Page 16 of Armor
See, I may look like my birth mother... but I acted like my father.
A father who had a short fuse for anyone who wasn’t me or my mom.
And just like my father, that tether I held to my anger started to fray.
In a low tone, I asked, “What did you just say?”
The entire classroom, which was now full, seemed to freeze.
He snorted, “I know you heard me, cunt.”
And that was when my temper was unleashed.
Without a thought, I grabbed the textbook on my desk and slammed it into the front of his face.
***
I got suspended for three days.
My dad took me for ice cream.
Mom winked at me and gave me a spa day.
The brothers of the club fist-bumped me and then took a drive to that boy’s house.
His seat was moved to the other side of the room.
His broken nose was still blue and purple.
Whoops.
As for Alexander, he heard the story, and for the first time since I met him, he let others see him as he burst into laughter.
The brothers gave me chin lifts at the sight.
***
If he wasn’t doing prospect things for the club, he was at our house.
And one evening, one of my favorite movies was coming on.
I was planted in the corner of the couch in the living room with a bowl of popcorn loaded with butter and Reese's Pieces mixed in. And a Cherry Lemon Sun Drop.
The perfect concoction of salty and sweet.
The opening credits just rolled across the screen when I felt the air shift.
I looked away from the television to see Alexander.
He looked at the screen with a furrowed brow, “What are you watching?”
I grinned, “Just one of my favorite movies of all time,Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.”
He lifted a brow, “What’s that?”
I gasped, “Seriously?”
He shrugged.
