by Bella King
I didn’t mention the latest threat from Troy to Morgan when we met around the building that evening. I thought it more appropriate to keep my mouth shut. I didn’t want to seem weak or phased by Troy. I was already in too deep to be safe anyway. He would keep escalating this no matter what I did. I had been through all this before.
My best bet would be to make strong alliances with the other women on the cheer team. I was already on my way to doing that with Morgan, but with the cheer initiation I had been invited to do, I would be pushed into a much closer bond with my squad.
Morgan looked around before leaning close to me when we were around the back of the school building. “There are no cameras here,” she explained. “Now, we’re going to be doing something a little off the wall tonight. I’ve figured out where Troy lives.”
I nodded my head with a smile on, as though this excited me, but my stomach dropped and I felt hot pinpricks on my skin as my body went into defense mode. I braced myself for what she was about to say.
“So, me and some of the girls are going to drive down to Troy’s house, and you’re going to throw a big fat rock through his window. It would be nice if you knocked his brains out, but I doubt you’ll succeed in that. Breaking the window will be good enough. He’ll get the message.”
“Holy shit,” I breathed. “That’s illegal, though, and sounds pretty dangerous.”
Morgan laughed. “Faith, you have a lot to learn. It’s only illegal if you get caught.”
I didn’t like her logic, but I knew this was the only way I would get to be a part of the cheer group. It would be nice to get back at Troy for his harassment. He wouldn’t know it was me, so it wasn’t like he would come to me at school the next day to beat the life out of me.
I sighed. “When are we doing this? Tonight?”
A smile spread across Morgan’s face. “Meet me in the school parking lot at midnight. We’ll ride together from there.”
I agreed to her plan and we went our own ways. Meeting at midnight would mean that I would have to sneak out of my house, but there was no other way to do something like this without arousing suspicion.
I slammed a couple of energy drinks back that evening, probably inching myself toward a heart attack, but I didn’t care. This was the most exciting thing I had ever done, and now that I had committed to it, I was actually eager to get my revenge on Troy. The risk would be worth fucking with him. I wasn’t backing down now.
I slipped out of my window and jumped down into the yard, my heart thumping in my chest unnaturally fast. I was in all black, unsure of what I was actually supposed to be wearing. Morgan hadn’t told me. I dashed to my car, which I had chosen to park on the side of the road instead of in the driveway so that my parents were less likely to hear me pull out.
I had disguised this as just being nice, giving my mom space in the driveway for her car instead of hogging it. She had thought that I was so nice, but in reality, I was as crooked as they came that evening. I had even gotten a big rock from the creek to toss through Troy’s window. The bastard deserved it.
I got to my car, struggling to slide the key into the ignition. Alright, calm down, Faith. You’re not getting caught tonight. I tried to steady my hand but ended up having to grip the key with both hands to get it in and start the car. I pulled off onto the road with my headlights off until I was away from the house.
I made it to the school parking lot five minutes before midnight. There were already several cars parked there that belonged to the cheer squad. I parked beside one and stepped out, the large rock clutched in one of my hands.
At first, I didn’t see anyone, but then Morgan hopped out of one of the cars, an SUV, and waved for me to come over. I walked briskly to the car, realizing it was full of other cheerleaders. There were five in total, and I was the sixth.
“Alright, Faith. It’s time for you to prove your worth on the team,” Morgan said once I was crammed in the SUV with the other girls.
I nodded. “I’m ready for it.”
Morgan glanced in the rearview at the rock I now had in my lap. “What’s that?” She asked.
“The rock we’re going to use for Troy’s window,” I said enthusiastically.
Morgan laughed and shook her head. “I already have one for his window. It’s a whole hell of a lot bigger than that little thing.”
I wasn’t sure if I could chuck a rock much larger than the one I had brought through a window unless it was on the first floor, but I didn’t argue with Morgan. She was the one in charge of this whole operation, not me.
“Okay girls, listen up,” Morgan said as we drove to Troy’s house. “This is going to be a quick in and out thing. No trailing behind and fucking with the house. Faith is going to throw the rock through Troy’s window and then we’re out. I don’t want anyone to leave the car but Faith. You got that?”
The girls nodded.
“Alright, Faith, I’m pretty sure Troy’s bedroom window is on the left side of the house. It’s probably the bottom one, so you shouldn’t have trouble getting the rock through his glass. Get as close as you need to but be quick because the moment you break a window everyone in the house is going to wake up to check what’s going on.”
Morgan flicked her headlights off and slowed the car down as we entered a nice neighborhood a few miles from the school. I was ready to cause some mischief, pulled the top of my hoodie over my head and jumping out of the car the minute it came to a stop.
Morgan rolled down the window and took a very large rock from underneath the passenger’s seat and handed it to me. The thing must have weighed at least twenty pounds and it had an envelope taped to it.
“What’s this?” I asked, placing a hand on the envelope.
Morgan, slapped my hand away from it. “Just do what I say,” she commanded. “Go!”
I carried the rock awkwardly in both my hands, cradling it as I half-ran half-waddled to the side of Troy’s house. I would have to toss the rock underhand with both arms in order to get it to fly further than a few inches.
I located the window. There were no lights on in the house and everything was silent as I approached the window. The curtains were closed, so I couldn’t see inside. I wish I could have to double-check that this was actually Troy’s room, but I was just going to have to go with Morgan’s guess. She probably knew better than me anyway.
I swung the rock back and forth, building momentum for the throw. On the fourth swing, I let the rock fly out of my hands. It flew straight through the window with little resistance, smashing through the glass with a deafening sound in the still night air.
I bolted, running back to the car as quickly as I could as I began to hear shouts and see lights come on in the house. I was almost to the SUV when the front door of the house opened, and the entire rugby team filed out. Fuck, fuck, fuck! They must have been sleeping over or something. They looked like they were wide awake and very pissed off.
Morgan hit the gas before I could reach the car, peeling away from the house before her car could be recognized. I was left alone with the very angry jocks. This was not good.
Chapter 10
I changed my direction, heading toward a patch of woods. I had no idea where I was, but it didn’t really matter. The only thing I could think about was getting away from the jocks before I was caught, but I wasn’t exactly an athlete, and these men had been sprinting across rugby fields for years.
My heart pounded painfully in my chest as I ran. Jesus, the energy drinks really hadn’t helped me much. I already had a stitch in my side and was gasping for air as I ran through the trees away from the jocks. After a few dozen yards, I knew that I wasn’t going to get away. What started as a blur of trees and shrugs ended as a painful limp, clutching my side.
The whole rugby team was after me, and they were fast. They ran every day on the field, and they caught up with me easily. God, I wished that I could have run faster, but it was no use. Once the guys caught up to me, one of them tackled me, sending me to the
ground hard.
I thought that was it. They had me, and now they would call the police or something. I was wrong. The moment I hit the ground, fists flew, jabbing into my ribs and smashing against my jaw. I curled up instinctively to protect myself, but there were multiple guys on me, throwing fists and feet into my fragile body.
All I could hear was shouting as my body was beaten into the dirt in the woods somewhere far from the eyes of anyone that could save me. I was alone with my attackers, and they relentlessly pummeled me until my ears were ringing and I had no idea where I was anymore. Everything lost meaning as my body shut down.
Suddenly, I felt the weight come off me and a deep voice barking orders to stop. I recognized the voice as Troy’s.
“Get the hell off her. She’s had enough,” Troy commanded, pushing his friends off of me. “I said, stop!”
I stayed in a fetal position, not wanting to expose myself in case they weren’t finished with me.
Troy knelt in front of me and leaned into my ear. “Get up,” he growled.
I opened my eyes to see him frowning over me, looking more than a little concerned. I wheezed as I used my weak arms to prop myself up on all fours. Troy grabbed me from behind and hoisted me up to my feet, but I buckled, slumping into his arms.
“Fucking hell guys. What the fuck do you think you’re doing beating up on a woman like that?” Troy shouted angrily.
I could see guilty looks on some of the jocks’ faces as I let Troy carry the weight of my tired body. My body had given up on me, and my fate was literally in the hands of Troy now. I was surprised to see him defending the woman that had just tossed a rock through his window.
“Don’t say a word about this shit at school, alright? I’ll deal with Faith. I want you all to go home,” Troy commanded.
The guys nodded, looking a bit guilty at having ganged up on a small woman. They weren’t the brightest bunch, that much I knew.
I couldn’t stand properly, so Troy scooped me up and carried me in his strong arms back to the house as the others dispersed. I was going to kill Morgan if I got out of this alive.
I felt like I had run pretty far into the woods, but it took only a minute for Troy to carry be back to the house, taking long steps while glancing down at me frequently with a worried scowl. When he got back to the house, the others had left. I assumed his parents weren’t home because when he went inside, the house was empty.
The cheer squad couldn’t have picked a worse time to vandalize Troy’s house. Apparently, the entire team was having some kind of post-match celebration and half of them were drunk, which somewhat explained their cruel behavior back in the woods. The place was littered with empty beer cans and half-empty bottles of booze.
Troy placed me down on a couch and disappeared down the hallway, coming back a few moments later with bandages. I didn’t even realize that I was bleeding from my lips and a few places on my arms until Troy began wiping the blood off me gently.
“Take off the hoodie,” Troy said once he had cleaned up my face.
I peeled it off, revealing the black sports bra that pressed my breasts tightly to my chest. I hadn’t put a shirt on underneath, and I was beginning to regret that decision. Troy didn’t seem phased at all by my partial nudity, however, examining my arms for cuts and placing bandages over them carefully.
He was gentle with me the entire time, and once he was finished fixing me up, he retreated to the kitchen to get me a glass of water. “They shouldn’t have done that,” Troy said when he came back into the room.
“You stopped them,” I replied, somewhat in disbelief. After the threats Troy had made to me, I was surprised he cared enough not to have me beaten to a pulp and left to die in the woods.
Troy sighed. “I’m not a monster, Faith. Despite what Morgan may have told you, I don’t want much to do with this feud between the rugby team and the cheerleaders. I told you not to get involved, but clearly you don’t listen.”
“You were mean to me,” I said. “What else was I supposed to do?”
Troy’s frown deepened. “You were supposed to mind your own damn business. Just because I saved you doesn’t mean you’re in the clear. You broke my window.”
I blushed. I felt embarrassed and guilty now that Troy was scolding me. I knew what I had done was wrong, but he had also done several bad things to me and he deserved it. Troy was just trying to make me feel bad. It was another way to manipulate me. I had encountered this kind of thing before from my bullies in the past. Troy was no different to me.
“I threw that rock through your window because you threw my books in the parking lot and snuck up on me in the shower,” I said aggressively.
Troy chuckled. “I’ve done worse. You threw a rock?”
I nodded.
“God, you’re an idiot. That could have hit someone,” Troy said, shaking his head. He got up and left me with a glass of water.
I sat up and took a sip of it. My stomach hurt and I was shaking like a leaf, but I was alive. I suppose I should have been thankful that Troy stopped his team. He didn’t have to, but he had. There was a sliver of empathy in him somewhere.
Troy came back into the room with the envelope that had been taped to the rock. He shook it in his hand at me. “What’s this?”
I shrugged. “I didn’t write that.”
“Who did?” Troy demanded as he broke the wax seal on the envelope and pulled it open.
I didn’t want to tell him that it had been Morgan, but I also felt like I was a prisoner in his domain. It would be better to comply with him until I was out of this situation. “Morgan, I think.”
Troy nodded. “It figures. That bitch has been after me for a while.” He pulled the letter out of the envelope and read it aloud. “This one is for Bethany.” He rolled his eyes. “I had nothing to do with that.”
I was confused. “Didn’t you guys break her legs or something?”
Troy cocked his head over to me and flashed me a sarcastic, yet winning, smile. “I said that I didn’t have anything to do with it, not that the rugby team didn’t.”
“Your complacency is getting people hurt though, Troy. Aren’t you their leader or something?” I argued.
Troy shrugged. “Not my problem.”
“It is when people get hurt. I mean, look at me!” I said, nearly jumping off the couch as I motioned to myself.
“I didn’t mean for you to get hurt. Just stay out of the way, Faith. You’re not like the other women on the cheer team. They’re not good people. Nobody at Greywood is, really.”
I laughed. “Including you?”
“Especially not me,” Troy replied, a glint of mischief in his eyes. “Do you need me to drive you home?”
I didn’t want to accept his help. What if this was just a ploy to find out where I lived? I didn’t have a whole lot of a choice though, because Morgan and the others had fled and left me to fend for myself. Maybe he was right about them not being good people.
“My car is at the school,” I said.
Troy frowned. “Why?”
“We met there,” I replied.
“You did? So, I guess that’s where the girls fled to. Let’s go,” He said, jumping up and grabbing his coat from the hallway. “Come on,” He said motioning me to follow him.
I got up and put my hoodie back on. It was covered in dirt and little sticks from the forest floor, but it was better than leaving Troy’s house in a sports bra. I wondered how that would look to an outsider. I’m sure the cheer team wouldn’t be happy to see me roll up half-naked in Troy’s car, not that I cared much since they had abandoned me to fend for myself when they could have just waited a second or two longer for me to jump into Morgan’s car.
Chapter 11
I limped to the doorway and followed Troy outside to his car, climbing into the passenger’s seat beside him. His car smelled exactly how I expected it smell, like a rich rugby player. Even though I hated Troy, I felt very comfortable in his car as he drove us to school.
&nb
sp; I felt like I could fall asleep in the car with him, curled up in the passenger seat like a shrimp. Troy looked over at me and grinned. “Getting comfy?” He teased.
I frowned at him and curled up tighter. “No,” I replied, but I was lying.
Troy chuckled and looked back toward the road. “You really should stop hanging out with the cheer team. Maybe you’re better suited for chess,” he mockingly suggested.
I rolled my eyes. “Please Troy. Save it. I’d rather hang out with them than be an outcast.”
“Being an outcast isn’t so bad,” Troy replied. “People would leave you alone.”
“Yeah, except for that they don’t,” I replied bitterly, thinking back to the years I spent being tormented at my previous school. Being alone is the last thing you want to do in high school.
Troy sighed, his voice a little angrier now. “Listen, I’m just trying to help you.”
“Why?” I asked, looking up and over at him from my curled up position.
Troy shrugged. “You remind me of someone I used to know. She got caught up in the same shit as you are now. It never ends well.”
“Did she die?” I asked bluntly.
Troy laughed. “No, okay, it wasn’t that bad. We were dating. Now we’re not. You do the math.”
I began to see why Troy never dated anyone at Greywood Academy. It was likely that he was still in love with this girl, or at the very least still bitter about it. It must not have ended very well.
“I’m sorry, but I’m not your girlfriend Troy,” I said. “Me getting involved with the cheer team isn’t going to tear us apart because there was nothing bringing us together to begin with,” I explained. “You’re just a dick and I’m just a woman that’s had enough of being bullied.”
Troy looked amused by my words. “A dick? I guess that’s fair. I have a rather big one.”
I rolled my eyes. “Jesus, Troy, nobody cares about your dick.”
“You seem to,” Troy said, glancing over at me.
I shook my head. “In your dreams.”
Troy nodded. “Yeah, maybe so.”