From A To Z

Chapter 15

Yesterday I had resolved to give Arlo the benefit of the doubt but now I wanted clarity. The sheriff wasn't the only one who needed answers.

The moment the bell rang, I set out to find Arlo. I started at the gym. He wasn't there but Victor was. Through the door window I watched him dribble and shoot. The ball bounced off the rim and I read a cuss word on his lips. He ran after the ball and I scurried away before he could see me.

The hallways were swarming but there was no sign of Arlo. A few guys who hadn't spoken to me since middle school tried to chat me up but I ignored them. I was an hour into my newfound stardom and already hated it.

I popped briefly outside then checked the cafeteria not because I thought he'd be there but because I was running out of places to look. No luck. I was going to have to call him, I conceded reluctantly. This wasn't a conversation to have over the phone. I'd have rather looked him in the eye when I asked if he tried to kill Sienna. I'd have rather found a private spot where we could talk undisturbed but it couldn't wait. I needed to know.

Before I dialed him, I remembered the library. If people were staring at me, it would be much worse for him. And what better place to lie low than among the books?

I found him slumped over a table, his head in his hands. The librarian Mrs. Paisley was at her desk, reading a knitting magazine. They both looked asleep.

I pulled the chair next to Arlo and he jumped. He quickly regained his composure and his face settled into its usual scowl but his jerky movements betrayed that he was on edge.

A what's up and he returned to his textbook. It was upside down.

"We need to talk," I whispered, surprised by my own gutsiness.

"Now? I'm trying to study," he countered without looking up.

I reached under his nose and flipped his textbook around.

I'm not a fool, my eyes said.

Annoyed, he snapped it shut and glared at me. If looks could ki-.
I caught myself on time. I shouldn't think that, not even in jest. I'd only believe he did this to Sienna if he told me so himself. And even then... What was it about him that made me think he was hurting, not hurtful?

"How did it go?" I asked quietly.
"How did what go?"
"Your talk with the sheriff."
Arlo snorted.
"How do you think? He likes me for this. He's convinced I'm the one who whacked her."

He's not the only one who thinks that.

"There is something I need to ask you," I said quickly before I lost my courage.

Arlo pushed away from the table and leaned back in his chair. Muscled arms, strong hands, long fingers. Could he yield a stone with so much force as to turn it into a deadly weapon?

"Did you-"
He cut me off.
"I didn't hurt her."
"Did you," I began again, "go to the cabin with her?"
He blinked a few times, surprised by my question.
"Why?"
"You knew where she was. How?"
Arlo held my eyes.
"Even if I told you, you wouldn't—"

The library door flew open and smashed hard against the wall. Sienna's ex Tyler stormed in followed closely by one of his friends, a skinny guy with bad acne and a penchant for wearing black. Justin, I thought his name was.

Mrs. Paisley's head shot up so fast, I thought that her scrawny neck might snap.
"Hey, you freak!" shouted Tyler.
Mrs. Paisley blanched. She wasn't accustomed to this kind of language in her library.
"Keep your voice down," she pleaded.

Tyler ignored her and stomped over to where we sat huddled. He grabbed Arlo by the shoulders and yanked him out of the chair. I knew that Tyler was still hung up on Sienna but the intensity of his rage surprised me. He was here to avenge her regardless whether Arlo was the one to blame.

Arlo put his hands up in a conciliatory gesture but Tyler meant business. He shoved him and Arlo stumbled backward against one of the bookcases. Titles flew around, pages flapping like wings.

"That's enough!" screamed Mrs. Paisley but I was the only one who heard her.

Back to the shelves, Arlo seemed to be considering his options. Fight or flight. Reason or insanity.
Tyler was in his face, goading him.
"You dare take on a guy or you only hit girls?"

Justin found that funny and heehawed like a donkey. He was holding his phone up, documenting Tyler's bravery on video.

"Who said you can come into my town and hurt my girl?" Tyler cocked his head. "Talking to you, freak!"

"I said, that's enough," repeated Mrs. Paisley from the safety of her desk.

Grinning, Tyler poked Arlo in the chest, trying to get him to engage. When that didn't work, he took a swipe and hit him.

I saw the blood on Arlo's chin and without thinking, jumped between them.
"Cut it out Tyler!" I got hold of his arm but he shook me off like I was a bug.

Caught off guard, I lost my balance and fell over a chair. I dove and Justin's camera followed my tumble.

Had I known when I woke up that I would find myself spread-eagled on the Bruler High library floor before the second period had started, I would have stayed home.

I scrambled up but before I could get back on my feet Tyler joined me. Arlo floored him with a single punch. One blow was all it took and it was lights out. Tyler's head hit the ground and for a few seconds he didn't stir.

The closest I have ever come to a fight before was a shoving match over crayons in preschool. This was something else. My heart was thumping and my blood swished in my ears. I would never set foot in the library again without thinking of this moment.

Arlo shaking his right fist, Ms. Paisley screaming, Tyler out cold on the floor, Justin trying to decide whether to continue filming or put away his phone and help his friend.

We were all summoned to the office. Arlo was pressing his bloodied sleeve against his lip, Tyler was rubbing the growing bulge over his left cheekbone. The Principal made Justin hand over his phone and watched the video over and over, sighing deeper than during the vigil announcement.

"I have no words," he said finally, which was technically a lie because he continued talking. "I'm so disappointed. At the very moment the circumstances call upon you to behave maturely, you begin acting like cavemen."

Principal DeHan spat a bunch of other words too and none was intended to make us feel any better.

Our parents got called. My mom arrived first, already in full blown mama bear mode. She roared as if I was the one who had been attacked. The Principal tried to calm her down but she insisted that no one at Bruler High was safe as long as Arlo was here.

Sucking his split lip, Arlo pretended he didn't hear her. Mortified, I pretended I didn't know her.

Still shouting, she frogmarched me out of the office and onto the parking lot, cementing my newly minted celebrity status. I had no doubt that while I sat in the Principal's office, news of the fight had spread through the school like wildfire. There was drama, right here at Bruler High, and I was again in the middle of it.

I got in the passenger seat and sank as low as I could without actually sitting on the floor. Our first stop was going to be the doctor's office because no matter how many times I repeated that the only thing hurting was my butt, my mom was convinced that I had a concussion.

The day was a bust. I had managed to get everyone talking about me but had failed to learn anything new except that Arlo had one hell of a right hook.