Bird Song (23 page)

“
Ow
!”

“That’s what you get for being such a simpering, stupid jerk!” she shouted at him while rubbing her fist, her knuckles sore from the angry punch she gave to Graham’s chest.
 
“She was your best friend, you idiot.”

“I know.
 
God, don’t you think I know?
 
I feel like a complete jerk; I deserve to be punched—but not by you, Stacy…not again anyway—Grace, say something.
 
Here-” he lowered his head to mine and turned his face to the side, his finger pointing to his cheek “-hit me.
 
Punch me right here, blackout my eye.”

I could feel the fingers of my hand twitch, itching to do just that.
 
Instead, the cool hand of someone slid between them.
 
I looked up and saw Robert holding my hand against his chest, a smile on his face.
 
“You’ll regret it later if you do.
 
You know you will.”

I returned my focus to Graham’s cheekbone, and envisioned my fist making solid contact with it.
 
I could do it:
 
I had resumed my Tae Kwon Do lessons with Stacy and could land a fairly decent hit.
 
“Grace…”

“Fine!” I cried, throwing up my free hand in exasperated disappointment.
 
“Graham, stand up straight.
 
I’m not going to hit you.
 
Robert’s right.
 
I’d end up regretting it later.
 
But
only
because my hand would hurt.”

“Thank you.”

“Can I hit him?”

I turned to the voice that asked, and felt a smirk pull at my mouth.
 
“Sure, Lark,” Robert said from beside me.
 
Even Stacy held her arms up, her posture like that of a prize presenter on a game show.
 
I watched as Lark slowly walked up to Graham, her face absolute deadpan, and swing her arm behind her.

“No!” I cried out, leaping in front of the flying fist, knowing what it was that was hurtling towards Graham, and knowing that he had no clue.
 
The pain didn’t set in at first, and for that I was grateful.

But when it did…

“Why did you do that?
 
You could have been seriously hurt!” Lark complained as she tried to hold me up.
 
Robert was at my side just a split second after the blow landed on my shoulder which forced me into Graham, the two of us falling onto the pavement.
 
Graham had managed to crawl out from under me as Robert gingerly turned me over, his hands immediately healing what I knew was a dislocated shoulder.

“You were going to hurt Graham,” I wheezed, the pain constricting my chest and making the simple task of talking a painful venture.
 
“He doesn’t know…”

“I don’t know what?”

“That Lark’s been taking lessons with me,” Stacy stepped in, her voice pitchy and nervous.
 
Did I sound like that when I lied, too?
 
If I did, I really was a bad liar.

“Lark’s been taking lessons and she’s really good…for being blind.
 
She’s very advanced—she might surpass me, and I can see.
 
And she’s really coordinated, too,” Stacy continued, obviously having inherited the “I’m-so-nervous-I-can’t-stop-talking” gene.

“Oh.”
 
That was it.
 
Graham didn’t question it.
 
Had I said it, he would have automatically known I was lying—I had inherited that same gene, after all.
 
Instead, he accepted Stacy’s explanation.
 
I didn’t know if that was out of guilt or genuine naiveté but it would bother me for days afterwards.

Graham’s attention turned back to me, amusement and concern blending together to distort his features.
 
“Are you okay?
 
I’m sorry…”

I shook my head at his apology.
 
“Don’t.
 
I’m fine.
 
It’s just a little bump.
 
See?”
 
I pointed to my shoulder, now nearly pain free and mobile thanks to Robert’s unseen ability.
 
“It’ll be gone by tomorrow.”

He snorted, his gaze turning back to Stacy.
 
“You’re a lot stronger than this,
Stace
—there isn’t even any bruising.
 
You’ve knocked me flat on my rear-end; Grace looks like she was bitten by an ant.”

It was as close to a compliment as I had heard him pay her and I wasn’t the only one who noticed.
 
“Thanks,” Stacy murmured, her face growing red with embarrassment.
 
Or was that pleasure?

“Okay, now that we’ve established that I’m a complete weakling, can we get back to the issue at hand?” Lark asked, her head tilted upwards, her eyes blinking rapidly.

I felt my heart skip and threw a quick look at Robert.
 
He had the same concern and quickly stood in front of his sister, blocking her from view.
 
It took less than a minute, but when he stepped aside, I knew that the danger of Lark’s crystal tears falling in front of Graham had passed.

Unfortunately, he noticed the silent exchange and stepped forward, his hand reaching out to comfort her before dropping to his side limply just before it could have brushed against her face.
 
“Are-are you alright, Lark?”

She nodded stiffly, something that resembled pride taking over her demeanor.
 
“I’ll be fine.
 
Let’s get back on topic, okay?”

His head bobbed up and down but the concern remained even as Stacy began asking about what else had happened.
 
“Did Mr. Kenner threaten you, Grace?
 
Did he actually threaten to blackmail you?”

I shook my head.
 
“I didn’t give him the chance.
 
I-I think I ended up blackmailing him…”

The incredulous looks on Stacy and Graham’s faces were almost enough to have made my threat worth it.
 
“You blackmailed the Vice-Principal?” Graham gasped, voicing the question that I knew was poised on Stacy’s lips.

“I guess I did,” I said, giggling nervously.
 
“Oh dear bananas…I blackmailed the vice-principal.”

Robert grinned.
 
“I think I like this side of you”

“What side of me?
 
The side that’s going to get me suspended?”

“The side that’s proving to everyone just how special and unique you truly are,” he said behind his grin, his eyes crinkling with amusement at my resulting scowl.

“Fat lot of good being special and unique is going to do me when I’m not only Grace-the-Freak, I’m also Grace-the-girl-who-got-the-school-sued.”

Stacy placed her hand on my shoulder, a comforting gesture that only made me feel worse.
 
“Oh geez, Stacy, look at me.
 
You’re the one with the concussion, and I’m here complaining.”

“Don’t forget three stitches,” she said mockingly before laughing.
 
“Grace, what did you say to Mr. Kenner exactly?”

I repeated the entire event, the words spilling out without any effort, the final sentence barely leaving my mouth before Stacy launched into a tirade that rivaled the one she displayed in the emergency room.
 
“I’m going to destroy her—physically, socially, and then physically again,” she seethed.
 
“Well, my parents are definitely going to sue the school now.
 
This isn’t going to fly; my dad is going to have a field day with this.”

Lark, finally able to express her anger over the situation had her teeth bared in a silent snarl.
 
“She’s got a death wish.
 
She doesn’t know who she’s messing with.”

Robert’s stoic features belied the low, rumbling growl that he emitted, while Graham looked disgusted.

“God, I didn’t think I could feel any more sorry, be any more sorry than I already am, but man, Grace…I am so—oh God, I cannot believe this—I am incredibly sorry for ever getting involved with someone like Erica.
 
I had no idea that she’d be this vindictive,” Graham said as he shoved both hands through his hair, turning the tame hair into a field of twisted spikes.
 
“I wish I could go back in time and change everything.”

“Ditto,” I muttered.
 
“Look, it doesn’t matter anymore whether or not you used to date her.
 
Erica hates me and has it out for me for some unknown reason, so whatever it is that I do won’t matter.”
 
I turned to look at Robert, wrapping my arms around his waist and tilting my face upwards so that I could be sure he saw the truth in my eyes as well as my mind when I said, “I’m not breaking up with you.
 
Not for anything.”

It would have sounded like typical high school ignorance to anyone else listening.
 
If I had heard it uttered by someone else, I probably would have rolled my eyes and made some kind of off-hand comment about the stupidity and cluelessness of the statement, but I wasn’t talking about someone else.
 
“Not for anything,” I mouthed.

“So what’s the plan?” Robert asked Stacy just before he pressed his lips against my forehead.
 
“Are your parents going to confront Mr. Kenner?
 
The
Hamiltons
?”

 
“The plan right now is to get through the rest of the day without me killing Erica, and then I’ll tell my dad about what happened.
 
Grace, I think you should tell yours, too.”
 
Graham stood beside her, his hand awkwardly pressed against her back as he attempted to give her the strength that she clearly did not need, but judging by the look on her face, greatly appreciated.

“We’ll talk to our mom about the
Hamiltons
.
 
They’re a fairly important family here from what I know about them, but they’ll be quite surprised to see just how important the
Bellegardes
are as well,” Lark said smugly.
 
She had her arms folded across her chest and I imagined Erica slowly suffocating in her arms.
 
This thought brought a smile to Lark’s face.
 
“She has no clue what’s coming to her, does she?”

I shook my head.
 
No one did.
 
As the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch, I wondered if anyone ever would.

I felt incredibly anxious during fifth period as the clock’s second hand ticked slowly around the dial.
 
Each minute movement seemed to cause my emotions to flip flop, changing from angry to fearful.
 
Sixth period loomed ahead, with the one person who seemed most intent on ruining my life in every way possible.

She had attacked Stacy thinking it was me.
 
She had somehow managed to convince Mr. Kenner that blackmailing me was somehow a good idea.
 
What was there left?

When at last the bell rang, and the class gathered their things to leave, I felt all the suspense leave me.
 
I grabbed my backpack and headed towards the classroom exit, searching for the pair of silver eyes that I knew would be there waiting for me.

“I didn’t see you after fourth period,” I said as Robert grabbed my bag from my shoulder and hefted it onto his own.
 
“Did you have to…”

“Yes.
 
I was hoping that you’d have met up with Lark afterwards, but she’s left campus.”

“Why?” I asked, half-knowingly.

“She’s upset with herself, and with you,” he answered.
 
He placed his arm over my shoulder and pulled me against his side.
 
The closeness helped disguise the next few minutes as he shared with me what couldn’t be said out loud.

She attacked Graham, not to hurt him, but to incite you to feel concern for him, remind you that despite his many flaws, you still care for him.
 
She didn’t expect you to jump in front of him at all
—
hurting you upset her greatly today, and awakened some of that compassion that she’s kept tamped down for the past century or two.

I immediately felt quite, well…stupid.
 
That’s why she only dislocated my shoulder, instead of tearing it off.

He nodded grimly.
 
I suggest you never do that again, Grace.
 
I don’t like seeing you hurt; it was very difficult for me to not hurt Lark in return, or even Graham for that matter when I felt the pain in your mind, saw the injuries to your shoulder.

The thought that Robert had to struggle to keep from harming his own sister because of my foolishness compounded the guilt that I felt for upsetting Lark.
 
Wait, you said injuries.
 
I know she dislocated my shoulder
—
she didn’t break it, did she?

No, she didn’t break it.
 
Like I said, she had no real intention of hurting Graham.
 
Not severely anyway.
 
The angle at which you were hit is what caused the dislocation.
 
The other injury was dermal.