by Naomi Niles
Her eyes were wild.
“What’s wrong?” I said.
“I heard a rumor. From a good source,” she said.
“About what?” Dylan said.
“About what the other cheerleaders are going to do to you.”
“What?” I said. That didn’t make any sense. I was their leader. Why would they side with the B girls? “That doesn’t make sense.”
“I don’t know the specifics, but something is going to go down this afternoon. They want to get you back for what you did.”
“She didn’t do anything but put a stop to something that I shouldn’t have been doing. These girls are bitches.”
“Sadly, these girls were my friends,” I said.
Not anymore, if they were going to hurt me. I had wanted my senior year to be simple and fun and now it wasn’t.
“You’re sure they are going to do something?” Dylan said.
“Yes. I heard some girls talking in the bathroom. They were laughing about it,” Helena said.
I couldn’t believe this. Why would they do something? I pondered what this might mean. Maybe this wasn’t going to blow over. Maybe I couldn’t just wait it out. Dylan looked concerned. “You don’t know what?”
“No,” Helena said. “They left the bathroom before I could see who it was or ask them anything.”
“It’s easier being a guy,” Dylan said. “We just punch each other and get past it.”
“Well, girls don’t do that. We have to plot the other’s downfall. Why am I the one at fault here?” I asked.
Dylan laughed. “Yeah. I’m not even mad at her and I’m the one who didn’t get laid.”
I punched his arm lightly. “Really?”
He laughed, but didn’t apologize for what he said. I had admire that. He was just being Dylan. “I have a long trek to my next class. Text me if you hear anything specific. Meet me after school, too.”
I watched him go. He wasn’t concerned, but he was new to this social circle. These girls could be cutthroat. I had been that way at one point, until this year, in fact. Helena’s friendship had calmed me and put it all into perspective.
Life had to be better after high school. It couldn’t be worse.
Helena fell into step beside me. “What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know yet.” I saw Barbie, so I stopped by her locker. “What do you have planned?”
Barbie looked at the person next to her. “Do you hear something? I feel like someone is talking to me, but no one is there.”
“Real mature, Barbie. What’s going on?” I said.
Barbie laughed. “Who says anything is going on?” She leaned in closer. “Getting paranoid.”
I wanted to slap her face, but then I’d get in trouble. No reason to do that. I sneered at her. “I would be careful, Barbie.”
“Why? Dylan going to come to your rescue?”
She walked away, laughing. “What did that mean?”
“She’s just being a bitch. I bet she doesn’t’ have anything planned,” Helena said. “What could they do? They’ll get detention. That would mean no cheerleading.”
“Unless they get someone else to do their dirty work.”
“What do you mean?” Helena said.
“Well, there are those fringe people who hang just outside of our circle. They would probably do something to get brought into our circle.”
“People are weird. Just be friends or don’t be friends,” Helena said.
“I guess I’ve been guilty of using them.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
I looked down at my shoes. I wasn’t proud of my actions in the past. I was going to start being better. I guess part of me wanted to improve for Dylan. He made me want to be a better person.
The bell rang. We were late. I ran to my class just as the teacher was closing the door.
“You’re late, Miss Dean.”
“I know, Mr. Carter. I’m sorry. I was dealing with a crisis.”
He eyed me. “I’m sure we have very different ideas about what is a crisis. I will let you in today, but don’t let it happen again.”
“Thank you.”
I walked to my seat. Bailey was in the back; she made her fingers into a gun and pretended to shoot me. Good thing the teacher didn’t see her do it or she would have gotten in trouble. They go nuts for stuff like that.
I had trouble sitting through class. Dylan was outside my classroom when the period ended.
“You don’t have to walk me to every class, Dylan.”
Not that I didn’t appreciate seeing him. I was beginning to like him, wasn’t I? I really shouldn’t.
“I heard a vague threat against youtoo. Nothing specific. I’m concerned, Taylor.”
His gaze was on me as if I were the only girl in the school. The fact that Dylan wanted to protect me made my heart sing. I really doubted that anything big was going to go down. What could they do on school grounds?
I put a hand on his arm. “It’s okay, Dylan. I’ll be fine.”
“I’m not so sure, Taylor. If I heard about it, it must be big. I’m not in anyone’s loop.”
He was starting to scare me, but I put up a brave front. If there was trouble, Dylan didn’t need to be around it. “Seriously, Dylan. Girls make threats all the time. Nothing ever happens.”
“Please, meet me after school. Where are you going to be? I’ll be with you so nothing happens.”
As much as I wanted to spend time with Dylan and this white knight behavior was a turn on, I still had a life. “People don’t do things to each other here. I’m more likely to lose my social standing. As much as that sucks, it isn’t life-threatening.”
He stared at me for a few more seconds. “I’m serious, Taylor.”
I patted his arm. “So am I.”
Chapter Fourteen
Dylan
I turned to get to class, not understanding why Taylor was unconcerned about the threat. Then I remembered that she had lived her life in a bubble. She hadn’t seen bad things happen very often. Or at all.
I turned back to her. “This isn’t done.”
She waved a hand in dismissal as I sprinted to class.
“No running in the hallway, Mr. Cabot,” a teacher called after me.
I slowed, but walked fast. I reached the classroom just in time. This was programming, my favorite class. I couldn’t concentrate, though, thinking about Taylor. She really was in trouble this time. At least, in trouble in her world. She wasn’t homeless or hungry, but there are people who could be a physical threat.
I had to protect her.
In the bathroom between classes, I overheard two people talking.
“Did you hear? The quarterback is going to give it to the head cheerleader.”
“Give it?”
“He’s going to do her after school. He’s going to make sure he keeps her underwear and put them on the bulletin board outside the office.”
“With her name on them?”
“Of course. So everyone knows that he fucked her.”
My fists clenched. I knew she didn’t want to have sex with the quarterback. Greg had taken her on a date and been a jerk. Why would she agree to have sex with him? No, that wasn’t the case.
She will be so embarrassed if this happens. What if Greg is rough with her? She doesn’t want this.
“Shit.”
One of the two people talking gasped. Guess they thought they were alone in the bathroom. I washed my hands and left. What the hell was I going to do?
The next class took forever to get through, until someone included me in a group text.
“Taylor and Greg are going to do it this afternoon.”
No way. Taylor wasn’t in on this text. I doubted that she wanted this. If she didn’t, then Greg was going to rape her. That was not acceptable.
“No, Greg is just getting her panties to make everyone think that they had sex,” someone else texted.
Still not cool. I didn�
��t know if Taylor valued her reputation or maybe she didn’t care. What if her dad found out? He’d be disappointed. Bailey texted smiley faces. Like she was enjoying this.
Bitch.
I wished I’d never gotten involved with the B girls. They really were bitches. I had to form a plan – Taylor couldn’t be alone. I saw Helena in the hallway and stopped her.
“Have you heard about Greg’s plans for Taylor?”
“What plans? She doesn’t even like him,” Helena said.
He showed her the text stream. She gasped.
“She doesn’t want this does she? Did she change her mind about him?” I asked.
Helena shook her head. “Not that I know of. I doubt it. What are we going to do?”
“Can you stay after school?”
“For a little bit. I have a skating lesson later,” she said.
“Okay. I think Taylor is fine while we’re in class. Once school is over, we need to stick to her. I have a mathlete meeting. I’ll go and explain that I can’t stay. You hang with Taylor, and I’ll meet her at cheerleading practice. If she’s never alone, then Greg can’t get to her.”
“Deal. If something comes up, I’ll text you.”
I put my number in her phone. I wasn’t confident the plan would work, but it was all I could come up with. If she wasn’t alone, she’d be safe.
The rest of the day dragged. In each class, I heard an even wilder rumor. By last period, Taylor was giving the whole athletic department blow jobs. Did these people have nothing better in their lives but to talk about Taylor?
Didn’t any of them have a sister? Would they want someone talking about their sister that way?
The mathletes were meeting in the auditorium to practice onstage for the next competition. I sauntered in, but I wasn’t feeling casual. I wouldn’t be happy until I saw Taylor and knew that she was okay.
“I can’t stay, guys. I need to do something.”
“Is that threat against Taylor real?” someone asked.
“I’m taking it as real, so I need to go be with her,” I said.
I appreciated that they all understood. Taylor was becoming like family to me. I had to protect her since she didn’t have a brother to do it. I had to admit, my thoughts about her weren’t exactly brotherly, though. Not since I’d seen her in that robe. I’d thought about that many nights.
I cleared my throat. I better not think about it again or my friend in my pants will wake up. Oh crap. Think about calculus.
I stepped into the bathroom to splash my face with water then headed to the field where the cheerleaders should be practicing. My phone buzzed with a message from Helena.
“I have to go. My mom is here.”
Shit.
“I’ll be there in five.”
“I don’t have five, sorry,” she said.
I ran. Helena passed me going to the front of the school. “I’m sorry, Dylan. My mom is pissed at me.”
I stopped for a moment. “No problem. I understand.”
Cole was out in the field. He waved me over.
“Can’t.”
“Two seconds, bro.”
Were they all conspiring to keep me from Taylor? It certainly seemed that way. “What?”
“My parents might go out of town this weekend. Party at my house.”
“We’ll see.”
The weekend was days away and frankly, I didn’t want to be around underage drunk people. That was a recipe for disaster.
“Come on, Dylan.”
“I’ll talk to you later. I have to get somewhere.”
I jogged over to the football field. A few cheerleaders were there, but not Taylor. I approached Bailey.
“Where’s Taylor?”
Bailey gave me a dumb look. “No idea.”
“She runs your practices. Didn’t you notice she wasn’t here?”
“She was here a minute ago.”
“What the fuck, Bailey. Tell me where she is.”
Bailey eyed me as if she was not sure if I was serious. I wanted to shake her, but you didn’t do that to a girl. If she’d been a guy, I’d have had her in a headlock by now.
“Tell me.”
Bailey licked her lips. I’m sure she thought it was sexy and coy, but it was neither. My heart was racing. Taylor should have stayed away from Greg, but she couldn’t think that badly of anyone. In this instance it would be her downfall.
Ignoring Bailey’s non-response, I raced to the locker room. Girls or boys? I had no idea which one. It had to be the boys’ one, except one of the football players was standing outside. I had no reason to be in there. I wasn’t an athlete.
I didn’t care. The man only had an inch on me and maybe twenty pounds now that I’d gained weight. This was Taylor. I had to do this. I tried to brush past him.
He put a beefy hand on my chest. “Where are you going?”
“In there.”
He smiled down at me. “Nope.”
Before he could do anything else, I punched him in the gut and put my knee into his face. He dropped. I strode into the locker room. I had another layer to break through. These guys were organized. Shit. I just ran past him to where the locker room had three rows of lockers.
“Go away, Greg. Why did you bring me in here?” Taylor said.
I heard the fear in her voice. I had to get to her.
“Why do you think I brought you here, Taylor? Barbie is my best friend and you pissed her off. This is payback,” Greg said.
“Okay. You got me back. Let me go, Greg.”
I found them in the supply closet. There were no coaches around. Where were the adults when you needed them?
Taylor looked scared. She looked from me to Greg, then back again.
“Let her go, Greg. It’s over.”
I’d come in here without backup. I hadn’t told anyone there was a problem. I should have asked for help, but that wasn’t in my tool box. Up until Mr. Dean invited me into his house, I had been a loner.
And now, I was going to get us hurt because I didn’t think to ask for help. Damn.
“It isn’t over,” Greg said.
He had Taylor up against the wall, and he’d taped her hands together with athletic tape. He’d thought this out. All for Bailey? It didn’t make sense.
“Yes, it is. The coaches will be here any minute.”
“No, they won’t. So run along and let me do what I want to Taylor,” Greg said.
“No.”
I launched myself at him. He let go of Taylor.
“Run, Taylor.”
She paused, but then ran out of the locker room. I had Greg on the ground, but he outweighed me – and he had a few accomplices. Hopefully, Taylor would send help. Greg managed to get to his knees and slammed me into a locker.
The breath had been knocked out of me, but I didn’t let go of his shirt. He had bulk. I had street. I would fight dirty if I had to, I didn’t care. He was going to hurt Taylor, and I could never forgive him.
I punched him twice in the face. He recovered and jumped to his feet. His fist came at me, but I ducked, and he punched the locker as I gasped to get breath into my lungs.
“You’re a loser. Taylor doesn’t want you,” he said.
I wasn’t going to comment. I wanted to take him out. I realized I should have left when he was on his knees. Damn. Tactical error, but I wasn’t one to run. I wanted Greg to hurt.
He’d scared Taylor. He’d wanted to do awful things to her. I wanted to take him down.
And, I would have if one of his friends hadn’t shown up. I was good. I was dirty, but I didn’t think I could take on two people. Taylor needed to bring me help. Would she think of it?
I didn’t know. Her charmed life coming back to bite me in the butt.
Greg laughed. “Two against one. I like those odds.”
Shit.
I couldn’t even run because they were both between me and the door. To my back was a coach’s office. I didn’t know if it was unlocked or even if there was a w
ay out. I’d gotten myself into jams like this, but that was on the street, not in a locker room with only one way out.
Damn. I had rushed in without thinking this through. At least neither of them had a weapon. I didn’t, either. I hadn’t carried one since I had moved in with the Deans. With a weapon, I could have evened the odds.
Guess not.
I swallowed, my hands up and ready to defend myself. Greg feinted left. I didn’t fall for it and took him out at the legs. He groaned. I thought I heard a snap. I hoped so. The kid was a bastard.
When his friend lunged at me, I sidestepped and gave him an elbow to the back. He landed flat on his face.
Once again, I should have left. I should have run, but that wasn’t what I’d ever done. I did kick the guy on the floor.
Greg was back up. Like a horror movie monster, he wouldn’t stay down.
The door to the locker room opened. “What’s going on here?”
Thinking the cavalry had arrived, I turned my attention from my attackers. I never should have. Before the person could come around to where we were, Greg punched the side of my head.
The world slowed down. He had managed to knock me off my feet, and I fell sideways in what seemed liked slow motion. I put my left hand out to stop myself, but there wasn’t anything there.
Hitting the ground was the last thing I remembered.
Chapter Fifteen
Taylor
I paced in the waiting room. Cole had driven me, but he went to get me soup or something. I didn’t really want anything. My parents had shown up a few minutes ago. My father had hugged me, but my mother wanted to argue.
“What were you doing in a locker room?” she said. “The boy’s locker room?”
I hated living in a small town – news travelled fast. I put my hand up to stop her words. “I don’t want to talk about it right now.”
My wrists still hurt from where Greg had tied them. My mother didn’t ask about them or how Dylan was doing. All about appearances. Had I been this shallow, too? Damn. I had to think about that. Was that why I wasn’t willing to get any closer to Dylan? Because of how it would appear?
What a crock. He was a good guy.
“Pumpkin, come sit with me.”
Two police officers appeared in the doorway of the waiting room. “Taylor Dean?”
“That’s me.”