“Alright today, I need you to jog 10 laps,” the coach yelled. I waited until we began jogging in the back to open my mouth.
“What the hell are those?” Anani hissed before I could speak. His hand grasped my arm and pushed up my sleeve, I cringed at the sound that came out of his mouth. I wasn’t scared of him, but the energy vibrating around him wasn’t sweet and those eyes were enraged.
“Accident, I had a bad accident about,”my entire life, “5 days ago. It’s still healing.”
Anani shook his head at my lie but kept quiet. Except for that rumble in his chest that had my heart racing and breathing quickening. Ledger spoke quietly, “what type of accident?”
The kind that gave birth to me.
“Fell down some stairs while moving,” I muttered. I hated lying. I was terrible at it.
I felt a cool hand on my neck and knew it was Henry. His chest made a low rumble, but all hesitancy from earlier was wiped away as he peered at the skin. I could practically feel him thinking and the gaze he offered me was both clinical yet concerned.
“How bad is it?” Henry asked so softly I barely heard him.
“Bad enough,” I responded, but then picked up from walking to jogging.
The rest of gym, they were quiet. I knew they didn’t believe my lie. I didn’t even believe me.
No one would want to be my friend if they knew how not normal I was. How awful my mom treated me. How I was possessed by the devil and that was why she had to hurt me. No one would even want to be around me.
I was glad these boys made me feel so comfortable because I wasn’t sure how I would feel around other people. My experience with Seth and Lorn hadn’t been good so far, and I hadn’t talked to anyone else really. Well, Malloy I suppose, but he didn’t leave me with a bad feeling, just sort of nothing. I was thankful for that in comparison to the intense pull and push of feeling strongly about the guys and the uncomfortable one I got around the other two. With my friends, I felt like an attention-starved kitten.
I’d always wanted a kitten. There used to be strays that would come to the window of the basement. One time, I’d even created a little corner for them to stay in during the winter. I’d been terrified my mother or Pastor Malcolm would realize they were down there, but they stayed quiet as their mother left to hunt each day and came back with rats and mice. She fed her children like a real mom was supposed to. I think that was when I realized how bad my situation was. When the six of them left one afternoon and never came back, I’d cried for three days straight, but it taught me that getting attached to things was something I couldn’t afford.
Now that I was going to be free I wanted something I could be attached to. Something I could love. I really should get a kitten. That was the first order of business on my birthday.
After gym, securely changed into my clothes, I found the boys waiting for me. I had all my books with me because I wasn’t positive where we would be going now that school was over. I knew I had homework, but I had never done any before, so I figured it was better to be safe than sorry.
“Come on,” Anani offered in a slightly dimmer tone than before gym. I could see concern sparkling in his normally playful eyes. His warm hand met mine and squeezed it gently. I offered him a bright smile that had the light rekindling.
“Nice car,” I offered. I knew nothing about cars. All I knew was that this one was shiny, big, and black. I struggled to get up into the seat so Ledger smiled and aided my effort. He walked around to the driver’s side as both other boys hopped into the back.
As the car engine started up, my smile grew. This was exciting. This was a freakin’ adventure. Maybe school wouldn’t be that bad.