Just A Little Different

Chapter 13

Over the next week or so, Adam kept his eye on me and I avoided him as much as possible. I was starting to think what Ben had said before was true. He's all talk. Then came the day Ben had to be dismissed for an appointment. I'd been asked if I wanted to leave too, but I took into account that I've never really had the best grades and decided to stay. I was maintaining an eighty average with assignments so far and planned to keep it that way.

When the bell rang for home, I got a text from Ben saying I'd need to walk home because his appointment was taking longer than expected and Ma had already put the spare key in the mailbox in case of something like this. I decided I should probably get home quick. Most of the other people had already left so I couldn't exactly blend in with the crowd.

I decided to take the route through the woods. It was the fastest way home after all. When I had almost reached the end of the path and open sky once more, I felt a hard shove from behind and screamed, panicked.

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"Mom, Ian hasn't even grabbed the key yet," I said, taking the key from the mailbox and walking to the door to meet with my mom.

A look of confusion settled in her eyes. "That's weird. I hope he's alright. School ended like an hour ago."

My stomach clenched. I remembered the bruise on his face from before. I didn't mention it to anybody, not even him. I had kept a close eye on him, but he hadn't gotten anymore since. He was also still terribly afraid of Adam, even more so than last year. Stop it! I yelled at my brain. He's probably just sitting by the river as usual. He likes it there.

When we got inside, I went upstairs and threw my backpack on the floor, then whipped out my phone. Not even a text from him. I decided to text him. After five minutes of no reply, I called him. Still nothing. Before my panic began to rise, I told myself his phone is just on silent and ran downstairs. "Mom, can you call Ian's phone please?" She was washing dishes, but must've sensed my panic because she dried her hands and made for her phone, not bothering to turn the tap off.

"He's not answering," she said after a few minutes. She's turned her attention back to the sink as I grabbed my jacket. "Where are you off to?"

"I need to go find him."

"He's probably just sitting down by the river or with that other friend of yours, honey."

"Well, I don't know that." Before she could argue, I walked out of the house and slammed the door.

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I searched by the river, but he wasn't there. I called his phone, but he didn't answer. Then I called Ambrew.

"Hello?" came his voice from the other end of the line.

"Have you seen Ian?"

There was a pause, then, "No, I haven't. I know he left the school late though. The last I saw was him leaving the building as my mom pulled up. He headed for the woods. I had no time to warn him that I'd seen Adam head in that direction just minutes before." I felt like I was going to be sick, and I must have physically groaned because he then said, "You okay?"

"Ian never got home. I have to go." Without another word from me or listening for him to stay anything, I hung up and ran as fast as I could for the woods.

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I braced myself when I reached the edge of the woods. The sky was beginning to grow dark. I took a few tentative steps forward, then began to grow panicky as I continued walking without any sign of him, that is, for a few minutes. I stopped when I saw a shape laying in the middle of the path. That has to be him.

My eyes began to water as I ran over to him. He was unconscious, bruises decorated his face in an ugly blue-purple color, his right eye was swollen and black, and he had dry blood all over his face and hands. He must've tried to shield himself with his hands by covering his face. His breathing was audible, but rather shallow. I lifted his shirt a bit and immediately wished I hadn't, as I was met with the same ugly color around his stomach and ribs. "Ian?" I shook him lightly. I was in complete shock at the state he was in. When the shock subsided, I took out my phone.

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I was in excruciating pain when i woke up. My head was spinning as I opened my eyes...or, my left eye. My right eye refused to open. I looked around. Ben was sitting with his mom, her arm around his shoulders as he cried on her shoulder. He looked so broken. In front of them was a man in a white coat.

"He has a couple of broken ribs, three fractures in his arm and his ankle is sprained. I would recommend keeping a very close eye on him for the next few weeks to a month. I would also look into trying to get some information from him. You could press charges against whoever did this and have them put away for a while. As soon as he wakes up, you guys can leave. You just need to sign some papers first."

"Thank you." Ma sighed as the doctor exited the room. How did I even get like this? I wondered.

I tried to sit up, but the pain had not yet subsided and I cried out. "Ian?" Ben lifted his head. "Ian!" He jumped up and ran over to the bed, just barely stopping himself from jumping on me.

I could feel tears as the pain slowly ebbed away. "That freaking hurt. What happened to me?"

"I don't know," he whispered, his face close to mine. I felt his hand on my head, gently caressing my hair. "I was kinda hoping you could tell me."

"The last thing I remember is leaving the school," I admitted.

Ma walked over to stand beside us. "How do you feel?"

"Everything hurts," I whined. "I can't open my freaking eye."

"It's swollen shut, honey. You need to give it some time. You can put something on it when we get home."

"What time is it?"

Ben looked at his phone. "Almost eight."

The doctor walked back into the room and handed Ma a clipboard with a few papers on it. While she looked those over, he looked at me. "You look like you got into a fight you couldn't handle."

"I feel like I've been hit by a truck."

He smirked. "You look how you feel. My advice to you is to just relax for the next few weeks." He stepped out into the hallway for a minute and came back with a wheelchair. "I hope you feel better soon." Ma handed him the clipboard and he left her and Ben to help me out of the bed and into the chair.

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It killed me to see Ian in so much pain as we helped him get into bed. Mom left us alone afterwards. "You're gonna be fine," I murmured gently. "I have a feeling you were attacked by Adam."

His open eye met my eyes. "What makes you say that?"

"I went out looking for you. When I couldn't find you by the river, I called Ambrew to see if he knew where you were. He said he saw Adam leave the school and head for the woods just minutes before you did."

He was silent for a moment. Then he said something unexpected. "I don't know what I ever did to him. I know I laughed at him last week, but before that, I never said a word to the guy."

"Don't dwell on it. Not now. You need to rest."

"Ben please, just listen. I don't know what I did or why he hates me, but it worries me."

"He's just a jerk-"

"Do you really believe that? Do you really believe someone just grows up being a jerk? What if he's going through something similar to what I went through at home and he has different coping methods. I'm not saying that gives him the right to do something like this, but if he had to spend his whole life trying to be intimidating, there could very well be something he's intimidated by. I wouldn't wish my fate upon anyone, but it always happens to all of the unlucky ones. Just try to see things from his perspective before you start lashing out at him. If it turns out that he really is just a jerk, then you can scream 'I told you so' from the Heavens. Just...just think about that...please."