by Hart, Rebel
“Why are you out of breath?”
I groaned. “Do you have your car at Allison’s?”
He paused. “Uh, yeah?”
I drew in a deep breath. “Please. I need you to come get me. I’m standing outside of the elementary school. We have to go after Clint. It’s important.”
“And why should I give enough of a damn about him to do something like that?”
“Look, I know you’re sick of his shit. And my shit. I know you’re sick of me, despite the makeup session we kind of had in the cafeteria. But I need you to come get me. It’s a very serious emergency, and explaining it only wastes time.”
“You make it sound like he tossed himself off a bridge or something.”
I yelled, “Damn it, Michael. I need you right now. My best fucking friend. Please. If you come get me, I’ll leave you alone. For good. I won’t talk to you. I won’t approach you. I won’t bother you with Clint shit ever again. Just please, this once, come get me and stop asking questions.”
“I don’t want that, and you know it.”
“Well, you’re sure as hell acting like it!”
I heard his bike revving off in the distance. Coming closer, only to fade back. And I could have sworn I heard the skidding of tires. The sound made me sick. So sick that I actually heaved. And when I did, Michael sighed.
“You said you’re at the elementary school?”
I sniffled. “Yes.”
“Are you crying?”
“Just shut the fuck up and get here.”
“Fine. I’m on my way. But I’m leaving Allison behind. She doesn’t need to get involved with his shit. Just like you shouldn’t have.”
“Spare me the lecture, please?”
“Stand on the curb so I can spot you. Bye.”
I hung up the phone call and stood there like a damn idiot. The sounds faded into nothingness for a few seconds, and it forced tears down my cheeks. I knew the first question Michael would ask the second I got into his car. He’d want to know if I called the police. And if I didn’t, he’d chastise me for it. He’d tell me I was turning into Clint, and I’d really risk losing my friend then.
So as I stood there waiting for him, I pressed that little red emergency button on my phone screen.
“9-1-1, what’s your emergency?”
“Hi. Yes. I’d like to report an… ambush?”
“An ambush, ma’am?”
I cleared my throat. “Yes. An ambush. My boyfriend came to—”
Boyfriend? Is that what Clint was to me?
The word made me smile.
The operator cleared her throat. “Your boyfriend came where, ma’am?”
I shook my head. “Yes. Sorry. My boyfriend came to see me at work. We were standing in the parking lot after I locked up, and four drunk guys in a car pulled into the parking lot. Started harassing us. Calling us names. Throwing beer bottles and things at us. They were trying t—”
I heard the operator typing in the background as tears rushed to my eyes again.
“They were trying to what, ma’am? Where are you currently?”
I sighed. “I’m in Riverbend, in front of the elementary school beside a place called Grady’s Groceries. I don’t have any other address other than that. You guys have to hurry. My boyfriend started fighting with these guys so they wouldn't get to me. They were talking about things. Taking advantage of me and all that. He got on his bike and rode off, and a car full of drunk teenagers are following him. He’s in a lot of trouble. Please.”
“All right, ma’am. I want you to stay calm. About how old do you think the boys are?”
“No more than eighteen. They go to Lincoln High School.”
The operator hummed. “Do you know what the car looked like?”
I searched around for Michael’s SUV as I racked my brain.
“Uh… it was a low-riding car. Like, not like the usual way a car sits on its tires, if that makes any sense. And it was white. A white, low-riding car with tinted windows. I don’t know anything other than that, though. I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine. It’s okay. Just take some deep breaths for me. You’re panting pretty hard.”
Was I?
Shit, I was.
I drew in some deep breaths. “I don’t want my boyfriend to get in trouble. He only fought against them and sped off to get them away from me. They were grabbing for me. There are parking lot cameras at Grady’s Groceries. The footage should show—”
The operator cut me off. “It’s okay. First we get everyone safe. Then we figure out who’s at fault. But, from one woman to another, I believe you. Okay? Just stay where you are.”
But just as she said that, Michael’s SUV pulled up to the curb.
“I’m sorry, I have to go. Please. Send someone out here. Hurry. I think my boyfriend and those goons have raced across the railroad tracks. And there’s a lot of trees and overpasses and things for them to get hurt on.”
“Ma’am. Do not go after them. Please, stay on the line with me and wait for—”
I hung up the call and ripped Michael’s door open. I climbed in, slamming the door closed as I buckled my seatbelt. I dropped my purse to the floorboard and slipped my phone into his cup holder. Then I looked him straight in his eyes as he waited for an explanation.
I sighed. “I’ve called the police. But we have to find Clint. He’s in a lot of trouble. Serious trouble.”
Michael scoffed. “Shouldn't shock you one bit.”
“He’s in trouble because he saved me from a group of drunk guys who wanted to take me, Michael.”
“Take you? What the hell do you mean, ta—”
I leveled him with a stare that told him everything he needed to know. Finally, he pulled away from the curb and whipped a U-turn.
“I take it the revving engines beyond the railroad tracks are them?”
I nodded. “Yes. Please. Thank you.”
“And you said you called the police?”
“I did. I told the 9-1-1 operator as much as I could remember. I just hope Clint doesn’t get into too much trouble for helping me like that.”
Michael paused. “What did he do, exactly?”
I shrugged. “What he always does. Harassed them to get their attention so I could run and hop the chain-link fence of the playground back there.”
Michael nodded, but he didn’t say anything. And for some reason, I wanted to know his thoughts. I wanted him to talk to me, even if it was in anger.
“Does he know the guys or anything? Or was it just a group of random guys?”
I winced, knowing how he’d react to the answer. “Two of the guys were from the football field fight the other day.”
He scoffed. “See, Rae? That’s what I’m telling you about this asshole of a dude. He’s always in trouble. That’s why you never should’ve gotten involved with him in the first place. You’re a good girl. You’re not the kind of girl who throws it all away on some dickhead with a nice face.”
I gritted my teeth. “I know you're pissed off at me. And rightfully so. And yes, you’re also probably right about Clint and this entire scenario. About a lot of things. But he did what he did tonight to protect me. I need you to trust me on that. So spare me the lecture and give it to me some other time. You know, when we figure out whether Clint is dead or not.”
“Would do the world some good.”
“Michael!”
“I don’t like the dude, okay? He’s an absolute maniac. Has been our entire high school career. Those comments he made about Allison? Absolutely unacceptable, whether he’s screwing my friend or not.”
I bit down on the inside of my cheek. “Just fucking drive.”
“Fine by me.”
40
Clinton
At least they’re far away from Rae.
It was the only thought that filled my head as I sped down the back roads. The further we got away from the railroad tracks, the worse the road conditions got. And suddenly, I understood where that phras
e came from: ‘The other side of the tracks.’
I’m not ever using that fucking phrase again.
I zoomed by crumbling neighborhoods with broken porch lights and cars propped up on cement blocks. I weaved in and out of abandoned neighborhoods, cursing how those assholes kept up with me. These guys were bad news. They had every intention of doing harm tonight. And with the endless supply of beer bottles and cans being tossed at the wheels of my fucking bike, they were still drinking.
Which meant this would only get worse for me if I couldn't shake them soon.
I whipped a U-turn and headed back for the railroad tracks. I felt my phone vibrating in my pocket, and I knew damn good and well who it was. Rae. Probably calling to see if I’d gotten away yet. Wanting to know if I was fine. If I was hurt. If I needed anything.
Fucking hell, she deserves better than all this.
“We’re coming for you!”
“You won’t get out of this alive!”
“You’re an asswipe, and you’ll stay an asswipe until we side-swipe your ass!”
They yelled at me. Taunted me. Actually made me fearful of what was to come. I turned back around, soaring away from the railroad tracks again as the car skidded to a stop behind me. I grinned as I threw it into gear. I felt my bike rumbling underneath me as my speed picked up. Sixty. Seventy. Eighty miles an hour. The wild whipped around me, cradling me and harboring the fugitive I’d become during this entire debacle.
God, if you get me out of this alive, I’ll stop fucking around.
I was desperate. Because as I heard that bullshit white car gaining on me, I wondered if I’d ever shake them. If I’d ever get them off my damn tail. If there was anyone on this planet that wasn’t in God’s good graces, it was me. Well, my entire family. Because let’s face it, my father needed to be included in that group. But, if he or she was listening—and he or she believed in mercy—I needed a massive chunk of it right about now.
“Come on,” I growled.
As I soared over the Adderscape Bridge, I breathed a sigh of relief. The Riverbend outer city limits ended about a mile up the road. Which meant nothing but clear, straight roads for miles. I looked down at my gas tank and smiled. I still had three-fourths of a tank. And there was no way in hell those idiots would outdrive me in the gas-guzzling low-rider they had. If anything, I could keep traveling from city to city. Heading nothing but north until they ran out of gas or pulled over for some.
So, with that plan in mind, I set my cruise control to eighty-five.
Because even if I’m clocked for speeding, those fuckers will be, too.
I shook my head. “You never should have picked that fight, Clarke.”
It never should have happened. The second we hit my bike, we should have been on it and headed somewhere else. I made us sitting ducks with my inability to do anything but devour Rae’s body. Rae’s presence. Rae’s giggles and her curves. By sitting out there in an empty parking lot, I made us vulnerable to attacks. Attacks I was all too familiar with.
I sighed. “You’re a fucking idiot.”
And truthfully? The last thing I needed right now were more enemies. I had Roy and that asshole ex-posse back at the school. Because I knew damn good and well they weren’t friends of mine anymore after my outburst. And while I didn’t mind ditching those little bitches for something better, it’d make the rest of my senior year a pile of steaming shit. They’d torture me. Roy would take my place, so to speak, puff out his chest, and target me just to look like the big man on campus.
The question was, would I let him attack me? Or would I retaliate?
And outside of all that, Rae’s friends hated me. Allison and Michael. Hell, my own father hated me. The only person right now other than Rae who put up with my presence was Cecilia. And that’s only because she had to. My life was fucked, and I knew it. All because of some girl. Because of some night where my mouth started running and some girl started opening up and then my dick slipped and fell between the sweetest pair of legs to ever wrap around me.
Because you love her.
The thought startled me so badly I felt my bike wobbling. The motion snapped me from my trance, and I heard the car of idiots behind me laughing. I turned off the cruise control and swerved off the road, giving myself a second to catch my balance. Catch my breath.
Love?
Had I really fallen for Rae Cleaver?
“Get him, boys!”
I heard car doors open and I pushed off the grass. I got my bike back onto the road and took off, only I wasn’t going in the right direction. I didn’t care anymore, though. I’d stayed stationary long enough for those assholes to get out of their fucking car. That was something I could capitalize on.
“See you later, dickweeds.”
I flew back in the opposite direction, approaching the bridge again. I forced my mind to concentrate, but it still had a tendency to wander. I mean, when the fuck was I going to catch a breath with people? When were the people in my life going to stop beating me up and start enjoying me? All I wanted was for my father to stop being such an asshole and my stepmother to actually give more a shit, instead of stepping in when she thought my father was hitting me a little too hard.
When would the school stop giving up on me and start trying to help me?
Gotta start helping yourself, Clarke.
I sighed as I felt the rumbling patches underneath my tires signaling the expanse of the bridge in front of me. I took a look in my rearview mirror, keeping an ear out for the sound of the car. But it was nowhere to be found. I didn’t hear the guys yelling. I didn’t feel them throwing bottles and cans at me. I even let off the gas, trying to see if I could hear them off in the distance.
There was nothing.
I sighed. “Holy shit, I think I actually lost them.”
Relief washed over my body. I shook my head as the rumbling patches gave way to the reddened concrete that signaled bridges in our area. I slowed my pace down, giving my bike a chance to breathe as I drew in the nighttime air through my nose. Everything was silent. Everything felt peaceful. I pulled over on the side of the bridge, turning off my engine as the trees around us shaded me.
“Silence,” I whispered.
There was nothing but the sound of the wind rustling the trees. Nothing but the sound of water rushing underneath the bridge. I peeked over the edge, seeing a great expanse of black with small caps of dark blue where the water rushed over smooth rocks at the bottom of the river. I’d completely forgotten this place existed. This small slice of country paradise on the outskirts of one of the biggest cities in the country.
I need to bring Rae here sometime. Have a picnic.
I smiled at the thought. The idea of bringing Rae here and sitting on the bank of the river. Our feet in the water. Our eyes, watching fish swim upstream, trying to fight the current. Our hands, interlaced as we looked out over the nature that surrounded us with full stomachs and a peaceful presence.
I let myself dream about it for a second before my mind took the helm again.
Sitting duck, Clarke.
Adrenaline rushed through my veins again. I cursed myself as I struck my bike’s engine back up. It was happening again. Me letting the thought of Rae distract me. I had to keep moving. I had to get home. I had to get back to the school and the grocery store and see if Rae was all right. I needed to go by her house to make sure she’d gotten home. And if she wasn’t home, I had to go out on a search for—
“Look who’s the sucker now!”
My head whipped around as the blaring headlight of the car filled my vision. Their horn blared over the sound of their disgusting laughter. I felt a glass beer bottle slam directly between my eyes. And as my head fell back, the sound of screeching tires filled my ears. The smell of burning rubber wafted underneath my nostrils. I heard metal crunching against metal, alerting me to the imminent threat.
Get off the bike. Get off your fucking bike.
I moved my leg just before it got pinned. I lung
ed for the hood of the car, trying my best to avoid what was happening. I heard my bike slam against the metal railing of the bridge before the car backed up. I took off running, leaving my bike behind, darting for the trees. They were thick around these parts. No way in hell that car could navigate woods like that without being totaled.
But the throbbing in my forehead was too great.
“Geromino!”
It was the last thing I heard before I felt a searing pain waft up my side. I stumbled off my feet, hearing the laughter from those boys fill my ears. The car slammed into my side, shoving me toward the metal railing. And as I lost my balance, I felt myself teetering over the edge. Flailing my arms. Crying out for help. With tears threatening to burst from my eyes as the sky quickly came into view.
Before fading away into nothingness as my body slammed into the river.
41
Raelynn
Michael white-knuckled his steering wheel. “Do you have any idea where the fuck they are?”
I shook my head. “No. Just keep driving.”
“For all we know, he’s back home. Safe and sound. While we’re out here—”
“Just drive, damn it!”
I slid to the edge of the seat as Michael put on his high beams. We’d only just crossed the railroad tracks, and I already saw burnout marks on the asphalt of the road. There were patches of grass that had one-tire and two-tire streaks in them. I had Michael pull over on the side of the road. I hopped out and started looking around. I ran to the bridge, fearful that the worst had happened. I bent over the edge, looking for his bike. Looking for him. Looking for any signs of wreckage.
To my relief, there was none.
“Ready to keep going?”
I hopped back into his car. “Yes. Sorry. Thank you for stopping.”
“Not a problem. Didn’t think I’d actually see tire tracks out here.”
“Do you believe me now?”
And when I shot him a look, all he did was purse his lips.
“How far out do you think they drove?”