Caged (Caged series Book 1)

by Destiny Hawkins

  The other team smiled over at us, or mostly at me, and I kept a straight face to show that I was serious. This was just like when I was kid, only I was a one man team. I know everyone was expecting me to screw up, or lose, but they had no idea. I wasn’t even nervous anymore. I’m that girl from Cali. That undefeated kick boxer and an amazing ass wrestler.

  I, Cameron, and Josh were at the front of the line. Cameron patted my shoulder, “You’re going to make us famous,” he said. We started out our warm ups by running around the mat. As I made my first round, I spotted Lorena in the crowd, who noticed me looking at her and waved. I didn’t wave back because I had to stay focused, and I’m sure she’d understand that. I tried hard not to smile when I saw my aunt at the top of the bleachers. This is the first wrestling meet that she has ever come to.

  Once we were all done warming up we gathered around the coach.

  “Alright team, let’s show these fuckers what we’re made of. Show them how hard we’ve practiced,” he leaned in close to us, “Make them cry,” he was looking directly at me with a smirk on his face.

  We all nodded, “All right team!” Josh yelled. He put his hand in the middle of the circle, “One, two, three, PIN!”

  The crowd went wild.

  The meet had finally started. Josh and Cameron, the co-captains, had sat on either side of me and neither of them were smiling anymore. Now we were watching one of our teammates wrestle one guy down, and it was getting me pumped because I was the next match.

  “Go and warm up,” Josh said. I stood up and walked over to an open space behind the team and picked up a jump rope. The people on the bleachers closest to me were glaring because the majority of them were here for the other team.

  I looked down at my red and black singlet. It fit me perfectly, showing my toned legs and arms, then you could see the lining of my abs through the fabric. I looked intimidating.

  Cameron was looking back at me. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking, but he nodded and I nodded back.

  The match went on for what seemed like forever. I had on a light sweat, which was intended, because the slippery wrestlers always had the advantage. The entire team stood up when it was my turn to wrestle, and the audience got quiet.

  Mr. Clothorn walked up to the mat with me, “You have nothing to worry about. Just take this guy down and get us a pin.”

  I didn’t say anything back. I was glaring over at my opponent who was smirking at me. He looked back at his team with a confident smirk on his face and then strut onto the mat. This guy didn’t take me seriously, they never do. Not until we start wrestling at least.

  The referee called us onto the mat. I walked up while still watching my opponent. He was a skinny dude, kind of like Cameron, but not as ripped, and his light skin didn’t help with showing any definition… if he had any.

  I didn’t hear what the ref was saying, and I didn’t really care. I was just watching my prey, trying to make him feel uncomfortable. That feeling I used to get when I was a kid came back, and it was invigorating. It was time to take him down.

  The ref stopped talking and we walked up and shook hands. Then we got into a wrestling stance and waited for the whistle. The boy was still smiling at me, “I’m going to fuck you up.”

  I didn’t say anything. The whistle blew and I went in for the kill.

  I slid in for the knee, making him think that I was going to take his leg, but instead I got a grip on his wrist with my shoulder on his lower stomach. I yanked hard on him and flipped him over my shoulders. It was the same move I pulled on Cameron, but faster.

  The crowd went wild, but it wasn’t over yet. I was going to try and get a pin as soon as possible. Even though I wanted to show off my skills, I couldn’t risk losing for the team.

  The guy’s eyes opened wide when he saw me coming in for a pin and he hurried back to his feet before I could get to him. I took note to work with Cameron on my speed. My opponent was embarrassed now. He came after me like Cameron did once before, and we were practically hugging each other. I tried to get a hip toss, but he beat me to it and flung me over his hip. I kept my cool and thought quickly about what to do next. This hip toss was weak, so instead of being slammed I got one foot down on the mat and used my momentum to throw him over my hip instead. It was a move I used all the time in Cali.

  The crowd roared again and I could even hear my teammates this time. It was time to end this. The guy tried to get up, but this time I was the fast one. I grabbed him and pushed him down, then I used my chest to roll him onto his back. I pushed as hard as I could and he gave in without much of a fight. Once I got him on both of his shoulders the ref blew his whistle.

  Now everyone was standing up watching and cheering for me. I looked over at everyone and smiled, then back at my team. Josh stood up and clapped his hands as if only to show good sportsmanship, but I knew he was jealous of my fame.

  Mr. Clothorn motioned for me to come off of the mat and patted me on my shoulder, “That was amazing, Rose!”

  “Thank you!” I said. I walked over to the team who all gave me high fives and congratulated me on my first win, but when I got down to Josh he didn’t say anything. Cameron on the other hand gave me an unexpected tight hug. It was almost cute, and once again I was blushing.

  “You gotta show me how to do that,” Cameron said.

  I looked over to the crowd and saw a familiar face. I could barely hear the yelling and screaming because I had completely zoned out. There was a twisting feeling in my stomach, like a dozen knots turning and it hurt. Whoever he was, was talking to Lorena. I couldn’t see half of his face, but I could tell that smile from anywhere. It was Arnold, or at least I thought it was him. He wore a long beige coat, and he needed to shave his face. Arnold was a high class man, it couldn’t have been him.

  The man had stood up with his daughter and walked out of the bleachers. I still never got to see his whole face and the feeling faded away. How could that be Arnold? He was locked up. The good feeling I previously had poured back in, and the smile Lorena was giving me made it feel even better.

  * * *

  I rode to the party with Cameron and Mike. We had to drive forty-five minutes out just to get to Cameron’s cousins huge house out in no man’s land. I wouldn’t even be surprised if I saw a few horses and cows out here. It seemed like a country area.

  We rode up the long driveway and then parked in an open spot between two cars. When I stepped out of the car I looked up at the bright stars and smiled. It made me think of Winee and how she loved the stars.

  Abigale parked two cars behind us, and from the looks of it, everyone that was here had just arrived and were getting out of their cars. It made me wonder if the house had even been set up for guests yet.

  “You guys did great!” Abigale walked up to me and Cameron, first giving me a hug and then him.

  “Thanks,” I said smiling.

  “So,” We all started walking towards the house, “I don’t know what type of parties you’ve been to in Cali,” Cameron said, “but this will probably be the best one you’ve ever been to.”

  “Yeah,” Abigale said, “his parties are kind of like the ones out of the movies.”

  “We’ll see about that,” the parties that I had been to in Cali had always ended in a big fight, or policeman running us out.

  We walked up a few steps and waited for Cameron to unlock the door.

  “Where’s your cousin?” I looked back and saw cars still coming in trying to find parking spots. A few people were getting out and heading in our direction.

  “Out of town. He always leaves me the house when he goes off on business,” Cameron had opened the door and we walked inside. I tried to keep my mouth from dropping down.

  The inside of the house was huge. I walked onto the wooden floor and didn’t know where to go first. This was the second largest house that I have ever set foot into. It wasn’t an Arnold sized house, but it was big enough.

  I followed Cameron into the kitchen where all
types of alcohol had been sitting out. A few of the boys from the team walked in and dropped off a few other bottles they had illegally gotten their hands on. Cameron had went into the fridge and pulled out a huge bowl full of red liquid with different types of fruit inside.

  We smiled at each other, I was very much familiar with that kind of alcohol. It was jungle juice.

  “You want to try some?” he asked.

  “No, not yet,” I said.

  “You’re not much of a drinker are you?”

  “No, not really.”

  “I figured,” he sat the bowl down on a long table in what looked to be the dining room. “Then it’ll be my goal to get you wasted tonight.”

  “I doubt you’ll accomplish doing that,” I turned around and saw the house filling up with people. Abigale was standing by the door talking to some guy from our class. When she looked back, she motioned for me to come to her.

  I walked up to the two and they led me down to the basement where I saw a group of students heading to. I also saw colorful lights flashing and loud music blaring, “They got started fast.”

  “The house was already set up, we just had to turn everything on,” Abigale said, “I hope you don’t mind getting those clothes wet.”

  I was wearing a pair of black sweats and a tight black t-shit. I did mind, but I wondered why she said that? I soon found out when we got to the bottom of the steps.

  There was a large pool in the basement, and the scene reminded me of an indoor pool with lawn chairs and a few tables in each corner of the room.

  “Wow,” was all I could say.

  Throughout my time at the party I got a bunch of high fives and good jobs from people that came to the wrestling meet. I separated from Abigale and decided to mingle, hopefully making some new friends on the way. This party was exactly like the ones off of the movies, only I’m not used to seeing a pool in the basement.

  My team made the party lively. They pushed people in the pool, drank loads of alcohol, and played beer pong upstairs along with shooting darts. There was also table hockey and few card games going on. What caught my attention was all the different types of people that attended the party. It wasn’t all one social group, but multiple starting from the outgoing loud students, to the shy and timid.

  When I decided to get my first drink, Cameron had given me a cup of jungle juice and went back to playing cards with his friends, then I went into the living room and sat down on the soft couch. Two drunk boys were shooting darts in front of me, and I found amusement in watching them completely miss every try.

  After about five minutes I actually started to feel a buzz and wanted to join in their game. They let me join them and started placing bets. I wasn’t drunk yet, so of course I actually landed darts on the board.

  Once money got involved I started to get serious, and there were a few other people watching me now. Somehow I just keep becoming the center of attention.

  My last shot landed on the edge of the board, “I can do better than that,” Lorena had passed me and took the darts from the dartboard and then stood next to me.

  “Riiiiight,” I said with a smile. My cheeks were tingling. I looked back and saw Josh talking to some of the guys, but looking in my direction. I shrugged it off and turned back to Lorena who had scored a bull’s eye three times in a row. The two idiot drunks went wild and did some weird handshake.

  “If this were a sport, you'd be on the Olympic level,” I said.

  “Wow, have you been drinking?” Lorena laughed.

  “Only a little. Why? Does my breath stink?” I blew in my hand.

  Lorena laughed again, “No, you just seem a little different.”

  “Is that bad?” I asked.

  “No, not at all,” She glanced at Josh, who was no longer paying us any attention, and then turned back to me, “Did you see the pool?”

  “Yeah, this house is awesome,” I said.

  “What about the hot tubs?”

  “As in plural?”

  Lorena led me onto the back porch where there were two hot tubs next to each other.

  “This is nice,” I said as I looked around. The backyard was a huge space with a big tree standing tall in the middle. Under it I saw a bench with lightning bugs blinking around it, “Come down here,” Lorena followed me to the bench and sat down next to me. I looked up and admired the stars.

  “I never really sat out here before,” Lorena said looking up with me, “It’s pretty.”

  “Have you been drinking?”

  “What? No,” she laughed.

  I spotted a lightning bug and put my hand out to catch it. The little bug sat on my finger tip and lit up like an old broken light.

  “I used to catch those all the time when I was a kid,” Lorena said, “If there’s one thing I can remember, it was back when I would run through the woods and catch lightning bugs.”

  I smiled at her as she watched the little bug lift off and fly away, then she looked up at me with a gorgeous smile and I almost blushed.

  “Aww, isn’t that cute,” Someone said.

  I took a deep breath and cleared my throat, “I’m not in the mood, Jessie.”

  Chapter 19

  Lorena frowned and turned around, but I didn’t.

  “What do you want?” Lorena asked.

  “Nothing, girl,” Jessie walked around the bench to face me, “just to congratulate the lil’ wrestler on her win.”

  I was sober now, but still felt a little numb. That was the only reason I didn’t run after her swinging my fists.

  Jessie shook her head, “You know, you’re really good at wrestling. I heard that you were on another team back in California.”

  My head shot up and my heart started racing. Lorena looked confused.

  “You had a few scholarships, didn’t you?” She smirked, “I’m pretty sure you don’t anymore, or will ever again.”

  My chest went up and down as I began breathing harder. What does she want? Why does she keep picking with me? And on top of that, she was bringing up my past in front of Lorena. Something that no one is ever supposed to know about.

  “What is she...?” Lorena looked over at me and saw just how tense the situation really was.

  “I’m actually surprised they let you wrestle here. You know, after what you did.”

  “Jessie, this is the last time I’m going to tell you,” I stood up and started walking towards her, “Leave me alone.” A darkness started to take over me, which was now a foreign feeling after being so happy with my new life, and I had forgotten just how good it felt.

  “Or what? You gonna do to me what you did to him?” She stepped towards me. We were now only nose length away from each other, and once again, the look in her eyes were totally different from the look on her face. She was smiling at me, but her eyes were full of anger and hate. Jessie didn’t like me for more than just what happened in Cali. No, she held a bigger grudge.

  “Rose,” Lorena took my arm and I jumped, “she isn’t worth it.”

  Jessie laughed, “I wouldn’t touch her when she’s like this. She might just black out and-”

  Without thinking I head-butted her on her forehead. It hurt, but felt good at the same time. Jessie laughed and stepped back, “Wow!”

  Angrily I charged my fist at her, but she swiftly dodged it and I tripped over a root. I caught myself, but was confused on what had just happened.

  “Rose-” Lorena tried to warn me.

  When I turned to face Jessie, I was hit hard with her first two knuckles to my cheek. I was knocked off balance for a second, but then kicked back into action. My mentality had totally switched into fighter mode, and all I saw was my opponent.

  Jessie noticed the change and went on to the defensive. Too bad she was too slow though. I guess that one dodge was luck.

  I kicked at her thigh and then at her ribs, and both kicks landed. Jessie tried to smile, but it hurt too much. Once I saw that she was weak, I punched her hard across her face and surprisingly she stood he
r ground.

  “Guys, stop it!” Lorena yelled. A few guys from the team noticed that I was fighting and came running in our direction.

  I took the last chance I had and tackled her onto her back, “What-” I punched her, “Do you,” again I hit her, “want?” I could feel myself slowly losing control, and all I could think about was how she was going to take everything away from me again. I couldn’t lose it all a third time, “Huh!!?” I punched her again, “What do you want?!” the guys were on me now and struggled to pull me away, “Leave me alone! I told you to leave me alone!”

  “Rose, calm down!” Lorena yelled. I didn’t listen to her and tried hard to continue on punching Jessie’s face in, but then someone with a really strong grip wrapped his arms around me and yanked me away from her. When I saw who it was, I tried to attack him too, but Lorena stepped in front of me. Josh stood behind her with a serious face, bracing himself.

  I frowned at Lorena. Her face was blurry and almost unrecognizable. She wasn’t who I was after though and I didn’t want to hurt her. I looked down and saw Jessie being helped up to her feet. She was okay.

  “You’re not as good as they say,” Jessie wiped her bloody lip.

  I charged at her again, but this time Cameron stepped in front of me, “Chill...chill,” he put his hands on my shoulders. Abigale stood next to me, “let me take you inside.”

  I looked around and saw that everyone was watching me, “Yeah, I’m tired,” I glared at Jessie one last time. “This isn’t over.”

  “If you want to stay on our team, it is,” Josh said,

  I waved my hand at him and followed Abigale and Cameron inside. They took me up to the second floor and patched up the small cut on my cheek.

  “What did she do to deserve that?” Abigale said as she rubbed the Band-Aid over my cut, “You destroyed her.”

  “She’s trouble,” was all I said.

  Cameron sighed, “If we were in school, you would be kicked off of the team. You heard what Josh said.”