To my great relief, however, most people simply ignored me. There were no attempts to exact revenge, though there also was no one offering to hold doors for me. So, while I wasn’t in any danger, I was already somewhat exhausted by the time lunch break came around.
I was just munching on one of the chicken ceasar wraps Claire and I had prepared in the morning, when Ava and Mia sat down on either side of me.
“Hey, Muffin.” Mia smiled, and even gave me a little peck on the cheek.
“Hey, little brother.” Ava joined, before she, too, gave me a peck on my other cheek. Then, however, she noticed my face and looked concerned. “You Okay?”
“Yeah.” I nodded, though I was looking around the room to check if anyone noticed that public display of affection and took offense in it. “Just a little tired from moving around so much.”
“Are you sure it’s a good idea to be back in class already? Can’t they extend that online thing you did before?”
“No. They told me from the beginning that those are only a temporary replacement for the classes themselves. I can’t take any tests at home without supervision. And even then, my attendance is already down a month. At some point they’ll tell me to just get home schooled or repeat the year.”
“Wow, that sucks.” Mia commented, before Joan and Jenny joined us at the table with some guy I didn’t know in tow, and looked at me in surprise.
“The hell happened to you!?” Joan asked, pointing at the sling holding my right arm in place, while her sister looked at me uncomfortably.
“Don’t you know what comes after No Nut November? I went a little overboard towards the end.” I deadpanned, and Jenny almost spat her drink across the table while Joan, Mia, and Ava burst out in laughter.
I also heard laughter from three members of the football team who were on their way to join our table. Looking around, I suddenly noticed how basically every seat in my direct vicinity had been filled within two minutes of Mia and Ava joining me. This was weird!
“Okay!” Joan commented after calming down. “That explains why your right arm’s in a sling, but what’s with the cane?”
“Wait, you haven’t heard!?” one of the jocks jumped in who was one of Mia’s guests that night. “He got shot at Mia’s party.”
“WHAT!?” Joan screamed, as the guy pulled out his phone and started swiping.
“Here. I got this from Jack.” he said after he found what he was looking for and placed his phone in the middle of the table.
It was the surveillance video of the Miller house. But I quickly noticed that someone had not just copied the splitscreen mainfeed, but actually cut a video out of the separate feeds. First, it showed the entertainment room with all of us sitting in that circle, until I got up and had my short conversation with Mia. Then it cut to Campbell jogging down the hallway, and then back into the entertainment room just as Campbell raised the gun.
I felt a curious uneasiness rise from my lower stomach to my chest. It felt ... weird. Especially in my chest. Like, you know you have to burp but it just doesn’t happen, so you feel a persistent pressure in your chest and throat. It unnerved me, and I quickly found myself fidgeting, running my healthy hand through the hair at the back of my head in an attempt to distract myself from it. I became antsy.
Next, the video showed me jumping in front of Mia, and, even though all we heard were the panicked screams of the room’s inhabitants, the way my body jerked back made it very clear that I got shot in the shoulder. Then I saw myself grabbing Campbell’s gun and pushing it downwards. We could clearly see the gun going off three more times before I dropped to my knees. The last thing I saw, before I had to look away, was Jack slamming the door shut.
This was the first time I saw this. Until now, I had very successfully avoided thinking about it in any mentionable capacity. It was actually quite easy to not bother myself with it. While I was in the hospital, I was safe. Then, when I was home, I had the family shit to deal with. But now I was just having my lunch, surrounded by a lot of people I wasn’t exactly emotionally close with.
Somehow, I didn’t feel hungry anymore. I actually felt kind of nauseous and could feel my heartbeat quicken in addition to that weird pressure in my chest. This was bad. I recognized that feeling now.
I pushed my left hand underneath the table and started tracing my fingers with my thumb, concentrating on getting my breathing under control. It didn’t work as well as when I did it with both hands, but the key was to concentrate on something other than the onsetting panic, and that worked. At least somewhat.
“Holy FUCK!” one of the Jocks laughed. “Was he just shot FOUR times!? And he still DESTROYED that Dude!”
That didn’t fucking help calming me down! Like, at all! Now I was thinking about Campbell. The police officer who visited me in the hospital told me that I probably didn’t have to worry about ramifications. That they thought my actions were within the bounds of self defense. But I hadn’t heard anything official since then!
I know it’s completely ridiculous, but I didn’t react to the footage of me being shot. What got to me was the part showing what I did to Campbell, and then not making sure he would be able to keep breathing. If he somehow got out, there would be hell to pay! What if he got out while I was still unable to move properly? I wouldn’t be able to keep the family safe! And what if they determined my actions went beyond self defense and he SUED me?
Now my hand was trembling and tracing my fingers wasn’t helping at all anymore. I had to get out of there. Maybe if I told them that I needed to take a leak, they wouldn’t think too much about it.
And just at that moment, I felt a small hand slip into mine underneath the table.
I don’t know if Ava noticed what was happening to me, but as her fingers intertwined with mine before giving my hand a firm squeeze, she simply continued watching the guys discuss the video with a small smile on her face, never looking in my direction as to not alert her friends. Somehow, that did the trick. My breathing calmed, my heartbeat slowed, and the tremor in my hand lessened. I squeezed her hand back in gratitude and saw the smile on her face widen a tiny bit.
“So, how are you now?” Jenny asked, pulling my attention further away from my fears.
“I’m Okay, mostly. He pulled the trigger four times, but only two bullets actually made it past the vest. It’s gonna be about four more weeks before the sling goes away, but with any luck they can stop packing my leg in a week or so.” I explained.
“Packing your leg? What’s that?”
“Oh.” Ava jumped in, throwing a compassionate glance my way. “According to Mom, they take a bunch of gauze and stuff it into his wound like they’re loading a canon.”
“Seriously!?” Jenny asked incredulously.
“Yeah.” I confirmed. “I really can’t recommend getting shot. It sucks on multiple levels.”
That caused them to chuckle again.
“So...” Mia started with a contemplating look. “It’s gonna be at least four weeks before we can continue our lessons?”
“What lessons?” one of the Jocks asked perplexed.
“He’s teaching us self defense techniques. Or, he was teaching us.”
“That’s your decision.” I said. “We were using the company gym, so if your father calls my boss, I’m sure they could work something out and get someone else to teach you.”
“No.” Mia stated firmly. “I’d rather wait until you’re up again. I’m already used to you manhandling me.”