Pedal to the Metal

by Stephanie Nichole

  On my way back to the living room I stop in the kitchen and grab another bag of frozen veggies. I slowly lower it on her face then I sit down on the floor beside the couch. As I listen to her even breathing I let my mind wonder. I should have been here. I shouldn’t have left her the way I did. Who could have done this to her?

  At some point I must have fallen asleep because I wake up to the sound of Jovi in the kitchen getting breakfast. The moonlight has been replaced with the sun. I get up and go into the kitchen but not before checking on Londynn. She’s still asleep so I collect the now thawed bags of veggies. When I enter Jovi is at the table eating a big bowl of Lucky Charms. “Jagger?” he asks with his mouth full.

  I ruffle his hair “Don’t talk with your mouth full it’s not a good quality,"

  He laughs and swallows his cereal before continuing. “When did you get back?”

  I’m trying to keep the noise down, but Jovi doesn’t seem to get that. “Damn, keep it down dude," I say chuckling.

  “Why?” he asks with a confused look on his face.

  I nod towards the living room “Londynn Parrish is asleep on our couch.”

  “Ohhh…I wonder if that’s why Axell and Sadie left out last night?”

  I shrug “I don’t know but I would guess so. Now, to answer your other question I got back this morning.

  He continues eating and I go to make a pot of coffee. “Are you back for good?”

  I don’t answer right away but then just as I’m about to I hear Londynn say “That’s the million-dollar question Jovi.”

  I turn to see her leaning against the wall of the kitchen watching me. I try not to stare at the damage on her face but it’s hard not to. Her cheek and eye are both bruised but most of the swelling has gone down. Her lip is cut and there are scrapes and bruises all over her arms and legs. Despite all that though I’ve never been so happy to see someone, the other part of me is furious and wants to beat on the one responsible for this. I give her my signature smirk “For better or for worse.”

  She shrugs as she sits down across from Jovi “We’ll see.”

  “What the hell happened to you?” Jovi blurts out.

  I’m standing behind him at the fridge grabbing the milk, so I turn around and slap him in the back of the head. “Jovi Martin James," I scold him.

  He looks down at his cereal and mumbles sorry. Londynn reaches over and takes his hand. “It’s okay. I got into a fight with Ryce and it didn’t end so well.”

  “I thought you guys were back together," Jovi says. This is just another reason for me to not like Ryce Whitten. I can’t wait to beat his ass down then my mind goes back to what Jovi just said, like it’s just now registering. When did Ryce and Londynn get back together?

  I see her shrug “Not anymore.”

  “You want some of my Lucky Charms?” Jovi asks her.

  Londynn giggles “You know I don’t think I’ve ever had Lucky Charms.”

  “What?” Jovi and I both ask at the same time.

  She looks between us. “When I was younger I always ate Raisin Bran because it was healthy and since I was a dancer I couldn’t afford to not be healthy, so I don’t think I’ve ever eaten Lucky Charms.”

  “Okay no offense Raisin Bran tastes horrible," I say grabbing two bowls from the cabinet and taking a seat next to Jovi at the table. I slide a bowl over to Londynn.

  “Well if you don’t know anything different," she says with a shrug. I fill her bowl and watch as she stares at the cereal like it’s some sort of unfamiliar species. I would laugh at how cute it was if the situation wasn’t so damn sad. What person has only eaten Raisin Bran? Finally, she raises a spoonful to her mouth and she makes a sound of satisfaction. “Okay you’re right Raisin Bran does taste horrible.”

  I watch Londynn while she eats. Jovi is talking away about some girl in his class that he obviously has a crush on named Monrowe Fields. I had to laugh because it seemed like just yesterday we were all watching him learn how to walk. “Hey Jovi, you got that learners permit yet?”

  “Yeah!” He responds.

  “Well then how about I let you drive us to school?” I offer.

  “Are you for reals?” He asks but I recognize that same gleam in his eyes that I had at that age. He’s unable to hide his excitement about getting behind the wheel of a car.

  “Yeah," I answer and motion towards his room. “Why don’t you go get ready?”

  He’s up and out of the kitchen in record time. Now, it’s just Londynn and I, this is harder than I thought it would be. I clear my throat “Londynn, I owe you an apology. You opened up to me and after that I’ve handled everything all wrong. It’s just your confession scared me.”

  “It’s okay. At first, I was sad then I was mad but now I understand. While I was sitting on the side of the curve staring at that cross for Harlyn I realized that my confession probably scared the hell out of you. After losing her I can’t imagine you’d want to be with someone who almost accidently drowned because she made a stupid decision," she says quietly.

  I sigh and let silence fill the space between us. “Londynn it did scare me. That’s why I ran. Ever since I lost Harlyn and Harper I run when anything gets too tough or scary. It’s what I do because I try to avoid all of it. I’ve spent the last month in a mostly drunken haze trying to forget about you, but I can’t. When Sadie called me, I realized that I wanted to be here…with you.”

  I study her, but a look of defeat is in her eyes. “Things have changed Jagger.”

  Nodding I tell her “I can imagine so. Nothing stays the same and it’s been a month, but I’d like to actually give this a chance. You want to go to lunch today and you can fill me in on what I’ve missed?”

  She looks up at me and she seems shocked but I’m not sure why. “Jagger, I’d love to go to lunch but I don’t think that’s a good idea," she says drawing a circle around her face.

  I shrug “It’ll be okay. I promise I’ll take you somewhere that you can wear a pair of those huge sunglasses.”

  She laughs “Thanks but I don’t have any of my stuff.”

  “I’ll call Kynlee. You have on her clothes now, right?”

  She looks down then gives me a smirk “Yeah I do but how did you know that.”

  I bite my lip to keep from laughing “Because your dance practice outfit covered more than that. It just screams Kynlee.” Silence is upon us again, but Sadie enters the kitchen. I get up and tell Londynn “I have some stuff I need to take care of this morning, but I’ll be back by lunch time for you.” As I’m heading out of the kitchen I stop behind Sadie and place a kiss on top of her head and whisper thank you.

  ****

  I pulled up to Inkcredible, Ace’s tattoo shop, once inside I holler out for Ace. Before I had left the house Axell had told me Ace was the one who had found Londynn. I needed to thank him. Ace appears out of a doorway from the back. “Well, the missing James has returned.”

  “Yeah and apparently I owe you some gratitude. Thank you for helping Londynn last night," I tell him and extend my hand towards him.

  He smirks and takes my hand “You know I may act like an ass most of the time, but I’d still help when needed. I just have rep to uphold.”

  I laugh “Of course you do.”

  “So, what are you going to do about Ryce?” Ace asks me.

  I shrug “Who says I’m going to do anything?”

  “Please! Even if you didn’t have a thing for Londynn you wouldn’t let something like this slide. I figured that’s where you’re headed now.”

  “No, I kind of have a lunch date with Londynn," I tell him.

  I turn back around to face my younger brother and see him smirking at me. “Seriously? How’d you manage that? I assumed that Londynn would stay in hiding until the damage healed.”

  “I’m just charming like that," I tell him returning his smirk.

  He laughs “Yeah, I don’t buy that one.”

  “Okay so maybe I promised to take her somewhere that she could wear
a big pair of sunglasses to hide it. Problem is I have no clue what to do now. It’s not like I’ve spent a lot of time in the last five years planning dates," I say sighing, feeling a little defeated. I’m not sure why I came to Ace with this issue. I would have been better to have went to Axell or even Bowie.

  Ace clears his throat “Why don’t you get take out and then make a picnic out of it?”

  I’m sure I’m staring at my brother like he has another head because that was actually a good idea and Ace doesn’t get a lot of those. “That’s kind of perfect.”

  He acts like he’s brushing dust from his shoulders. “I know. I am kind of a genius. So back to this Ryce issue.”

  “I’m going to hand his ass to him at the races then I’m going to make his face match Londynn’s," I tell him as I head for the door of his shop.

  “Jagger.”

  “Yeah?” I turn back around to look at him. A look of complete confidence takes over his face.

  “I’ve got your back.”

  I nod my head at him because I figured if anyone did, it’d be him. He seemed to like Londynn. “See you later” I tell him as I head back for my car.

  ****

  When I pull back up to the house it looks empty. It makes me wonder if Londynn left however, as soon as I open the door I see her sitting on the couch watching TV. “Hey pretty girl, you ready?”

  She stands up and stretches. It gives me a minute to appreciate the view. Her honey colored hair hangs in long waves. Kynlee must have helped her with the makeup because you can’t see most of the bruising. An oversized pair of sunglasses sit on top of her head. She’s wearing a long white sheer skirt and olive green sleeveless top. When she walks towards me I notice the slit that runs up the skirt, almost exposing her whole leg. I have to remind myself to breathe. I turn and open the door before leading her to my car.

  “So where are we going?” she asks while we’re driving.

  I glance over at her and watch as the wind from the open window makes her hair dance around. “It’s a surprise.” I pull up to a small Mexican restaurant. I run in and grab our order then head back to lookout point. When I pull up and park I hear Londynn giggle. I look over at her and ask “What?”

  “I wasn’t sure how you were going to keep the promise that I could keep my sunglasses on, but you did it," she says shaking her head and getting out of the car.

  I get out, grabbing the food and blankets I brought. Once I’ve laid the blankets out I go back and grab the cooler full of drinks from my trunk. “Well I can’t take all the credit, but I hope this is okay with you.”

  She looks up from her spot on the blanket, a small smile lights up her face. “It’s perfect. So, what’d you get us to eat?”

  “Burritos and nachos.”

  “Nachos?” she asks like she’s curious. Surely, she’s had nachos before.

  I study her for a minute before asking “Have you had nachos before?” She looks away and if I hadn’t been watching her I would have missed the small shake of her head. “Seriously?”

  She shrugs her shoulders and turns back to look at me. “Wasn’t part of the diet.”

  “Well you don’t’ need a diet in my opinion," I tell her honestly.

  She lets out a small laugh “I don’t need a diet at all anymore since I’m not dancing.”

  “What do you mean?” I ask her.

  “It’s part of the stuff you missed while you were gone…” she trails off and the comment hangs in the air. I get out the food and we start eating. I wait to see if she’ll say more but after a while it becomes obvious she’s not going to. I don’t mind just sitting here in silence and enjoying the view of her sitting here with me. I love seeing the small smile that brightens her face when she takes a bite of food. The whole time in Vegas I had missed this. I had missed Londynn.

  Once we finish eating I finally ask her. “What did I miss while I was gone?”

  Chapter 17

  Londynn

  We were out of food, so I really couldn’t avoid Jagger’s question anymore. Since were alone I moved the shades to the top of my head. I stare out over the city that I use to love and let my mind think back over the past months events. The last time I was here with Jagger I had two dreams, to be with him and to dance again but now I have none. I know he’s here right now, but it won’t last. He’ll get scared and run. I can’t blame him for that. If I were in his shoes I would probably do the same thing.

  Finally, I take a deep breath and turn to face him. I basically have nothing else left to lose at this point. “Shortly, after you left Farrah found out that ABA, the American Ballet Association was holding open auditions. I was reluctant at first mostly because I was holding on to the hope that you’d show back up here. Anyways I finally decided to go. I was packing when I realized that I didn’t have my lucky ballet shoes and practice outfit. It was midafternoon, so I figured I could go to my parents’ house undetected, run in and grab the stuff. When I pulled up the driveway was empty. I was in my room grabbing the items I came after when my mom appeared in my doorway.”

  “She asked me what I was doing, and I told her about the audition and going to New York. She told me she was happy for me and that she’d let me go audition without another word if we could make a deal. My mom said that if I auditioned and made it that her and dad would help me pay for a place in New York until I could get established and they wouldn’t fight me on it. In her eyes I going to New York to dance was better than what Farrah is doing, even though Farrah is happy in her life. I knew that the offer sounded too good to be true, so I didn’t jump at the opportunity right away. I asked what happened if I didn’t make it. She told me that if I didn’t make I would return to L.A. and move back home. I would go to the events they wanted, and I would appear happy and in love with Ryce. I wouldn’t argue or fight them over these events and during Christmas I would ecstatically accept Ryce’s proposal at the country clubs annual Christmas ball. “

  I looked back over to the setting sun when it dawned on me that I’m always confessing something when I’m around Jagger. Aside from Farrah he was the only one I open up to. Jagger was quiet until he cleared his throat “So, what happened in New York?”

  A harsh laugh escaped my mouth “I clearly over estimated my talent for dance.” I shake my head in disgust with myself. “I had taken too much time off from it. My lines and technique weren’t what they used to be. Dance is fickle, it takes daily hard work and dedication to stay in the shape that’s necessary to dance professionally. I just didn’t have it anymore. The ABA put me on a waiting list because they said they could see my potential but there were too many others that were already prepared. I had to come home. Once I gathered my things from Farrah’s I moved back into my parent’s house, holding up my end of the bargain. It’s been far from easy but last night at that charity event I realized I couldn’t do it anymore. I couldn’t live in their world, going to all these lavish social events, plastering on fake smiles and pretending to be in love with a guy that cheats on me in darkened hallways.”

  Jagger reaches over and takes one of my hands in his. “You shouldn’t have to settle for that life Londynn. You deserve to be treated like a queen because you should be in the eyes of the guy who loves you.”

  I give him a small smile before I continue with the story. “I tried to leave the event. I was just going to walk until I could call Sadie, but I didn’t get away. Ryce heard me leaving. He chased me down and forced me in the car. I knew Ryce had a temper, but it had never gotten to this point before. Nothing I said or did got him to stop. It wasn’t until I gave up that he did. When he pulled away I knew I had to do what Farrah did. I had to get away from it all. I had noticed Harlyn’s cross then and prayed for help and strength, then Ace pulled up and it was like a sign.” Jagger had gone very still and quiet since I mentioned Harlyn. “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to open a wound.”

  “You didn’t. I just always called her my angel and it looks like she still is. She watched out for the onl
y other girl I could see myself being with. The girl I could actually settle down with and share a life. Londynn," he said, taking my face in his hands and gently turning me to look at him. “I know I have a lot to make up for and to prove to you, but I will. I want to be the guy who saves you when you need it. I want to be the guy that you come to when you’re happy or sad. I want to be the one who treats you like the queen you are. If you’ll give me the chance, I’ll prove I can be that guy for you.”

  I don’t know when, but tears had formed in my eyes and silently escaped. I just nodded my head yes. Jagger pulled me into his arms and kissed the top of my head. He was careful not to touch the side of my face that was beaten. “You should stay at our place for the time being. I’ll start looking for a place tomorrow.”

  I pulled back and shook my head. “I’ll stay with y’all until Farrah gets back but I don’t think we should move in together. That’s too quick.”

  “Okay, maybe you’re right but I’m still looking for my own place, so we’ll have more privacy and you can stay whenever you want.”

  I laughed “Okay. Deal.”

  ****

  Jagger

  After Londynn had finished filling me in on what I had missed, and I had basically confessed I wanted her as my girlfriend. I’d pulled her into my arms and we had sat on the blanket and watched as the sun set and the city lights started to appear. It was starting to get late when we decided to head home. “So, is there anything else I should know that you haven’t tried, food wise?”

  She giggled, and I couldn’t stop my heart rate from speeding up. That sound was one of my favorites in the world “There’s a lot I wasn’t allowed to eat.”

  “Good to know.” We were in the car, almost to the house when I noticed Londynn had been uncharacteristically quiet. “Is something wrong?”

  She sighs “Well, I don’t have any of my stuff. I don’t have pj’s or clothes or personal products. Kynlee is supposed to bring me some more stuff tomorrow.”