Seven
1747 Words
Callum hid his bike behind the dumpster and covered it with a camouflage tarp he carried in his bag. Walking inside, he avoided the workers at the front desk to make his way to the tables. Ambrosia had suggested using a place other than home to try getting his homework done. Taking her advice was easy, mostly because it gave him a small reprieve from the whippings Justin seemed so keen on giving him.
Ambrosia usually came with him, but she was with the rest of the track team for practise. That meant he was on his own for the day. He had wanted to stay and watch, but her father had shown up. As soon as she knew, she convinced Callum to leave, promising to meet him at the library.
Pulling out his books, he checked his answers. He wanted to graduate so he would be able to tell the system to screw off, but he felt a yearning he never had before. Knowing that she had such a powerful hold on him, he was sure that he’d never find the courage to tell her the truth.
A shadow fell over him, and he swallowed tightly. Glancing up, he saw one of the women that worked in the library. The scowl on her face made it clear that she didn’t like him. Oh well, if she wanted to try his patience, he was willing to give her a one-way ticket to Sarcasm Town.
“Is something wrong?” Callum asked, fighting hard to keep his attitude to a minimum. He still wasn’t sure who he could trust in the town, but he knew that Ambrosia was in his corner.
“You need to leave,” the woman stated.
Cocking a brow, he said, “Sorry, I assumed that the words ‘Public Library’ on the front of the building insinuated that everyone was welcomed. Is it closing time or something?”
Keeping his face neutral, Callum went back to his studying. He frowned down at the book before looking back to his notes. Cursing softly, he realized he’d jotted down the wrong definition of a few words. Hearing the woman snarl, he blinked innocently up at her. “I’m trying to study for my History midterm. Can I have some space, please?”
“I told you to leave,” she snapped.
“What is going on over here,” the man demanded in a calm tone.
The woman rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest. “He won’t leave!”
Callum groaned, frustrated by the obvious low-key racism.
While he knew that this was a predominately white town, there were plenty of people who had ancestors who were of Native decent. He learned a long time ago that the world was full of people who would rather follow the leader like sheep to the slaughter then bother to think for themselves. Deep in the back of his mind, he could hear his father’s voice telling him to always take the hard road because it would strengthen and shape his character inside and out.
He was happy he never forgot their voices. Happy that he forced himself to keep remembering the people that loved him. The people who were probably still scouring the planet looking for him. A soft, warm hand fell to his arm, and he looked up at Ambrosia as she stood over him. His heart skipped as she sat beside him.
“What happened to practise?” He asked in concern.
She shrugged, “Mara tripped and possibly broke her ankle, so Coach gave us the day off. What happened?”
“I was just sittin’ here, trying to do my homework and get in some studying, when this lady came and started telling me I had to leave. I know I didn’t do anything wrong, so the only other explanation is that she doesn’t like people that look like me,” he stated simply.
Seeing the simmer of her anger in her deep green eyes, Callum breathed a laugh as he covered his mouth. Seething, Ambrosia set her book bag down and crossed her arms. “Uh, what the f**k?”
“Cussing isn’t lady-like,” the woman sneered.
Ambrosia grinned darkly before letting her sarcasm off-leash. “Fuckity-f**k-f**k-f**k it. I don’t have time to practise being a lady when I got better things to do than deal with dummies. What is your issue with my friend?”
Shocked that she would go that far for him, Callum felt the guilt of what he was doing to her come crashing down on his shoulders. He knew he would never be able to go though with his original plan. Besides, he was already in deep enough that his emotions were dancing in sync with his sanity, forcing him off his chosen path and onto the one Fate had planned all along.
“Why do you want to kick him out if he hasn’t done anything?” The man asked.
Shaking her head, the woman re-upped her stance. “Just look at him! Those people are all the same, Joe. You let them take an inch and before you know it, they steal the teeth out of your head to get their fix.”
Anger darkened the man’s eyes. “You can pack your things and leave, Felicity. This is a library; a place of peaceful inclusion where people can learn.”
“I have a right to the freedom of speech!”
“Yes, absolutely. However, you do not have a right to participate in hate crimes or situations wherein your words cause another pain for no good reason.” Watching the woman leave, Joe turned to the girl and her friend. “I’m sorry about that. I’ll leave you two to your studies now. Let me know if you need anything.”
Ambrosia pulled out her books to work on her Math, she glanced over at his worksheet and noticed that their handwriting was almost too similar to tell apart. “Hey, want to make a deal?”
Arching a blond brow, Callum turned his deep brown eyes to her and smirked. “It’s not something that’s going to get us in s**t, is it? I don’t want to give your father another reason to get pissed with me. I mean, I look at the prick the wrong way and I bleed, so be gentle with me.”
Giggling softly, Ambrosia gave him a little shrug. “You hate History, I hate Math. Let’s do each other’s work so we can finish early. Then we can go to the park or something to relax? I’ll just tell my father that I needed a pacing partner for running.”
Relaxing sounded like a great thing to do after the s**t day he’d had. Wordlessly taking the books from her, he grinned. Part of him was still thinking that she would turn on him, so he was slightly surprised when she slid his books over to her side of the table. He frowned down at the page and realized that she lied about needing help with Math. Scowling at her, he spotted her father stomping over to them. “Babe, your father is here.”
“I told you not to call me babe. We are going to lie our way out of this. I know I said I hate lying and liars, but this is technically a life or death situation,” she grunted. Nodding, she handed back his books, raising her voice slightly as she spoke. “It looks good to me. Just make sure you double check all your work before you hand it in. Mrs. Thorn can be such a b***h sometimes.”
Knowing that she said it loud enough for the man to hear, he noted the exact time that Justin stopped and took a step back. He swallowed the lump in his throat, wanting nothing more than to run when he owed her for yet another favour. “Yeah, your Math looks good to me, too.”
Stealthily looking over his shoulder, he saw Joe stop Justin. Thankful that they were saved for the time being. Turning his attention back to her, he whispered, “Why lie?”
“If he knew about us swapping homework, he’d blame you even if it was my idea. I don’t want to take that risk, Callum. Please, don’t contradict me,” she pleaded softly.
He nodded, “I won’t. You haven’t done me wrong yet, Amber. I’ll keep trusting you until you give me a reason not to.”
Sniffling, she tried to focus on her work. Yet, the invasive thoughts still continued to bother her. She didn’t want him to suffer, but she felt powerless to stop it from happening. Just the week before, she slipped the new Worker a note. When she looked again, the woman had crumpled it and threw it away without looking at it at all. Later that night, she overheard her father bragging about how he knew the woman from school and how she had a crush on him. Using that to his advantage, he had effectively cut off Callum’s cries for help.
“Something on your mind?” He asked quietly, not wanting to draw much attention to himself.
Ambrosia nodded, “Yeah, a trip to the pharmacy. I’m running low on supplies.”
“Don’t get in the middle. I don’t want you hurt, Amber.”
Her heart tightened at his words. “Callum, I can’t just do nothing.”
“You tend my wounds, and that’s enough for me. Promise me you’re going to stay out of the way for me. I can handle pain just fine, but I never want to see his anger directed at you,” he said, watching as Justin left.
Biting back her sarcasm, she realized that he was just trying to protect her. “Callum…”
“I’m not going to argue, Amber, but if he ever puts his hands on you, I will be the death of him. That’s my promise, so you swear to me – swear on that twin you always talk about – that you won’t give him a reason to hurt you. My heart wouldn’t be able to take it,” he whispered.
Her chest tightened as tears sprang to her eyes. “Okay. I promise I won’t get in the middle, Callum. Not unless I have to.”
- Writer
