it’s gonna cause…”
His body instantly tensed up like a guitar string, tuned and ready to play a loud note. “What did he do to you?”
“Nothing!” I lied, trying to sound convincing. “Seriously, can you drop it?”
“I promise you I won’t start a fight. I just want to know what that asshole is capable of.”
I took a deep breath. “He doesn’t know his own strength… We’d get in fights sometimes, and he’d grab my arms, and he’d just squeeze too hard.”
“I’m going to kill him,” Taylor said, starting to get up.
Seeing his reaction confirmed what I already knew. “See, Taylor?” I said, grabbing his shirt and pulling him back. “I knew I couldn’t tell you anything.”
“How do you expect me to just sit back and do nothing when I know that he hurt you?”
“It’s the past, Taylor, and it needs to stay there. It’s my business, and I took care of it the best I could.”
But it hadn’t ended there. Because now Danny’s brother was involved, and my brother too. I’d stopped by to see him for a second that day at recess. He had seemed OK. The teachers were keeping an eye on him, and I hadn’t noticed any more scratches or bruises.
