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Chapter 12 - "There's nothing to say, Carter."

Donovan pounded his fist against the punching bag over and over again. In his mind, he heard Link's voice break, felt his pain on his shoulder where Link cried. The memory of it made Donovan swing harder and faster. He was just a kid. A kid faced with a hard situation but one he'd manage to make the best of for six years. Until Carter.

Donovan pummeled the bag, driving his anger into the leather. By the time he stopped, sweat slid down his back, his arms ached, and his fists throbbed. But his anger towards Carter had lessened.

She was a stupid girl with no boundaries. He corrected himself. She wasn't stupid, that was the problem. She was a brilliant girl with no boundaries. That was worse. As Donovan removed his boxing gloves and began to unwrap his hands, a knock echoed on his door. Monica stood on the other side. Donovan stepped back, letting her in.

"What can I help you with, Monica?" he asked, inspecting his knuckles. They were bruised.

"You can tell me what is going on with my son," she said.

Donovan sat on the armrest of his couch, meeting Monica's gaze. He'd thought about telling her what was going on but refrained. After Link had released all his hurt, Donovan had made him walk through the whole interaction. Carter had told Link she wasn't like everyone else, eager to spill his secrets. Donovan didn't know if he believed this, but until he was certain of Carter's intent, he didn't think concerning Monica would help. Not yet.

"Friendship problems," Donovan said. "Being in school with Mason is not helping either."

Monica nodded and crossed her arms. "Should I find him a new school?"

Donovan had seriously considered this the night before and hadn't come to a good conclusion.

"I honestly don't know," he said. "I say we finish out the week and talk to Link about it this weekend."

"I'm worried about him. I came home late last night and he was still awake. He looked terrible."

"It's a lot of adjustment."

They stood there, both thinking of Link, their hearts filled only with concern for him.

"This weekend," she said. She smiled at Donovan. "I am happy he has you."

As she left, Donovan sat there, hurting. Link had Donovan but what good had it done him. He hadn't protected him from the pain of Carter. Donovan pressed his hands into his knees. He didn't know how to fix this. Avoid her was the main solution but that was difficult when they shared classes. Maybe transferring again was the answer. But he wouldn't be able to monitor Carter's actions. Would leaving give her more of a reason to spill the truth?

Frustrated with indecision, Donovan collected his uniform and headed towards his shower. The weekend, by the weekend they would decide what to do. By the time he was ready to leave, he'd manage to smother his emotions towards Carter. Link didn't need Donovan's anger when he was already struggling on his own.

Link looked like he hadn't slept at all and didn't speak all the way to school or through the hallways. At the chemistry classroom, Donovan tugged on Link's shoulder.

"Do you want me to ask Mr. Miller if we can switch spots?" he asked.

Link pulled on his hair, staring into the room.

"No," he said. "You sit in a place where you can see Mason and I don't think I can handle that today. I'll just ignore her."

Donovan wanted to do a lot of things to Carter, the top one being telling her off for being selfish, inconsiderate, heartless, evil, a pain in the a-