Count On Me(31)

I nod and he sighs.

“It’s okay. They won’t ever know you told me. I swear to you. Now, do you have spare clothes?”

I shake my head, embarrassed that I didn’t take the emergency bag when I left this morning. Normally I’m so good about making sure I have it with me just in case, but today I rushed out the door and forgot. It figures the one day I forget is the day that everything happens.

Even more proof of how stupid I am.

“I’ve got some sweats in my locker. Would you wear them?” he asks, his voice still calm, but his body remaining as rigid as ever. He doesn’t know he’s doing it, but his voice is soothing me, something I didn’t expect to happen, but I’m thankful for.

I nod my head, though I’m not sure I want to be wearing anything that belongs to him. He’s best friends with the people that did this to me; the last thing I want to be doing is taking help from him. He’s probably the reason this happened.

“One more question. Can you handle being here alone while I run and get them?”

I’m not sure about my answer to this one so I make no attempt to move my head in either direction. The last thing I wanted was for him to see me like this, but now that he has and the affect he seems to have on me since being here, I’m not sure I want to be left without him again. He’s all I’ve got.

“Isabelle? Did you hear me?” he asks again and this time I nod my head. I had been alone for god knows how long already; a few more minutes wouldn’t make a difference. I only hope that in agreeing to this, I don’t live to regret it.

“Okay. I’m gonna go grab them, but I want you to lock the door behind me. When I come back, I’ll knock like this,” he says as he knocks twice on the wall. “That way you know it’s me and you can let me back in.”

I nod my head one more time and feel him break away from me, this time prepared for it and even though I still feel like I’ve lost something, it’s not nearly as bad as it was the first time.

The gust of wind enters the bathroom again and focusing with every bit of strength I have, I open my mouth, needing to get the words out before they eat me alive. I only hope that this time it works.

“Thank—you.”



Kayden



Dillon is a dead man.

The minute I see him, Tim or hell, any of the stupid girls that did this to her, I’m going to rip their hearts out and feed it back to them.

I thought I prepared myself for what I was gonna walk into when I finally got into the bathroom, but there is literally nothing that could have prepared me for the way Isabelle looked the minute I saw her.

The top portion of her body, despite her obvious attempt at getting it all in trash can, is covered in puke and her jeans are soaked through with what can only be her own piss. Her cheeks are stained with tears, her hair is half hanging out of a hair band and there are rips in her shirt.

These girls hadn’t just picked on her, they destroyed her and it’s my fault.

Jim came down the hallway right as I’d been about to kick the door down and after explaining to him that I had a friend of mine in there that I thought was hurt, he had no problem opening it for me. I know I was ready to deal with the fallout, but I’m glad I didn’t have to. The last thing I want is to take ownership for this, no matter how guilty I am.

Not to mention if I get nailed for it, Isabelle will think I made them do it. I may have created these monsters when we started hanging together, but I was putting an end to it now.

It bothers me that she won’t look at me, but my need to get her cleaned up and out of here outweighs it. I can handle her keeping her eyes shut, because honestly, she doesn’t need to see any more of the mess that’s left anyway.

Her agreeing to wear my clothes makes me feel good. I have a spare set of sweats for when I work out and right now, I can’t bring her out of here without changing. Life here is already hard enough for her and the others, there’s no reason to make it worse. That’s not what gets to me most though. It’s what happens when I’m leaving that does that.

It was quiet and for a second there I thought I imagined it, but it happened. She spoke to me. It wasn’t anything major, at least not to anyone else that it might’ve happened to, but it was huge to me. A simple thank you was all I needed moving forward.

Letting the door shut again, I turn back to where she’s standing, her eyes shut tight and her arms wrapped around her body, like she’s hugging herself. Seeing her like this reminds me of the way she used to look when she was little. She’s always been a timid person, but whenever I did get to see her upset, she did this exact thing. It’s like nothing’s changed since our time together and the reminder of the way things used to be only makes me want to protect her even more.