4

Freida snuck back into her house, quietly as a mouse.

She wasn't quiet enough to fool her little brother, however. He was in her face the second she clicked the lock shut behind her.

"How did it go?" he asked, eyes brimming with hope and drying tears.

"Erm." Freida swallowed. She couldn't get the words out. She took a deep breath and tried again but they still wouldn't come.

"You made it worse!" Nathan turned, and with his back to the wall, sank to the floor. "No. How could you?"

Freida felt terrible. She felt literally sick to her stomach.

"He won't listen to an apology," she whispered at last. "But I have an idea."

Nathan looked up at her, face hopeful once again.

"Well, he avoided your face so he didn't get caught, right? So we know he doesn't want to get caught hurting you?" she pointed out.

Nathan nodded slowly, confused as to where she might be going.

"I'll sneak into the school and film him beating you up. I know... not the best solution. You'll just have to get hurt one more time, then we can take the evidence to the school and the police," she said.

Nathan looked down. After a few minutes of mulling it over, he nodded.

"I--I guess that might work," he said. "Do you know the bikesheds?"

Freida nodded. She remembered sneaking a kiss with her secret boyfriend in that exact spot in her school days.

"If you can sneak in the hole in the fence and hide there before school?" he asked.

Freida nodded. She would have to miss one of her classes, but this was more important and she could always ask her new best friend for the notes.

After they had their plan firmly set into place, Freida made them some dinner. It was a Thai-inspired meal kit with noodles and chicken. She placed a portion in the microwave for her mother, hoping it would be okay re-heated.

"Nice, right?" she asked her brother, who was away with the fairies. He blinked and nodded before drifting back into his thoughts.

'He's terrified,' she realised. She was feeling it herself--and she wasn't even the one who had to get hurt.

Gathering the blue-green china plates, she smiled at her brother and ruffled his long hair. "I promise we will sort this out. Okay?"

"Okay," he agreed. "I'm going to do to play some games before bed."

"Oh, help me with my homework first?" she begged. She had chosen a course in computer programming--a topic which didn't come naturally to her. Her brother was so much better at coding.

"Pfft," he laughed. "Just ask ChatGTP to help you."

Freida laughed. She'd heard the AI was good but so had everyone else so its servers were constantly at capacity.

"I'm best to figure it out with my own brain," she said, smiling.

He smiled back at her, but she could still see the fear in his eyes.

It was hard to concentrate on her coursework, but she managed to get a lot done before making sure her phone was fully charged and had ample space to record a long video.

That thought made her feel physically ill. Having to watch and do nothing as that monster hurt her little brother. It was going to be so difficult.

'But it is the only option,' she told herself.

When morning came, her stomach hurt too much to eat breakfast. She smiled at the note on the fridge as she got a glass of juice.

'Thanks for the dinner, it was tasty! Have a good day at school, loves!'

Her mum was snoring away loudly in the next room. The poor woman had to work every hour and still couldn't afford a house with enough bedrooms. This was literally the only thing they could afford, and it was on the worst street in town.

Nobody had wanted the house.

And Freida had a sneaking suspicion she knew why.

'Psycho neighbour.'

If their dad hadn't run off and left them with his debts, they wouldn't be in this dire situation. Their mum was staying positive about it to their faces, but one day she had seen her crying in the bathroom.

She would never say anything about that day--even with her mouth as big as it was.

"It's go time," she said to Nathan, feeling her hands shaking as she picked up her phone.

Nathan blinked a few times and he nodded. His throat wobbled as if he was swallowing and he looked like he might be sick for a moment.

"You okay?" she asked.

He breathed deeply and nodded.

"Come on. Let's do this."

Once they were in the school vicinity, Freida snuck away and circled back around to the other fence so the asshole wouldn't spot her. The hole in the school fence had been there since before she started school and hopefully, it would remain there for years to come. It was the one thing every kid there had managed to keep a secret.

That... and her secret boyfriend. She wondered if she would see him. He hadn't messaged her in a while.

'He's bored of me,' she thought.

She sat in the bushes behind the bike shed, not worried about getting dirty in the mud. It had been a dry summer this year. So dry they had been given warnings not to have paddling pools or water their lawns.

It was only a five minute wait before she heard Damon and his horrid little gang laughing.

She carefully took her phone from her pocket and started to film.

'I don't want to look,' she thought, but she had to if she was going to get it all on film for evidence.

Damon tripped up her little brother, much to the amusement of his friends.

They cackled as Damon kicked him a few times, then started stomping on his frail body.

Then he stopped, seemingly for a cigarette break. He sat on top of her brother's crumpled form, using him as a chair as he puffed on his ciggie. The others sat about, doing the same.

"Now," Damon looked around at his companions. "Where should I put these cigarettes out?"

They all fell about laughing.

"On his tongue?" one of them suggested.

"Oh, that has to hurt," Damon declared.

Nathan began to wiggle, trying to escape.

"No, no, no, don't," he pleaded with them in tears, and Freida couldn't take it anymore.

A sound of protest escaped her throat before she could stop it.

Her hand clapped to her mouth, but it was too late.

He had heard her.

Before she could scurry away he was above her. He hooked a hand under her arm and pulled her up into the air with ease.

The phone fell to the floor with a clatter.

"I got it," the only girl in the group said. She was a pretty girl, with big boobs and a mean face. She passed the phone to Damon.

"Give it!" Freida demanded, jumping up to try to swipe it back. it was no use. She simply wasn't tall enough to reach it.

"Haha," Damon laughed. His eyes were flitting about as his thumbs flicked, as if reading.

Reading.

Reading her messages.

'Oh crap!'

Her heart began to thud in her chest.

All this time... all this time of keeping her secret boyfriend a secret and now...

"Mr Preston?" Damon asked. "That's disgusting!"

He continued to flick through her phone and there was nothing Freida could do about it.

"Oh, my days!" he cried. "Well, well, well I never."

"Give me that," Freida demanded.

"I think I'll be keeping it," Damon told her. He let out a satisfied laugh and shook his head.