by Luna Lucas
After a few moments, Sam remarked, “Well, at least you all met Josh.”
And then, all hell broke loose.
Chapter Three
“Will you turn that down?” Brook snapped as she entered the bedroom.
“It’s my house,” Donna grumbled, but still got up and turned down the volume of her record player on which Dear Prudence had been playing at full volume.
Brook flopped down on the bed. “Crazy day, huh?”
After Josh had punched Chase, for reasons still unknown to Donna, Will and a few more of Peter’s friends had attacked Josh and Sam. A fistfight ensued, resulting in many broken noses and knuckles. Rachel had also tried to attack Brook, but Raymond had stepped between them, holding Rachel back. The onlookers had started cheering for one side or the other. The fight had only broken when Principal Smith himself had walked onto the scene and bellowed at everyone to stop what they were doing. They had all ended up in the office after that. Josh had gotten suspended for three days while Sam, Chase, and the rest of the boys had received three detentions. Donna had received a warning for ‘being involved in inciting the fight,’ as the principal had put it, according to the account that Chase and the others had given him. Donna didn’t care about a stupid warning though. She was furious at Sam for losing his temper and even angrier at whoever this Josh was for initiating the fight. She didn’t want her issues with Peter displayed in front of the whole school, and her friends were not helping her by adding fuel to the fire.
Besides, she had to return home and say goodbye to her dad before he left for his new trip. Donna had held on to him longer than she had meant to, not wanting to show him how upset she was about this.
“Hey, kiddo,” he said over her shoulder as he bent down to hug her. “I’m always a phone call away. You need anything at all, just call me, and I’ll be right back.”
Donna closed her eyes, not wanting to let the tears spill. She knew that she probably wouldn’t call her dad back home, no matter what happened.
“Hmm, yeah,” she said presently. “Crazy day.”
*****
Donna slid her car into one of the parking spaces and turned off the engine. She sat there for a few minutes, staring at the windshield. When she had woken up, the house had been quiet and empty. There was no sound of her father getting ready for work or moving around in the kitchen. She had not had breakfast because he was the one who used to force her to eat and he wasn’t there. Even the garage had seemed empty with only her car there and not her father’s.
She sighed and got out of the car. That was when she saw Josh. It was still relatively early to be at school, and she was amazed at how he had been there before even her – she was usually the first one to arrive since she was an early riser. Josh stood at the edge of the parking lot. Donna walked past him quietly, not wanting to draw attention to herself, but he still turned around and looked at her.
Donna saw that he was incredibly handsome – she had not had the chance to look at him properly the previous day because of all the fighting. He had a square jaw, pale skin, and dark-brown eyes. Eyes that seemed aloof – or was that anger? Her resolve to not say anything to him strengthened as she tried to walk past him.
“Donna Sawyer,” he said in a deep voice.
Reluctantly, she turned around. “Josh Parker,” she said, forcing a smile. His utterly violent behavior the previous day was still in the peripheral of her thoughts.
“I’ve heard a lot about you.” His voice was smooth and low.
“Likewise,” Donna said. “It’s nice to finally meet you.” She paused, pretending to think. “Except for the fact that you initiated the fight yesterday by showing up out of nowhere and punching Chase for no apparent reason, even though you had absolutely nothing to do with what was going on.”
A hint of a smile played around Josh’s lips. “I would apologize, but I’m not the least bit sorry.”
“You don’t even know Chase. Why did you do it?” Donna demanded, beginning to get irritated at how calm he seemed.
“He seemed like a jerk and was getting on my nerves with the way he was talking,” he said easily, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.
“So you punched him and dislocated his jaw because… he was getting on your nerves?”
“Yes,” he shrugged. “And may I just say that I’m very proud of dislocating his jaw.” He flexed the fingers of his right hand. Donna had been surprised that he had suffered absolutely no injuries.
Donna opened her mouth to say something but then decided that it was not worth explaining anything to him. She shook her head and turned around, only to walk directly into Sam who had been walking towards them.
“Don,” he said, swinging his arm around her shoulder. “I see you’ve met Josh.”
“And I was just going inside.” Donna tried to move away, but Sam didn’t let her.
“Have you offended her already, Josh?” His voice was full of amusement. “You ought to be careful; she has a really bad temper.”
Josh shrugged. It was a few moments before Sam realized how uncomfortable Donna seemed. “Hey, you can go. Don’t make that face now.”
Donna rolled her eyes and waved goodbye before going inside.
Chapter Four
She had been waiting for Collin for about fifteen minutes before he arrived. The small, street café was not too crowded since it was almost dark.
“I’m sorry I’m late,” Collin said as soon as he saw her, taking a seat across from her. “I just got caught up somewhere.”
Donna shrugged. “It’s all right.” She enjoyed the feeling of sitting alone at a café, drinking coffee. She came to this café often at night, when it was almost empty. It was a peaceful place for drawing.
“I heard you were involved in some kind of drama yesterday,” Collin said. “How are you?”
“I’m fine; I wasn’t hurt.” Donna took a sip of her coffee.
Collin nodded. “And how are you, otherwise? Brook told me your dad just left yesterday.”
Donna sighed. “Yeah, well… I’m used to it by now.”
Collin took her hand and gave it a squeeze. “I’m here for you if you ever want to talk about it.”
She smiled, picking up the menu, more to get him to leave her hand than anything else. “So, what do you want to eat?”
An hour later, she was walking down the deserted streets, making her way home. She walked slowly, reveling in the solitude. It seemed to her like it had been forever since she’d had the pleasure of being all alone. She was reflecting on the evening that she had just spent with her boyfriend. Being on her own with no one else around to distract her, she contemplated and pondered till she admitted to herself the truth that she had known for quite some time now – she was not happy with her relationship. How had she let it come this far? It had been four months, and Collin was under the impression that he was in love with her.
She sighed. Lost in thought, she absentmindedly stepped aside when she heard hurried footsteps behind her, making way for whoever was in a hurry to get by. Suddenly, she felt someone grab her from behind and pull her into the small dark alleyway that she had been passing by. She gasped in surprise. Next thing she knew, she was being pinned to the wall as her attacker loomed over her. Her heart beat fast as adrenaline rushed through her veins, but somehow, she felt calm. The man held her face with one hand and ran the other hand down her arm.
Calmly, she reached down into the back pocket of her jeans and slid out the pocket knife that she carried around with her sometimes. It was mostly because her father insisted that she keep something to defend herself with, but she sometimes also used it to aid her in her pencil sketches.
She jerked her hand up and pressed the knife to the stranger’s neck.
“Get off me,” she said in a monotonous voice.
“I don’t think so,” he rasped, but she had felt his body stiffen.
“Well, I do.” She pressed the knife deeper into his skin.
; He laughed and then, faster than she could have thought possible, he grabbed her wrist and twisted it, squeezing to force her to let go of the knife. She knew she didn’t stand a chance against him – he was too strong – so she didn’t struggle. But she did keep her hand closed around the knife hilt until it hurt too much. Her hand opened, and she felt the knife clatter to the floor. And then he pushed her back with so much strength that she hit the cold, hard ground. He bent low over her as though she was some sort of prey.
Her heart was beating so fast; she was sure that he could probably hear it. However, she kept eye contact with him, refusing to give him the satisfaction of seeing her scared. She didn’t cower or beg or scream. She just half sat, and half lay on the ground, staring at her attacker.
And then, suddenly, he was lifted off the floor and slammed against the same wall where he had pinned her before. She saw the outline of someone tall and muscular standing in front of her attacker, holding him by the front of his shirt. She saw the figure raise his arm and punch the man – a graceful, ground shattering movement, a movement that she had seen before – right in the face. She was certain that she had heard the cracking sound of bones breaking. He punched him again and again and again until the man was slumped against the wall, only upright because he was being held there.
Donna got to her feet, relief flooding through her. She saw that her savior showed no signs of stopping. She stepped forwards.
“Stop,” she said, trying not to let her voice shake. “You’re going to kill him.”
“Yeah, that’s the plan,” he replied before raising his arm and punching him once more. When he raised his arm for the next punch, she grabbed it with both her hands. It took all her effort to restrain him. Finally, he let his arm drop, even though she knew that he could easily have wrenched free of her grip and continued to hit the man. He let go of the man’s shirt, and he fell to the floor. Donna looked down at him – his nose was broken, and there was blood all over his face. She looked away, into the face of the person who had saved her. His eyes were full of fury and so dangerous that she had to stop herself from cringing back.
“You are out of control, Josh,” she whispered.
“Who is he?” His voice was low and contorted with fury.
“No one I know,” she replied.
“Are you sure? Not a part of that little gang you got into a fight with the other day?”
“Peter’s friends?” She looked back at the man uncertainly. “They wouldn’t do this. Peter wouldn’t let them…”
“Don’t be so sure,” he said harshly. “You don’t know what people are capable of.”
She shook her head to clear her thoughts. “How did you find me?”
He looked at her steadily for a few moments before answering. “I just happened to be passing by.”
Somehow, she didn’t think that was entirely true, but she let it pass.
For a few minutes, they just stood there in the dark alleyway, looking at each other. His eyes seemed to be gleaming with anger. Even she felt calmer than he looked, even though she was the one who had been attacked.
He bent down and picked up her knife from where it had fallen. He clasped it shut and held it out to her. She slid it back inside her back pocket.
“Next time stab them in the eye with it,” he said. “I’ll walk you home.”
She was about to retort back and tell him that she could walk back on her own before she stopped herself. She sighed. “No, I’ll walk you home,” she said, smiling slightly. “God knows who else you will try to kill on your way back.” Somehow, no matter how violent she had seen him being, she knew that he wouldn’t hurt her.
Chapter Five
It was late when Josh got home, but he found his sister in the living room, dozing off on one of the big sofas.
“Hazel,” he said, kicking the sofa. She woke with a start.
“Don’t do that,” she shot when she saw him. “You scared me.”
“Why are you still up?”
“I was sleeping before you woke me up,” she said curtly.
“Hardly,” Josh grinned, settling down in one of the armchairs. It was so easy to rile her up.
“I was worried,” Hazel admitted with a sigh, looking up at him with her big, brown eyes, exactly the same shape and color as his own. “You were out so late and….”
His smile faded as her meaning registered in his mind. He ran his hand through his untidy black hair. “You shouldn’t worry about –”
“I’m not saying I doubt you, Josh,” she interrupted. “But with the incident that happened at school… Josh, you can’t afford to lose control like that.”
“You are telling me that?” His words were harsher than he had intended them to be.
“My record has been much better than yours.” The irritation was back in her voice. “Anyway, this is not a competition.”
“Look, don’t worry about me.” He stood up. “I can take care of myself.”
“Josh.” Hazel’s voice stopped him in his tracks at the doorway; it was low and soft, unlike its usual tone. He turned back and looked at her. “Remember our promise.”
The fingers of his right hand flexed and then closed into a fist. He took a deep breath – he knew his sister was just looking out for him. “Don’t worry, Hazel,” he said. He smiled in what he hoped was a reassuring manner before leaving.
*****
Golden curls. He watched her walk across the yard, lost in thought. Skinny arms. She bit her lip as she frowned slightly. He wondered what she was thinking. Pale skin. She pushed her hair out of her eyes. So alluring. She looked up and saw him watching her. She has a beautiful smile.
“Hey, Josh,” Donna’s voice broke his line of thought; he had been so absorbed in watching her that he had not realized that she had been smiling at him. He shook his head slightly to clear his mind.
“Any more weird men following you around?” he asked, smiling slightly.
“Not that I know of,” she replied. “Any more weird men almost die at your hands?”
“Sadly, none.”
It was the end of the classes and all around them, people were either making their way to the parking lot or to after-school clubs and teams.
“Where are you headed?” she asked as they walked side by side in the general direction of the exit.
Josh shrugged. “Nowhere in particular.” He knew he should not be getting close to this girl. But there was something about her that was pulling him towards her. He knew he should stay away considering his past. “Where are all your little friends you’re always surrounded by?” His tone was humorous, but her expression showed that it irritated her for some reason.
“Brook went home. I don’t know where Sam and the others are.”
“That’s now who I was talking about,” he said, still sounding amused. He had seen how she always had a big group of people around her, despite her reserved personality. He noticed she had a way of keeping everyone at a distance but still being around.
“Brook and Sam are the social ones,” she said, shrugging. “I only put up with everyone else because –”
“Because you’re expected to,” he finished for her.
“No,” she said, her voice sounding irritated now. “I only put up with everyone else because of Brook. They’re her friends, and they think they’re my friends too.”
Josh looked down at her. “You’re… different.”
She rolled her eyes. “Thanks, but I’m really not. I just hate people.”
“Funny how you didn’t even think about your boyfriend when I mentioned your friends,” Josh said, an amused glint in his eyes.
Donna knew that he was teasing her, but she was getting more and more irritated in his presence. “All right, I don’t know where Collin is either. Happy?”
Josh smirked. She knew that he was enjoying riling her up. “Not particularly,” he said.
She didn’t catch on to his exact meaning but decided to ignore it. “What about you, Josh? Do
you have a girlfriend?”
“Nope,” Josh said easily, but she didn’t miss the change in his expression.
“Why not?” she asked. “Everyone too good for you?”
Josh rolled his eyes. “That kind of thinking is something I would expect from someone like you.”
“Someone like me?” Donna demanded. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Oh, nothing,” Josh smirked. “Don’t worry your little head about it, Don.”
“I have better things to worry about.”
They had reached the parking lot, and she walked over to her car.
She turned towards him before getting into her car, ready to say goodbye. His expression had suddenly turned serious – and darker, somehow – despite his teasing just a few seconds ago. He could tell that the intensity of his gaze was making her uneasy. He didn’t know what instinct took over him at that moment. He reached forward and gently pushed a strand of golden hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear. She raised her eyebrows slightly and bit her lip, looking at him questioningly. So alluring. He let his hand drop and took a step back. “Well, drive safely, Donna.”
She nodded and waved goodbye, still looking confused.
When she had pulled out of the parking lot and driven away, Josh heard footsteps behind him. He turned around to see Hazel walking towards him.
“New love interest?” she teased, though there was an edge to her voice.
“No. Just a friend of Sam.” He walked towards his own car.
“I didn’t know the two were mutually exclusive,” she said.
He didn’t reply as he got behind the wheel while she sat on the passenger side.
“Even if she is a new love interest –” she began after a few minutes of silence.
“She’s not, Hazel,” he said calmly.
“Even if anyone here is your new love interest,” she corrected impatiently, “be careful.”