by Mandy Bee
I hear Heather walk up behind me. “I had Peter drop me off here because I forget my laptop. My mom is going to pick me up after work. I wasn’t as drunk as the others, but I was buzzed enough to not want to take the chance at driving. Mom doesn’t get off work for another hour, so I decided to get ahead start on tomorrows order sheets.” Heather’s mom is a nurse at the local hospital. She works some crazy hours.
Flopping down in my chair I let out a long sigh. “I’m sorry I shouldn’t have snapped at you. It seems like I’m doing that a lot tonight.” I turn to look up at her. “I’ll stay until your mom gets here then we can both leave. I probably need to update the order sheets anyways.”
Standing, I start to head for my small office in the back, but Heather stops me. “You don’t need to stay. I already updated the order sheets, printed them out, and made sure each of us had the right paperwork for tomorrow. Why don’t you head home and try to get some sleep? Did you call a cab or did Peter drive you here?”
“Um, Riker actually gave me a lift. I told him to leave but I would almost bet he’s still downstairs waiting on me. The man is crazy.” I try to laugh but it’s a weak sad little laugh.
“Ok, there’s a story here. Sit,” She points to my chair. “I want to hear everything.”
I don’t sit but I start to tell her what happened tonight. Once I start talking I couldn’t stop. Not only do I tell her about Riker, I tell her about my fear of him. Of him wanting more and me not being able to give it to him. She knows what happened to me, all the girls do, so she understands why I’ve stopped dating, I just can’t do it.
“Oh Darcy,” Heather sighs after I’m done. “I know what happened to you was awful but the only one getting hurt by you stopping that part of your life is you. Everyone needs someone to love in their life. I’m not saying you have to choose Riker, or even pick right now as a time to try, but you need to stop letting the past control your future. It’s not healthy.”
“I don’t want to deal with this tonight. I’m tired and very confused. If you’re sure you’re ok with staying here alone I’m going to head on home and try to get some sleep.” I reach for my bag and sling it over my shoulder.
“I’ll be fine. This is one of the safest buildings in town. Go get some rest. We’ll talk tomorrow.” Heather gives me a hug then pushes me towards the door.
We both scream when we hear a pounding on the door. Within seconds we know who it is because the dumbass is screaming through the door.
“Darcy open up! I’m not letting you hide out in your office all night.” Riker’s voice is loud, annoying, and is pissing me off.
I stomped over to the door and throw it open. His fist came very close to hitting me as he was about to bang on the door again. Luckily, he was able to pull back before hitting me.
“Are you out of your mind?” I snarl at him. “I wasn’t hiding out I was talking to Heather!” I point towards Heather who is standing a few feet behind me. “Who do you think you are Riker Deeks? Even if I was hiding out in here that’s none of your business! I told you to go home and I meant it!”
“Who am I?” He growls at me as he pushes me back into the office. “I’m the man who has decided not to let you hide from me.” He grabs the back of my neck, jerking me up against him, smashing his lip down on mine.
Damn him! Why does he have to be a pro at kissing? Once again, my body over rules my mind and I stupidly melt into him. He wraps his free hand around my waist and anchors me to him. My fingers find his hair and hold on tight. But before it can go too far he pulls back. We are both panting, and I look up at him with a look of anger, confusion, and lust.
I’m so mad at myself. Once again, I let him kiss me and I kissed him back. This is not what I need or even want right now. I close my eyes and try to remind myself of why this man is not for me. He bullied me in school. Yes, he acts like he has changed but that doesn’t take away from what he did to me back then. Him and his friends did so many awful things to me.
Why can’t pep rallies be optional? Not everyone wants to cheer on the jocks and watch the cheerleaders strut around in next to nothing. They look like tramps. NFL cheerleaders wear more clothing than what these girls have on.
I try to tune everything out and just read my book, but the gym is so loud it’s almost impossible. My friends, unlike me, like the hype of pep rallies. Instead of sitting with them I choose to sit at top of the stands, I always try to get the corner seat against the wall. Only a few others sit up here, mostly the kids who hate these things as much as I do.
I had just lowered my head to try to focus on my book again when I felt a whoosh of air right by my face. I lifted my head just in time for a soccer ball to bounce off the wall behind me and smack me across the cheek. Letting out a scream at the pain I watch as the whole school turns to look at me. I cradle my cheek in both hands because the pain is pretty bad, and my ear has started ringing too.
I see Tonya and a couple teachers rushing up the steps to get to me. I let them help me get down the steps but before we could get out of the gym Luke and Riker walk over to us.
“Nice try of stopping the ball with your head Darcy girl.” Luke laughs. “However, next time maybe you should just toss the ball back to us.”
“Why did you do that Luke?” Tonya snaps at him.
“She wasn’t getting involved.” Riker shrugged. “It’s a pep rally. We need the whole school cheering for us if we are going to win states tomorrow.”
“So, you threw a damn ball at my head?” I tried to yell but the pain in my cheek wouldn’t let me. Damn, I bet I’ve fractured something.
“Luke, did that. I wanted to just holler your name to get you to look down.” Riker smiles at me, but I don’t smile back.
“Boys, go back over to your teammates. I’ll be talking to your coach about this. You say you wanted everyone cheering for you but how would you feel about not playing tomorrow? Darcy is clearly injured because of your little stunt.” One of the teachers said right before he ushered Tonya and me out of the gym. “I’m sorry Darcy. I’ll do my best to get them benched but with it being the state title game I’m not sure the coach will do it. I may be able to get them suspended for a few days though.”
“Don’t worry about it.” I whisper. “Can someone please call my mom?”
Mom came to get me and took me to the ER. Luckily nothing was broken or fractured but I had a nasty burse for over two weeks. Riker and Luke got two days suspension only after their team won the state title. It just proved that jocks and bullies can get away with anything as long as they are important enough to the school.
“Darcy? Baby are you ok?” Riker’s deep voice snaps back into the present.
“I’m fine.” I mutter and try to pull away from him.
“Are you sure? You look like you were somewhere else.” He tries to pull me in for a hug, but I finally break free.
“I said I was fine. Look Riker I told you once already, I can’t do this. I won’t do this.” I glance over at Heather and the soft, sad look on her face breaks my heart. I shake my head and push past Riker. “Make sure you turn off the lights when you leave.” I call over my shoulder to Heather.
Even though I’m still tired I skip waiting for the elevator and take the steps. Rushing down them two at a time I make it to the front door right as I hear Riker holler for me from the top of the stairs. Ignoring him I storm out the front door. I quickly unlock my car and jump in. I got the doors locked before Riker made it out the front door of the building. I slap on my seatbelt, start my car, and burn rubber as I speed out of the parking lot.
All I want is to go home, fall into bed, and forget this night ever happened. Two of those things are easy to do, the last one I know will be impossible.
Chapter Three
The next morning, I wake up to the smell of bacon. Groaning I get out of bed and head to the bathroom. There is only one person who doesn’t care to let themselves into my apartment and make themselves at home. My mother. Knowing Heather pr
obably called Missy last night to tell her what happened means that Missy called mom and told her. Now mom is most likely here to check up on me and get the full story.
I take a quick shower and change into a pair of jeans and a bright pink tank top. I brush my hair out then twist it into a messy bun. Slipping on my go to jewelry - a pair of music heart earrings, a guitar pick necklace, and a silver link bracelet - I take a quick look in the mirror then head for the kitchen.
I smile when I see mom already sitting at my small kitchen table with two plates piled high with bacon, eggs, toast, and fresh fruit.
“Already got your coffee made.” She points to the cup across from her. “Even added that nasty creamer you like so much.”
“Thanks mom.” I roll my eyes at her but couldn’t hold back my smile. I love candy bar flavored creamers. The new Reese’s peanut butter cup flavor is amazing, but mom thinks it smells like feet. Her words not mine.
“So, wanna talk about it?” She asks as she takes a bite of her breakfast.
As we eat I tell her everything that happened last night. From the kidnapping to the kissing. My mom and I have always been close. I’ve never really hidden much from her. I was never afraid to go to her with any problems I was having. Even when I had questions about a guy I was dating, I didn’t care to ask her.
Mom asked a few questions here and there but mostly let me get the whole story out. We had both just about cleaned out plates when I finally finished. I went to get another cup of coffee as I waited to see what she was going to say.
“Heather’s right you know.” I hear her say. I turn to face her and raise an eyebrow. “You’re letting your past control you. Your fear from what happened has made you push all men out of your life. Think about it. Name one guy, other than family, that you are friends with.”
I take a drink of coffee and pretend to be in deep thought. Truth is, she’s right. Other than family, I don’t have any guy friends.
“I’m not saying you have to go out and date half the town.” Mom laughs. “But maybe let this Riker guy take you to dinner. What could it hurt?”
“I’m not going out with Riker mom.” I mumble. “Look, I’m not going to get into this right now. I’ll think about maybe dating sometime soon. But not Riker.” I dump my full cup of coffee, rinse the cup and place it in the dishwasher. “I need to get to work. Will you put the plates in the dishwasher please? I’ll run it when I get home tonight.”
She gives me a big hug and promises to lock the door before she leaves. I grab my bag and my favorite Duke hoodie as I rush out the door.
A few minutes later I pull into my spot at work. I’m the first one here but that’s normal. As I’m turning on the lights in the office I see a note taped to my desk.
901-555-7465
Did he really think leaving his number would make me want to call him? I crumble up the note and toss it in the trash. Needing something to block out all the thoughts running through my head I turn on some music. As my favorite band, Nickelback, starts singing about being a rock star I walk into my office and load my laptop.
It only took me twenty minutes to do the order sheets. Heather had done them last night, but a few new orders came in this morning. Our sells are going up and I think the girls are right. We are going to need some more help if things keep progressing like this.
“Darcy? You here?” I hear Kristy yell from out front.
“Back here!” I say as I walk out of the office.
“Morning,” She says happily. “The UPS truck is downstairs. It’s not our normal driver so you may have to go down and sign for our orders.”
Mark, our usual UPS driver lets any of the girls sign my name for me. The company we order most of our supplies from demands a signature upon delivery.
“I’ll go check.” I tell her. “We should only have two boxes today. But we all need to do an inventory list before we start working. If I can get an order placed by noon we should get everything no later than Monday.”
“I’ll get the coffee started and once everyone gets here we’ll dive in and get the inventory done.” She says as she walks over to the industrial coffee pot Tonya got us not long ago.
I see Heather and Missy talking to the new UPS driver when I walk downstairs. Missy glances over at me and smiles.
“Here she is.” Missy says. “She probably heard the truck and came rushing down to get our boxes.”
“Sorry Darcy,” Heather says. “He wouldn’t let one of us sign. I told him Mark never has a problem with it but he claims that only you can sign.” Wow, this guy has really annoyed Heather. Her tone alone says it all.
“It’s ok. Kristy saw him pulling in when she got here. She saw that it wasn’t Mark and knew I’d probably need to come sign for them myself. We’re doing an inventory check this morning, so I can place another order before noon.”
The UPS guy still hasn’t turned around.
“We’ll go get started then.” Missy mutters as she takes Heather by the elbow and pulls her to the stairway. What was that about?
“I think I have two…” I start to say as the UPS driver finally turns around to face me. All thoughts stop when I see who it is. Shit, why him?
“Hello, Darcy Girl.” Luke says sweetly.
“Luke,” I mumble.
We stand there staring at each other like complete idiots. Finally, I sigh and reach out for his digital notepad. Taking it from his hands I was happy to see the little X with a line beside it. This meant Luke had already scanned my boxes and loaded the notepad. I signed with my finger, pushed the notepad back into his hands, then walked around him to find my boxes sitting by the door.
Knowing they weren’t going to be heavy, I picked them both up and started towards the stairs.
“See you around Darcy.” I hear Luke say as the door to the stairway closes.
The girls had already started the inventory lists when I got back to the office. I hand the boxes off to Missy and head to the back office. Laying my head down on the desk I let out a silent scream of frustration.
“You ok?” Kristy asks from the doorway.
“Yeah.”
“Tonya called, she’s going to be a little late today.” Kristy tells me as she walks over and takes the seat across from my desk.
“Hangover?”
“No,” Kristy giggles. “she has a flat tire. Zack was on his way to get her when she called.” Zack is Tonya’s brother. I glance out the door and see Heather unpacking the boxes.
“Does Heather know Zack is bring Tonya?” I ask Kristy. Heather has the biggest, craziest, most embarrassing crush on Zack. Usually we love to teaser her about it but the last couple of times they’ve been in the same room I’ve noticed a change in them. He watches her while she tries to ignore him.
“No,” Kristy sighs. “Something happened between them. I just wish she’d tell us. We can’t help her if she doesn’t tell us. I mean do we kill him or lock them in a room together and let them fight it out?”
Most people would think Kristy was joking but I know she’s not. If Zack did hurt Heather in someway none of us would blink an eye at teaching him a lesson. Not even Tonya.
“If Zack shows up let me know. I need to work on the books and get payroll in order if you guys want to get paid this week.” I sigh when I realize I have about three hours of work ahead of me and none of it is design work. “Also, can you send sis in when she’s done? We need to talk about the ad for part time workers.”
Kristy promises to let me know if Zack comes, and to send Missy in when the inventory is done. I start working on the books, but I hate every minute of it. The girls are right. We are at a point in the business that we can hire someone to do all of this. We could easily afford one more full-time person who could take over the books, payroll, and website duties. Plus, we can add at least two part-time workers to help with the actual making of the jewelry. They would need trained, and I’m ok with doing that but I can’t keep doing everything.
Missy brings me the comp
leted inventory list about an hour later. She’s thrilled when I tell her about wanting to hire one full-time and two part-time workers. It didn’t take long for us to draft up an ad and get it submitted to the paper and a couple online sites. I put her in charge of arranging the interviews.
When I finally get finished with all my computer work I have a raging headache and I’m in some serious need of some food. Looking at the time on my phone I see it’s just after one. Standing I groan as I stretch, leaning back to let my back pop takes some of the stiffness away.
Walking out into the main office space I smile when I see everyone bent over their desk working. Music is still playing but everyone seems lost in their work. I know they enjoy making jewelry as much as I do. It makes me happy to see them enjoy their work.
“Ok, what are we doing for lunch today?” I ask and have to hold back a laugh when all of them jump at my voice. They really were lost in their work.
“Missy went to get the usual from the deli downtown.” Tonya answers me as she stands and stretches just like I did.
“Sounds good. How’s everything going out here? Anyone need any help?” I ask as I walk over to my desk. Even though I do most of the designs I still help with putting together the jewelry too. Especially when we get large orders.
They all assured me they didn’t need any help, so I went to work on a new design I had been playing around with right before I was kidnapped last night.
Sis walks in a few minutes later and starts passing out the food. She hands me a grilled turkey sandwich with a side of sweet potato fries with a large Dr. Pepper. As we all eat we discuss our projects, the new hires we were going to get, and even did a round of design ideas.
After lunch we all go back to our work and the day passes easily. I laid out three new necklaces I made and had all the girls come over to check them out. I went over how each piece would have to be made, then where each piece was connected. They all seemed to like the new necklaces and Tonya even suggested a way to make a matching bracelet for one of them.
We weren’t the type of business that did the whole nine to five work days. We all liked to get to work by eight or eight thirty, but most days we all stayed until at least seven at night. I was the odd man out because I stayed much later. Sometimes not leaving until after midnight. However tonight I was tired. My body ached, and I was worried I was coming down with something.
