St. Aislin

[Swan_Song]

Sinead called, "No! You leave me alone! I don't care about the class. Please stop it!" She got out of the stall and peered out the bathroom door at Alexander. "Please... just go. Don't start pretending you care for me or anything, okay? I swear, now you're the one who's freaking me out!" She put her good hand on her hip and pouted at him. "Gee."

 

[xXMysticXx]

Alexander couldn't help but chuckle softly at her little pout. She looked like a child trying to get her way."Fine..." Alexander said giving up. "I guess I have to go to the office and talk to them anyway, so I can't stay here until you come out..." He said turning to head down the hall. He shook his head as he walked away at her little pout and her whining. It was in that moment that he realized why he had suddenly cared so much about Sinead and her little accidents. That's it, He thought. She reminds me of her. I guess that's why I've actually worried about about her.

 

[.:SnazzyPizazz:.]

Sterling drove to the local gym, a large establishment very close to Aisling Heights. He parked up front and made a beeline for the locker room where he changed into his basketball shorts and beater. Sterling strode to the machine room where the treadmills, step climbers, row machines, and cycling bikes were located. He smiled at a group of young women when they started to whisper as they checked him out. His water bottle and towel in hand, Sterling approached a treadmill and prepped it with his choice of speed and incline. He popped in his headphones and after a quick warmup walk, he began to run.

 

[Swan_Song]

Once he was gone, she peered out of the bathroom once more, then crept into the classroom. She started to paint, but found that working with her left hand felt strange and unnatural. That's when she really felt like screaming and crying. She couldn't draw or paint well for weeks... she honestly felt like her life was more horrible than it had been before. Now she had lost one of her only joys. She swore, crap like this just drove her nuts.

 

[xXMysticXx]

Alexander sauntered over to the attendance office. When he walked up to the desk the small woman behind it spoke to him. "What can I do for you son?" Alexander grimanced slightly at the name. He hated being called 'son','lad' 'boy' or anything along those lines. He dropped the note onto the desk. "Absence note. " He explained briefly. The woman read it over. "Oh My! Arrested? Whatever for?"

"Well, thats none of your business is it Louise?" Alexander retorted simply before casually exiting the room and heading into the auditorium. On his way out he noticed a few students eavesdropping two were whispering amongst themselves while the other quickly started tappiing away at her cellphone, probably telling her friends what she'd just overheard. At this point in the day Alexander didn't feel like going to his French class, he hadn't gone yet all year so why bother at this point. Instead he went to have some quiet time by himself in the auditorium.

 

[.:SnazzyPizazz:.]

Sterling had been running for almost an hour by the time he stopped the treadmill. His breath heavy, his entire body slick with sweat, Sterling took large swigs from his water bottle and sat down on a nearby bench to cool off for a minute. He noticed a group of women staring at him and grinned at them, raising his water bottle up as if making a toast before taking another gulp. "Hello ladies," he said cheerfully. They all broke into a fit of giggles and whispers while Sterling continued to smile and happily sip his water. He got up and silently walked to the weight room, nodding at his little entourage as he passed by. Time to pump some iron.

 

[Swan_Song]

After school, Sinead ran out of the building, then started walking home again. Again, her father had to "work late". She was used to it by now though, so it wasn't a big deal. But if anyone tried to give her a ride, she would refuse outright. Especially if it happened to be Sterling or Alexander. God, sometimes the way they cared really bothered her. She hadn't done anything for them, and if they told anybody, she would be very upset. She felt like they cared a bit too much for their own good.

 

[.:SnazzyPizazz:.]

Sterling exited the gym, freshly showered and invigorated by his workout. He sauntered out to his Jeep and threw in his bags. Sterling opened the door and climbed into the front seat, sitting there for a moment enjoying the quiet and breathing the fresh air. His thoughts drifted to Sinead and her curious behavior earlier. Why was she acting like that and saying such things? Sterling shook his head and pulled out of the parking lot. He knew she probably wouldn't be happy but he was going to pay her a visit. She needed a friend. He drove the short distance over to the house he had dropped her off at when he drove her home and parked his Jeep by the curb. He store up to the door and rag the doorbell before stuffing his hands into his pockets. An elderly man opened the door.

"If you're selling anything I'm not interested!" he practically shouted.

Sterling laughed and held up his hands in surrender. "I'm not selling anything sir. I'm here to see Sinead," he explained with a smile.

"Sinead? What the hell kind of name is that?" the man spat and folded his arms across his chest. "There's no Sinead here."

Sterling's smile faded and his brow creased, confusion overtaking him. "I don't understand, this is where she told me she lived at. I dropped her off here the other day . . . ," Sterling said aloud more to himself than the old man.

"God don't you listen? I just said there is no Sinead that lives here," the old man retorted. "I've lived alone in this house for thirty years. Now I'll thank you to leave and let me be. Goodbye," the man said sharply and shut the door. Sterling walked away to his Jeep, dazed and confused. What just happened?

 

[xXMysticXx]

By this point in the day, between those few girls and Louise from the front office, the news of yesterdays events was quickly spreading around. Now even when he went to go grab a coffee a few little old ladies gave him disapproving glances and made soft mumbling noises between them. He truly hated that about this town, one person who can't keep their mouth shut and next thing you know half the town, people you don't even know are gossiping about you sometimes even to strangers they pass on the street. And then he had the other issue of Sinead. He wondered why his life had suddenly seemed to just be completely flipped around. He couldn't help but wonder why she had been trying so hard to avoid him, was it because of her secret, was she afraid he would tell someone. Alexander picked his coffee up off of the counter and tried to focus his mind on something else for a bit.

 

[Swan_Song]

Sinead was walking up to her front porch when she looked over and saw Sterling over at the house she had directed him to. "Oh no," she thought, feeling completely mortified. She watched the proceedings anxiously, then realized he could probably see her just as easily as she could see him. She moved to hide behind one of the pillars on her front porch, her breath getting faster. "Why did he have to come here," she asked herself, frowning. "That idiot."

 

[.:SnazzyPizazz:.]

Indeed, just as Sterling approached his Jeep, he spotted a petite girl rush behind the pillar of a house down the street. He wouldn't have thought twice about it but he recognized the clothes as being Sinead's from the outfit she had worn to school that day. He jogged up to her and frowned. "Mind explaining why you lied to me about where you lived?" he said calmly. Sterling wasn't angry, just very confused. "I just went to the house I dropped you off at and some cranky old man answered the door and about ripped my head off."

 

[Swan_Song]

Sinead stared up at him and said, "You need to get out of here, okay? If my dad were to be home and see you, we'd both be in big trouble, okay?" She took him by the wrist and pulled him back over to his jeep. "Thank you for your concern, but I have to ask that you stay out of my problems. You and Alexander both. This is my burden to bear, mine alone, and I can deal with it just fine!" She sighed, averting her gaze to the ground.

 

[.:SnazzyPizazz:.]

Sterling folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the Jeep. "I'm not leaving until you tell me what's going on," he stated stubbornly. He knew she would do this. But he was determined to find out what was up. That bruise on her face. Her arm. Her woe-is-me behavior. Something just wasn't right.

 

[xXMysticXx]

Alexander figured since Sinead wouldn't talk to him at school, maybe if they were alone she would. So he decided to drop by her house figuring that she was propbably home by now. He hopping back into his car and drove down to her street. He parked on the side of the road and got out. He almost did the same thing Sterling did except before he made it to the door he saw them on the porch down the street. He went over there now curious. "I thought you said you lived over there?" He asked.

 

[Swan_Song]

"D*mnit, why don't you two just leave me alone!? I don't want your help, I can take care of myself," she told them softly, puffing out her chest and putting her hand on her hip. "No, I don't live over there, but I would rather not have people knowing my actual address. I'm not allowed to have visitors that aren't female. Also, home is my escape from the drama of school, I don't mix the two things together. Please, just... get out of here before my mother sees you. Or my father, if he happens to come home early."

 

[.:SnazzyPizazz:.]

"Oh yes I can see you take great care of yourself," Sterling said and motioned to Sinead's face and arm. "You obviously didn't do that to yourself," he pointed out. Sterling looked to Alexander for support. He didn't want to make Sinead feel like they were ganging up on her but this was just getting ridiculous.

 

[xXMysticXx]

"Nope. " Alexander agreed. "I have a feeling that she definitely did not fall down a flight of stairs. " he muttered under his breath. He wanted to tell Sterling who had really caused her injuries but it wasnt his secret to tell. He figured maybe Sterling could help him convince her to get help if he knew as well but he also figured he too was already putting the pieces together and would figure out for himself soon enough.

His face grew softer, his voice gentler. " Sinead..."

 

[.:SnazzyPizazz:.]

"You talked about a bearing this burden alone Sinead. You don't have to. You have friends that are willing to help you. Don't push us away," Sterling coaxed. He frowned and looked Sinead in the eye. He was beginning to put the pieces together but there was still some things he needed to be clear. "Is someone hurting you Sinead?" Sterling asked seriously.

 

[Swan_Song]

Sinead turned her back to them and gave a loud sigh of frustration. She wanted to be left alone. She wished Alexander didn't know what was going on at all. It was bothering her to have people who actually wanted to help. But this problem couldn't be solved with friendship or something as trivial as that. She turned to stare them down. "Look, I appreciate your concern, but there's nothing you can do to help. In fact, if you get involved, it'll just be worse for all of us. Besides, you say you're my friends, but honestly, if this ordeal were to resolve, you would forget about me and not even feel bad about it. I know the way high school goes. I know the way people are. So thanks, but no thanks. I've been hurt enough to know that friendship is relatively pointless."

 

[.:SnazzyPizazz:.]

Sterling cursed, now getting upset. He didn't want to cause a scene so he held his tounge and looked to Alexander for his response. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Her failure to answer his question was all the assurance he needed that his speculations were indeed true.