"Rachel. You need to think this through," dad told me as he followed behind me into my room.

"I already have, dad," I responded as I turned to face him. "This was a bad idea from the beginning."

"No Rachel. That new teacher was right. You are good at this. And I want you to give this a chance."

" Isn't that what I already did?"I asked. I sighed, sliding a hand through my hair. " Dad, I really am sorry, but this ... this just isn't for me."

" What makes you think that?"he asked.

I took in a shaky breath.

"What are you talking about? You saw what happened,"I told him, struggling not to let the memory replay in my head.

"What happened?"he asked. I held my breath. This was something I didn't want to deal with right now, maybe not ever. "You didn't tell Ms Sarah the truth, did you?" My expression must have been enough of an answer. "Rachel..."

"Dad," I stopped him before he could say any more. "Please. I don't want to talk about this."

He looked distressed as he stared at me. I hated that look, mainly because I knew I was the cause.

"I'm sorry," I looked down. "I just can't."

"Not even to your own father?" I winced. "I won't judge you, Rachel. You should know that."

"Don't be so sure. You don't know what happened back there..." I started.

" That's exactly what I need you to tell me,"dad interrupted. He sighed, his jaw clenched. He was losing patience. "Rachel, this has gone on for too long. It's been six years since Andrew died..."

" Don't..."

But my father wasn't listening to me anymore.

"Don't you want a normal life? Don't you want everything to go back to normal?" he asked as he stared into my now teary eyes.

"Things can never go back to normal, dad" I chewed the inside of my cheek. "At least not for me. I caused his death. I deserve to bear the burden of it."

Dad took a deep, steadying breath.

"How many times do I have to tell you... ?"

" That I didn't kill Andrew? I might not have touched him, but it was my fault. Even he knows it."

As soon as those last words left my lips, I regretted them.

Dad blinked, his eyebrows knitting in confusion.

"What do you mean he knows..."

" Nothing," I interrupted quickly. " Nothing, dad. I don't know why I said that"

"No. It's not nothing. Rachel, have you been...?"

" I said it's nothing!" I suddenly yelled, breathing heavily as dad stared back at me, stunned by my sudden aggressiveness. "Just leave." I turned away from him as I said the words. "I need to be alone."

I could feel the long prolonged look dad gave me before he headed for the door.

I bit my lip in a bid to overshadow the pain of regret blooming within me.

"Take your time. I'll fix us something to eat."

He stepped out of the room.

" Rachel?"

I nearly jumped out of my seat, startled by the proximity of the voice. I looked up at Mr. Frederick.

"Mr. Frederick."

I had to resist groaning aloud. I had been planning to elude him just as I'd been doing so far, but I had failed.

"The class has been over for almost a minute," he told me.

"Oh!" I hurriedly began shoving books into my bag. "I'm so sorry. I didn't realize..."

"I want to talk to you,"he interrupted my rambling.

I concealed a wince.

"Why do I feel like you've been avoiding me?"he asked, tilting his head to study me with a slightly amused expression.

"I haven't,"I replied.

He raised an eyebrow. He didn't believe me.

"I'm not a monster, Rachel. I won't bite you just because you don't want to play handball anymore,"he told me.

My face flushed in embarrassment.

" Did my dad...?"

"Oh no." He was smiling , amused for some reason. "I just know."

That made no sense. And honestly, it creeped me out.

I looked away, my eyes roaming aimlessly, reflecting my nervousness.

"Well, I don't want to play handball," I said, partly glad that he had been the first to say it.

"Don't be so quick to decide that, Rachel," he picked the topmost book in the crook of his right arm and handed it to me. "Here. This might spark your interest."

Reluctantly, and mostly because I didn't want to seem rude, I took the book from him.

The title read: 'Handball: The Complete Guide to the Fastest Team Sport' by Jürgen Palm.

The cover was a cool mix of blue and white, the exact same color of the ball dad had gotten me. I almost winced at that. He had bought that ball recently, just for me, and I had failed him.

"Read that and get back to me, will you?" He said with a smile. "I would really love to have you on my team." His words stunned me. He 'wanted' me in his team? No one ever wanted me for anything. Mr Frederick turned to leave, then paused, turning to face me again. "By the way, that's my only copy of that book, so keep it safe."

And he left before I could come up with anything coherent.

Unable to return it at this point, I added it to the stock of books in my bag and slung it over my shoulder.

Pulling my hood lower, I ventured into the sea of students leaving for home. I had told dad not to come take me from school, giving the excuse that I wanted to use the library. The truth was I wasn't sure I could bear sitting in the same vehicle with him for the twenty minutes drive home after yesterday's conversation.

I wasn't even in the mood for the library right now.

I walked on the sidewalk along with the few students who preferred walking or couldn't afford the school bus or a private driver.

I took out my headphones and placed them over my ears, turning the music so loud that it drowned out the sounds of traffic. It was peaceful. I should do this more often...

A cold feeling spread all over me as I looked up. Three boys were approaching, only a few feet from me. The one at the center grinned triumphantly. Nathan.

Oh no! He had noticed me!

I turned, running as fast as I could. Students cursed as I pushed past them. I didn't apologize. If I stopped... Let's just say, Nathan and his goons had no sense of chivalry.

"Hey! Watch it!"

The next minute, my face was in the dirt. The burly teen I had bumped into had pushed me back, knocking me to the ground. My head phones slipped as I hit the dirt.

My heart thundered in my chest.

"Freak" the unknown teen spat as he went his way. Yeah... I was that famous.

I was doomed. Even as I scrambled to my feet, I knew there was no way out of this mess. As I retrieved my bag, about to take a step forward, Tony appeared in my way.

I kept my gaze on the ground, trying to walk past him. Liam, goon-number-two snatched the headphones off my ears. My heart sank. Those headphones had been a gift from dad.

"I'm talking to you, freak," Tony said.

"The HD 800," Liam said as he inspected my headphones. I looked up at him. He cocked his head in mockery, his black hair hanging sideways. "Your dad steal money to buy this?" he asked.

Anger coursed through me.

" Don't say anything about my dad." I was surprised at my snap.

Oohs surrounded me. It was then I noticed we had a small audience of Timberstone High's students.

"Look Liam, the mouse can actually talk louder than a squeak," Tony teased, laughing along with the tallest of the trio. Nathan remained standing silently. He scared me the most. There was a light in his eyes that unnerved me.

My eyes were drawn away from Nathan as Tony knocked me over. I hit the floor for the second time, groaning as pain raced through my elbow. I had tried to use it to break my fall. Liam snatched my bag from me, unzipping it, and emptying the contents on the ground.

Thank goodness I had nothing... girly in there.

My books fell out, along with tons of writing materials, my calculator...

"Nothing interesting here," Liam said with a frown.

"Wait a minute."

Dread filled my stomach. It was Nathan.

The other two quietened, stepping out of the way as Nathan walked forward, both hands in his pockets. He took out his right hand, picking up one of the books as he crouched to my level.

He raised it up to my face so I could see it, still grinning. If that grin hadn't been so wicked and birthed from making me suffer, I might have actually fallen for that face.

His features were perfect. Wavy brown hair, well-chiseled face, blue vivid eyes, thick lashes...

"Handball?" he asked, an eyebrow quirked, and his mouth still curled in wicked glee. "Are you planning to try out for the girls' team?"

He chuckled, turning the cover over. His eyes widened, sparkling with that unnerving light.

"What a surprise. It belongs to your savior, the new Physics teacher. Frederick Lawson," he said. " Is he like your boyfriend now?"

Laughter surrounded me. Tears stung the back of my eyes. As usual, I was the source of their mockery.

~~~
🥺🥺😭😭
As I said, no breaks yet for our dear Rachel.

What do you think of Nathan?
Have you ever met anyone like him?
Let me know in the comments section🥹

So... Away from the story😁😁
How are y'all doing?
Always remember there's one small girl here who loves you, and cares for your well-being🥰
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