''Ian Romero, the person I hate the most in the whole wide world. He turned the entire school against me, and then just left me alone in the hell he created.''
There's no one Cody Walker hates more than Ian Romero, who is the reason he has been bull...
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*Ian Romero's POV
"Did you at least tell your parents he's safe?" I asked. You should have seen how my jaw dropped, when I came to pick Cody up for school and Cole opened the door for me.
For a second or two, as drowsy as I still was, I mistook him for Cody. Cole's hair was longer and he had the same dark curls — although shorter than Cody's — paired with the familiar grey-blue eyes. Yet he was taller and had a somewhat sturdier build. I have no idea how he could have matured that much in just a couple of months..
"Of course. I called mom yesterday, even though Cole tried to talk me out of it. The last thing we need right now is some police patrol running after him." Cody sighed.
"How are you holding up?" He looked like he had barely slept and he had a small permanent frown on his face.
"Okay, I guess." Cody shrugged.
"Good." I said, although I didn't quite trust he was telling the whole truth. "But there's just one thing I don't get.. Why does your mom always blame you for everything?"
"No, she doesn't. Mom is just being mom." I could see it was a topic Cody didn't feel comfortable talking about.
"I don't understand how she saw Cole's depression and took him to see a doctor, but has no idea about the bullying." I continued, not able to keep my thoughts to myself.
"I don't know. Maybe he asked for help?" Cody gave me a warning glance.
"You asked too, but they just called you a liar." I pointed out.
"Yeah, and I've been keeping it from them ever since. It's not their fault I'd deserve a freaking Oscar." Cody huffed and then we walked in silence for a while, until he added: "Besides, it's Cole. Of course they need to take care of him."
"Yeah, and you're Cody and they should be taking care of you too." Sometimes it made me so frustrated how Cody took care of everyone else, but didn't seem to give a damn about himself. He just let people treat him like shit and shook it off with a smile.
"Ian, come on. I'm fine and I'm just glad they're making sure Cole is okay." Cody was clenching his jaw and he didn't meet my gaze. I knew it was a clue for me to stop, but the words just kept flowing out of my mouth.
"I'm really glad about that too. It's just that.. I don't know. I guess I'm just a little mad at your mom for blaming you, when you've been through hell all alone and they have completely overlooked the signs. You matter too, and I don't think she's being fair to you." When I was done, Cody looked me straight in the eyes. I couldn't tell what he was feeling exactly, but I could see there were some pretty heavy emotions teeming inside.
"Ian.. I know you mean well, but drop it, okay?" Cody admonished. His tone made it perfectly clear that he didn't want to hear another word.
"Okay. Sorry." I muttered and followed after him to the school yard. We didn't talk during the rest of the way to the classroom.
