Bound by Blood and Brimstone by D. L. Dunaway

Caleb Jacobs standing there so close, in all his rotten-
    toothed glory, his pallid face wearing a smirk.
    Lorrie Beth drew in a sharp breath and took a step closer to me. What’s he doing all the
    way out here this time of day? I wondered, nausea rising in my throat. He almost looks like he’s
    been expecting us, or maybe he knew we’d be here because he followed us .
    Of course, it wasn't the first time the thought had entered my mind, and since I’d revealed
    my suspicions to Janine along with a full description of Caleb, there was little doubt she’d cut
    him any slack. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her spine stiffen and her chin go up slightly.
    "Somebody better call the zoo," she said loudly as she popped a peanut in her mouth and
    met his eyes. "Looks like one of their baboons escaped.” Needless to say, introductions weren't
    necessary at that point.
    Caleb's smirk drooped, and his face flushed an angry burnt orange. His eyes glazed and
    then deliberately raked the length of Janine's body, lingering on her long legs before finally
    settling on her defiant face. The hair on the back of my neck prickled. I saw Caleb's nostrils flare
    before he took a step closer. Both his hands were in the pockets of his overalls, fidgeting with
    something.
    "Anybody ever tell you that black stuff around your eyes makes you look like a tramp?"
    Lorrie Beth reached for my hand, her palms slick with sweat, her fingers icy. She stood so close
    to me now I could smell the rosewater she'd rinsed her hair in.
    Instead of stepping back as Caleb would have expected, Janine planted her bare feet
    squarely apart, and with her eyes boring into his, said, "Anybody ever tell you about a little thing
    called a toothbrush? No, I guess not; if they had, you wouldn't look like you had a mouthful of
    turds."
    It took about three seconds for that remark to hit home, approximately two seconds
    longer than it would’ve taken for anybody else. Caleb's mouth snapped shut and flopped opened.
    One hand came out of his pocket, closed in a fist. His blood pressure must’ve been nearing
    stroke-zone, judging by the nasty purple blotch blossoming on his neck.
    “You little bitch,” he said, tensing to step forward.
    "Don't you dare touch her, Caleb Jacobs!" Gentle, soft-spoken Lorrie Beth had taken
    center stage in defense of her friend, pushing Janine aside. Through a haze of shock, I saw her
    standing toe to toe with Caleb, her two small fists clenched at her sides, her eyes shooting
    emerald fire. With the flush of rage in her cheeks and her wild hair damp with the sweat of fear,
    I’d never seen her look as beautiful as she did at that moment.
    "It's me you're mad at. It's always been me. From the first day of school, you've picked on
    me, tormented me, just because I'm different. Look, I'm sorry for what I said that day. I didn't
    mean anything by it. Now if you want to go ahead and beat me up, then go ahead. But don't you
    dare touch one hair on her head, or so help me Caleb Jacobs..."
    "You'll what, whip me?" Something was different about his tone. His words were
    menacing, but the bite was gone from them. The leer had disappeared from his face replaced
    with something new I couldn’t quite put my finger on, and as Lorrie Beth stood there pale and
    trembling, racking her brain for a finale to her threat, it dawned on me.
    Had I heard an inkling of respect in his voice? Was it possible that this waif of a girl
    could make a lunk-head like Caleb Jacobs back down? That thin ray of hope was dashed as
    cleanly as breaking surf with my sister’s next words.
    "I'll tell everyone I know that you’re so dumb and stupid the only girl you can get to like
    you is your own sister!” Time was suspended as the world waited to see what Caleb Jacobs
    would do with that. My fists clenched as I waited for the shoe to drop. Janine’s eyes narrowed to
    slits.
    Instinct told me that what Lorrie Beth had said was an insult to the highest degree, though
    I had