“Get off him! Get off him!”
I’m saving her from becoming the laughingstock of the school and all she’s worried about is this loser?
Typical.
I finally stop and stare at him with hostility as he pulls away his hand from the three-inch gash I’ve made over his eye and notices blood. At this point, there’s a small crowd of bystanders standing around us murmuring among themselves, but I ignore them while Mario puts on a show for them instead.
“My parents were right about you. You and your family are trash. I’m going to sue, you crazy fucker, and get you kicked out of school!”
I cock my head to the side after his outburst. Mario and I have known each other a long time, and he’s definitely heard the rumors (truth) about my father and Gigi’s father, for that matter. Our families have money like his, but we are not to be fucked with. He knows this, but again I realize that he’s just puffing hot air for Gigi’s benefit.
“You sure about that?” I say in a menacing tone. “You want to involve my parents in this?”
The blood continues to drip down Mario’s face into his eye as he contemplates what I’m saying. I can tell that he’s considering the situation he finds himself in. Will he save face in front of Gigi, or will he walk away?
“No bitch is worth this,” he blusters, and then walks past the crowd to his parked car to leave.
The small crowd disperses and now there is only Gigi and I left.
She’s crying.
“He’s not worth crying over,” I tell her.
“I’m crying because I’m mad, not because I’m sad!” she yells at me.
“What?” I ask, taken aback. “You’re mad at me?”
“You ruined his face!”
Never mind the scratches on mine and the chunk of ear, he bit. Not to mention that Gigi and I have known each other our entire fucking lives. Where’s the loyalty?
“He was using you, Gigi,” I tell her matter-of-factly.
She plops down on the grass, and her dress rises a bit, showing her knees. I notice the faint scar on her left one. I put it there when we were ten-years-old and playing tag. I chased her so fast that she fell on some pavers around the pool and cried bloody murder. That was the day my father reiterated that it was my job to protect Gigi, not hurt her, because she was like family.
“He was the first boy brave enough to ask me out for a date.”
“What do you mean, brave enough?” I scoff.
“Everyone in school knows that you’re my guard dog, Knox. No boy in the junior or senior class will touch me with a ten-foot pole. You’re ruining my life.”
“You think I enjoy saving you from your damn self all the time?”
Actually, I kind of enjoyed giving Mario that can of whoop ass today.
“Then stop doing it.”
Gigi is sixteen-years-old and as far as I know, hasn’t had a boyfriend yet. She’s definitely a virgin and may not have even had a first kiss. So, while I can understand her frustration with me, the truth is that I haven’t met a kid yet at school who would treat her the way she deserves. They’re all shitheads that make choices led by the obvious parts of their anatomy. I should know, I’m one of them. And in our small world, that could mean the kiss of death for Gigi’s reputation.
“You know I can’t do that.”
She sighs then stands up, brushing a few dead leaves off of the back of her dress. She stares pensively at me for a moment, like there’s something she wants to say but decides against it.
“Go home, Knox.”
I look around for her bike but don’t see it. Then I surmise that Mario probably picked her up in his car, so now she doesn’t have a ride home.
“Call an Uber first, then I’ll leave.”
“I’m going to walk.”
“All the way to your house? Your dad will kill me and you too.”
“Stop with the fake concern.” She hands me a tissue out of the small black purse that’s flanked across her body. “And wipe your face. You’re bleeding.”
As she turns around, my eyes can’t help but be drawn to her ass as it pokes through her dress. Gigi’s ass is my enemy and my nemesis. More boys at school have been looking at her ass over the last year than they ever have before. It’s probably the only reason why Mario was dumb enough to take her out today. Clearly, her butt has the power to make boys do crazy shit.
“Ugh, you got blood splatter all over my sneakers,” she laments.
“Why are you even wearing them? You were sitting in grass by the water. They were bound to get dirty.”
“Because they’re my favorite sneakers.”
She walks away.
“Did you wear them for him?” I call out. Regretting the question as soon as it slips from my mouth. It sounds dumb, and it’s none of my business, but I wait for her answer, anyway. I picked those sneakers out for her when my mom took us Christmas shopping last year. Mom wanted to get Gigi a gift that she would actually like, and I knew she’d love them.
She turns around and stares a hole right through me.
“No.”
I’m frozen to my spot and cannot move. There’s deep meaning behind her simple one-word answer, but I don’t know exactly what, and it’s probably best I don’t find out.
Gigi is not my friend.
She is simply my responsibility.
I’ve just got to protect her through one more year of high school, and then we’ll both be free from this unholy alliance of our parents making.
And for me, that day can’t come soon enough.
Before, I really do something stupid.
Two
Knox
Seven Years Later
* * *
I emerge from the Philadelphia International Airport baggage claim area into a humid Friday afternoon. I’ve been living in Miami for so long that I’ve forgotten just how warm and soupy the air is here, even in the early fall.
I unzip my hoodie, toss it over my duffle bag, check the time and realize that I’ve got less than an hour to make it to Grandpa Joe’s house for the meeting that I’ve flown all the way back home for.
Me: I’ve landed.
Aunt Kat: Call me.
I grin to myself. No matter how hard I try to convert her, my aunt doesn’t like or trust text messaging.
“Hello?”
“Paranoid much?”
“People can steal and read your text messages. You know that, Knox.”
My aunt’s paranoia always serves as a source of amusement for me.
“I just wanted you to know that I’ve landed safely.”
“Glad to hear it. I bet you miss the Miami weather already.”
“It’s hot here too.”
“Do you have any idea when you’re coming back?”
“Aunt Kat, I’ve just arrived. I haven’t even talked to Dad yet.”
“But you are definitely coming back, right?”
“I’ll call you after I’ve checked in with him, Auntie.” I rush her off the phone. “My car’s just pulled up.”
“Fine,” she huffs.
The phone goes dead.
While Aunt Kat and I may not be related biologically, she's my family in every way that matters. We both love and respect each other to the utmost degree. Yet right now she isn’t satisfied with my vague answer about my future, but it’s the only one I can give. I’m not sure about anything I’m doing quite yet.