In Waves | ✔️

09 | true or false

"Millers. DeMarcos. There better be a good explanation here."

Principal Decker sits behind his desk, swollen fingers clasped together, jaw so tight his teeth must be cracking. He reminds me of a bullfrog. I've never been sent to the Principal's office before.

My emotions are a mixed bag of wanting to burst into tears and wanting to pick up the fight and carry on smacking Rob.

An irritated breath escapes him when no one talks. "No matter. There's no excuse for this kind of behavior in my school, anyway."

We're standing in a line, me and Nate separating his brother and Rob. Principal Decker's watery eyes settle on me.

"And to see you here out of all people, Ms. DeMarco. Finally fallen under the influence of your brother." He dramatically gestures to all of us. "A real family affair."

"Lia has nothing to do with this," Rob says fast. "Or Nate."

Rob's nursing scraped up knuckles, Nate's brother's face look like he's in the middle of an allergic reaction to a swarm of bees. If Principal Decker hasn't noticed that they're the culprits then he must be blind.

Mrs. Rivers speaks up from the corner, stopping her impatient foot tapping. "Lia was hanging on Rob's back when I arrived! And Mr. Miller here was gushing blood from his nose! Nothing to do with it. Spare me."

"We were trying to stop them," Nate retorts.

"You were still involved." Principal Decker thumps on his desk, and I jolt. "Detention after school. Both of you."

"What? But I—"

"You're not walking out of here without punishment, Ms. DeMarco. And this is the most lenient one there is, so be grateful." He shoos me and Nate out. "As for you two..."

I march into the admin office in a daze, biting the tremble in my lip away. Nate and I got off light, but we shouldn't have been here at all. No one should have. How can Rob be such a loose cannon?

Nate shuts the office door, blocking Principal Decker's raised voice. I can't even feel sorry for Rob. He deserves whatever punishment he's handed.

"Nate I'm so, so sorry. I can't believe Rob would do this to your brother. I mean, I can believe it, but I still—"

He raises his hands. "Lia, trust me, Rob's not at fault here."

"What? But your brother—"

"Is a little shit who only thinks with his dick." He rubs his eyes hard. "I don't know what the hell went down, but I can guarantee it had something to do with a girl. And Tyler's ego is all blown up cause he's just started high school and he thinks he's a hotshot who can take on a senior. Provoking Rob was the nail in his coffin."

"Still, Rob went too far. I'm sorry you got caught up in this."

"You apologize too much," he says shortly. "Three days in a row we've spoken, and you've apologized every time."

I open my mouth, catching the apology that's on the tip of my tongue. "I know. It's a habit."

"Why?"

"Why is it a habit?" I give him a quizzical look when he nods. "I don't know. Why is anything a habit? Do something enough and it sticks."

He's annoying me. And I think I'm annoying him. Considering recent events, it would be weird if we were standing here full of sunshine and rainbows. But he still seemed nicer in the record store.

"Your nose," I say, watching a drop of fresh blood fall among the dried beads on his shirt.

Nate curses and pulls up the front to stop the bleeding, using the gray material as a rag. My eyes fall to his partly exposed stomach, a washboard with two carved lines dipping beneath his jeans. The sudden display sends a ripple through me, and I rush to the receptionist's desk for her tissue box. She shoots me an icy glare while she talks on the phone.