by Bella King
Chapter 7
They’re always watching.
Jacob wasn’t easy to get away from. Even if he didn’t feel like confronting me directly over the weekend, one of his posse did, making it clear that he was representing Jacob. I was in line at the checkout when it happened.
“Elise,” a man’s voice said from behind me.
I looked back over my shoulder, turning my body slightly to see a man I had never seen before. He looked like he went to Lakeshaw, but I had no idea how he knew my name. I didn’t go around announcing it to people, and he wasn’t in any of my classes as far as I knew. I thought for a second that he might be friends with Sarah.
I turned more to face him, studying his face for some hint as to where I would know him from. “That’s me,” I said slowly.
“I know it is,” the man said, his eyes flickering down to my ass. “My name is Robert.”
“Bob,” I said with a grin. “Nice.”
“It’s not Bob you cunt, it’s Robert,” he shot back.
“Woah, calm down there, buddy. It’s a joke,” I replied, leaning back a little. Robert didn’t have much of a sense of humor. “How do you know my name?”
He loosened his posture after my apology. People at Lakeshaw had serious issues. I had to remember that.
Robert flashed me a fake smile. “That’s not important. What I do need to tell you is that you owe Jacob a pack. Maybe you want to get that now,” he said, motioning toward the checkout counter. There were cigarettes stacked behind it that were available for purchase.
Great, it was one of Jacob’s henchmen. I sighed and shook my head. “I don’t think so.”
“Why not?” Robert asked, frowning.
“I don’t owe Jacob anything. I don’t know him,” I replied, turning forward as the line moved. I was only two people away from checking out. I hoped that Robert didn’t try to take this conversation any further.
“He knows you,” Robert continued. “And I know you. A lot of people know you, and it’s better not to make them angry, you know?”
I stood my ground. It was the only thing that I could do in the face of threats from a complete stranger. We were in the middle of a grocery store. He would be doing anything to me here. “Fuck off,” I said, striding up to the checkout with my basket of food.
I heard Robert shoot air through his nose angrily, but he didn’t say anything in response. I finished checking out, paid with my food stamps, and left.
When I got out to the parking lot, I thought it was best to take a different way home than usual. If Robert had found me in the grocery store, there was a chance that Jacob’s people were watching me. I had already defied Jacob twice now, so I didn’t want to risk a confrontation when I was alone.
I weaved through a beaten path in the woods, avoiding the main road where everyone else walked. I wanted to be alone. I couldn’t trust people anymore, not that I ever really trusted people to begin with. Thieves don’t make friends easily.
I hadn’t bought a lot of food, but some of it was frozen food, so I was peeved that I had to take the long way home when it was so hot outside. I was already sweating after having walked for a few minutes. The shade of the trees didn’t help the heat much. It was hot, whether you were in the sun or not.
I slung the bag of cold food over my shoulder. The icy contents pressed against my sweaty back, cooling me down, but only in that area. The rest of my body was still dripping with sweat. The humidity in the air didn’t allow for it to evaporate properly.
The sun flickered through trees, light dancing on the forest floor as I walked through the sticks and leaves. I craved a milkshake, but I would have to steal cash in order to get one. Food stamps weren’t any good outside of the grocery store, and even there, my options were limited.
Before I had ended up at Lakeshaw, I used to snatch people’s orders if nobody came to claim them fast enough at fast-food places. I found them very careless with handing out bags, so I would pretend that I was a customer and pick up other peoples’ orders.
The person would either come up later and demand their food, showing their receipt to prove that they were to rightful owner, or they wouldn’t show up at all. No harm, no foul in my book. I didn’t see anything wrong with getting some grub.
Now, I couldn’t do that. I was looking to go legit and clean up my image. Lakeshaw Academy was my last chance at redemption. It wasn’t going to get easier from here if I fucked up again. In fact. Things would get a hell of a lot harder if I didn’t keep my nose clean.
Milkshakes were out of the question then. I couldn’t steal one, and I didn’t have money to pay for one. If I couldn’t get a milkshake, I sure as hell wasn’t going to steal for a pack of cigarettes. Even if I did, I would only use them to trade for something I could actually use from students at Lakeshaw, not hand then over to Jacob, the school bully.
By the time I got back to my residence, my tank top was soaked in sweat and I was thirsty enough to drink water straight from the tap. I dumped the contents of my bag into the fridge with no regard for how they were arranged, and I tossed the wet plastic bag across the room toward the garbage can, missing it by at least a foot.
I titled my head under the kitchen faucet and turned the water on full blast. It fizzed out in an airy stream, and I gulped it down quickly, splashing it all over myself. I didn’t care because I was already wet. I needed to rinse myself off in the shower and head out to chill by the river.
I stood up. Nobody else was home, so I stripped off my clothes as I walked back to my room, leaving them down the hall. I tossed my underwear on the floor beside the shower and stepped inside.
I jumped as the cold water hit my flushed skin, jolting me back to life. The summer heat had a way of draining your energy, but the cold water from the underground pipes brought it back quickly. I didn’t bother soaping myself up. I just rinsed the sweat from my body and threw on a new set of clothes, not much different from my previous outfit.
I gathered up my clothes, tossed them haphazardly into the laundry room, and was out the door again with wet hair pulled up in a bun.
Chapter 8
We find adventure in unlikely places.
The river was peaceful when I arrived, flowing just as it always had since I discovered it. My first day at Lakeshaw ended in a walk through the woods, where I stumbled across this steadily flowing river. I felt connected to it immediately and spent a lot of time by it meditating and thinking about my life.
Throughout my childhood, I hadn’t gotten to experience much peace. There was always drama filling the four bleak walls at home, and I didn’t even have my own room. The apartment that my mom rented was shared by other people.
In a way, this was an advantage for me, because I found it easy to sleep in a room with other people, even if they were being noisy. You never learned stuff like that if you grew up in a nice home. I tried to think of my struggles as an advantage, something that gave me an upper hand against the weaklings of the modern world.
Still, it was nice to get some peace. It was so difficult to get ahold of at Lakeshaw. Everywhere you turned, there was someone that wanted something from you. People were always shouting and fighting, and everyone was crammed together in small living spaces. It might as well have been a prison.
The river was my safe space. I could go here after school or on the weekend if I felt like I needed some alone time. That feeling was increasing in frequency now that I was mixed up with Jacob and his guys. I hoped all of that washed over quickly. They moved on fast most of the time, from what I had seen, but there was always a price to pay.
I had always been told that ignoring bullies was the greatest way to make them go away, but in my experience, it only increased their aggression toward you as they fought for your attention. I preferred a punch to the gut. It worked for me in the past. Pain is a great teacher.
I wouldn’t be getting away with violence against Jacob, though. He wasn’t like the preppy girls that had teased me in the past, bu
t there were aspects of him that reminded me of that. Him reverting to calling me ‘goth girl’ when he forgot my name was all too familiar, but he couldn’t be shut up with a slap or a punch. It would take much more than that to get him off my case.
I wandered a little way down the river, looking toward the place I had seen the other day that I wanted to explore. There was more shade as I moved downstream, and the air was noticeably colder. It felt refreshing with how hot it was outside. It almost seemed unnatural that it be that cool near the water.
I jumped down over the sharp falloff on the bank, landing on a large gray rock jutting out of the water. There were enough of them to use as steppingstones to get further down the river. I wouldn’t be able to travel across the bank any further due to the thick foliage that grew there.
As I traveled down the river, the forest grew lusher and more vibrant, and the water moved faster. I wanted to see how far this river went, but it would probably lead me to another city entirely, so I stopped when I got to a nice clearing where I could sit down.
I eased my ass onto a flat rock and swung my feet over the side, dangling them close to the water. I bet it would be nice to put my feet in, so I pulled off my shoes and socks, placing them in a neat pile beside me, and stick my toes in the running water.
It was cold, but it felt nice on my hot feet. I sighed in relief as I sunk my feet further in, the heat dissipating out of my soles as I tilted my head back to look up at the sky. The clouds were sparse, and the sky was a pleasant clear blue. I imagined what it would be like to float up into the sky and disappear.
I would have stayed in that position for a while had I not heard sounds from the trees. The sounds grew louder, identifying themselves as a group of men. I grabbed my shoes and got up to my feet, peeking over the riverbank to see who they were.
Just my luck. It was none other than Jacob and company. I groaned, slinked back against the overhang. Couldn’t I go anywhere without those morons interrupting my peace and quiet?
I didn’t have time to dash off down the river. I would probably slip and drown. I ducked down and pinned my body against the overhang, praying they weren’t coming down into the river. I wouldn’t stand a chance against the entire gang.
“Is this where it is?” I heard Jacob ask.
“Yeah, I put all the stuff in this tree trunk. It’s got a cavity that holds a lot of stuff. Nobody would ever know,” a distinctly nasal voice answered. The man sounded like he could be the definition of a rat.
There was a rustle in the leaves, and Jacob spoke again. “Alright, this is enough. You can have your shoes back.”
I heard a thud of two shoes being dropped on the forest floor, and then I realized who Jacob was talking to. I had seen a student walking around without shoes on Friday. Thought he was just some weirdo at first, but now I realized that Jacob had stolen his shoes to use as a bargaining chip. What a douchebag.
Whatever the other guy had given Jacob, he seemed happy enough about it to return the guy’s shoes. It must have been something valuable because the transaction was made far out in the woods instead of in the housing complex or at school. I wondered what he had paid Jacob with.
“Let’s go,” Jacob said. “We need to go pay Elise a visit.”
My heart jumped in my chest at his words. Oh fuck, they were probably going to come to my housing unit to harass me. They must know where I lived already. I was in serious trouble already. It was a good thing I hadn’t decided to stay home that day, but now nowhere was safe.
I couldn’t stay out all night because I had a curfew, but I didn’t count on Jacob to follow it. It wasn’t fair that he seemed to be above the law. He had no regard for the rules and it just seemed to work for him. Nothing I did would get me into a position like that. I was stuck with the rules I had been given.
I wanted to warn Sarah and Mary before Jacob and his boys paid them a visit, but I didn’t know if I could beat Jacob to the housing complex. I didn’t want to arrive there only for Jacob to come soon after or already be there. I was facing a conundrum.
I wasn’t sure if Mary and Sarah were home. They had been gone when I dropped off the groceries, but it was getting late and they had the same curfew as I did. They wouldn’t be hanging outside for much longer.
I cursed my empathetic brain and climbed out of the river when I was sure that everyone had left. I couldn’t leave Mary and Sarah uninformed with a clear conscious. I hated that about myself, but I wasn’t going to throw anyone else under the bus to avoid my own problems.
I jogged through the woods, pacing myself so that I wouldn’t be caught out of breath if I ran up on Jacob. I had enough experience running from cops to know how to move quickly without growing too tired. I wouldn’t need this skill in the first place were I not at Lakeshaw.
My legs carried me back to the housing complex, and I was sure that I had gotten there before Jacob. I didn’t think he would be running back there like I was. I still had to time to check the house and warn the girls.
Chapter 9
Better to hunt, than to be hunted.
“Hell no, you invited Jacob over here?” Mary yelled when I told her the news.
I groaned. “No, Mary. He invited his own damn self. I’m just warning you because I overheard that he was coming to pay me a visit.”
Mary paced back and forth in the kitchen, wringing her hands together. “That’s not fucking good, Elise. What the fuck did you do to him?”
My mouth dropped open. “Oh, you think I did something to him? He’s terrorizing me and I didn’t do anything.”
“You need to chill out, girl, and stop playing with fire. I warned you about this shit,” Mary said, waving a finger at me.
“Well, he’s coming, so I’m not going to be anywhere near this place when he gets here,” I said firmly. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” I announced, turning around and reaching for the doorknob to the front door.
“Where are you going?” Mary asked angrily.
“I don’t know,” I answered, pulling the door open and stepping outside. I walked down the steps and right into Jacob’s path.
“Hey goth girl,” Jacob said, striding up to me confidently. His shoulders moved in an exaggerated swagger when he walked. Any more and he would topple over.
I glared at him. “What is it, Jacob?”
He was alone. I wondered where his crew had gone. He always seemed to confront me by himself. I must have been high value to him, because he normally sent other people to do his work.
“I think you know what I came for,” Jacob said sinisterly. His voice was deep but playful.
I crossed my arms over my chest, doing my best to cover my cleavage, but I only succeeded in pushing my breasts up more. I frowned at him, not speaking.
Jacob glanced down my shirt and bit his lip. “Nice. Maybe you want to make a deal?”
I shook my head. “I don’t think so.”
“Probably better that way,” Jacob mused. “I don’t like sluts.”
“But you like cigarettes,” I said.
He held up a finger. “Correction. My clients like cigarettes. I don’t touch them. They’re bad for you, you know.” His attitude was calm and casual, perhaps too much so for someone who was so dangerous. That made it so much worse. He was unpredictable.
“You’ll have to buy your own,” I said, crossing my arms tighter. I wasn’t trying to squeeze my breasts together, but I was nervous and crossing my arms was a defensive posture. It's instinctual.
Jacob looked down at my breasts again. “You really are something. I like the attitude you have. Maybe we should go for a date or something,” He said, his voice like silk.
I shook my head, making an effort to relax my arms. I forced them to my sides and glared at him. I didn’t think he found it very intimidating. More like, amusing.
Jacob shrugged. “You’ll come around. In the meantime, I want you to do me a little favor. Get me those cigs my Monday or I’m going to make you suffer.”
“I
f you touch me, I’ll have you kicked out of Lakeshaw Academy,” I countered.
Jacob let out a hearty laugh. “Oh my god, you’re too cute. Elise, I really like you,” he said, a cocky grin spreading across his face. “But you’d be smart to listen to what I’m saying.”
“Or what?” I challenged, unwilling to let him have the last word.
The grin disappeared from Jacob’s face, replaced with a cold seriousness. He remained calm as he reached into his pocket, pulling out a steel ball bearing. “Do you know how heavy these things are?” Jacob asked me, tilting his head to the side.
“I guess,” I said, wondering what he was getting at.
“Here, let me show you,” Jacob said, tossing the ball up in the air and catching it in his hand. He cocked his arm back behind his head and flung it forward, sending the steel ball whizzing through the air at my housing unit.
The ball went straight through a window, shattering it, and hit the opposite wall with an audible thud.
I heard Mary yell from inside the house. “What the fuck?”
Jacob pouted his lips. “There could have been someone in there. They could have gotten hit,” he said mockingly. “That wouldn’t be very nice.”
I gritted my teeth. He could have killed someone like that. I doubted he cared. Making a point meant more to him than someone’s life. I hated him with every fiber of my being, and to think I ever thought he was handsome. All I saw in front of me was a cocky bastard who needed to be put in his place.
My lips curled as I spoke to him. “You’re lucky you didn’t hit anyone. I would have torn you to shreds.”
Jacob sighed, shaking his head. “You don’t learn, do you? Just keep in mind that I know which window is yours. Sweet dreams,” he said, waving a hand and turning around.
I wanted to dash into the house and retrieve his ball bearing, chucking it at his head. It probably would bounce right off with how thick he was. I just stood there, shaking in rage as he walked off slowly. Mary came out of the house as he disappeared around the corner.