Chapter 10 Ali
Ali
I went into the locker room and changed into my workout clothes, those ridiculously small black shorts and the T-shirt with the school emblem on the front.
A few of the girls from cheerleading were in the class with me.
I stayed close as we entered the gym, going over to the section of the floor where we were supposed to stretch and warm up.
As the other girls laughed and talked animatedly about upcoming plans for the weekend or summer break, I nodded along, pretending to pay attention. From the corner of my eye, I saw Gaviria standing by the bleachers, tablet in hand, eyes flicking toward our group often.
His hair was pushed back from his brow, a smirk on his face that I’d only recently started noticing. One of the girls to my left giggled like the besotted idiot she was when she glanced over and saw Gaviria was watching us.
“He’s so hot,” Mercedes said, biting her lip in an effort to be seductive. I swallowed the bile that rushed up into the back of my throat. “Look at all those delicious muscles.”
“If he breathes wrong, that shirt will be in tatters,” Kyla agreed, fanning herself with her hand, her gaze trained on the young teacher. “I want to lick him so bad.”
“Where would you lick him?” Mercedes asked with interest.
“Anywhere.” Kyla made a little whining noise. “Everywhere, as long as he returned the favor.”
“I bet he would be into taking us both,” Mercedes mused, her cheeks pinkening.
“You two could have any guy at this school, and you’re panting over that creep?” Moira huffed, disgust dripping from her voice, and I found myself scooting a little closer to the other girl.
There were people I was friendly with, but my tribe was small.
It was then that I realized the closest girl friends I had were Hayat and Abi, maybe Charlotte.
I limited my interactions to my friends in cheer and gymnastics because of how most of them acted when Sixx was around.
Some might call it jealousy, but being jealous meant a lack of trust, and I trusted Sixx with my whole heart.
I labeled it territorial. He was mine, and I made sure people were aware of that fact.
Moira was only into cheer because her mom made it a requirement.
Her family had expectations, and she toed the line of compliance, only giving the bare minimum of what her parents commanded.
She was the black sheep in her family. We weren’t besties or particularly close, but we’d hung out enough through sports to bond a little.
She was the girl who would rather have a book in her hand than a pom-pom.
Her ideal man was more of a thick, barrel-shaped guy with grease beneath his nails.
On the rare occasions we had to travel for games and we spent a night in a hotel, I bunked with Moira and covered for her when she snuck out to meet with her boyfriend.
He was two years older and went to public school.
His dad owned a garage somewhere in Santa Ana, and he planned on eventually taking over the family business.
Moira’s parents allegedly didn’t approve.
Her family were old-money snobs. Once she graduated, she’d have to make a choice.
Her inheritance and family or her boyfriend.
They were confident she would pick them and not the guy who, in their opinion, couldn’t provide Moira with a good life.
I really hoped Moira told them to fuck off.
After warm-ups, a few of the jocks joined our group.
Gaviria blew his whistle and started shouting commands, splitting us up into smaller groups.
I ended up with Moira, Kyla, and two basketball players.
Both guys were friends with Evan and had met Sixx enough times to be aware that flirting with me was a quick way to a broken face.
For the next hour, I tried to keep our group on the opposite side of the gym from Gaviria.
Kyla had other plans, though. At some point, I’d gotten distracted and turned my back on the teacher.
Moira said something that made me laugh for the first time all day, but it was abruptly cut off when I felt a hand at the small of my back.
Jerking at the unexpected contact, I looked up into Gaviria’s smug face.
Acid churned in my stomach, my skin crawling with fear and disgust and anger at the audacity of this motherfucker.
I took a huge step away from him, and he moved with me, brushing his fingers over my arm before blowing his whistle. “Hit the showers!”
Groans of relief filled the gymnasium as everyone turned toward the locker rooms. Linking my arm through Moira’s, I shook off the dread building in my gut. She gave me a weird look as we entered the girls’ locker room.
“You good?”
“I…” With a grimace, I shook my head. “He’s just creepy.”
“Right? The way he looks at you sometimes is weird as fuck.” She stopped in front of her locker.
“Christ, I stink. I wish I could take an everything shower, but I don’t even have time for a quick rinse since I’m meeting Jake for an early dinner.
My father is in Portland, so my mom won’t notice I’m late until eight-ish. ”
“Have fun,” I told her, grabbing my shower stuff. As much as I wanted to throw on my school uniform and run, Evan would ask more questions if I got in his car still smelling ripe from class. He was the last person I wanted to throw red flags at.
“Talk to you later,” she called, already jogging toward the exit.
A few of the other girls were already heading out the door as well, laughing and talking about the movie they were going to watch before going to Simone’s house later for dinner. It was just background noise to me, not registering given all the other stuff already swirling in my head.
I rushed through a shower, washing away the sweat and body odor.
My focus was on getting in and out as fast as possible, and I didn’t notice when the locker room went completely quiet.
Pushing back the shower curtain, I grabbed for the towel that I’d hung on the hook outside the stall, still thinking of a hundred other things.
Coursework that needed to be turned in to get the extra points for another class.
Gaviria wasn’t in the PCC. What did I need to pack for the Australian tour?
No way was he in a gang. Should I ask Evan to grab some takeout on our way back to my house to cheer Abi up?
Eight deaths at that warehouse. Why was my sister so distraught?
Five of them from fighting. Maybe I could convince Abi to come on this tour with us.
A summer hanging out with my sister would be good for us both.
Eight people died. But Gaviria had nothing to do with that…
I wished Sixx didn’t have jiu-jitsu practice on Wednesdays. I really needed a hug from him. Wrapping the towel around me, I took two steps and froze.
Standing at the entrance to the private showers was Gaviria. His beady eyes raked over me, his gaze tracing the droplets of water on my body. And I felt dirty all over again.
Licking his lips, he took a single step forward, and I began to tremble.
Move, Ali. Run. Scream. Do anything but stand there.
“Finally,” he said with a chuckle. “Playing hard to get is boring. It’s about time you gave in to what you’ve been begging for with those sweet blue eyes.”
“I…” My throat closed up, fear blocking any denial. Scream. Run. I was frustrated with myself, and tears stung my eyes. I felt trapped, helpless. And so fucking stupid.
If I’d spoken up, told someone, this never would have happened.
I should have confided in Hayat or Mom. Dad.
Either of my godparents. Bentley. Poppy and Gammy.
Infinite possibilities played through my mind, countless people to whom I could have shown the texts.
Maybe even Evan. They would have protected me, and Sixx might not have done something stupid when it got back to him.
He might have actually kept a clear head.
Doubtful, but right then, I was seeing the maybes clear enough to understand my monumental fuckup.
None of those solutions mattered now, though. I was stuck in a locker room that appeared to be empty with only a towel to cover my body. Frozen in place, my voice absent. All the disgustingly detailed texts this man had sent to me replayed in my head, spiking my fear higher.
Wishing everything away had not been the correct choice. Hoping he would give up and leave me alone was never going to work. I’d known it, yet I’d convinced myself it was nothing.
And now, that nothing was stepping toward me with triumph glowing in his eyes. Staying silent had given Gaviria power. It had encouraged him. Let him think I wanted his attention.
My fault. Mine. I’m to blame for getting myself into this situation.
Another step forward from him. I could make out the faint scent of his cologne over the other bathroom smells, my body wash, and the lingering fragrances of my classmates who had already left.
Too close.
He was too close.
Scream. I need to scream.
Instead, my fingers tightened on the towel, clutching it to my chest. “No,” I whispered, the sound weak as it pushed out of my tight throat.
His grin grew.
“Stay away from me,” I hissed, stumbling back a step, my body not fully cooperating as I willed it to move. “Leave me alone.”
“But you don’t want me to leave you alone, do you, Ali?” He took another step closer, his grin taunting me, the spicy scent of his cologne burning my nose. It wasn’t a bad smell. I wished it were, but it was a high-quality brand, one I couldn’t name. And something that would always stay with me.
Scream. Help. Scream. Fucking scream. Someone please help me.
“All these weeks and you never once asked me to stop.”
I flinched. He was right. I hadn’t confronted him, not even via the many, many texts he’d sent every day.
I’d stayed mute, hiding from the monster on the other end of the phone.
This entire time, I’d thought that my silence was bravery, that I was protecting Sixx.
But the reality was that my silence was holding me hostage, while simultaneously encouraging this bastard.
“I’m telling you no now,” I gritted out, hating how my voice trembled. Tears began to fall. “I’m saying stop.”
Gaviria’s smile dimmed. “You don’t get to say no.”
“No,” I said a little louder, mentally pleading with myself to scream.
Help.
Oh god, why didn’t I scream?
“No.” It wasn’t even close to a yell, but it had more strength.
His smugness dropped completely, replaced by something…evil. “I’m going to give you one chance, Ali. A single opportunity. Give yourself to me by Saturday night.”
“Fuck you!” I snarled, fighting a wave of nausea, even as a part of me finally started to react.
But it wasn’t enough. It would never be enough. Please, help me.
There was no way he would do any of what he was threatening. It would be traced back to him, and he’d get busted for a felony for just having those videos on his phone.
“I’ll never let you touch me,” I bit out, glaring up at him as my entire body shook. Still trapped. Still helpless.
My fault.
“Oh, you will. Because if you don’t come to me by Saturday, I’ll post every picture I have of you. Every video I recorded of you right here in this locker room, beneath that showerhead. I will release it all, every last pixel, down to my favorite freckle.”
He took the last few steps that separated us.
I was already against the wall, nowhere else to go.
My fear was so thick that my fight-or-flight didn’t engage.
All I could do was stand there shaking as he lifted his hand.
Tracing his finger along my collarbone, he dipped his head. “I can’t wait to taste you.”
Stepping back, he winked down at me. “Talk to you soon, Ali.”