WITSEC

Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

“He sent me a video. It was of her changing in her bedroom. That bastard sat right outside her window and watched my little girl. He’s probably home jerking off to it right now. When are they going to catch this sick fuck?!” my dad yelled, followed by the sound of glass shattering.

“Jonathan, please!” my mom hissed. “The girls will hear you.”

Too late. We’d heard him when he’d come home, stumbling drunk. Shayla and I sat on the staircase listening as my parents talked in the kitchen.

“He left the video on the windshield of my car at work, Heather. What if someone else had grabbed it?”

My eyes stung and my shoulders shook from my silent sobs. When was this going to end? When was this monster going to leave me alone? Shayla’s hand enveloped mine and she squeezed it tightly. I stared at her with apologetic eyes.

“What if we considered moving? I spoke to Logan again and he offered to help spirit us away or something—get us set up somewhere new,” Mom suggested.

Shayla gasped, jerking back with surprise. Some of her cotton candy pink hair fell forward. Moving would be her worst nightmare. She loved her life here and would miss all her friends.

She glared at me. “If I hadn’t bitched in public to my friends the next day about moving, Mr. X wouldn’t have found out and slaughtered us a week later.” Her voice became raspy toward the end and a red line appeared around her throat before blood sprayed out of it, soaking me.

My eyes ripped open and I sat up quickly. It was dark. The only light came from the TV, playing infomercials. I’m safe , I reminded myself.

I was in my living room. I had been sleeping there for the past couple of nights because I didn’t want to wake Creed with my nightmares. I picked up my phone from the coffee table and saw it was three-thirty in the morning. It was going to be dark for another hour, not that it mattered. I was still going for a run. It being dark out just meant I needed to carry a gun. I still had that small holster Logan had given me and I’d make sure I had my anklet tracker. Hopping off the couch, I dashed into my room to get ready for a run.

I ran for three hours. I didn’t pace myself like I normally did. I pushed myself until my muscles felt like they were going to explode. I relished the pain because it temporarily diminished the pain in my heart. I was paying for it now. My legs were killing me.

Today, I dressed in a jean skirt with a tucked-in, long-sleeved, black blouse. Underneath, I was wearing my favorite Superman panty and bra set. I wasn’t the typical fan who collected the comics or action figures. Nope. I had a decent collection of shirts and pajama sets, but my obsession showed in the amount of superhero lingerie I owned. I was pretty sure I had a lingerie set to represent almost all the characters in the DC and Marvel universes. A lot of it had been special-ordered from online sites and adult sex stores, but all my sets were cute and tasteful. All I needed now was a phone booth and I could be Sexy Superman. More like Stripper Superman, I snickered to myself.

Walking out the front door, I was glad I’d decided to put my hair up in a ponytail today. I’d discovered this morning on my run that it had rained last night, and it was humid out. The smell of rain here was different. It smelled stronger and almost sweet. It was addictively good. The need to know why had pushed me to research it as I’d brushed my teeth this morning. Apparently Arizona had a desert bush called creosote that secreted an oil that smelled like sweet rain. When it rained, that oil wafted into the air, giving it an intense smell.

Trying my best not to limp, I made my way next door. All four of the Stone brothers were walking out the front door as I was walking up their driveway. I wasn’t sure if it was the wet ground or the weakness in my legs, but my foot slipped forward and backward I fell. I yelped as one of my legs shot up in the air and I landed on my butt. “Ow,” I groaned.

All four of them were there in an instant. Colt leaned down behind me and lifted me up to my feet from under my arms like I weighed nothing. “Are you okay?” Colt asked.

“Yeah. More embarrassed than anything. I think I just flashed everyone,” I said as I pulled down my skirt.

“No,” Colt said at the same time Keelan and Creed said, “Yes.”

Keelan looked to Knox. “I have the sudden urge to binge watch all the Superman movies.”

I blushed big time.

Creed shoved Keelan’s shoulder in an attempt to defend me, but I could see him trying not to laugh.

Knox sighed at his brother, then looked at me. “You were walking funny.”

“Uh, yeah. My legs hurt from my run this morning.”

He gave me a single nod before looking to Keelan. “We need to get going.”

I stiffly turned and winced with each step as Creed, Colt, and I walked over to Colt’s blue Charger. “I’ll sit in the back,” I said, and I opened the door to the backseat. “Cheese and rice. Cheese and rice,” I hissed repeatedly as I slid in.

The twins were both turned around in the front seat by the time I got in and were staring at me with matching perplexed expressions.

I sighed. “My mom always said a lady never swears. Because I’d been the good child who was too afraid to disappoint her, I learned how to be creative. The habit stuck,” I explained.

Creed snorted before turning around.

“Do you want us to stop and get you something for the pain?” Colt asked, giving me a sympathetic look.

“I have ibuprofen in my bag. I’ll take it after I buy a water bottle at school.”

Creed leaned forward and I heard him unzipping his bag. He produced a water bottle and offered it to me.

I took it with a grateful smile. “Thank you.” I had a feeling I’d proven myself worthy to Creed because he had been showing me his sweet side more and more lately.

“Admit it, you like her,” I said as Ethan and I walked out of biology. I’d repeatedly caught Ethan staring at this girl, named Isabelle, who sat in the front row of our class.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he grumbled.

“Huh,” I said as I studied him. What had happened to the boisterous and flirty Football God I’d come to know?

He gave me the side-eye. “What?”

“You really like her.”

He sighed, obviously feeling embarrassed or exasperated with me. I was going with the former.

“Why haven’t you asked her out?” I asked.

“I have. She turned me down,” he admitted.

“Huh.”

This time he looked at me fully. “Why do you keep doing that?”

“I’m surprised. When you asked her out, did you?—”

A shoulder collided with mine. With my legs still being sore, I couldn’t stop myself from falling into Ethan. Thankfully he caught me before I could hit the floor. The same couldn’t be said for my textbook and folder.

The sound of girls giggling had me looking for the source. Amber and Sam were a few feet away, wearing matching evil smirks.

“Watch it, Troll,” Amber said as she flicked back her platinum blonde hair before continuing on down the hall, arm in arm with Sam.

“What a bitch,” Ethan said as he scooped up my stuff off the floor.

I couldn’t have agreed more.

Going outside literally felt like stepping into an oven. As the day went on, the temperature reached over one hundred and ten degrees. In gym class, the coaches made us stay inside the gymnasium for safety and everyone was required to play volleyball.

“Shiloh is going to be on our team,” I overheard Colt say.

I glanced up from where I sat on the bleachers retying my shoe. Colt was standing with Creed, Ethan, and two of their friends, Gabe and Daniel, discussing who would take what position. Daniel was the tight end on the football team with Ethan. Gabe was on the baseball team and was Cassy’s cousin. I shouldn’t have been surprised. They resembled each other, with the same tawny hair and honey-colored eyes. He hadn’t been friendly either when Colt had introduced us. Being a jerk must run in the family.

Creed came up next to me and glared at my sweatshirt. Yes, I’d agreed that I shouldn’t care what other people thought about my scars, but I hadn’t found the courage to go without covering my arms at school yet. Thankfully Creed seemed to understand that. “How are your legs? Do you think you’ll be up for this?” he asked, bringing my focus back to the volleyball game.

The stiffness in my legs had loosened up as the day had gone on. “As long as I’m not forced to run a mile, I think I’ll be fine. But you should also know, I’m not the best volleyball player,” I said as I got to my feet.

Creed shrugged. “Not everyone here is.”

“Thanks for the pep talk,” I deadpanned, which earned me a chuckle.

Our team faced off against another group of six students that included Cassy and her minion, Amber, who happened to be on the girls’ volleyball team. Great.

I did my best to help from my position in the back center. Colt, Creed, and Daniel were in the front row. Ethan and Gabe flanked me in the back. As the game proceeded, both of our teams seemed to be evenly matched. Each time our opponents gained a point, Cassy would give Creed a taunting look from where she stood directly across from him on the other side of the net. Creed ignored her, which thoroughly pissed her off.

The game was neck and neck. The guys became really determined to win, especially Gabe. He was insanely competitive. He openly complained about me hitting the ball incorrectly and just now, we’d run into each other as we both tried and failed to hit the ball before it touched the ground.

“Next time just stay out of the way,” he snapped at me.

“Gabe, relax,” Colt snapped back at him.

“If she doesn’t know how to play right, why is she even on our team?” Gabe snarled.

Creed whirled around and gave Gabe a disapproving look. “It’s just a game. Quit being an ass.”

I caught Cassy smirking. Amber leaned close and whispered in Cassy’s ear. Cassy’s smirk stretched to an evil smile and they got back into position to serve one last time. The final round would determine which team would win. The ball was hit back and forth, until Cassy tossed the ball straight up and Amber hit it over the net toward me. I put my wrists together, intending to go for the ball. A body slammed into me, knocking me to the floor. I hit the ground hard, landing on my left hip. Pain zapped from my hip bone down my thigh, making me whimper.

“Shiloh!” Colt ran over and knelt next to me. “Are you hurt?”

Biting my lip because I refused to cry, I shook my head, lying. Cassy and her friends laughed, pointing at me.

“What the hell is your problem?” Creed yelled at Gabe.

Gabe shrugged. “I told her to stay out of the way.”

Before I could protest, Colt slid his arms under my legs and around my back. He lifted me with ease.

Fear of being dropped had me gripping his shirt. “I can walk.”

“I have a feeling you can’t,” he said, anger seeping into his voice. Colt had always been kind, sweet, and the peacemaker. To hear his tone turn so cold left me stunned.

“I saw you go after her, Gabe, not the ball,” I heard Ethan argue.

“You fucking shoved her?!” Creed yelled.

Colt set me on the bottom bench of the bleachers. “I’ll be right back,” he said tightly before heading back over to where Creed was now up in Gabe’s face.

Gabe straightened his stance. “Get out of my fucking face.” Then he shoved Creed.

Before Creed could react, Colt came up behind Gabe, jerked him around by his shoulder, and punched him in the face. The impact and force behind the punch made Gabe crumple to the ground.

“What the fuck!” Gabe roared and scrambled to get back up to his feet.

Colt shoved him back down and cocked his arm back to hit him again. Creed grabbed Colt from behind, locking his arms around Colt’s. Colt struggled to get free as Creed pulled him away from Gabe. I jumped to my feet and winced when pain flared in my hip. I didn’t think anything was broken. I was definitely going to have a nasty bruise, though.

Colt eventually stopped fighting once Creed and he were standing in front of me. “I’m good,” Colt snapped, and Creed released him.

A whistle was blown, startling us all. Coach Dale, a tall, bald man who was one of the gym teachers as well as one of the coaches for the football team, stormed over. He looked from Gabe, who was climbing to his feet with the help of Cassy, to Creed and Colt. “What is going on over here?”

No one said anything.

I watched Colt’s fists clench and unclench. His knuckles he’d used to hit Gabe with were bright red. Hesitantly, I reached out for his hand. I would’ve been lying if I’d said I wasn’t nervous. The tips of my fingers lightly brushed over the back of his hand. He glanced down, then over his shoulder at me. I forced a small smile. He surprised me by wrapping his hand around mine and lacing our fingers together.

“Well?” Coach Dale pushed.

Cassy stepped forward. “Just a little accident on the court, Coach. Some players slammed into each other when trying to hit the ball.”

Coach Dale eyed everyone skeptically. “Is that right?”

Everyone murmured in agreement.

Coach Dale shook his head. “Go to the nurse, Gabe. Get some ice on that cheek.”

Gabe nodded and left, while rubbing his already swelling face.

Ethan came over to stand by us. “Are you okay?” he whispered to me.

“Yeah,” I lied again.

Coach Dale blew into his whistle. “Put the balls away and go get changed! Class is over!”

Ethan left to help a few other students put the volleyballs away while everyone else made their way toward the locker rooms. Creed and Colt turned, catching me rubbing my hip gently with my free hand.

“Did you land on your hip?” Creed asked.

I quickly dropped my hand from my hip. “I’m fine. You don’t have to worry?—”

Colt squeezed my hand. He had yet to let it go. “You don’t have to play it down, Shiloh,” he said calmly. The anger in his voice was slowly receding. “If you’re hurt, just tell us.”

“I’m fine.” I wasn’t. Today had utterly sucked. It had started off bad and only proceeded to get worse. I wanted to go for a run. It was my escape and I really wanted to escape what I was feeling right now. With how badly my hip hurt, I knew that wasn’t an option and wouldn’t be for a while.

“No, you’re not,” Creed argued.

“Yes, I am.” Why couldn’t they let this go?

“Why are you lying?” Creed snapped.

“Because if I say it out loud, it makes it real,” I snapped back.

“What?” they asked at the same time.

Frustrated, I rubbed my sternum. “I can’t get hurt, alright? I just can’t. Because if I do—if I truly get hurt—who would I call? Logan’s on the other side of the country, therefore, I can’t call him. So who would I call?” I shrugged with my arms out as my eyes filled with tears. “I don’t have anyone. It’s just me,” I said bitterly. “And today—falling—was just another reminder of that.” I was having a bad day and I had no one to talk to about it. I couldn’t go vent to Shayla about Cassy and Amber and how terrible they were. And if I had broken my hip, I couldn’t have called my mom or dad for help. The people I needed most—the people I relied on—were gone. I was on my own and today had rubbed my nose in that fact.

They both stared at me with stunned looks on their faces.

A couple of tears escaped and rolled down my cheeks as I glanced down at the floor, feeling mortified. They probably thought I was crazy. They didn’t know that things had been building up, causing me to explode. They were seeing a girl completely overreacting after falling and getting hurt. “I’m sorry.”

Colt stepped closer, bringing us chest to chest, or more accurately, my nose to his chest. He wrapped one arm around my lower back and released my hand to bring his up to cup the back of my head. “Don’t apologize.” His embrace tightened and my nose became buried in his chest.

Feeling the comfort his strong arms provided, I slowly began to calm, and my body loosened against him. I wrapped my hands around his waist and allowed a few more tears to leave my eyes.

“It’s alright to tell us stuff, Shiloh,” Colt said as his fingers began to knead the back of my neck. “I get that it hurts you to talk about your family, but you can’t keep it all bottled up. You can talk to us and we’ll listen.”

I was happy he didn’t think I was crazy, but was I that transparent?

“And you can call us,” Creed said. Like I had yesterday, I turned my head, resting my cheek on Colt’s chest so that I could see Creed. He was staring down at me with a tight expression. “If you ever get hurt, you can call us.”

I sniffled. “Don’t say that just because you feel sorry for me.”

“I wouldn’t have made an offer like that lightly,” he assured.

A smile slowly stretched across my mouth. “Does that mean you like me?”

Colt’s chest bounced as he chuckled.

Creed scoffed, slightly shaking his head. “Yeah, Shi, I like you.” His admission gave me that warm feeling in my heart again.

I released a heavy sigh. “I landed on my hip,” I finally admitted and pulled back from Colt. “It’s not broken, but it hurts. I’m not going to be able to run for a while.”

Colt took a step back. “Can you at least walk?”

“I think so,” I said. Colt took a few more steps back and I walked to him with a limp.

“Why don’t you go grab your stuff and we’ll take you home?” Creed offered.

I shook my head. “You have swim practice. Your meet is tomorrow.”

“So?” Creed drawled.

“Coach Reed will be pissed, but he won’t bench us for the meet if that’s what you’re worried about,” Colt said.

“You shouldn’t miss practice because of me. I’ll go and watch you, like we originally planned.” With them driving to school today, we had already discussed me staying after to watch them practice.

Colt shook his head. “You’re not going to sit on a metal bench for hours in pain.”

I opened my mouth to argue.

“Shi, if you don’t let it go, I’m going to throw you over my shoulder and carry you to the girls’ locker room to get your shit,” Creed threatened in a deep, firm voice.

It was two against one. I let out a long sigh and began limping toward the locker room to get my stuff.