“I’m coming out Saturday.” I was determined I was going out there over the weekend. As soon as this call was over, I was calling my Grandma and asking her to let me come out. I knew if my mom had anything to do with it, then I wouldn’t be going out unless it was with her.
“Does Mom know about this?” Her disgust on the word ‘Mom’ told me our time out there would be difficult, to say the least.
“Yeah, she’s gonna speak to Grandma and see if it’s okay if I come stay.”
I tried to inject some enthusiasm into my voice, but I knew Ollie would pick up on me lying and she did, straight away.
“Well I’m not sure if you’re lying, or if you are just hoping that she’s gonna do it, but Mom and Grandma haven’t spoken, like at all, since she left and took you with her. Sorry, Blake, but I honestly think Mom doesn’t want you out here.”
“I know,” I whispered in a low voice as I sat on my bed, twirling the edges of my comforter around and around. “I don’t think she wants me anywhere. She wants this idealized version of me that doesn’t exist. Her son who plays music in a band and doesn’t want to go to college, isn’t her idea of who I am.”
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, leaning back and resting against the wall behind my bed. My legs were tingling under my feet, so I stretched them out and wriggled my toes inside my shoes as I spoke to Ollie.
“She loves you. She just…” Ollie began, and I rolled my eyes as she hesitated.
“She doesn’t like who I am, or who I’m becoming.” I muttered in a low, tired voice and ran my fingers over my face, scrubbing at my eyes.
“Can you blame her though? Like really, blame her?” Ollie pushed and I shook my head because I couldn’t, but I just wished she’d see me as someone different to Brody.
“No, I guess not, but I wish she’d see me for me and quit seeing Brody in me. I’m not him. I’m nothing like him and I’m not going to get mixed up with drugs after watching what happened to him.”
Brody was my dad’s little brother and the lead singer of a band that was doing well when I was a kid. I was nine when I saw Brody taking drugs and ten when he accidentally overdosed on methamphetamine. He was watching us at the time and Kellie, at nineteen, came home and had to call for help. It was too late though, and he died in front of fifteen-year-old Ollie and me.”
Mom was scared, her and dad had a massive argument about it where mom lost her shit and told him he was irresponsible for leaving us with Brody, but dad didn’t know. No-one did.
“Look, Blake. I gotta go. I’ve got stuff to organize but call me later tonight and call Grandma yourself. Love ya little bro. Speak to you later.”
I could hear the tiredness in her voice and wanted to tell her to try to take it easy, but she hung up before I could even get a word in. I sat for a moment holding my cell to my ear and wishing I could speak to her, Kels, Ryder or anyone who actually cared about me. I didn’t know who to call, so instead, I stood up and wandered over to the window. My eyes drifted to next door and I saw Cara crossing the yard. I needed to apologize to her, so I spun around and rushed to my dresser, pulling out my running gear. I changed quickly and was downstairs heading towards the door, when I heard my mom and Don come in together. I hid behind the staircase and just hoped they’d pass by me and go right upstairs.
“Does he know that Sid wanted him to go back to Georgia?” Don asked in a low voice as they came towards the staircase. I sank lower and was crouched on the floor, fumbling with my cell. I turned the ringer off.
“No and he’s not going to find out. I’m flying out with him on Monday, so I can limit the interactions he has with Ollie, Kellie and his Grandma.”
“Shouldn’t you tell him. It might make it easier?” Don asked as they reached the bottom of the staircase.
“No. He doesn’t need to know that I said no. He’d never forgive me. He hero worshiped Sid and I don’t want him being any angrier with me, than he is already.”
She carried on walking up the stairs and after a moment Don carried on after her. Once their bedroom door closed, I darted out from my hiding spot. Almost giving Marty a heart attack as I blazed by him and bolted outside, with my mom’s words swimming around in my head. I took off for the trail and ran at a punishing pace to try and outrun the thoughts that were going around and around in my head. Completely forgetting about Cara and the apology I owed her.
Chapter Fourteen
After School Apology
Cara
I got home from school, changed, and quickly went for a run to clear my head. Blake telling me we weren’t even friends hurt, but it wasn’t really a surprise. His pale face and the pain behind his eyes haunted me and I couldn’t get it out of my head. I ran harder and faster, watching only my feet and the path ahead. When I reached the marker, we used to mark five miles, I paused for a moment, before turning back. My breath was a little labored, but I knew I’d be back in shape in no time if I kept on running, so I turned and began making my way back.
Blake blazed by me about halfway back and I wanted to keep on going home, but something about his demeanor and the anger on his face, made me turn around and go after him. I caught up to him quickly, but he didn’t acknowledge me. He sprinted past the marker and kept going for another few miles. I kept pace with him, but it was hard since his legs were longer than mine and he was running as though something was chasing him. As we reached the incline of the mountain, I reached over and gently touched his arm, making him spin around and stumble back in surprise. He almost lost his footing and reached out, gripping my wrist in a way that was almost painful, as he tried to steady himself.
“Cara,” he muttered, his eyes widening in surprise. “What are you doing here?”
His words caused me to take a step back from him, but he was still holding onto my wrist, though his hold was much gentler than before.
“I… uh… well… I thought you might need someone, so you didn’t get lost.”
His eyes roamed over me and he smiled slowly, as he dropped his eyes to my chest, which was heaving with exertion. I watched as his eyes tracked a bead of sweat as it rolled down my neck, down my chest and into my cleavage.
“Okay, but why? I’ve been a total douche to you, so why would you help me?” he whispered in a hoarse voice as his eyes roamed back up to my face. I stepped closer to him, closing the gap between us, and standing chest to chest with him.
“Because I’m a nice person and you don’t know these woods, or this mountain range and it can be dangerous. There are Rattler’s near here and they won’t hesitate to snap at you if you disturb them.”
His eyes widened again as he leaned closer to me. His breathing sped, as he licked his lips.
“Rattlers, huh?” he quizzed, and I nodded, caught in his gaze like an animal caught in the gaze of a hunter.
“Yeah, Rattlers.” My words were breathless, as my heart sped up in response to his closeness. He reached over and my body shuddered, as he ran his fingers of his free hand up my arm, then back down.
He licked his lips again and leaned even closer, until we were a breath apart.
“Well, we best head back then.”
His words tickled my lips and I opened my mouth to answer him, when a loud yell caught our attention and we both turned to the trail.
“What. The. Fuck?” Marty yelled.
Blake and I sprung apart as Marty turned tail and took off. Blake and I both shared a look and he gestured to me to go ahead of him. I spun around and bolted after Marty, but I couldn’t see him anywhere and Blake was running at my side. He glanced at me and smiled shyly, before picking up the pace, but I matched him stride for stride and we soon caught up with Marty as we reached my yard. Marty stood panting and furious. His eyes narrowed on us, as we came out of the trees and he turned to me with disgust evident on his face.
“Don’t let me interrupt,” he hissed at me, causing me to take a step back.
“You promised me that you wouldn’t go near him, but I guess you
don’t care about that because he’s tall, hot and clearly interested in you, when none of the other guys at school, are.”
He opened his mouth to speak again, when Blake stepped around me and blocked me with his body.
“Dude chill out. She’s your friend and she’s only gonna take so much of your shit before…”
Marty yelled in frustration and then threw a punch at Blake, which caught him on his cheek, but Blake didn’t flinch as the fist connected, or at my scream to Marty to stop. He ignored me completely and Blake put his arm out, pushing me back behind him, as Marty screamed and yelled in his face, spit flying and his blue eyes blazing.
“And you, Stay. The. Fuck. Away. From. Her. Or. I. Swear. I’ll. Tell. Your Mom…”
“Marty, I’m not a possession,” I hissed at him, but he didn’t even look at me. He threw another punch at Blake, but this time he missed. Blake stepped forwards and did some fancy footwork that pinned Marty to the ground, with his arms pinned to his chest.
“Stop fucking threatening me, you whiny, little bitch.” Blake hissed and I saw his eyes narrow as he stared down at Marty beneath him.
I moved towards them and Marty stared up at us both, writhing in disgust on the floor.
“You know what, fuck this and fuck you. You deserve each other.” Marty spat in a disgusted voice.
I watched as tears leaked from his eyes and I pleaded with mine for him to stay silent, so I could try to get Blake to let him up. I didn’t know if it would even work, because I didn’t know Blake all that well and he always blew hot and cold with me.
“Blake, let him up, please.” I asked him in a low, calm voice and watched as he stiffened for a moment, before he rolled his shoulders.
He then spun around and gave me a hard look, before he pushed up from the ground hard and released Marty. Marty rolled over onto his stomach and stared between us, before he spun around and took off through the yard. Blake stood beside me breathing heavily and staring at the ground. He refused to look at me, even when I stepped into his space and touched his chin gently with my thumb and forefinger.
“Blake, are you okay?” I asked him in a small, scared voice, and he shook his head.
His shoulders heaved as he struggled with his emotions, then he rolled his shoulders back and gave me a hard look.
“You are so not worth all this fucking drama,” he mused as he shook my hand off and stepped away from me, before turning and running across the yard, back towards Marty’s house.
I stood stunned for a moment, because sometimes it seemed like we really connected and then other times, he treated me like I was a total inconvenience to him. His moods were giving me whiplash and I couldn’t be bothered with it anymore. My legs shook as I began to cross the yard, I paused at the space between the garage and the patio, where Blake and I kissed. I was so lost in thought that I didn’t hear the footsteps behind me. Or I would have turned around, but when I was grabbed and then shoved forwards, so hard, I didn’t even see my attacker. I let out a scream as my head bounced off the wall and I heard a girl’s voice mutter something, as her nails contracted breaking my skin.
I didn’t have time to fight her off, or turn around, before she smashed my head into the wall another few times. I screamed again, as sickening, white, hot pain shot through me. I struggled hard, with sluggish movements to get out of her grip, but her nails dug into my neck, as she shoved me forwards again and then let go…
My head cracked on the wall and the warmth spreading from the cut, told me I was bleeding, but then she took off at a run across my yard, leaving me almost blinded by pain. Her footsteps grew quieter as I slid down the wall and landed in a puddle of blood, with blurring vision. I heard a car door slam in the distance, but I couldn’t make sense of anything, because the darkness was calling me, and it was so easy to let myself slip away into it.
I had weird disjointed dreams, but I drifted in and out for a while, hearing Blake call my name. Seeing him above me, covered in blood, as the world shook beneath me and my stomach rolled, and I emptied the contents of my stomach over him. I drifted off again, waking up a while later to see him, standing in my sitting room, speaking to someone, but it didn’t make much sense.
“Yes, sir. I didn’t see who it was. They were in a red, Mini type car, but that was all I saw.”
He saw something.
What did he see?
What was he talking about?
I was so confused.
“Are you sure? Can you give us a description of who it was?” The voice was foreign to me and I tried to lean up to see who it was, but a wave of nausea knocked me back down.
“No, they were in a black hoodie and the hood was pulled tight around their face, but there was two of them, because she jumped into the passenger side of the car.”
“You’re sure it was a girl?” The voice spoke and I tried again to sit up a little, but I only managed to lift my head up slightly, before the hammering in my skull made me lie back down.
“Yeah. Yes, sir. I’m sure. She had breasts.”
I glanced over and saw Blake’s tense shoulders and his clenched fists. He rolled his shoulders and turned to catch my eye, holding my gaze for a second, before he turned away and stared at someone I couldn’t see. He’d tried to tell me something with his eyes, but my befuddled brain couldn’t process it.
“Well, it’s lucky you were there, young man.”
He nodded and I glanced around the room, wincing at the sharp pain in my head. My mom was sitting on the sofa, my dad was standing over next to the window and Josh was sitting at my feet. Blake was standing in the middle of the room and in front of him stood a tall, bald white, middle-aged man, with a paunchy gut. Beside him was another younger man, who looked as though he’d stepped into my mom and dad’s sitting room quite by accident. He was skittish and his eyes darted around the room, not stopping. Watching him made me dizzy, so I shifted my attention back to Blake, trying to figure out what was going on.
“Cara,” my mom exclaimed and rushed over to see me.
“Thank goodness you’re awake. Blake found you, passed out in the yard. He said someone assaulted you.”
I tried to think back, but the last thing I clearly remembered was being in the woods with Blake.
“I… I uh… I don’t remember.” I answered in a confused voice, that sounded hoarse to my own ears.
Blake turned to face me, and I could see vomit on his shirt and shorts, and for some reason, shame rose up in my gut, coloring my face.
“What’s the last thing you remember?” My mom asked me in a low voice, and I grimaced.
“Uh, speaking with Blake in the woods.” I responded with a grimace as my brain hammered against my skull, making my eyes water.
Blake met my gaze and my cheeks flamed, as I remembered how close we’d been to kissing, but we hadn’t. I didn’t remember us kissing. Something else had happened. Someone had interrupted us. Parts of what happened in the woods began to come back to me. I remembered Blake standing up for me with Marty, when we came out of the woods, but how we bumped into Marty was a mystery and why he’d been so angry, baffled me.
“Blake?” My mom asked as I tried to filter through my thoughts, and he glanced guilty at me and then away again.
“Yeah, we talked in the woods and then came back out. Marty was angry at us though and we argued with him and then… uh…” His voice was low, and I watched as a flush rose from his neck, creeping up his cheeks.
Blake broke off and ran his fingers around his wrist. He twisted the skin and lifted his eyes to meet my curious gaze and that’s when it came back to me.
“And then we fought. You stormed away in a mood, right?” I quizzed him, trying to make sure the memory that had surfaced was accurate. I remembered him running away from me, though it was distorted and hurt my head as I battled with my memories.
The policemen shifted and stared at Blake. Blake nodded slowly as every eye glared at him.
“Yeah, we argued, we didn’t fight
, I got to the front door before I forced myself to come back over. I was coming to ask you to forgive me, when I heard you scream. I began running towards your yard. I was almost at the bottom of Don’s yard, when someone bolted out from yours and jumped into the car, then they took off.” His soft words made my stomach flip and his eyes met mine with a sad look.
“Can anyone corroborate that?” The paunchy officer asked him in a harsh voice and Blake shrugged.
“I don’t know. I’m not sure if someone saw me, but I came over and found Cara lying in a pool of blood, so I lifted her gently and carried her in here.”
“Were you feeling guilty about attacking her?” The officer asked and Blake’s face paled.
“I never attacked her. I wouldn’t do that.” His voice rose in panic and he was almost shouting, which made my headache worsen.
“But you were the only one there and you had motive, means and opportunity.” The officers calm assertion hurt my heart. I closed my eyes as Blake looked my way again, as the officer moved in front of him.
“Blake Daniels, I’m arresting you …” The cop told him, and I closed my eyes trying to drag up a memory that would prove it. I knew it wasn’t him. He wouldn’t have hurt me like that, then I remembered the nails digging into my neck.
“Wait. It wasn’t Blake. It was someone else.” My words caused a stir in the room, and when I opened my eyes, I caught Blake’s look of intense relief, but the cops were staring at me in disbelief.
“Do you have long nails, Blake?” I asked in a low voice and he shook his head.
“No. I don’t keep my nails long. It makes it harder for me to play if they are long.”
He was babbling, but I understood what he meant.
“The person who attacked me had long nails. She dug them into my shoulder, my neck, and you can look and see for yourself, but it wasn’t Blake. I’m sure of it.”
Blake’s shoulders dropped and he released a breath, as he mouthed a thank you at me. Officer Paunchy and Officer Darty was what I named them in my head as they shared a look between each other, before Paunchy turned to face me.
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