Josh was easily pinned by his adversary. There wasn’t much of a fight since the beginning of the match, and it was almost as if Josh was just submitting to him. Luckily his loss didn’t cause the team to fall behind.
I almost smiled when I saw him get taken down, but Lorena’s intense glare at the mats kept my lips from making the slightest curve. I noticed the little girl from earlier walking up the bleachers on the other side of the court and was curious as to who she was sitting with. When she found her seat, she sat down and watched eagerly at the match.
My eyes scanned to the man sitting next to her, who was looking directly at me. He was the same man that was talking to Lorena during my first meet, and I just realized that the little girl was the same one that was with him before.
My hands started shaking so I held them together. I couldn’t understand why I was getting so nervous because I knew he wasn’t who I first thought he was. Arnold was in jail, locked away with the rest of the criminals. There was no chance that he would get out for another ten years, so who was this guy?
The crowd on the other side stood and cheered as their team finally got a win, and the strange man was out of sight. I was distracted by Lorena, who stood and slipped by me to go meet Josh. I guess it was finally time to end things.
I smiled at Josh, who looked up at me with a frown after his loss, then I gave him a wave and went to meet with my team in the locker room. Once inside I gave Cameron a hug and then high fived the rest of the team. Josh stayed off by his locker and kept from looking at any of us.
“You guys did an awesome job out there!” I said.
The team cheered.
“Yeah, next time we’ll have you to get us a load of points,” one of my teammates said.
Mr. Clothorn came in and gave the team a motivating speech about working harder. I left before the guys started to change, and saw Lorena in the hall. She was leaning against the lockers with her arms crossed and had a serious look painted on her face. I was going to talk to her, when Josh bumped passed me and walked confidently towards her, and I was happy to see that her expression hadn’t changed.
“Hey, baby,” I heard him say before he went in for a kiss. Lorena flinched back and moved out of kissing range.
“Damn, Rejected,” Cameron teased as he walked up with Abigale behind me.
Lorena gave us a scary look and all three of us turned to walk the other way, “I guess she can handle this one on her own,” I said.
The other two nodded.
I looked up and saw the little girl for the third time. She was walking out of the building while holding the mysterious man’s hand. She looked back and gave me a short wave, and I waved back.
“Do you know her?” Abigale asked.
“No...” I watched as the crowd of people rushed into the halls to get to their cars.
“Guess she’s a fan, she asked about you before the meet. Looked pretty disappointed about you not wrestling. Said she had to learn some new moves,” Cameron said.
Abigale gave me a confused look, but then smiled and said, “Yeah, she’s probably just a fan.”
* * *
We waited fifteen minutes in the gym as Lorena and Josh were having their last argument of the year. There was a loud pound, like the sounds of doors opening, and then I heard them close. I stood up, hoping that Lorena was okay and was relieved to see her walking into the gym with a slight smile on her face.
“So?” Cameron asked.
“I’m single, and totally available,” Lorena laughed.
“Well,” Cameron slowly walked towards her, “could you do me the honors of being my date tonight?”
Abigale and I laughed. Lorena blushed, then looked to me as if she wanted permission.
“You should go ahead, that way Josh would be more focused on killing Cameron than me,” I said.
“Yeah, plus I bet it’d feel good to have a date with someone new,” Abigale said.
Lorena looked at me again, then back at Cameron and put on a fake smile, “Yes, but only this once. Then I’m single until I turn thirty.”
All three of us laughed again and went out to dinner. It was the first time I went out with them since Cameron’s party, and I really enjoyed it. Cameron and Lorena were role playing as a couple for most of the night, and he even paid for her food. Abigale and I just acted as the close friends that we already were.
On our way out of the restaurant I noticed a car turn hard into the parking lot. Lorena looked at me and shrugged, then went to the driver’s side of her car. Before she opened the door, that screeching car pulled up behind us and a group of boys got out. One of them being Josh.
“Hey, baby,” he said, “I think we need to have another talk,” his words were slurred, but he seemed to still have a lot of control over his body.
“No, you guys are done talking,” Cameron stepped in front of her causing Josh and his three friends to laugh.
“Step aside,” Josh said.
Lorena stepped beside Cameron, “He’s right. We’re done talking, so you can tell your friend to get that car out of the way.”
Josh stood there with wide eyes, then he started to laugh again, “Look at you. Dressing like some dyke, and suddenly your all tough,” he stepped in close, “All I have to do is lay you down and you’ll be my sweet little bitch again.”
Cameron pressed his hand against Josh’s chest, “Dude, that’s enough. Go home.”
Josh looked at Cameron for a moment, then hit him with a hard right that sent him to the ground.
“Hey!” I ran up and hit Josh as hard as I could in the jaw. Whatever he had been drinking must’ve numbed his senses because he barely reacted.
“Stupid bitch!” Josh grabbed me by my neck and slammed me against the van next to Lorena’s car.
“Stop it, Josh!” Lorena yelled.
Cameron got up and tackled Josh to the ground, but before he could get any hits off, Josh’s friends pulled him away and he fell to the ground in front of me.
“Rose,” Lorena touched my shoulder and I shook her off, then helped Cameron to his feet. Abigale stood next to us and waited for Josh’s next move.
“They can’t protect you forever, Lorena,” Josh yelled back at her.
Anger finally set in and I stepped forward, “You put your hands on her again, and I’ll break them. Believe me Josh, if anything, I’m good for breaking bones,” I had grown tired of hiding the real me. All of the other times I was just making it to the borderline so not to show people just how scary I could get, but now that I knew who had my back I no longer had to hide.
“Right, I heard about you,” Josh laughed, “I went to Jessie after that fight and she told me all about what you did. Did she tell you, Lorena?” There was a short silence, “I bet she didn’t, and your just hanging out with her not even knowing who she really is, and let me tell you baby, you’re better off just getting smacked around by me,” he laughed.
I ran up to hit him again, but his friends kept me from his reach and pushed me back like two body guards.
“It’s okay Rose, it’s our little secret, alright?” He turned around and got into the car, then his friends followed his lead and drove off.
I turned back to my three friends who were blankly staring at me as if waiting for an explanation. I didn’t give them one.
Chapter 24
“Are you okay?” I asked Lorena before getting out of the car. We had just dropped off Abigale and Cameron and were now sitting in my driveway letting unanswered questions linger in the air.
Lorena smiled, “Actually, I’m fine,” she turned to me, “but I was just wondering the same thing about you.”
“What?” I acted surprised, but I knew that my friends were worried about me. Neither of them asked me what Josh was talking about, which was a little relieving, because I didn’t want to talk about it, “I’m okay,” I gave a hard to fake smile.
Lorena sighed, “I know that there are things that you don’t want people to know. I could tell fro
m the day that I met you that you were hiding something, but I figured that it was for the best. Whatever happened is why you moved here right?”
I nodded, then jumped from the warmth of her hand on mine.
“A fresh start,” she squeezed me hand and gave a reassuring smile, “everyone deserves second chances. Especially someone as sweet as you.”
“I’m not as sweet as you think,” I said with a serious look on my face. Thoughts of the incident in Cali came rushing back at me.
“Yes you are...” Lorena said, her smile fading. She pulled her hand away from mine, “well, I will see you in school on Monday-”
“Thank you,” I cut her off, “thank you for being my friend. I’m really happy that I met you.”
Lorena smiled again and looked down at her hands, “I ought to be thanking you...”
It felt like the heat was rising in the car and I started to sweat. I couldn’t help but admire Lorena’s beautiful face and reassuring smile. She made me feel so calm and safe, and it was like I met her for a reason. Lorena needed someone, and that someone was me. We needed one another.
“Well, I’m tired,” I said slapping my hands on my knees, “I will see you on Monday,” I opened the door but before I got out I said, “Make sure you text me when you get home, and if Josh is there, then call the police.”
Lorena nodded, “Don’t worry, I have my pepper spray.”
I nodded back, “Well, you be safe.”
“I will, don’t worry.”
“OK,” I reluctantly closed the door and then headed towards my house. I looked back and watched as Lorena drove away, and was about to enter my home when I noticed a black car parked across the street.
The windows were tinted, so it was hard to see inside, but I did notice that there was movement behind the glass. I figured it was just someone waiting on a friend to come out, but the time said one O’clock. Who would possibly be coming out to such a creepy car at this time of night?
The figure behind the glass moved again and I could swear whoever it is was watching me. I grunted and started walking towards the car. It was probably just Josh trying to play some kind of Joke on me, “Hey!” I yelled. Once I got close enough to the car the driver pulled off and zoomed down the street.
Whoever it was wasn’t waiting for a friend....they were waiting for me.
* * *
I sat in my room on a Sunday night and was texting Lorena, Cameron and Abigale in a group text. Cameron was talking about officially making Lorena his girl and rubbing it in Josh’s face and the rest of us were telling him he wouldn’t stand a chance against him.
My aunt started playing some loud church music and then came in my room dancing. I laughed at her as she danced around to the drums and singers.
“C’mon, dance with me!” She laughed.
“No, Shannon,” I sat up on the bed and was about to start recording her when she grabbed my hands.
“Dance with me, baby!” She was all off beat and spun me around.
“Oh my gosh,” I laughed as we danced together.
“You got it! Lean with it, rock with it!”
“This is church music!”
The sound of glass breaking and something hard hitting the floor stopped my laughing. My aunt stopped dancing and gave me a confused look.
“Wait here,” I said.
“Honey-”
I ran passed her and into the living room. Our front window was shattered all over the carpet and snow blew in from under the curtains. Aunt Shannon saw what had happened and turned off the radio, then she picked up a brick with a piece of paper attached to it.
“What is it?” I asked. My aunt gave me a scary look, almost as if she’d seen a ghost.
“Nothing, baby,” she balled it up and almost threw it away when I snatched it from her.
The word on the white paper made my heart stop, “Murderer?” I said to myself. My aunt sighed and snatched it from me, then threw it away.
“Rose?” She called as I ran outside to see if the culprit was still out there. They weren’t, but they left a few tire marks on the street. My aunt walked beside me and put her hand on my shoulder, but I just brushed it off and went back to my room. My happy mood had been killed and I wanted to go to bed.
Lorena had texted me good night before bed, but right when I was going to respond I put the phone down. I couldn’t shake the fear that I was feeling. It was almost as if I were helpless.
* * *
The next day in school I sat quietly in Miss Shy’s office. She noticed that something was wrong and tried to get me to talk about it, but then gave up when I wasn’t budging. I just couldn’t figure out who wrote that note? Maybe it was the person from the black car...
“Rose?” Mrs. Shy called. I think she called my name a few times, but I didn’t hear her.
“Yeah?” I became alert and looked up at her as if I really cared about what she had to say next.
“How about we talk about something that’ll...distract you?”
I was confused.
“Like how you and your friends are doing...”
I didn’t react.
“Or Lorena and you?” She must’ve noticed my expression change because she began to smile.
“What about us?” I tried to play dumb.
“Well, have you two spoken since the incident? How is she doing?” Miss Shy really looked concerned, “How are you doing?” she was implying to the talk we had about Windred, but I didn’t want that to come up again.
“I’m fine, and so is she. We’ve gotten a little closer-as friends, and she finally hangs out with Abigale and Cameron-and me. Oh! And she broke up with Josh the other day.”
“I heard about that. It’s been going around the school since this morning,” her smile faded a little bit, “Has he been bothering you?”
I sighed and was about to tell her what happened after the meet, but then the bell rang, “Sorry, I have to go.”
“Rose,” she stopped me before I went out the door, “make sure you come to me, or someone, if he’s harassing you.”
“Okay, I will,” I said before I walked out of her office. Once I was out, I ran into Cameron, who was on his way to his next class.
“Hey Rose,” he gave me a tight hug, like he has been doing lately, and I felt the heat rise to my cheeks. I was hoping Cameron didn’t notice the times that I blushed, or when I would get shy around him, because I didn’t want to send him the wrong message. I mean he is cute, and I like his personality, but I’m just not worried about a relationship right now.
“So, you ready for practice today?” He asked. He was talking about Josh.
“Are you?” I laughed, “Because I can handle him.”
“We could double team him,” I think my confidence brought his a little lower. Cameron was once afraid of Josh, but now he isn’t. Maybe just a little doubtful about being able to take that bulk of muscle on.
“Yeah, definitely,” I said. Not paying attention, I had bumped right into Mrs. Pond, and all of her papers fell to the floor.
“I’m sorry, Teach,” I bent down to help her pick them up.
“No, you’re fine,” she and Cameron helped also.
While I was picking them up, I saw a paper with Josh’s name on it. It was covered in red marks given by Mrs. Pond to let him know that just about everything was incorrect.
“These test papers?” I said, grabbing his. I stared at the hand writing and felt my heart drop. It was the same handwriting on the lovely note that came crashing through my window last night.
“Dam-” Cameron stopped himself when he saw the look on her face, “Josh sure is....smart,” he tried not to laugh.
Mrs. Pond took the test from my hands and then stood up, “Thank you, Rose,” She said.
“No problem,” I said not looking at her. She walked away.
“Is everything okay?” Cameron asked. I turned to him, wanting to explain what had happened yesterday, but then realized that he didn’t know my secret, and
telling him what the note said might scare him away.
“I’m fine,” I gave him a fake smile, “I’ll see you at practice, Cam.”
“What about lunch?”
“Not hungry,” I walked in the opposite direction and looked for a spot to chill for a while. Maybe the locker room.
I went through the rest of the day without any trouble from anyone. Now I just had to get through practice without hurting Josh, or getting into an altercation, period.
I was heading into the locker room when I heard Lorena call my name. We haven’t really talked today because I was too lost in my thoughts.
“Hey, “Lorena ran up and then just looked at me, then awkwardly gave me a hug, “has everything been okay so far?” She was talking about Josh.
I nodded, “Haven’t seen him all day,” I said.
“Well, I have,” she said blandly.
“Has he tried anything?” I asked.
“No, actually I saw him with...Jessie,” she knew I wouldn’t be happy with this, but I guess she figured she ought to be the one to tell me. The two of them together was bad news. Really bad news, “Well, I’m going to take you home after practice,” she said, breaking the silence, “It’s too cold to be walking.”
I knew the real reason, and that was because she didn’t want Josh or anyone else to bother me on my way home, but I didn’t say anything about it, “Thanks,” I said. “Well, I have to get ready for practice. I’ll see you when it’s over.”
“Okay,” she sighed.
I walked away to get ready for what I thought was going to be a horrible practice, but instead, it was fine. Cameron stuck by my side the entire time and was as confused as I was, but just went with the flow.
“What do you think he’s planning?” Cameron asked in a short wrestling session.
“I have no idea,” I said as I was watching Josh, who paid us no mind at all.
When practice ended I walked out with Cameron to Lorena’s car. Looking through the windshield I saw that her face was in a hard frowning position and couldn’t figure out why.
“Wow,” Cameron said. He was looking over at Josh, who was making out with Jessie by his car, “didn’t take him long.”
Caged (Caged series Book 1) Page 15