Skeletons

Chapter Six

He sat across from the table, sawing his knife against the steak Lila's mother had prepared. Lila looked at him from eyes hidden behind strands of hair that fell over her face. She peaked over at her father. She had always pictured him as her Superman. With chocolate hair and matching eyes hidden by thick framed glasses, he was always someone who protected her from nightmares when she was younger. Now there he sat, completely clueless that the boy who sat across from his daughter was in fact her biggest nightmare. She looked over at her beautiful mother, who sat there putting another spoonful of rice into her mouth, oblivious to the fear that made her daughter almost too nauseous to stomach any food.

"So did Lila tell you both what happened in school today?" Austin asked once he swallowed the food that he had been chewing. A smile spread across his face as he looked at Lila knowingly. His eyes seemed to taunt her as he dabbed at his mouth with the corner of his napkin. His nose had a slight bruise on the bridge where Emmett had punched him and the cuts on his face from the subway incident had mostly healed. Lila glared at him, trying to choke down the fork full of salad she had stuffed into her mouth.

"No, she didn't. What happened?" her father asked, looking over at Lila questioningly.

Lila clenched her fists under the table, trying to think of an excuse to tell her father. She could feel her nails piercing her skin, beads of blood trickling into her palm. She rubbed her palms on her leggings, hoping to soak up the blood so it wouldn't be obvious that she was on the verge of an anxiety attack. "Um," she stuttered, taking a sip of her water.

Austin interrupted her. "We got assigned a project in English class that's pretty neat. We have to come up with our business plan. I'm excited about it. Are you Lila?"

His tone and face were taunting, as if telling her that she better watch her words. She knew that if she said one thing he didn't like, Austin would find a way of hurting her, maybe even her parents. She set her glass down gently on the table.

"Uh, yeah," she said, trying to keep her voice even. "It's about this, this business we have to create that can help people. I'm super excited. I'm trying to find some promising ideas."

Austin wiped his hands with his napkins. "Maybe you can create a photography company," he suggested, winking at her wickedly. "Lots of people like to take photos for social media and such. You can take advantage of it and put a twist on it to help society or something. Take photos that show people's... raw, naked truth."

Lila's mom nodded in approval and it made Lila's stomach twist into knots, almost making her throw up the food she had eaten. She knew her mother had no idea that this boy was trying to hint at the account he had made to defame her in school but if she had any clue at all, she knew her mother would be appalled.

"I'm glad Lila has a friend in school," her mother said, smoothing out her blonde hair with one hair before dabbing at her lips with her napkin. "She always seems so lonely and isolated. I'm glad she has someone like you to turn to for advice when she needs it."

Austin smiled at her and then looked over at Lila. "I'll protect her always."

Lila's stomach churned as she looked down at her plate and thought of Emmett, how she had lashed out at him to protect him. He was the loyal friend, the one who had protected her even if it meant that he would get hurt because of it. She had known Austin for years and once he had promised to protect her no matter what or who it was that she needed protection from. She had never in her life dreamed that he would be the one to hurt her. But it had happened and here he was trying to pretend that the one thing he cared most about was Lila's safety and wellbeing even though they both knew better than to believe his lies. Emmett had known her for mere days and he showed more loyalty, respect, and friendship than Austin ever had.