(continued....)

Rainie’s suspicious glare did nothing to soothe Caleb’s frazzled nerves. They’d had history last period together, and Caleb’s vague answers during class hadn’t fooled her.

“No, I’m asking why they’re still fucking with you, Cabes,” Rainie clarified as though her brother actually needed clarification. She had a greasy slice of pizza held firmly in one of her hands as she looked deep into Caleb’s eyes. Searching for answers she simply wouldn’t get.

Caleb barely looked at her as he pushed around his chow mein with complete disinterest. He couldn’t tell her the truth, but he could offer a half-truth. It still wasn’t something he wanted to say, knowing it would make her ridden with guilt. “Because the last time we got the school staff involved, Arnold was the one they went after. Guess two days of detention made him even angrier than he already was with me. It’s why—”

“Two days?!” Spencer hissed beside her, dropping his spoonful of yogurt. “That’s what kids get for too many tardies! Not beating someone to the point of not coming to school for three fucking days!” Spencer’s voice had risen to a level Caleb wouldn’t have been comfortable with if they weren’t outside surrounded by nothing other than bushes and trees and the little brook that had been formed by the runoff of the school grounds’ sprinklers.

Caleb shrugged. It baffled him, too, but it was what it was.

“Stop doing that,” Rainie snapped.

“What?” Caleb asked, his brows pinching in both confusion and panic. Did she know he was deflecting?

“Shrugging! Like it’s not a big deal!” Rainie exclaimed, throwing her pizza to the plate. “You’ve been doing it a lot lately. Shrugging and dodging all of our questions. I’m sick of it.” She paused, narrowing her eyes. “Should we get ojciec involved?”

Spencer knew a few Polish words, from Rainie’s nicknames for her brother to most of the common phrases she used during her rants about people she didn’t want overhearing. But Caleb knew he didn’t know that one. It was a threat, one that immediately had Caleb clenching his teeth. Neither of the twins wanted anyone to know what went on in their home life, but Caleb really didn’t want Spencer—and by proxy, Jenny—knowing about it. It would be too much of a hassle, too dumb a move to make with so much riding on their father’s favor.

“Or,” Rainie amended after a good look at Caleb’s expression, “you can just start coming to school with me. You know, like we initially agreed on? At the beginning of the year when this bullshit survived the summer?”

Caleb’s mouth barely opened to hiss a reply. “Fine,” he managed to spit despite the obvious manipulation. “But you know I don’t like the motorcycle. I’ll just catch rides with Spence.”

An immediate light entered Spencer’s gem eyes. “Absolutely you can!” he nearly shouted before a dusting of crimson flushed his cheeks. He looked around nervously before lowering his voice and saying, “I-I mean, yeah. I’m totally down for that, especially if it keeps you out of their grubby little paws.”

The nonchalance he tried to use to play off his first bout of excitement was cute, and it tended to be moments like this that gave Caleb hope he shouldn’t embrace.

Rainie merely rolled her eyes, oblivious to her twin’s infatuation. “I still don’t understand what freaks you out so much about it anyways,” she mumbled.

“You’re a maniac,” Caleb answered with enough fervor to get her going. The quicker she got sidetracked, the better.

“Yeah! When I’m by myself!” she retorted indignantly. “You know I’m super careful with passengers and it pisses me off that you don’t trust me. We’re twins for crying out loud.”

The tactic to distract had done damage Caleb hadn’t intended. “Rains, you know I don’t mean it like that. They’re just…they’re more dangerous.” When she didn’t budge, Caleb pressed, “I’d freak out if anyone was at the handles. Not just you.”

A smile pulled at her lips, but Caleb knew it was forced. He felt bad, but he also wasn’t about to put himself on a motorized death trap just to make her feel better. Aside from the soccer fields, the roads to and from school were Caleb’s only safe havens and he was not going to trade that. Not even for his twin sister.

“Kowalczyk!”

“Shoot me,” Caleb muttered under his breath. Turning his eyes up to the very energetic boy before making his way over to their little group, he asked louder, “What do you want, Corwin?”

Corwin’s gold-brown eyes traveled over Caleb’s body, coming to rest at the cut near his temple. “Okay, okay. Not as bad as I thought. They didn’t touch your legs, it seems,” he said casually, as though it wasn’t fucked up that it was all he seemed to care about. “You ready for the game?”

“Corwin,” Rainie warned from behind her brother.

Caleb batted her away with a wave of his hand. Ready for the game? Oh hell yes. Soccer was the only damn thing in Caleb’s life that felt right. The only thing he felt he had control over. The ball listened to every minute touch with the accuracy that ensured consistent victories, and the adrenaline from running the ball down the field was something he could never get enough of. But was he going to tell Corwin that? No. Absolutely not. He didn’t need anyone taking that away from him too.

So, Caleb settled for a shrug. “I guess,” he mumbled without heart.

“You’re doing it again,” Rainie murmured so quietly Caleb almost missed it.

Corwin didn’t seem to catch it as he slapped Caleb’s shoulder in a not-so-gentle way that made the latter grimace. “Awesome, dude! Can’t wait to see you on the field!” That was all he had to say before he sauntered off.

“Of course you can’t,” Spencer seethed, his glare following the team captain back to his circle of friends. “Caleb scores all your fucking goals.”

Caleb didn’t bother correcting his friend’s statement. It was true, and the level of anger in Spencer’s voice matched Caleb’s own inner turmoil.

When he’d first entered high school, Caleb was immediately put on the varsity soccer team. That pissed off a lot of the older kids—one of which being Corwin’s older brother, Abel. During games, Abel did his best to maneuver the ball away from Caleb and never to him. The few times Caleb did manage to pick up the ball began showcasing his talent to the rest of the team. Trust in his ability to strike formed rapidly and picking up the ball became a near-constant occurrence.

Abel, on the other hand, wouldn’t be swayed. At the time, another Senior consistently had Caleb’s back, challenging every decision his counterpart made on Caleb’s behalf. The guy’s name was Maxwell and, while he was a hardass toward everyone else, Caleb seemed to have been a soft spot for him. The reason behind his Senior’s protectiveness over him had never been clear, but Maxwell ensured Caleb got the position of mid-striker and that really pissed some people off.

Rainie’s waving hands drew Caleb from his thoughts. Good thing she did, too, as he’d started delving into the darker territories plaguing his mind.

“Hello?!” she yelled as though Caleb wasn’t right next to her.

“What?” Caleb bit back slightly, despite being secretly grateful she’d interrupted his thoughts.

“The bell rang,” Spencer answered with a far softer, sweeter voice. He gathered up the trash from our lunch and dumped it in the nearby trash before returning to my side. “We’re gonna be late for class.”

“Right,” Caleb responded, gathering his things and standing to his feet. “Sorry. Think I spaced out.”

“Um, yeah. You did. That or you were just purposely ignoring me,” Rainie huffed as the trio walked back into the school. “You should really stop doing that. Especially when I wanted to know why Corwin’s being a total fucking ass.”

“Rainie!” the voice of an elderly woman snapped.

Rainie’s eyes widened as she realized the detention officer was making quick progress toward them before smiling and saying, “Well, boys, that’s my cue to leave! See ya!” With her signature, dorky salute, she turned and wove her way through the masses, quickly losing the detention officer to fume at her disappearance.

“Miss Kowalczyk,” she shouted over the sound of students, “don’t think I’ll forget about this!”

Caleb couldn’t help but snicker at the woman’s belief that Rainie actually cared about something as mundane as cussing in the hallways.

Without warning, Spencer grabbed Caleb’s wrist and guided him into the stream of students making their way to fourth period, concealing them from the old hag. Spencer’s larger figure cut through the throngs of students like butter, and Caleb always found himself more comfortable walking through the crowded hallways with his best friend at his side. Though the contact wasn’t new, it also brought a feeling of relief and comfort. As though lifting bricks from Caleb’s shoulders, leaving him feeling light and free of a world trying to crush him with everything it had.

It was because of this that Caleb allowed Spencer to drag him through the hallways despite knowing they had different classes.