Rainbow in the Darkness

Chapter 5A

I tried to keep a low profile the next day. Everyone was talking about the Post-It notes. I had several people stick Post-It notes to my body throughout the day. The messages varied; all were negative, but some were worse than others. The ones that were the worse were stuck to my books or desk with the author walking away quickly after they put the Post-It in front of me.

When the final bell rang, a sigh of relief escaped my body. There was bound to be more Post-Its tomorrow, but the first day after an incident was always the worst. Once everyone took it out on me they were more likely to just go about their business the following days. All I needed to do was get through the first day and that was now complete.

I debated about waiting for everyone to leave so I did not have any more Post-Its for today, but I really wanted to be home and curl under my comforter and read. Against my better judgment, I walked through the parking lot to get to my house quicker. I should have taken the longer route because people were still putting Post-Its on me. Acting like I wasn't affected by it made people care less, but it didn't stop them from writing the messages.

Students were sticking the Post-Its to the front of my body, but some stuck the notes to my back so only others could see. Tears were threatening to fall, but I made sure to keep my face emotionless. They were not going to see me break down again. All I needed to do was get to the gate and then I was free.

"Abi!"

I didn't turned around, recognizing the voice. I didn't want Derrick to see me covered in the horrible Post-Its; I barely wanted to see myself covered in the Post-Its. Judging by the volume of Derrick's voice, he was about fifteen feet away. I picked up my pace a little, wanting to put distance between the horrible school day and me.

"Abi! Wait up!" Derrick yelled again, his keys jiggling in his pocket as he jogged to catch up to me. A few seconds after he yelled I heard someone fall behind me.

My old friends had tripped Derrick and caused him to skid across the parking lot. It was one thing to pick on me, but it was another to pick on someone who they don't even know or talk to. Quickly, I walked over to him.

"Are you okay?" I asked, helping him up.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Some jerks just tripped me that all," he said, brushing himself off. Leave it up to Derrick to be tripped and cause a whole scene in front of everyone and still be smiling.

I noticed that he was brushing his pants off with just the tips of his fingers. Without asking, I reached over and grabbed his hands; there were cuts filled with gravel on his palms. His scab from when I ran into him had also been reopened. Still holding his wrist, I started walking towards my house, dragging him behind me.

"Um...where are you dragging me to, Abi?" Derrick asked, picking up his pace a little to get next to me. He didn't remove his wrist from my hand.

"I live around the corner and I'm going to clean up your scrapes. I didn't make sure you were okay last time, but now I can make sure your cuts are taken care of." I tried not to think about how I could feel his pulse or the fact that his cologne was in every breath I was taking. I couldn't look at him because I didn't want to face him with all these Post-Its on me.

"I'm fine. It doesn't hurt that much," he said, looking at me.

I released his wrist and made myself busy with trying to find my keys even though I knew exactly where they were. Luckily, her house was not far, which allowed her have a reason to not be so close to him.