Chapter Thirty-Five

I can't believe I'm doing this, I must be insane. People might have thought Blake was the bad influence considering he's a single teen parent, poor grades and no schooling prospect in the future. However, I'd easily question that Kyle is the bad influence. Somehow he'd managed to convince me skipping school was okay. When really, it wasn't. "You'll be fine," insists Kyle, "people skip school all the time." Using the expression 'all the time' doesn't make the sickening feeling in my stomach soften. In fact, as I take each step towards the oval fencing, my heart beat pounds in my head and the sloshing churning of sickness propels. There's still time, I can back out of this and walk straight back into the school like nothing's happened. But no matter the doubt circulating in my head, my feet keep walking ahead like a robotic march to my death. "What's going to happen is, I'll help you over the fence and then I'll jump. Hide in the bush until I tell you to run," explains Kyle. "Hiding in the bush? Running? What do you know that I don't?" I ask. I bite my lip, chewing on the soft skin as a way to release my nerves. This new development to the plan makes me more scared than ever. Jumping and hiding just makes me think we'll get caught in the process. "Just a precaution." Kyle shrugs his shoulders. "Why do I feel like I'm signing my life away?" I ask. "Because you're dramatic?" he offers, "c'mon, let's go." The metal fence stands in front of me. Suddenly, it's turned from the role of the protector to the agony and pain in my behind. I've never noticed how scary and high up this simple metal fence looks. "Dramatic? I'm being dramatic?" I scream, "I could get a detention or school suspension for skipping school," I say. "I could too." He shrugs his shoulders, "But I'm not complaining about it." Kyle takes his backpack off and throws it over the fence. He turns back to me and offers his hand. I give him mine and he throws it over the fence. It lands with a bang among the green grass. "I'll give you a leg up, but try not to fall on your face." I frown at him as I walk past. I grip onto the fencing and claw my way upwards. Kyle's hand touch my butt and shove me up into the air quickly. I grab onto the fencing and try to hold myself, but the thin metal cuts into my fingers. I grit through the pain and continue climbing upwards. I lift my leg over the top and straddle it. I take a few moments to rest my hands before swinging the other leg over and attempting to climb down. My foot slips from its hold and I crash onto the ground. I don't feel the pain in my wrist and side until I move off the ground and stand up. "I told you not to hurt yourself." Kyle shakes his head, "Now get in the bush." I roll my eyes and collect the bags from the ground and perch near the bush out of view. Kyle jumps on the fence like an expert and hoists himself over. Instead of climbing down, he jumps and lands evenly on his feet like a stealthy cat. Just as I go to congratulate him, someone's voice calls out. Kyle doesn't look back, he runs forwards as fast as he can, leaving me behind with our bags. I tuck myself in deeper into the bush. If I get caught, I don't know if I'd be able to run as fast as Kyle or be compelled to stand back and turn myself in for a favour of an easy punishment. The choice isn't mine to make. The teacher moves away from the fence line and heads inside the school building. Without waiting, I run after Kyle's direction with one bag in either hand. I get to the car park and find Kyle sitting inside his car catching his breath. "Let's just get out of here." I throw our bags into the backseat and get into the front seat. Kyle puts the car into drive and speeds off towards the exit and in the direction of Blake's house. Nerves begin to swell up in my stomach. I don't know what I'll find at his house, but I hope to goodness that the bad luck curse that appears to be plaguing Blake's life has gone. Kyle turns the music up. A loud chaotic booming sound pulsing throughout the car and rattling the voices inside my head to scream louder to get at me. I lean forwards and turn the dial down, silencing the pounding. "What did you do that for?" "It makes the voices in my head louder, I don't need that." I press my head against the window and close my eyes. Kyle doesn't say another word, nor does he change the music playing in the car. The smooth sound of the engine running and the air con wafting out makes me smile internally. We pull up in front of Blake's house and I frown. I don't know how to feel or what to do. I press on the seat belt button and climb out of the car. With a numb feeling swirling inside of me, I trug forwards the house and slip down the side. Kyle follows along behind ever so quietly. As we get closer towards the house, Kyle grabs my hand and squeezes it tightly for encouragement. "Everything will be fine," he says. I hear voices, which makes Kyle squeeze my hand again. I peer through the window and see Tori and Blake standing down the hall. Tori clings to Blake's body like a sticky germ and wraps her arms around his neck. She roughly tugs on his neck and draws his lips to hers in a swift motion. Blake's hands run up her sides and clench. He rips her body away from his and frowns. "Stop doing that, I don't want you anymore. I want Ava," he confesses. Tori stomps her foot on the ground, sending a loud thwacking noise echoing throughout the house. "What about our daughter?" she screams. "From what you say, she might not even be mine." Blake throws his arms up in the air, his face bright red with anger. "Blake, I'm sorry, I was just angry." The aggression from Tori's body fades and suddenly her eyes swell up with tears and her lips tremble with sadness. "This is why London needs to stay with me, somewhere she's safe and well cared for. How will you do that?" "You're not being fair, Blake, please." "Not being fair? Not being fair is walking out on your daughter multiple times. I forgave you once, but I won't a second time. I'm putting my foot down because I'm tired of being treated like a doormate." He stands tall and crosses his arms over his chest. "I just want us to be a family, please, Blake." "You took that option when you walked out the door, now get out of my house," he shouts, raising his hand to point to the door. "Please Blake, don't do this, I was just lying, please, Blake," she begs, but her words don't phase Blake's final decision. She'd have to leave and wait to see how things would play out. Blake turns his back to Tori's sobbing mess. She runs her right sleeved arm across her face to dry her tears, then over her nose. Tori then takes a step backwards and shakes her head before grabbing a bag off the floor and retreating towards us. As Tori passes through the front door, her hollow eyes catch mine. Her lips curl back in a snarl and she shoots me a deathly glare. "Homewrecker," she mutters under her breath. Instead of subsiding and accepting the insult, something inside of me snaps, "No, stop making a fool of yourself. You made your own choices by free will, we never forced you to do any of it. So I won't stand here for a second and let you try to pin the blame on me when I'm the only one here who's done right by Blake and London." Tori takes a step back from shock. She shakes her head back and forth, before hurrying down the side of the house and disappearing through the gate. My phone starts to buzz in my pocket, which brings me down from my adrenaline rush. Before I have the chance to answer, Blake walks through the front door and spies on me. He doesn't say a word, he just wraps his arms around my body tightly and repeatedly whispers I'm sorry into the side of my neck. I wrap my arms around his body tightly against mine and let him be. And that's when I realised that I didn't need words to comfort Blake, I just needed to hold him together like Kyle had done for me.