Fight of Life (Perception Book 3)

by Shandi Boyes

  Chapter 29

  Jacob

  “What the hell happen to your car Jacob?” my dad questions angrily as he comes barrelling in my room, scaring the living daylights out of me.

  “Jesus Christ Dad you scared the shit out of me. What time is it?” I enquire groggily, while I attempt to adjust my eyes to the light he has just flicked on in my room.

  “6am” my dad replies angrily, before he hits me over the head with his rolled up newspaper.

  “Get out of bed Jacob” he requests sternly, before hitting me again with his newspaper while narrowing his eyes at me.

  “Alright, alright, settle down!” I reply as I jump out of my bed, still half asleep.

  Once I jump out bed, my dad’s eyes lower down to my crutch. I quickly try to cover myself with my hands as he glares at me angrily. I am pretty sure my dad should have realised by now that I sleep naked. This is his punishment for kicking me out of bed so early. I hear chuckling out in the corridor and when I peer past my dad, I see Noah leaning against my doorframe.

  “If I find out you and Noah are competing in illegal street racing again, you two won’t know what hit you” My dad declares angrily, forcing my eyes open wide in shock.

  Noah suddenly stops chuckling when my dad’s gaze turns back to look at him. His eyes then dart around my room, trying to avoid my dad’s angry glare, before he bolts back down the hallway.

  “What, you didn’t think I knew?” Dad questions sarcastically.

  I look into his stern blue eyes before I shrug my shoulders.

  “I know a lot more than you think I do Jacob” he states firmly as he stares deep into my eyes, causing me to swallow harshly.

  “Now get dressed and go and move that now piece of shit car out of my driveway” he yells, before he storms out of my room.

  I stand staring at my doorway shocked about what my dad had just said. I had no clue he knew about Noah and I participating in drag races years ago. Well Noah didn’t really compete, he just sat in the passenger seat while I did.

  “Is it safe to come in?” Noah snickers cheekily from out in the hallway.

  “Yep” I reply as I go to grab some boxers out of my drawers.

  “Fucken hell Jacob, I asked if it was safe to come in, put some fucking pants on” Noahs yell in disgust as he covers his eyes.

  “Helicopter, helicopter” I begin to taunt. Noah grabs a football off my desk and throws it at me, hitting me harshly in my right rib cage.

  “Mayday, mayday, I’ve been hit” I chuckle, before I make fake explosion noises with my mouth.

  “What are you five years old?” Noah replies as she shakes his head. He then bends down and picks the football up off the ground.

  “If the singing gig doesn’t work out, you could always take up football again. Your right hook is still hard as fuck” I chuckle, while rubbing my back where the football hit.

  “Whatever you asshat, that’s what you get for swinging that thing around” he replies disgusted as I finish putting my pants on.

  Noah has an impressive right arm hook. He even trialled to be a quarterback for our high school team when he was a junior and was successful, but Noah just didn’t take to the sport. It probably didn’t help that during practice, when I was supposed to be playing his defenceman, I kept purposely letting the opponents past me just to witness Noah getting slammed into the ground. He soon caught on to what I was doing and spent the rest of practice chasing after my ass around the football field. I reckon I still have an imprint of the football on my back from how hard he pegged it at me once he finally caught up to me.

  But even after a few games, I could tell Noah’s passion wasn’t to play football professionally, his passion has always been his music. Then when Michael died, Noah stopped coming to practice altogether and I have never seen him play a game of football since.

  “Your dad seems really pissed” says Noah as he sits down on the edge of my bed.

  “Why did you tell him about us racing in our teenage years?” he questions curiously.

  “I didn’t. I have no fucking clue how he knows” I instantly reply. Noah looks at me curiously, before he shrugs his shoulders.

  “I guess we better go and move your car before he comes back and gives us one of his famous lectures” Noah laughs as he starts walking out of my room.

  It fucking killed me, but after Noah and I extensively went over my car with a fine tooth comb, we ended up towing it to the local wreckers. My car that was worth thousands of dollars ends up pocketing me only five hundred dollars for scrap metal. Maybe I should think twice about participating in illegal drag racing from now on. Oh who am I kidding, there is no fun in that!

  Noah ended up dropping me at Hank’s so I could squeeze in a work out session while he went and practiced with his band. It was when I had just stepped out of the shower in the locker room that I heard my phone ringing in my gym bag. I quickly shuffled across the tiled floor, trying not to slip ass over tit, to answer my phone before it went to voicemail. Just as I dug my phone out of my bag, it stopped ringing.

  “Fucking typical” I murmur to myself as I hastily commence getting dressed. My phone soon dings announcing that I have one voicemail message.

  “Hey, It’s Casey…are you free tonight? Call me” requests a female voice seductively.

  I lower my phone down from my ear and stare at the screen, trying to work out who the fuck Casey is. As I walk out to the carpark to wait for Noah to pick me up, it finally dawns on me. I think I might have met her at Mavericks a few weeks ago after one of ‘Rise Up’s’ performances. If I remember correctly she was the perky brunette that had striking blue eyes. To start with she seemed pretty shy, until I got her alone, then it was like unleashing a tiger. Oh yeah, now I definitely remember who Casey is.

  Deciding that I need to have some fun tonight, I eagerly return Casey’s call. She answers on the very first ring, like she was waiting by the phone.

  “Hi, thanks for calling me back” she greets seductively.

  “Hey Casey” I respond, acting like I had never forgot who she was.

  “How are you?” she questions.

  “Good and you?” I answer.

  “Good now…do you have any plans tonight?” she asks.

  “I do now” I reply chuckling, as Noah trucks pulls into the front of Hank’s gym.

  “Can you hold on a minute?” I request, before jumping into the cab of the truck.

  “Can I borrow your truck tonight?” I question, while covering the speaker of my phone.

  “Yeah sure” Noah replies, before his gaze turns to face me.

  “Hold on what do you want it for?” he queries, as he cocks one of his eyebrows into his hairline.

  “A date” I confirm as I waggle my eyebrows at him, triggering his face to morph into pure disgust.

  “You better not have sex in my truck Jacob. If I even smell a hint of it, I will kick your fucking ass” he replies firmly, while he pulls away from the curb and starts heading back home.

  “I’m back. Can I meet you at your place?” I request into the phone.

  ****

  Casey was exactly as I had remembered. Long brown hair, the most striking blue eyes and an absolute screamer in the bedroom. I think my ears are going to be ringing all night long at this rate. The instant I pull my truck into the driveway, Noah comes sprinting out of the house.

  “Do you ever answer your fucking phone?” he shouts angrily.

  “I wouldn’t have heard anything over her screams” I chuckle. When I peer over at Noah, I realise he looks extremely panicked, causing my laughter to quickly die down.

  “Why, what’s going on?” I question concerned.

  “I haven’t been able to reach Emily on her phone all night. I wanted to drive out there to check on her, but you took my fucking truck and then you never answered your phone” he responds as he stands there clenching his fists tight.

  “I am sure she is fine Noah. Maybe she just had an early night or something�
�� I respond trying to calm him down.

  He always worries that something bad is going to happen to Emily, but I can’t say I blame him after everything he has been through.

  “Maybe you wore her out and she needed time to recover” I chuckle trying to ease the tension. Noah’s eyes suddenly flick towards mine, but his gaze remains tormented.

  “Yeah maybe” he responds quietly as he kicks the gravel driveway with his black boots.

  “I wouldn’t be able to handle it if anything bad happened to her Jacob. It would fucking tear me apart” he informs.

  “I know Noah. You don’t have to explain it to me” I reply. I feel the same way about Lola. That’s why it kills me knowing that she is back with Callum.

  “If she doesn’t call you first thing in the morning, I will personally drive you to her myself” I offer. “In your truck, since I don’t have a car” I quickly add on, causing Noah to finally smile.

  “Thanks Jacob” he responds before we slowly make our way back into our house.

  Chapter 30

  Lola

  As I am walking out of Pete’s Bar, my cell phone starts ringing in my pocket. I promptly dig it out as I jump into the driver’s seat of my jeep. When I peer down at the screen, I don’t recognize the number reflected back at me.

  “Hello” I greet apprehensively, since a strange number is calling my phone a little after midnight on a Friday night.

  “Hey Lola, it’s Jacob” Jacob greets nervously.

  I pull my phone away from my ear to check the number again. It definitely showing an unrecognized number. Maybe Jacob got a new phone number?

  “Lola? Are you there?” Jacob question as I lift the phone back towards my ear.

  “Yeah sorry I am here” I reply confused. Jacob hasn’t had any contact with me in nearly five months and now he decides to ring late on a Friday night.

  “Are you drunk dialling me Jacob?” I question seriously.

  “No. It’s Emily” Jacob states concerned.

  “Emily? What happened?” I question as my heart starts to race.

  “She has been admitted to Ravenshoe hospital” Jacob advises as I start pulling harshly on my seatbelt to latch it into place.

  “Oh my god, I will be there in around thirty minutes” I respond panicked as I disconnect the call and start my car.

  The whole drive to Ravenshoe I was panicked about why Emily was admitted to hospital. We have never been the closest of sisters, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t love her. I pull my car into the first available carpark and start rushing towards the entrance of the hospital. As soon as I walk into the double glass doors, I spot Jacob standing at the side. I darted towards him, before wrapping my arms around his neck.

  “What happened?” I eventually question, once Jacob slowly releases his tight grip from around my shoulders.

  “She was roofied at Mavericks” Jacob informs. My eyes open wide in shock. Emily was given a date rape drug. Oh no, please don’t tell me Emily was raped.

  “Was she...” I try to say the words but I can’t get them to come out of my mouth.

  “No Lola, he didn’t touch her” Jacob quickly informs.

  “Noah got to him before he had a chance” Jacob continues as he grasps my hand in his and starts walking us down the hospital corridor.

  Once we reach Emily’s room, Jacob’s concerned gaze turns towards mine.

  “She has been out for a few hours already and Noah is still a bit agitated about what happened” Jacob advises, before he releases my hand and opens the hospital room door.

  Noah’s dark intense eyes pop up the instant he hears the door opening. You can see his genuine concern for Emily etched all over his face. I offer him a small reassuring smile as I move over near Emily, who appears to be sleeping peacefully. I quickly lower my gaze over her body to ensure she is unharmed, before I gently run my hand down her dark locks and place a kiss on the top of her head.

  I then slowly move towards Noah. When I wrap my arms around his stern shoulders, I can feel his blood coursing through his veins.

  “She will be ok” I whisper into his ear. His stance remains firm, but he slowly nods his head.

  “Did anyone call mom?” I question panicked, when I realise that she would have been here by now if she knew.

  My mom worked in this hospital but she was rostered on for a morning shift today, so she should be at home. I look over and notice that Jacob is shaking his head.

  “What, why not?” I question angrily.

  Jacob motions for me to join him into the corridor. I angrily storm out of the room and narrow my eyes at Jacob. I watch as Jacob’s face morphs into anger and his jaw starts ticking.

  “Why hasn’t anyone called my mom?” I question angrily.

  “I tried to call your home phone but for some reason my number is blocked. Then when I tried to call your cell phone I got the same message” Jacob retaliates angrily.

  My eyebrows pull together tight in confusion. I have never blocked Jacob’s number from calling me.

  “That is why I had to call you from a payphone” Jacob advises angrily.

  “I didn’t block your number Jacob. I don’t even know how to do that” I inform confused. If I did, the very first number I would have blocked would have been Callum’s.

  “Then maybe you should ask your boyfriend and he might be able to show you how” Jacob whispers harshly, as I grab my phone out of my pocket.

  I squint my eyes at him, before lifting up my index finger asking him to give me a minute while I call my mom. My mom was obviously just as panicked as I was when I informed her that Emily had been roofied. I was at least grateful that I was able to inform her that I have seen firsthand that Emily is unharmed and safe. My mom took comfort in the fact that Noah was looking after Emily, but she advised that she will arrive soon as she disconnected the call.

  I took in a long deep breath before I turned back to face Jacob.

  “Do you want to talk about this now or later?” I question, staring in Jacob’s blue eyes.

  He seems hesitant in replying until he eventually roughly whispers “Now”

  “Then let’s do this” I reply as I swiftly move over toward him and grasp his hand in mine.

  Jacob didn’t utter a sound the whole time we walked down the corridor, through the hospital and out into the carpark. But his silence instantly breaks the moment we enter my car.

  “How can you trust him again Lola?” he questions concerned.

  “I don’t” I reply honestly, forcing Jacob to breathe out harshly.

  “Don’t believe ever rumour you hear Jacob. Sometimes they are nothing but made up stories” I say sternly.

  “So you weren’t at Mavericks with Callum on Sunday afternoon?” Jacob questions angrily as the veins on the side of his neck start to bulge.

  “You already know that I was, but you have come to your own conclusion on what I was doing there without even asking me” I respond annoyed.

  I am use to people spreading rumours about me and I have learnt to just let them roll off my back, but I thought out of all people, Jacob wouldn’t jump to conclusions.

  “It’s a bit hard to ask you when my number is blocked” he responds sarcastically.

  “Did you try to call?” I rebut as I lift my eyebrow into my hairline. When Jacob eyes dart down, I know he didn’t even attempt to call me.

  “No you didn’t attempt to call me, did you? Instead you went out with…. what was her name this week...oh that’s right, Casey” I inform him sarcastically.

  Jacob’s eyes quickly flick to mine, as they open wide in shock. He obviously didn’t realise how much gossip circulates through a bar every night and surprisingly most of the secrets that are spilled are straight out of the mouths of the girls who try to deny them once they sober up.

  Chapter 31

  Jacob

  “No you didn’t attempt to call me, did you? Instead you went out with…. what was her name this week...oh that’s right, Casey” Lola
says disappointed.

  I instantly start scratching my eyebrow as I swallow harshly. If I know Lola like I think I know her, I am pretty sure she hasn’t remained celibate the last six months either. But there is no way I am going to ask her that. One, I don’t ever want to know about another guy having his hands on her. And two, I like my cock still attached and I am pretty sure she wouldn’t hesitate in castrating me if I asked her a question like that.

  “We aren’t here to talk about who I have or have not fucked” I reply roughly.