Jack’s POV
“Can I come over after school?” I ask my new girlfriend on the phone.
“My parents are cool with it. They love you,” she chuckled.
“They’ve only met me twice when I was with you in the hospital and yesterday when I was at your house all day. They didn't even talk to me.”
“Well, they already like you.”
“Awesome. Hey, I have to go now. I don’t want to be late.”
“Ok. Have a great day!”
“You too.” I made a kissy sound on the phone before hanging up.
Dawn had come back to the hospital yesterday, but neither of us went to school. I wanted to hang with Dawn all day to make her feel better. I want to do everything I can to help her happy. Although, I didn’t want to go to school today, Dawn had told me that she didn’t want to talk away my education. Hopefully she’ll be ok tomorrow at school when she comes back. I would hate myself if I wasn’t able to help her, and she ended up in the hospital again or worse...
I shook my head to clear it of those thoughts before going out the door and starting on my way to school. When I was there, I went to my locker like any other day, but there was a difference. I didn’t even get it open before someone was pushing me face first into it. I turned around to find the jocks walking off with smiles on their faces. Well, it looks like I made a few enemies already.
I sighed, grabbed my stuff, and went to my first period class. The jocks weren’t the only ones that hated me. Everyone was throwing papers at me and laughing. It seemed like the whole school hated me just like they hated Dawn. Did dating her really make people hate me so much? I was loved by almost everyone, but now everyone hated me.
I asked to go to the bathroom and was allowed. I figured that I would be allowed. The teacher was giving me a look of pity after all. I looked in the mirror once I was in there. Should I just stay in here all day? Should I just walk out the doors and leave? No, I couldn’t do that. If Dawn was able to go through with this every day of her life, I could too.
My hands turned the faucet on and filled with water before splashing it on my face. When I opened my eyes, I saw an all too familiar girl standing behind me. I didn’t even turn around to face her. That bitch didn’t deserve it.
“What do you want?” I asked with no emotion.
“I just wanted to know if you liked your punishment?” Lily smirked.
“What could I have done to be punished?”
“You’re dating that ugly slut, Dawn.”
I turned around at that. “Don’t you dare call her that!”
“Aren't you going to ask how everyone found out about you two?”
“No because you’re probably the one that told everyone about it.”
“Right you are. My aunt just so happens to work at the hospital as a nurse. She saw you with Dawn and called to ask me about it. She didn’t know that you had broken up with me. I told her that you did, and she told me that you probably did so you could be with this girl that tried to kill herself. I asked her if her name was Dawn, and she said yes. That’s how I found out about you too. Although, I already knew that it was going to happen anyway.”
“Well, being pushed into lockers and having stuff thrown at me is not going to make me break up with her.”
“I thought so. That’s why I brought a few of my friends to do something that Dawn has never been through.”
“And what would that be?”
“Beaten to a pulp.”
All of a sudden, the guy that Lily was with when she was suppose to be with me came in with his football player friends. It was obvious that I would not be able to take any of them even if it was just one of them and me. I backed into the corner and used to my arms to cover my face. They laughed at this action before grabbing me and talking me back over to the mirrors. I tried to scream, but when I did, they punch me square in the face.
“Scream and everything will be doubled,” they told me.
They continued to punch me in the chest and the face. Two of them had to hold me up because there was no way that I would be able to stand on my own. I wanted to scream out so bad, but I just couldn’t. They dropped me and started kicking me. I couldn’t even block any of it because there feet was coming from all directions, so I just covered my face.
“I bet you never thought that this would be happening to you. Did you?”
I let out a scream when one of them grabbed my left hand away from my face and stepped on it. They continued to repeat this action as punishment for screaming, but I couldn’t stop. My hand was probably broken now. I started to pass out when I heard a voice that sounded like Alex telling them to get off of me.
When I opened my eyes, I was in what looked like a hospital room. I turned my head to the side to find Dawn, Rian, Zack, and Alex sitting and standing next to me. Dawn was the first to notice that I was awake. She smiled at me and gave me a kiss on the cheek. That was when everyone else saw that I was awake.
“What happened?” I asked.
“I heard that you were screaming,” Alex told me. “I followed your voice to the bathroom where you were being beaten by Lily’s new boyfriend and his friends. I told them to stop, but they wouldn’t so I ran and got the principal. He got them to stop kicking you and called the ambulance. That’s why you’re here now. A couple of your ribs are broken and so is your left hand.”
“I’m so sorry,” Dawn frowned. “This is all my fault.”
“Don’t say that,” I told her. “I’d rather be beaten up and hated and be with you than be with that bitch, Lily.”
“It’s still my fault though. Who’s to say that they won’t do this again to you?”
“Well, they can’t in school now,” Alex said. “They were expelled except for Lily that was suspended for three days. Her boyfriend told them that it was all his idea, and he planned it.”
“I still feel like it’s my fault...”
“Don’t,” I told her as I took her hand with my right one. “You’re not responsible. I don’t want you to ever say that it was your fault again.”
“But Lily is still there. She’s make our lives hell along with the rest of the school. You’ve seen what that’s done to me. I carve into my arm with a calligraphy pen. I almost died! I don’t want that to happen to you!”
“It won’t happen to me. You know why? It’s because I have you, Alex, Rian, and Zack. I don’t need any of those other assholes in our school. Besides, they’ll look after us too just like how Alex found me and got the principal.”
“I’m just scared for you. I don’t want anything to happen to you. You’re the first person besides my family that has actually cared for me. You’ve never been mean to me or picked on me. I really like you Jack. You’re a really great person, and you don’t deserve any of this.”
“You don’t either.”
“I know. I just can’t help but let my mind tell me otherwise.”
“That’s why I’m going to help you. I’m going to be there for you no matter what. You’re the first person that I’ve actually and truly liked.”
“Thank you.”