CHAPTER SIXTEEN: LEO

After the only drama in class, it was time for lunch, Athena and I walked into the cafeteria and all eyes were on us, Dylan and his group were glaring at us, I wondered why, after we got our food, Athena and I were walking towards our seat when someone tripped her, she fell to the ground, falling on her face,

"Fuck, Principessa, are you okay?" I softly asked and helped her to my feet, then I took a couple of tissues from my tray and hers to stop the bleeding, then I held her head back and waited for the bleeding to stop, which it did a few minutes later.

When I noticed Diana smiling at me, I realized she was to blame for Athena's fall.

"You should be more careful, freak, you might get hurt," Diana laughed, and her friends joined in.

"Why do you have to be such a bitch Diana? Is your life so pathetic that you have to make other people feel miserable?" I growled angrily, I was so fed up with her bullshit.

"Why are you protecting that freak, she doesn't belong in our circle, she doesn't deserve you, she is just a whore like her mother, sleeping around to get everything she wants." Diana said, humiliating Athena further than she already was.

"You really think I'm with her because she slept with me? You should look in the mirror first, Diana, before you call someone a whore." I scoffed enraged at the fact she called Athena a whore.

"You can't talk to me like that, do you know who I am, I can ruin your life, don't cross me because of this freak," Diana yelled angrily, If she wasn't a girl I would have slapped this bitch.

"Diana You are all bark and no bite; if it weren't for your wealthy father, you wouldn't be here; you are nothing but a bully, and everyone knows it. I despise bullies, that's why nothing will ever happen between us."

"Leo, please let it go; we can eat elsewhere." Athena said, trying reasoning with me but I needed to make my point clear to this girl.

"People like you think it's okay to mess with defenseless people because they don't fight back; you think it's fun, but you don't care what your actions cause."

"We really don't care, people like her need to know where they belong, and that's at the bottom of a ditch," Dylan said then I turned to face him, flipping him off.

"If that's the case, people like you should be locked up and the key thrown away," I sneered.

"You should know who you're protecting, who she really is; did you know your little friend over there was sleeping with a teacher, and we even caught it on video?"

When Diana pulled out her phone to show me the video she was referring to, I saw the blood drain from Athena's face. But before I could say anything, Athena bolted from the cafeteria and Diana began playing the video. It was a video of Athena and another guy. She seemed uneasy, and then I noticed him putting his hands on her. She tried to fight him off, but he hit her, knocking her to the ground. That fucker tried to hurt her, but he couldn't because she kicked him in the balls and ran out of the room, I was fucking proud of her that she was able to fight him off.

How messed up was this school or this town? Why would they call her a whore after watching that video? It was obviously sexual harassment.

The video then stopped, and Dylan and his friends were smiling as if they thought what they had done would prevent me from seeing Athena; how wrong they were.

The guy I had previously threatened was laughing, I later learned that his name was Mason. He still had the guts to insult Athena after I had warned him what would happen if he did

"I told you she is a whore, now you will stay from trash like her." Mason said and the entire cafeteria burst into laughter.

I took long strides towards him, grabbed his face, and slammed it into the table. I then learned down and whispered into his ear.

"I gave you a warning Cagna, didn't I, but you chose to disobey me and continued to demean her. It irritates me when idiots like you treat me and the people around me with disrespect" I said as I raised his head and slammed it into the table again "Mason, next time you say something demeaning about her, you will get what is coming to you. Do I make myself clear?

"Yes you did, just please let me go" Mason begged as his eyes began to cloud with tears, wimp.

"let's get things straight, that video will not change anything, you all are just a sad little pricks bored with their own lives, so they decided to pick on a defenseless girl" I said with obvious anger on my face "but this would be the last time you ever try shit like this again, if you want to get to her, all of you have to go through me,"

Having said that, I left the cafeteria to look for Athena but she was nowhere to be found. Thinking that perhaps she had gone home, I skipped class and went to her house to look for her but I didn't know her apartment number. I waited for a while but it was getting late and I had to pick up Shane from school so I left her building and went to pick him up.

"What's the matter, Leo? Who upset you?" Shane asked via text, clearly noticing that I was still upset about the previous incident.

"Just some high school drama, nothing I can't handle, how was school today, I hope those guys didn't try to shit with you today," I asked

"No, I simply avoided them." He signed

"That's fine, just avoid them; bullies are people who are insecure about themselves and try to make other people miserable in order to feel better about themselves," I told him, but it felt like I was trying to comfort myself.

I made getting dinner an excuse to go to Rudy's so I could see Athena. I looked around the room while we were eating dinner, hoping she'd show up to work today, but she didn't. I waited a little after we finished, but she didn't come, so Shane and I went home.

After we freshened up, I assisted him with his assignments; when he was finished, he went to bed because it was a school night; after clearing up, I returned to my own room to work on my assignments before retiring for the night.

My heart ached thinking about the pain Athena was going through after watching that video again. I was unable to help Lily, but I will do everything in my power to help Athena.

*Flashback*

"Hey Leo, how's Shane?" my best friend asked over the phone.

"He's fine, Lily, what's up? It's late, you can't sleep?"

"No, I can't, I just wanted to hear your voice," she said strangely.

"What's up, Lily? You sound strange."

"I'm sorry, Leo; please forgive me the next time you see me."

"What are you on about, Lily? Why should I forgive you the next time we meet?"

"I love you Leo, tell Shane I love him too, see you later"

"Lily, lily, lily, can you hear me, what is going on?"

The phone rang, but she didn't answer. Lily and I have been friends since we were in elementary school, so her behavior during the phone call was weirder than usual.

I tried calling her mum's number again, but it went to voicemail. I also tried calling Lily's phone again, but it too went to voicemail.

Come to think of it, Lily has been acting strangely ever since she started attending that private school in Beverly Hills, but Lily always said she was okay.

I changed into a hood, sweatpants, and my black converse before leaving for Lily's house, I drove my truck to her house and went to knock on her door when I saw a police cruiser packed outside the car, I was confused, her father came to open the door, he looked like he was crying.

"Leo, I'm really sorry" he said

"Sir what's wrong, Lily just called me a few minutes ago and said she loved me and that I should forgive her; is she okay?"

Her mother approached us, and I noticed Tommy, her older brother, looking at me with sad eyes.

"Could you please tell me what is going on, Tommy?"

"Leo, I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this, but Lily was found dead in one of her school's classrooms," Sheriff Gary said solemnly as he walked towards us.

"No, no, no, lily isn't dead, she called me a few minutes ago, she can't be dead," I crumbled to the ground as tears streamed down my face, my best friend was dead, she called me, I should have talked to her more, I should have known she wasn't okay, Tommy rushed to my side and engulfed me.

I cried into his chest in a hug, she was the only one who understood me, the only one with whom I could share my pain.

Gary advised her parents that her wrist had been slit and she had bled to death, and that three letters had been left beside her dead body, one for her parents, one for Tommy, and one for me.

Gary handed each of us a letter, and I put mine in my pocket. I expressed my condolences to the family before leaving for home; I was numb, and I couldn't process anything right now; when I got home, I crawled into my bed and cried myself to sleep.

The police conducted an investigation and discovered that Lily was being bullied at her school; they sent her nasty messages, bullied her, and made her an outcast.

They also discovered that this was not the first time a scholarship student had committed suicide at Lily's school; they discovered four other cases. The bullying ring leaders were expelled from school, but this did not bring Lily back.

We had Lily's funeral two weeks later. Shane was still young and didn't understand what was going on but he knew Lily was gone; after the funeral, I went over with Shane; Lily's mother put her hands around me, asking if I was okay; her father was trying to be strong for everyone; and Tommy just looked out of it. "Lily, I forgive you for abandoning me; you were in pain and I had no idea; I'm so sorry I couldn't help you" I whispered under my breath.

After everything had settled down, Lily's family moved to New York, and we kept in touch every now and then. Even though Lily died two months ago, it felt like yesterday when I finally had the courage to open the letter she had written to me before she died.

Dear Leo,

All I wanted was to be happy, to live a good life, to find love, to marry, and to have children of my own, but that will never happen. Children can be cruel. They make you feel even worse because their lives are pathetic. I tried to ignore them, but I couldn't handle the pressure any longer, and I didn't want to be hurt any longer. I loved you Leo, you were my only true friend, and I hope you get out of here soon, because you don't deserve the pain you've been through. Tell Shane that I love him and that I will never forget you. Just promise me that you will remember me and everything we did

Love Lily.

I read the letter over and over, she should have told me she was hurting, I would have helped her, why did she kill herself, I would have helped her get through it, why lily, why you left me all alone in this cruel world we were living in, who will I share my problems with now, will I be able to forget you, that wouldn't be possible even if I tried, you were my light even if it was for a short time. Rest in peace, my friend.