by Luna Lucas
Josh sighed. “Hazel, it’s not going to happen again. None of that will happen again.”
“Knowing your temperament, no one can be sure.”
Josh knew that she wasn’t wrong. He also knew that she was the only person who had the courage to say all this to him. None of his friends talked about his past in front of him, and his father tried to avoid it too. “Well, then, just trust me, okay?”
Chapter Six
Donna sat at her desk in the dim lights of her room; she liked to use her table lamp while drawing, keeping the rest of her surroundings only barely lit. Her hand moved over the drawing paper, carving out something from the depths of her mind. A ship, leaving the dock – or was it arriving at the dock? I can never be sure. Lost in thought, she almost jumped in surprise when she heard the doorbell ring. She glanced at the clock on her desk; it was late. She made her way downstairs and peered through the eyehole of the front door. Frowning, she opened the door.
“Brook, are you okay?” she asked, stepped outside.
“I am here to kidnap you,” Brook replied.
“What?” Donna stared, bewildered.
“I’m here to kidnap you,” Brook repeated.
“What the…?” Donna began but broke off when she saw who was standing at the curb a few feet away. Sam, Raymond, Hayley, and Adam.
“I brought reinforcements,” Brook said, sounding almost proud.
“Why?” Donna frowned in confusion.
Hayley walked forward to join them. “Because, Donna,” she said, “it’s a Friday night, and we know your dad just left, and you’re probably sitting in your room being miserable. So, you’re coming with us. You’ll have more fun than sulking up there.”
“And we want to get sloshed,” Brook said brightly. “Oh, and we’re meeting up with Josh. The hot new guy who punched –”
“I know who Josh is, Brook,” Donna said impatiently. “He punched Chase.”
“Is Donna being difficult?” Sam called out loudly.
Donna rolled her eyes. “Just… let me go change.”
*****
They all sat in a circle in the deserted and barren park under the glowing street lamps, passing the bottle of tequila around.
“I can’t believe we got kicked out of a pub!” Donna exclaimed, taking a swig of the liquor and passing it to Sam, who was sitting beside her. “Is that normal for you guys?” She looked at Sam and Josh, who had both suggested that particular pub.
“Are you kidding?” Raymond said. “It’s their favorite hobby.”
Josh snorted. “Raymond, you’re not exactly innocent either. Remember that time –?”
“No, I don’t, Josh,” Raymond interrupted loudly.
“I am never going anywhere with you two again!” Hayley exclaimed as she took a drink of tequila.
“Come on, Hayles,” Adam said, taking the bottle from Hayley. “It was pretty funny.”
“It was not,” Brook said, dropping her head onto Adam’s shoulder. She was ahead of the others on the intoxication scale.
“It was funny,” Adam argued. He was not far behind Brook.
“Was not,” Brook scowled.
“Brook, don’t be like Donna now,” Sam put in, drinking from the bottle. “Contradicting everything.”
“Shut up, Sam,” Donna advised, snatching the bottle from Sam. Her head felt extremely light, and she was starting to feel dizzy. Her hand shook as she lowered the bottle after drinking, and she almost dropped it. Josh reached out and steadied her hand, prying the bottle from her fingers.
“Now, now, Donna,” he said, “take it easy.”
Donna made a face and tried to take the bottle back from him, but he passed it on to Adam. Donna opened her mouth to protest, but before she could say anything, Hayley announced that she would race Brook to the other side of the park. They both scrambled to their feet and began to scuffle towards the other way. The others watched them go before Adam stood up.
“We had better make sure no one hurts themselves,” he said. The others agreed, also getting to their feet. Adam jogged after the two girls while the rest of them followed at a slower pace.
When they heard a shout from somewhere ahead, Raymond and Sam quickened their steps. Donna tried to follow but almost tripped over her feet. Josh reached forward and caught her around the waist.
“Careful, there,” he said, steadying her. “You’ve had too many shots, honey.”
“I have not,” Donna protested. She held her head high. “I have a high tolerance level.”
Josh laughed. He had barely been drinking, or at least a lot less than the others. When they reached the others, Donna saw that Adam was making a dramatic show of rescuing Hayley. Hayley freed herself from his grip and almost fell over again.
“Time to go home,” Adam announced, though he looked pretty tipsy himself.
“I think so too,” Josh said. “You all are sloshed.”
“And you’re not, mate?” Sam said, swinging his arm around his friend’s shoulder. “Oh, I forgot. Your whole, new being careful stuff…”
Josh rolled his eyes. “Shut up, Sam. Go home.”
Sam winked at him and then noticed Donna standing there. Josh still had one hand at her back to steady her, in case she tripped again.
“But first, I’m taking Donna home,” Sam said. “Look at her state. Donna, I didn’t know you were such a drinker.”
“I can go home on my own,” Donna said, stepping away from the two boys and trying to not stumble. Her head was spinning by now.
“No, you really can’t,” Brook pointed out from where she sat on the ground. “We all should take each other home.” She giggled.
Raymond, who was also less drunk than the rest of them, stepped forward. “I’ll go with you and Adam,” he said to Brook. “Hayley, take Sam before he passes out.”
Hayley grabbed Sam, putting an arm around his waist. “Come on, loser.”
“Josh, take Donna home, will you?” Raymond said.
Suddenly, Donna felt uncomfortable. “No, I’ll go on my –”
“No, Don,” Raymond said. “You’ll end up tripping and hurting yourself. Or worse.”
“I won’t,” Donna protested, taking a step forward and almost stumbling to the ground.
Sam noticed her uneasiness, despite not being completely in his senses, and stepped away from Hayley. “It’s okay, Donna,” he said in a low voice so that only she could hear. “Josh is all right.”
“He’s a bit… scary sometimes.” Donna didn’t bother keeping her voice low, but the others were already making their way to the exit.
“Just the right amount,” Sam said, patting her on the shoulder. “He’ll take care of you.”
“I can take care of myself,” Donna said loudly, but she put her arm through Sam’s and leaned her head against his shoulder as they walked. “Thank you, Sam.”
“What for, Donna?” Sam asked.
“For being you,” Donna said. “You’re fantastic.”
Sam laughed. “I should get you drunk more often, Donna.”
Donna pushed him away playfully. They had reached the exit, and the others waved goodbye and left.
Sam saluted Donna. “Your highness,” he said, before turning to Josh. “Take care of her,” he stated in a mock-dangerous voice.
“I think you should be worrying about yourself, not Donna,” they heard Hayley say as they walked away.
“Which way then?” Josh asked.
Donna giggled. She walked forward and looped her arm through his. “This way, Josh.” She began to walk, dragging him with her.
“Are you sure?” he asked quizzically.
“I live in this area,” Donna replied, feigning offense.
“All right then.” Josh looked at her. “Aren’t you cold?” She was wearing a thin, summer dress with no sleeves. Even though it was summer, some nights were chilly.
“Freezing,” she replied happily.
Josh gently freed his arm from her grip and took off his jacket
. He wrapped it around her, covering her bare shoulders.
“Hey!” she exclaimed, wrapping the jacket around her tighter.
“Hey what?”
“Hey, stop being a gentleman.” She swayed on the spot unsteadily. Josh reached forward and held her by the shoulders.
“Well, I have to,” he said. “I’m guessing I really scared you with my previous behavior.”
“You did not,” Donna said. “No one scares me.”
Josh laughed. “Whatever you say, your highness.” He put his arm around her shoulder to keep her steady as they began to walk again.
His form of address triggered something in her memory, and her eyes grew wide. “Hey, you heard me tell Sam that – that –”
“That I’m scary sometimes, yes,” Josh finished for her.
“Well, you are,” she said. “You don’t scare me though.”
“No?”
“No.”
“Well, I should,” he said as they turned onto Donna’s street.
“Why?” Donna demanded.
“Because,” he said, stopping her and turning her around to face him. He held her by the shoulders and lowered his head to bring it to her eye level. “How do you know I’m not a serial killer in disguise?”
Donna stared at him. Josh had really nice eyes. They were beautiful. She realized how close he stood, with his easy smile as though he didn’t even notice the proximity between them. She held her breath. She reached up on her toes, slowly closing the infinitesimal distance between their lips. His jacket hung around her neck, where she had tied it with its arms. Her hands moved to his shoulders and then his neck. Her head tilted, and his warm breath felt nice on her lips. He reached forward slowly until his lips barely brushed against hers – or did she imagine it? At that moment, he grabbed her hands – which had been holding his face – and gently pulled them away.
“Hey,” he murmured, taking a step back. “You’ve been drinking.”
“I’m sorry,” Donna sputtered, now back to her senses. “I shouldn’t have… I didn’t mean…”
“It’s all right.” Josh watched her; she looked completely flustered. “I’ll walk you to your house and then I’ll go.”
“Yeah, you should,” she said as she began to walk again. She stopped in her tracks and turned around. “I mean, you don’t have to; it’s not like I’m telling you to leave or something but –”
“Donna, calm down,” Josh said in a low voice as they began to walk. “It’s fine. You’ve been drinking. And nothing happened.”
“Right,” Donna said. They had reached her house. They walked up the pathway to the front door in silence. She turned around when they were at the door. “Well, I’ll see y –”
But Josh was frowning at the door. She followed his gaze. It stood slightly ajar. “Donna, did you lock the door when you left?”
“No, I didn’t,” Donna said immediately, just wanting to get away from him. “I left it unlocked.”
“Donna,” Josh said, exasperated. “Please lock the door next time.”
“I usually do,” she replied.
Josh frowned again. “But why it ajar, even if you left it unlocked?”
“Maybe I left it open?” Donna racked her brain. “We were in a hurry when we left.”
“Well, all right…” Josh said, but he still looked uneasy. “Maybe I should have a look inside.”
“No,” Donna said quickly. She wanted him to leave as soon as possible. “It’s fine. Really.”
Josh seemed to understand her meaning and nodded. “Lock the door when you go inside.”
She nodded and climbed the last step to the door but almost fell over. Immediately, Josh reached forward and grabbed her by the waist. She looked up at him as he looked at her in concern. Her breath hitched in her throat as she hurriedly stepped back.
“Well, I’ll see you later then,” she sputtered before rushing inside and closing the door. She fell unsteadily back on it, trying to calm herself by breathing deeply. She touched her forehead with her hand, attempting to cool her burning skin. What the hell had just (almost) happened?
*****
After she was feeling considerably calmer and some of the intoxicated effects was wearing off, she made her way upstairs to her room. It was still dimly lit, just the way she liked it. She took off her dress and put on one of her oversized tshirts that she wore for bed. She was gathering up her hair in her hands, ready to tie the knot when she saw it. Poking out of the pocket of the dress that she had discarded on the floor.
The key.
If she had had her key with her, that meant she had locked the door when she left.
Donna’s heart dropped to her stomach. She stood frozen for a second, staring at the key, her hands holding her hair up. Her eyes flickered to her bedroom door before she darted forward and locked it. What if whoever had broken in was still inside the house? She hadn’t bothered checking when she came inside. Her breathing grew shallow as she felt panic grow inside her. She ran to the window and looked outside. The street was deserted, and she didn’t know exactly what she was looking for.
She thought she heard a scuffling movement downstairs. She knew that it was probably her mind playing tricks on her – if someone were in the house, they would be making an effort to not be noisy. Nevertheless, her heart rate increased even more. She could probably take on one person – her dad had taught her all kinds of martial arts and fighting techniques, and she had even tested them in real life situations – but what if there were more people? And what if they had weapons? What good would fighting skills be if the other side had guns?
She tried to take deep breaths to calm down. Darting to her bedside table, she picked up her phone. She didn’t want to call the police; what good would it do if the intruder had already left? Her first thought was to call Sam, but she remembered how intoxicated he had been – he probably wouldn’t even pick up the phone. She thought of Brook, but she was in the same condition as Sam, or worse. Raymond had taken Brook home, which meant he was probably far by now. She could call her dad, but what could he do from so far away? He would probably chide her for not remembering if she locked the door or not…
Josh. How could she have forgotten? She dialed his number as she imagined – or hoped she imagined – another sound downstairs. It was a few moments before he answered.
“Hello?” his voice came through the speaker.
“Josh,” Donna gasped, trying to keep her voice low. “Josh, listen –”
“What is it, Donna?” Josh immediately sounded concerned. “Are you all right?”
“Josh, I think there’s someone inside the house,” Donna said in a rush. “I mean, there probably isn’t, but I just remembered that I did lock the door when I left, which means that someone did break in. Of course, I’m probably just imagining it, but I think I keep hearing sounds.”
“Donna, calm down,” Josh interrupted her ramble. “I’ll be right there.” Donna heard the click as he hung up. Feeling calmer, she sat down on the edge of her bed. Was that the sound of something scraping against the wooden floor? Her heartbeat quickened again, the calmness going away in an instant to be replaced by fear and restlessness. She told herself that she was overreacting. If there were someone inside the house, they would be careful to not make noise. She was imagining it. She sat there, taking deep calming breaths, for nearly ten minutes.
“Donna?” she heard the voice from the same landing where her room was. Her heart almost stopped beating before she realized that it was Josh’s voice. Getting to her feet, she rushed to the door and wrenched it open. She would have flung her arms around his shoulders had she not still had the memory of their almost-kiss still at the back of her mind.
“What took you so long?” she said weakly.
“I got here a while back,” Josh replied. “I was just checking the house. There’s no one here. Nothing seems out of place.”
Relief flooded through her. “I guess I imagined the sounds. Whoever it was… how did t
hey get in? The door was locked.”
“Donna, relax. We’ll figure it out.”
“I’m sorry, I’m just very paranoid and –” She looked around the corridor where Josh stood. Grabbing his arm, she pulled him inside and closed the door. “I’m still feeling uneasy out there, so it’s better to stay inside.”
“Do you have any idea who would want to break into your house? Does this have anything to do with that Peter friend of yours?”
Donna frowned. “No. I’m pretty sure it doesn’t.”
“And the man who attacked you that night – does this have anything to do with him?”
“What?” Donna looked at him in surprise. She hadn’t even considered that possibility. “Probably not. I don’t think so. I’m sure that man wasn’t targeting me in particular.”
“You can never be sure, honey.” Josh walked over to the window and looked outside thoughtfully. Then he turned around to face her. “Well, you should be going to sleep, or your head will start hurting soon.”
Donna shook her head, her eyes wide. “I don’t think I’ll sleep all night now. I’ll be too restless, all alone here, knowing someone broke into my house.”
“I didn’t say I was going to leave you alone here.” Josh walked to the door. “I’ll be in the living room downstairs. Just don’t worry, and try to get some sleep.”
“Josh, I don’t want to disturb you like that. I mean, it’s already so nice of you to come here and check up on the house but making you stay…” She was rambling again.
“Donna,” Josh sighed. “If you think I’m going to leave you alone after someone just broke into your house, you’re crazy.”
He turned to leave, but the sound of her voice saying his name stopped him. He turned back towards her.
“Thank you,” she said softly.
Josh looked at her with an odd expression before he swallowed, nodded and left.
Chapter Seven
She had almost kissed him.
He had stopped her.
Which was fine, of course. Well, not fine, really. He would have preferred if they had kissed. The realization came to him suddenly, but he wasn’t surprised. He thought of her standing there under the glowing light of the street lamps, in her blue, summer dress with her golden curls all around her face, giving her a disheveled look. She had been laughing, easygoing, so unlike her non-intoxicated self. Of course, he liked the non-intoxicated her better. She was stubborn and aggressive – or passive aggressive sometimes. But there was something about the way she had been laughing openly and loudly. Her lips had been so close to his.