by Raathi Chota
“I didn’t want to wake you up, plus you looked so warm and cuddly I couldn’t resist.”
I shook my head as I walked to my closet and took out an outfit for today. As it was a Monday, I didn’t want to play dress up, so I decided on a black and white striped sweater with blue jeans. I gathered my things and went into the bathroom. I showered as quickly as possible and slipped on my clothes. Levi was nowhere to be found, so I figured he was downstairs. I put on my white Converse and grabbed a jacket along with my backpack. I walked downstairs and into the kitchen where Mom made coffee and Levi casually sat by the small table.
“This is new.” He gestured to the pair of glasses in his hand. They were the Ray Bans that Ethan got me after Benny destroyed my others.
“Give them back,” I demanded as I plopped down on the seat opposite him and reached over. He pulled the glasses away. He continued to laugh at my failed attempts but soon handed them to me.
“How did you sleep on the sofa bed, Levi?” Mom asked as she placed a cup of coffee in front of me.
“Lovely, Angie. It was so comfortable and warm.” He sent me a wink.
“Enough blankets?”
“Uh huh, I snuggled into them, making it even warmer.”
“I’m glad,” Mom commented as Dad entered the room.
“Morning, Bobby!” Levi belted out as Dad groaned.
“Not in the mood, Levi.”
“Honey, why don’t you take the day off? You’ve been quite busy these past few days,” Mom suggested.
“Even if I wanted to, I can’t. We have to do a follow-up, and I have a short meeting with Detective Kale,” Dad said as I quietly sipped my coffee. A familiar honk broke the silence as I stood up. I chugged down the coffee and approached my parents.
“Well, good luck, Dad.” I kissed his cheek, then hugged my mom.
“Don’t I get a hug and a kiss?” Levi cooed as he opened his arms and pouted. I slowly shook my head as I waved, then dashed out of the house. Benny flicked through the channels on his radio as I heard footsteps behind me.
“What the fuck is he doing here?” Levi hissed as I walked toward the car.
“He’s my ride to school,” I said as Benny glanced up.
“You’re not riding with him!” Levi ordered, then squinted his eyebrows. “Shit, that came out wrong.”
I ignored his protests as I climbed into the car and shut the door. Once I was buckled in, I told Benny to drive and ignore Levi’s protests.
Chapter Three
Lana
There were a few people inside as Mr. Bronx rested behind his desk with his legs propped up on the table. I walked past him as he sent me a mischievous smile.
“The devil has arrived,” he said, and I only thought of one person, Levi Radcliff.
“Uh-huh,” I said as I walked to the back of the class and sat in the corner. Aidan hopped into the classroom and waved at Mr. Bronx as he passed. Mr. Bronx raised a brow at Aidan’s weird actions but gladly waved back. He plopped himself in front of me with a big grin spread across his face. “You look happy.”
“Well, I’m not!” Aidan said with a tight-lipped smile. “My car is freaking damaged, so the only way to feel better is to do something stupid.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be angry?” I asked.
“Lana dear, people let out their anger in different ways,” he assured me as he stood up and glanced at the window. “I need your help. When I say go, you must open the window but make it look as casual and good girl as you can make it, okay?”
“Err…okay,” I said as he went to sit at another table, not too far for him to talk to me. As everyone else piled into the classroom, I glanced at the window. Nick sat in front of me, and I greeted him. Mr. Bronx took the attendance as I took out my stuff for Calculus. Aidan turned to me and then mouthed a go. I squinted my eyes as I glanced at Mr. Bronx. He was busy with a student, so I took it as a chance and walked to the window, then opened it. Out of nowhere, a bottle was thrown into the class, yet I ducked in time.
“Ouch!” a familiar voice roared. I scurried back to my seat as I searched for the bottle. It must’ve landed on Austin’s head, as he held it in one hand and rubbed his head with the other. It looked to be a spray can, but there was nothing written on it.
“Okay, we’re doing the warm-up sheets first,” Mr. Bronx announced as he walked to the chalkboard. From the corner of my eye, I saw something move. I snapped my head to see Liam climb in; he must’ve thrown the bottle. Nick glared at his friend as we watched Liam rise into the classroom. He landed with a big thud on the floor as Mr. Bronx turned around. Liam lay flat on the ground as I watched Mr. Bronx scout the classroom.
“Austin, if you’re going to have water bottles in the classroom make sure they don’t distract you,” he said, because Austin still held the bottle with a puzzled look.
“Mr. Bronx, this isn’t a wate—”
“Drink your water, then set it on the table so you can get on with your work.” Aidan let out a snort as Mr. Bronx watched Austin. As soon as Austin opened the bottle, an odd smell filled the air. Mr. Bronx scrunched his nose up as he waved his hand in front of his face.
“Eww, what’s that smell?” Austin gagged.
“All right, who was that?” Mr. Bronx demanded as he grabbed a stack of worksheets.
“Whoever smelt it, dealt it,” Aidan said as he pointed to Austin. It must’ve been a fart can. Austin spun around and glared at Aidan as he threw the bottle in the trashcan at the back of the classroom. The odd odor still lingered through the air as people covered their noses.
“If I throw a stick, will you leave?” he asked Aidan.
“Is the stick from up your ass?” Aidan shot back. Everyone watched as the two glared at each other, but my focus was on Liam, who crawled behind my chair. He slowly sat in the desk behind Aidan and winked at me. Austin and Aidan continued to bicker as I rolled my eyes. Mr. Bronx approached the two with the stack of papers in his hands.
“Both of you shut up, or I’ll send you to the office and Principal West can deal with you.” He gave all of us a paper, including Liam.
“Ugh, not this again,” Aidan groaned as he looked at the Pythagoras sheet. “Mr. Bronx, I could’ve sworn we did this in like seventh or eighth grade.”
“That’s why it’s called a warm-up sheet, Mr. Rowley. To wake up that thing you call a brain,” Mr. Bronx replied.
“Why can’t we get work that’s our grade level?”
“I did at the beginning of the school year, but you were the one who said, and I quote, ‘Bronx should give us easy work since it’s so freaking early in the morning.’ Remember?”
“Nope,” Aidan replied as he stared at the sheet.
“Wait, so we’ve been doing seventh grade work all along?” Liam piped up. “And here I thought I was a freaking genius since I was getting them all right!”
“See? Even Mr. Sanchez gets it right. All you need is a brain and a calculator, right, Lana?” Mr. Bronx asked as he turned to me.
“Wha—that’s not fair! You’re asking the smartest girl in the class! She even remembers how she was born!” Aidan said before I could reply. I sent him a glare. “I can’t even remember how I got to school this morning. Do you wanna know why?” he asked Mr. Bronx, who stared at Aidan with a blank look.
“Why, Mr. Rowley? Please tell me because I’m so interested.”
“Thanks for asking! Some douche who looks oddly familiar decided to dent my freaking car with his black vintage Mustang!” Aidan exclaimed. When Aidan said black vintage Mustang, I felt Mr. Bronx’s eyes on me. “So I had to get a ride with this guy and his girlfriend.” Aidan pointed at Nick.
“Great life story!” Mr. Bronx cut off Nick before he’d argue. “Now finish the warm-up sheet then we’ll move on to today’s work.”
I watched as he ran a hand through his hair in frustration as he walked back to his desk. Before he sat down, Mr. Bronx spun around and squinted his eyes at Liam.
“You’re
not even in this class!”
Liam shot up in his seat as he looked around the classroom with a dumbfounded look on this face. “Wait, so this isn’t Social Studies?”
***
The rest of the day was spent with people fooling around. Especially Aidan and Liam. Thanks to them, we had a ton of homework for winter break, but I was going to start on it when I get home. I walked with Miranda and Melissa to the locker rooms.
“So is Levi keeping his dick in his pants so far?” Miranda asked as we entered the locker rooms.
“Uh huh,” I hummed as the thought of him almost kissing me entered my mind.
“Oh, sweet Jesus, Lana, he is hot,” Melissa said as we got undressed.
“Good to know,” I mumbled as I slipped on my polo shirt. Once we were done, we walked out and into the corridor to join the rest of the class. I watched as Ethan and a few other guys helped Coach Harris get a few things out of storage.
“Since I’m in a good mood today, we’ll be playing badminton!” Coach yelled as he motioned for us to follow him. We followed him into the gym. Once we arrived, I stood with Melissa and watched as they set up.
“What am I? Flypaper for freaks?” a familiar voice screeched. I turned my head to see Jennifer’s glare at a guy who tried to give her a shuttlecock. He threw his hands up in innocence and backed away.
“What’s up with Miss Gold-digger?” Miranda asked as we watched Kelly try to comfort her. I noticed Kelly dyed her hair again since the ombre highlights faded. She now had red tips.
“Her brother got arrested again,” Melissa muttered as we watched the two comfort each other. No family was perfect, that’s for sure. Jennifer Brighton might be rich, but she had many problems in her family. Her dad had a mistress, and her brother was a huge drug addict.
“What are you three posing here for?” Coach Harris voice roared as he passed us rackets and two shuttlecocks. “Get practicing. There will be a short game later in the lesson.”
I let out a huff as we walked to the other side of the court and practiced. I hit the shuttlecock with my racket and watched it make its way toward Miranda. She effortlessly hit it back, but me being lazy, I never thought it’d pass me. I groaned to get the shuttlecock and looked over my shoulder to see that she played with Melissa.
“Looking for this?” a deep voice asked. I turned my head to see Blake sitting at the end of the stands while Carter leaned against it. I let the racket hang loosely by my side as I held my hand out. Blake shook his head as he observed the shuttlecock.
“Aren’t you guys playing?”
“Badminton isn’t my thing,” Blake said as he tossed the shuttlecock up in the air and caught it. I let out a huff as I marched to him and crouched down for the shuttlecock. He leaned back and caught it behind his back. I tried to reach over him and bent down.
“Come on, Blake, just give it to me!” I demanded as I stretched out even further and dropped my racket.
“Oh, so you want this shuttlecock?” he asked as Carter laughed. I cursed under my breath as I tripped over his foot and fell on top of him. His light dog chain was in my mouth, so my face was buried in his chest. I let out a groan as I glanced up with my glasses falling to my nose. He smirked then pushed them back up. “I like this position,” he said as my cheeks flushed. I quickly grabbed the shuttlecock, ignoring his smirk. I pushed myself and straddled him, looking at the shuttlecock. He lay there on his back as if he were on the beach. I stared at him as he placed his hands behind his head and winked at me.
“PDA,” Carter coughed, and I instantly stood up. I looked at Carter, and my eyes widened. His beautiful face was jacked up. He had a swollen eye, a bruise on his cheek, and a cut on his jaw.
“What the hell happened to you?” I demanded.
“By that tone, shows how much you care,” he said sarcastically. “Turns out Brooke had a few friends, and guess what their names were?”
“What?”
“Leslie and Perry.”
“Let me guess, you’ve slept with a Leslie and Perry and they were both girls?”
“Yeah, and they weren’t too happy when I told them that.”
“Dude, your fucking name is even unisex,” Blake chimed in as I threw my hands up in exasperation.
“Thank you!” I said as Blake raised a brow.
“Wait…how do you know who Brooke is?” he asked. Before I answered, we heard loud footsteps approach us. I spun around and saw Aidan. I squinted my eyes as I took in his badminton outfit.
“Bro, what are you wearing?” Carter asked as he skipped to us. Aidan wore the school polo shirt, yet he borrowed a pair of shorts that were apparently too short for him along with blue runners and knee socks. I watched as he posed in front of us and stretched.
“I love badminton!” He smiled, then made lunges.
“Oh my god, those shorts are too short for you!” I shrieked and turned away since his crotch moved.
“I can’t believe I’m related to you,” Blake muttered as Aidan straightened. He looked at me, and I tried so hard not to look down. The worst part was that the shorts were white.
“Eyes up here, sweet cheeks.” Aidan whistled as I rolled my eyes. He took the shuttlecock and racket with a grin. He threw the shuttlecock up then walloped it. I watched as it flew across the gym and hit the wall. My brows raised in amazement as I turned to him. I watched as Aidan held the racket back as he aimed for Carter. He let go with the other hand, and it smacked against Carter’s butt.
“Fuck, that hurt, you ass wipe!” Carter yelled as he ran after Aidan. I let out a chuckle as the two ran around the gym and decided to sit down next to Blake, since I didn’t have a racket. The last encounter I had with Blake was when he told me everything would get better. Before that was the kiss we almost shared. It was weird. I couldn’t figure him out. He acted as if nothing happened, like always.
“Yo, guys, watch out!” someone yelled as we looked up. It was too late as the shuttlecock came and landed on my thigh. Blake gave me a concerned look as I awkwardly rubbed my thigh. “Sorry, Lana.” The guy shrugged as he took the shuttlecock from Blake.
“Don’t be sorry, be careful,” Blake hissed as the guy raised his arms and walked off. “You okay?”
“Yeah, it still hurts, but I’ll be all right.”
“Anything exciting happen in the last twenty-four hours?”
“Err…not really.”
“Your dad back yet?”
“Yeah, he arrived yesterday morning.” I frowned at the thought of my mother freaking out when Dad got shot.
“You don’t seem happy.”
“I’m barely happy anymore.”
“Why is that?”
“Dad got shot, but thankfully he was wearing a bulletproof vest,” I mumbled as I turned to Blake. His jaw tightened as he looked at the ground. I then remembered that his dad died and cursed under my breath.
“Is he okay?”
“Still overprotective, but he’s good.”
“He might be the overprotective dad but,” Blake said as he stared me dead in the eye, “he’s the only guy that’s ever going to be there for you.”
“Tell me about your dad,” I blurted out as he raised a brow. “T-that’s if y-you want to.”
“Okay. He was the best dad in the world,” Blake began as I crossed my legs and got comfortable. Somehow, I liked when Blake spoke about personal things. He talked with such need and emotion that it felt like someone else spoke. “I bonded with him more than Axel did. He owned a motor shop in Minnesota, and I hung around there a lot. Axel bonded with my uncle more, who was an alcoholic.” Blake let out a laugh. “We used to do everything together and talked about anything and everything. He even helped me get my first girlfriend.
“All the guys wanted her because she was so beautiful. Loads of guys asked her to prom, I asked my dad for advice, and in the end, she chose me. I was surprised because I looked like shit back then.
“We dated for a couple of months, and in that time my dad b
ecame distant. I didn’t know if it was because of my girlfriend or his work, but we rarely talked. I always asked him what was wrong, and he replied with, ‘I’m okay, just living in the moment.’ I took it as nothing, but Axel didn’t.
“There were constant fights between my dad and Axel, so he left to go and live with my uncle in another city. The house became quiet, and Mom told me that’s it’s nothing, yet I knew she was lying. That’s when I started smoking; I couldn’t handle all the stress and the quiet, so I found a pack in Axel’s old room.
“Before summer break, there was a huge fight between my mom and dad. I overheard them, and that’s how I found out that my dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer two years before.” He did that thing again where he laughed. “Turns out that’s how my great-grandfather and all his siblings died. Runs in the family, I guess,” Blake muttered with a depressed look. “It was too late, though; he had a month. One fucking month, yet he didn’t tell me.
“I went over to my girlfriend and told her, and instead of comforting me, she told me to man up. She didn’t like that I smoked or that I owned a motorcycle…like I can’t fucking help it if my dad owned a motor shop.
“The bitch told me to call her when I decided to ‘man up.’ Summer came along, and we all flew down here to visit Aidan. That’s how I got this tattoo because I lost some bet.” He pointed to the feather. “We flew back, and after all the tests and chemotherapy, Dad was put into the hospital. I couldn’t take it anymore, so the cigarettes increased, I got mood swings, tattoos, and went to juvie. I even had a special cop who always knew me,” he said, then laughed bitterly. “One day I visited my dad and told him that she broke up with me, and all he said was that she was never the one.” Blake shook his head. “I was fucking pissed because he never even met her, so I left. Little did I know that was the last time I’d hear my dad’s voice.”
Silence surrounded us as I took in Blake’s words. Prostate cancer was common, and I had a family member who died of breast cancer. I didn’t know what to say. Yet Blake sucked in a deep breath and continued.