“The label was the initials,” Isaac said. “I’ve never been able to keep them straight. But I’ll memorize them tonight.”
Zeke nodded. “Damn right you will. I’ll be there to make sure,” Zeke promised Isaac.
“Works for me,” Isaac agreed. Everyone sat down. I sat next Ethan. Zeke’s stare came back to me.
“Now, what happened with Darren Cross?” Zeke demanded.
“Nothing much,” I hedged. He just gave me that look he has, the ‘don’t fuck with me’ look. I sighed and explained what happened while I took out my lunch. Zeke fired off questions and I answered them, not bothering to argue. He was fighting enough with Riley. When he was satisfied that Darren hadn’t touched me or really threatened me, he went back to his lunch.
“So, we have half days coming,” I announced. “What kind of trouble should we get into?” There were several chuckles. The twins were throwing out suggestions when Ryan strode through the crowd to reach us. His eyes ran over me.
“I heard that Darren Cross went at you today,” Ryan announced, his voice hard. His grey eyes were sharp as they met mine. I shrugged.
“He just yelled at me and wouldn’t let me get by,” I said, nonchalantly.
“Are you okay?” Ryan asked through his teeth.
“Yeah, it was no big deal,” I said. Ryan nodded and then shared a look with Ethan before walking off.
“So, Ryan, huh?” Riley asked, with a smirk on her face.
“What?” I asked, confused.
“Ryan likes you,” Riley told me.
“Yeah, right,” I snorted. Riley just grinned at me. We went back to making plans for our free afternoons. It wasn’t long before we were interrupted again. Clay Ordin stepped up to the table next to me.
“Are you alright?” Clay asked. “I heard Cross was yelling at you in the hallway today.”
Ethan and Isaac looked like they were going to bust a gut. Their faces were even red from holding in their laughter.
“I’m fine. He was just having a tantrum,” I told Clay instantly. His eyes ran over me then back to mine.
“Are you sure?” He asked gently. I sighed
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I assured him. I was starting to feel like a broken record. He nodded, his face still concerned then he reached out and took my phone off the table.
"Here's my number. If Darren comes at you again, just call me," He said. "Or if, ya know, you want to talk or something." He handed me back my phone.
"Thanks, Clay."
“I'll, um, talk to you later,” Clay said, his face red, before heading back to his table of friends. The twins finally burst out laughing. I rolled my eyes.
“Clay Ordin?” Riley asked, smiling a big smile, I sighed as she laughed too. I realized not everyone was laughing. Zeke was watching me, Asher was rubbing the back of his neck, and Miles was tapping out that staccato rhythm. The twins kept teasing me as lunch went on.
After Zeke finished his lunch I looked pointedly at him, then to Riley and back to him. He gritted his teeth, then reached over to take Riley’s hand. Riley’s head snapped around to look at him, her face surprised. After a few seconds, he pulled her hand off the table and out of everyone’s view. Riley was still stunned when she looked around the group, I gave Zeke an encouraging smile which Riley noticed, looked at Zeke, and back to me. It wasn’t long until the bell rang. I got my stuff and headed off towards Gym class.
“Lexie!” I turned in the hall to watch Riley hurry to catch up to me. “Can I talk to you for a sec?”
“Talk as long as you want, I don’t mind missing Gym class,” I offered smiling. She gave an odd chuckle.
“Did Zeke talk to you about me and him?” She asked bluntly.
“Yeah, a bit,” I admitted. Riley took a deep breath and let it out.
“What did you talk about?” She asked.
“He asked me for advice,” I hedged. Riley tucked her lilac hair behind her ear.
“What kind?” She asked. I stopped in the hall and looked up at her.
“Whatever you’re trying to ask, just ask,” I said, bluntly. Riley pressed her lips together and fiddled with her fingers.
“Want to ditch?” Riley asked. “This might take a while.”
“Sure, let’s head over to the football field, there’s no classrooms over there,” I said. Riley gave me a small smile as we started walking. She was quiet until we reached the bleachers and sat down.
“Did Zeke talk about our relationship? What we’ve been fighting about?” Riley asked awkwardly.
“He told me that you’re not happy with the way things are,” I hedged again. She sighed.
“Zeke doesn’t hold hands with me,” Riley announced. “He doesn’t really hug me in front of other people, he doesn’t want to do the couple stuff.”
“Like dances?” I asked, sympathetically, she nodded.
“My boyfriend doesn’t want to take me to Winter Formal, what does that mean?” Riley asked wearily.
“Did he say he didn’t want to take you, or did he say he didn’t want to wear a tux?” I asked gently. Riley sighed.
“He said tux,” She admitted. “But I want to see him in a tux. He’d look so... kissable.” I smiled at the wishful look on her face.
“You know Zeke,” I said gently. “He’s stubborn, if he doesn’t want to wear a tux, he’s not wearing a tux.” Riley sighed.
“I know,” Riley said before looking at me. “We’ve been together a month now and he’s never even kissed me in front of you guys. It’s like he doesn’t really like me.”
“That’s not it,” I tried to explain. “He just isn’t into PDA. He has only hugged me once in front of the others and it was after a seizure that almost killed me in October.” Riley nodded.
“So, it’s not just with me?” She asked.
“Nope. It’s not just you,” I told her. She nodded, then looked at me.
“Lexie, he doesn’t like me touching him,” Riley said in disbelief. Now that I had felt Zeke’s back through his shirt I had a hunch why, but I couldn’t tell her that.
“Touch him in public? In general, or his back?” I asked carefully. Riley thought about it.
“In public, and his back,” She answered. “Okay, I understand his PDA thing, but what’s with the back thing?” I thought about how to answer her. I wasn’t going to tell her what Zeke told me, it was private but she needed to know it wasn’t her.
“Riley, it’s a trigger,” I began. “It’s connected to something that has nothing to do with you. I can’t tell you why, or what it is, but it has nothing to do with you.” I didn’t know how else to explain it.
“Really?” She asked.
“Really,” I said firmly. She rolled her eyes and scoffed.
“I’ve never been so insecure with someone in my life,” Riley said. “But with him, I feel like I don’t know where I stand.” I knew the feeling.
“Then ask him,” I told her bluntly. She looked at me, her brow drawn down. “Just ask him. Zeke won’t lie to you about it, he’ll tell you the truth,” She snorted with disdain.
“He won’t even tell me about his parents, Lexie,” Riley said her voice quiet.
“That has nothing to do with you, Riley,” I reassured her. Riley eyed me.
“Are you sure?” She asked. I nodded.
“Positive,” I said confidently. “He’s just not ready to talk about it with you yet. You have to give him time.” Riley looked out at the football field and sighed.
“Alright, I’ll ask him,” She announced.
“Good.”
“But what if I don’t like what he has to say?” She asked absently before looking to me. I shrugged.
“Then you’ll have something to think about,” I said lamely. I didn’t know what else I could say to her at this point.
“Okay,” She said, sounding resigned. We spent the rest of the period gossiping. When the bell rang for seventh period, Riley hugged me goodbye. I just hoped I helped. The rest of my day went on as us
ual.
“I don’t know about this,” Tara said as I pulled into the parking lot for the gym. I parked the Blazer and looked at her. Tara was wearing grey yoga pants, a pink t-shirt, and her jacket. Her hair was back in a ponytail and her makeup was minimal. I’d never seen her without a full face of makeup before, she was prettier without it.
“Tara, you’re not going to be learning the same stuff I am. You’re getting basic self-defense,” I reminded her. “It’s honestly something every girl should know.” I opened my door and looked at Tara. Her fingers twisted on themselves as she eyed the gym.
“There’s going to be a bunch of boys in there,” She said.
“So?” I asked, not really seeing the problem.
“I just...” Tara looked at me, cringing. “I’ve never worked out around guys.” I bit back my laugh and managed to just smile.
“Tara, you’re not working out,” I told her. “You’re going to learn some moves and how to defend yourself. Isaac’s a great teacher, you’ll learn fast.”
“I’m going to suck at this,” She muttered. I laughed, I couldn’t help it. Tara shot me a look.
“Tara...” When I was done laughing I tried again, “I get my ass kicked every time I come to this gym. You start out sucking but then you get better, that’s how it works.” When she still didn’t move, I added, “No one cares if you suck at this.” She took a deep breath and nodded. We got out and hurried inside. Tara followed me as I walked towards the benches where the guys were.
“I’m here for my usual torture,” I announced cheerfully as I went to my locker. The guys chuckled as they finished getting their gear ready. All the guys said hi, they even said hi to Tara. I pulled out my hand wraps and sat down on the bench on the other side of Ethan. Tara sat next to me, quieter than I have ever seen her before.
“It’s not that bad, Beautiful,” Ethan said smiling at me. I scoffed.
“Depends on who I’m with today?” I asked, looking down the line. “Is Isaac taking Tara?” Isaac nodded then looked at my cousin.
“I’m going to teach you how to hit someone if you need to, using your fists, elbow, feet, and knees,” Isaac said. Then he pointed to Miles. “Then Miles is going to teach you how to get out of holds.” My eyebrows went up as I looked at Miles. His ears were already pink.
“Is that gonna work for you, Miles?” I asked, uncertainly. Miles looked down the bench to me.
“The others will be helping,” Miles said. I nodded.
“Well, you’ll probably have an easier time with her than you did with me,” I said cheerfully. “She’s a cheerleader and all.”
“After Miles, Asher will run you through some scenarios to help you put it all together,” Isaac told Tara. Tara seemed to relax and nod, I looked at the others.
“Then that leaves me with...” I groaned. Zeke chuckled darkly.
“You’re stuck with me,” Zeke taunted. I stopped wrapping my hands long enough to flip him off. The guys laughed, even Tara chuckled a bit. Everyone got up and went to start their routines. I hung around Tara’s lesson with Isaac until she seemed comfortable, it didn’t take long. Isaac was a good teacher. In training, the goofy jokester disappeared and there was just Isaac, the MMA fighter. It was interesting to watch from this side of the mat. Eventually, Zeke told me it was time to get to work. I had a feeling I was going to want to puke today.
Two hours later, I dropped to the mat, not because I got knocked down. I was just out of breath, hot, sweaty, and tired. Isaac came over to look down at me.
“Red?” His eyes were concerned. I waved my hand weakly to let him know I was okay. He chuckled before he dropped to the mat next to me and rolled onto his back. “Giving up?” He asked. I pointed in the air.
“Never!” I said in a defiant voice, and then dropped my arm back down to my chest.
“Maybe.” We both giggled. Isaac elbowed my arm.
“So, what’s the deal with your Secret Admirer?” He asked. I shook my head.
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “At this point it’s getting a little weird that I don’t know who he is.”
He chuckled. “I wasn’t going to say anything.” He muttered. “What’s his deal?”
“I don’t know, he didn’t come up and say hi at Vegabond because of you guys,” I explained. “But I was standing at the bar for a while. He could have come up then.”
“Yeah, it’s not that hard to find you in a crowd around here, Red,” He pointed out. I rolled my eyes then looked at him.
“So, have you found a date to the dance yet?” I asked, curious.
“Not yet, I’m asking a friend of a friend later,” He grumbled. Isaac’s name was called across the gym. He groaned as he got to his feet, then he reached down and helped me up before heading off to his own training. I started walking through the gym, un-wrapping my hands as I went. It was probably about time for Tara to be done with the guys so I headed towards the front.
“Hey Lexie,” A guy’s voice said from behind me. I jumped and turned to find Jordan standing there. Sweat dripped from his forehead as he began un-wrapping his hand wraps. He gave me a crooked smile. “Didn’t mean to scare ya.”
“I just didn’t see you there,” I admitted as I walked towards the front of the gym. Jordan moved to walk beside me.
“How did your training go today?” Jordan asked, cheerfully.
“Not bad, still getting my cardio up to speed,” I admitted. “How about yours?”
“The usual, two steps forward and one step back,” Jordan said as we reached the lockers. I opened mine and started putting my wraps away. “How have your seizures been?” He asked, surprising me.
“That's none of your business,” I pointed out as I closed my locker. “I’ll see you around.” I left the lockers and walked back into the gym to the mat room. I was just in time to watch Tara drop Asher to the mat. I chuckled as I walked up to them.
“Now, that’s what I’m talking about, Tara.” I smiled as she turned to me. Her cheeks were flushed and she had a small smile on her face.
“It’s not as hard as I thought it would be,” Tara admitted as Asher got to his feet.
“She’s got it down,” Asher announced as he looked to me. “She’s all set.”
“Thanks, Ash,” I said as he walked off the mat.
“No problem, Ally girl,” He grinned down at me as he headed toward the lockers. I looked at Tara.
“Let’s get out of here. The smell of dude sweat is rank.” We grabbed our coats, got in my Blazer, and headed home. “So, what did you think?” I asked. Tara thought about it.
“It was kind of fun. Not as fun as cheerleading, but still, not so bad,” Tara said. I got curious.
“What is it you like about cheerleading?” I asked, carefully. Tara smiled.
“It’s the gymnastic I really like, the tumbling and flips,” Tara admitted as we pulled on to our street. “There isn’t a gymnastic center around here and I can’t really go to Missoula three times a week, so, I started cheerleading.” That made sense. I parked the Blazer. “Thanks Lexie,” Tara said before getting out and heading to the door. I smiled to myself. Maybe Tara and I could be friends after all, it would just take time. I was crossing the grass when Tara stopped at the door, she bent down and picked up a bouquet of flowers.
“Who are those from?” I asked as I reached her. Tara huffed then looked at me.
“They’re for you,” Tara said sharply. She shoved them into my hands and walked into the house. I sighed, so much for being friendly. I looked at the small note attached to the stems.
I heard you had a bad day today, just wanted your day to end with a smile. - Your Secret Admirer.
I smiled. It was extremely sweet. Then another thought hit me, how did he know where I lived? The question bothered me as I walked into the house. Hades jumped up from his corner of the couch and ran to me. I bent down, pet him, and told him what a good boy he was. I put the flowers on the dinner table and opened the back door. Hades ran outside and imm
ediately started peeing. I pulled out my cell phone and texted to ask.
Alexis: I found your flowers, thank you. They did make me smile.
I didn’t have long to wait till he answered.
Secret Admirer: I’m glad, you have a beautiful smile.
Alexis: How did you know where I live?
There were a couple heart beats before his response.
Secret Admirer: Phone book. I heard you were living with your Uncle and there was only one Delaney in the phone book, so I took a shot.
My nerves eased. He was just being sweet.
Alexis: Thank you, I love them.
Secret Admirer: You’re welcome, what are your plans for the night?
Hades came in, I gave him a treat and told him he as a good boy. He went off and munched away.
Alexis: Relax, dinner with the family, and research a paper. You?
Secret Admirer: About the same. Working on a robotics project. That’s about it.
I walked over and sat down on the couch. Hades joined me, laying his head in my lap.
Alexis: What’s the project?
Secret Admirer: I’m working on an exoskeleton glove to enhance and support the movements of a person’s arm.
My brows went up.
Alexis: Wow that sounds complicated.
Secret Admirer: It’s not that difficult, once you understand the parts and how they work together. Maybe you should try doing something with robotics.
I thought about what I would do with a robot and smiled.
Alexis: If I did anything with robots, it’d be to make one for Battle Bots.
Secret Admirer: Lol.
Alexis: Seriously, that looks like fun!
Secret Admirer: But all that work, just to destroy it?
Alexis: The point is to destroy the other robot, not yours.
Rory came into the house carrying plastic bags.
“Hey, I brought home dinner,” Rory announced as he closed the door.
“Great, I’m starving,” I countered. He grinned as he went into the kitchen. Hades abandoned me and followed the smell of food.
Secret Admirer: Yeah, but I would watch a match and just think ‘that probably took over a hundred hours of work.’
Alexis: You have a point, but still, it’d be awesome. My Uncle’s home, time for dinner. TTYL
When To Fear The Living Page 15