Page 7 of Neverland

“I don’t give him anything. I just don’t want to see anyone get hurt.”

Deciding to let it go, we fell into completing our tasks in silence, keen to see the end of our punishment. The only noise came from the intermittent scraping from under the tables.

Only fifteen minutes later, the paint scraper flew across our table, the metal and wood clanging on impact. In the commotion, the spray bottle slipped from my grasp and landed on the floor.

In a blaze of fury, Romeo was out of his chair. “What the fuck is your problem?”

The boy grinned. “Settle down. If I wanna get out of here, I have to scrape the bottom of your table. Now I don’t mind if she stays, but I don’t particularly wanna see what’s between your legs.”

This time, it was me who shot up from my chair, hands against Romeo’s chest stopping him from jumping the table. “Stop. It’s not worth it.”

“Yeah, chico,” the boy mocked. “It’s not worth me messing up any more of that pretty face of yours. But I will if you keep coming at me.”

I turned my attention to the boy. “Why don’t you just leave us alone? Why are you harassing us?”

He considered me a moment, and then using his index finger, gestured for me to come closer. Reluctantly giving him an inch, he closed the rest of the space, his mouth brushing against my ear. “It’s not what you’ve done. It’s what you haven’t done to me. Or more to the point, what I haven’t done to you.”

I pulled away, disgusted, feeling rage bubble from within.

“But we can fix that now, if you want?”

My hand acted on its own accord, slapping him across his smug face. He barely recoiled but touched his fingers to his mouth, a faint reddish tinge coloring his bottom teeth.

Looking through his lashes, eyes narrowed and filled with challenge, he leaned in close so only I could hear. “You’ll pay for that…” he ran his tongue over his lip, “… I can promise you, and as you’ll soon find out, I always keep my promises.”

I stepped back, squaring my shoulders. He would be a fool to think I wouldn’t fight back. I’d been fighting my whole life with bigger, stronger men. He was nothing in the scheme of things, even if I was a younger girl and half his size.

The older boy looked from me to Romeo, his thoughts unclear, but his tone was certain.

“I’ll see you both around. Sooner than you think.”

~~~

The sun was starting to set by the time we left the library, a soft warm glow coating everything around us. I wasn’t in a hurry to go home. I never was.

“Come for dinner,” Romeo said, hooking his backpack over his shoulders.

I smiled at my best friend who knew going home was often a struggle for survival. “Thanks, but I should get home and check on Mom. Make sure she’s okay.”

We took the stairs that led to the front of the school and passed the now deserted main administration. “When is she going to leave him?” Romeo asked, unable to hide his disdain for my mother’s life choices.

“I guess when she realizes one day she may not survive his next assault. So far, she seems immune to it, almost like she no longer feels or wants to feel.”

“Look out!” Romeo wrapped his body protectively around mine and pushed me to the side. The screech of tires drowned out my scream. When I opened my eyes, I saw just how close we’d come to being hit, and realized how near Romeo had come to bearing the impact of the Mustang that hurled toward us.

“Are you okay?” he breathed urgently against my cheek, his hands gripping my shoulders.

“Yes,” I confirmed before he turned his attention to the five boys unloading from the car. They were all bigger. Stronger.

“What the fuck is wrong with you? You almost hit us.”

“If I wanted to hit you, I would have,” came a familiar voice as he broke through the line of friends. He pointed to Romeo’s bruised face. “That much is obvious.”

Romeo’s nostrils flared. “So, what do you want?”

“Why don’t you head on home to your mami and papi and leave Lucy here with us? We promise to show her a good time.”

Romeo reached behind, wrapping my hand in his.

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