XXVII.                                         Heartbreak Weather

      Miguel was in a coma. He had been rushed to the hospital immediately after the accident. Odessa couldn't sleep. She was haunted by seeing her friend fall from the second floor. The sound of his spine made her sick. She couldn't stand to look either Sam or Tory in the eye. She didn't know who she blamed more. She didn't want to blame either of them cause that's not who she was but she was angry. She didn't want to speak to anybody, actually.

She thought about Robby. Two weeks passed by since he ran away. He ran from his problems. He looked her right in the eyes and left. She didn't know how to feel. Her heart and mind were pulling her in two different directions. She knew he didn't mean to push Miguel off the railing but Miguel showed him mercy and he didn't take it. Odessa didn't know if she would be able to forgive him for that. The police were after him. It made her head hurt thinking about all that was going to happen to them as this whole karate fuad continued. To be honest, she didn't know if she wanted to be apart of it anymore.

Odessa was in a depressed state. Thalia watched her daughter crumble before her eyes. She had seen her this way before, multiple times, and it terrified her. Odessa felt everything so deeply and she loved her friends. She loved Miguel. And now he was hurt. She didn't want Odessa to go back to school. She had her stay home for the time being.

Thalia tried talking to Johnny but the man was basically a-wall. She couldn't blame him. Robby was his son and now he was missing. All she could do was try and be there for him, be his friend, somebody that he needed.

After an excruciating long two weeks, Odessa was ready to go back to school. "Are you sure, honey? You can stay home with me and we can do whatever you want." Thalia tried to reason.

"I would love that mom but I can't hide from this. There's others that were affected by it. I can't leave them hanging anymore."

She hadn't talked to Oliver or the others since leaving the school that day. She couldn't bring herself to talk to anyone. But they were struggling. Oliver was spending more time with Demetri, feeling like he was the only thing that could keep his mind away from what happened. Hailey and Grayson had each other. She was heartbroken. Miguel wasn't just some guy she knew from karate. He was their friend and they were feeling the pain of losing him deeply.

Odessa sat in the passenger seat of her mom's car. "You don't have to do this, Dess." Thalia said again.

She looked over at her and nodded slightly. "Yeah, I do."

The woman sighed. "If anything happens, and I mean anything, you call me and i'll be right here. I'll argue with a teacher before making you stay here."

She wanted to smile but couldn't manage to give one. She just nodded. Odessa gripped the straps of her backpack and got out of the car. She knew her mom wouldn't leave until she saw she had walked in. With shaky legs, Odessa walked into the school. There were multiple security guards. They were checking everyone's bags and clothes for weapons. When she walked in, she immediately saw eyes turn to her. Blood pounded in her ears and her heart started pounding in her chest. Her vision disfigured and it was like everything started molding together as one and spinning. Her legs felt weak. She felt dizzy and disoriented. Just as she was about to run out of the building, she felt someone grab her shoulders, making her snap out of it. She shut her eyes.

"Dessi?" It was Hawk. He had his hands on her shoulders and his head ducked down to look at her. Her eyes were screwed shut and she couldn't bring herself to open them. "Are you okay?"

Odessa shook her head violently. "No, I have to get out of here. I want to go home." She pleaded.

"Odessa, it's okay. Just ignore them. You're here. That's a huge step in improvement." The boy tried to reason with her. The blonde just stood there, eyes shut and her head down. "Look at me, please?"

She shakily lifted her head up at him and opened her eyes. Standing in front of her was Eli. That look he was giving her was all Eli. The soft eyes, concerned facial expression, and the soft grasp. "I don't know if I can do this." She muttered with a terrified look in her eyes.

Eli nodded. "Yes, you can. You know why? Because I believe in you. I'll be here with you the whole time. I'll follow you to your classes if I have to. I'll beat the shit out of anyone who tries to say anything or look at you."

Odessa bit her lip slightly. Her blue eyes darted around the school to see people looking over their shoulders and looking at her. Talking about her. Talking about what happened. How it was her 'boyfriend' that hurt Miguel. She wanted to give up but Eli believed in her. She nodded. "Okay."

He smiled and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Great. Don't worry. I've got you." He promised her. He led the girl over to Bert and Mitch. "Look who's back, guys."

"Dess!" Bert exclaimed and hugged her.

Odessa laughed and hugged him back. "Hey, I missed you."

"How are feeling, Dess?" Mitch asked her.

She wrapped her arm loosely around Bert. "I'm okay. Trying to be, anyway."

Eli turned his head and looked over her shoulder, seeing Demetri walk down the hall with Chris and Nathan. He knew he had the girl under his arm but he couldn't help it. A rageful look appeared in his eyes and he dropped his arm from around her, walking up to Demetri snd the others followed him.

Odessa sighed. "God, please not today." She mumbled to herself.

"Got something to say?" Mitch said to Chris.

"Yeah. Check out my new Lit book," Chris responded and held up his text book, referring to when he wacked Mitch in the face with a book during the fight. "A lot of hard-hitting shit in here."

"All this security isn't enough to protect your scrawny ass." Hawk said to Demetri while glaring at him.

Oliver appeared beside Odessa. "No, but I might be." He announced himself. The group of boys turned around and faced him. They immediately noticed his change in appearance. Since what happened at the school, Oliver was spending more time in the gym to cope with his feelings. He shaved his red hair to almost a buzz cut. His muscles were more defined through his T-shirt. He was already intimidating but now he was just more scary.

Oliver stood by Demetri's side and glared at the Cobra Kias.

"Everything alright here?" Counselor Blatt asked and stood between the group of boys.

Oliver immediately changed his attitude and smiled at the Counselor. "Oh yes, Counselor Blatt. I was just telling them that I was planning to start a peace group to help cope with what happened here. Y'know, give eveydone a chance to talk about their feelings. It's kind of like Moon's peaceful protest just without the singing. Although, I'm not opposed to the idea."

Odessa laughed and pursed her lips together.

Oliver smiled fakely at the boys. "Isn't that right, guys?" He taunted them.

Hawk resisted the urge to glare at him. "Yeah. That's right." He answered shortly.

"Absolutely! I love the idea." Demetri agreed and patted Oliver on the back.

Blatt looked skeptical. "Don't you all have somewhere to be?" She questioned.

Odessa walked away from them all, patting Oliver on the back to tell him nice job. Hawk's eyes followed her as she went and he frowned. They all stormed off and Oliver stood in front of Demetri. "So, does this make me your body guard for the rest of the year?" He smirked.

Demetri scoffed. "Please, i'd rather Professor Snape be my body guard."

"What? You don't think I can protect you?" He teased.

"N-No, I didn't say that. . ." Demetri trailed nervously.

"Good." Said Oliver and he stepping closer until he was just an inch away from him. "Because I can and I will." He declared.

Demetri stared at him deeply, his mouth open, but he didn't know what to say. He was shocked. Only because he'd never had someone so adamant on making sure he was okay or protected. When Oliver walked away after giving him a quick wink, he released a deep exhale.

Thalia wanted more than anything to give her daughter good news when she got home from school because she knew how hard it was for her to go back, but unfortunately for them, something bad always had to happen. Odessa came home and Thalia stood from the couch. "Hey, sweetheart. How was school?" She asked with a hopeful smile.

"It was stressful." Odessa admitted. She sat her bag on the love chair.

"Did you see your friends?"

"I saw Hawk and Demetri. Oliver, too. Hailey and Gray weren't there today. I think she's is still too freaked out to come back."

The woman nodded. "Yeah, she's never been good at handling when somebody's hurt. I'm just glad you got through today."

Odessa only nodded.

Now came the bad news. "Baby, uh. . ." Thalia trailed. "Have you talked to Robby?"

Her daughter frowned. "No, I haven't. Why?"

Thalia motioned for her to sit down with her. She grabbed her hands. "I got a call from the Larusso's while you were at school. . . Honey, Robby stole a car from the dealership and ran away."

Odessa sat there frozen and unresponsive. Stole a car? No, he wouldn't. Would he? There was no way. But he did. She slowly rose from the couch. "Baby?" She heard her mom say. Without saying anything, Odessa walked to her room and quickly closed the door behind her. She crawled into bed and put her hands over her face. She released a loud cry. The days got worse and worse as they passed and she was worried sick about Robby. She was worried for her friends. She was worried about Miguel's life. All the worrying made her extremely sick and it was weighing on her mind until it went to a very dark place.