Stone Cold (11 page)

“We didn’t want to hurt him. We just wanted his phone to destroy Hannah’s details. Nothing more, nothing less.”

Darin and Evelyn started to say the same thing at the same time,
“And you’re telling us you did all of this over a girl you don’t even know?”

They both looked at each other in disbelief.

“Yes, no, yes, she’s not some random girl. She’s different than anyone I’ve ever met and we had a strong connection that I can’t explain!” Conall’s eyes widened as his frustration started to build.

He didn’t want to tell them anything more and he really wished he hadn’t told them as much as he already had.

“You’re sixteen and have your whole life ahead of you. There’s no need to throw it all away on a girl you probably won’t ever see again,” said Darin with a nod toward Evelyn.

“There’s going to be so many girls that you meet in your life when you go away to college and
beyond. You’ll probably say the same thing about each one. None of them will ever be worth going to jail for,” Evelyn’s forehead wrinkled as she tilted her head to the right in sympathy toward Conall.

She extended her hand to place it on his shoulder but he jerked his body away as he took a step backward.

“I knew you wouldn’t understand! You don’t get it! I was afraid Jack Barnes was going to use Hannah’s information to find her. She’s innocent in all of this. She has no idea what happened to her email and that she could be in danger all because it got into the wrong hands. It’s my fault in a way. If I hadn’t talked to her on that ferry…,” he was completely flushed and sweat started to run down his neck from his face.

With a clenched jaw Conall demanded, “What was I s
upposed to do? What would you’ve done? Walk away and pretend it never happened? Try to tell yourself that a perfect stranger wasn’t going to do anything to hurt her when you heard him say how “lovely and pretty” he thought she was? That she’d make a great addition to his European market?”

Exhausted from mental fatigue, he sat down with his back against the wall. He put his head on bent knees and drew his arms around them for support. For the second time in twenty four hours, Conall could feel the tears stinging his eyes, and again he denied their release, blinking them away while he gently rocked front to back.

Evelyn and Darin exchanged glances in search of what they could say next to try and reason with their son. His argument was well formed and he did make a good point. Evelyn silently motioned for Darin to take the floor.

He
hesitantly agreed, “In all honesty, I probably would’ve done something very similar to what you did now that I know more of the facts surrounding Jack Barnes involvement.”

Darin suddenly had a surge of admiration for his son’s chivalrous act. He was proud of Conall’s sense of responsibility.

As his shoulders began to slump with this new set of feelings, Evelyn poked him between the shoulder blades to straighten up and stay strong to finish what he’d started.

He cleared his throat and uttered,
“But that doesn’t mean it was the right way to handle this situation. You were wrong and I would’ve been wrong as well. This should’ve been turned over to the police so they could’ve handled it in a legal way.”

Conall had calmed down considerably, especially after his dad had finally shown he understood why he did what he did.

He softly stated, “The police would never have listened to me because I didn’t have any evidence to support my claim. They would’ve looked at me as being some dumb kid against a successful businessman, Mr. Barnes.”

“Maybe so but then you wouldn’t have gotten arrested.”

“I realize it was a really stupid and risky thing to do but I would do it again in a heartbeat if it meant I saved someone from some ill fate.”

“Which brings me to my next point,” Darin sat down next to Evelyn on the sofa.

“I have the opportunity to take an early retirement and have been toying with the idea for months. I’ve been watching you get into increasing levels of mischief and this is the icing on the cake for your mother and me.”

Conall sat with his head down.

“We don’t want to take a wait and see approach with you any longer so as soon as we can find a buyer for this house we’re going to move as a family to the mountains in Bushkill, Pennsylvania.”

Conall was speechless. He wasn’
t too keen on moving at this point in his life. What friends he’d managed to make were here. Everything he knew was here.

He thought, “How will I
ever be able to start at a new school with just two years left until I graduate? How will I ever be able to fit in at a new school in that short amount of time? It took me my entire life to establish my current peer status.”

His father was still talking but Conall wasn’t
listening anymore as he drifted back in time to his elementary and middle school years. Once inside those memories, it was hard to see himself as the person he’d become.

In elementary school, he was a quiet and extremely shy child
. His very fair blonde curls and chubby body stood out among his classmates at a public school in New York City.  He was an easy target for the more aggressive and dominant students, often having his lunch money taken from him with little resistance on his part.  Day after day he gave into those around him, serving as a stomping ground for anyone who could only feel good by demoralizing and humiliating others.  This is where he began to see himself differently. He questioned and disbelieved those who said anything positive about him, anywhere from his appearance to what a kind soul he possessed. 

Conall
hated going there day after day waiting to receive the next round of punishment from whomever’s turn it was. There was no place to hide. The classroom, the playground, the cafeteria, there was always someone who was tormenting the school’s doormat. He was afraid to tell his parents because he thought they’d be disappointed that their only son was too much of a coward to stand up for himself. He felt isolated – so different from the other kids from the way he looked to the way he’d been raised.  He made the choice to get through it the best way he could, with his head down and his mouth shut.

Conall’s middle school days started out
no better. The big kids from elementary school had continued to grow and were even bigger than before. It seemed the older they got the more tricks they had up their sleeves and he took their punishment for yet another two years.

What Conall had neglected to realize was that he too had grown in size. He was nearly a foot taller and his muscles had emerged
as his baby fat disappeared. The only thing that hadn’t changed was the image he had of himself.

It wasn’t
until one day in particular during his thirteenth year that what he thought of himself and what he’d endured was about to change.

He estimated th
at since beginning school, he’d been robbed of approximately $1.00 for every school day attended or $180.00 per year. So after giving up about $1,260.00, Conall had finally reached his limit. 

He was in the cafeteria line, minding his own business as usual, waiting to get his lunch. From the corner of his eye he could see
that Marcus Hastings, the biggest bully in school, and his loyal group of thugs had sauntered into the room. They were high fiving other students as they made their way to the food line. Conall avoided eye contact and hoped they wouldn’t see him. Too late.

The group of boys butted in front
of him and all the other students behind him. No one dared challenge them so as to lessen their odds of becoming a victim of their reign of terror. Even the teachers avoided interaction much less confrontation with any of these boys for fear of retaliation either in or outside of school. They pretty much did whatever they wanted, when they wanted and it looked as if today would be no different.

Marcus turned to stand directly in front of him, so close in fact that Conall could smell his sour breath
. He wondered to himself how long it’d been since he’d brushed his teeth if ever. 

Marcus spoke first, “You know the routine. Hand it over – Now
Carol!”

The t
hugs chuckled along with Marcus.

Sadly, Conall did know the routine. The entire cafeteria had grown silent and all eyes were on the two boys. Everyone knew how it was going to play out. They
’d witnessed it daily for the past seven years. Why should anything be different this time? They would take his money, punch him somewhere on his body, and then threaten to hurt one or both of his sisters if he didn’t keep his mouth shut. All of this for a lousy dollar. Conall would obediently hand over the money and never utter a single word.

The next thing that happened set up the most pivotal moment in his life so far.
As he reached his hand into his pocket to retrieve the money, someone accidentally dropped a pan in the kitchen that created a loud echoing noise. Everyone, including Marcus and Conall, startled then grabbed their ears at the sound. This was the first time Conall had looked Marcus in the eyes since they were six years old. He normally had his head down and looked at the floor until the abuse was over.

For the first time in seven years, Conall realized he had grown at least 6 inches taller than Marcus. He also noticed that his shoulders were broa
der too and his body had gained as much muscle if not more than Marcus’s. It was true for his army of goons as well. They were all shorter and had less body mass than him!

It was a life changing moment.
The lights had come on and he could see clearly that never again would he hang his head for these guys or anyone else. From somewhere deep inside of him, Conall felt a huge wave of confidence like he never had before. His adrenaline was pumping and he could feel the pent up rage and anger from all the years of abuse surging to the surface like a tidal wave moving toward the shore.

Unable and
somewhat unwilling to control his actions, Conall squared his shoulders with Marcus and yelled, “No more routine Ever!”

His right fist connected with Marcus
’s jaw, followed by his left. Marcus staggered backward in stunned fashion. Instead of helping their leader, the posse stood back in utter disbelief at what they’d witnessed. Conall moved in on Marcus and unleashed a countless number of punches to his body and face until a few of the teachers finally came to their senses and pulled Conall off of him.

Marcus laid
on the floor in the fetal position bloodied and sobbing, with his arms in defense mode over his face. He never threw one punch. He was humiliated in front of the entire student body.

A
s the teachers were holding him back, Conall spat on him and declared, “You will never ever touch my sisters, or bother me ever again! And you owe me one thousand two hundred and sixty dollars!”

Much to his surprise, the entire room erupted in cheers and whistles. 
People who’d never ever spoken to him in his life approached Conall to pat him on the back and exchange high fives. Even the teachers were applauding.

“Dude you were awesome!”

“You were amazing!”

“Where’d you learn to punch like that?”

The comments kept coming. Although he finally felt accepted, Conall was still the same shy guy he’d always been. The only difference was that now it was highly unlikely that anyone would ever bother him again, especially Marcus and his thugs who completely faded from his life.

Conall
became known as the “tough white kid” and things were never the same after that. 

It was about this time that he started to get into trouble of his own, running around with kids who were up to no good and he was right there with them.
This was the bad side of popularity he hadn’t counted on. He had never really had any friends and had a hard time saying no to them for fear of being rejected again.

They’
d never committed any serious crimes until now. Most of it was throwing eggs at houses and cars or putting toilet paper on bushes and trees in people’s yards. Some of the boys had shoplifted but he was never around for that. He knew where to draw the line and would make a good excuse so as not to be there during those times.

Conall knew his father meant what he said.
There was no way he’d be allowed to stay and finish out his high school years at Central Park East after last night. Deep down he’d admitted to himself that maybe his dad was right.

“The three of you can finish out this school year here since there’s only about a month to go.
Eden’s graduating so it won’t affect her but next year Kylie and you will be in a new school in a new town,” said Darin with a furrowed brow.

“Okay, I get it. You’re right. I screwed up and I want to do
better. I kind of want to move to start over,” Conall lied to his father.

He still wanted to find Hannah, to meet her and maybe moving would give him a better chance of doing that. The fear of having to make new friends again to fit in paled in comparison to never being able to find her.

Darin continued, “You have to do 100 hours of community service starting Saturday with children whose father’s have been killed. You’ll do 10 hours each Saturday and Sunday for the next five weeks to be done by the time we move.”