“Is it too cold for you?” His words were gentle and there was earnest concern in his eyes.
Sarah took a deep breath and smiled. “A little, but I like it. It’s so crisp and clean.”
They walked over to the grassy area near one of the trails. Coach Rudy put the back pack and water down and began stretching. He reminded Sarah to make sure she moved her ankle around enough.
After loosening up for a few minutes Sarah felt more relaxed and cursed herself for being so damn jumpy. This was supposed to be a day to relax and forget about all her worries and she was ruining it with her anxiety. She jumped in place a little more and shook her hands.
She glanced up and Coach Rudy had a smirk on his face. “I’ve never seen you warm up that way.”
“I’m trying to shake the cold.” She smiled silly.
“You sure it’s not gonna be too cold for you?
Sarah shook her head and continued to jump in place a few more times. The coach finished stretching and picked up the backpack, he threw both water bottles in there and put it on his back. He stood and watched Sarah for a moment. His eyes moved up and down her very slowly, making Sarah feel a bit invaded. She stopped jumping and he smiled. “You ready?”
“Sure am.”
*
Angel was supposed to just drop Sofia at the restaurant but ended up hanging out and helping out. That happened a lot lately. He had nothing better to do and the last thing he wanted was to sit around the house drudging out painful memories.
Eric and Romero stopped by to grab breakfast. They sat in the bar area that normally wasn’t open that early in the morning, but the restaurant was pretty busy and Alex told them he didn’t want them taking up space in the dining room. Romero had snorted that he was a paying customer but shut up when Alex told him to pay his tab.
After showing a few more patrons to their tables, Angel walked over to where Romero and Eric ate. They were talking about going to watch some extreme fighting later that evening. Romero’s dads’ friend was promoting it and he could get free tickets. Angel considered it. He hadn’t gone out since he’d broken up with Sarah.
He was trying to snap out of the nasty mood he’d been in lately but knowing Sarah was spending more time with the perv as they spoke did nothing to help.
Alex slipped his head out the office door. “Hey, Angel, some guy Sydney is on line one for you. Isn’t that Sarah’s friend?”
Romero chuckled and his voice went high pitched, “Whoa, drama!”
Eyes closed, Angel pinched the bridge of his nose, muttering under his breath. “What now?”
He ignored Romero and didn’t respond to Alex’s question. Instead just walked over to the bar phone. “I got it.”
“This is Angel.” Both Romero and Eric were staring at him with stupid curiosity so he turned his back to them. Through the mirror on the back wall of the bar he could see they were still gawking and he flipped them off.
“Sorry to call you at the restaurant but I didn’t know how else to get a hold of you,” Angel couldn’t be sure but he sensed panic in his tone and it unnerved him.
“What’s up?”
“Not sure how much you know about this coach of hers, but from what Sarah’s told me he sounds like a real prick.”
“She said that?” Angel almost smiled.
“Well, no, she told me about the things people say about him, but she’s convinced he’s a good guy.”
Angel frowned not sure what Sydney was getting at but immediately lost his patience. “Yeah, so?”
“I personally don’t think it’s a good idea for her to be around him so much, especially alone,” Sydney paused. Angel thought he heard him grunt. “He convinced her to go running with him today on some isolated trails up in the mountains. I don’t like it. I think he’s up to no good.”
Angel gripped the edge of the bar and gritted his teeth. “I heard about the run. But they’re in a group.”
“That’s why I’m calling you,” Angel definitely heard a door slam that time. “She called me this morning. Conveniently, everyone else cancelled at the last moment. So she’s up there with him now. Alone. I don’t think he ever intended for there to be anyone else. I think he planned it this way.”
Everything after the word alone was muddled. Angel hadn’t heard a word of it. The tension he’d been feeling for the past weeks peaked and he felt ready to explode. Every muscle in his body was on edge. He spoke through his teeth. “Did she say where?”
“No, only that it was the same park you took her to in the fall.”
The park couldn’t be too crowded on a day like this and he knew the car that asshole drove. He’d find them and when he did Angel was going to relieve all the pent up tension he’d been building up since he broke up with Sarah. He felt ready to kill.
“I’ll find her.”
After hanging up Angel stormed past Eric and Romero. He heard Alex ask them, “What’s with him?”
He was almost at his car when Eric called after him. “Hey, Angel. What’s up? Where you going?”
“Gotta go find, Sarah,” He reached for door handle on his car.
“What’s the matter?” Romero asked.
Angel turned just before getting in the car. “That pervert Rudy has her up at Mount Soledad, all by herself.”
He saw Eric and Romero run to Eric’s car just as he gunned the engine started. The image of Rudy walking away with Sarah at school and the snide way he’d looked at Angel fueled his already murderous temper and he stepped on the gas.
*
After running for about four miles, the coach slowed down and stopped near a grassy area. They’d been running along a trail that wound along the side of the road. At times the trail veered a bit far from the road but they were always within eyesight of it. Sarah hadn’t seen a car drive by the entire time they ran.
Coach Rudy grabbed the bottles of water out of his back pack and handed one to Sarah. In between heavy breathing he reminded her not to drink too fast or too much. Sarah walked over to a giant boulder off the side of the trail and leaned against it. She was glad for the cold weather, now the cool air felt good in her nose.
He walked over and joined her on the boulder. His thigh touched her leg when he leaned on the rock. “How’s the ankle feeling?”
“Good,” Sarah looked down and wiggled it. “I was a little nervous but it feels fine.”
The coach took a sip of his water “Can I ask you something personal?”
Sarah put her foot down and turned to him. “Go ahead.”
“You’re boyfriend last semester; he seemed pretty crazy about you. Just wondering what in the world would make him let you go?”
He must’ve seen the hurt in her eyes because he put his hand on her leg. “Hey, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring you down, I was just curious.”
Sarah shook her head and stared at her feet. “No, it’s okay. It’s just been hard, but I’m getting over it.”
The coach patted her leg then rubbed it gently. “Was he your first?”
Sarah looked up at him.
“I mean first love.”
She hadn’t really thought of it that way. But he was. No other boy had even come close to the way she felt about Angel. And she had an aching feeling that no one ever would.
She nodded and turned her attention to her water. “It was my fault.” She took a small sip. “I was really stupid.”
Sarah stood up. The pain was still so raw she was afraid she might get all sentimental. But the coach grabbed her hand and pulled her back.
“Come here. It’s okay.” He spoke softly. His words were kind and his touch felt warm. Except for the night of the awful scene, and the day she went to see her mom, all the times she’d cried for Angel she’d done it alone in her room. Sydney was usually on the other end of the phone but she still couldn’t help feeling alone.
She sat back down next to him. He kept her hand in his and spoke to her looking directly in her eyes. “Listen you don’t have to ta
lk about it. But you’re a beautiful girl not just on the outside and I hope you know that there are plenty of guys out there that would be dying to be with someone like you.”
Sarah wasn’t sure about that. She didn’t care either. There was only one guy she wanted to be with but she knew the coach meant well. The lump in her throat was getting heavier with every word he said. She could feel her eyes welling up. Damn it. That was exactly what she didn’t want. Especially not today, the day she was supposed to getting away from all the sorrow. She gulped hard trying to hold it together.
“Can I hug you?”
Sarah leaned against his chest without answering. And he put his strong arms around her. She felt him kiss the top of her head and somehow it felt right. It’s what Sydney would’ve done. The tears ran down her cheek as she took in the clean smell of his shirt.
She pulled away a little to face him and he wiped the tears from her face. “Do you have any idea how special you are?”
She wasn’t sure how to respond to that. Sarah knew he was just trying to make her feel better but it made her uncomfortable. The level of tenderness in his eyes had changed a bit. He kissed her forehead softly and then the corner of her eye.
“You have the most beautiful eyes.” He whispered.
Sarah felt an icy shiver up her spine. He was just consoling her, she told herself. But his kisses continued down her face and his strong body leaned a little heavier against her. He pulled her against him by the waist and his lips caressed hers.
She put her hand on his chest. “Coach?” But he didn’t even budge.
“Call me Rudy,” he said and kissed her on the side of the mouth.
“What are you doing?” She pushed him harder but was no match for him.
“It’s okay, Sarah. Don’t fight it. I felt the attraction all along.”
The heated craze in his eyes alarmed her. It was almost as if she were looking at a different person. The reality finally sunk in. “What are you talking about? You’re scaring me!”
His grip on her loosened for just a moment “C’mon, Sarah. We’re both adults. This has been building between us long enough.”
The panic she’d began to feel spiked and she used her foot to push him away. He stumbled back awkwardly but caught his balance and reached for her again. Sarah moved away. The sorrow she’d felt earlier was now replaced with anger and fear. She’d trusted him “How dare you?”
“You can drop the act now, Sarah,” he said coldly. “We both want this.”
“What? You’re crazy! I can’t believe you would even think that,” Sarah moved away from him cautiously but he never backed down.
“Crazy?” He grabbed her hand and thrust her to him. In an instant she was locked in his arms and she squirmed with all her strength to get away. “Don’t act stupid. Why else would you be up here with me?”
Sarah kneed him missing his groin by just an inch but it was enough to stun him, causing him to let her go. The second she was loose she bolted back toward the parking lot.
“Sarah, wait!”
Without looking back or the slightest hesitation, Sarah was in the run of her life. She did what she did best and turned on the wheels. Her mind raced and the tears streamed down her face. How could she have been so stupid? Even with all the warnings she had put herself in this horrific situation. She thought of the few cars in the parking lot and prayed someone would be around when she got there. She still hadn’t seen a soul.
Halfway to the parking lot she realized the coach was still running after her. He was yelling something but her ear hummed with the wind, or maybe it was dread. Rain drops began to bounce off her face. The adrenaline thrashed through her body and she picked up the speed.
When she finally turned the corner and saw the parking lot her heart sank. Of the few cars that had been there when they arrived, only two were left. Her heart pounded as her eyes searched around for anyone. She heard a car’s engine and tried to make out what direction it was coming from.
The car sped around the corner up toward the direction she’d just come from.
“Hey!” She yelled waving her arms in the air. But the car was going too fast. It was out of sight and she dare not run back in that direction. She could barely catch her breath and didn’t think she could run anymore anyway. Her stomach bottomed out when she saw the coach turn the corner.
“Sarah, wait. I wanna apologize.”
He ran slowly and Sarah could see he was just as exhausted as she was. She looked around for anything she could use as a weapon. There was nothing and still no one in sight.
“Don’t come near me,” Sarah could barely get the words out she was breathing so hard.
But her words did nothing to deter him. He charged at her with that crazed heat still in his eyes.
CHAPTER 29
Angel skidded to a stop when he realized it was the coach he’d just seen running up the trail. But he was alone. Where was Sarah? He looked down the trail. Maybe she’d fallen behind. Would the idiot really leave her alone?
Eric and Romero had eagerly volunteered to help him find Sarah and where driving around the park as well. He texted Eric to let them know he’d found them and where.
Angel peered through his rearview mirror and saw the coach turn into the parking lot he’d just passed up. The rain was beginning to come down harder now. He put the car in reverse and backed up fast.
The tires screeched as he turned into the parking lot and saw Sarah talking to the perv next to his car. He was too close to her and her stance seemed defensive. Angel pulled up next to them, turned off the car and jumped out.
Sarah’s expression crumbled when she saw him and she hurried to him. His fist tightened and he was immediately between Sarah and the coach.
“What happened? What’s wrong?” He asked her.
Her frightened eyes enraged him. The coach answered for her. “It was just a misunderstanding.”
Angel turned away from Sarah’s tearful eyes very slowly. His pulse throbbed in his ear. He spoke as calmly as he could manage. “What was a misunderstanding?”
The coach seemed to take it in stride. “We were talking. You know, about you and the break up. She got a little emotional. I was just trying to comfort her.”
Angel’s jaw tightened. The word comfort had never sounded so obscene. He could hardly contain himself anymore. He looked at Sarah’s frightened eyes. “Is that what happened? Tell me the truth.”
Something in her eyes flickered when he said the word truth. Her trembling lips tore him apart.
She put her hands over her mouth then said it, “He attacked me.”
No sooner had she said the words than Angel was lunging at the coach. “You Son of a bitch!” He growled, landing a nose crushing punch to the face.
The coach stumbled back, his hands immediately to his nose. His face was a bloody mess. Angel raged after him landing another blow to the chin knocking the coach against the car. Angel charged at him ready to pound him unconscious, but his arms were held back by Eric and Romero. He managed a hard kick that caught the coach right in the groin, tumbling him to ground moaning.
“Holy shit, Angel. You kicked his ass,” Romero stared at the coach withering in pain on the ground.
Even as he watched the bloody trail from the coaches face run down the parking lot he wasn’t satisfied. He’d been enraged many times before but nothing compared to what he felt now. The bastard was lucky Eric and Romero had shown up or who knows what may have happened.
Angel ignored Romero and rushed back to Sarah. He put one hand on her shoulder and searched her stunned eyes. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”
Sarah shook her head. “No, he just scared me,” She sniffed. “He tried to kiss me and held me hard but I got away and ran. He’d just caught up to me. Oh, Angel if you hadn’t gotten here. I don’t know what would’ve happened. He was crazy.”
She threw her arms around his neck and he held her tight. The smell and feel of her in his arms was the only thing that
calmed the tornado inside him.
They left the coach there to fend for himself but Angel drove straight to the La Jolla police. He insisted Sarah make a report immediately. He sat with her the entire time holding her hand. They put out a warrant for the coaches arrest. The police woman warned Sarah that it would probably get messy being that he was a teacher but encouraged her to be brave and stick with it so he wouldn’t be free to do this again to anyone else.
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