by Raathi Chota
“The money,” Austin replied as he looked down in shame, but Parker didn’t seem phased.
“Wow.” I rolled my eyes. Austin stared at me, then threw his arms up in exasperation. “What am I supposed to do about it? They don’t have it anymore.”
“Yes, but they do have the money,” Parker said as he stepped toward me.
“No, no, no, I’m not going to steal for you guys!”
“Either we get the money, or we’re telling the whole school what you’ve been doing,” Austin threatened as he pointed to Parker.
“Like you haven’t done it before,” I remarked.
“You have until Monday,” Austin said, then walked to the door. I watched as he twisted the doorknob and thrust the door open. I strolled behind him as I avoided eye contact with Parker.
“Ouch,” I grumbled as I bumped into Austin’s back. Once I looked up, I paled, since Aidan, Melissa, and Liam stood in front of us. It looked bad to come out of the janitors’ closet. To make matters worse, Parker walked out as if nothing happened. “Aidan,” I trailed off. A deceived look crossed his face as he glanced at the three of us. Austin and Parker spun around and walked off as if nothing had happened. I watched as Aidan stormed off. “Aidan, wait!” I called after him. He marched into a classroom as I chased after him. I walked in, out of breath as I shut the door. I spun around to see Aidan’s back to me as he ran his hand through his hair in frustration. “Aidan, just let me exp—”
“Explain what? How my two ex-friends were makin—”
“It wasn’t like that! I’d never do that to you!” I rushed out as he glanced up at me.
“Then what was it like, huh?” he demanded. I felt the agony in his voice as he spoke.
“I-I can’t tell you.”
“Are they bullying you? Is Parker a perv again? What did Austin say yesterday?” he questioned, then rested his hands on my shoulders. “Lana! Talk to us! We can’t help you if you don’t talk!”
“Pa-Parker has been giving me these pills—” I stuttered as I took out the bottle.
“No, no, no,” Aidan repeated as he dropped his hands and stared at the bottle.
“And they’ve been helping me get through everyt—” I cut myself off when the door opened.
“What the hell is going on?” Blake demanded. Aidan snatched the bottle from me and threw it at Blake. I watched as he read the bottle with a confused look. Aidan paced backed and forth as he mumbled to himself. “Lana, what the he—”
“You don’t need those!” Aidan cut off Blake as I bit the inside of my cheek. “You are one of the smartest, bravest people I know. Lana, you don’t need this to keep you awake and alive,” Aidan yelled. I felt like a little kid being scolded at for writing on the walls or something. It frightened me to see Aidan Rowley, of all people, freak out. I’ve never seen him like that before. Even if he did tease me he’d laugh and smile, I felt like since I’ve been around him, I made him worry a lot. “Why Parker? Of all people?”
“He came to me.”
“Why was Austin in there?”
“I-I don’t know.”
“Come on, Lana, tell us,” Blake demanded.
“He was threatening me, and this morning he warned me. That’s how I got this bruise on my cheek,” I mumbled as I stared at the ground. From the corner of my eye, I saw Blake grip the bottle so hard I thought it’d break. He used all his strength and threw it across the room. I winced as the pills fell out.
“That little fucker,” he growled, then barged out of the room. Aidan followed behind him, but I tugged on his arm. He turned to me with a saddened look as I stared at him.
“Aidan, I’m sorry, I didn—”
“It’s okay.”
“There’s something else you should know,” I mumbled as I let go of his arm. “Remember back at the cottage when that James guy said two forty-eight? Austin and Parker stole the other two bags,” I whispered. Aidan’s brows rose as he processed the information.
“That would explain why they were acting so weird the one day when they left my house. Probably excited about how much money they’d make,” he muttered. “But how does he still have it?”
“He only sells cocaine twice a year.”
“How do yo—”
“Chill, dude!” A recognizable voice cut off Aidan’s next question. Aidan quickly rushed out of the classroom. I was about to follow but stopped and spun around. I picked up the pills, then shoved the bottle in my bag. I walked out of the classroom and down the hall where I heard the commotion.
“Don’t you ever lay a hand on her again!” Blake roared as he held Austin by the collar then shoved him against the lockers.
“Or what?” he spat. Blake let out a dry laugh as he let go of Austin’s collar and backed away. He flicked his wrist, and for the first time, Benny punched Austin. Ethan and Carter held Parker by each arm as he watched in amusement. Blake hit the locker next to Austin as he glared at him.
“Or else I’ll cook your testicles for breakfast!”
“Told you not to touch her, dude,” Parker added. I slowly approached the scene as Blake kneed Austin in the balls. He fell to the ground and groaned. Benny pulled him up by the collar and was ready to punch him again.
“Blake, Benny, stop,” I yelled before they went all ape on Austin again. They turned to me as they held their fists in the air. I approached all the boys with a depressed look. “Just let them go.”
“What? Lana, you can’t be—”
“Just let them go!” I repeated, then looked at Parker. He winked at me as Ethan and Nick dropped their arms. Austin slowly stood up with a smirk plastered on his face as Benny and Blake glared at him. Parker folded his arms as he watched me.
“I still want my money.”
“What money?” Aidan asked before anyone else could.
“Your little princess over there owes me some money! I don’t give out stuff for free!” Parker added. “She knows what happens if I don’t get my money.”
“Ethan,” Blake said as he pointed to Parker. With a huff, Ethan took out his wallet and gave Parker money. Benny snatched the wallet from him and took out more money, then shoved it in Austin’s chest.
“None of this happened,” Benny said as Austin nodded.
“I-I don’t think this covers everything. Those pills are rare,” Parker hinted as he counted the money. Ethan grabbed his wallet again and took out fifty dollars.
“We hear anything, we’ll know who said it,” Ethan grunted.
“Our lips are sealed.” Austin winked at me.
“Pleasure doing business with y’all,” Parker exclaimed as they walked down the hall. Once they turned the corner, it was only us. Not one person dared to make eye contact. I felt guilty to put them through all that, especially Ethan, since he gave two hundred dollars away.
“Thank you,” I blurted out. The bell rang, which broke the awkward tension; I looked up and noticed their stares. Then one by one, they walked off and disappeared into the crowd.
Friday was spent quietly as everyone talked about the game tonight. We sat at our regular lunch table as everyone yammered excitedly. I felt like a burden to all of them. Every time I caused problems, and they had to rescue me.
“You coming, right?” Miranda snapped me out of my thoughts as she smiled. “Take your mind off things.”
“Sure,” I mumbled, then glanced around the table and noticed Ethan, Benny, Liam, and Nick were gone. Blake and Melissa decided to sit with Kelly, so it was Carter, Aidan, Marcus, Miranda, and me. Aidan and I hadn’t spoken since yesterday, but he looked okay. He still joked and laughed as if nothing happened. My phone vibrated as I stared at the table. I reached into my pocket then pulled it out.
Meet me half an hour before the game near the restrooms - P
“Did you get any sleep?” Carter asked. I turned my phone off and shoved it in my pocket.
“Yeah.”
“Really?” Aidan demanded. I rolled my eyes as I stared at the brunette boy. He had no expression as I looked a
t him. I reached down for my bag and picked it up, then slammed it on the table. I ripped the zip open, then took out the small bottle and flung it across the table.
“There. Happy?” I growled. He caught the bottle with ease and examined it. Everyone stared at me. Aidan let out a dry laugh as he played with the bottle. I raised my brow at him as he turned to me.
“You still dared to pick it up and take four more.”
“What?”
“Yesterday I counted how many pills were in here; there were eighteen, now there’s only fourteen,” Aidan hissed as he handed the bottle to Carter. Miranda leaned over Marcus as she tried to read what’s on the bottle. I watched Carter anxiously as his face turned to a look of confusion, then horror. He glanced at me, a look of disappointment on his face. Miranda grabbed the bottle from Carter’s grasp.
“Lana, please, promise me you won’t take these ever again,” she begged. I stared at her with an anxious look. I wanted to say yes so bad, but nothing came out.
“How long has this been going on?” Marcus asked.
“Since the beginning of junior year,” I mumbled and looked down in shame.
“How did we not know about this?” Aidan demanded as he hit his hands on the table.
“Well, considering you only came and messed up my life, no—”
“You’re blaming us?” Carter raised a brow at me. I let out an exasperated sigh and glanced at Kelly’s table. She and Blake kissed as Melissa conversed with Jennifer. Austin sat on the end, quietly eating his lunch, his eye bruised. I turned back to Aidan and Carter, who waited.
“No…him,” I mumbled, then looked at Blake. Both looked over their shoulders at Blake, who grinned at Kelly as she spoke. He looked so engrossed in what she said that I scoffed. Marcus stood up and walked to the trashcan. I watched as he dumped the bottle into the bin.
“It’s for your own good, Lana,” Miranda said as she gently held my hand.
“Miranda, it’s only until next week, then I’ll—”
“No! It’s a drug! You’ve become so addicted to it that you don’t know what you’re doing anymore!”
“Yeah, I mean, when last did you get some actual slee—” Aidan babbled on.
“I can’t sleep!” I cut him off as I slammed my hands on the table.
***
I paced back and forth, then let out a sigh. The game began in half an hour, and I already heard people in the gym.
“Told you she’d come.” I spun around to see Aidan and Blake against the lockers. Aidan held his phone in his hand as he scrolled through it. I glanced at Blake, who stared at me. I tried so hard not to look at the smudged lipstick on his lips.
“What are you guys doing here?”
“Should be asking you the same thing,” Blake replied. Before I answered, I heard shuffles from around the corner.
“You guys are fucking annoying now…hey, hey! Watch the jacket; this is genuine leather!” I watched as Benny dragged Parker around the corner. He was in his football uniform as he shoved Parker toward me. “Lana?”
“Parker?”
“Aidan!” Aidan beamed as he raised his arms in exasperation then rolled his eyes out of annoyance.
“What’s going on?” I questioned.
“We knew that you’d fall for that text. It’s not easy getting over something so addicting,” Blake answered.
“So what do I have to do with this?” Parker asked.
“You are going to make sure that she does not buy from you. No matter how much money she offers you, you’re gonna say no,” Benny said as he towered over Parker.
“Or what?” he scoffed.
“Or we call the cops and tell them you stole cocaine and that you’re selling on school property,” Aidan replied with a fake smile. I snorted at what he said. None of them found it amusing as they stared at me.
“You do realize that if he’s arrested, my dad, the sheriff, will question him. And there’s a big chance that he’ll ask who Parker stole the cocaine from. Leading it back to us.” Aidan looked down in defeat as Blake shook his head.
“Just don’t fucking take the pills. Like what the fuck?” he asked with an annoyed expression.
“Other than using it to focus, why else do you take it?” Benny asked out of the blue.
“I don’t like sleeping.” I shrugged. Everyone else stared in confusion, but he understood what I meant.
“Yeah, you made that clear at lunch,” Blake mumbled.
“Can I go now?” Parker asked. “I’d like to go encourage our school’s football team.”
“Whatever,” Benny muttered. As Parker strolled past us, Aidan put his hand out and tugged on his arm. He whispered something to Parker that made him smile.
“Thanks, old pal,” he stated, then ruffled Aidan’s hair. I quietly tip-toed the other way to escape but failed when I heard whistles.
“Where’s the rest?” Blake demanded. I groaned as I pulled out the pills from my pocket. Parker gave me two bottles yesterday, and I always had a few in my pocket. Blake trudged toward me and grabbed them out of my hand.
“Blake, no. Please!” I begged as he walked toward the trashcan. I beat him to it then threw my hands up.
“Out of the way, Willson,” he said through gritted teeth. I shook my head continuously, and he shrugged, then forced it into Aidan’s palm when he walked past. I sprinted toward Aidan as he ran down the deserted hallways.
“Aidan!” I called after him. He went into the first open door he laid his eyes on, and no surprise that it was the girl’s bathroom. I entered the bathroom, out of breath as I searched for Aidan. I heard footsteps behind me and knew that Blake and Benny followed us. “Come on, Aidan, you don’t have to do this…” I trailed off as I walked past each cubical. I stopped at the second to last one where I saw him loomed over the toilet as he held the pills in one hand and fingertips pressed down on the lever with the other. “N-No!” I stepped forward but was pulled back. As if in slow motion, I watched the pills go down the toilet. Blake stood by the door as he stared at me. “You asshole!”
“Look at what it’s doing to you!” Aidan yelled as I tried to release myself from Benny’s grip. Blake squinted his eyes at me, then walked closer. I watched as he ripped my bag off of my shoulders and zipped it open.
“Blake don’t you dar—” I cut myself off as he turned my bag upside down and out came everything. He shook the bag until it was empty. I glanced at all my belongings on the floor as Blake picked up the last bottle I had.
“This,” he held up the bottle, “is just going to fuck up your life even more.”
“No!” I screamed as he tossed the bottle to Aidan. Benny’s grip on me tightened as I fought to get closer. My legs buckled as I felt tears in my eyes. I dropped to my knees as I watched Blake and Aidan take out the pills.
“You’ll thank us later,” Benny whispered in my ear as I cried.
“No, please!” I sobbed as I watched Blake drop the pills. “Fuck you! Please!” I bawled my eyes out as I watched Aidan flush the toilet. Benny pressed my head against his chest as I sobbed. The only thing that kept me going was gone.
***
My heart raced as I breathed in and out. I stared at the wet sheets draped around me. I was used to waking up from a nightmare, taking a pill, then studying, but now it was hard. It was the fourth time I’d woken up. I frantically searched for my heart pillow so that I could snuggle into it and try to get back to sleep. From the corner of my eye, I spotted it against my door. I forced myself out of bed to get it. When I crouched down to pick it up, I heard voices from the other side of the door.
“She usually sleeps in on Saturday.” That was my mother. I glanced around and noticed a little light through the curtains. I tossed the pillow on my bed and opened them. I squinted as I was met by daylight. I opened the door and walked out, since I was hungry.
After the incident in the girls’ bathroom, we went our separate ways. Benny got ready for the game while Aidan and I took our seats. Throughout the
match, I sat with Miranda and Marcus. Aidan sat on the other end with Carter while they flirted with a few girls. I didn’t see Blake or Kelly at the game, but I knew it wasn’t his thing.
I headed for the stairs and walked down. My eyes were shut as I tried to recover from the light. My body collided with somebody else, and their arms instantly wrapped around me. I must’ve missed a step or tripped, which led us to tumble down the stairs. Thank goodness, I landed on top of somebody, so I wasn’t badly hurt. I couldn’t say the same thing about the person underneath me as they groaned. My eyes shot open, and I went pale as we made eye contact.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Lana
I watched as he shut his eyes and cursed under breath. His Adam’s apple commenced to bob up and down as he moaned out, “Your knee.”
I raised a brow as I glanced down and realized that my knee was lodged in between his thighs. Looking around, I saw two feet in front of me. When I glanced up, I was met by my dad. I immediately got up and put on an innocent smile. Dad’s eyes diverted to Axel, who groaned on the floor. We watched as he got up and leaned on the staircase for support as he looked at us.
“I’m good, thanks for asking,” Axel retorted sarcastically.
“Is this going to happen every Saturday that a random guy comes to our house? If so, let me know so that I can load my shotgun,” Dad grunted.
“Err…Dad, meet Axel; he’s Blake’s older brother.” I pointed to Axel, who was hunched over.
“I know who you are,” Dad stated, then sipped his coffee as he walked into his study.
“Nice to see you again, Sheriff Willson!”
I was confused as to why Axel was here and how he knew my dad. Maybe he had been arrested before. Without another word, I strolled down the hall and hoped that he’d follow. I caught a glimpse of how I looked in the side mirror and winced—my hair was a mess. Once we reached the kitchen, I spun around and squinted at him. He took his time to walk as he rubbed his thigh in discomfort. It was easy to tell that he and Blake were brothers: same brown eyes, pointy nose, sleek dark brown hair, olive skin, and tattoos. Axel wore a leather jacket, so I only saw the tattoos on his hands.
