by Rey, Solomon
“I hope there’s no dog poop in here,” he said to Olivia following behind him.
“Well, all I can say is, be careful.”
She could hear Derek’s protests each time a branch assaulted him. She was receiving her share of cuts, but she would rather deal with a bunch of scratches than to have the bullies get a hold of them. No telling what they’d do!
Scott and Ronnie had watched their victims disappear under the hedge like rabbits. They knew they were too big to follow them and they weren’t tall enough to hurdle the bushes either. Scott could hear them crawling.
“Go down that way,” he said, pointing to the right. “See if there’s an opening so we can head them off and hurry up,” Scott wasn’t about to let his prey get away.
“What are you going to do?” Ronnie asked.
“I’m gonna see if I can grab these suckers if they poke their heads up. Now get going!” He commanded.
As Olivia and Derek crawled along the path, Scott waited patiently to see a sign of them. A hand, head or backpack, it would make little difference to him, as long as he was able to snag one of them.
Scott leaned over the hedge, hoping to spot them. He was able to see Olivia’s pale legs and red converse scurry past him. I bet I can reach them, he thought, I just have to time it right. He shuffled quickly to the right, just ahead of Olivia. Standing on his tiptoes, he put all his weight against the hedge, extended his arms and reached with all his might for anything. He was lucky enough to grasp a few strands of hair.
“Ow!! Son of a – “Olivia exclaimed, rubbing her head.
“What’s wrong?” Derek asked.
“Nothing,” She panted, “Go faster!”
“I’m going fast as I can!”
“Can you see the opening?” She asked desperately.
“I think I see it just ahead,” he said joyfully.
Scott pulled his arm back. In his hand were five strands of sandy blonde hair. He glared at them, “I’ll get your whole frigging head next time, Olivia.”
She heard his words−the determination and hatred in his tone, frightening her even more. Oh God, she prayed, please get us out of this mess.
“Scott!” Ronnie yelled, “Come here.”
He ran past the two rabbits toward Ronnie’s voice. He saw Ronnie squeezed between the fence and the hedge walking toward him on a collision course with Derek and Olivia.
“How’d did you get in there?” Scott asked.
“There was an opening back there,” Ronnie said smiling as he thumbed over his shoulder.
“Keep walking and I’ll stay on this side just in case they try to make a run for it.”
Olivia and Derek could hear every word the two cretins were saying. Derek spotted the hole in the fence.
“It’s up ahead Olivia! Just a little farther,” he crawled as fast as he could; she was right on his heels. He reached it within seconds, spotting Ronnie coming quickly toward them. He shimmied through the fence. “Hurry Olivia! Hurry!” He yelled watching Ronnie get closer and closer.
“Here take this,” she said passing her backpack to him.
Scott yelled, “Hurry up Ronnie, they’re getting away. I swear if you let them go, you’ll be sorry!” The anger in his voice intimidated Ronnie. The last thing he would want to do is screw up.
Olivia put out her hands, Derek grabbed her and pulled. She was almost all the way through when she felt Ronnie grab her left foot. She looked back to see him on his knees, his face pressed against the chain link fence, yanking with all his strength. Derek had hold of her hands−pulling.
“Pull Derek!” She yelled panicking, “Pull as hard as you can!”
“What do you think I’m doing, riding a friggin’ bike?” He said sarcastically.
“Harder!” She shouted.
“Don’t you let her get away, I mean it,” Scott yelled.
Derek was not stronger than Ronnie, so there was no way he would be able to get her free. He looked at Ronnie and his position. He understood what needed to be done.
He looked at Olivia and whispered, “You need to kick him in the face as hard as you can.” She glanced back. Derek was right.
Ronnie’s face was a perfect bull’s eye and the only thing she could do to ensure their escape would be to ram her foot into his stupid face. Olivia pulled her right knee up to her chest and kicked with all the power she could summon. He let go of her instantly, causing Olivia and Derek to tumble to the grass.
“Owwwww! My nose! I think she broke my nose!” Ronnie howled, holding it with both hands.
“You idiot,” Scott roared, “You let them get away!”
Ronnie lay on his side, holding his nose and moaning.
Olivia and Derek wasted no time rising to their feet. they sprinted across the empty field.
CHAPTER III
Scott watched Olivia and Derek spring away. They won today. Enjoy it, he thought, I will get you. I can promise you that. He glared at Ronnie with disgust. “Come on idiot, let’s get outta here.”
The crowd quickly dispersed, when they saw that the show had ended. Lisa left smiling, happy that her friends had gotten away, delivering more pain than they’d received. She would see them throughout the summer, as usual. They’d probably spend time at the beach or catch a movie or hang out at Olivia’s house. Lisa was Olivia’s closest neighbor and would often walk the half mile to her house, which she didn’t mind, most of the time, as long as it wasn’t cold or rainy. And, the idea of seeing Derek, always brought a grin to her face.
Ronnie walked back the way he’d came, as Scott walked along side, meeting up at the opening. Ronnie was wary of Scott. He could see the anger in his movements. “My nose really hurts! She probably broke it,” Ronnie whined, holding it. His eyes were watering as he hoped for sympathy.
“Move your hands so I can take a look.”
“No, you’re gonna hurt me!”
“Why would I do that?” Scott asked sincerely.
“I don’t know,” he said apprehensively.
“Stop being a friggin’ baby and let me see it or I’m gonna really hurt you!”
“Fine,” he said reluctantly, removing his hands.
Scott carefully inspected Ronnie’s nose. He looked from side to side, moving to touch it.
“Whoa, whoa! What you gonna do?” Ronnie asked, obviously afraid of Scott. He’d known Scott for a long time and was aware of his sadistic ways. He’d witnessed him torture and kill small defenseless animals for the pleasure of watching them writhe in pain, until he grew bored, ending their lives, abruptly.
“Stop actin’ like a friggin’ baby! Now shut up, I’m just gonna see if it’s broken…alright!” Scott had no clue how to check to see if it was broken. He moved his hand up to Ronnie’s nose, gingerly moving it from side to side.
Ronnie slowly relaxed. He’s being cool, he thought, he’s actually being nice.
As soon as Scott sensed Ronnie loosen up, he grabbed hold of his nose and squeezed it between his thumb and index finger while he twisted.
“Owwwww!” He groaned, “Stop! It hurts!”
“Owwwww!” Scott mimicked. “Come on, you can yell louder than that!” He pinched his nose even harder.
“Owwww!” He screamed, “Please Scott, stop!”
“I told you I would get you for letting them get away, didn’t I?” He said with anger in his eyes.
“I’m sorry!” He cried, “Please let go.”
Scott stared at him with revulsion. He fought the desire to pound his fist into Ronnie’s stupid face, but he needed him. Ronnie was his back-up. He released his nose, reluctantly.
“Next time you let them go…well…I don’t know, but you don’t want to find out,” he said with an obtuse look on his face.
Ronnie didn’t answer, he simply held his nose waiting for the pain to fade away.
“Let’s get outta here,” Scott said, “You got anything good to eat at your house?”
“Naw, my mom gets paid next Friday,” Ronnie answere
d.
“You got any money?”
“A little,” he replied apprehensively.
“Cool! Let’s go to DQ.”
“I gotta stop off at my house and get cleaned up,” Ronnie said eyeing his t-shirt, which was splattered with his blood.
“Who cares? Mine’s full of that wuss’ blood. You don’t see me complaining, do you?”
Ronnie didn’t argue, he knew it was useless and it could end up causing him more pain.
* * *
Olivia glanced over her shoulder several times as they ran for their lives, making sure the two muscle bound imbeciles weren’t following. She was running out of steam and could scarcely hear Derek’s forced breathing over her own. They crossed the field and as they turned the corner, she quickly studied the area one last time.
We made it, she thought, which brought a smile to her face. She could still feel the pain in her butt where she had fallen. She suddenly became aware of all the scratches on her arms and legs, they burned as though on fire. I wonder how Derek’s doing, she thought, as she peered over at him. His Mom’s going to freak when she sees all the blood. He is a mess!
“I need to stop,” Derek said, “Every time I take a step, it hurts, besides, I need to think of a good cover-story.
“I got it!” Olivia shouted.
“What?”
“Tell her you were playing catch with a football and it smacked you in the nose,” she snickered, “She knows you suck at catching.”
“Now that hurts!” He said, “My nose is throbbing and I have scratches all over my arms and legs, but when you attack my catching skills…well, that’s not cool,” he chortled.
“You suck at catching and you know it.”
“Yeah, but I don’t want to be reminded of it.” Thanks!”
They continued the banter as they turned on to Highland Street where Derek lived. Olivia lived six miles out of town, amongst the evergreens. She loved it out there, it was always so peaceful and beautiful. Some mornings she’d wake up and see a family of deer in her yard or see chipmunks playing.
Since she lived so far out of town, Derek’s mother, Donna would give Olivia a lift home every day after school. She loved Olivia like a daughter and watched her grow over the years. Plus, she had developed feelings over the past decade for Richard, Olivia’s father. She had never shared her loving feelings with him or anyone else. He was a brilliant and accomplished M.D. and geneticist−way above Donna’s education level. She felt inferior intellectually. On top of him practically being a genius, he was independently wealthy due to a few inventions he had patented. Donna was a mere waitress at The Mill Casino. She didn’t think much of her job, even though she loved the people she worked with and the regulars that frequented the tables. The truth was, she was very smart and could have achieved just about anything, but she had been a teenage mom, forced to take whatever she could get that would provide for her and Derek.
Donna was 8’ 7” tall, long black hair with a bit of a curl at the edges. She often received compliments about how beautiful her blue eyes were, along with a few inappropriate remarks about her breasts. The comments were not exclusively from men.
The Mill Casino was a refurbished wood mill that ran alongside the bay. A few years back, the Casino had been doing so well, they decided to add a hotel to the already existing building. It sat across the street from Lucky’s−Olivia and Derek’s favorite Chinese restaurant; it also happened to be Richard’s too. A couple of times a week, before Donna would head home, she’d grab some kung pao chicken, orange chicken, broccoli beef and shrimp fried rice; all of Richard’s favorites. She always received a huge smile from him thinking it was for the Chinese food. In reality, he was happy to see her for any and all reasons.
Olivia and Derek stopped a few houses down from his. She leaned against an ancient-looking stonewall, “Tonight you guys are staying for movie night, right?”
“Of course…I think my mom wants to go more than I do.”
“They’re funny aren’t they,” she giggled, “He likes her; she likes him, neither one knows how the other feels and they’re both too scared to jump.” She rolled her eyes. “Adults are so silly. I hope we don’t end up acting like them.”
“They have to be blind…I mean…how can they not see it? It’s so obvious.”
Olivia wore a devilish grin as she looked at Derek.
“What?” Derek asked.
“I think the two love birds need a little push.
“What do you have in mind?” He asked.
“Well, I have an idea…Does your mom work on Sunday?”
“I don’t think so, why?” He asked with real curiosity.
“How about we plan a picnic at Sunset Beach?” The ideas were exploding in her head. “And then, we’ll leave them…we’ll tell them we’re going to find sea shells…then they will stare into each other’s eyes and confess their everlasting love. They’ll kiss and before you know it we’ll be brother and sister.” Derek pretended to kiss the air, with his tongue slopping around outside his mouth.
“Put that disgusting thing back in your mouth, yuck!” She tried to hold back a giggle, but when Derek began to laugh, her will floundered.
“What about tomorrow, do you want to hang out at Pony Village for a bit, then we can get a sub?” He asked.
“Yeah, that would be cool. I can probably get my Dad to drive us,” she volunteered, as she glanced back at his house, “Are you ready to go in?”
“I guess so. I know she’s going to freak,” he said, “I can’t wait till we’re on our own.”
“Oh my God, that will be so sweet! We got a few more years until that happens,” she said, “Well, let’s go.”
They walked the remaining distance to his house.
It was a split-level home with the driveway descending to the lower floor where they entered without using a key. This is Coos Bay, Oregon, where most residents don’t lock their cars, least of all their homes. The rate of home burglaries, along with most other crimes, is relatively low.
The lower level was used more as a game room than anything else. There was a pool table, which rarely was used, a foosball game, and dart board. Tucked away behind two accordion doors was a washer and dryer.
“Hey Mom, we’re home!” He yelled. The house remained silent. He ran up the stairs to his Mom’s room−no one. He ran back down to where Olivia waited. “She’s not here!” He said excitedly, as he stripped away his t-shirt and shorts, accidentally pulling his boxers, exposing half his butt crack.
“Well, that’s not very pretty,” she joked.
“Shut up! Can you throw these in the washer for me? I’m going to jump in the shower before my Mom gets home and wigs out,” he said, tossing his soiled clothes to her, he bounded up the stairs to shower.
Seeing Derek in his boxers was no big deal to Olivia. They had seen each other in their birthday suits many times over the years. No sexual feelings, no spark of romance existed between the two. They saw themselves as brother and sister and, most importantly, as best friends.
She caught them and dashed to the washer. She threw them in along with other clothes that sat in the basket next to it. “I hope these are dirty,” she said to herself. She grabbed a box of detergent, shook some into the tub, closed the lid, then started it.
She could hear the shower going as she walked upstairs. He usually left the door open, though his Mom had told him over and over to shut the door. It didn’t bother Olivia, because there wasn’t anything she wanted to see anyway.
She passed the bathroom on her way to the living room. This was her favorite place in the whole house; it was filled with large paned windows offering a beautiful view any time of day.
She flopped down on the recliner in front of the t.v. Grabbing the remote, she began flipping through the channels. She hoped to find something half-way interesting; she found nothing.
She got up, headed for the kitchen to find something to snack on. She found chips, pretzels, pudding cups and rais
ins in the pantry. She moved things around searching for
one of her favorites−Gerber banana baby food−no luck. She closed the pantry door and moved to the freezer to continue her hunt. She opened it and immediately spotted another of her favorites.
“Do you want a Hot Pocket?” She shouted.
“What?” He asked, shutting off the water.
“I said, do you want a hot pocket?”
“Oh yeah! Pop a couple in for me.”
“Which kind, ham and cheese or pepperoni?”
“One of each,” she really didn’t need to ask, because she intuitively knew what his answer would be.
“Okay,” she said, “What do you want to drink?”
“Coke.”
She opened the fridge, pushing the Sunny Delight to the side to reach the Cokes, grabbing two.
She grabbed two paper plates and two paper towels, setting the Hot Pockets on them before placing in the microwave. She waited for the ding to sound.
Derek entered the kitchen wearing board shorts and no shirt. He was drying his black hair, as the microwave sounded.
“Perfect timing,” he smiled, throwing his damp towel in Olivia’s face.
“Hey, be nice,” she said snapping the towel at him, intentionally not hitting him.
“That’s not cool!” He said backing away, extending his hands in case he needed to block it.
“You started it,” she said advancing on him, “Are you going to get mad?” she snapped it again.
He stopped and said seriously, “Don’t make me angry. You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry.” He said mimicking ‘The Incredible Hulk’, flexing his muscles as though he were a body builder.
She couldn’t help but laugh uncontrollably at him. Derek stood five feet, two inches
And weighed one hundred pounds, practically skin and bones. He would often flex for her knowing that she would double over laughing.
