Bayward Street (22 page)

Sharp sunlight filtered through a crack in the curtains, hitting me right in the eyes. I groaned, attempting to roll in the opposite direction, but soon realizing that two strong arms held me in place. I couldn’t stop the smile that played on my lips as I sunk back into the warmth of Heath’s arms.

“Morning.” His voice was rough, still scratchy with sleep.

“Yeah, the bright light shining in my eyes is a dead giveaway.” I groaned, squeezing my eyes shut again.

He laughed softly before grabbing my wrist and twisting my body so I rolled toward him. He hefted me onto his chest, and my legs instantly went to either side of his hips.

“Heath?”

“Mmm...”

“What do you want to be when you grow up?”

A grin grew on his face. “When I grow up?” He mocked me.

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, asshole. When you grow up.”

He chuckled, jostling me against his chest. “I’m not entirely sure. I know it has to be something to do with sports. Personal training, coaching, health and nutrition.”

“That’d be so perfect for you,” I agreed. “Swimming is your life, and you’re pretty darn bossy and controlling so personal training would fit—” I didn’t get to finish my sentence as he flipped me onto my back, pinning me down and smirking.

“Bossy and controlling, huh.” His hands tickled at my waist, and I started to giggle.

“You’re just proving my point,” I gasped over my laughter.

He tortured me until there was a sharp knock on the door and I was thankful for the reprieve.

“Heath, can you drop me off in town?”

Heath rolled his eyes, and I giggled. “Yeah, Flick.”

“Thanks,” she called brightly. She was excited about today. I could tell.

“Sometimes I worry about her ‘cause she can be so quiet.” Heath hooked his arms behind his head, and I pulled the bed sheet up to cover myself as I scooted closer to him. “I wonder if Bray and I have been too over the top and protective of her. With Mom and Dad coming and going a lot, we kinda took over that role, making sure guys stayed away and shit.”

“You can’t protect her forever, Heath. There’s gonna be boys, and she’s gonna get her heart broken.”

He took a deep breath in. “Yeah, I just hope it’s not anytime soon.”

I so desperately wanted to tell him. But until I was sure of what was going on, I couldn’t start something that I knew Heath would finish. I just hoped Flick told them soon, because if they found out on their own, shit was going to explode.

“You better get ready.”

He groaned and leaned over and gave me a quick peck on the cheek before shuffling to the side of the bed and searching for his clothes. With his back to me, I quickly snatched my pajama pants off the floor and pulled them up over my legs. Sighing in relief.

Guilt settled once again, but I pushed it away. Reminding myself that I was going to tell him. But even after almost dying, he had given me the most perfect night of my life, and I was even more reluctant to risk what we had.

I just needed to wait for Helen.

She would know what to do.

I hoped.

He laughed as he watched me struggle to find my shirt and put it on. It seemed stupid now, even to me, when he’d seen me in so much less. But underneath, I was still a shy girl, finding her way through this process.

“Asshole,” I muttered as I pulled some fresh clothes from my drawers and headed for the shower. It only made him laugh harder, and while I wanted to slap that gorgeous grin off his face, I couldn’t help but enjoy the sound.

“What’s going on with you and Bray?” I asked Layla as we sat at the table outside by the pool.

I caught the small smile even though she tried to hide it. “It’s nothing, Fay. He makes me laugh, okay?”

I rolled my eyes at her evasion. “So does Andre when he sticks straws up his nose, but you don’t tease him or give him nicknames.”

She looked past me, out to the water where Heath and Braydon were swimming laps. I’d learned today that Braydon does actually swim, not like Heath, but for exercise and endurance.

“I guess it just feels nice to have someone not give a shit,” she murmured as she watched them. “Heath and him, this whole family, they’re different. They care, genuinely. Braydon looks at me like a person, and apart from you and the others, it’s been a long time since someone has looked at me as just a person.”

I smiled. I knew exactly what she meant. It was hard to get by every day when people saw you as either a disgusting dirty nuisance to society or a charity case to make themselves feel better. It was rare where we lived to find people who gave a shit without getting anything out of it themselves.

“You going to tell Heath about Jay?” she asked, keeping her voice low even though I knew there was no way they could hear us.

“Yeah.” I sighed.

“Soon?” she prompted.

“Yes, soon. I swear.”

I still hadn’t figured out how to tell him. But I would. Soon.

We hung out for a few hours before Layla finally decided to head back.

My heart hurt.

“Fable, you need to let me go.”

I shook my head, clinging to her for dear life as Braydon watched on in amusement. “I’ll let you know as soon as Helen is back, and has more information about the house,” I told her, still refusing to release her.

Braydon eventually wedged his hand between us and started to pull her away. When I glared at him, he laughed. “Calm down, tiger. If we haven’t seen her by next weekend, I’m going to go and get her, and she can spend another night with us, okay?”

I nodded, but I knew inside that I wouldn’t be able to wait that long. Just thinking of her out on the streets made me want to vomit. I wanted to get her and the others out of there and get them out immediately before anything else happens.

I waved at her from the door, feeling the loss of my friend in my bones as Braydon drove her back to Bayward Street.

Back to hell.

Flick was practically glowing as she strolled through the door not long after they’d left. But I noticed she wasn’t the only one.

I grinned, unable to hold back when Heath followed through behind her with a bright smile. “Why are you looking so happy?”

He came right up to me, wrapped his arms around my waist and swung me around, still beaming. “My coach called. One of the scouts at the pool yesterday has connections with the coaches of the Olympic team. They’re coming in on Tuesday to watch me swim and do some times.”

I gasped. “Oh my gosh. That’s amazing!” He laughed, his excitement was infectious. “Holy hell!”

“That’s so great, Heath,” Flick boasted before taking off up the stairs.

“Thanks, Flick.” His smile dropped a little. “I’m going to have to disappear again, and head into the pool. The coach wants me to train the next few mornings and nights.”

His eyes searched mine as if looking for an excuse to stay, but I refused to give him one. This was his future. I was so happy for him. Proud even.

“It’s fine. This is great.”

“You’ll be okay?”

I rolled my eyes. “Heath, I’m absolutely fine. We’ve been over this.”

He gripped me a little tighter. “Yeah, I know.”

“Concentrate on swimming or you’re going to be off your game,” I told him sternly.

He laughed. “That’s something my coach would say.”

“Maybe you should hire me.”

“You got any experience?”

“So far all I know how to do is sink.” I laughed dryly.

“When this is done, I’m gonna teach you to swim,” he said in complete seriousness.

I smirked. “Anything to see you in those tiny shorts.” I wiggled my eyebrows, but he wasn’t having it. He reached out and wrapped his fingers around my neck.

“No joking,” he said, looking directly into my eyes. I fell into those deep blue pools. They mesmerized me every single time. “I can’t go through that again. It scared the shit out of me.”

He pulled me in closer, our lips brushing. “I know,” I whispered. “Now go, you need to practice.”

He pressed his mouth against mine, his fingers massaging softly at my neck. I pried myself away, knowing where this would lead if I didn’t have a little self-control. “Go,” I whispered.

He grunted, unhappy but he let me go, grabbing his swim bag from the foyer before heading back out the door.

So much for my plan to let him know about Jay.

That would have to wait now because he had too much to think about. I wanted him to reach his goals and his dreams, and if he was picked up by the Olympic team that’s exactly what would happen.

And it would all be on his own merits, just like he wanted.

There was no way I was going to get in the way of that, so everything would be put on the back burner until after Tuesday.

A few more days.

I didn’t see Heath that night. He came home late and headed out early, well before sunrise. We caught up for a brief moment at his locker the next morning at school. He said practice was going well. He was still hitting the times he needed to, but the coach was pushing for better—Olympic swim team better.

He looked tired but pumped. He was taking it all in, working off the adrenaline running through his body. When he disappeared to class, I trudged down the hallway.

Last week I’d managed to avoid gym class. But there was no excuse this time. If I was going to be a part of this school, I needed to pass all my classes, including gym.

It wasn’t that I wasn’t fit. I was. I just didn’t like running. I was too addicted to my blades. They carried me. They gave me speed and agility. When you ran you had to pound your feet into the ground, force one foot I front of the other and push forward. With blades, you could glide, you could jump, and they allowed me to fly.

No one paid attention to me as I slipped inside the girls’ locker rooms and locked myself in a toilet cubical to get dressed into a pair of track pants and a T-shirt.

They giggled and chatted until the teacher blew her whistle calling us out into the gym area. I almost walked back inside when I saw who was standing next to the teacher, holding her favorite weapon of destruction, grinning maniacally.

“Today we have one of our top baseball players joining us. She’s going to let us know the rules of the game, and we’re going to go outside and have a play. Jay, it’s all yours.” The teacher sounded excited as she clapped and grinned at Jay, who in great Jay fashion did a little curtsy.

“The rules are simple, but I’ll dumb it down a little as I’m sure you’ll learn fast. Your outfield is there to catch any balls. You need to throw it to a base and try and tag the runner. Batters, you hit the ball, you run to the base. And if you come to the plate, and the bases are fully loaded…” her eyes found mine, and they lit up with glee, “…you hit hard, and you don’t choke.”

I managed to hide for the majority of the game, opting to field right out as far as I could. Most of the kids in the class were beginners. Some of the boys managed to hit it fairly far, but I just gathered it up and tossed it back, and my job was done.

When my team was called in to bat it was a whole different story. I watched from the side as each of my players took their turn at stepping up to the plate. Some did well. Others too scared of the ball flying at them to even take a swing.

Jay stood at first base and when I stepped up to bat her eyes watched me like a hawk.

I tried to ignore her. I needed to hit the ball hard enough so I could bypass first base and run onto the next.

I considered striking out, and after the first two misses, I knew all I had to do was let another fly by and I could sit back down.

“Come on, Fable,” I heard her call, my body tensing at just the sound and tone of her voice. “Just take a deep breath. Breathe in all that fresh air.”

The dark taunting words weren’t amiss on me. She knew what she’d done. She knew I could have died, that I could have drowned. The water in the pool suffocating me and cutting off the oxygen. She was baiting me again but this time, I was going to take the hook and chew her fucking line off.

The pitcher lined up, and as the ball came hurtling toward me, I knew I wouldn’t miss. The bat and ball connected, the vibration of the collision sending vibrations up my arms and into my body. I was so in awe that it wasn’t until I heard my team behind me yelling, “Run,” that I dropped the bat and sprinted for first base.

I knew I hadn’t hit it far, the sounds of people scampering and arguing over who would get the ball and where to throw it filled the field. I was only a few feet away when I finally looked up from my feet and saw her standing right where I was meant to run. Jay and I held a similar height, but I knew her body was more athletic than mine despite her being so slim. She planted her feet, making like she wasn’t about to move. Maybe she thought I would pull up and try to go around her, but she was wrong.

I dropped one of my shoulders just a little and leaned into it. I had more force behind my body than she did, and when my shoulder connected with hers she’s stumbled back and landed with a thump in the dirt. The force threw me off a little too, but I managed to touch the base, and the teacher yelled safe from behind me.

She jogged over to us and helped pull Jay to her feet. “Miss Campbell, maybe next time concentrate on where you’re going or someone might get hurt,” she scolded gently.

Jay brushed the dirt of her pants. “It’s fine. Good play.”

The words sounded so sincere, and with a satisfied smile, the teacher turned back. “Next batter!”

She was soon gone, and Jay’s soft sportsmanlike smile dropped in an instant. “This is really how you want to play it, street kid?” she sneered.

“Must have been all that fresh air.”

Bat and ball connecting behind me jerked me into action as once again people screamed run! Run!

I did, but with a smile on my face.

My legs were shaking by the time I reached base number two, but I was feeling great.

Poking a grizzly bear was never a good idea, but that was my message to her. I wasn’t going to back down. Maybe I shouldn’t have let her get to me. Maybe I should have read the signs better. But the gratification was just too much to pass up. Unfortunately, she didn’t like losing, and my elation was short lived.

My body was drained after the teacher made us run two laps of the field after the game since we lost. That I didn’t mind, but my body was feeling it by the time we came back into the locker rooms to get dressed and head to our next classes.

I moved slowly, letting the other girls do their thing and rush out. I wasn’t in a hurry, though, with a free study period next. I found a quiet stall and got dressed, pulling my hair back into a messy ponytail, my skin simply too hot to even deal with it.

When I stepped out, someone grabbed my arm and caught me off balance. They swung me around, and I lost my footing, tumbling to the cold floor with a surprised scream.

Everything was spinning, so I didn’t even have time to cover myself when a foot connected with my stomach, forcing all the air out of me with a loud
oomph.

The pain was immediate, and tears instantly sprung to my eyes.

Another blow had me gagging, my breakfast threatening to spill all over the floor beside me.

“I admire your sudden need to fight back street kid.” Her voice was amused like she was being honest, that she did see my play on the field as admirable. “But here’s the thing. It’s behind closed doors, that’s the best opportunity to show your power. No one can see. No one else knows. Just you and them.”

Another gag from the pain shooting through my ribs brought bile into my mouth. It was acidic and foul, but I forced it back down. I couldn’t move, the pain was excruciating.

“This should be a lesson to you.” She crouched down by my side and lowered her voice. “You don’t belong here. You don’t belong with Heath. This school breeds the strong. You’re too weak, so afraid of the past coming back to haunt you that you won’t fight for your future. Go home.”

With that, she was gone, and I was left in a pile on the floor.

I didn’t make a move to get up, even when the pain began to subside.

I cried. I cried because she was right.

I was so scared of history repeating itself that I was still letting it hold me back. The fear of telling someone what was going on, and having them disregard me was so rampant in my mind that I hadn’t realized, history was already repeating itself.

Jay wasn’t just like my father, she was my father.

But this wasn’t just mental anymore. It had escalated.

I finally managed to drag myself from the dirty floor. Standing up straight hurt so bad, but I wanted to get out of there before anyone saw me, so I pushed through the pain, making my way to the administration area before it became too much and I vomited in the office woman’s wastebasket. She quickly made a phone call to Helen, who’d just landed at the airport and was rushing to the school to pick me up.

It was a good forty-five minutes before she arrived, appearing in the doorway of the nurse’s station with a concerned look on her face. “Oh, honey. It’s just not your week is it?”

I tried to give her a smile, but I think it came across more like a grimace.

I’d told the nurse that I thought it was a stomach bug. She’d asked me all the questions about, what I’d eaten the day before? What we’d had on our pizza? Was there any chicken?

I just nodded, even though it was all bullshit, but she gave me this whole lesson how chicken must be cooked, and came to the conclusion that it probably wasn’t a bug, but more likely food poisoning. It didn’t make sense and was completely wrong, but I gave it to her.

Helen patted my leg as we drove home. She was adamant that we should see a doctor in case the vomiting had something to do with the pool incident yesterday, but I simply said no.

They would know.

She helped me inside and onto the sofa, shooting into the kitchen to get me a glass of water.

“Do you want me to help you get up to bed?” she asked, kneeling down in front of me.

The two beautiful eyes that shone back at me stunned me for a second. She was worried, concerned. I felt like she was almost feeling the pain I was going through, and was willing to do anything possible to take it away.

That kind of caring was special. It was the kind that only strong, good hearted people had. I’d come into her life as a girl off the street. Heath had seen something inside me, something that connected us. She’d never second guessed it, she only jumped at every chance she had to do right by me and make my life better.

She didn’t have to do anything, but she had done everything. And now I needed to listen to those words that both she and Heath had spoken on multiple occasions.

Trust me.

“No. I-I need to tell you something.”

My throat clogged, choked up with emotion. Tightening at the thought of what I was about to do.

Jay’s voice rang out in my head.

You’re too weak, so afraid of the past coming back to haunt you that you won’t fight for your future.

You gonna tell, Heath? Call the police? Because the record of anyone believing your bullshit is already nil.

I’m willing to do what I have to do to secure my future. Can you say the same?

“What’s wrong, honey?” Helen asked, placing her hand over mine.

“I need help.”