Page 19 of Unmasking You (Hidden Hearts #1)

Chapter 18

Shane

Ten Years Ago

What the fuck is happening?

I was called by the teacher to discuss a project I’m working on. I spent my time watching the clock, hoping the woman would speed up and let me go.

I want to rush back, because if I’m there Dan and the others won’t go overboard, even if lately he’s become obsessed with Jamie.

I’ve watched him lose weight and the dark circles under his eyes grow bigger, but there’s nothing I can do to stop it unless I want to face my father’s wrath.

So many times I thought of sending him a message and telling him to hang on, that school would be only a memory soon. But my fear of Jamie reaching out to me like he already does, and having Dan thinking I’m plotting against him, stops me every time I take my phone out.

What I do, though, is be there, always, so that if the group does try to go too far I can stop them.

I glance at my watch again, and I want to scream at Mrs Watson to be quicker, faster, so that I can protect the boy I like.

He would never believe me. And probably in his eyes I’m as bad as them. Maybe even worse because I turned my back on him without a word. I built a wall between us that Jamie has tried to knock down, more times than I would have if I was in his place.

I wish neither of us was in the situation we’re in. I wish it could still be me and him, close together and finally having that kiss I’ve longed for since the beginning.

“Mr Campbell, thank you for your time.”

“Thank you Mrs Watson. I’ll be going, then.”

“Of course. Thank you.”

I walk out, wishing I could run, and that’s what I do when I close the door behind my back.

I’m breathless when I reach the gym, and uneasiness fills me when I don’t find anyone there. I thought I was still on time. I rush to the changing room, and when I open the door…

“We were just joking, but he went mad. We were just trying to stop him after he elbowed Dan in the face.”

“What were you doing to him?” I shout, and I hate myself when my voice fails me.

“Nothing,” Dan says from the floor where he’s still sitting pretending to be injured.

“Jamie,” I say. And then close to his ear, I whisper, “Please come back to me.” Please wake up.

Jamie’s eyes, though, remain stubbornly closed.

“I’m going to kill you if you’ve done something to him,” I say turning to Dan and the others.

“Mr Campbell, calm down,” Mr Thompson says, trying to calm everyone down.

But how can I be calm when Jamie’s not responding?

“Go and call the nurse,” he tells me.

I watch Mr Thompson bend down and call Jamie as well, and I cry harder when he opens his eyes.

I rush out of the room, and run with everything I have in me because I want to be with him.

“Miss Brown, there’s been an incident at the gym, in the changing room. Please come.”

I wait there, watching as she collects what she needs. I wish she was faster.

“What happened?” she asks while we walk, too slow for my liking towards the changing room.

“I’m not sure.” I don’t want to cause Jamie any problems if he really was the one punching Dan in the face. I should have been the one doing it. Over and over again.

When we reach the changing room, everyone else is outside, and when I go to enter the room, Mr Thompson stops me.

“Only the nurse, please.”

“You all, go back to your classes. We’ll let you know about Mr Wilson as soon as possible.”

I want to pound on the door until it breaks when he closes it on my face.

“You fuckers,” I say to the others, wishing Dan was here so I could rearrange his face. “If he’s hurt, I will make you suffer.” Then I turn my back to them. “Now, fuck off.” After that, I don’t move from the door, my eyes trained there and my ears straining to hear what’s happening inside with no luck. I stay there until another teacher forces me to go.

I go back to class, and wait and wait, but no one comes to let us know about Jamie.

I want to wait outside as long as I can, but there’s no sign of Jamie.

I take courage in both hands and text him while I’m going home, but he doesn’t reply. And even when I text more my phone remains silent.

It takes me ages to fall asleep.

I run to school without eating breakfast, and ignore my mum’s comments on how I should behave.

I’m tired of behaving. Behaving didn’t help at all, it actually made things worse. I should have done something before we came to yesterday’s shitshow.

I don’t stop to talk to anyone, eager to go check if Jamie’s in school, but when I arrive in the classroom, there’s no trace of him. I sit at my desk, trying to appear calm and collected, but my leg is jumping up and down like a drill so I don’t jump up and pace around like a lion in a cage.

One after the other everyone sits at their desk, and when the bell rings Dan appears at the door. His face is not showing any of the signs of what happened last night.

“Good morning, everyone,” Mrs Watson says while entering the room.

There’s a chorus of people who greet her, but I’m only thinking of how I can sneak out to go and see Jamie. Even if I have to enter the office and steal his file so I can get his address.

“Settle down,” she says, but people keep talking. “Please, settle down. I have an announcement to make.”

I’m on the edge of my chair, hoping to finally get some answers.

“Due to personal circumstances Mr Wilson will no longer be coming to this school.”

Loud voices ask “What?” and “Why?” but that’s not what I want to know.

“That fucking povo is finally out of the way,” Dan is whispering, but I hear him loud and clear.

I’m out of my seat in a flash, and before he can move away I punch him. One, two, three times… until I hear the satisfactory sound of his nose breaking.

People try to pull me away from him, but I keep surging forward with nothing more important than making him suffer. Shame I won’t be able to get to the others and make them go through the same treatment.

Someone pulls me up until my feet don’t touch the floor, and the only person who could do that is Mr Johnson, the PE teacher and bodybuilder. I still try to reach for Dan, though, now on the floor trying to stop the blood flowing out of his nose, because he has to pay more. Even if the sight of him makes me smile.

This is for Jamie, you fucker.

Mr Johnson lets me go once we’re out of the classroom. “You need to calm down,” he says to me, but I’m focused on finding a way to get back in.

He lets me be for a bit, and then stands next to me. I look at him, and his eyes have an understanding glare in them that says more than thousands words. Everyone must know what happened to Jamie, and everyone must know that it was Dan and those other pricks’ fault.

“Are you calm?”

I nod.

“Now listen carefully. You need to keep your mouth shut. Do not say anything other than that you are shaken by what happened yesterday at the gym, and your body acted on its own.”

I nod again. Why is he helping me?

“You’ve never acted out before, and if you did today, I believe it’s because you know something we don’t know. I can’t justify what you did, but I don’t want you to get into trouble.”

“Mr Campbell, my office please.”

When we reach the office my father is waiting outside, his face as dark as the night without the moon. I tremble, but I clench my hands until they’re closed in fists and it stops.

“What happened?”

“We had a problem yesterday between two students…”

I let the headmaster’s voice trail off, because I lived that story and I don’t need to hear his untrue version.

A smack at the nape of my neck brings me back to the room. “Listen,” my father orders me.

“We have a strict policy of no violence in school, so we have to expel Shane.”

“What if I take him out of school. Can we avoid making a mess of the Campbell name?”

“I can work with that. But I can’t guarantee that Mr Edwards Senior won’t press charges.”

“I’ll deal with it.”

“Shane, I’m sorry. I know how hard it must have been to see what happened yesterday.”

I don’t reply and keep looking at the floor.

“Shane,” my father says sternly while already walking to the door.

I don’t care what happens to me. I just need to know that Jamie’s okay.

My father doesn’t even wait for us to get home. As soon as we’re in the car, behind the tinted windows, he tears into me.

“I have a fucking idiot as a son. Why did you have to ruin everything?”

“He was bullying Jamie.”

“Who’s Jamie?” He shakes his head before I can answer. “I don’t care who he is. I’ve asked you only one thing, to keep the Campbell name out of people’s mouths, and instead you made a mess.”

With the way he’s clenching and unclenching his hands, I’m afraid he’ll hit me. Instead, he speaks again.

“You’re going to boarding school. Away from here, so you won’t have the chance to talk to any of those idiots you call friends. I’m going to confiscate your phone.” He takes a pause to get some air, and then continues. “As soon as we’re at home, I want you to go to your room and get your stuff ready. We’re leaving tonight.”

“Sir.”

“Do. Not. Talk. I don’t want to hear a sound coming from your mouth. Are we clear?”

I nod. And I’m glad it’s enough for him.

I place a mask on my face, the one he so long ago made me wear. This time it’s not to please him, but so he can’t understand the pain he’s inflicting on me.

I make a promise to myself in this moment of desperation.

One day I’ll be free. One day I’ll meet Jamie and ask for forgiveness. I only hope he’ll be the same wonderful boy I let slip through my fingers like sand.