“Oh look, the entertainment has arrived,” Amalie mutters.
I watch as Jake looks around, the second he finds her, his eyes light up and he marches over. The moment he’s in touching distance, he pulls her from the bench and straight into his arms.
A smile forms on my lips as I watch them. I always thought Jake was an asshole, I mean, he is an asshole, but when he’s with Amalie, he’s a totally different guy. A guy that I’m starting to discover that I actually like. Although I’m never going to tell him that.
Excitement vibrates through the students as they recall Friday night. The noise level becomes deafening as we celebrate the win we’ve waited all our lives for.
Everyone is laughing and enjoying themselves when suddenly the room quietens down. People turn toward the entrance and when I follow, I find the reason for the break in excitement.
Chelsea is standing in the wide doorway. She looks beautiful, like she always does. Her long dark hair is pulled over one shoulder, her dark eyes are wide as she takes in the view before her and her full red lips are parted. But the confidence she usually wears is disappearing faster than I can compute as the cheer squad turns on her.
A few people call out that she’s not welcome, that she should go back into hiding.
“Jesus, people are cruel,” Mason mutters as he stands from the bench.
I do the same, my need to protect one of our own overriding my need to see her get some justice.
A second before she’s surrounded by the cheer squad, our eyes lock. Fear fills hers and it hits me right in the chest.
I don’t think I breathe as she’s swallowed up by the girls who used to support her every move.
“Fucking hell,” Mason barks before both him and Jake take off for the crowd.
They quickly force their way into the huddle, but my legs refuse to move.
That is until a scream sounds out, one I recognize all too well. Then my body moves without any instruction from my brain. My need to go to her, to help her, is too much to ignore.
By the time I break through the now much larger crowd, it seems the show is over because Shelly is standing front and center with a shit-eating grin on her face. Her loyal followers standing behind her and backing her all the way.
Glancing up to the hallway beyond, I find the girl they’ve just sent away running as fast as her legs will carry her.
I’m pushing through the rest of the crowd before I even know what I’m doing, and I run after her.
“Chelsea?” She doesn’t stop, her movements don’t falter as she flees from whatever just happened with Shelly. “Chelsea stop, please.”
She flies into the girls’ bathroom and slams the door behind her.
“Chelsea?” I ask, poking my head inside.
“Go away.” Her voice is broken and rough and it pulls at me.
Ignoring her warning, I step farther into the room.
“Chels?”
“I said go away, Shane. I can’t do this. I can’t—”
Placing my hand on her shoulder, I spin her around and gasp.
There are bright red scratch marks across her cheeks, but surprisingly that’s not the most shocking thing because what has my eyes widening is her tears.
“Fuck, Chels.” Before I know what I’m doing, I have her in my arms.
Her small frame trembles as I hold her tight.
“No, no,” she fights, trying to push me away from her. “Shane, no.”
I hold tight, knowing that she needs this right now, but when she reaches up and twists my nipple, I have no choice but to release her.
“Ow,” I complain, rubbing at the sting.
“You should have let go,” she snaps.
“You should have let me hold you.”
“Why?” she asks, wiping at her wet cheeks. “So you could say that you helped me when I broke. So that you could go back to your little friends and tell them how weak I am? So you can tell them that they’re winning, that they’re ruining my life?” The fire that I’m so used to starts to burn in her eyes.
“No, I was coming to make sure you were okay.”
“Jesus, you really are pathetic. You that desperate for another round?”
I close the space between us so she has no choice but to back up until she hits the wall.
Our bodies are only an inch apart and her heat burns into me.
“You may have left me on the edge the other night, but no, that wasn’t my intention.”
I stare down into her tear-filled chocolate eyes.
She swallows nervously before biting down on her bottom lip. My eyes flit between them and her quickly darkening eyes.
“Go on then. Take whatever you want. You might as well kick me when I’m down.”
As much as I might want to take her in my arms and look after her, I won’t. Not like this.
Lifting my hand, I gently touch my fingertip to the scratches down her cheek. She startles and gasps at my contact.
“They have no right laying a hand on you,” I whisper, ignoring her previous comment.
She shrugs one shoulder. “I deserve it for all the people I’ve hurt.”
“Many would probably agree.”
“You don’t?”
“I don’t know what I think when it comes to you.”
Her breathing catches at my honesty.
“One thing I do know though, I don’t just take. I don’t take things that aren’t offered to me, and I certainly don’t take from others when they’re down.”
I take a step back and suck in a lungful of air now that I’m not surrounded by her scent.
“You want something from me, this isn’t how you get it.”
She opens her mouth to respond, but I’m done. I came in here with good intentions and I’m not going to stand here while she unleashes more hate and frustration my way.
Turning my back on her, I’m almost out the door when her voice stops me.
“Shane?” Resting my hand on the doorframe, I stop and hang my head, waiting for whatever she has to say. “I’m… I’m sorry.” If the room weren’t so silent, I would think I misheard.
“I know,” I say before disappearing from her sight and allowing the door to close behind me.
13
Chelsea
A sob rumbles up the second the door slams behind him.
I shouldn’t have said those things. I knew the moment I looked into his eyes that he didn’t follow me for a fight, but I freaked out.
I didn’t want him to see me broken, to see me cry, but he was standing before me while I crumbled.
Shelly shouldn’t have this power over me, but she ambushed me, spurred on by the girls who used to stand behind my every move.
As she raised her hand to get her revenge for the slap I gave her earlier, all I could do was stand there and take it.
I expected the slap, I didn’t anticipate her nails as they clawed at my cheek.
“Fuck,” I bark, turning to look in the mirror to inspect the damage.
I run my finger over the deepest gouge and hiss when it stings.
Movement over my shoulder has my heart jumping into my throat. My first thought is that he came back without me hearing but I soon realize it’s not him.
“What?” I bark at the short, dark-haired girl who clearly was hiding in one of the cubicles this whole time.
“Nothing,” she says, walking toward the sinks to wash her hands. “You’re welcome, by the way.”
I give her a double-take. “Um… for what, exactly?”
“For giving you some kind of privacy. I must say though, I was disappointed that he didn’t kiss you. That would have been hot.”
“Fucking hell, creepy much. You were watching?”
“No, just listening.”
We stare at each other, other than our dark hair we’re opposites in every way. I might not be currently wearing my preppy cheer uniform but that’s the persona I try to give off whereas everything about this girl is dark. The exact kind I’d
usually steer clear of. So why I feel drawn to her, I have no fucking clue.
“They’ve all got you very wrong, don’t they?”
“They? Who? What?”
She finishes washing her hands before coming to stand in front of me.
“I’ve heard so much about you, it’s good to finally meet the woman behind all the stories.” I narrow my eyes at her. Who the fuck is this girl? “Rae,” she says as if she can read my mind. “Ethan’s girlfriend. He’s told me all about you.”
A laugh rumbles up my throat. “You’re Ethan’s girl? For real?”
She smiles, gesturing at herself. “I know. Shocking right? I don’t even own a cheer uniform.”
“Maybe not,” I muse. “But I think I’m already understanding why he didn’t stand a chance.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Ethan always loved a challenge, and why do I think you’re the ultimate one?”
She pops her hip and rests her hand on it. “Because I am.”
“I think I like you already.”
“That’s good because most people are just scared, or jealous.”
“You bagged Ethan Savage. Girl, that group out there will be about as jealous as it comes.”
“I fucking love it. Seeing the frustration in their eyes on a daily basis is what gets me up in the morning. Well, that and Ethan’s co—”
“Okay,” I say with a laugh, halting any more words. “Ethan and I might be close, but there’s always been a line between us.”
“More than you have with the rest of the team, I hear.”
“Fucking hell. You don’t hold back, do you?”
“What’s the point? What you see is what you get. Like it or fucking lump it.”
I shake my head at her in total amazement.
“You fancy getting out of here. I’m not really feeling it, plus I’ve got gym later and I really don’t have the patience for that.”
“You want to skip?”
“Yeah. You don’t actually want to be here after that, do you?” she asks, nodding at my cheek.
“No, I really fucking don’t.”
“Perfect, come on then. Let’s head to the beach, I’m sure your tan could use some work after weeks of being locked up.”
I follow her out of the bathroom and for the first time today, I’m able to ignore the stares and harsh words that are muttered as we pass.
“You know, I wasn’t in prison, right?”
“Some center full of fucked-up teenagers and counselors who want to know your deepest thoughts and feelings? Sounds like prison to me.”
I can’t really argue because she does kinda have a point.
“You’ve got a car, right? I rode with Ethan?”
“Um… yeah. Over there.” I point to my white convertible BMW.
“Wow, of course.”
“What?” I ask.
“Just wondering if you could be any more stereotypical. You must have looked like something out of the movies getting out of this in your cheer uniform.”
“I guess you won’t find out seeing as they’ve kicked me out.”
“I’m sure you’ll get over it.”
We climb in and in seconds we’re heading out of the parking lot and away from Rosewood High.
“So how much has Ethan told you exactly?”
“Adopted, cheer bitch… sorry, head cheer bitch, team bike, life of the party, drink spiker, did I mention bitch?” She ticks each item off on her fingers.
“Oh my god,” I mutter.
“What? Did I miss something?”
“No, no, I think you nailed it.”
“If it makes you feel any better, I’m about as screwed up. You’re in good company.”
I’ve never really had what I would class as a close girlfriend. I spent all my time with the squad, but I never really connected with any of them, not in a way I would hope. I guess I wasn’t the only one who felt that way, seeing as they all turned their backs on me at the first possible opportunity.
I glance over at Rae, someone who I never would have considered spending time with and much like with Shane, I start to wonder if I had everything wrong.
I clung to the squad, thinking they were what would make me happy. I attached myself to the football team thinking that I was destined to be with the best of the bunch, but was I just trying too hard?
Cheer is always going to be my life. But maybe I can have that and not the toxic relationships that come with it.
It’s a sobering thought.
“Everything okay?” she asks after a few seconds.
“Yeah. You’re… I’m not even sure what you are. But I needed this, so… thank you, I guess.”
“You’re welcome. Shall we?” she asks, gesturing to the beach outside.
“Yes.” I grab a hoodie from the back of my car before following her down toward the shore.
We walk along in silence until we find a spot between the dunes where we’re hidden from the world and we sit our asses down.
I wrap my hoodie around my body while Rae happily stretches her fishnet-clad legs out in the sun.
“How aren’t you cold?”
“How are you? This is like summer in some of the places I’ve lived.”
“Where have you lived?”
“Most recently, Washington. Before that, everywhere.”
“So what’s your story then. And don’t even try to tell me you don’t have one.”
“Oh, I have one. Much like I believe you do. I’ll just skim the basics. Desperate mother, too many almost stepdads to count, some of which were more questionable than others. We moved. A lot. She ended up fucking Ethan’s dad and here we are.”
“Wow, okay then.” She raises her brows at me, waiting for me to return the favor. “So… crack whore mother, some very dodgy men, in the system by seven, moved here by eight and been with my new parents ever since.”
“Well, aren’t we a pair.” She laughs.
“It must be boring having the perfect life. Imagine not dealing with all that baggage on a daily basis.”
“I literally have no idea what that must be like.”
We lose the afternoon chatting about bullshit and steering away from our pasts. I know that I shared more than I have with almost anyone in Rosewood since the day I arrived, and I have a feeling that Rae might have done the same.
Hearing her talk about her past, albeit briefly, made me wonder if that was the connection between us, why I felt instantly at ease with her unlike most others. I think… I think she might get me in a way that no one else does. She’s been through hell, she knows what it’s like to try to rebuild a life after that kind of nightmare.
“We should probably get back. Ethan will wonder where I am if I’m not waiting for him after practice.”
We stand and brush the sand from our bodies before heading back toward my car.
“I never thought I’d see the day that Ethan Savage settled for one woman, you know.”
“From what I’ve heard, you’re not the only one to think that.”
“He was a whore. Sorry.” I wince.
“No need. I’m fully aware of that side of Ethan. We all have pasts, Chelsea. We know that more than most. I refuse to judge someone based on what’s happened before.”
“And that is why we’re going to get along. Everyone else can’t see past my mistakes.”
“I understand why, you hurt people they care about. But one day they’ll fuck up and they’ll need a friend. You just need to hope karma works her magic and they get back what they gave to you.”
Her words are on repeat in my head as we climb back into the car, ready to return to school.
“So, tell me about Shane,” Rae asks, sitting back and waiting for me to reverse the car out of the space. “Chelsea?” she prompts when I don’t do anything.
“Shit, sorry.” I don’t say anything else until we’re on the road. “Shane is… Shane,” I say on a sigh.
“There’s history there, though, right? The tension
in that bathroom, shit you could have cut it with a knife.”
“Yes, no. I don’t know. There was something. I don’t know,” I repeat. “My head was so fucked up back then. Hell, it still is now, possibly worse actually. I’ve got no idea what’s going on.”
“It sounded to me like he cared.”
“We’re toxic. We’ll never work.”
I shrug it off and thankfully she leaves it there.
We’re just about to get out once we’re back in the school parking lot when I find my voice again.
“Rae, please don’t… please don’t say anything about Shane and me. I think it’s for the best if it all just stays in the past.”
“Whatever you want. I won’t tell a soul, not that you really told me anything.”
“Nothing to tell.”
“Fair enough. I’ll see you tomorrow then, yeah?”
“Sure. Thank you for today. I really needed it.”
“Anytime. Us fucked-up folk need to be normal sometimes too.”
I laugh as she climbs from the car.
She turns back when she’s halfway across the parking lot.
“Chelsea?”
“Yeah.”
“Don’t let the past define you. Only you have the power to change your future.”
I nod and watch as she disappears toward the boys’ locker room to meet Ethan.
I should just drive home and spend the night hiding in my pool house, but some part of me that’s a glutton for punishment has me pushing the car door open and walking toward the gym where the squad will be practicing.
I pull the door open and silently make my way down.
The sound of them counting as they work through the routine is painful to hear. I should be doing that. I should be leading them.
I stand slightly back of the open doors and keep hidden in the shadows as I watch them. Kelly is nowhere to be seen, as usual, and Shelly is at the front barking her orders. Although she misses all the important things that need to be picked up like Victoria not locking her knees out on the lift she’s working on.
“All in. We’re going to hit it from the top. Harley,” she barks, referring to one of our JV cheerleaders. “You’re going to be our flyer.”
Fucking bitch. You can’t replace me with a JV.
FIERCE: A High School Enemies to Lovers Romance (Rosewood High Book 4) Page 9