Trouble Haunts Her

He gave us a friendly nod. A little nervous, I smiled at him.

I was in a new place, and all around me were new people. Things were looking nice for a chance. No one was looking at me like I was an oddity. No one knew about my humiliating past.

I had a second chance at life. Here I thought my story with Joseph had come to an end, but I'd forgotten that Joseph was not someone who would let go that easily. Not especially when he thought the things that were his were coveted by someone else.

…

One afternoon, after school, I saw someone familiar outside the gate. Joseph was leaning on his gaudy motorcycle, a cigarette hanging from his lips.

He lost a lot of weight. Dark circles hung under his eyes. He looked dejected and furious. The moment he saw me, he tossed his cigarette away and strode up to me.

"Had enough fun, Jessica?" His voice was hoarse, and there was fury lying underneath. "You're coming home with me."

The intense situation scared Kaylee. She grabbed my arm. "Who's this guy, Jessica?"

"“A total lunatic," I said coldly.

"Lunatic?" Joseph sounded like he’d just heard the funniest joke in the world. He laughed, but his eyes were icily cold. "Yes! A lunatic—the lunatic you made me into! You ran all the way here without saying a word to me, and you made sure I couldn't get in touch with you! I nearly went crazy looking for you!"

"So?" I looked at him calmly. "We're already done."

"Done?" He squeezed my hand with enough power to break something. "It's not done! We had ten years between us! Your father is still my dad's chauffeur, and your mother is still one of my family's servants! If you don't do as I say, I'll fire them tomorrow!"

I had never seen him lose control this much before. This was also his first time using my parents against me. My blood ran cold.

"Let her go," someone said icily.

It was Howard. He was already standing beside me before I knew it. One by one, he pulled Joseph's fingers off my arm. He was not moving fast, but he was not holding back either.

Joseph narrowed his eyes. He was sizing up Howard like he wanted to figure out how to destroy him.

"Who the fuck are you?"

Howard pulled me behind him. Coolly, he looked at Joseph. "Her classmate."

"You're her boyfriend, aren't you?" Joseph sneered. The disdain and mockery in his eyes were palpable. He turned to me. "You've only been gone for days, and you've already hooked up with a new guy? Bad taste. He's a broke nerd. I can smell the poverty from over here."

That did not faze Howard. He remained calm. "Who I am does not matter. What matters is Jessica doesn't want to go with you."

"You don't get to decide that!" Furious, Joseph raised his fist and swung it at Howard.

I screamed, but Howard turned to his side and evaded that punch easily. Kaylee was right behind him, however, and she was not lucky. The punch grazed her, and she fell to the ground.

Then chaos followed. The guards showed up a moment later and pulled the boys away from each other.

I, Howard, and Joseph were taken to the principal's office. Ms. Zimmerman and my aunt arrived shortly thereafter.

Joseph's parents showed up as well. Tom, Joseph's father, launched into a tirade against me right away. He jabbed a finger at my face. "How dare you, Jessica! You told us you were going to a training camp! But here you are, hooking up with some random bastard!"

Susan, Joseph's mother, grabbed her son. Worried, she checked his wounds. "My boy, are you hurt? That peasant! How dare he hit you! That filthy, lowly peasant!"

My aunt was shaking with rage. She hurled my checkup report into their faces. "You're accusing my niece? Look at this! This is what your son did! He tortured my niece so hard, she has severe depression now! How dare you twist the story and make your son out to be the victim! How dare you!"