Chapter 10: Chapter 10
Later that same afternoon during Laurence's appointment, I somehow managed to clear my cluttered head of what happened outside West Shore's gates. This ultimately followed an incredibly long session of overcomplicated and unnecessary thought processes. Caleb should have not raised his voice at my brother nor snapped at him, he had no right to do that. If anything, the only thing it's done is fuel my undying hate for that jerk. I shouldn't even try to spark any conversation with him, it would always end with a sour taste in both of our mouths. He had such a complex and damning persona and every time we interacted, it only made the dynamic between us worse. If my brain hadn't been so hellbent on figuring out what Caleb's problem with me was, I could have saved myself from a multitude of unneeded trouble. Marking the whole confrontation off as Caleb being an absolute jerk like he usually was should have been the end of the chapter. Then again, Caleb found every and any way possible to crawl under my skin no matter the situation.
It was only until Laurence and I left the clinic where I had more pressing matters to think about besides my outrageous school life. Laurence now had a new, stronger long term sling supporting his injured, which would remain that way for the next four weeks or until he can move it without pain. Our physician performed numerous x-rays, diagnosing my brother with a fractured shoulder. During the fight, Tony shoved him against a bike stand hard enough to cause a crack in his shoulder blade. Luckily, surgery wasn't necessary as it would heal on its own time. Despite that portion of good news, Laurence was still sour about the results; he was left-handed, writing showering and doing other things efficiently was out of the question.
The look of disappointment was still present on his bandaged face as he slumped back into the passenger's seat, only for it to be replaced by a wince. In addition to a fractured shoulder, a large and ugly bruise stained his back, causing him only more pain as he tried to get around. He needed some serious time to heal and three days surely wouldn't be long enough.
"Four weeks will go by before you know it," I sighed, stuffing the receipt into my backpack. "This better not happen again, do you understand?"
"Yes, sis."
"Good. When we get home, you're going straight to bed."
By the time we arrived home, it was almost four-thirty, meaning that school was over almost half an hour ago. I missed all of my afternoon classes but I couldn't do anything about it, Laurence needed me. Unfortunately, this meant I would have to play catch-up tomorrow and answer my teachers' questions about my absences. Wanting no more stress, I just decided to leave it until I made it to that bridge. All I need to do right now is take care of Laurence and cook dinner.
Walking out of the bathroom after a nice hot shower, I grabbed my freshly washed hair with a towel, trying to squeeze the water out of the black tendrils. I then ran my wrinkled fingers through my hair as I walked to the kitchen, trying so hard to comb the tangles out of my jungle-like hair. Multiple times, my face crinkled in pain, feeling harsh tugs at my scalp as the conditioner I normally used failed to do its job. Now that my hair was partially untangled, I tried to make my way to the kitchen but was interrupted by the doorbell. With a feeling of curiosity, I made my way to the door and peered through the peephole. However, that mood was quickly replaced with confusion and anger.
"Why the hell is he here?" I grumbled with a scoff, pulling away from the door.
The least I expected when Laurence and I made it home was to see the jerk himself standing outside in the hallway. Taking another look with furrowed eyebrows, I caught sight of a large white bag clasped tightly in his hand and instantly wondered what was inside. Oddly enough, Caleb looked out of place as he stood outside my door. A forebodingly tall, mildly brute guy didn't fit in with the type of people living here, nor did he fit the profile of a delivery boy. The landlord was very particular about his tenants and Caleb would surely be kicked right off the list.
Suddenly remembering what happened earlier this afternoon, I was unsure of whether or not I should open the door for him. I couldn't believe he had the audacity to track down my apartment and show up outside my door, especially after what he did. Even from the resting bitch face on his person, he had no interest in being here. Whether it was from the other's pleading or his own volition, the fact that he wore a blank expression said it all.
I continued to watch him through the peephole, but not in a creepy stalker way if that's what you're thinking. The question of why he was here still lingered in the back of my mind and I wanted to ask. Then again, I still had slight animosity towards Caleb for the stunt he pulled and I wanted space from him. Just like my classes, I would worry about his sudden appearance tomorrow. The question was: Was he going to unintentionally abide by my wishes? Caleb did.
Seeing as he was not going to receive any answer from me, Caleb visibly sighed and relented. He slipped the bag from his hand onto the door handle and left it hanging. Caleb made a move for the doorbell again, but he hesitated and decided against it. He then turned onto his heel and walked away, unaware that I was watching him the entire time. Letting a couple of minutes pass by, I opened the door slightly and fished the bag off the handle and closed it.
Bringing the bag to the kitchen, I opened it and was taken aback by its contents. Directly at the top was a bright yellow sticky note, the words of "Your homework" written in dark, bold penmanship. I fished the papers out and unfolded them, confirming that it was all worksheets from history and math. Next was a box of pain-killers, most likely for Laurence. Though I was shocked by his thoughtful actions, what was next brought it home, literally. Sitting at the bottom was several containers of food from Nate's Diner, it was enough for dinner and lunch tomorrow.
The most shocking part? The food was still hot.
☁️☁️☁️
Instead of heading to the cafeteria with Clarice like I usually did, I decided to spend my break in the art room before easing into fifth period. While I liked having lunch with the others, I desperately needed some productivity in perfect isolation with my favorite music. My absences yesterday came with consequences, I was aware of that from the moment I walked out of the school. Falling behind on my afternoon classes didn't sit well with me and it caused an itch in my head. While I managed to finish the homework last night, I still missed out on the class notes and the notes were an important aspect of my learning. I often used them as a guideline for studying and self-notes, without them, I was hopeless.
Academics aside, my painting that was in progress needed some love and it didn't get any yesterday. With each new brushstroke, the canvas came alive with both bright and muted colors, slowly recreating the image in my mind. Although, I will admit that mixing the perfect shade of a certain color and blending everything seamlessly was a meticulous task in itself. This only made the end result far more desirable.
Setting the brush down into a glass jar with opaque grey water, I turned back to my partially touched lunch to take another bite. As soon as I did, however, I fell off of my stool, frightened by
As soon as I did, however, I suddenly fell off of my stool, frightened by the pair of blue eyes staring at me from across the table to my right. A high-pitched, but short yelp ripped from my throat as my backside hit the floor. I placed my hand over my racing heart, feeling it thump wildly against my ribs. I momentarily forgot how to breathe, almost hallucinating that my throat was closing up. I peered over the edge of the table, staring incredulously at Caleb who didn't take his gaze off of me, a look of confusion and concern behind his sapphire eyes.
Yanking the headphones off of my head, I stood up and angrily dusted my pants free of any new crumbs while I tried to hide my efforts to calm myself down.
"What are you doing here?" I questioned, sitting back down onto my abandoned stool.
"You make it sound like everything I do is a crime," he scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest as that prior look disappeared.
"Besides yesterday evening, you haven't done anything to prove otherwise."
In the corner of my eye, I watched cautiously as Caleb leaned forwards onto the table, lacing his hands together as he pressed them against his chin. He looked like he was thinking deeply, what about I was still unsure of. The look in his eyes was indescribable but I caught a glimpse of a smirk forming on his lips.
"Why didn't you answer? You only opened the door when you thought I left."
I instantly whipped my head around, looking at him with an expression of disbelief. Surely, I had thought he was gone when I opened the door, I even took a quick peek into the hallway and saw that no one was there. Did he really have the audacity to hide around the corner down the hall and watch if I would take the bag the moment he left?
"Oh, so you're a stalker now?"
"Call me what you want, but it will not change the fact that you parked your car near the entrance."
No other words left my mouth as I bit my tongue, unable to argue with his closing statement. I did park my car closer to the entrance and he must have recognized it when he was walking inside. I turned back to my canvas where I couldn't deny my own moment of stupidity.
Caleb suddenly got up from his chair, the sound of the stool's legs scraping against the floor. No other words were exchanged between us as he made his way around the table, the heavy thump of his boots stabbing the uncomfortable silence. Instead of leaving like I had expected him to, the sounds of his footsteps stopped directly behind me. Caleb stood there, presumably watching me stare at my project that now had a shadow of his much taller figure. Without a shadow of a doubt, I knew he was staring at my back. I suppose it was better than feeling patronized under his ice-cold stare.
"Florence, listen."
The sudden softness of his usually hard voice shook me to the core and I suddenly felt a wave of chills hit me. It felt like I was talking to a different Caleb Melle, he had a completely different demeanor than a couple of minutes ago. From my own experience, he's never spoken this softly to anyone before, even with his close friends. At this point, I was almost anticipating how he was going to continue.
"You were right, it was wrong of me to yell at your brother and I apologize. But I meant what I said yesterday, you're one of us."
Instantly feeling a lump form in my throat, I slowly stood up and turned around to face him, staring him directly in the eyes. At first, I didn't anticipate how close he would be standing, but I was taken aback by the lack of space between us. With how close we were, it was almost as if we were exchanging air. It suddenly made me aware of my personal space, but I had to remind myself that there was no threat, not yet anyways.
"What do you mean?" I questioned with a cautious whisper.
Despite the fact that I knew the answer, it was strange that I wanted to hear him say it.
"The guys like having you and Clarice around. You two are entitled to our protection."
With everything that's happened in the past week, it was inevitable that Clarice and I would be associated with the notorious. All eight of us have grouped together during lunch and we've been seen together in the hallways and in our respective classes. Though it wasn't our intention to become one of them, we ended up as part of their ranks and yesterday contributed to that. We were threatened by their mortal enemies and that didn't sit well with any of them.
"Why did you get involved yesterday?" I couldn't help but ask.
Waiting for an answer, I continued to stare at him, mere curiosity encouraging me to press him for more.
"Derek Wales should be left for us to deal with," Caleb replied vaguely. "Try to stay away from him."
"What are you saying? He tried to go after Laurence-"
"Do not make me repeat myself, Florence," he suddenly warned harshly.
The second I heard the dramatic shift in his tone, I took a large step backwards, ripping my eyes away from his. Caleb was now back to his usual persona that everyone was familiar with. It was too good to be true. With a frown, I took one last glance at him as he sighed. I caught him open his mouth to say something else but nothing came out. Instead, he shook his head before walking away.
Having no further rebuttals, I watched him disappear through the doorway as the bell rang.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone