I Fell in Love with Hope - Lancali

“You were rude.”
“Sam.”
“Sorry.” I catch myself. “How do you know him?”
Neo throws his pen down, jaw tight. He doesn’t lean back against the
wall, he thumps against it, crossing his arms, unable to contain the
continued twitches across his cheeks.
“People call him C,” he says. “He’s been on the swim team since
middle school. Everyone adores him because he’s good-looking and
an idiot. Everyone but teachers, at least. He spends all of class
listening to music and staring out windows. His grades probably
don’t matter because of his star athlete crap.
Girls practically cling to him in the halls like popularity leeches. His
taste in friends is just impeccable too. I should know. They beat me
up while he watched.”
Neo’s eyes lock with mine. The catalyst of his scars comes to mind
with that look. Neo’s father inflicts pain, but there’s distance between
them, a distance that nurtures indifference. There’s nothing
indifferent about him now.
He’s not telling me the full story. If Coeur were just a passerbyer,
someone who ignored his assault, Neo wouldn’t care. He doesn’t
push past his mother trembling with rage and she is the greatest
bystander in his life. There’s something else I’m missing between the
lines.
Neo makes an ugly face at me when I don’t respond. “Anything else
you wanna know?”
I blink, my hands flat on my knees.
“What are leeches?”
“Get out, Sam.”