My Son Was Treated Poorly Because of His Looks Throughout His Freshman Year – After Summer Break, Not Even the Kids Who Used to Tease Him Recognized Him, so He Did What He Had Been Planning for Months

“He walked right past Tyler and his friends. None of them recognized him.”

“Well, I’m not surprised,” I said. “He’s changed so much over the summer. He lost weight, got in shape, changed his hair. He’s become such a handsome young man.”

Karen lowered her voice.

“Lucas realized they didn’t recognize him, turned back, looked Tyler straight in the eye, and said, ‘You’ll get what’s coming to you.’ Then he just walked away.”

I drove home with my hands tight on the wheel, hearing Lucas’s words over and over in my head. You’ll get what’s coming to you. What exactly had he meant by that? And why did it sound less like confidence and more like a warning?

****

That evening, I stood in his doorway with a mug of tea I’d made as an excuse. He was typing, the blue light on his jaw.