The Outside Lines (boyxboy) - Chapter 16: Chapter 16

Noah's POV
I stepped up to the door of Mr. Cluskey's office. One large window dressed with blinds lined the side of it, partially revealing the interior. After exhaling a storm from my mouth I gave a little knock on the door before opening it.
I entered the room to be greeted by Mr. Cluskey turning around, mouth stuffed full of some kind of food.
"Whoops, you caught me on my lunch break." He managed to speak through the mouth full of contents.
"Sorry you had to walk in on such a sight." He apologized, swallowing some of it down.
"My gran sent me some banana bread. It's so delicious, I couldn't help but to devour it as soon as the wrapping came off." He chuckled, a little bashful.
"Want some?" He held out a beat up looking loaf. I slowly shook my head.
"Well alright, more for me then." He responded, stuffing it somewhere behind his desk.
"Come." He waved me over.
"Wait, shut the door behind you." He ordered, just as I began to follow his previous command. Gosh dang it, why can't my school counselors ever be normal?
We both took a seat, mine being in front of his desk at his request.
"So, Noah. What's going on with you?" He started. "Things have obviously gotten worse since last we spoke." He gestured to the crutch sat beside me.
I stayed silent, feeling a little fidgety.
"I have the gist of it, but I can't help you if you don't tell me anything." A sigh escaped him.
"I know things can be hard in a school like this, where there's a hive mentality. If one important person doesn't agree with the way you think or do things the less important people will follow behind hoping not to look bad. I deal with this a lot, it isn't only a student thing. Some of the staff here are the same way." He explained. I felt like I was able to connect with him a little more when he shelved his clownish behavior.
I finally decided to speak. "As you're already aware, some of the guys from the football team have it out for me. I haven't even done anything to them, and they're trying to make my life miserable." I opened up, lowering my gaze.
"Any names?" He inquired, leaning on his desk.
I hesitated. "I don't know all of them, but..." the racing thoughts in my head prompted a pause.
"Chad, AJ," I began listing. AJ hadn't hurt me physically, but he's the reason I stepped into a den of brutes today and got fed floor cake.
"Micheal, David, Dre, Jean." I continued listing the one's I recognized.
"Boy, that's quite a few names." Mr. Cluskey wiped his forehead, a little overwhelmed.
"Is there anything you can do about Rebbecca?" I asked him. She was the sole reason my school life went up in flames.
"She's been a subject brought to my attention quite a number of times, but there isn't much I can do."
"So what she's doing isn't considered slander or invasion of privacy? which might I add is something the school condemns." I got heated, frustrated at the blatant violation of school guidelines.
"Well it's not that simple. She's operating in a bit of a gray area. One thing this school prides its self on is freedom of press, the ability to write and publish whatever one wishes." He informed with a bit of a sigh. I guess that explains why she hasn't been punished for all of the slander pieces she's been writing.
"Alright, well I'll have a word with the football team." He assured.
"If I may... Can you avoid threatening their scholarships?" I requested. "If they lose that then there wont be anything stopping them from tearing me a new one."
He eyed me for a moment, a frown dominant on his face. "Letting people off for such a serious offense is against the school's rules, but I'll see if I can bend them a little." "I might have to get some of your parents involved but I think you're in the clear, so you don't have to worry." He said, setting every single nerve in my body on edge.
"NO, you can't do that!" I exploded, sharply standing from my seat and slamming my hands onto the desk between us. He eyed me like I'd suddenly gone mad.
"M-my parents can't know about this!" "Please!" I begged desperately.
"Geez, this situation is so complicated." He held his face is distress. "Again, I'll see what I can do."
I left Mr. Cluskey's office a nervous wreck. If ANYTHING goes wrong I'm as good as dead... I feel like I've entrusted a monkey to defusing a bomb. A bomb that is my life, ready to explode at any moment.
I stepped off the bus at the stop near my home. I waited there awhile, going over my thoughts. I needed time to prepare myself for how my parents would react to my appearance. I could feel a storm coming, and not like the one currently pouring rain from the sky.
I sat listening to the raindrops traveling from leaf to leaf, a few falling onto my face. The trees looming overhead did enough to shelter me from getting soaked.
I journeyed back home through the pseudo forest, aided by my crutch. My foot wasn't broken or anything so extreme, but it hurt a frick ton to walk on.
"Noah?" My mother called out in worry as I hasted for the stairs.
"Noah what happened?"
"Noah?!" She continued calling my name but I ignored her, making for my room. I caught sight of Nan sitting in her chair in the living room as I passed. She looked just as worried and confused. I didn't want to deal with it all right now. I shut the door behind me and placed the crutch against the bed. I plopped backwards on my soft covers It didn't take long for mom to reach the door. She knocked asking if I was okay.
"Noah? Are you okay?" Her voice became a muffle through door.
"Yes mom. Just give me some time." I signed. I knew I'd have to eventually confront them, but not right now...
I laid in bed thinking over what that Nathan guy said about Taylor. He made a lot of points I couldn't argue with, which I found kind of annoying. The thought that Taylor was being honest all of this time was like a spark in the night. She was a major staple in my life, she's the only one who could accept me for who I really was. I needed that kind of support now more than ever. But... would she really be willing to forgive me?
Well there's only one way to find out. I'd talk to her. I couldn't wait another second, it had to be now. I've put this off long enough.
I sat up from the sheets to grab my phone, only to remember my father took it when my parents grounded me. I grit my teeth, getting pretty irritated by my situation. I'm so tired of being dragged around by life, I needed to take hold one way or another.
I decided I was going to steal back my phone.
I stood up from my bed and stepped out of my room, my crutch not accompanying me. The hall was empty, I had to do this quick. My parent's room was just a couple feet away from mine. I walked over and slowly pushed the partially parted door open, not before looking both ways though. I closed it behind me and began my search.
It wasn't on any of the night tables or shelves. I continued searching for awhile, but to no avail. I turned my sights to the night table next to the bed. I opened the top drawer and found a phone. It wasn't mine, but my father's rather. I eyed it for a few seconds before deciding to use it. This made my mission much harder, but I wanted to talk to Taylor. No, I needed to talk to Taylor.
I turned on the phone and was greeted with a password screen. I didn't know it off hand but I knew I could figure it out.
Was it his birthday? Nope.
Maybe mom's birthday? Nu uh.
...Mine? Bust.
I tried a few more before remembering his favorite sports team.
I typed in every member's name before finally trying the team's name.
"Bingo!" I whispered to myself unintentionally. I got in! Now I just had to find the messenger app and enter in Taylor's number. I looked over my shoulder to make sure no one was watching.
Suddenly a notification popped up.
"Hey babe, we still on for the night? ;)" It read. I got really uncomfortable, thinking I stumbled across mom and dad sexting. That would scar my relatively innocent mind forever.
Something was off though. The sender's contact was saved as "Loo" and not my mother's name "Marianne", unless they were into some kinky roleplay. That didn't seem like something either of them would be into though. My curiosity got the best of me so I did some snooping like any curious boy would do.
I clicked on the message to view the rest of the conversation.
My hands trembled as what was revealed to me was scarring... This wasn't mom. Dad was talking to some other girl, sending provocative and erotic pictures back and forth. The texts were so filthy it felt like I didn't even know the man behind them.
I was suddenly feeling sick to my stomach. The world around me felt like it was turning into a haze, my reality shattering.
The kind, loving Christian father I grew up knowing was actually a dirty, lying, adulterer.
I put a hand over my mouth, trying to hold back my nausea. That's when I heard footsteps closing in. Someone was coming up the stairs. My head darted around the room for an escape. The only exit was where I came in from, and I definitely didn't have enough time to get out that way. My heart rate increased as I desperately scanned the room for some place to hide.
Just as the door parted I dove under the bed with my hand still pressed against my lips. I curled up trying to make myself as small and unnoticeable as possible. I watched as the large feet crossed the room, walking over to the night stand just beside me. I couldn't see anything besides the feet, but I knew they belong to my father. He rustled through the drawer, looking for his phone I assumed. His once tame search had now become a frantic panic. I could see his feet turning around, desperately scoping out the room for his phone, the one I held against my chest.
He opened the closet doors and rustled through it, clothes falling onto the floor. He paused as if he'd found something.
"Damn it!" He swore under his breath and to my discomfort he returned to the side of the bed. He stood still for a moment, not moving a muscle. My heart raced in fear that he would search under the bed. I was sweating bullets.
After a long couple of seconds he turned around and walked over to the door.
"Honey, have you seen my phone?!" He yelled out. She responded back but her voice was too faint.
"Huh?!" He questioned, unable to understand her. She spoke again but he still couldn't hear her, prompting him to leave the room and head back down the stairs.
This was it. This was my best chance to escape without being caught. I scrambled from under the dusty, murky bed and stood from the floor, hurting my injured leg. I quickly hid my dad's phone under the covers to mask the fact that I'd taken it. On my way out I caught sight of my phone in the corner of my eye. It was in the closet... how ironic. I grabbed it, almost tripping over all of the boxes and clothes littered over the floor. I charged for my room not waiting for my dad to return.
I crawled into my bed and just laid there, trying to comprehend what I'd just seen. Today's been a mess. It's been so overwhelming that I couldn't help but to get a little teary eyed.
I threw the cover over myself and turned on my phone. I watched the blank bright screen as if it were playing a movie, but in actuality I was just too scared to call Taylor, too afraid of how she might respond.
My finger hovered over the call button for a solid minute before I finally went and did it. I shelved my fears, tired of avoiding the situation.