For days Nicole’s confession was all I could think about. All signs pointed to Drew being right about her, but I didn’t want to believe it. I’ve spent months growing to like Nicole and including her in everything I do.
Did she really just use me to get Drew?
Even though every part of me was now inclined to believe Nicole was a wolf in sheep’s clothing, I was having a hard time with it. She was there for me when Drew wasn’t and she helped me through my drama with him.
Lost in thought, I was startled when someone grabbed me by the arm and pulled me into an empty classroom. Quincy.
“We were broken up for less than an hour before you were already back with Drew.”
“You broke up with me, Quincy. You don’t get to interrogate me.”
“I broke up with you because I was hoping you’d come to your senses, not go back to the guy who has you all screwed up in the first place.”
“Screw you,” I went around him to leave.
“I love you,” he sighed, “I’ve been patient with you and I planned to wait you out, but damnit Sid. Why’d you go back to him?”
“Because I love him.”
“Not everything you love is good for you.”
“Then let me ride this out. If it blows up in my face, at least I won’t be wondering what if. Drew and I going exclusive, is what’s best for everyone. We’ll either work or we won’t, but at least I’ll know we gave it our all.”
I ventured back out into the hallway to find Patrice, and ended up running into Nicole. She smiled apologetically and asked me if I was mad at her.
“How can I not be? You know how I feel about him and you purposely sought him out so you could sleep with him. Were you trying to hurt me? Is that what that was?”
“No,” she sighed, “Look, the first time it happened I’d been drinking. The other two times I just wanted you to see how much of a jerk he is. You deserve better Sid.”
“I thought we were friends.”
“We are.”
“Then what would possess you to sleep with him?”
Nicole eyed me incredulously and shook her head, “Where was all this sisterhood crap when you stole him from me?” She scoffed.
“So is that why you slept with him? To get back at me?”
“I’m not doing this holier than thou crap with you,” she rolled her eyes, “you didn’t care about my feelings when you took him from me, so why should I care about yours?”
Nicole stormed off on me like I’m the one in the wrong here. Maybe Drew’s right about her and I’m just in denial.
“How’d that conversation go?” Patrice walked up beside me.
“She basically told me I deserve it for taking him from her.”
“Oh, no she didn’t!” Patrice rolled her neck, “Do you want me to go handle that?”
“No, just leave her alone.”
We entered the cafeteria and my eyes immediately went to Kim and Drew. They were arguing while his friends watched, sniggering from their seats. Kim looked so upset. I wonder if that’s how Nicole felt when Drew dropped her for me. It would explain why she would need to get back at me.
“Okay, what’s going on in that head of yours? What are you thinking about?” Patrice asked.
“I’m just wondering if that,” I pointed to Kim and Drew arguing, “is the reason why Nicole slept with Drew. I mean I’ve never stopped to think about the girls he’s dropped for me and how it affects them.”
“Sidney Stansfield,” Patrice placed her hands on her hips and tilted her head at me, “It’s not your responsibility to worry about or care about what happens to those girls. It’s that Neanderthal you call a man who should be worrying about all of that. Besides, anyone who dates Drew should pretty much expect a dagger through the heart at some point…except you of course. You’re the only one he keeps coming back to.”
Drew glances over at me and Kim follows his gaze. She shoves him backwards and starts yelling at him even louder now. Within minutes I’m standing next to him. She has tears rolling down her cheeks, and her eyes are now fixated on me.
“Are you here to rub it in my face?” Kim asks.
“Don’t talk to her, talk to me,” Drew snaps at her.
“I’m not here to rub anything in your face Kim.”
“Then why are you here? I guess you got what you wanted huh? Drew is all yours.”
“Why are you mad at me?” I frowned, “I’m not the one who dumped you.”
Kim lunged at me, grabbing me by the hair and yanking me down onto the floor. She punched me in the face and Drew pulled her off of me. Patrice helped me stand up and blood trickled from my nose. She busted my nose.
Kim managed to get around Drew a second time, but this time I was ready for her. She swung and missed…BIG MISTAKE. I decked her in the face and sent her crashing to the ground. That could have been the end of it, but I’ve been pushed around by dang near every girl at this school for dating Drew and I’m tired of it. Dropping down on top of Kim I continue to deck her in the face until Drew, Patrice and Em pull me off of her. Kim rolls over onto her side crying and she coughs up a tooth mixed with some blood.
“Instead of being mad at me you should be mad at him!” I shouted at her as Drew dragged me away.
“Sid, chill,” Drew forced me to look at him, “Just ignore her.”
“Sidney Stansfield?” our campus security guard, Red, called my name.
I raise my hand and he motions for me to follow him to the principal’s office. Great. I’m about to be suspended. I didn’t even start this stupid fight and now I’m about to get suspended.
My dad is going to kill me!
Kim and I were both taken to the principal’s office to hash out our beef. Drew was brought to the office several minutes later and our parents were called. I prayed to God they got a hold of my mom instead of my dad, but half an hour later he came walking into the principal’s office, FURIOUS. We waited for Kim’s mom to get there and then we had to explain why we were fighting. Drew sat there quietly while my dad shot him murderous glances.
“So you were fighting over a boy?” Dad narrowed his eyes at me.
“No, she hit me. I wasn’t trying to fight anyone until she busted my nose.”
“Over a boy,” he reiterated.
Kim’s mom demanded answers from Kim who explained how she was hurt that Drew broke up with her to be with me. She made it seem like I approached her trying to rub the fact that he was mine in her face, when that wasn’t even the case.
I denied doing that and Drew backed me up on it. He also backed me up when I told them it was Kim who threw the first punch.
An argument ensued as Kim tried to save herself from expulsion. She claimed I was sleeping with Drew, and we both vehemently denied it, but I could see the look of horror on my dads face.
“I don’t want to hear anymore of this drama. I know how to fix this,” Dad sighed frustrated, “I knew I shouldn’t have let you start dating. It’s too soon and obviously you can’t handle it without acting stupid.”
“What? I didn’t start this dad, she did! Why am I being punished?”
“Because I send you to school to learn, not get into fights!” He shouted, slamming his fist down on the table. “What you should have done is walk away, but no, you let that temper of yours take over! So you know what, I’m just going to eliminate the problem!”
“You don’t even know what happened! You weren’t there! I was defending myself!”
“Drew, Sidney is no longer allowed to date, so whatever the two of you had is done!”
“What? No!” I protested, “Are you serious? I’m not going to stop seeing him, I’m not! Why can’t you just have my back for once!”
“Sid, calm down,” Drew reached out to me.
“No!”
“Keep it up and I’ll send you right back to boarding school,” my dad declared.
“Of course you will, because it’s easier to send your problems away than it is to deal with them, right?”
“Sidney, stop talking,” Drew pleaded with me.
“I suggest you listen to your little friend here,” dad warned.
Friend…my little friend…that’s code for you’re never going to see him again and I hate him for it. I did nothing wrong and he’s not even trying to hear me out. On top of that, I’m getting suspended from both school and basketball, FML!
Still, I calmed myself down and tried reasoning with him, “She hit me first and I defended myself. I get why you’re angry, but what was I supposed to do, just let her hit me?” I asked, “And what does this have to do with my relationship with Drew? He didn’t do anything either.”
“I don’t answer to you, this conversation is over,” he glared at me, “You and Drew are done. You’re grounded for a week. And if you keep this up, I’ll pull you off your basketball team too.”
I looked over at Drew who just shook his head. Then my eyes flicked over to Kim who cracked a smile. She’s proud of herself and what she’s done. If she can’t have Drew then she doesn’t want me to have him either.
“This is bullshit!” I shove away from the table.
“Sidney, watch your mouth!” Dad shouts.
“No! She decks me in the face for no reason, and I get punished for it? Look at her! She’s smiling at me!”
“Forget about Kim,” Drew forced me to look at him, “listen to your dad and go home. You’re not helping either of us out right now by losing your cool. Maybe when we all calm down he’ll change his mind, okay,” he tried talking some sense into me, “Please. Do it for me.”
Closing my eyes, I sighed. I allowed Drew to be the voice of reason for me and forced myself to calm down a second time.
“I’m sorry,” I apologized to my dad and the principal.
Principal Keaton smiled, accepting my apology, but dad…he wasn’t as easily moved. He motioned for me to leave, and after hugging Drew, I walked out to my car. I drove home while he followed and as soon as we got into the house he had mom come into the room so he could explain to her what happened. He also took my car keys away.
Note to self-buy my own car…
“Sidney,” mom sighed, disappointed.
“Look, I’ll do the time as long as I get to keep seeing Drew,” I told them.
“You’ll do whatever I tell you to do. You don’t have a choice Sidney,” Dad began raising his voice again, “You should have thought about that before you got into a fight at school, and before you started running your smart mouth.”
“See! This is why I can’t talk to you! You don’t listen to me! All you do is bark orders at me and lock me away like some prisoner when I’m the only one in this house who isn’t doing dirt!”
My dads heavy hand struck me so hard I lost my balance and fell to the floor. For the second time today blood came trickling from my nose. I quickly climbed to my feet, glaring at him. I wouldn’t give him or anyone else the satisfaction of crying.
I hate him…I hate him…I hate him…
“Sidney go to your room and let me talk to your father,” mom placed herself between us.
I went up to my room and closed the door, but I could still hear them arguing. Mom stood up for me, or tried to at least, but dad refused to back down. Eventually she gave in and my fate was sealed. She came up to talk to me, but I had nothing to say. They’re ruining my life!
“Sid, what happened?” Mom asked.
“Kim was arguing with Drew because he dumped her. I went over there to make sure everything was okay and then she decked me in the face, so I beat her up. That’s it. I didn’t even hit her until the second time she came for me mom.”
“Well the school has a zero tolerance policy when it comes to fighting-”
“I’m not going to just sit there and let Kim hit me,” I cut her off.
“Which is why you’re in the situation you’re in.”
“Because I defended myself?”
“Because you didn’t walk away,” she nodded.
“Where! There was nowhere to go, she was coming at me again!”
“And your father said you were cursing at him.”
She had me there. I did curse at him. I was angry and I lost my cool, “Sometimes when I lose my cool I curse, sue me,” I sulked.
“Now see…its that smart mouth that gets you in trouble Sid.”
“So you’re taking his side?” I asked. “Did he tell you he’s forbidden me to see Drew?”
“Well I thought you were seeing Quincy anyway.”
“No, he broke up with me because I refused to break up with Drew.”
Mom sighed, and patted my leg, “Your father is the head of the household Sidney, and-”
I stopped listening. It’s the same speech she always gives me whenever she wants to explain why she no longer has my back. Tuning out her voice and lying back on my bed, I let her talk until her mouth stopped moving.
When she finally left, satisfied that I was properly reprimanded, I stood up and paced my room. There’s no way I’m going to let them split Drew and I up. Not now that he and I are finally in a good space.
Angry and hurt, I decided to hurt them right back. Knowing my dad, he probably wouldn’t even care, but it only made me more determined to get back at them.
I stuffed some clothes and a blanket into a suitcase, climbed out of my bedroom window, and snuck over to Drew’s. He always left his bedroom window open and I thought about waiting inside, but I didn’t want his mom to find me until I was ready to be found. Which is when I’m done being suspended. Three days from now.
I climbed up to the landing where his room was and waited for him to come home. My cell phone went off ten minutes before I knew Drew would be leaving school and I froze. It’s my dad. I didn’t answer. He texted me to tell me he was going to drag me back home if I didn’t come willingly, but I didn’t care. I told him I’d come home when I felt like it. He threatened to send me to boarding school, and I told him he’d have to find me first. That didn’t go over too well. I could hear him shouting my name in the streets and ducked down so he couldn’t see me. He came over to the Taylor’s house to ask if they’d seen me, and Drew’s parents told him they hadn’t. Unsatisfied, he talked them into letting him check the house. When he didn’t find me, he left.
He texted me to tell me he was going to call the police and have me reported as a runaway, but I didn’t care. Let them suffer.
Drew got home and before he could get into the house dad came storming across the street demanding he tell him where I was. When he saw how genuinely shocked Drew was that I’d taken off, he let him go and warned Drew to let him know if I contacted him.
I climbed into Drew’s bedroom to wait for him and listened while his parents grilled him. They believed him when he said he had no clue what was going on and that he hadn’t heard from me so they let him go.
When he came walking into his bedroom I was sitting on his bed. He paused, closing the door behind him and locked it.
“Sidney, what the hell?” He groaned.
“He hit me…again.”
“Yeah, well you kind of had it coming with the way you were talking to him,” Drew sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose with his index finger and thumb, “You can’t stay here. This is the first place your dad will look.”
“I know. He’s already been here.”
We both stared at each other in silence while several moments passed. This is the most dramatic thing I’ve ever done and now I’m starting to regret it. It doesn’t feel like I thought it would feel, and I can tell Drew doesn’t want me here.
“You know what, I’ll just leave.”
“And go where?”
“I don’t know, but obviously you don’t want me here, so I’ll go.”
“It’s not that I don’t want you hear Sid, it’s just that…I can get into a lot of trouble and so can my parents.”
“Fine, I’ll go back home then,” I lied.
He narrowed his eyes at me and shook his head, “I’m not stupid. I know you.”
Again there was another awkward silence, but this time, it was interrupted by the sound of the door handle jiggling. My heart thudded in my chest. I started to head for the window, but it was too late. The door opened and Drew’s parents stood in the doorway.
“What happened to your face?” Drew’s mom asked.
“Her dad,” Drew answered.
“He was just here looking for you,” Drew’s dad sighed, “And if you were my daughter I’d want you home.”
“I’m not going home,” I told them.
“Well you can’t stay here,” Drew’s mom copped an attitude.
“Fine, then I’ll leave.”
I took a step towards the window and Drew stopped me, “I’m not letting you go out there by yourself, it’s dangerous.”
“Isn’t there somewhere else you can go? Maybe a relatives?” Drew’s mom asks.
“My Grams. I could go to her house.”
“Okay, well Drew will give you a ride,” she replied, “pull around to the side of the house and I’ll let her out the side gate. Lord knows I don’t need Bill to see her leaving the house or he’ll think we lied to him.”
Drew nodded and did as instructed. His dad helped me with my suitcase and they let me out of the side gate. When I climbed into Drew’s car he told me that my dad saw him leave and snatched his phone out of his hand to see if he’d talked to me. He wanted to see if Drew and I were meeting up somewhere. Drew made up some lie about going to Xerxes’ house to hang out and my dad let him go after going through his phone.
“So, where does your grandma live?” Drew asked.
“I don’t know.”
He slammed on the brakes and stared at me like I was crazy. A liar yes…crazy, no.
“You lied,” he sighed, raking his hands through his hair.
“If I didn’t, your mom was going to turn me in.”
“Sidney, this is crazy,” he shook his head, “you should just go home.”
“He’ll kill me,” I sulked.
A car honked behind us and Drew pulled over to the side of the road. He pulled out his phone and texted someone. After a few minutes, he started driving again and I noticed we were heading downtown.
“Where are we going?”
“My dad has a loft in midtown. He said I can take you there for a few days until your dad calms down.”
Well, that was one weight lifted off my chest. Now all I have to do is avoid being murdered when I finally go home. Which is easier said than done. I’m afraid to go home now that I’ve turned a small argument into something so big.
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