by C. R. Marcum
“I was trying to tell you goodbye, I gotta get to the shop. Lucas and I open today, so I’ll see you tonight then.” He said with a grin.
“Oh, okay. Have a good day at work. I have to go home after school though. Uncle Richard will worry if he doesn’t see me at some point. I wouldn’t want him to think that you kidnapped me or something. Besides, I need to try to talk to Pais again. I doubt it will happen, but I have to try.” She said, standing to hug him goodbye.
“Okay, well are you coming home tonight or are you just gonna stay there?” he asked, pulling her into his chest.
“I don’t know yet. If I can get her to talk to me then I’ll probably stay, if not then I’ll be back. I’ll keep you posted kay.” She answered, looking up at him through her thick lashes.
“Alright,” he said before kissing her softly. “I love you, and let me know.”
“I will.” She replied, kissing him again. “Love you.”
“That’s more than I need to see, can’t y’all save that sappy love shit for when nobody’s around?” Lucas said, stepping back into the kitchen.
“Shut up Lucas, nobody asked your opinion. You’re just jealous.” She said, pushing him to the side.
“Whatever, you know you want all this.” Lucas said, flashing a smile her way.
“That’s your wishful thinking Lucas. Now get your shit in gear and lets go, shop aint gonna open itself.” Jax interjected.
“Yeah, get to work Lucas; I’m having a hard time controlling myself around you. You are so hot and irresistible.” She said, breathing hard and fanning herself.
“Wait, really?” Lucas asked, coming to a stop in the doorway.
“No not really!” Jax said, grabbing him by the collar and pulling him through the door.
The last thing Ray heard before the door closed was Lucas yelling Ow.
Ray and Ty pulled up to school with plenty of time to spare. She found her usual parking spot next to Paisley’s and climbed from the car. She waited for Ty to exit before pressing the lock button. The two of them locked arms and made their way towards the field, hoping to catch the end of practice.
“So, has she talked to you at all?” Ty asked as they climbed the bleachers to look out over the field.
“Not really. I mean she says hi if I say it first, but she always takes off before I can talk to her about anything important.” She replied.
“I get it, she won’t really talk to me much either. She says hi and stuff, but it almost feels like she’s forcing herself to be friendly.”
“Same. She only talks to me at home when Uncle Richard is around, other than that she hides in her room. I really don’t know how to get her to talk about what happened, or what I saw. She completely avoids me.” Raylynn said, her voice cracking as the tears welled in her eyes.
“Ray, she’ll come around eventually. Just give Pais her space, that’s what I’ve been doing. I know I really screwed up that day, and she has the right to hold a grudge against me. She will forgive you before she does me, that’s for sure.” Ty said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.
“I know, I just wish it was sooner rather than later Ty. I just miss her ya know.” Ray said, leaning into Ty’s embrace.
They sat in silence and watched the field. Paisley looked almost happy out there. If it were anyone else watching, they would think that Paisley was the epitome of cheerful, but Raylynn could see the difference in her where no one else could.
Aspen looked exhausted on the other hand. Paisley seemed to be riding her harder than the other girls. Ray couldn’t tell if it was because Paisley knew Aspen could handle it, or if she was angry with her for some reason. Raylynn couldn’t fathom a reason for Pais to be angry with Aspen though. She was so lost in her thoughts that she hadn’t noticed Aspen climbing the stairs.
“I really don’t know what I did to her to make her ride my ass so much, but I am gonna apologize, because I can’t take much more of this shit. You know, I wasn’t even late today and as soon as I told her that I stayed the night with you guys last night she started getting all bitchy. I even had to run laps because I didn’t straighten quick enough during a lift.” She ranted as she took a seat next to Ty.
“Sorry she’s being like that, she is just…actually, I don’t know what she is other than angry.” Ty said, before kissing Aspen on the forehead.
“Well, somebody needs to talk to her and help her get over it cause I can’t take much more of this.” Aspen said with a sigh before resting her head on Ty’s shoulder.
“I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but we gotta get going. The bell is gonna ring in like 10, and Aspen you need a shower no offence.” Ray said, rising from her spot on the bleachers.
“Uggh, I don’t wanna move. My whole body hurts.” Aspen groaned.
“Come on babe, you really need to shower, otherwise you will be smellin like onions before third period.” Ty said with a grin.
“Kiss my ass.” Aspen replied, pushing Ty away from her with a smile.
“Not until you wash it.” He said as he stood.
“You two are so cute…It honestly makes me sick.” Raylynn said laughing.
“Like you have any room to talk.” Aspen snapped back with a chuckle.
“Yeah Ray, I hardly ever see your face without Jax attached to it. You must have stock in chap stick or something.” Ty said, laughing so hard it was difficult to understand him.
“Yeah yeah, now that we had our giggle, can we get to class?” Ray asked, punching Ty on the arm.
“Do we really have to? I am exhausted, and this place makes me question my life choices.” Aspen said, leaning backwards and resting against the seat behind her.
“Yes Aspen, we have to.” Ty replied, reaching out to help her to her feet.
“Fine, but it doesn’t mean I’ll like it.” She said, allowing Ty to pull her to a stand.
First period was boring as usual. Ray spent her time listening to music and drawing. She had already done the assignments for the week, so paying attention to the lecture was pointless. She let her thoughts meander to Paisley. She needed to talk to her, to find out about the scars. She knew what they were, she just didn’t know why or for how long. She wanted to know if Pais remembered anything from the night of the dance. She just wanted things to go back to normal.
When the bell finally rang, Ray gathered her things and made her way out into the hallway. She would be able to find out from Ty if Paisley was talking to people yet.
She beat him to class as per usual, so she used that small window of time to text Jax.
Why do I have to go to school again? I am seriously reconsidering this whole getting an education thing.
She pressed send and waited for a reply. She felt the phone buzz in her hand, but before she could open the message Ty made his appearance.
He made his way to his normal seat, right next to Ray and all but collapsed in the chair. His face told her that first period hadn’t been great for him either.
“Why do you look like someone killed your cat?” she asked in a hushed whisper.
“I don’t really think you want to know.” Ty answered, shaking his head.
“Okay, see now you have to tell me. C’mon Ty, spill it.” She replied, pulling her chair a bit closer to him.
“Let’s just put it this way, Brian is a huge prick that needs to get hit by a fuckin freight train, and I want to be the one driving it.” He replied callously.
“Does someone actually drive a freight train though?” she asked, trying, and failing to get a smile.
“I’m serious; I can’t wait to see him get what he deserves.” Ty replied, cracking his knuckles one by one.
“Ok, so what happened? I mean, not that you shouldn’t want to run him over with a truck.” She asked, her voice just barely audible.
“He gave me something, in the middle of the fuckin hallway. In front of everyone, including Pais. Her face…it was bad Ray, I swear if I could get away with it, I’d kill that motherfucker.” He
said, trying and failing to whisper.
“Shh, everyone can hear you.” She said, gesturing to the kids that had turned to see what was going on.
“Sorry, I’m just really fuckin pissed. I swear I hate that son of a bitch.” Ty whispered.
“I get it, I do too. I really wouldn’t mind if he disappeared of the face of the earth, but what did he give you to get you so pissed this early in the morning?”
“You wanna know? Ok, well this is what he handed me in front of everyone.” He said, pulling a wad of material out of his bag.
Raylynn took the material from him, knowing instantly what it was. Paisley’s panties.
“That motherfucker kept her panties, after he ripped them off of her. I swear to fuckin god I will kill him my damn self.” Raylynn said pushing herself away from the desk and standing up.
“Shit, we leaving?” Ty asked, pushing himself away and grabbing his bag.
“I gotta get outta here before I do kill him.” She replied, pulling her bag from the back of the chair, and slinging it over her shoulder.
Ty followed suit, and the two of them left together. Once she was in the hall Raylynn shoved the material into her bag and pulled out her keys. The pair made their way to the car in silence.
Ray pulled up to her house, and threw the car in park. She had been calling Paisley since she got in the car, but she never answered. Fearing the worst, Raylynn stepped out of the car. She steadied herself against the door and waited for Ty to exit as well. She took a look around and found that Uncle Richard’s car was gone but the hag’s was still there. That sight made her breath catch in her throat.
“Ty, move your ass! Katrina is in there alone with Pais!” She yelled, heading towards the front door. She never even turned around to see if he was following or not.
Raylynn took the stairs two at a time. She reached the landing and followed the screech of Katrina’s voice toward Paisley’s room. She had almost reached the door when she felt the hand on her shoulder. Ty stood behind her, winded.
“Well what did you expect would happen you little whore. You hanging out with that slutty cousin of yours and dressing like a skank, did you really expect to have any friends? I mean I noticed that the other little slut that used to hang out over here has stopped all together. So, it seems like even the whores don’t want to be around you anymore, probably afraid you’ll ruin their reputations.” Katrina said, her voice oozing through the crack in the door.
Raylynn took a step forwards, cracking her knuckles, before she was pulled to a stop. Ty wrapped his arms around her and pulled her backwards.
“You know if you say anything, it’ll just make it worse. The bitch already threatened to kick you out if you said anything else, if that happens, Paisley will always be alone with her.” He whispered, before letting her go.
“I can’t let this go Ty, Paisley isn’t okay and that bitch is only making things worse.” She said, loud enough for everyone in the house to hear.
“Is that so? Please tell me dear niece, how am I making things worse? By telling the truth?” Katrina said, stepping into the hall.
“Is that what you call it? The truth? Funny, all I hear is a dried up old bitch trying to convince a young, beautiful, smart, funny girl that she is worthless. I swear, if I could get away with beating the fuck outta you, I would do it in a heartbeat. Now leave her the fuck alone.” Raylynn said, moving slowly towards her.
“Think about what you just did you dumbass little slut. One word is all it will take to have Richard kick you out on your ass. You sure you want to do that?”
“Gladly, if it means that I get to beat the shit outta you then so fuckin be it.” Ray said, coming nose to nose with Katrina.
“I don’t need you to save me Raylynn. Now all of a sudden you guys want to help me? I don’t need or want your help. Go the fuck away!” Paisley yelled stepping out into the hallway.
“Yeah Ray, she doesn’t need your help.” Katrina said, smile spreading across her face.
“Fuck off you ugly bitch!” Raylynn yelled, and before she knew what she was doing she had shoved her hard in the chest.
“You dumb little bitch, you have no idea what you just did. Get your shit and get the fuck out of my house now.” Katrina yelled, catching herself on the doorframe.
“Gladly. Paisley, get some stuff and come on. You aren’t staying here alone with her.” Raylynn said, looking to her cousin.
“Why would I go anywhere with you? Get out Ray, you’ve done enough damage here.” Paisley said before stepping back into her room and slamming the door.
Raylynn stood there, unable to move. The weight of what had just happened holding her in place.
“Ray, come on. Let’s get your shit and go before that crazy bitch calls the cops.” Ty said, pulling her backwards towards her room.
Ray had thrown the rest of her clothes and the few small possessions she had in a bag and with Ty’s help had managed to make it out of there without killing anyone. Once they had reached the car, the tears came, stinging her eyes and making her angrier with every tear that fell.
‘I should have done more than shove that bitch. I hope she gets everything that’s coming to her, and Paisley, I don’t know what she meant by Now you guys want to help me. I’ve been doing everything I can to be there for her. I wanted to help her, but she wouldn’t fuckin let me. I don’t know what the hell I could have done. She wouldn’t talk to me about any of it.’ She thought as she climbed in behind the wheel. Ty had been quiet since they had started packing her things. She needed him to talk, she needed to think about anything else.
“Thanks, ya know, for keeping me outta jail.” She said, half crying half laughing as she pulled her car out onto the road.
“No big deal, Jax woulda kicked the shit outta me if I had let you catch a case. So, I really did it for me, not you.” He said, with a chuckle.
“You asshole, you know you would miss me if I were locked up.” She said, more laughing than crying this time.
“That bitch isn’t worth it anyway.”
“I know, she isn’t worth much, but can we talk about something else. I just need to take my mind off of it or I might turn the car around.
“Sure, what’s up? How’s your day been?” he said with a smile.
“Oh, you know. I had a wonderful day, full of rainbows and unicorns and all the sunshine I could handle. And, I joined the cheer team and I found out that my daddy is gonna pay for all my plastic surgery. It’s just been so great!” she said, raising her voice to a Paisley pitch and flipping her hair over her shoulder.
“Yeah, don’t ever do that again. It’s to fuckin weird.” Ty said. “But Jax might not mind seeing you in a cheer uniform.” He added, dodging the smack that she threw his way.
The rest of the drive home was filled with more and more laughter, and less and less tears. By the time they pulled up to the house, Raylynn’s stomach hurt from it all.
“Home sweet home.” She said when they pulled into the driveway.
“It ain’t much, but at least Katrina doesn’t live here.” Ty replied, climbing out of the car.
“Oh god, could you imagine?” Ray asked, laughing harder than she should have.
“Ughh, no. That’s a fuckin nightmare and a half.” He said, grabbing Ray’s bag and throwing it over his shoulder.
“I can get my own shit Ty, I’m not some fragile little girl.”
“It looked like it in the car, all that crying and shit.” He said low, so that only Ray could hear.
“Shut the fuck up. I swear if you tell anybody about that I will beat the fuck outta you, and there aint shit you can do about it.” She threatened.
“I won’t, I was just kiddin, shit. Getting all emotional, is it that time of the month or something?” he said with a smile.
She smiled back and with lightning speed, she reached out and ball tapped him. The sharp intake of breath let her know that she had hit her target, and without another word, she turned around and headed into th
e house.
The house was quiet, all of the guys were at work, of course they weren’t all working on cars. She made her way to the kitchen and started a pot of fresh coffee, and looked at the mess that was the kitchen. Without another thought, she made her way to the living room and plugged her phone into the speaker, found her playlist and pressed play. Instantly, the house seemed full. The volume of the stereo never left max, and Avenge Me sounded amazing at that level. Murder on a Monday was the first song to play, and it had already started to heal her raw emotions.
She left the living room and made her way back into the kitchen and started a load of dishes. She knew that cleaning was a great way to block out your thoughts, so she cleaned.
Ty had made his way inside, and Raylynn had shrugged him off. He had asked if she needed any help, but she had told him no. She wanted to pull her weight around here, and honestly cleaning made her feel better. It didn’t take long to finish with the dishes, but the floor and fridge took longer than expected. She had managed to find a package of sausage and some hamburger in the freezer and pulled them out to thaw. She took all of her anger and frustrations out on the tile floor, and by the time she was done, the kitchen looked brand new. She smiled inwardly and checked the time. It was only 11:45, she still had plenty of time to get the rest of the house clean. The only issue was the lack of cleaning supplies.
“Ty!” she yelled stepping into the living room.
“What!” he yelled back.
“Come here, I have a favor to ask.” She said, pausing the music.
Ty stepped into the living room, still holding his physics book, and stopped when he seen what Ray was holding.
“I was hoping you would run to the store for me. I need a few things for dinner and some cleaning supplies. You guys don’t have much to clean this place with.” She said, holding out a list and her keys.
“Your jokin right? You seriously gonna let me drive the Charger?” He asked slack-jawed.
“Yeah, I mean you have your license right?”
“Well, yeah. I just never thought you’d let anyone other than Jax drive that car. It’s your baby.” He said, hesitantly reaching for the keys.