by Hart, Rebel
“Yep. Three times a week right now. For the next few weeks.”
Roy nodded. “Uh huh. Right. So you’ll be back in shape soon enough?”
I licked my lips. “That’s the plan.”
“That’s a shame. Really.”
Aly scoffed. “Put a sock in it, Roy.”
I slowly panned my gaze over to him, taking in the fire in his eyes. I shouldn’t have asked, but he had me baited. Right there on his fucking hook.
“What’s a shame?”
Roy snickered. “I mean, you getting back into shape. It’s been nice not having you around.”
Marina giggled. “Too bad that cliff was only twenty feet high.”
I heard part of the class gasp at her comment. It was the top of the hour and the damn teacher still wasn’t in the room. Where the fuck was she, anyway? I stared Roy down, trying my hardest to be the bigger man. There was no need for me to talk down to a woman. I certainly didn't want to become my father. I didn't want to let my anger take hold of me like it did him. That was Roy’s bitch, so it was Roy’s issue to handle.
My eyes held Roy’s. “Yeah. Too bad, I guess.”
Roy grinned. “I knew you were a depressed little shit.”
Aly piped up. “That’s enough, Roy.”
Marina giggled. “Should’ve done us all a favor and finished what that bridge started.”
Aly flew out of her chair. “The two of you are relentless. Can’t you hear yourselves? Cut it the heck out.”
Roy’s eyebrows rose. “Wow. Strong language coming from you, Miss Priss.”
I held my hand up, signaling for Aly to stop. “The two of you can talk to me. There’s no need to involve her.”
Marina scoffed. “Fucking around with her, too? Rae not enough for you anymore?”
I pointed my finger at her. “You keep my girl’s name out of your mouth. It’s not my fault you two have debased yourselves to absolutely nothing.”
Roy smiled devilishly. “You mean, like you used to be?”
Marina frowned. “What, you think you’re better than us now?”
“You think you’ve outgrown us?”
“Somehow leveled up in life?”
“You think this’ll make Daddy love you more?”
“Or stop beating up on you? I’ve heard the stories. Roy tells me everything. Are you that open with Rae?”
“Does she know everything?”
“Or does she only know your cock size?”
“If you can still get it up, of course.”
“Hey, asswipes!”
Aly’s voice pierced through their banter and caught the attention of the entire class. My eyes widened as the curse fell from her lips, and I turned to face her. She had her fists clenched. She ground her teeth together. Her eyes bounced between Roy and Marina, her body vibrating in fear.
I leaned forward. “Aly, it’s all right.”
She leveled me with a quick look before turning her attention back to them.
“The only shame in this room is you two. The only people in this room who should throw themselves off anything are the pair of you. This entire school’s sick of your shit. You hear me? Absolutely sick of it. Sick of you, Roy, for the bullshit you pull in the cafeteria. Trying to act like you’re big stuff when all you want is for good ol’ Mommy to pay you some attention. And you, Marina. Everyone’s sick and tired of coming around corners and catching you flirting with other guys when we all know you’re still sucking Roy’s—”
“Aly,” I said curtly.
Her eyes flickered to me before she sighed. “All of us know that the only reason you two are still together is because nobody else can stand to hang out with either of you or listen to your asinine stories about getting prematurely drunk at parties before going off and doing God-knows-what to one another. So, shut the fuck up. Face forward. And leave Clint the hell alone with your shit.”
The entire class fell silent. I sure as hell didn’t know what to say. I’d never heard Aly curse. Much less that much in one fell swoop. I slowly panned my gaze over to Roy and Marina. Their eyes bounced between us as I gave them a punctuated head nod. Letting them know I agreed with everything that had just flown out of Aly’s mouth.
With a few grumbles, they scooted back into their place. Faced the front of the classroom as everyone began whispering.
About them.
Not about me.
Aly sighed a soft sigh before sitting back down in her seat. I slowly turned my attention back to her, feeling a shocked smile cross my lips. She flipped her books open as our teacher finally made her presence known ten minutes after class was supposed to start. Aly leaned over, flipping open my own book to the page we needed to be on.
Then she looked up at me.
“What?”
I shook my head. “Thank you, Aly.”
She shrugged. “We’re all tired of their stuff.”
“Oh, now you say ‘stuff.’”
She smiled at me, and it caused me to chuckle. We muffled our laughter as the teacher started her lecture, rushing us through our homework so we could get to ‘the good stuff,’ as she called it. And while I loved my English class—mostly—this book we were reading could go kick rocks. It was the first book in all of high school I’d been forced to read that I didn’t enjoy one damn bit.
Catch-22 could suck my—
“I really don’t like this book.”
Aly’s murmur caught my ear and it made me grin.
“Me, neither. Don’t worry.”
She sighed. “Switching the points of view the entire time between, like, seventeen different characters is just a bit much.”
I snickered. “Can we put that on Amazon somewhere? I feel like we should warn the masses.”
“Is there something you’d like to share with the class, Clint?”
The teacher called me out and everyone turned to face me. Aly started giggling, hiding her face with her notebook as a grin trickled across my cheeks. I liked this. I liked talking with her in class. I had no idea how the fuck I’d ever stayed friends with the likes of Roy and Marina. But, I didn’t see myself ever trading what I had now for what I’d had in the past.
The teacher cleared her throat. “Clint?”
I licked my lips. “I was just telling Aly here that we should write up a review on Amazon, warning people about the painful point of view changes in the book.”
The teacher nodded. “What don’t you like about them?”
I shrugged. “For one, it’s distracting. By the time you come back around to a character’s story, you have to flip back to their last chapter to see where their story left off. It’s tedious.”
Roy sniggered. “He’s actually reading the book, for fuck’s sake.”
Marina murmured. “Guess loser pussy really changes you.”
The teacher diverted her attention. “Roy. Marina. Anything to add?”
And when they shook their heads, Aly snickered.
“What’s that for, bitch?”
Marina blurted out the statement and the teacher’s jaw dropped open.
“Marina. Up here. Now.”
She stood up. “No. I want to know why this goody-two-shoes thinks she can judge us just because we don’t like reading these shit books.”
Roy grabbed his girlfriend’s arm. “Just get up to the front of the class.”
“Hell, no! I’m tired of Allison and her judgmental glances. I’m tired of them thinking they’re better than us. Just because the rest of us Sparknote this shit doesn't mean it makes her any better that she actually reads the books. And Clint, for that matter. Fucking loser after that fall of his. You’re no better than—”
“Detention! Both of you! For the rest of the week!”
The teacher’s exclamation caught our ears. Her words caused Aly to panic.
“Wait, who?”
The teacher crooked her finger. “Roy. Marina. Up here, now. And if you so much as make another peep, I’ll move to have you both suspended from school. Until further no
tice.”
Roy slammed out of his desk, scooting it across the floor. He jumped at a couple students staring him down, who all jerked back from him. I shook my head, watching as the dynamic duo made their way to the front of the class. Marina kept staring Aly down. Like she was about to do something drastic. I reached my hand out, placing it on Aly’s desk. Marking my territory and letting them know that if they messed with her, they messed with me, too.
Then, watching as Marina and Roy shook their heads at me, I saw Aly turn her attention my way as well. I peeked over at her, watching as a sly grin crossed her face. A grin that said ‘I got you.’ A grin that said ‘I’m on your side.’
And for once, I understood what it felt like to have a friend.
25
Raelynn
RaelynnThree Weeks Later
I sat on the couch, waiting endlessly for Mom and D.J. to get out of the damn place. The two of them were going out for a date night. Which ultimately meant they’d be out until the break of dawn before they stumbled back in. Drunk, horny, and ready to make all sorts of noises until they finally passed out around breakfast time. It had been the same routine for the past couple of weeks, and it made me sick.
This time, however, I had a few plans in store for myself to keep my mind off things.
“So, how’s your friend?”
D.J.’s voice filled the room and I tried my hardest not to roll my eyes. I was ready for them to leave. I wanted them to get out. Not because I didn’t want to be around my mother, but because I was done entertaining D.J. I had no desire to get to know him. No passion to get close to him again. I didn’t care about accepting him into some sort of fold or making him feel part of the family.
I just wanted him out of my space.
“Rae?”
I sighed. “Yeah?”
“Did you hear me?”
“I did.”
“Well, is your friend doing all right?”
I shrugged. “He’s fine.”
“That’s good.”
“Yep.”
“So, how’s school?”
“It’s school, I guess.”
“What have you been up to lately? Anything fun with your friends? What are their names. Um… Mac and Dani?”
I rolled my eyes. “Michael and Allison.”
“Right, right. How are things with them?”
“They’re good.”
“That’s good.”
I gazed out the window, wondering when Mom would get downstairs. I knew she wanted me to keep D.J. occupied because ‘it upset him whenever he had to wait around’ for her. Wow. What a fucking winner, Mom. But I didn’t want to fight with her on it. She’d obviously made her choice, and in a few months I’d been graduated and out of here. Getting a place with Allison close to UCLA and rooming with my best friend ever.
And hopefully, finding myself a job or something not too long after that.
D.J. sighed. “You know how much longer your mom’s going to be?”
I shrugged. “As long as it takes for her to feel confident walking down those stairs.”
“We’re going to be late.”
“Then push back the reservations.”
“We don’t have reservations.”
“Then there’s no need for you to hop down her throat about it.”
I whipped my head over, shooting D.J. a look. And as he rolled his eyes at me, I scoffed. I got up from the couch and left the room, refusing to be near him one second longer. Mom could take all the fucking time in the world she wanted to get ready. That was her right. And he had no right to get upset with her when all she wanted to do was look pretty for him.
Besides, I had to start getting ready myself.
Mom poked her head out. “That you, Rae?”
I walked down the hallway. “Yep.”
She put her earrings in. “I thought you were talking with D.J. for me.”
“Yeah, well. I’m done talking.”
I walked into my bedroom and closed the door. I didn’t want Mom talking me into going back down there. And not a minute later, D.J. was yelling up the stairs. Like it was his damn house.
“You coming, Lu? We don’t have all night!”
“Come on. I’m sure you look fine.”
“The restaurant won’t have space for us if we don’t leave now!”
“Lu!”
I almost opened my door and told him to shut the hell up. But I heard Mom finally call out for him. Telling him she was coming. I walked over to my window, listening as the two of them bickered downstairs. And as they left through the front door, I watched them walk to D.J.’s car. He looked up at me and paused. Right by his door. I pointed my fingers to my eyes before pointing back at him. Letting him know I was watching him. Always.
And after he shook his head at me, the two of them dipped into his car.
I scrambled out of my bedroom after that. I had to power clean some things. The kitchen sink was full of dishes, courtesy of the asshole that had just left. I wanted to vacuum the living room floor. Clint and I had a movie night on the books. One where we’d order pizza, curl up underneath some blankets, and watch movies until we passed out on the couch. Or upstairs in my bedroom. I grinned at the thought. Holy hell, Mom would shit bricks if Clint came down the stairs tomorrow morning.
Then again, she and D.J. would be snoring too loud to hear us doing anything in the morning, anyway.
I scrubbed at the dishes before rinsing them off in the sink. I stacked them neatly in the dish holder, letting them drip-dry on the counter. I pulled the vacuum out of the closet and struck it up, chastising myself for getting so sweaty. I had less than an hour to pull everything off. Especially since Clint was already halfway through his physical therapy appointment.
“Come on. You gotta get a shower still.”
I ran the vacuum over the carpet as quickly as I could. Spot-treating it, really. Just to make it look a bit more decent. I shoved it into the closet and kicked the cord underneath the door, hoping it didn’t come springing back out at the most inopportune moment. I ran up the steps, taking them two by two. Wanting nothing more than to barge into the bathroom and take the hottest shower alive.
But I settled for a cooler shower. Cold enough to get me to stop sweating without chilling me to the damn bone.
Out I hopped, ten minutes later, with a towel wrapped around my body. I rushed into my mother’s bathroom, digging out her blow dryer. I didn’t want my hair dripping wet for Clint once he got here. Especially if he wanted to play with it.
Oh, I loved it when he played with my hair.
I flipped my head over and felt the heat blast against my neck. I didn’t know how to turn the heat down on the blow dryer, though. Was that even a function? So my neck began sweating. And my face. By the time my hair was dry, the rest of me was wet again. From the damn hair dryer being much too hot.
“Fuck.”
I toweled myself off as I walked into my bedroom. I looked at the clock, groaning as my eyes read the time. Shit. It was already six o’clock. He was getting out of his appointment now, which meant he only had to cross town to get here.
“Gotta hurry, Rae,” I murmured to myself as I rushed around with my fan on full blast. Trying to stop the sweating as I worked up yet another one. I pulled on some clothes and ran a brush through my hair. I fanned my face, trying to get the redness to stop pooling in my cheeks. I lay down on my bed, spread eagle, letting my damn crotch and my armpits air out.
I was so fucking nervous to have Clint over, it almost made me sick.
Why he insisted he come over after his last physical therapy appointment I wasn’t sure. But who was I to say no? I wanted to spend time with him. I wanted to celebrate this moment with him. His first round of PT was over. And after a check-up tomorrow afternoon at the hospital, we’d know whether or not he needed another round. With every passing day for the past three weeks, he’d gotten stronger. He needed less and less help to get to classes. His bruises had faded into small, y
ellow patches of skin and his limping completely ceased.
Watching him heal had been an incredible journey.
But feeling how close we had become had been even better.
My phone ringing on my bedside table caught my ear. I reached over for the phone, hoping and praying it wasn’t Clint. Because I knew there was the slimmest chance that he’d be too tired to come over. I slapped my hand over my phone and pulled it up to my face. I saw Allison’s name and smiled. Just who I wanted to talk to. She’d know how to calm my nerves down.
Until Allison blurted out what she wanted to say.
“Michael asked me to go to a movie tonight!”
I paused, my jaw falling open. “He did what?”
“Yes. Yes. I’m sorry. I wanted to call and see how you were doing and all because I know Clint’s coming over but… Michael asked me out!”
“Ah!”
I squealed on the phone with her as I jumped up from my bed. I bounced around, shaking my hair out and pumping my fist in the air. Finally. Fucking finally! Michael had grown a pair of balls and asked Allison out on a date. I flopped back down onto the bed, my lungs panting softly for air as my hair splayed out along the comforter.
I smiled. “Oh, my gosh. I’m so fucking happy for you.”
Allison giggled. “You think it’s a date, right? This is a date?”
I paused. “Of course it’s a damn date!”
“Because, you know, he didn’t specifically use the word ‘date.’ I mean, he said, ‘Do you want to go to a movie with me tonight?’ Not ‘Do you want to go on a date with me tonight?’”
“Allison.”
“I know. I know. I just—I really don’t want to read anymore into this than I should.”
I grinned. “He’s asked you out on a date. I promise you.”
“So I’m not crazy? You know, getting dressed up and doing makeup and borrowing Mom’s jewelry?”
I giggled. “Not crazy at all. I want you to have fun tonight. But make it easy for him to make a move on you during the movie.”
“Wait, what?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“What kind of move? You think he might…?”
I snickered as I sat up in bed, listening to Allison whisper the word. Like it was so dirty.
