CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE: ATHENA
After detention, the class fell silent, and I couldn't stop thinking about what Leo had said to Austin; I don't think he even noticed what he had said; he said I was his, but what did he mean by that? Should I ask him? It was all so unsettling; perhaps I was overthinking things; but I'm not sure why I was reading so much into this situation.
Would I like us to be more than just friends? I'll be honest. I had entertained the idea of us becoming more than just friends; which made me wonder what it would be like to be Leo's girlfriend? Maybe I should just ask him because it's so frustrating.
"What's going through that pretty head of yours, Princessa?" I said right away, feeling the heat in my cheeks; I must be as red as a tomato right now.
"If it's nothing, why are you blushing? Please, tell me."
"i.., can't say"
"You guys should find a room, you're looking at her like you want to kiss the hell out of her face," Austin said before making kissing noises at Athena.
"Stop it, Austin," Athena said, punching him in the arm.
"He's not lying, and I'm not going to deny it, you're really cute right now," Leo casually stated.
"What?" I was taken aback by his response; did he actually say what I had just heard, or was it all in my head?
"Straight to the point, I knew I liked you," Austin said, laughing at my embarrassment. I punched him in the arm for the millionth time today, and he placed his hands over his heart.
"Athena, stop hurting me, you know I'm fragile," he said, batting his eyelashes.
"Stop being weird, you asshole, let's get to detention before Mr Hunter blows a fuse."
"I never like that jerk, he's going to piss me off one day and I'm going to bite back," I said, my embarrassed feeling replaced with anger, Mr Hunter was the biggest jerk and he was especially mean to me, and I did nothing to piss him off.
"You and me both, Athena, but seriously, I'd pay to see you talk back at that asshole," Austin said with a huge grin on his face.
"I wonder why I still want to be friends with you," Leo said as he playfully glared at Austin.
"Because I'm cool and Shane loves me more than you," Austin said in a high pitched voice that reminded me of Diana.
"In your dreams, Shane loves me more than you do."
"No, he loves me more"
"No..."
"OK, you guys need to stop acting like kids, let's get detention," Leo said, laughing at our squabbling.
"OK, if you want to be a good student, we can go, but if he says shit to me, I'm walking out with or without you guys," Austin said.
"Whatever crazy ass" Leo said
Mr Hunter was sitting at his table glaring at us when Leo, Austin, and I walked into detention. Austin, being the crazy assassin he was, waved at Mr Hunter, giving him the biggest snarky smile I had ever seen, Leo and I laughed at his antics.
"Do you find anything amusing, Miss Marcos?" Mr Hunter asked,
"No, Mr Hunter, I just remember a joke," I replied because my brain couldn't think of a better response as I heard Austin laugh from being me.
"Smooth Athena, real Smooth," Austin joked, prompting me to punch him in the arm.
"You guys should just take your seat, no talking for an hour."
"Aye, aye, captain," Austin saluted, causing Mr Hunter to drag his hands across his face in frustration, and Leo, who had been quiet before, smacked Austin across the head and dragged him to his seat.
I sat between them. Austin stole my phone to play Angry Birds while Leo brought out a book to read. I was left staring into space, then Leo brought out his ipod and put the two ears in my ears (Layers by NF).
I lost myself in the lyrics, then I felt Leo running his hands through my hair, Austin and Mr Hunter were oblivious to his display of affection, I was staring at him, then he turned looking at me with his brow raised "What?"
"Nothing, never mind"
"Oh okay," he said as he returned to his book, his other hand still running through my hair. It felt good, so I just let him continue.
Time moved slowly, but our punishment was eventually over, and we all left the classroom and headed for the parking lot.
"Do you guys need a ride? But first, I need to pick up Shane. If that's okay with you, my phone died so I couldn't call his teacher to tell her I was going to be late" Leo explained. Austin and I both shrugged and got into the car.
I followed them for two reasons, I didn't want to walk because it looked like it was going to rain and I wanted to see Shane again because it's been a while and I miss him.
When we arrived at Shane School, we noticed an older woman and a smaller girl pacing around on the lawn. We got out of the car and approached them; I didn't like their expression.
"Leo, thank God you're here, it's bad, it's really bad," the woman said, terrified.
"What's going on, Summer?" Austin asked the little girl, who looked like she was crying previously.
"Austin Zack and his friends beat up Shane again, and this time he passed out," she said, her voice hoarse from crying.
"What?" Leo yelled, as if he couldn't believe what the little girl had just said.
"I just stepped out for a minute, then I saw Summer running to me, she was crying, but by the time I got back to class, Shane was unconscious, I'm so sorry Leo."
"What the fuck, where is Shane now?" Austin asked, and he looked pissed, as who wouldn't be after listening to what we had just heard.
"He was taken to the hospital a few minutes before you arrived," Shane's teacher explained
"What were you doing, you promised me he'd be okay, you promised me," he yelled at Shane's teacher. I could hear the pain in his voice, so I approached him, blaming the teacher wasn't important right now, we needed to go to Shane.
"Leo, listen to me, you can't play the blame game right now, let's get to the hospital and see how Shane is doing," I tried to reassure him. He was trembling. I wasn't sure if it was because he was angry or scared.
"I'll drive, come on bro, we have to get going." Austin said as Leo nodded and walked back to the car, looking defeated."
"Austin can I come, I need to see if Shane is okay",
"Your mother will be worried; ask her when she arrives, okay?" Austin told the little girl in a gentle tone, It's sweet that she cares about Shane's well-being
"OK, but I hope he's okay."
"Me too we have to go now" Austin said
"I will come over when I can, please send my apologies to Leo"
"He'll come around, it's not your fault, Ma." Austin said as he and I walked to the car.
Leo hadn't said anything since we left school so the car was silent when Austin drove us to the hospital.
At one point in time Leo clutched my hands as if his life depended on it. When we got to the hospital Leo and I got down while Austin went to look for a parking spot before he caught up with us.
We all walked into the hospital. I was about to go ask the receptionist about Shane when I heard my name called from behind.
"Athena, do you remember me? We met a few days ago"
"Hello, sir, do you work here?"
"Yes what are you doing here, is Sophia okay"
"Sophia is fine; we're here for my friend; his little brother was admitted recently; we came to check on him; his name is Shane Smith," I explained.
"He should be in the pediatric wing; you can follow me."
We were quietly followed behind him, and Leo was still clutching my hands. He looked terrified, so Austin patted him on the back and gave me a worried look. We entered a beautiful hallway decorated with artworks, and Stephen approached the receptionist to ask about Shane.
"All right, you guys, I just got his chart; it says he had a mild concussion and will be under observation; aside from that and a few bruises, he'll be fine; I'll walk you up to his room." Stephen explained and I felt a weight lift off my shoulders, he was going to be okay, thank God.
"Thank you so much, Sir; you have no idea how much this means to me." Leo said pain lacing his voice,
Sophia's boyfriend gave him a sad look before saying "It's alright son, I'm just doing my job, let's go see Shane".
We all followed him into the elevator to the second floor, exited the elevator, and walked down a hallway until we came to a stop in front of a door labelled Smith.
"This is my stop you guys can go in, I hope your brother gets better soon",
"Thank you Stephen, we appreciate it" I said, giving him a sad smile. He walked away, leaving us staring at the door, not knowing what to expect.
We all walked in and I almost burst into tears because he was covered in small bruises and had a large bump on his head.
"What did they do to him?" Austin growled, and Leo approached his brother, holding his hands as if they would break if he held on too tightly.
"I'm so sorry, Shane, I didn't protect you better; will you forgive me?"
"Leo, look at me, it's not your fault, those kids are to blame, don't you dare blame yourself," I said as I walked towards the bed to comfort him. He engulfed me in a hug and let everything out, we stood in that position for a while before he got his bearings.
Austin was looking at Shane with an angry expression. I wonder what he was thinking, even though I hadn't known Shane that long. I knew he was a good kid and it hurt seeing him hurt like this.
"Why didn't the school do anything? Why didn't anyone stop them?" Austin asked from the corner of the room his worried gaze still on Shane
"Because Mr Sanders owns this town and his sons are free to do whatever they want," I said, clenching my fist by my side. I was so pissed; Shane doesn't deserve this.
"What am I going to do if he doesn't wake up? I can't lose him, you guys, it'll kill me."
"Leo, we both know this little dude is a fighter, he'll pull through, so get a hold of yourself, he can't see you like this when he wakes up," Austin said, his eyes filled with pain.
Leo expressed his gratitude to Austin by looking up with a sad smile on his face. He was in a lot of pain. I could see it in his eyes, but he wiped them away and sat down, clutching Shane's hand. Austin took the seat on the other side, and I sat behind Leo. We kept an eye on Shane, hoping he would wake up soon.
I heard some rustling and looked up to see Shane with a pained expression staring at the roof, while Austin and Leo were fast asleep.
"Hey buddy, you scared us, I'm glad you're awake," I said, relieved that he was awake.
"Why are you here, Athena? Leo mentioned that you weren't feeling well; are you feeling better now?"
"Yes, Shane, I'm feeling better now; I've missed you."
"I missed you too," Shane said with a smile. I nudged Leo and Austin awake, and they looked confused at first before turning their gaze to Shane, who was smiling at the sleeping duo.
"Are you okay, little man?" Austin asked, relief washing over his face,
"My head hurts a little, but I'm fine." Shane signed
"You scared me Shane, I won't forgive myself if anything bad happened to you," Leo said, his eyes welling up with tears.
"I'm sorry I scared you, they did it again Leo, I ignored them as you suggested, but they said something bad to Summer and I lost it," Shane signed.
"You shouldn't feel bad for defending her, Shane; I'm proud of you."
"I'll go get the doctor, and I'll be right back." I said as I walked out the door, towards the receptionist, to inform her that Shane was awake. I checked the time on my phone. It was 10:00 p.m, and Sophia would be concerned, so I called her quickly before returning to the room.
The doctor arrived a few minutes later to see how Shane was doing.
"Mr Smith, your brother suffered a mild concussion but he will be fine, the school already called and told us what happened, so I will take my leave now," the doctor said as he approached the door."Oh, before I forget, Shane will have to stay under supervision for a few days before we release him; the nurse at the reception desk will give you some papers to sign before you leave for the night."
"Yes, sir, thank you," we all said together. "Don't worry, he'll be fine soon," the doctor said as he exited the room.
Leo signed the papers at the reception desk before we went back to keep Shane company before it was time for us to go home.
"Thank you for sticking by me; I don't know how I would have gotten through it all alone,"Leo said with a smile
"You're stuck with us, don't worry,". Austin smiled and asked, "What are you going to do about the bullying?"
"I'm not sure, but I'll figure something out soon, I'll drop you guys off, get in, it's the least I can do."
We all got into the car, Austin was the first to be dropped off, then Leo and I were the only ones left in the car; the ride was quiet until we arrived at my apartment complex. I was about to get down when Leo stopped me; I turned around and stared at him.
"What is the problem? Are you okay, Leo?" I asked.
"Thank you for today, Athena, I really can't thank you enough."
"No worries, you and Shane needed me, and we're friends, so I couldn't leave you like that." I smiled, staring into his eyes, and they moved from my eyes to my lips; he stared at my lips for a little longer than expected before pulling back.
"Drive carefully; will you be okay on your own?" I said as I stared at him, did he want to kiss me? Would I have let him? He looked so vulnerable right now that I didn't think about what had just happened.
"Don't worry, Athena, I'll manage," I said as I got out of the car and walked down the walkway into the complex; he watched me go inside before he drove away.
