The Lies We Tell

Chapter 14

Unsurprisingly, popular kids aren't hard to find. They were grouped up around Courtney's locker and Courtney was leaning on Ryan. Jared was there, arm around a girl I recognized as the cheer captain. Lexi was texting someone. Judging by the smile on her face, I was pretty sure I knew who. I smirked as I walked up.

Of course, the first one to notice me was Jared. He gave me a small smirk as I walked up to Lexi, who was standing a little apart from everyone. It was all I could do to not lose my cool.

I slowed to look over her shoulder. The name at the top was 'Bae <3'. I stopped behind her. Did she tell them he was from another school? She probably did. "Chad's a great guy, isn't he?" I asked quietly.

She jumped and spun to face me. "His name isn't Chad!" She glanced over her shoulder. Jared and Courtney were both watching us, but they were distracted.

I tilted my head slightly. "Really? I think he'd beg to differ. He seemed to really love you last time we talked."

She nudged me a little farther away from Courtney and them. "You know him?" she hissed.

"We've done videos together, and we hang out every time we go to the same events. So, yeah, I know him a little."

She glanced over her shoulder again. "How did you know about us?"

"That's simple, really. Someone had told me they'd seen you out together, and Chad told me himself."

She shook her head. "I swear, if you tell-"

"I've known for a year," I said firmly, cutting her off. "If I wanted to tell anyone, don't you think I would have by now? I'm just letting you know that I know. That's it." I straightened my jacket and walked past her.

Ryan watched me pass by with sad eyes, and I winked at him. Surprisingly, Courtney didn't even notice and I didn't mess up. Impressive.

When I reached my destination, I was feeling pretty good about myself. Confident. Things had to go smoothly this morning. If they didn't, I wasn't sure what I'd do.

The night before, I researched the school's policies on sexual harassment. As it turned out, Jared could be expelled for his actions. I was fairly certain he wouldn't be, but this was my way of trying to help myself. After Ryan had left the day before, I realized something very important: I wasn't fine. I wasn't okay. I hadn't been for a long time. When that hit me, I couldn't stop crying. Mom didn't come check on me, but to be fair, I never really checked on her, either. But I know she heard me cry every single tear I had in my body, and then some, all night long.

Jared was just the start. I distracted myself from what had happened and couldn't see how much he affected me. I'd been bottling everything up. Him, my parents' fighting, Dad's death, my friends leaving me, and now Ryan. I'd been letting it fester.

I wasn't okay.

When Principal Freeman's secretary showed me into his office, I couldn't decide if I was nervous or scared. My feelings had pretty much blurred together while I was waiting.

He eyed me a moment before he gestured at the chairs in front of his desk. "Have a seat, Miss Till. Now, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

I took a deep breath. After steeling myself last night and this morning, this was still very hard. "I want to talk about the tutoring I did last year. With Jared."

"What would you like to discuss, Miss Till? How you didn't bring the student's grades up? Or how you quit before giving him a chance? Miss Till, you may not realize it, but Jared Franco is one of our star athletes. However, he can not play if he can't make a passing grade. You are our best pupil. It would be wonderful if you would consider tutoring him again." Even if his words were rude, his voice was mild. I knew he didn't know what he was asking of me, but still.

Still.

"No," I said, more forcefully than I intended.

Principal Freeman's eyebrows shot up. "Well, then I suppose we don't have anything to discuss."

"Yes, we do." Even I was surprised by how much confidence were in those words.

"And what's that?"

I wanted to leave. There was so much in those words. He was challenging me, he was doubtful. But he was also curious. "Last year, Jared Franco sexually harassed me to the point I was scared to come to school."

Principal Freeman grabbed a pen out of the holder on his desk. "I doubt your words, Miss. If you were scared, surely you would have come to me."

"Things aren't as simple as you make them sound, sir."

He fiddled with the pen. "Tell me how I'm wrong, then."

Anger began building, but I took a deep breath and forced myself to calm down. "If I hadn't been so scared, I would have come to you right then."

He pulled a piece of paper across his desk and began writing. "Tell me everything from the beginning."

I nodded. As I told him, I began to feel more and more embarrassed. Everything sounded to my ear like it wasn't nearly as bad as I was making it out to be. It sounded like I was making a mountain out of a molehill. I was almost ashamed to be making a fuss about it. I wondered if he saw it the same way.

When I finished, the principal sighed deeply. "Thank you for telling me this, Miss Till. I'm going to follow up with this, talk to Jared, and get this sorted. In the meantime, I need you to get to class."

"Okay." I got up and left. Walking to class, I felt like I had a permanent blush on my cheeks. When I got to class, all I could think about was going to happen next. I was scared of what Jared would do when he found out I went to the principal. As far as I knew, I was the only girl who had.

At lunch, I walked out to my car. I got in and turned it on. I debated whether or not I should skip the lat of my classes for the day. I just knew I didn't want to be there when Jared got called to the office.

If truth be told, I wanted to leave and never come back.

I ended up leaving and, on the drive to my house, I wanted to curl up in the backseat and cry. My makeup would run so bad, but I didn't care. I wanted to hide from the world. As I neared my house, I realized I didn't want to be there just yet. I didn't want to be there when my mother got home to look for me. I didn't want to answer her questions about me leaving early, or about Jared.

I drove to a park. When I got out, I realized I didn't really know this one. I wasn't sure if there was even a secluded bench. Still, I began walking and stopped at the first bench I came to. I let myself remember everything that happened. I let myself feel everything all over again. For the first time, I let myself cry over Jared's actions and words.