Chapter 6

Of course, Ronny moved right in, taking my place just as he had planned all along. MP now rode to and from school with him instead of walking with Ted, Josh, and me, although she didn't seem so happy. It was the blackest time of my life. I sat alone in the cafeteria and when other people joined me I was still alone. When I got home I'd cry for an hour, partly because it was over between MP and me, but also because I knew she was going to be hurt by this asshole.

As it turned out I didn't have to wait long. Instead of telling her he was dumping her she walked to his car one afternoon at the close of school finding her place in the front seat occupied by some bimbo blonde. Worse, Ronny laughed at her, calling her "pathetic" and "loser" as he drove away. MP cried all the way home.

I was home deep in despair when the phone rang. My mom answered it and called me to the living room. "Jeremy, you need to go over and see MP. That Ronny just dumped her and she needs some support."

"But, Mom, she broke my heart. I can't! I just can't!"

"Jeremy, she made a mistake and, yes, it did hurt you, but she has been your friend for years and right now she needs you. Just as important, you need to do this for yourself. Go." There's no real purpose in arguing with my mother. I dragged myself to MP's house. I hadn't been there for several months so I knocked on the door instead of just walking in as I had done before. Mrs. O'Brien answered the door. "Thank you for coming, Jeremy. I tried to warn her about this boy, but she just wouldn't listen. She's in her room." I nodded and walked hesitantly to see her.

I opened the door to find MP lying on the bed face down, crying her eyes out. I sat on the bed putting my hand on her shoulder. I didn't say a word. MP looked up and cried even harder. I pulled her up, put my arms around her and pushed her head down to my chest. She tried to speak between sobs. "Oh ... Jeremy ... I should ... have listened ... to ... my ... mother. I'm so sorry. I know I hurt you. I'm so ... sorry."

"You forgot something I told you when you learned I was a wizard, MP. I told you I could always tell when someone was lying. Ronny said he was an "A" student—lie; homecoming king—lie; star athlete—lie. The only things he said that weren't lies were when he said you were beautiful. That was the truth." I paused to give MP my hankie so she could blow her nose. I continued when she had finished. "I knew you were lying when you told me that nothing had happened between you and Ronny. Have you looked at your locket lately? Open it now."

She looked at me questioningly but pulled it over her head. When she opened it the heart was in a million pieces. "That's what you did to my heart. What you're going through isn't even one-tenth what I've had to endure." Now MP really started to cry. I closed the locket and put it back over her head.

"Oh, Jeremy, can you ever forgive me?" She fell to her knees, clasping her hands as if in prayer. "Please, Jeremy, can't we just go back to the way things were?"

"Tell me what happened that night, MP. I need to know what happened. I'll explain why later."

She started slowly. "I knocked on the door. He opened it and showed me to his room. There was nobody else at home; that made me nervous. He began with a lot of compliments about how pretty and sexy I was. Stupid me, I believed him. When he tried to kiss me I thought, "What's the big deal, it's only one kiss." Well, one led to another and then I couldn't stop him. He pulled my blouse off and mauled my tits. You know I like it rough, but this was too much. He pushed himself between my legs and fucked me. It was over in about thirty seconds and he didn't do anything for me. I felt dirty but I wanted to believe that I was a girl he really wanted. He did it again before I left. I'm sorry I lied to you, Jeremy. I was afraid to tell you the truth. Then he started again with his compliments and everything and he was so sweet in front of the other kids that I thought maybe I was wrong. But I wasn't. He embarrassed me in front of a whole group of kids. I was mortified. What am I going to do?"

"You're going on with life just as I have for the last two months. The difference is that I lost someone I truly loved; you only lost some of your dignity."

"Jeremy, can't we go back to the way we were—boyfriend and girlfriend?"

"I don't know, MP, I'll always be your friend, but I don't know if I can be your boyfriend again." I got up and left. When I got home Mom knew it hadn't gone well. She didn't have to be a witch to read the expression on my face.

"What are you going to do, Jeremy?

"I don't know yet, Mom, but I can tell you this—he's going to suffer for what he's done to MP and me. The only difference is that he's going to suffer more—much, much more.

"Jeremy!"

"Don't Mom. This is something he deserves. He's a predator who takes advantage of innocent people to feed his ego. When I finish with him he'll be lucky to have any ego left." I turned and climbed the stairs to my room.

I sat at my desk and made a list. All the things that fed his ego were going to be destroyed. I just wanted to be sure I didn't hurt anyone else in the process of destroying him. Oh, I could have electrocuted or burned him alive or even boiled him in oil, but I wanted him to suffer the humiliation MP and I had experienced at his hand. I would start early tomorrow morning.

We always have a police officer in front of our school to help kids and parents cross the road. He parks his car just before the crossing zone. I got up a half hour early so I could get there before Ronny drove up. When I saw him a quick spell gave me control of the car. I sped up, exceeding the speed limit by almost forty miles per hour and turned the car forcing a collision with the parked police car. The cop was really pissed and when he smelled Ronny's breath Ronny would be in real trouble—driving without a license, DUI, damage to a city vehicle, and a kilo of pot in the glove compartment. All in all, a good start to a wonderful day.

The next day, after being bailed out of jail, Ronny was walking to school like the rest of us. He tried to hold MP's hand, but she refused, preferring to stay by me. She didn't try to hold hands but she was next to me and that was a big improvement. As we walked I invoked my second spell. By the time we reached the school his face and hands were covered in bloody pus-filled boils—so much for his good looks. No medical treatment was going to cure this ailment!