A Penny's Worth (The Cephas Bourdon Series) (8 page)

"You were tryin' to get with su'mother guy!" he accused, pointing his finger at me. His face was so close I could smell the liquor on his tongue. I just scowled and turned away. He caught me by the arm as I turned and spun me back around. A familiar fear ran through my bones, threatening the experience I knew would come. Chase got drunk quite frequently, and he was usually angry.

"I don' like my girl messin' aroun' behin' my back!" he spat. I wiped the spit from my face right before he grabbed my shoulders with both hands. He must have sensed my fear, because his angry face loosened and he smiled a little. He stood about four inches above me.

"You scared, huh?" he asked, a devilish smile growing wider across his face. "You need to respect me!" he warned. I tore my shoulder from his grasp.

"You have no right to intimidate me!" I retorted. How dare he! His eyes hardened and he raised his right arm. I yelped as his hand came down hard on my left cheek. The slap was so brutal, his eyes so intimidating, that I stumbled backward in mere shock. Raising my hand to my face, I felt blood trickling over from my cheek bone. I looked up and gasped
—
Chase looked as if he could kill the devil himself. He took a step toward me and his hand lifted again, but something stopped him. He glanced to his right, eyes narrow
ed. Cephas was coming toward us,
clenched fists and gritted teeth revealed his furious demeanor. A green baseball cap with a flat brim sat on his head
. I
t looked just like Chase's, but newer. He tore it from his head and threw it to the ground, revealing a freshly shaven head. Light from the parking lot caught his eyes, and a dark, nearly black, blue reflected the fierce anger inside. He seemed even
angrier
than Chase had been a moment ago
.
Chase now seemed to show signs of fear. I took a step back; was Cephas going to fight Chase? Though drunk, Chase could hold his own. In an instant, however, Cephas walked straight up to Chase and reeled his arm backward, ready to launch. I saw the muscles flex in his biceps. The gray shirt he wore revealed a built chest and hinted at the brawny abs I had seen on the beach. I let out a yelp as his fist flew right into Chase's jaw. Chase stumbled backward, hitting the chain link fence behind him. Shoving himself off of the fence, Chase walked back toward Cephas
—
fists clenched, game face on.

“What's your problem!” he shouted at Cephas.

“No guy hits a woman when I'm around,” he responded through gritted teeth.

“Oh, look at the hero,” Chase said sarcastically.

“Go home and sleep it off,” Cephas ordered. “Don't bust yourself up before the game.” Cephas turned to walk away. I gasped again as Chase grabbed Cephas and spun him around, laying a fist into his jaw. Cephas fell to the ground, landing on his back. He sat up and wiped the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand. Pulling himself up off of the ground, he stood in front of Chase. He pulled back his arm and launched it into Chase's jaw. Catching Chase by the arm as he stumbled backward, Cephas pulled him back for more, releasing his anger into his face. Chase returned his punches for a few minutes until Cephas slammed his fist into Chase's stomach. He threw punch after punch until Chase finally fell on the ground without much defense. Cephas strode over to Chase's crumpled body and lifted him by his shirt to a standing position. He held him up close to his face and nearly spat as he spoke. He spoke too quietly for me to hear. Releasing his grip, Cephas let Chase fall to the ground in a pile. He shook his head in disgust. Marian was by my side now and she hugged me around my shoulders.

"Girl! Are you ok?"

She inspected my face and began to pull me away from the crowd.

"I saw what happened! Was that Cephas? I heard someone yelling about a fight and I ran out in time to see Chase getting his butt kicked!" She led me toward the chain
-
link gate, mumbling something about stupid men. I glanced up and met
Cephas’
eyes. Was that worry on his face? I scowled, upset Cephas had witnessed my weakness, and embarrassed he had had to save me. I wiped a tear from my eye and turned back toward Marian, reassuring her that I was fine. We walked out the gate and I turned to latch it shut. I looked up again, hopeful, but Cephas was gone. My heart sank a little, though I wasn't sure why.

"Come on, girl, let's get you cleaned up," Marian offered, tugging at my arms. "You're a mess."

I felt blood rolling down my cheek.

CHAPTER 5

The hall was crowded with freshmen who lighted from locker to locker, bouncing from person to person. The air was filled with the students' dull roar of voices. I walked through a set of French doors that opened out to a large cement pad. A set of steps ran down the hill to the parking lot, grass and small bushes lining either side, and a couple of freshmen sat under the Big Oak, as they called it. They were holding hands. The Big Oak was where you gained the status of “True Thunder." You had to kiss at midnight on a full moon for a full two minutes. Chase had always wanted to be "True Thunder," but I always stopped at a minute and a half. I smiled. I was really good at making him angry. Just then the scar on my cheek began to burn.

I reached up to touch it and began walking, tearing my eyes from the Big Oak and the couple beneath it. Cars maneuvered crazily around the small parking lot. Was that Cephas? A tall figure walked near the edge of the parking lot. His jeans were in style, matching a green, unbuttoned shirt with the long sleeves rolled up to his elbows. As I neared him,
I noticed he wore a white
t
ee
beneath the green
shirt, and very high
—
end shoes. Perhaps I should thank him. I took a step forward but stopped
—
a group of girls pranced up to his side and began talking wildly. They had stars in their eyes. I didn't wait to hear the conversation, but instead turned swiftly and began walking quickly home. Of course all of the girls would love him
—
he was gorgeous. I shifted the weight of my over
-
the
-
shoulder back pack, but the strap was still cutting into my shoulder. Why did I always bring so many books home? I swung the bag to my other shoulder, but it didn't land there. Looking up in confusion, I saw Cephas clutching my bag in one hand. The corner of his mouth was inching upward. Why was he always smirking?

"That looks heavy," he commented. Duh. Why did guys always want applause for a little chivalry? He swung it over his shoulder.

"Can I walk with you?" he asked. He waited for my response.

“Unless you're planning on kidnapping my bag,” I replied, looking away to hide my reddening face. “But I go the long way around," I warned. He smiled and spread his arm gallantly forward.

"Shall we?" he offered. I raised my eyebrows and began to walk forward. My shoulders felt a lot lighter.

"What do you carry in here anyway?" he asked innocently.

"Why don't you have a backpack?" I retorted. He chuckled a little.

"You're quite sassy, aren't you?" he observed. Every time he spoke, his tone was so proper, his words so particular. He paused a moment, still walking.

“I was supposed to graduate early, but they thought it would be a good idea if I came out to play on the AAU team. So they let me play ball, and I only take one class.”

"They?" I asked, encouraging him to expound.

"Oh, uh, my dad's lawyer," he explained. "He's my guardian."

"Huh. My econ teacher gives us tons of reading, so that's why my bag is so heavy." We walked around the corner to a dirt road and followed it a ways to a ravine. Tall, slender trees stood side by side, flourishing near the small creek. I stopped and spun on my heels.

"Cephas, I
—
"

"Emma, don't,” he interrupted me. I looked up into his face, eyebrows raised.

"I just wanted to say
—
that is
—
" I stopped midsentence. He touched my cheek with the back of his hand, his thumb running gently over my newly acquired scar. His hands were warm on my skin, though slightly rough.

"Does it hurt?" he whispered. His usually heavenly blue eyes were clouded gray. I shook my head just before he released my face and turned away. He began walking and I followed.

"I
—
I never got to say thank you," I began.

"No thanks necessary. Any coward who would hurt a girl . . ." he spat out, the words spewing like venom. His voice trailed off into angry silence.

"Nobody else would have done a thing," I replied. "So, thank you" He nodded his head once, still looking forward. Silence prevailed for a moment, so I changed the subject.

"So, where'd you come from?" I asked. That was an innocent enough question
—
right?

"My parents died a couple of weeks ago. I moved away to finish out my senior year." His voice was cold. I wasn't sure how to respond.

"I'm so sorry. That's horrible," was the b
est I could come up with.
"Why did you move here?" I couldn't help but asking. He must have thought it entertaining that I would pursue the conversation, because the corner of his mouth twitched upward again.

"I just wanted to get away from everything, and I love basketball.” His smile was brilliant. "And why are you here?" The question took me by surprise.

"Well," I stammered, "I've always lived here."

"And why did your parents move here?" he urged. I thought a moment
—
I wasn't sure.

"Something to think about," he replied to my lack of a response, shrugging his shoulders. He laughed and shifted his weight.

"This bag really is heavy. I can't believe a little thing like you was carrying this," he replied in a lighthearted voice. He stopped walking and set the bag down on the ground.

“What are you doing?” I asked, stopping next to him. He jiggled a latch on the fence and grabbed my hand.

“Follow me,” he muttered, tugging my hand. He walked backward, pulling me after him.

“Where are we going?” I laughed. I looked down at my feet, careful not to trip on the cracks in the asphalt pathway. We rounded the corner of a white, wood
-
slat building. The black pathway enlarged into a makeshift basketball court. An old basketball hoop stood waiting at the other side of the court, the chain net rusting with age. Cephas released my hand and bent down to pick up a basketball.

“Where are we?” I asked, trying to restrain my elation at the surprise.

“I found this place the other day,” he said, standing up straight. “And it even comes with a basketball.” He lifted the basketball in the air.

“You any good?” he asked, bouncing the ball in place.

“Not really,” I said, pushing up my sleeves. “But I could probably beat you.” He raised his eyebrows and took a step backward, still bouncing the ball.

“You think, huh?” he asked, moving farther away toward the hoop. I shook my head and lifted my hands in the air.

“Yeah, but I think I should get the ball first,” I argued. Cephas stopped bouncing the ball and tossed it to me. I caught it and began dribbling.

“So you must be pretty good at basketball if Chase used you to replace his guard,” I said, not moving much from the half line.

“I'm alright,” he replied. I moved to the left, then to the right, moving easily around Cephas. The ball bounced a few times and I went for a layup. The ball bounced off the backboard and swooshed easily through the chain net. I caught it before it hit the ground.

“You let me do that,” I complained, throwing the ball to him. “Or else you really suck.” Cephas stopped and held the ball with one hand, feigning surprise.

“Well aren't you all flattery,” he complained, dribbling the ball again. “You aren't like most girls.”

“Yeah, like the ones dancing around you earlier?” I teased, moving in front of him to block his dribbling path. “Did you let those girls beat you at something, too?” Cephas faked right, then spun around me, laying the ball up to the hoop. The ball swished through the net.

“I don't let anyone beat me,” he argued, sounding kind of serious
. “I just wanted to confuse you.
Y
ou know, let your confidence grow so it's easier for me to beat you.”

“Why? You don't think you can beat me on your own?” I held up my hands to receive his pass. I bounced the ball a few times and bent my knees. I sprung upward and flicked my wrist, then watched the ball fall through the hoop without even touching the net. Hands on hips, Cephas walked toward the ball.

“Wow, you really can play basketball, huh?” he asked. He passed me the ball. “Check.” I passed the ball back. He dribbled the ball in place. “Let's see how you do at defense.” He dribbled the ball around the court and I followed him, holding out my hands. There was no way I was letting him beat me. He tried to fake to the right, but I jumped in front of him. He moved to the left and I followed. Finally resorting to pushing through me, he shoved his way down the court. I was laughing so hard my defense was miserable. Grabbing onto his arm, I pulled him away from the basket. He laughed and pushed me away.