What is Home

Chapter Sixteen

Monday came around and it was officially time to start my first full week going to a normal school, living a normal child's life. I was beginning to find my ground. I didn't need to have Reece holding my hand in everything I did. My comfort level had risen, and I was proud of myself for feeling so comfortable in such an unknown place.

"Charlee!" I felt arms wrap around me from behind while I reached into my locker to grab my books out of my locker for my next class. I jumped slightly at the abrupt action, it startled me.

"Grayson!" I exclaimed back to him in the same tone he had given me. I chuckled a little as I put my books into my backpack.

"Nice to finally see you today." He smiled wide as I threw my bag over my shoulder, shutting my locker lightly before spinning the combination lock to make sure no one could get in.

"Someone running a little late this morning?" I said as we walked down the hall, side by side, to my classroom.

"Slept through my alarm." He shrugged and I shook my head at his excuse. "Didn't miss anything important though, heard Ms. Sherman just put on a movie first period."

"I guess I know what I have to look forward to now." I laughed lightly as I looked up at Grayson, who was put together to perfection. His hair didn't have one strand out of place. His skin was flawless. And his clothes were ironed with no crease in sight.

As I took my eyes off Grayson my eyes locked onto my forever. I instantly looked away before he could catch me in his sight staring. He was focused on talking with one of his teammates as they made their way to their next period as well. We went to walk past each other in the hall and Pierce brushed his shoulder against mine. The hallway wasn't even full of people for that to be necessary.

My hand was by my side swaying as I walked. I felt his hand grab mine when his arm brushed against mine. My head turned to him. His smiled pulled me in distracting me from Grayson. For just a few seconds I was lost in Pierce. It was as if only the two of us existed in this school.

"Good morning Coleman, nice of you to show." Pierce ignored me at first. His hand dropped mine when he spoke to Grayson. His eyes drifted off Grayson to me, "And good morning to you Charlee."

"Morning." Grayson and I said in unison before we all took off in the directions we were originally headed in.

We stopped as we walked up to the door of my classroom. Inside Reece sat waiting for my arrival. It was nice not having to follow him around the school anymore. I was good with directions so I knew I wouldn't have to rely on him forever. It was still nice to know that I was going to have him in all my classes for the rest of the year. I knew that I would always have someone there in case someone started something. It didn't feel like this school was full of judgement but people always have their own thoughts. At some point faults would start to form, they had to. Nothing could stay untainted forever.

The bell sounding the start of the period went off and I walked into the classroom. Grayson took off for his class that wasn't far from mine. I took a seat next to Reece, pulling out my books and placing them out on my desk, shoving my bag under my chair.

The rest of the school day seemed to fly by. I began to step into this routine. Everything had its time and place. I worked better when things had a set schedule. It kept me organized. It's how I had to grow up to keep my siblings safe.

If I didn't make it home on time I would risk one of my siblings getting hurt or seeing our parents in a state, they should never have to see them. My entire life was planned down to the second. Every day was exactly same. I had no room for error or change because it would risk my siblings lives.

I would never lose that planned part of me. I didn't like being spontaneous because what would happen was out of my control. Going to the party not knowing what to expect was a big step out of my comfort zone because it was all out of my hands. The thing with the party though, was that I could control what I did and could make my own choices. That is what made it a good choice for me to go. I knew that stepping out of my comfort zone into an unknown space would push me to a better place in my life.

Last period rolled around and I knew that I would have to fully face Pierce. I was dreading what he had to say about Grayson and I. Not only that, but I was also wondering if he would bring up his loss of clear judgement when he almost kissed me. I didn't really know what to expect from him.

"Charlee girl." He said as I sat down next to him. I rolled my eyes knowing that he was mocking Grayson.

"Pierce." I replied with no emotion looking at him with a side eye.

"Feisty today." He raised an eyebrow at me. I couldn't help but shake my head at him with a laugh.

Before we could continue our conversation the classroom phone rang. My stomach jumped into my throat. That feeling of fear filled me all over again. I could feel my mind going hazy. The sounds of the classroom started to go quiet as I lost myself in the fear. I felt hands grab each of my arms but I didn't react at all.

"Charlee." My body shook as the sound of my name being said over and over again started to be heard. I blinked my eyes quickly trying to get the world around me to come into focus again. I looked at the person who was shaking me and trying to snap me back into reality. "Come back to me." As the voice became louder and the face came into focus I saw Pierce's worried face staring at me.

"Ms. Baker." I turned my head quickly to the front of the classroom. In the process I saw the faces of all my classmates staring at me. "Are you okay?"

I swallowed hard. My mouth felt like the Sahara Desert. It was hard to even respond to the question I was being asked verbally. I honestly couldn't even answer her question because I didn't know if I was okay. I looked back at Pierce who still had his hands on my arms.

"She will be fine." Pierce spoke looking at me. My eyes just stared into his, still not feeling like I even existed in my own body.

"She is needed in the office. Do you mind walking her there Mr. Hudson?"

Reece, from in front of us, stood up. "I'll take her."

Pierce shook his head. "Reece I'll take her." Pierce's eyes motioned to Harlow who looked like she needed comfort herself. It seemed as though none of these kids had ever witnessed someone have a panic attack in their lives. "I've been in this position before. I'll take care of your sister."

Just like that Reece sat down and Pierce and I left the room. The thought of talking didn't even enter his mind once. Pierce went into fight or flight mode when it came to taking care of me. He even did the same thing in the group home. This wasn't the first time I had been triggered by a real world situation. Pierce had talked me out of my head many times in the group home. It was clear Pierce would lose everything he had made for himself here at Lincoln High, just to keep me safe.

Pierce held my hand tightly stopping me once we got a few classrooms down. "You are okay Baker." He looked deeply into my eyes cupping my face in his hands just like he did back in the home. "I am here. Your forever is here."

"Seriously Hudson?" I heard sound in the hallway behind me. I could tellexactly who it was just by the pain in the voice. I didn't have to turn aroundto know that Grayson was standing there raging.