Read Online After Alex Died by Dakota Madison - Free Book Online

the same routine.
    “Suppose by some weird twist of fate he did like me,” I said. “And I’m saying this only hypothetically because I don’t think there’s really a snowball’s chance in Hell. But let’s just say if he did, then what? It’s not like I’m going to actually date one of the guys who was arrested for criminal harassment of my brother. Alex killed himself at least in part because of what they did to him. How can I ever forgive something like that?”
    She nodded. “It would be one fucked up situation, that’s for sure.”
    “I’ve dealt with enough fucked up situations for one life time,” I assured her. “I definitely don’t need any more.”

     
    Week One
    Monday morning came too soon. Spending the evening making sure the students didn’t get into too much mischief during their free time made me feel ten years older than them instead of just two.
    I was a little worried about Lyle. I didn’t know if I was pr ojecting fears because of what happened to Alex but I didn’t want any of the other kids to mess with him. I noticed Cameron took a little extra time to make sure Destiny was okay. She seemed to be but that didn’t mean much. My brother seemed to be doing fine right before he hung himself.
    For the first time in two years, I actually felt disgusted looking into my closet and seeing all black. Maybe what Cameron said had gotten to me. Maybe it was time to add a little color back into my life. I was just so used to wearing black that it seemed like second nature to me.
    I joined Sofia and Antonio in the cafeteria for breakfast. Sofia had yogurt and fruit but Antonio had loaded his plate with eggs, bacon, pancakes and syrup. All I could stomach that early was coffee, half milk.
    I watched in awe as Antonio shoveled forkfuls o f breakfast foods into his cake-hole (or in this case pancake -hole). 
    I was surprised when Cameron took the seat next to me. I glanced over at Sofia and she mouthed Romeo then grinned.
    “Where’s your breakfast?” he asked.
    I held up my coffee cup. “You’re looking at it.”
    He furrowed his brow. “Don’t you know breakfast is the most important meal of the day?”
    “Yeah, well, no one bothered to tell my stomach that. It us ually doesn’t wake up until after noon.”
    Cameron took a bite of the fruit salad, yogurt and granola mixture in front of him. Then he said, “I spoke with Dr. Jones about the bullying incident with Destiny. I told her that I wanted to do a presentation about bullying.”
    I almost choked on the sip of coffee I had taken. “I thought you were going to give me a chance to think about it,” I complained.
    “How much time do you need?” he asked. “I think this is i mportant and needs to be addressed.”
    When I glanced over at Sofia, she was looking back and forth between the two of us, her eyes wide. I noticed Antonio was still shoveling food into his mouth , oblivious to the conversation Cameron and I were having. I guessed that meant that Sofia hadn’t said anything to him about the issues Cameron and I had.
    “What did Dr. Jones say about it?” I asked.
    “She wants us to do a presentation today.”
    “Today?” I nearly screamed. I shook my head. “There’s no way I can talk about it today.”
    “Why not?”
    “I just can’t.” I stood and tried to leave but Cameron grabbed my elbow.
    “Don’t go,” he said.
    “Then don’t make me talk about things I don’t want to talk about.”
    “But we have an opportunity to make an impact on these kids. So they don’t have to go through what we’ve gone through.”
    “And just what have you gone through?” I demanded incredulous.
    Cameron’s eyes narrowed. “My life was completely and tota lly ruined.”
    “At least you have a life,” I scoffed. “My brother is dead.”
    “And how long are you going to be someone who defines her life by someone else’s death?”
    I could feel my blood boil and my face grow hot. I noticed Antonio had stopped eating and