Loving Kinnick

As Long As People Know You Associate With Me You're Untouchable

Instead of sitting next to me, Kinnick sat next to Miles in our criminal justice class. I watched as he did everything to avoid me. My eyes dropped to his bruised hands, but when I looked up at his face for evidence of a fight, there was none. Miles shot me apologetic looks as his friend gave me the cold shoulder.

Professor Evans walked in, silencing the class as he wrote on the board. Today we're working on creating a topic for our group project. Our ideas have to be submitted before we leave class today or we get docked points.

Chrissy pulled her laptop out, asking which one of us wanted to start listing off ideas. I was surprised when Kinnick spoke. He wanted to talk about prosecution and justifying one's actions.

"Could you elaborate?"

"Where does the prosecution's verdict lie if the defendant's innocent?"

"What if he isn't?" Chrissy challenges.

"If the defendant hit someone out of self-defense?"

"Then it would be ruled out as self-defense," she shrugged.

"Some people don't think that," his blue eyes fall on me as he speaks.

My brows pinch together. "Self-defense? He hurt me, not you."

"You would put an innocent man in jail for protecting you?"

"I have to follow the rules."

"Maybe you shouldn't be a prosecutor."

"My job is to convict the bad guy, innocent or not, I have to go based on evidence," I snapped.

"Watch out, you're starting to act like your dad."

"You're upset because I was with Luke last night!" I slammed my hands on the table. "And I don't even know why. I'm allowed to hang out with my friends."

"Maybe you need new friends."

"I tried making a new one, but it blew up in my face," I frowned at him.

"It's probably because I'm a criminal, right? Then what's Luke?"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"I have at least fifteen different charges on my record, most of them being assault, but I don't remember being the reason you have bruises on your arm."

"He made a mistake -"

"And so are you," he looks at me. "As you let history repeat itself."

"Excuse me?"

"I see the signs clearly," his eyes hardened. "You suffered some kind of abuse, and here you are letting Luke repeat your abuser's actions."

His words wrapped around my throat, squeezing out every breath of air in my lungs. My chair screeched as I pushed out of it. Everyone turned to look at me, and suddenly, I felt the room closing in.

He is overreacting. How did this turn around to be my fault? I hung out with a childhood friend who happened to make a mistake. If we never forgave people for their wrongdoings, we'd never move on.

"I never want to see you again, Kinnick Carson."

I wiped tears from my face as they fell. Professor Evans yelled for me as I left the room. He hit Luke for grabbing my arm. What would he do to my high school senior class if he found out what they did to me? I appreciated him for defending me, but if I chose to speak to Luke afterward, he had no say so.

Tears streamed down my face as I went inside the bathroom. When I heard footsteps enter the hall, I sucked in a breath, holding it. My fingers clutched my bag as I hoped they wouldn't hear me crying in the empty stalls of a restroom.