Shaded

Chapter 5

Kaylin's P.O.V


I smiled and walked down the hallway. I wanted to talk to Harry today. I spotted Cara and I quickly walked over to her.


"Hey, Cara. Have you seen Harry?" I asked. She furrowed her eyebrows,


"Whose Harry?" She asked.


"Harry, he's the new kid." I answered. Her face dropped and she rolled her eyes.


"Told you not to get involved with him." She sighed.


"Told you you're not the boss of me." I remarked.


"I don't know. Haven't seen him today." She grunted before walking away. I watched her disappear in the crowded hallway. I don't get why she's so suddenly glum; and I honestly don't care. I started to walk to homeroom.


•••


The whole day, I haven't seen Harry. He had skipped yesterday, why is he skipping again, today? Maybe he's sick? I sighed and shook my head before shutting my locker and walking out of the school building. I looked at the same parking spot I had spotted him standing at yesterday.


It was empty. I looked down and took my normal route home. As I opened the front door to my house, my dad appeared from the kitchen.


"Did he drop you off, again?" He asked.


"No," I responded, walking past him and up the stairs. I close my door and locked it. I sat on my bed and turned on my phone. I surprisingly had no homework, except for studying. I was left to wonder why he wasn't at school today.


•••


"Goodnight, my baby girl," My mom kissed me on the forehead and I groaned.


"Mom, I'm not a baby," I reminded her. "I don't need you to tuck me in at night. I'm a teenager."


"Why can't a mother show how much she cares about her daughter?" My mom scolded me. Before I could say sorry, she was out of my room. I had made her mad, again. I uncovered myself from the bed covers and walked over to my door. I locked it and read the clock; 9:56.


I sat on my bed and waited for 10:30 to roll around. I usually go for a walk when my parents are asleep. As crazy as it sounds, it really helps me calm down about upcoming quizzes, or tests that count as a big grade. To pass the time, I went on my phone and checked my Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.


As I was scrolling through Instagram, I got a notification that someone had commented on a photo of mine. I checked the user and I've never seen the guy before. His comment grossed me out, so I quickly deleted it. As I slowly finished checking everything, I glanced at my clock, 10:21. I shrugged and decided to leave now.


I walked over to my window and pushed it up before throwing my left leg outside of the window. I pulled my right leg out and jumped down, landing safely. I ignored my open window and walked over to the sidewalk. I walked towards the park I always went to to clear my mind. As I approached the park, I spotted white puffs of smoke coming from behind the tree.


I walked closer, hoping it was Harry. I stepped away once I realized it wasn't. He saw me and smirked before throwing the cigarette on the ground and stomping on it. "Hey, babe." He called, grabbing my arm so I couldn't run away. Oh god, not again.


"Please, let me go," I whispered, trying my best not to get on his bad side. He looked older; he had brown hair, a brown mustache, and torn up, dirty clothes.


"Awe. That won't be happening, babe. Has anyone ever told you to never roam outside at night?" He cocked his head to the side and continued to smirk. A tear slid down my cheek as I watched him try to pick me up. I screamed as loud as I could, hoping someone could hear me. He placed his dirty hand over my mouth, "Shut the hell up!" He growled at me. He started to drag me away, until a voice stopped him.


"Put her down." I looked up and noticed it was Harry. I wanted to smile. But, this situation isn't really pretty. My heart fluttered as I noticed what he was wearing. He wore a black tank top-showing basically all of his tattoos-black baggy shorts and white sneakers.


"Oh yeah? What you gonna do bout it, kid?" The man tested him. Harry clenched his fists and walked up to us. He pulled me off of the man and pushed me back, before getting in the guys face with an evil glare plastered on his. The man suddenly coward and ran away. Harry turned to me and held his hand out for me to take.


"We need to stop meeting like this," He stated. I placed my hand in his as he lifted me up off the ground.


"Yeah . . ." I replied, nervously. "Thank you, though." I added, quickly.


"What the hell were you thinking? Why are you out late at night, alone?" His expressions turned into anger once again.


"I could say the same thing to you," I replied. He rolled his eyes and grabbed my hand before dragging me down the sidewalk. I tried to struggle until I gave up. After a while, I decided to change the previous subject. "You weren't at school today and yesterday. Why?"


"None of your fucking business," He growled, tightening his grip on my hand.


"Ow," I whispered. He must've heard me, because he loosened his grip and sighed heavily. We walked in silence until I realized we had reached my house. "Harry?" I quietly spoke up.


"Yeah," He responded.


I sighed, "Why can't you just tell me where you were during school?" His mad expression had returned. I wondered why this question made him so mad.


"I'm not gonna fucking talk about now. Goodnight, Kaylin." He clenched his jaw and turned to walk away. His fists would clench and unclench the whole way.


"Goodnight, Harry," I whispered before attempting to climb into my bedroom window. After I succeeded, I hopped bed and tried to close my eyes. The only thing on my mind was the same question; why had he skipped school two days in a row?