Anvil

The men smiled at each other. "She did mention she thought you were a dirtbag, but your assailant had a gun."

TJ's head was hurting badly. Who had a gun and wanted him dead? The list of suspects wasn't zero, but it still didn't make sense to him. He closed his eyes. "It had to be the bitch's brother! H-he threatened me!"

One of the detectives snorted. "We read the police report and saw him in person. He'd just been hit by a car and was heavily medicated, unconscious at the time. So nice try, but it couldn't have been him. The extent of your injuries and the bruising on your throat also show it couldn't have been Ms. Marin, so this means your assailant is still out there. Luckily, you will not be out there for him to try again. With your priors and the weapon we confiscated, you won't be out there for years."

"Unless you'd like to start talking and give up your source," the other detective said with a smile.

TJ looked at them with a sick expression. If he talked, he was a dead man. If he didn't, he was doing time.

Shit! He'd fucked up big time.

The officers were looking rather pleased with themselves.

Chapter 9

The week went by with relative ease... for Andre. He was concerned that Cassandra was taking on too much above her already demanding work schedule and night school. He dutifully relaxed as much as possible to let his injuries heal, but he continued to do light-duty house cleaning when he wasn't resting. He made her lunches and was back to doing the cooking from Wednesday night onward.

Friday morning, Cassandra contacted Principal Wallace and wasn't pleased that the man had made no progress tracking down the culprit. She demanded to know what the school would do to make Andre's remaining time in the school less uncomfortable. Earlier, Andre mentioned he preferred sitting at the back in his classes, so she insisted that would be a good start. He agreed and told her this would go into effect upon his return next week.

They went out for a walk on Saturday and Sunday to ensure Andre could make it through the day.

When Monday rolled around, Andre ensured he arrived at school just before the first bell, so most students were already in their seats when he walked into the class.

His homeroom teacher, Mrs. Phillips, gestured for him to approach her as he entered the room.

"Mr. Marin, please accept the apologies of the entire school population for the gross violation of your privacy. Your teachers have been asked to adjust the seating to ease your return." She looked away from Andre's red face to the back of the classroom. "Mr. Zeigler. Gather your things and move to Mr. Marin's spot.

Kevin's face lit up with a wide smile as he'd be getting a seat in front of his girlfriend. He missed the look of dismay Lindsay sent to Brigette, and the look of sympathy Mary gave her.

Andre didn't wait for any more speeches from the teacher and headed for the last seat at the back.

The ladies plastered fake smiles on their faces as Kevin settled into his new spot with a smug look for Henry and Rick.

Andre felt a little better with his new spot at the back. He wondered if Cassandra had somehow worked out this magic.

Most of his teachers felt the need to publicly embarrass him in the same way as Mrs. Phillips had, but he kept his eyes down and got through it. The new seating worked much better for him, so he was grateful for that.

The rest of the week went by with less fuss, but he was overly conscious of the looks he was getting from the other students, especially the clique of Brigette Harrison, Steph MacGraw, Lindsay Martine, and Mary Rossini. They seemed to go out of their way to smile at him, wave when he entered classes they shared with him, and they even attempted to speak to him on at least two occasions, but he ducked out the nearest door. He didn't know how to talk to them, and he didn't want the trouble that might bring him.

Thursday morning, he arrived at school early, so he headed to the library to review his homework. The moment he was seated, he found himself surrounded by the four ladies.

Brigette sat in the chair on the opposite side of his table and grinned at him. "Andre, we're not letting you run away today."

Steph smiled and sat in a chair next to him, blocking his escape down the aisle to his left, while Mary stood blocking the right aisle. That probably meant Lindsay was somewhere behind him.

"We're having a party tomorrow tonight to celebrate the success of the basketball team for making the semi-finals. We want you to come--"

"No."

Brigette blinked in surprise at being interrupted, and her smile slipped a little.

"It's going to be a lot of fun--"

"No, please." Andre shook his head firmly.

Steph was equally surprised. No one had ever turned down an invitation to one of their parties. "It would be good for you to do some socializing--"

"Thank you, no." Andre's eyes were aimed at the surface of the desk. His heart rate was climbing, and the noises in his head were making it difficult to concentrate.

"Do you hate us?" Mary asked, point-blank and out of the blue.

That made Andre turn to look at her. He gave his head a brief shake.

Mary smiled and reached out to pat his arm.

The noise spiked in Andre's head, and he was moving.

He grabbed his bag and books, clutching them to his chest as he leaped up onto his chair, then onto the tabletop. He made a mighty leap to freedom, and once he landed, he ran straight out the doors of the library.

Lindsay walked up to the others and grinned. "He's a slippery one! Did you see that perfectly executed spring upward and leap forward? He could be on the gymnastics team!"

"What the hell is wrong with him?" Brigette asked in frustration.

"He doesn't hate us, at least," Mary sighed.

Steph shook her head. "But he doesn't like us enough to want to spend any time with us, either. I don't want that."

"Nor do I!" Brigette insisted. "I want him to come to our party!"

Lindsay sat, and the four ladies discussed strategies until it was time to get to homeroom.

They took their seats and noticed that Andre was still missing.

The classroom slowly filled as the students took their seats.

Steph was still lost in strategizing when she saw Andre duck into the room and head for his seat at the back. She caught him adjusting his earbud, and an idea popped into her head. She wanted to offer it to Brigette before the class began, so she spun in her seat to the left to face her friend. "What if we told him we'd be playing his favorite music at the party? Maybe Andre would come then!"

She suddenly saw the frozen, wide-eyed expression on Brigette's face.

"Who the hell wants Marin at the party?" Kevin growled from his seat behind her.

Steph's mouth worked as she glanced back at Brigette, but she knew she was on her own from the look she got.

"I-it would be a good way to make up for the shitty trick someone played on him, posting that picture," she insisted. She saw Brigette nodding enthusiastically and felt some relief that her friend was backing her up.

"It's a fucking stupid idea because no one wants that freak anywhere near the party. He's not coming, and that's final."

"Don't you dare call Steph stupid!" Lindsay snapped as she swatted the back of Kevin's head.

"Ow! What the fuck? I said the idea was stupid! But if it came from her, then I guess she must be!" Kevin retorted.

Lindsay glared at Kevin. "You've just made me realize how incredibly stupid you are. I won't date someone that stupid. We're done."

Kevin gaped at her, but all he could see was the contempt in her eyes. He glanced to his left, and Brigette had pity in her eyes, and Steph mirrored Lindsay's contempt. Facing forward now, Kevin glanced to his right and saw a smirk on Mary's face.

Shit! His prime spot now felt like a trap.

"Settle down, people!" Mrs. Phillips called out.

Kevin caught Henry's eye and saw the question there. He shook his head, as there was nothing he could say surrounded by these vipers. They'd talk at lunch.

This all started with Greg's plan to get rid of Marin, but now it looked like Rick's doomsday scenario wasn't as laughable as Greg said.

-=-

Andre had been very agitated after being ambushed in the library. When he got to homeroom, there was some kind of drama going on he didn't understand, so he kept his head down. He tried to do that all day, and it seemed to work as he and the school seemed to have calmed down by the last bell.

After his last period, he was leaving the school when someone grabbed the carry loop on his backpack and almost yanked him off his feet to drag him backward behind the old portables in the field behind the school.

He undid the chest strap and pushed the shoulder straps free, but someone tripped him, and he fell. He rolled and was quickly back on his feet, facing five angry men.

Henry was front and center, with Rick and Kevin on either side of him. Another member of the basketball team, David Trent, looked angrier than the others as he stood on Rick's other side. Greg was behind the four but looking more frustrated than pissed.

"What?" Andre asked.

Henry was going to be their spokesperson. "You're not coming to the party tomorrow night! No one wants you there! We know Brigette and Steph asked you--"

"I said no."

Henry stopped and scowled at Andre. "You're not coming."

"I said no, thanks." Andre said carefully, watching them.

Henry seemed a little confused. He looked at Kevin, who was almost snarling at Andre. Kevin turned to face Henry. "He has all the women turning on us."

"I didn't--"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" David yelled angrily. "Becky dumped me. Three years of dating her, she sees your picture and dumps me!"

Andre stared at him in confusion. He didn't see the connection David was making.

"Lindsay dumped me!" Kevin added. "She got all sympathetic with this loser, and when I told her he wasn't welcome, she fucking turned on me! The bitch!"

Andre wasn't sure what was happening. He did nothing, but they were angry with him. "I didn't--"

He was looking at Kevin, so he didn't see Rick's fist until it caught him on the cheek. His head rocked back, then another fist hit him and another. They were screaming at him in rage as they came at him all at once. His mind tried to deal with the chaotic attack as hit after hit struck his face and upper body.

Greg landed a spinning kick against his right side, and that was especially painful, as his bruises were still healing. His mind flashed to being bedridden and how tired Cassandra had been taking care of him. He had to get away from them. He tried to run past, but Henry hit him with a sloppy punch against his ear, which sent spikes of pain through his head, knocking him back. Rick collided with Kevin, pushing him back as Rick surged forward to hit Andre's gut with a series of rabbit punches.

Andre shoved Rick back, who tripped over Kevin to land on his ass.

There was no way to get past them. They had his back against the portable, and they began taking turns hitting him. His arms were up to block the punches. They were trying to drive Andre to his knees, but he stubbornly refused to fall.

All Andre could think of was how his sister would have to take care of him all over again and how unfair that was. He saw Rick lean in to punch him in the temple, so he caught the punch in his left hand and gave a sharp push. Rick's wrist folded back with a loud snap. Andre then slammed his right fist into Rick's side, cracking ribs. The man sucked in a sharp breath and fell to the ground.

Henry's next hit knocked Andre back against the building behind him. He ducked to the right, and Henry's follow-up punch with his right fist struck the aluminum siding instead, and fingers broke. Andre kicked out wildly and caught the side of the man's knee, folding it sideways badly. Henry fell, screaming.

Kevin leaped forward to rain punches against Andre's forearms as he tried to protect his beaten face. Andre grabbed one of Kevin's arms and sloppily punched with his free hand. He caught Kevin's elbow, and it dislocated with a pop. As Kevin sucked in a breath to scream, Andre punched him in the jaw, which broke as well. He fell unconscious.

Greg wildly kicked Andre's shoulder, though he'd been aiming for his throat. Andre was slammed back against the building again, but when Greg's next kick came at him, Andre caught it and pulled it sharply as he twisted. Greg screamed and grabbed at his groin as he collapsed.

David ran closer, but Andre was done getting hit. He leaned away from David's punch and smashed his fist into David's side, snapping ribs. The man fell back and caught Andre's last punch in the middle of his face, crushing his nose. The man collapsed.

Andre leaned back against the building, panting and wincing in pain. Everything hurt, and his face was swelling up from the number of punches he'd taken. He tasted blood from his split lip. His backpack was on the ground, and he stumbled forward to pick it up. He walked away without looking back and made it all the way home without further incident. He still had some pills left, but he recalled the doctor's warning. He went into the bathroom and did his best to wash off the blood.

"ANDRE!"

His eyes opened, and he was looking up at Cassandra from the bathroom floor.

"What happened? Who did this?" she cried.

"Henry Fisher... Rick Halton, Greg Davis... Kevin Zeigler, and David Trent. So angry at me." He tried to shrug, but that hurt too.

There was a sharp knock on the door. Cassandra looked at Andre and helped him sit up and move back to lean against the tub. The quick knock came again. "This is the Police. Open up!"

Andre saw Cassandra's eyes flash with rage, and she was gone.

"I want them arrested! NOW!"

Andre could see her in the hallway yelling at someone outside the apartment door, and to Andre, she looked like an avenging Valkyrie.

"We have a report that Andre Marin injured five students behind the local high school," a deep voice said.

"Come in! Look at the damage they did and tell me he wasn't the victim of a savage beating!" Cassandra snapped.

She stormed back into the bathroom and gently helped Andre to his feet. She eased off his hoodie and long-sleeved t-shirt and gasped at the bruising on his arms. A tear ran down her cheek, then her expression hardened. "Tell them who did this."

Andre repeated the names for the two big cops standing just outside the washroom. They looked uncomfortable as they looked at his arms.

"The boys you just mentioned claimed you attacked them. They were all taken to the hospital with serious injuries," one officer said grimly.

"Andre, tell them what happened," Cassandra said gently.

He looked at her, then nodded. "When I left the school, someone grabbed my backpack and dragged me behind the portable. They started yelling at me. They were so angry."

"What were they saying?" Cassandra asked.

He looked at her again. "They said their girlfriends were dumping them, and it was my fault. They didn't explain why," Andre said, confused.

"So, they were yelling at you and..." the second officer prompted.

"Rick punched me. Then they were all punching me. I tried to run, but they had me trapped between them and the portable. I had to hit them back so I could get away."

"You can see these are defensive wounds!" Cassandra insisted as she pointed to Andre's forearms. "And you can't tell me one man can trap five more easily than five can trap one! Andre was obviously the victim of their brutal attack!"

"Yet they're all on their way to the hospital, and he's only bruised," the first cop insisted.

Cassandra's voice stuck in her throat momentarily before she found it again and exploded. "ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? ONLY BRUISED? ARE YOU BLIND?"

Andre wrapped his sore arms around Cassandra's waist to hold her back, and she glanced down to see the discoloration. She sucked in a breath, as she knew he was in pain.

She locked eyes with the cops. "Do the math. Andre was attacked by five jealous punks whose girlfriends found them lacking. That he defended himself and won the fight is irrelevant in terms of the crime. Feel free to piss off and take it up with the truly guilty. Now, get out!"

Red-faced, the two cops turned and left the apartment. Cassandra locked up behind them and rushed back to Andre, who was leaning against the bathroom counter. She got a facecloth and carefully washed his face. She used cool water to help ease the swelling. Then she washed his arms and his torso.

"Come on. You're going to lie down before you fall down." Cassandra guided him out into the living room and got his bed ready, then eased him down onto it. She left and returned with a cold compress she placed across his eyes. She saw him relaxing.

"Sorry, Cassandra," he whispered.

"What are you apologizing for?" she asked.

"I didn't want to add to your burden of taking care of me," he managed to say. His bottom lip was trembling.

She was quiet, and he began to worry, so he reached up to lift the compress from his eyes. Her hands caught his and eased them back to his sides.

"Andre, you are never a burden to me. Rest. We'll see if you're well enough to go to school in the morning."

He heard her leave the room, then the sound of her bedroom door closing. Her voice had been wobbling when she spoke, so he didn't know what to make of that. His face throbbed, so he eased himself back against the pillow and did his best to relax.

The coolness of the compress felt good, and soon he drifted off.

-=-

Cassandra cried into her pillow to keep Andre from hearing.

He was still worried about being a burden to her, and this reminded her of the harsh words she'd used on him when he first came to live with her. Her guilt ate at her, and she didn't know what she could do to finally get through to him that she wanted him with her.

That sent another stab of guilt through her as the memory of his trembling lips returned to her with how much she'd wanted to kiss them.

He was lying there, helpless, blindfolded, and so sad, yet what was going through her head was her sick need to press her lips against his to ease his upset... and feed her need for him.

Even bruised, his body drew her like no other.

She had to get some perspective on this and protect Andre from the same kind of abuse Gloria put him through.

She remained in her room for hours before sleep took her.

-=-

Andre convinced Cassandra to go to work as he said he was feeling up to going back to school. He made her lunch and prepared her bag for her. When she left for work, he took a cold shower to help with the remaining swelling, then got dressed slowly.

With his bruising, it took longer for him to walk to school, but he listened to Judas Priest's Painkiller, which obscured his mind's own screams in his head and dulled the stream of inputs surrounding him.

As he walked through the halls, his hood up and his eyes down, he felt their stares. Whenever he glanced up, they always looked away. That was a surprising change and something of a relief.

He was almost to his homeroom class when Mrs. Phillips stepped out into the hall to stop him. He glanced up at her and saw her expression freeze as her eyes moved over his face. It looked like she'd been about to say something cross, but her expression softened.

"Mr. Marin, Principal Wallace and Mr. Garlin would like to speak with you in the principal's office. You can find your way there, yes?"

He nodded and turned away to begin the trek to the administrative offices. The secretary gestured for him to take a seat. She got on the phone.

"Mr. Marin, you can go in now."

He glanced at the woman, then walked to the door and opened it. He stepped inside and saw the principal in his chair behind his desk, and the coach was sitting in one of the two chairs before it.