Hayden had been my bully from the first day I saw him three years ago, coloring my grayish world into darker shades of pain with his hatred, but his constant bullying reached a whole new level after Kayden’s death. He’d spiraled down a twisted path of destruction and insanity, dedicating his days to turning me into a helpless being with no hope or strength to keep going. I’d thought it would never end.
So, when I heard Hayden was going away to summer football camp for the whole summer, it felt like a dream. I’d literally spent the whole day crying from happiness.
It hadn’t been a prank. Nobody had messed with me. Hayden went away, and I had the whole summer for myself, away from my bully who was—oh, the irony—my next-door neighbor. There wasn’t even a fence between our yards, which proved yet again how cruel life was.
The only thing I didn’t like about summer was that it had passed too quickly. There was only a week left until the beginning of my senior year, and I already felt anxious and terrified of going back.
I had one more week until I had to see Hayden again. I didn’t know how he would react when he saw me, but whatever his reaction might be, I was done for, because I was sure he still remembered our last incident the last day of junior year.
I remembered it as if it were yesterday.
THIS INCIDENT HAPPENED in the school cafeteria. He liked to embarrass me publicly, and the more witnesses, the better. We didn’t have cameras installed, which was another fact in Hayden’s favor, allowing him more freedom to do whatever he wanted.
I was more than happy to get out of that Hellhole, counting the minutes until the official start of summer break. The last day of school had begun peacefully, with no harassment or usual snide remarks from my classmates. I’d thought I would manage to end the day without having to go through the usual bullying. I should have known better.
My table, which I didn’t share with others, was tucked away in the corner of the cafeteria, barely noticeable in the sea of tables occupying this large space. It was the best spot to pass unnoticed during lunch.
I regarded it as my safe place because it was located far away from the center of everyone’s attention—the popular table, where Hayden sat with his friends Blake Jones, Masen Brown, and Josh Akers. They were the jocks of our school, our football stars. They were also the constant source of my unhappiness. Wherever I went, one of them was there, and they never missed the opportunity to humiliate me.
I was on the way to my table when Hayden appeared in front of me, making me stop. I tried to get around him, but he moved to the side, blocking me again.
“Please, don’t do this now. I just want to eat.” I hated that I was begging him.
His face didn’t reveal a trace of emotion. It was expressionless most of the time when he spoke to me. The only emotions I could ever see on his face were rage, mockery, and coldness.
“Don’t think you can get rid of me that easily,” he sneered.
A heavy weight settled in the pit of my stomach, which I felt whenever Hayden confronted me like this. Fear, embarrassment, and pain were combined in one powerful ball, threatening to suffocate me.
He planned to do something to me in front of everyone, and I could guess what kind of thoughts were on his mind. He wanted to make a scene that would be talked about during the whole summer. It would be a hilarious story of how Hayden Black humiliated that bitch, Sarah Decker, again . It would be turned into a meme and get shared hundreds of times across all networks. I knew this for sure because it had already happened once before.
In that moment, I’d had enough of all of that. I wanted to spend my time peacefully away from Hayden and any horrible memes that could come out of his ultimate humiliation.
“Hayden, please don’t start this now. I just want to eat my lunch in peace, and then I’ll be out of your way.”
“No. You’ll never be able to eat or do anything in peace.” He lowered his head until it was inches away from mine. “I won’t let you have peace,” he whispered. “Maybe you won’t see me the next two months, but that doesn’t mean you’re free of me. You. Will. Never. Be. Free.”
He emphasized each word with a poke of his middle finger into my forehead. The students closest to us erupted in chuckles. Some of them had already prepared their phones to take pictures or videos of what Hayden planned to do to me.
I felt the tears welling up in my eyes, and there was nothing that I wanted more than to disappear. I wanted to be erased magically from the Earth and from their minds.
If only hoping for a bomb to fall in that moment and wipe out East Willow High wasn’t far-fetched.
“Now, move your ass to our table and twerk.”
I gasped in horror. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me well, Sarah, or are you deaf, on top of your stupidity? You’re going to get on our table and twerk for my guys and me.”
“No.”
“No?”
“Absolutely not.”
He grabbed my wrist with enough pressure to hurt me. I barely managed to remain silent. There was nothing he liked more than to see me in pain. He was feeding on it. It fueled him and made him do even worse things.
He lowered his lips until they were touching my earlobe. I shivered. “If you don’t obey me, you’re going to be very sorry, and you know this isn’t an empty threat. Now, do what I said.”
I didn’t know what came into me after his words. Maybe it was an all-consuming anger that he always got what he wanted, or courage because I would be safe from him for the next two months, but I let my emotions finally get the better of me. Without any hesitation, I thrust my pizza tray right onto his face.
I watched in shock and a bit of amusement as the slice of pizza slipped down his face, leaving a messy trail, and an unfamiliar wave of satisfaction washed over me. The students remained silent. Nobody dared to speak as we stared at each other.
“ No . I won’t let you torture me anymore. I’m done following your orders.” My voice wasn’t mine as I pretended to be brave. I was shaking, and I hoped my voice wouldn’t betray me.
“I’m not your puppet, and I’m not afraid of you. You can go to hell.” I didn’t wait to see his reaction. I pulled my arm out of his loose grip and ran out of the cafeteria as fast as I could.
ONE OF THE PERKS OF being popular and respected by everyone was that no one ever made an insulting meme about you. Nobody said a word about Hayden getting pizza in his face. There were no jokes on his account during the summer.
My moment of false bravery ended as soon as adrenaline left my body, and I felt queasy and terrified of what I’d done. I could have my summer away from Hayden, but summer didn’t last forever.
I was wiped out when I stopped in front of my house, my loose workout clothes fully covered in sweat. I looked toward Blacks’ place: a white three-story traditional house that looked similar to mine, except the size. It was enormous and well-maintained. Currently, there were no vehicles in front of their garage, which was clear evidence of Hayden’s absence. He drove either his beloved black Kawasaki Ninja or black Chevrolet Camaro, and whenever he was home, one was in front of their garage.
It was odd that the house in which I’d made some of my best memories had turned into a place that terrified me. It wasn’t Kayden’s house anymore. It was Hayden’s house now, and it was the home of a person I was afraid of the most. I despised him. He lived so close to me, making it impossible for me to escape from his abuse.