by Hart, Rebel
33
Raelynn
Michael smiled. “You look nice today, Allison.”
I watched my best friend blush. “Thanks, Michael. You don’t look half bad yourself.”
“Is that a new shirt? I don’t think I’ve seen it before.”
“Nah, it’s just been a while since I’ve worn it.”
“Well, you should wear it more often. It really suits you. That color and everything.”
I watched the way Allison smiled up at Michael. I saw the way he gazed down at her. I snickered to myself in the backseat, but the two of them didn’t seem to hear me. Like we’d done for a while now, the three of us were in front of Clint’s house. Picking him up for school. Even though he got stronger by the second, he still didn’t have a set of wheels to get himself to and from campus. And by his words, he’d rather ‘drop off that damn bridge again than ride a bus.’
Needless to say, he only cracked that joke once before I got on him about it.
I saw Michael go for Allison’s hand again and I silently cheered him on. Allison was terrible about moving while Michael was making a move on her. I’d watched her do it twice this morning. I felt so bad for the guy! Because I knew she wasn’t doing it on purpose. And when he finally got her hand within his, I mentally tossed my hands into the air. I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it because I didn’t want them to feel self conscious. Allison had always been easily embarrassed, and if Michael thought—for one second—he had embarrassed her, he’d stop everything he was doing immediately.
And none of us wanted that.
I watched their fingers intertwine before my gaze wandered out the window. I watched their reflection as the two of them talked softly amongst themselves. I liked the two of them together. They were cute. In my eyes, they were made for one another. But that kind of shit was also subjective. I tried to give them all the privacy I could afford. You know, with me being in the backseat and things like that.
Come on, Clint. We’re gonna be late.
I pulled my phone out and looked at the time. We’d pulled into his driveway ten minutes ago, and part of me was growing worried. Had he hurt himself again? Was something wrong? I looked around at the windows upstairs, clocking his bedroom window. I didn’t see the curtains fluttering. Nor did I see shadows passing by. The light was on, but no one was walking around. So he was obviously up.
Maybe I should send him another text.
I sent off my third text that morning, reminding him that we were outside. And if we didn’t get a move on, we’d be late for class. I peeked back over at Michael and Allison, watching as they continued to smile and talk and gaze into one another’s eyes. Allison had curled up into the passenger seat of the car, turning herself to face him completely. And Michael? Well, he was leaning well over the arm of his seat. Getting as close to Allison as he could before she pulled away from him.
Such an adorable couple.
A movement out from the corner of my eye caught my attention and I whipped my head back toward the window. My heart sang with delight as Clint walked out, his bag slung over his shoulder. But something was off about his movements. His eyes were downcast. He lumbered slower than usual. He wasn’t walking with the same sort of confidence I usually saw in him, and I wondered what had happened.
Is his father home?
Michael cleared his throat. “Is Clint okay?”
Allison sighed. “So I’m not the only one that noticed. Good.”
I shook my head. “I don’t know. Don’t say anything, okay?”
Michael nodded. “I had no intentions of it. He’s been through enough lately. If he wants to talk, we’re here.”
Allison backed him up. “Uh huh. And if he doesn’t want to talk, we’re still going to be here.”
I threw open the car door. “Thanks, guys. I really appreciate it.”
I helped Clint into the car beside me, and not once did he look at me. He closed the door and flopped down next to me, sitting his bag between his legs. I ran my hand up and down this thigh and squeezed his knee softly, trying to get him to look at me. But even from behind his sunglasses, I saw him staring blankly out the window.
With his head turned away from me.
“Morning.”
I said it as softly and evenly as I could. So the worry wasn’t prevalent in my voice. But all he did was nod.
Michael looked at him in the rearview mirror. “How’d you sleep?”
Clint shrugged. “As good as I could.”
Allison giggled. “I know how those nights are sometimes. Melatonin always helps me. I mean, I know it’s technically to help kids and all that. But it helps me, too. Especially if I’m worried about a test. Are you worried ab… out a… test?”
The more Allison peered back at us, the more I shook my head. Too much. She was talking and saying way too much. Her nerves were getting the best of her, and Clint would sense that. She apologized with her eyes before turning back around, the car slowly bobbing and weaving as Michael drove us all to school.
And the entire time, Clint was silent.
On the one hand, I wanted to push it. I wanted to know what the fuck was going on. But I didn’t want to do it in front of Michael and Allison. Because I knew that would make Clint very uncomfortable. So I kept massaging his knee and his thigh until Michael dropped us off. He pulled up to the back doors of the school and let us out, then went to go park the car with Allison. I had a feeling we wouldn't see them again this morning. So I pulled Clint off to the side. Into the shadows of the side of the school.
Where no one could see—or hear—us talk.
“Hey, are you okay?”
Clint shrugged. “I’m as good as I can be.”
I snickered. “Which is apparently not very good. I know something’s wrong. Do you want to talk about it?”
Clint dropped his bag. “Just—that shit with the lawyer yesterday.”
I nodded. “What happened?”
He leaned against the brick wall of the school. “Dad’s back in town.”
“Oh, no.”
“Oh, yeah. I told Cecilia time and time again not to tell Dad about the fucking lawyer. And of course, she didn’t listen. She’s awesome, but she never fucking listens. It’s like she thinks Dad’s actually gonna be this decent-as-fuck person one of these days. Then she gets shocked and hurt and scared when he loses his shit. She’s been married to him for four years! The fuck is she thinking!?”
I placed my hands against his chest. “Deep breaths. Come on, take them with me. There we go.”
I walked Clint through some even breathing. He was shaking against my hands, and I needed him to settle down. That explained everything. With his father back in town, shit always popped off. I smoothed my hands over his torso, trying to relax him. I watched him sink heavier and heavier into the brick wall as a cloud hovered over his head. His arms fell to his sides. He wrapped me up in his embrace and pulled me close. He kissed my forehead, sending electricity surging through my body as I closed my eyes. Tucked my head underneath his chin. And reveled in the way he stroked my back.
Clint sighed. “Dad doesn’t want me pressing charges.”
I scoffed. “Of. Fucking. Course.”
“He still thinks I had something to do with it. And he’s been keeping up with the police reports because he knew about the football field fight.”
I sighed. “Shit.”
“Yeah. To him, that’s proof enough that I apparently deserved what I got. Because, to him, those seventeen-year old boys were just ‘being boys and doing what boys do.’”
I pulled away a bit. “Did he actually say that?”
Clint nodded. “Right there in the fucking lawyer’s office. I was so embarrassed I wanted to melt into the goddamn floor.”
I gazed up into his eyes. “Clint? Your father’s a piece of trash.”
“Don’t I know it.”
“Clint, you need to press charges. They could have killed you. They almost did. Who the fuck does y
our dad think he is?”
He gave me a wary smile. “It’s okay, Rae. There’s no need for you to get worked up. I’ll figure this all out. Especially once Cecilia can stop updating my dad every second of every fucking day.”
“She just loves your dad. I get it. I mean, I don’t know how she loves your dad. But she does.”
He paused. “You get it?”
I felt my cheeks flush and I looked away from him. Fucking hell, I’d almost given myself away. Well, I’d practically given myself away, was more like it. Clint chuckled and pulled me back to him, placing a kiss to the top of my head. And as he rubbed my back with his large, strong hands, I felt my eyes fall closed.
“You keep doing that, I’m gonna fall asleep.”
He kissed my head again. “My only wish is that we were in a bed somewhere so I could fall asleep with you.”
I wrapped my arms around him. “Sore this morning?”
“A bit.”
“Did you take your pain medication? Any of it?”
“Half a pill. It takes the edge off without making me loopy.”
“Good. I wouldn't want you to be in too much pain today.”
“Look at you, worrying about me like a good woman does.”
I giggled. “Of course I’m going to worry about you. I care for you. I care about what happens to you. Unlike your fucking father, who I’d like to toss into a raging inferno.”
He snickered. “Tell me how you really feel.”
I kissed his chest. “Please don’t let him make this decision for you. I’m here if you need to talk, but if you want my honest opinion, you have to press charges on these boys. They flagrantly came at you. They deserve what they’re getting.”
Clint nodded. “Okay.”
The word was so soft. So timid. So… unlike Clint. It made me want to wring his father’s fucking neck. I tilted my head back and stood on my tiptoes, placing a kiss against his lips. He paused for a split second before cupping my cheek. I felt his tongue sliding across my lips. I willfully opened up for him, wrapping my arms around his neck. And as our tongues fell together, the school bell rang in the background.
I groaned. “Fuck.”
He chuckled. “Come on, beautiful. Let’s get you to class before you experience what life is like on the other side of being on time.”
“Does it have more kisses? Because I’d gladly experience it if it had more kisses.”
“You’re a mess, you know that?”
“A mess for you, Clint.”
He gazed into my eyes before capturing my lips one last time. And then he picked me up off my feet. He tossed me over his shoulder, causing me to laugh out loud as he picked up his backpack. He spanked my ass cheeks, over and over. Until we got around the corner of the school.
Then he carried me inside, heading straight for my locker as laughter poured from my lips.
34
Clinton
I watched Mike and Aly at lunch as I sat beside Rae. She leaned against me, falling between my legs and resting her weight against my chest. I’d missed holding her like this. I’d missed taking the whole of her against me and supporting her. As I wrapped my arms around her body, threading our fingers together, she pressed herself into me as close as she could get.
Thank fuck for that half a pain pill.
“So, Clint. How were classes this morning?”
Mike’s voice ripped me from my trance and I nodded.
“Eh, they weren’t too bad. English is getting interesting again, though. Now that we’re finally onto another book.”
Aly rolled her eyes. “Right? Catch-22 was the biggest drag alive. I still can’t believe I forced myself to read that thing.”
I snickered. “I didn’t at all. I did the SparkNotes version and prayed a bit for the test.”
“And let me guess, you still passed it.”
I shrugged. “I mean, I felt confident about it today. Why? You hate me for it?”
“Hey, everyone’s got their subject. Mine just isn’t English.”
Rae snickered. “Which is actually a shocker, since you love to read your textbooks.”
Aly stuck her tongue out at Rae and it made me laugh. Mike, too. His eyes connected with mine and I nodded toward him, trying to get him to wrap his arm around the damn girl. I mean, Aly had practically leaned herself against him. Every chance she got, she tried touching him in some way. Her hand on his forearm whenever she was laughing at a joke of his. She paid attention intently every time he said something. She was throwing off signals more than any girl had ever thrown signals at me. And Mike seemed completely oblivious to it.
So I jiggled my arm at him before pulling Rae closer. Hoping he got the fucking point.
Aly looked over at him and blushed. She got the point. But Mike? He looked like he was about to puke. The poor kid had probably never put his arm around a girl before in his young adult life. I grinned as I watched Aly scoot closer to him, trying to make it as easy on him as possible.
And when he finally wrapped his arm around her, she placed her head against his shoulder.
“Hi there, Michael.”
He grinned. “Hey there, Allison.”
Rae giggled. “Awwww, how cuuuuuute!”
All of us started laughing, which caused Michael to pull Allison closer. She wrapped her arm around his waist, holding him while he held her. It was cute, really. The two of them made a fantastic couple. They looked the part. Talked the part. Thought in the same way, and had much of the same goals. I’d learned that over the multiple car rides we’d all had together over to the school. They talked about college. Career goals. Moving out and getting places of their own. They had the same sorts of ambitions with life, and in some ways I envied them.
You know, their ability to have options.
“You know, this day feels like it’s crept by like a slug.”
Rae’s voice pulled me from my trance and I kissed the top of her head.
“I don’t know. It’s flown by for me,” I said.
Mike shook his head. “Nope. I’m with Rae on this one. It’s crept by painfully slow.”
Aly shrugged. “I don’t really care, to be honest.”
Rae giggled. “If you could live here, you probably would.”
“Hey, now. Hey. Just because I enjoy school doesn’t mean I want to live here. I mean, cafeteria food for all three meals? I would rather d—”
She caught herself and everyone whipped their eyes over to me. Aly went to apologize, but I simply shook my head at her. This was exactly what I didn’t want. I didn’t want people tiptoeing around me. I didn’t want people feeling they had to mute themselves in order to preserve my feelings. I didn’t want things to change that drastically, simply because I wanted to try and keep things as normal as they could be. I wanted Rae leaning against me, I wanted my two new friends to joke around and poke fun at me, and I wanted to get through this school year with some sort of a future away from this place intact.
Aly stumbled over her words. “Clint—I’m—I’m so—”
I held up my hand. “Really, it’s okay. This is exactly what I didn’t want to happen. I don’t want you guys feeling like you can’t crack jokes or poke fun at things or generally have a laugh. I almost died. It happened. But it didn’t kill me. It’s going to take more than that. Okay?”
Aly nodded softly. “Okay.”
Mike saluted me. “Loud and clear, General.”
I snickered. “Rae. You good?”
She sighed. “Yeah, I’m okay. Just—don’t like thinking about it.”
I pulled her close. “I know you don’t. I know.”
Aly piped up. “So, what are you going to do now that you’ve identified the guys and whatnot?”
I paused. “What?”
Rae cringed. “I kind of told her about the trip to the police department.”
Mike furrowed his brow. “Police department? Everything okay?”
I waved my hand in the air. “Yeah, yeah, things are good. Jus
t had to identify the guys from that night. Pick out the car. Answer a few more questions. Shit like that.”
Mike nodded. “How’d that go?”
I shrugged. “I mean, it came and it went. Rae was there to back me up on things. It was nice, having her there for support.”
She tucked her head underneath my chin. “I’ll go with you anytime, anywhere, if you need my support.”
“Thanks, beautiful.”
Aly sighed. “Awww, how cute.”
Mike chuckled. “Now you know how Rae felt a few minutes ago.”
I smiled as Mike pulled her closer, tucking her underneath his arm. I felt them staring at me, and I knew what they really wanted to know. I looked down at Rae, finding her eyes. I saw her shaking her head softly, silently telling me I didn’t have to talk about it if I didn’t want to. And while this isn’t a conversation I wanted to have with many people, this was a conversation I could tolerate with Mike and Aly.
Which was more than I could have ever said for Roy and the gang.
“I mean, I had a talk with a lawyer yes—”
Rae interrupted me. “Seriously. If you don’t want to talk about it, you don’t have to.”
Mike nodded. “That’s true. If it’s too much or something—”
I held my hand up. “You guys. It’s fine. I promise, if I didn’t want to talk about something, I wouldn't. Plain and simple. No matter how you guys felt about the matter.”
Aly grinned. “I have my ways, trust me.”
Mike nodded. “She really does. It’s irritating, but endearing at the same time.”
Aly shrugged. “All I heard was ‘endearing.’”
Rae laughed. “Like the genuine woman she is.”
We all had a laugh at that one before their eyes came back to me again. The laughter died down and the mood turned somber. I knew they wanted to know because they cared. Not because they wanted to exploit a weakness. But that was new to me. People genuinely caring instead of merely wanting to poke fun at some sort of a weakness I had within me.
It took me a second to get my feet underneath me for the story.
