The clatter of pebbles against my window shakes me out of sleep, and I kick the covers off, padding over to the window and pushing the sash up.
Squinting into the dim of the lamplit street, my eyes find Lena, standing shivering in a pool of golden light. She gives me a half-hearted smile, and a half-hearted wave. "Did I wake you?" Her voice is soft in the summer air, and my heartbeat quickens.
I shake my head, and lean on the window-ledge. "Of course not. But it's... it's the middle of the night. What are you doing here?"
"I can't sleep," she says, tears sparkling in her eyes, so bright I can see them from here, "Something... Something happened... and I don't know what to do. Can I—"
"Yes, of course you can," I say, not even waiting for her to finish the sentence. She doesn't need to. "Just wait two seconds."
I leave the window open, curtain drifting like a breath in the breeze, and run down the stairs on tiptoe, easing the front door open and pulling Lena into my arms.
"Tell me what's happened, love," I whisper, half expecting her to say she's had a nightmare. But she's never thrown pebbles at my window in the middle of the night before, and she has nightmares all the time, of course she does. Stretching out my leg, I push the door shut behind us with my foot, and walk Lena upstairs.
Once we're in my room, we sit on my bed, and Lena curls into me as I wrap my arms around her, resting my chin on top of her head.
Her hair's damp.
"Chris tried to kill Gordon," she whispers, "At the lake today. And he nearly did it. Etta had to give him CPR... and I had to call an ambulance."
I think my heart stops. "Lena?!" I squeak, vision darkening at the edges even in my shadowy room.
She hugs me tightly. "Gordon's OK," she says, "He's OK. He's just shaken up. And angry. But we're all angry."
"Lena, I can't breathe," I whisper, "I can't— I can't—" I keep trying to replay her words, "Gordon's OK," but all I can hear in my mind is "Chris tried to kill Gordon", and all I can see are Gordon's eyes, half-closed and unseeing, and all I can do is pull Lena so close I think she might snap, or my arms might.
But she just holds me and strokes my back, shushing me as whimpers shudder from my mouth. She doesn't say anything.
"Where's Chris now?" I croak, "Is he— Has anyone—"
Lena shakes her head. "I don't know, Scott. I don't know how we're gonna do school tomorrow."
"You mean we'll have to see him there?" My fingers turn to claws and I cling to the soft fabric of Lena's hoodie. "Lena, you can't go! You can't, you can't... I can't stand the thought of him hurting you as well. You'll stay home, won't you? Please say you'll stay home."
She pulls away, and rests her forehead against mine. "He's never gonna find out about me," she says, "Or you. Don't worry."
"But what if he does?" A sob escapes my chest like a painful hiccup. "If he'll hurt Gordon, he'll hurt us too; you know he will. Please don't risk it. Please don't go in tomorrow."
"Hey, look, listen," she says, "I'm not going to let him frighten me, OK? And nor should you. We're going into school tomorrow, and we're pretending everything's fine. It's the only way we can stay safe. You know it is." She hugs me. "You know it is," she repeats, rocking me gently from side to side.
-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-
When the morning sun wakes us, Lena stirs against my shoulder and hugs my waist.
YOU ARE READING
This Still Happens
Teen FictionWhen Chris, an old friend, assaults him for being gay, Gordon goes against the advice of his remaining companions, and takes violent revenge. Vengeance, though, is never as sweet as expected. Now Chris wants to kill Gordon and his friends, and he wo...
