Him

Not Accepted

Finally Monday has come. Wow, I never thought I would be saying that. I’m not really a Monday person because that means I have to go to school. I’m really excited to go back. I need to try and apologize to Hazel. I can’t stand her and the twins being mad at me. I really hope that they will forgive me.

After meeting Jake’s parents I was truly sad. He seems to have to go through that a lot. I tried to talk him into calling the cops but he simply refused. I understand him being scared but he should say something. Eventually though, I let it go. We ended up taking a nap after that and I left around seven.

“Katie. Are you up?” My dad calls to me.

“Yeah,” I yell back to him.

I quickly grab my keys and purse and head out the door. Not even bothering to knock on Eli’s door, I head down the staircase. My dad is sitting in the kitchen on a stool. He looks really tired. He and my mom must have gotten home really late, or this morning.

“Good morning Dad!” I say. I walk up to him and place my arms around his neck. I hug him tightly and kiss his cheek.

“Are you okay? You never say ‘good’ morning. And you haven’t hugged me like that in a while,” He questions suspiciously.

I giggle. “Yes Dad. I’m fine. I’m just really glad you are my dad and that you love me.”

He smile. “Of course I love you.”

“Where’s Eli? We need to be leaving.”

“He didn’t tell you?” I shake my head. “He left with a friend this morning.”

“Of course he did,” I mumble.

“What?”

“Nothing. I got to go Dad. Love you.”

I leave the house quickly and get into my car. I can’t believe Eli would go with someone else. I’ve taken him to school ever since I got my license. He can’t really be mad at me. Can he? I don’t think I did anything wrong. This whole issue between he and I needs to end. Now! If he won’t talk to me at home, I’ll just have to confront him at school.

As soon as I get to school I rush in. I’m hoping to catch Hazel at our lockers before class starts. I really need to at least try and apologize to her. She needs to know I’m sorry for being that way with her. I was under a lot of stress. Owen was just so over the line and then Principal Renner’s weird list thing. It sort of made me lose it I guess.

I see Hazel from a distance opening her locker. I quicken my pace to make sure I will be able to at least say something.

“Hazel. I’m sorry for-“

“Save it,” She says slamming her locker and walking away.

I watch her walk away. She doesn’t even turn back to look at me. I was really hoping she’d at least hear me out. Evidently she is pretty mad still. It’s understandable but I hope it doesn’t last.

Once she is gone I turn to my right. Principal Renner is standing in a doorway. He has his arms crossed and is leaning on the door frame. He seems to be watching what is going on between Hazel and me. I send him a glare and turn to open my locker.

“Hey Katie.”

I turn around and see Marisol standing behind me. “Oh hi.”

“I know your probably wondering why I’m talking to you at school, but it’s really important.”

I wonder what could be wrong. Obviously it’s really important. She wouldn’t risk talking to me at school if it wasn’t. I couldn’t tell by her face what was wrong though. She was unreadable at the moment.

“What’s wrong?” I ask.

“Not here. Follow me,” She whispers.

I put my purse on my locker hook and grab my books for first period. Once I am done I follow Marisol. She leads me down the freshman hallway. I haven’t actually been down this hallway since I was a sophomore. It was kind of sad. I’m a senior now, so I’ll be graduating.

Marisol stops in front of a supply closet. She doesn’t really expect me to go in there with her. I doubt it’s very sanitary in there. I can’t even imagine. Marisol opens the door and rushes in. Seeing as how she was okay with going in there, I follow her.

“Okay, what’s going on Marisol? Is Laci okay?” I ask.

“She’s fine. This is actually about,” She pauses for a moment as if trying to decide whether to say it or not, “Jake.”

Here we go again. “What about him?”

“I just thought I would tell you why I didn’t say anything about him being Laci’s father.”

“Oh Marisol. You don’t have too,” I say.

“Yes I do. I didn’t think I would ever see him again. Honestly. When he showed up to church that day I went, I was shocked. I didn’t know he even knew where I lived. I didn’t want him around Laci, which I’ll explain why in a minute. I would first like to tell you what happened between him and me,” She explains.

“You really don’t have too,” I repeat.

She ignores me and continues. “I met him one day at school. He was transferred into our school because his dad had gotten offered a new job. Immediately I was interested in him. So I talked to him. He was so mysterious and I was intrigued. So he and I went on a couple of dates and then he asked me out. I of course said yes. It went smoothly for a while. But then he changed. He got angry at the smallest things. I was scared. But he told me he loved me and I went back to him.”

She stopped. The bell signaling class was starting in five minutes started to ring.

“Because I really believed he loved me, I had s*x with him that night. And you obviously know I got pregnant. And everything was well up until I had Laci. He said he’d be there but lied. He became angry again and he physically hurt me. I left after that and moved here. I never wanted to see him again,” She starts to cry.

I guess he has done this before. I really don’t think she would make this up. I can’t believe this. He hasn’t changed since her. But I didn’t hear her say he went to get help. So maybe seeing her and dating me is helping him.

I pull Marisol into a tight hug. “I’m sorry.”

She pulls away and wipes her eyes. “Please tell me the truth Katie. Has he hurt you?”

“No. He hasn’t,” I lie. I couldn’t tell her the truth. It would hurt her. She would blame herself for not warning me. I couldn’t do that to her. She has Laci to be worried about. She doesn’t need to worry about me also.

“I’m glad. I would feel so bad if he hurt you. Maybe you’ve changed him,” She says.

“Let’s get to class,” I suggest.

We leave the closet one by one. I hurry to class. Hazel isn’t sitting in her seat. It looks like she switched seats with someone. She must really be mad at me. I take my seat and look in front of me. Jake isn’t here. Where could he be? He was fine yesterday.

K – Hey. Where are you? Are you okay?

---------

Lunch is awkward. I have no one to sit with. Jake had texted me back saying he wouldn’t be here because of family troubles. That worried me so much. I hope it’s not his dad. I know his dad has serious problems.

Looking around the lunch room, I spot my friends. They are all laughing. It seems like they are having a really good time. My heart sinks when they noticed me. They immediately quit laughing and look away. I guess I won’t be sitting with them.

I throw my uneaten lunch in the trash. I suddenly am not hungry anymore. The outside eating area seemed to be less full than normal. I walk outside and spot Eli. I guess now is an okay time to approach him.

“Eli can I talk to you,” I ask hopefully.

He and Maya both look at me. All their friends give me weird looks. I wonder what that’s all about. Eli stands up and pulls me away from the table. He and I sit on a bench.

“Listen Katie. I don’t want to talk right now. Nothing is wrong with me,” He spits.

“Eli I saw the guy in our house. Are you taking drugs?”

“Seriously? You were spying on me. No don’t answer that. If you must know they are just performance enhancing drugs. I told you I needed to beef up,” He explains.

“Steroids? Are you serious? Those are so bad for you!”

“I don’t tell you how to live your life Katie!” He yells. “All though I probably should.”

“What did you say?”

“Nothing. Leave me alone. And quit spying on me.”

With that he gets up and walks away. As soon as he rejoins his friend’s tears fall from my eyes. Not only have I lost my friends, I have lost my brother as well. He obviously has a problem with a decision I made. What could it be? Why can’t he just tell me? Maybe I can fix it. But he won’t even give me a chance. I don’t know how much longer I can take him not talking to me.

“Are you okay?” I hear someone ask from behind me.

Turning around and looking up I see Riley. He sits down next to me. I look over his shoulder and can just barely see the table my ‘friends’ are sitting at. They don’t seem to notice that he is out here. Which is probably a good thing.

“No. I’m not okay. My life is just crumbling down,” I cry.

He pulls me into a one armed hug. I rest my head on his shoulder.

“Why don’t you hate me? I mean Fiona does. So you shou-“

“I make my own decisions Katie. We were friends long before we even met them. If you think I’m going to let them influence me, you’re crazy,” He pats my arm.

“Why do they all hate me?” I ask.

“No one hates you. They are all worried about you. I am too. Jake seems to be a bad influence on you. Don’t get mad. I’m not trying to bash your boyfriend. I just think you should be careful around him.”

I think for a minute. Riley does have a point. I know I have to be a little more careful around Jake. But I’m not going to just dump him like the others want me too. And I know that seems like a stupid idea, but I love him. And he loves me too.

“I love him Riley.”

“I know you do. But we all love you too.”

“Doesn’t seem like it,” I whine.

I lift my head from Riley’s shoulder and look at my ‘friends’ again. Wait. Why is… Principal Renner is talking to all of them. It looks like he is writing something down on a notepad. Oh my gosh. I bet it’s the notepad I saw in his office the day I had a detention.

I jump up quickly. Principal Renner is walking out of the cafeteria now. I quickly give Riley a hug and then race after Principal Renner. He is walking down the hallway. I follow him until he goes into the office. He must be going back to his office.

I hurry in there. I am about to go towards his office when the secretary stops me.

“Excuse me. Do you need something?” She asks.

“I need to speak to Principal Renner. It’s very important.”

“Fine. Go ahead.”

I fake smile at her and walk to his office. I don’t even bother knocking. I open the door forcefully. It hits the wall with a loud thud. Principal Renner looks up shocked.

“Can I help you Miss Holt?” He asks.

“Show it to me.”

“What?”

“The notepad. The one with my name on it. Show it to me now,” I demand.

He get up from his desk and points to the chair. I sit down in it as he shuts the door. Walking back to his desk, he sighs. He picks up the notepad and hands it to me.