17. Argument
ARGUMENT
When recess rolls around, I take a deep breath before rounding the corner to the back of the school blocks. Wylan is there, his hat over his face and leaning against the wall.
Samantha skips to Dylan, a beaming smile on her face, before she pecks him soundly on the cheek. They share a smoke and talk about their weekend.
I sit not that far from them, tuck my legs up to my chest, and burrow my fingers into the dirt. I draw circles, only to hesitate when someone’s shadow towers over me.
“Hey,” Andy says, his voice dripping with hostility.
“Hi.”
“Where were you Friday night?”
My eyes narrow. “Why did you talk to my dad?” As I look up, I glare at him. “Why did you tell him about Conner?”
“Because your dad called and was wondering where you were.”
“And you chatted with him? Why didn’t you message me to ask where I was?” I rise with my hands balled into fists. “What you did was wrong.”
“Wrong?” Andy scoffs.
Samantha darts a look over at us warily, then leans in to talk to Dylan.
“And you suddenly ditching me after all these years wasn’t wrong? Where was my message?”
“You know that’s different.” My voice comes out softer when Dylan approaches us with his hands waving in front of his face in an ‘I come in peace’ signal. “Sorry, Dylan. I will leave.”
“No!” Andy grabs my arm before I can think to take a step.
My body turns to stone, and the memories of all the times Dad took hold of me without warning rush back.
Fright trembles my bones, and my lip quivers at the scary resemblance.
“You aren’t running away this time. Where were you Friday night? ”
“Andy, let go,” I warn.
I shake my arm in the hope his hold will break, but he tightens his grip and says, “You were with him, right?”
“Stop, please,” I breathe out in a panic.
“I think we all need to chill,” Dylan says, his focus locked on Andy’s hand on my arm. “Why don’t you have a smoke, Andy? Come on.”
“Answer the question, Noya,” Andy demands, his eyes locked onto mine.
“Let. Go.”
“You heard her.”
My eyes widen, and I turn to Conner when he steps out from around the corner. Those hazel eyes of his narrow, dilating until there’s no hint of green within them.
“Why don’t you let her go?”
“Stay out of this, Conner,” Andy spits, and he releases his grip on me. I step towards Conner, rubbing at the redness around my wrist. “You have nothing to do with this!”
“You are right,” Conner agrees, stepping ahead until he stands protectively in front of me. He juts his jaw. “But it won’t stop me from interfering when you put your hands on a girl.”
“Yeah?” Andy lifts his chin and puffs out his chest. Blue eyes dilate. I’ve seen this side of him before. He’s ready for a fight.
I grab Conner’s arm. “Let’s go, please…”
Conner steps back until he is beside me and looks down. With a nod, he turns. I sigh, but as I go to turn with him, I notice Andy appears closer than expected. My eyes bulge, and I push away from Conner just as Andy grabs at his shirt and shoves him. Conner stumbles, but regains his balance.
“You don’t want to do this, Andy,” Conner warns.
“Do what?” Andy challenges. “Come back here and think you know me—us!” He points to me, and I shrink back and look towards the ground. “You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into, mate.”
“I’m not your mate,” Conner snarls. “Lay a finger on Noya again, and we might have to chat about you putting your hands on a woman without her consent.”
“Don’t.” He shoves Conner, eyes wild and bulging out of his sockets. “I will never hurt Noya.” Andy grabs Conner’s shirt, but Conner doesn’t budge. With his hands by his sides, he glares at him as Andy throws a punch.
“Andy!” Samantha shouts.
Dylan grabs Andy before he can throw another punch and drags him back. Conner touches his jaw, looks at me, and smiles. “Come on. Let’s go.”
“Okay…”
“Noya!” Andy calls, and I flinch at his broken scream. “Can we talk, please?”
I look at Andy’s pleading look and say, “You can text me later.”
“Why not now?”
With trembling fists, I shout, “Because I don’t need to be around another violent person in my life!”
Samantha’s jaw drops, Dylan looks confused, and Wylan tips his head up and watches the scene unfold from the corner of his eye.
Andy, though, sags his shoulders and looks away with gritted teeth.
“Noya,” Conner murmurs my name.
With a shake of my head, I turn my back on Andy and walk down the building with Conner. “Why didn’t you hit back?” I ask him.
“I didn’t want to upset you. Besides, Andy throws piss-weak punches.” He chuckles, then sighs. “Are you all right? You got a little heated back there.”
“Andy should know more than anyone, but he’s selfish and arrogant.”
“Hmm…” Conner grunts. “He needs to control his emotions better.”
I nod.
Conner asks, “So, who’s the other violent person in your life?”
My words flit out like air as I watch Conner begin his inward investigation. Like a detective on a crucial case, he stands before the corkboard, pictures and clues connected by red lines.
“I wasn’t at Andy’s Friday night,” I confess before his mind connects the dots.
“My parents argue a lot and…” I close my mind momentarily.
It’s like picking at a wound that hasn’t fully healed.
I need to peel back the flesh and give Conner something to work with before he sticks the entire hot iron rod into the wound to find all the answers.
“And I didn’t like it, so I jumped out of my window and sat at the bus stop. ”
“I’m sorry,” he says.
I look away, only to realise we are entering the school parking lot. I freeze, finally soaking in our surroundings. “Why are we here?”
“I thought we could take a mental health break day,” he says as he takes his keys out of his pocket and unlocks the car door.
“Where will we go?”
“Anywhere.” He opens the car door for me, but I hesitate and look back towards the school. I think of Andy before understanding that it is best that I leave. “There’s a movie I wanna see.”
“A movie?” I say, accepting my fate and entering the car. Conner rounds the front and hops into his side.
“Yeah…”
“I’ve never been to the movies,” I admit. Conner’s eyes widen, and his jaw drops. I blush and look away, mumbling, “It’s not a big deal.”
“It’s a tremendous deal! I’m taking your ‘M’ card.”
“Sorry?”
“Movie card,” he declares.
A giggle escapes me as I put the seatbelt on. That’s such a strange thing for Conner to say.
He leans across, a wicked grin as he says, “Are there any other cards I can take? Please don’t tell me you’ve never been to the zoo before?”
“Never…”
Conner scoffs as he leans back comfortably in his seat. “At this rate, I am going to have a whole alphabet of cards.”
My barked laughter turns into a snort. My eyes widen after hearing the sound, and Conner doesn’t say a word. He presses his lips thin, and his shoulders tremble, but he keeps his eyes on the road as we pull out of the car park.
Relief washes over me when he doesn’t make a scene. Instead, he turns the music up and sings along to the songs on his playlist.