Chapter 36 Hope
HOPE
The school has ended and I’m near the lockers to put away my textbooks. There’s no way I can take them with me. They won’t fit in my bag and I don’t want to clutter Heath’s space.
“Give me those,” he demands, as he walks beside me.
Before I can reply, he takes the heavy, thick textbooks from me and holds them as if they weigh nothing. They probably don’t, when he has those huge, defined muscles that carry more weight than these.
“You don’t need to,” I tell him.
He doesn’t spare me a glance. “I need to because you’re my girlfriend.”
The butterflies dance in my stomach.
No matter how many times he says that word I feel the same giddiness every single time.
I’m someone’s girlfriend.
I have a boyfriend. A handsome, sweet, grumpy guy who loves me.
Feels like I’m in a romance novel and living the life of a main character.
“Um, thank you,” I say shyly.
Accepting his acts of kindness is still hard for me.
We reach my locker and I quickly open it so he can put the books inside. But he doesn’t.
I look at him. “Why aren’t you putting them in?”
He quirks up an eyebrow. “Because you need them to study.”
“It’s fine. I can use my notebooks. They have my detailed notes, anyway.”
“Not the recent topics. So I’m taking these with me to my place so you can study.”
Panic grips me. “No! You don’t have to. It’s fine.”
Heath leans down a little and bores his eyes into me. “Do you remember what I said when you came to school after that weekend?”
I try to sort through my memories of that day but everything is a blur. All I remember is the fear and anxiety that crippled me weakly. And him. I remember him holding me and becoming my safe place.
But the words are fuzzy in my head.
“I… ”
He continues, “I said, ‘I got you.’”
Air escapes my lungs hearing those words again.
I got you.
Those three words crack me from the inside, because now that I’m truly on my own with no support from my family. He’s the one I can rely on. He’s here with me, asking me to depend on him.
I nod, biting the inside of my cheek to not cry.
His eyes soften. “Grab anything that you want or need. I’ll carry it. There’s plenty of space in my room for your stuff.”
I nod again.
He cups my cheek and tilts my head back a little so I’m focused on only him.
Blue eyes stare at me with so much love, they nearly drown me. “Don’t overthink, Rose. There’s nothing to second-guess here. I love you and I’m not going anywhere. No matter what happens.”
My nerves loosen up and the tightness in my stomach unfurls.
Since the morning, I’ve been feeling so down.
Seeing Heath enter my home and come out with my stuff as if it was a grocery store wrecked me.
I was hoping that perhaps my mother was waiting for him, to ask him if I was alright, or my dad was threatening him to bring me back.
But none of that happened. They weren’t there. They don’t care.
It’s hard to understand.
Because head and heart keep rejecting the idea.
Heath brushes his knuckles over my cheek, bringing me back to him. “Do you need that biology textbook?”
“No I don’t—” A thought crosses my mind. “Do you need help with biology?”
A smile breaks on his face and he pulls back his hand. “What? You’re gonna tutor me?”
“I can help you.”
“I’m terrible at it.”
“It’s fine. I’m good at it. I can teach you.”
He grabs the textbook and closes the locker.
We walk together into the parking lot where Sebastian and Marie are already waiting.
He leans casually against the black McLaren, dressed in a dark green hoodie and black pants.
A smile hangs on his lips and his eyes are locked on Marie who is talking animatedly about something.
She’s wearing a yellow sweater and jeans with her self-painted sneakers.
Once we get closer, their conservation is audible.
“…he was so rude to me, but since he was on my team I had to save him.” She sighs heavily. “I hate when guys underestimate me. I’m a good player and I can kick their ass.”
“Give me his ID,” Sebastian says calmly, but his eyes appear a bit tense.
“Why?”
“No one disrespects my girlfriend and gets away with it.” He slips out his hands from his pockets and sets them on Marie’s waist as he tugs her over to him.
“I handled him,” she argues.
“I know, and I love you for that. But I want to teach him a lesson anyway.”
“What if he tells all the players in the world to stay away from me because I have a scary boyfriend.”
I fight the urge to not laugh. Marie has a wild imagination.
Sebastian seems to be holding back a laugh as well, but stays serious. “That’s even better.”
“Then I won’t have people to play with.”
“Fine, I will be less mean to him.”
Marie grins and hugs him.
Sebastian wraps her in his arms and buries his face in her neck. The tension melts away from his body as he visibly relaxes.
“Now don’t start making out on my car,” Heath grumbles from beside me.
Marie turns in Sebastian’s arms and smirks at Heath. “It won’t be the first time.”
Heath narrows his eyes on her. “You better wash my car this weekend, then.”
“You make out with Hope in your car.”
My cheeks warm up. I sneak a glance at Heath and he looks tongue-tied which is a first.
Untangling herself from Sebastian, she comes over and throws her arm around my shoulders.
With a grin she asks, “Do you want to stay over at my place?”
“No, she doesn’t.” Heath answers before I can.
She ignores him. “We can have a movie marathon and — ”
“You are not stealing my girlfriend, Blondie.” Heath removes her arm and brings me to her chest. “I need her.”
“For what exactly?” She quirks up an eyebrow at him.
“None of your business.”
“It is. She is my best friend.”
“And she is my girlfriend.”
“Hoes before bros,” she smiles proudly. “So I come first.”
Heath scowls hard. “I met her first.”
Marie opens her mouth to argue, but no words come out.
“Okay, settle down, you two.” Sebastian comes behind her and presses her back to her front and sets his chin on the top of her head. “Let’s ask Hope.”
All at once, three pairs of eyes focus on me, and my nerves coil.
I look at Marie, her eyes sparkling with stars, then at Heath, whose fierce gaze burns as if being apart from me is unbearable.
“I’m fine anywhere,” I say.
Sebastian shakes his head playfully. “You gotta pick.”
My chest expands from pressure.
I can’t make a choice.
Because the truth is, I like staying with both of them, but I miss home. I admit I hate living there most of the time. All I feel is fear and anxiety, but it’s also the place that is mine. No matter how comfortable, cozy and homey their mansions feel, a part of me misses my old bedroom.
“Look, if it isn’t the girl whose dad reported her boyfriend.” Jason, a football player on the team, makes a comment as he walks past us with his group of friends.
I stiffen and spare a glance at him. His eyes hold amusement, as if what happened to me is funny and not a serious matter that ruined my weekend.
It’s been weeks now, but if he is talking then others must be too.
No one has said anything to my face, but I’ve heard whispers in hallways and classrooms. People watch me with gazes full of questions that make my skin crawl.
“What the fuck did you say?” Heath reacts fast.
Jason stops abruptly with a smile dancing on his face. Five of his friends stand behind him forming a circle. “You heard me.”
“I want you to say it to my face.”
He grins. “Rumor has it your little girlfriend’s father — ”
Heath grabs him by the collar and yanks him closer in one powerful move. “Shut your fucking mouth.”
“What? Did that hit a nerve?”
Heath glares at him with such bitterness, it’s a surprise that he doesn’t crumble into dust.
Sebastian sidles up beside him and makes him let go of the guy. “Don’t do it.”
Jason grins. “People have been talking about it. Everyone knows.”
My heart stops beating.
Everyone knows.
Why didn’t I think of it? Of course, the word got around. We live in a small town where news travels fast.
“How was the night in the cell?” Jason prods.
Sebastian places himself between them and backs up Heath. “He is lying.”
We all know he isn’t.
“I’m not. Henry’s dad was on duty that night.” Henry is in our grade. He’s lanky and has braces and has many friends because he’s smart. Unlike me, people like talking to him.
“Heath…” Sebastian warns him but Heath’s eyes are locked on Jason. “Let’s go.”
Heath pulls Jason to him once more. “You listen to me, asshole. If you don’t shut your fucking mouth I will break your teeth.”
Jason scoffs. “I’m not afraid of you.”
Heath narrows his eyes. “You should be.”
“What do you think of yourself?”
“I’m someone who’ll make your life a fucking hell if you bother my girlfriend again.”
Jason throws the first punch making Heath stumble.
On instinct, I move towards him but Marie grabs my arm and pulls me back.
“No, stay back,” she says to me.
“You’ve always pissed me off.” Jason is onto Heath and throwing punches after punches. He dodges a few but those that land make my stomach empty.
A rope ties around my muscles and a knot forms, locking in place and choking the breath out of me.
Sebastian attempts to help Heath but the other guys jump in and he gets busy fighting them off.
“We need to help them!” I tell Marie frantically.
She shakes her head. “I know how you feel but we can’t.”
“Why?”
“Because it’ll piss them off if we get hurt.”
“But—”
“Yes, they’re getting hurt but it’s not comparable to when we’ll get hurt.”
Feeling like I have been tied behind my back, I helplessly watch them fight.
Heath manages to pummel Jason to the ground and break his nose. Then, he hurries to Sebastian who seems to be struggling a little.
“What the hell is going on here?” I hear one of our teachers walk into the parking lot. “Stop right now!”
The guys listen to him.
“All of you, in the office now,” he demands, staring at them.
His gaze narrows on us and he adds, “You two get home.”
“Yes, sir.” Marie speaks for the both of us.