Chapter 6 The Snare
The Snare
Harper
The girl’s bathroom is empty since the game has already started. I take off the jersey and grab a napkin and wet it in the sink. The lipstick actually comes off the jersey, mostly. A wash will take care of the slight pink stain.
I sneeze, grab a tissue, and blow my nose. This is ridiculous.
“Oh my god, why does it smell like someone doused themselves in some floral ass perfume.” A JV cheerleader walks in with her friend, who wears a blue t-shirt and a pair of jeans.
“Isn’t that the nasty shit Sidney wears?” her friend asks as she slips into the bathroom stall.
The cheerleader walks over to the sink next to me. Her gaze flows over me and the jersey that’s already half in the sink. “Let me guess, Sidney spilled her perfume all over Luke Foster’s jersey.”
The girl shakes her head and clicks her tongue.
I shrug. She’s a lower classman, but she’s also on the cheer team. She must be one of Sidney’s minions.
The girl laughs and leans forward to check her lipstick in the mirror. “That bitch thinks she’s queen of the fucking world. Water won’t work on that.”
“I don’t have a lot of options.” I give up and rinse the whole thing and squeeze the water from it. It’s not cotton so it won’t hold the water and should dry quickly. When I lift it, I sneeze.
Fuck, I’m going to die if I have to wear this. And my pride will definitely make me wear this, because Sidney is not winning.
“There’s a washer and dryer in the girl’s locker room. I was just in there. They leave it open for us to use during the games.” The girl flicks her blond ponytail over her shoulder. “Seriously, no guy wants to smell another woman’s perfume on his girl.”
“Why are you telling me this?” I narrow my eyes. This could be a trap. After all, it’s not like I can run home during the game and wash this jersey. Sidney would know about the locker room, and this might be her way of getting me to go there.
“Sidney thinks she’s queen bee because Luke Foster used to be hot for her.” She smiles and her dark eyes light up. “I’m all about the anarchy of having a nobody like you dethrone the queen.”
“Yeah.” Her friend comes out of the stall and washes her hands. “We can’t wait until she graduates. It would be epic to watch her fall before that.”
The friend’s eyes glow with triumph. “You’re not the only one who wants to take the queen bees down.”
“I don’t want to—” I protest.
“Everyone knows who you are now, Harper.” The cheerleader glances at me.
“You’re solidly on the map. And while most chicks follow those four bitches and hope for scraps, the rest of us have been quietly working in the background to fuck them over.
” The cheerleader meets my eyes. “Some of these girls don’t get it.
Yes, the horsemen are the cream of the crop, but only of your year.
We’ve got our own men coming up, ready to take charge when they leave. ”
“Oh-kay.” I don’t know what any of this has to do with me.
Her friend smirks. “You’re changing the game. Those guys have committed to only you for a year. We don’t want your guys’ dicks, Harper. We just want to see them stomp Sidney and her gang into the ground.”
“So wash that bitch’s scent off your man’s jersey and help cheer him on to victory.” The cheerleader lets out a little woo as they head out the door.
I sneeze again as I look down at the now wet jersey that still smells awful. Shit.
I pull out my phone to text Kenz.
Me:
Going to wash and dry jersey in GL
Caden
I didn’t need the Assistant Coach to do that. To come out and walk with me like we’re fucking friends and he’s supporting me. More likely he’s trying to get back on Jack’s good side to slip into his DMs again.
I don’t need that noise. I just need my guys and my girl. My gaze strays back to the lone person on the top of the stands. If that’s MacKenzie, where the fuck is Harper?
“You’re in, Ross,” Coach shouts.
I jog to the huddle, passing Parker who’s coming back to the bench. Luke gives me a look when I join them. He calls out the play, but I’m still half worried about where she is. This is when she’s vulnerable.
When none of us can be there for her. Didn’t I warn her about that? Fuck.
Jack grabs my helmet and smacks his against mine. “Head in the game, War!”
I smack his ass as he passes me and line up in formation. My gaze goes to the defensive tackle that has his eye on Luke. Not today, fucker.
Harper
I didn’t realize how eerie the school is with most of the lights out and the hallways empty. Maybe I should have grabbed Kenz before heading in here. But I know she’s excited to watch Brandon play. That and if the guys look up, they’ll at least see one of us there.
I push open the locker room door. The lights are on, and there’s stuff strewn everywhere. The cheerleaders and the dance team use this area. Even the color guard girls come in to change or fix their uniforms. A few color guard girls glance up at me when I walk in.
“Uh, do you know where the washer and dryer are?” I hold up the jersey as proof I have need of it. Sometimes even I think I’m lame.
“Over next to the coaches’ offices.” Rachel Hayes sweeps her gaze over me before turning to her friends. Ah yes, one of the final hit list of virgins. Pretty sure she was Eli’s conquest over the summer.
“Thanks.” I head toward the offices and open a few supply closets before finding the washers and dryers. I put Luke’s jersey, along with a pod, in the washer and put it on the quick wash cycle.
The door shut behind me when I came in here, but there’s no lock on it. I sit on the old, scraped-up wooden table used for folding and pull out my phone. There are dead spots in the school for cell phones. This is apparently one of them.
If Kenz responded to my text, I didn’t get the reply before coming down here.
I open my game I haven’t had time to play in forever and start matching gems. I make it pretty far before the washer buzzes. I pull out his jersey and hold it to my nose.
Oh, thank god! The smell is gone. It’s still a little damp, but I should be good to go. I tug it on over my t-shirt and go to the door.
The knob turns but the door won’t open. Fuck, it’s like something heavy is behind it or blocking it. Okay, not panicking. I get down on my hands and knees to see if there’s something against it.
Besides a slight shadow in the gap, nothing stands out, like a wedge. Maybe it only opens from the outside? That wouldn’t make sense, but nothing in high school makes sense.
I knock on the door. “Hey, is anyone out there?”
A washer and dryer are both working on towels, so someone has to come here, eventually. A chill creeps up my spine. Maybe if this was the only thing that happened to me I could write it off, but I made a stupid decision.
The color guard girls were in the locker room and saw where I went. I would have passed by them on my way out, so maybe they’ll come check on me?
Ha, that’s wishful thinking. They don’t give a shit if I’m stuck in here. Even if they haven’t already returned to the game.
Maybe this was a really elaborate plan to trap me. To what end though? Play a prank on the horsemen’s whore. Oh no, I have to sit and play my game until someone comes and lets me out.
Oh, darn.
I sit back on the table and pull out my phone, staring at the no signal.
Okay, so I can do a quick sweep around the room to see if I can find a signal.
Hopping down, I go around the entire room holding my phone at every angle.
I even check the other doors. One is a linen closet and the other is a utility closet.
Once that’s been double checked and all hope is firmly gone, I pull off the jersey again and put it in the dryer. No reason to wear a wet jersey when I don’t have to.
Kenz knows where I am. When I don’t show up, she’ll come looking. It’s not like I’m alone.
I return to my station on the table and play a few more rounds of my game until I’ve used all my lives. I go across to the dryer and tug on Luke’s jersey. Yawning, I decide to check the door again. When I turn and straighten my skirt, the door opens.
“Thank—” The words die on my tongue as a guy dressed all in black including a ski mask enters the room and closes the door. My feet unstick from the floor, and I rush to the linen closet and close myself inside.
My heart is pounding as I brace my feet on the doorframe and hold the doorknob like my life depends on it, putting all my weight on it. The doorknob turns but he doesn’t open it.
Something metallic taps on the door a few times like he’s knocking with it.
“Come on out, Harper. We don’t want to hurt you. We just want to talk.” The male voice is calm and reassuring, like he’s trying to talk a cat down out of a tree.
“Yeah, most pleasant conversations start with someone wearing a mask.” I don’t release the door or give up my stance.
“We can wait you out, darling.” The table groans under the weight of my assailant. “It’s not even half time yet.”
What’s with the we? One guy came in.
“Okay, so you can come back later,” I suggest.
He chuckles, and that doesn’t give me a lot of hope here. My body remains tense and in position for five long minutes. This is stupid.
I blow out a breath. “You know, if you want to talk to me, I’m kind of a captive audience.”
“We both know I didn’t come here to talk.”
Yeah, not what I was hoping to hear.
Even paying attention to his voice, I can’t figure out who he is. Granted, my experience with other people is fairly limited in high school. Even now, being the horsemen’s just means I’m getting to know them better, not other people.
“You could just come out, and we can get this over with,” he suggests.
“What exactly are we getting over?” I feel like if I keep him talking, eventually someone will come and realize a guy is in the girl’s locker room. Right?
“Your virginity. What those assholes want from you, I figure I’d do them a favor and warm you up.”
Holy shit, what the fuck? “You know that’s rape, right?”
“You’re just their property. Consider me your hero to get out of their clasps.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” I can’t stop the words coming out of my mouth. “You really think I’d prefer you to rape me over being their pet for a year?”
“Look, I get it. You probably want it to be special. I can be nice about it. I could probably even give you an orgasm for your trouble.”
“Who the fuck are you?” I glare at the door. There’s no way I’m releasing this doorknob.
“Someone with a grudge against the so-called kings of our school. I imagine you and I have a lot in common if we sit down and talk. After all, they’re experts at manipulation.”
The table creaks and footsteps approach the door. His voice is closer like he’s leaning against the door.
“You’re not the hottest girl they’ve wanted to fuck, but you’re cute enough. I bet that pussy is nice and tight too. Come on, Harper. At least this will be your decision.”
“Do you think that’s going to work on me? How stupid do you think I am?”
“Well, I’m not pointing fingers, but you happily trapped yourself while the horsemen are occupied. So I mean, I’m not thinking you’re graduating top of the class right about now.”
“Fuck you.” What an arrogant prick.
“Don’t get your panties in a twist, darling. I’m just fulfilling a community service here. If you want, we can meet up again for a date to make you feel better about losing it to me.”
Will admitting to not being a virgin make him go away? Or will it anger him? My arms are getting tired, but I think he’s counting on that. He’s counting on me giving up. On me wanting to pay back the horsemen for targeting me.
“How do you know I’m still a virgin?”
The guy chuckles darkly. “You reek of innocence. I’m sure they’ve kicked the tires and maybe checked under the hood, but girls like you don’t give it up that easy. They like you to get used to the idea before they pounce.”
“Unlike you?” Who is this asshole?
He chuckles. “Come on, Harper, live a little, let your hair down, bend over this table, and let’s ruin the horsemen’s day.”
“Wow, such an appealing offer. I think I’m going to pass.”
“All right, let’s do this the rough way.”
The knob turns in my hands, and I lean all my weight on it. I’m not giving up.