by Shandi Boyes
Noah stands there glaring at me as he clenches his fists tight and his jaw ticks in anger.
“Alright, I won’t tell Lola” he eventually replies, causing me to let out a relieved sigh.
“On one condition. If this ever happens again I will not only tell Lola, but I will hunt down the fucker that did this to you and break his fucking neck” Noah declares angrily.
I nod my head at Noah’s statement before closing my door. Noah won’t need to worry about breaking his neck. The next time I get the chance to fight the ‘Constrictor’ I plan on taking him down all by myself. I had already spent the last two hours working out a gruelling training session to ensure the next time we met, even if he cheats, he will not get the better of me. That fucker doesn’t even know what is about to hit him.
Chapter 17
Lola
“Morning Lola” my mom greets cheerfully when she sees me staggering into the kitchen half asleep.
“Morning” I reply while yawning, before plopping down onto a breakfast bar stool. I had managed to get home at a decent time last night, but I spent half of my night tossing and turning worrying about Jacob.
“Is the person in the truck a friend of yours?” Mom questions, as she places a dark strong coffee in front of me. I shake my head while I take a sip of the perfect temperature coffee, causing me to slightly moan. There is only one thing I love more than coffee.
“Maybe he is a friend of Emily’s then” my mom retorts as she places some bread into the toaster.
“He?” I question, forcing my mom’s eyes to flick to mine. When my mom nods her head, her cheeks give off a pink hue.
I immediately make my way to the lounge room and when I pull back the lace curtain, I see a rusty old red truck sitting at the side of our driveway. Adjusting my vision, I spot Noah sitting in the driver’s seat of the cab.
“Finally” I chant excitedly to myself, before skipping back into the kitchen.
My Mom’s gaze seeks mine the instant I enter the room. Her eyes questioning if I knew who the person in the truck was, without her saying a single word.
“He’s a friend of Emily’s” I reply, ensuring that I emphasize the word friend.
I quickly grab an apple out of the fruit bowl before I make my way to Emily’s room. When I enter, I spot Emily scrolling through messages on her phone. She does a little huff, before snuggling deeper into her floral comforter.
“How long are you going to leave him out there waiting Emily?” I question, causing Emily’s confused gaze to turn towards me.
“He has been out there since I woke up this morning” I continue cheekily as I take a bite of my apple. I don’t let on to the fact that I have only just woken up.
Emily practically dives out of her bed before she darts into the lounge room, making me giggle loudly.
“So when did this happen?” I question as she rushes back into her room.
“Last night” she replies as she grabs a pair of jeans and one of her hideous vintage rock shirts out of her wardrobe.
After she finishes getting dressed, she roughly yanks the brush through her hair. I want to suggest to Emily that maybe she should put in a little more effort into her appearance, but then I realise that this is who Emily is. If Noah doesn’t like her as she stands before him right now, then he isn’t the guy for my little sister.
“Have fun” I yell as Emily goes sprinting out the front door.
“Should I be worried?” Mom questions concerned when I return to the kitchen.
“No, he is a good guy” I reply without hesitation.
Noah is a close friend of Jacob’s and Jacob is one of the kindest and gentlest guys I have ever met, so I think I can trust his judgement. If he thinks Noah is a good person, then I have no problems with him dating my little sister.
After having some breakfast with my mom, I wandered into my room to get ready for my midday shift at Mavericks. When I enter Mavericks, the first person I notice is Maggie.
“Do you ever leave this place?” I question Maggie while I stroll towards the bar.
Maggie is currently kneeling down on the ground restocking the beer fridges. When she looks up she offers me a small smile, while she shakes her head. I quickly run my purse out the back and then join Maggie to assist her in replenishing the fridges.
“I got my licence yesterday, so you can start rostering me on for nights again” I advise while I break down the empty cartons from the beer so I can take them out to the compactor that is located in the carpark.
“That will be good” Maggie replies sternly, making me realise it is the first time she has spoken to me since I arrived.
“Are you okay Maggie?” I question as she commences wiping down the counter top.
She stops wiping the counter and slowly turns to face me. Her blue eyes stare directly into mine, before they lower down to notice that I am finally wearing the full length jeans she had requested.
“I said I would eventually get them” I cheekily giggle while I do a little spin, showing off my new tight white full length jeans.
“I saw you leave with Flynn last night” Maggie advises angrily, causing me to stop spinning to turn back to face her.
“You said you were here to meet with Jacob last night, but then you left with Flynn” she continues angrily, forcing me to swallow harshly.
“It wasn’t what it looked like” I instantly rebut while shaking my head slightly.
“No, then what did it look like Lola? You walked out of here wrapped in his arms?” she questions angrily as she moves closer to me.
“Just as I was starting to like you, you decide to play silly little games. I know what happened to you Lola and I am sorry for what you went through. But I will not stand by and watch you destroy Jacob. He deserves so much more than what you are offering him. I suggest that you think long and hard about what you want to do with your life and if you decide you don’t want to still be working at this bar when you are a senior citizen, then I suggest you stop playing these silly little games and start acting like the grown up you are supposed to be” Maggie states firmly as her blue eyes fill with tears. She then storms into the office located at the back of the bar.
I stand still, shocked by Maggie’s outburst. I didn’t think anyone knew what had happened to me and I start to become panicked about who else might know or whether she has told Jacob. I know if Jacob finds out I left with Flynn last night he would be hurt. But Jacob also knows that I never promised him anything bar my friendship. After a few minutes of panic, I end up deciding that maybe Maggie’s little outburst might have more to do with Maggie’s own history and she is reflecting her anger at me, instead of herself.
As my shift continues, Maggie eventually returns from the office and assists me serving the bar’s patrons, but doesn’t speak a word to me. As I am about to leave from my shift for the day, Maggie walks over near me.
“I have printed a copy of the new rosters and I have attached it to the notice board. There are a few changes you need to take note of” she says, before she walks back behind the bar.
When I head into the office to collect my purse, I check the noticeboard for the new roster schedule. It is only when I scroll through the next several weeks do I realise that I am never rostered on for a Friday night shift. Friday nights is the busiest night of the week for Mavericks and it is the one night I make up half of my weeks’ pay in tips.
“Maggie you haven’t given me a Friday night shift for the next two months?” I question, unaware if Maggie realises her error.
“I know” she answers, as she turns and faces me with her eyebrows cocked into her hairline.
“That’s the biggest night to earn tips. I won’t be able to make enough money working weeknights” I reply, causing Maggie to shrug her shoulders.
“You should have thought about that before you decided to mess with one of my boys” she replies harshly, before she returns to wiping down the bench.
Oh my god, she is punishing me because I went
out with Flynn last night. I let out a frustrated huff, as I storm out of Mavericks to my mom’s car that is parked in the carpark. Who does Maggie think she is? She can’t dictate my life. I am a god dam adult. No one tells me who I can or cannot date. She is treating me like a child, even though I am twenty-one years old. Feeling spiteful, I grab my phone out of my bag and dial Jacob’s number.
“Sorry I missed your call, leave a message after the beep” advises Jacob’s message bank.
“Hey Jacob, its Lola. Call me”
Chapter 18
Jacob
When I went to bed early this morning I was expecting to get hammered by Noah when I woke up about how he had discovered me last night. I was surprised when I heard Noah’s truck heading out of the driveway at 8am this morning. I think it’s the first time I have seen Noah out of bed this early in years, especially considering how late he came home last night. I end up getting out of bed shortly after noon, feeling a little worse for wear. Not just from the fight, but also from how many beers I had drunk the night before.
As I walk towards the kitchen, I notice my dad sitting at the breakfast bar. I take in a large inhale of breath before walking to the fridge. There is no way I can deny I had been in a fight with all the bruises and cuts on my face.
“Morning” I greet quickly as I grab the carton of orange juice out of the fridge.
“Good afternoon Jacob” my dad replies sarcastically, ensuring he emphasises on the afternoon section. My dad has always been an early riser.
“Do you know where Noah was off to early this morning?” questions my dad, as he continues to read his newspaper.
“No fucking clue” I answer honestly, while I grab a glass from the kitchen cabinet to pour the orange juice into. I suddenly freeze when I realise I had just cussed in front of my dad.
My language causes my dad to peer over his newspaper to reprimand me, but the instant his eyes land on my face, his eyebrows pull together closely. He slowly folds the newspaper in half and sits in next to his plate of half eaten scrambled eggs and toast.
“Do I want to know?” My dad asks sternly.
“Probably not” I reply as I scratch my eyebrow nervously.
“Is it anything illegal?” he questions as he stands from his barstool and walks into the kitchen.
“No” I reply, shaking my head gently. My dad leans his back against the kitchen bench and crosses his arms. His eyes roam over the bruises on my face, as he takes in several long deep breaths.
“You know I am here if you ever need someone to talk to, don’t you Jacob?” Dad questions as his blue eyes seek mine.
“I know dad” I reply, while looking into his concerned eyes.
My dad has always been a hard ass, but that is what makes him a good dad. He never gave me or Patrick the opportunity of getting into too much trouble when we were younger, but he has always been there for us when we needed him. He offers me a quick smile as he squeezes my shoulder, before he slowly walks out of the kitchen.
The rest of my day is spent trying to recover from my injuries. I also spent a few hours watching YouTube videos of the ‘Constrictors’ past fights. There is no denying that he has impressive fighting skills, so I am surprised that he had used such dirty tactics last night.
When Hank and I walked down to the cage last night, I noticed the bleachers surrounding the cage where overflowing with people packed in to watch the fight. As I reached the cage, ‘Linkin Parks’ hit song ‘One Step Closer’ started blaring out of the speakers. When I look down the alleyway between the bleachers, I spotted the ‘Constrictor’ walking towards me. He was wearing a green silk hooded robe and his gaze was planted firmly on the ground, not allowing me to see his face. He walked down the aisle surrounded by several members of his team. Once the crowd spotted him, they all jumped to their feet, clapping and cheering loudly.
I remember swallowing harshly, realising that I had just been played as a pawn by the UFC fight schedulers. “You’ve got this Jacob” Hank said when he noticed my reaction to my opponent’s obvious fame in the fighting industry. I wouldn’t have any problem being defeated if it was done fairly. But the fact that he cheated has made me determined to ensure he never defeats me again.
My phone abruptly starts ringing on my bedside table, that I quickly close my laptop screen to answer it.
“Hey Hank” I greet into the phone.
“Jacob, how are you feeling today?” he enquires, I can hear the concern in his voice.
“Yeah good. I will be back at the gym bright and early tomorrow” I advise, causing Hank to chuckle.
“That’s good Jacob, really good. I will see you tomorrow” replies Hank before he disconnects the call. I have realised the past six months that he always hangs up before giving me a chance to reply.
Glancing down at my phone, I notice I have one voicemail.
“Hey Jacob, it’s Lola. Call me” she states seductively into the phone.
This causes me to smile. I had only just missed meeting Lola by a few minutes’ last night, but I am glad she isn’t pissed at me for leaving her hanging.
I promptly dial Lola’s number I have memorised into my cell phone.
“Hi Jacob” she greets friendly but quietly.
“Hey Lola” I reply, noticing that she is breathing heavily down the phone.
“Are you okay?” I question, since she is the quietest I have ever heard her be.
“Yeah, just a tough day at work” she whispers quietly.
“Is Maggie giving you a hard time?’ I ask concerned.
“You could say that…but I guess I deserve it” she replies softly.
“Why, what did you do this time?” I chuckle. This causes Lola to laugh, but it isn’t her normal full hearted laugh.
“You wouldn’t want to know” she whispers so quietly I can barely hear her.
“I’m sorry about last night Jacob” she says more clearly.
I don’t know why she is apologizing for. I was the one that didn’t turn up at the designated time we had organised.
“Don’t apologize Lola, if anyone should be apologizing it should be me” I reply.
“You have no idea, do you?” she whispers quickly.
“About what?’ I reply confused as my eyebrows pull together tightly.
“Nothing… I have to go Jacob” she replies abruptly as she hangs up the phone.
This woman seriously confuses the shit out of me. I sit on my bed staring at my phone while trying to work out what is going on with Lola when Noahs walks into my room.
“Hey Jacob, how are you?” he queries, while smiling brightly. I now stare dumbfounded at my friend, instead of my phone.
“I’m good and you?” I reply, while cocking my eyebrow at him.
“I’m fucking great” he answers, as he waggles his eyebrows.
Who the fuck is this guy standing in front of me. I have never seen Noah appear so carefree and happy. Holy shit, no way!
“Who is she?” I quickly question, noticing that his smile gets even bigger, while he rubs his hands together in excitement.
“Emily” he slowly breathes out.
“Emily…Emily? As in Lola’s sister Emily?” I inquire. I didn’t know that they have had any contact with each other since the car prank we pulled over two months.
“Yep” he replies excitedly.
“Oh, you should see this girl Jacob. She is fucking stunning, but she doesn’t even have a clue how beautiful she is” he informs, while smiling brightly.
“I have seen her remember” I reply laughing.
“Whatever” he replies sarcastically, while rolling his eyes.
“So is that where you took off to this morning?” I query.
“Uh yeah” he answers slightly embarrassed that I had noticed his eagerness.
“We ended up spending the day at Stoney Creek Falls. She even jumped off the waterfall with me” he informs proudly.
“No shit” I reply.
When I first met Emily I took h
er as being extremely shy, so I am shocked to find out that she has enough brass to jump off the boulder at Stoney’s Creek. Maybe she is more like her sister than I originally thought.
“Anyway, I am going to jump in the shower” he informs as he starts to head back to the hallway. Once he reaches my doorway he stops and looks back towards me.
“Will you eventually tell me what happened last night?” Noah questions.
“Yeah one day” I reply while scratching my eyebrow. Noah’s eyes narrow at me before he starts shaking his head.
