Chapter 4: Guilty, But Not
827 Words
Thank you for reading! Please don't forget to vote, comment, and share your thoughts.
Your support means a lot.
Water couldn't wash away pain.
But for a few minutes, it could wash away the dirt.
Amara stood beneath the shower in the girls' washroom, letting the cold water run over her hair and soaked clothes. The banana milk and muddy water slowly disappeared down the drain, but the ache inside her remained.
After rinsing herself, she stepped in front of the cracked mirror.
Silence.
Her reflection stared back at her.
Bruises.
Red and blue marks stretched across her arms, shoulders, back, stomach, and legs.
She slowly turned from side to side, studying every mark her monstrous father had left behind.
Her lips parted slightly, but no words came out.
She quietly changed into her dry uniform, picked up her bag, and headed toward Miss Martha's office.
"Where's Xavier?" Victor asked, glaring at Derrick, Xavier's seatmate.
"I haven't seen him," Derrick replied without looking up from his notebook.
Victor's jaw tightened.
"That rat..." he muttered, clenching his fists until his knuckles turned white.
Hidden inside the abandoned storage room, Xavier squeezed himself between two old metal cupboards.
The room had long been forgotten by the school.
Sometimes students sneaked in there to skip class or spend time with their girlfriends and boyfriends.
Today, it had become Xavier's hiding place.
He hugged his knees tightly, praying Victor wouldn't think to search there.
Two hours passed.
Then another class.
Still, Xavier refused to come out.
Victor was losing his patience.
He hated waiting.
And Xavier had kept him waiting long enough.
"What's wrong?" Tiffany asked, noticing him tapping his foot impatiently.
Victor didn't answer.
This was never about the banana milk.
It was about control.
Xavier had dared to run from him.
That was something Victor could never allow.
The moment the teacher left the classroom, Victor stormed into the hallway.
Bang!
One classroom door flew open.
Bang!
Another.
He searched every empty classroom...
Every toilet...
Every storage room...
Growing more furious with each passing minute.
Startled awake by the loud noise, Xavier jerked upright.
His breathing quickened.
Then he heard the voice he feared most.
"Xavier..."
Victor's voice echoed through the corridor.
"Xavier..."
It was slow.
Almost playful.
Which made it even more terrifying.
Xavier covered his mouth with trembling hands.
His heart pounded so loudly he was afraid Victor would hear it.
The last time Victor beat him, he spent weeks recovering.
He couldn't let that happen again.
Bang!
The storage room door burst open.
Victor walked inside, dragging a wooden baton across the dusty floor.
The scraping sound echoed through the room.
At the far corner, a teenage couple who had been secretly making out immediately sprang apart.
The moment they saw Victor's face, they rushed past him and fled without saying a word.
Even they knew better than to stay when Victor was angry.
Victor smiled.
"Xavier..."
"I know you're here."
He walked slowly around the room.
"Hide all you want."
Then he chuckled.
"Actually... keep hiding."
"It'll make catching you more fun."
Xavier squeezed his eyes shut.
His entire body shook.
Victor stopped walking.
"Let's stop playing games."
"I won't hurt you."
He paused before adding,
"I just want the banana milk you promised me."
His eyes wandered across the room until they landed on a school shirt sticking out from behind one of the cupboards.
A smile spread across his face.
He had found him.
Instead of pulling Xavier out, Victor simply laughed.
"Meet me in the cafeteria with my banana milk."
"You'd better not disappoint me again."
Then he turned around and walked away.
Only after the footsteps disappeared did Xavier dare to breathe.
His shoulders slumped in relief.
But the relief lasted only a few seconds.
He still had no money.
No banana milk.
And Victor would be waiting.
As he slowly walked back toward his classroom, a dangerous thought crossed his mind.
Esther always keeps emergency money in her locker...
I'll borrow it...
I'll return it tomorrow.
The thought made his stomach twist.
He had never stolen anything before.
But fear had a way of making bad ideas sound reasonable.
"I'm sorry," he whispered to himself.
He stepped quietly into the empty classroom.
His hands trembled as he opened Esther's locker.
For a moment, he couldn't find anything.
Then he spotted a small purse tucked beneath her books.
His heart pounded.
He carefully opened it.
Inside was the money.
His fingers hesitated.
Then...
He took it.
"I'll return it tomorrow," he whispered.
"I promise."
Just then...
The classroom door slid open.
Amara walked in.
She saw everything.
Her eyes rested briefly on the money in Xavier's hand.
She didn't ask questions.
She didn't accuse him.
She simply walked past him, dropped her bag on her desk, and sat down as if nothing had happened.
Xavier remained frozen.
The money was still in his trembling hand.
"Why isn't she anything? "he muttered
- Writer
