“A guy like Kyle Forsythe? I’m sorry. This might be because I’m new here, but is there something I need to know about him?”
“You’ll find out sooner or later. His father is Pastor Travis Forsythe, over at the 12 Stone branch on Thompson and Main.”
“The Wesleyan church?”
“That’s right. Did you know there are fifteen thousand members of the 12 Stone churches in Whispersaw? That means the Forsythes are pretty much Wyachet royalty. Pastor Travis and Leah are very involved with the community. Very generous, caring contributors to Wyachet.”
The way she talked, I assumed she must be a parishioner.
“From what I’ve heard,” she went on, “Kyle has had a lot of issues growing up. Just a bad egg.”
“What does that mean?”
“Prone to violence and a pathological liar. They try to protect him from people knowing the sordid details, but they’ve said enough that it’s evident he would get physical with both of them—Mrs. Forsythe even more so than his father, especially as he got older. The Forsythes did everything they could to get him help, but eventually he ran away from home. They think it was perhaps a combination of drugs and unresolved mental-health issues.”
Considering my own interactions with Kyle, this all seemed far-fetched. Although, after seeing him serve up a beating to my mugger, not totally outside the realm of possibility. Before I had a chance to challenge anything she’d suggested, she added, “The Forsythes try to keep this all as quiet as they can.”
“Yet somehow everyone knows his parents feel this way?” I asked, having my doubts.
She squinted at my suggestion. “It isn’t just what they say. He has a history. Fistfights in middle school. I’ve had to discipline him for several altercations. Now he’s gotten a girl pregnant.”
“Pregnant?” Jesus, I was starting to understand why people reacted to Kyle in a way that made absolutely no sense to me.
“I’m sure you’ve heard about Taryn Maninski.”
I shook my head, and she seemed annoyed that I wasn’t fully integrated into the school rumor mill just yet.
“She’s one of three pregnant girls this year, and I know kids can make up gossip about things, so take this as you will. Everyone believes Kyle is the father, and they have been in the same circles since freshman year, so it wouldn’t be a huge surprise.”
“That wouldn’t be the worst thing imaginable. I’m sure plenty of his peers would be in the same situation if certain measures weren’t taken.”
“Yes, but between that and Kyle’s history with his parents, his violent behavior in school, suspensions… I wouldn’t jump to assuming he was being Superman last Friday night.”
“Saturday.”
She shrugged it off. “Even if he was doing it to help you, it was still a terrible idea for so many reasons. It’s a kid venting his rage on a criminal, and putting his and your life in danger in the process.”
That was more in line with my own thoughts when he’d gone after my attacker.
Still, I was surprised by how much judgment she had toward a guy who hadn’t done anything to convince me that he was this bad kid she seemed to have pictured in her head. That wasn’t the kid who’d helped me when I’d fallen into a puddle on my first day, who’d saved my ass when he could have left me to get knifed in an alley. He had that bad-boy look down pat, and certainly there was a reason his friend called him Scowl, but none of the things Dr. Henry had pointed out made him a delinquent.
It was something I couldn’t shake from my head throughout the rest of my day. I’d seen such a different side of him than what it seemed so many others had. Even during our brief conversation in the car, it was apparent there was this friendly kid beneath that serious expression he wore most of the time around school.
That day, when he entered my classroom for fourth period, he offered a friendly smile. Something I wasn’t even sure other kids would have read as that, but I knew, coming from him, it was a good sign.
As he sat in his seat, third row back, close to the window, I kept thinking about all those mysteries surrounding him.
His insistence with the cop about not calling his parents.
The violent streak I’d seen for myself.
His peculiar Paradise Lost responses about God’s abandonment of Adam and Eve.