Page 9 of From the Ashes
I let out a long sigh and attempted to gather up my courage. I would have to tell her the truth.
“Two weeks? That… that’s a really long suspension.”
“I know. Care to tell me what made that sort of punishment worth the punch? Because I can guarantee you this, it will benothingcompared to what I’m going to make you do around here, broken hand or not. So help me, I will make you paint this entire house top to bottom for no reason other than to make you miserable. You will wish that–”
“Mom,” I said, holding a hand up to stop her. “I’ll tell you.”
She folded her arms over her chest. “Go ahead then.”
I sucked in a deep breath to steady myself. “Those boys… Jordan, Patrick, and Chris… they’ve been picking on me since kindergarten. And Nix since he moved here. We’ve been telling the teachers about it since fifth grade.”
“You’ve never told me about that!”
“Why would I?”
“I’m your mother!”
“The other adults didn’t believe us,” I said matter-of-factly. “So, I didn’t think you would either.”
She huffed, but didn’t argue with me.
“Anyway… today Jordan was being terrible as usual. He was making fun of us, calling us fairies… calling me fat…”
“You’re not fat!”
“Mom. I’ve always been fat. It’s fine. I’ve made peace with it.” She opened her mouth to argue, but I held up a hand to stop her. “Buttoday, when Phoenix tried to stand up for me, they called him something I couldn’t forgive.”
She was quiet for a moment. “Well? What did they say?”
“They… They called him afag, Mom.”
A hand went to her lips.
“I couldn’t just sit by and do nothing,” I continued. “And honestly, I don’t know what came over me. I was on my feet and had knocked Jordan to the ground before I could even think. I couldn’t let them talk to Nix like that. I just couldn’t!” I threw my arms up in the air, tears threatening once more. “Jordan has been a fucking asshole forever and someone needed to put him in his place! Nix is the sweetest person I’ve ever met and my best friend in the whole world. I won’t just sit around and do nothing when other kids are being terrible to him! And I know you’ll tell me I should’ve gone to the teachers or the principal, but they never fucking do anything! They just sit around and tell me toignore itor try to be friends. And I don’t fucking want to be friends with that piece of shit!”
“Charlie,” Mom said, putting a hand on my shoulder. “Language.”
“S-Sorry,” I muttered, shaking my head. “I just… I couldn’t just stand there and do nothing. Not after what he said. It was…unacceptable.”
My mother was quiet for a long moment before she lifted a finger and tipped my chin up, so we were eye to eye.
“You’re right,” she said.
My brows furrowed in confusion. “I… I am?”
“Of course. That little bastard had it coming.”
I caught myself beginning to smile. “He… He really did.”
She reached up, placing a hand on my cheek. “You’re just like your father. Always trying to protect other people. You’re quiet like himtoo, so reserved until someone is in danger.” There were tears forming in her eyes. “And I’m so proud of you for that. I’m proud of you for standing up for your friend and protecting him. Especially against jerks like that.”
I nodded, trying not to cry myself.
“But,” she sniffed. “You can’t make a habit of this, okay? Phoenix is a big boy. You’re both practically men at this point. There are other ways to deal with nasty people than knocking their teeth out, alright?”
I nodded. “Right.”
“I’m gonna chalk this one up to teenage hormones and call it even.”