𝑭𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝑯𝒆𝒓

3 | 𝑴𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝟐𝟐

TW: MENTIONS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT

Toni's POV

I'd be lying if I said that I didn't cry for an entire week after the bleachers. I didn't leave my room, despite the fact that my bed was covered in Taki crumbs and Gatorade spillage. Oh yeah, it turns out Shelby did get me the Takis and Gatorade. She dropped it off after the whole thing went down. Bitch. I couldn't help but wonder if she really meant what she said. Shelby wasn't one to open up to people about anything, really. If her feelings were ever hurt, she'd keep it all in a scroll and hide it in a bottle. Then, when the time was right, she'd send it down a stream, into whoever's heart strings needed a tug. Which I guess, fortunately, was mine last summer.

It started on the 4th of July. Shelby was with her family at their summer home down in Waco. If you need an intro to Waco: Waco is home to otters, The Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum, and Dr. Pepper, Shelby's favorite soda.

~

It was around 4:30 PM and I had just finished Mission 22 in GTA V. I went downstairs to grab a drink when my home phone rang. That was already weird enough like, who the hell uses home phones in the twentieth century? "Waco, Texas?", I whispered, as I read the caller ID. "Hello?", I asked cautiously.

"Toni?", a familiar voice croaked from the other line.

"Wait, Shelby? What the fuck are you doing in Waco for starters, and two, why are you crying?", I asked.

As I listened to her sobs lengthen and her breaths become labored, I swallowed the fireball that began to rise from my gut and into my throat. "Hey, hey, what's wrong?", I asked.

"Can you like...get here somehow? I need to get out of here. I need to get away from everything. Please, Toni. Please.", she begged, tiny sniffles between her cries for a lifeline.

"Shit. Yeah, I'll be there in half an hour.", I said worriedly.

"Toni?", she sobbed from the other line.

"Yeah?", I replied back.

"Promise?", she croaked.

"Yeah. Shelby, I promise.", I whispered, as I listened to the echo of the phrase I'd say the most that summer.

As I drove down New Dallas Highway, I couldn't help but think that her, calling me of all people was a bit strange, but I'd always had a thing for Shelby that I was never willing to admit.

As I drove down the narrow street, barricaded by fenced-in bungalows and three-door garages, I picked out Shelby's beach house from the plethora of seascape cottages closing me in. I got out of my car and made my way around to the back, where Shelby's room was. When we were in 7th grade, Shelby hung a rope from her window so I had somewhere to get in if need be. "Fuck.", I hissed. I grabbed the rope as tight as I could, planted both feet on the cornflower blue-painted cottage, and made my way up one foot in front of the other. As I got to the edge of her window, I knocked softly on the salt-stained pane. I saw her curled up on her bed. She was peaceful. "Okay well, here goes nothing.", I groaned. I grabbed the edge of the window, unlocked the deadbolt, and unhinged the window. I stepped onto her carpet, like my feet were made of fluff, and shut the window swiftly. I looked around her room. There were pageant trophies decorated on every shelf, polaroids of old friends, and a poster of Tony Romo. Ew.

I didn't know how long Shelby had been asleep, or why for that matter, but I couldn't help but look at her. Her face was angelic. Her mouth was slightly open, inhaling and exhaling softly. When her mouth closed, it was in a smile. Whenever Shelby and I had sleepovers in middle school, I always told her that she smiled in her sleep. She'd always laugh and ask, "Creep much? Why are you watching me sleep?" I'd always buckle over in laughter with no good response as to why I did. Looking at her now though, I knew why. It was the only time her smile was genuine. It wasn't pleasing judges, posing for her Instagram stories, or satisfying Andrew with the slightest bit of satisfaction that she actually might like him.

I sat on the edge of the bed, where her head was to my left. I put my hand below her chin, thumb under her ear, and rubbed her jawline delicately.

"Hey.", she said, sleep in her eyes with tear-stained cheeks. "Hey.", I whispered back. She sat up and leaned into me. She wrapped her arms around my neck, and nestled her head into my neck. I let her stay in my arms. A place I knew she'd be safe. "You wanna like, get outta here?", I asked. She inhaled deeply, and let out a small sigh. "Yeah. But, how are we gonna get out without my dad see-", "Shhhhhh.", I hushed her as I pressed my finger to her lips. I motioned her to jump onto my back, and she did just that. I climbed back out the window awkwardly, and stood on the ledge beneath her window. I grabbed the rope, and counted down. "3, 2, 1.", and slid down the rope, landing softly on the grass below.

Shelby hopped in the passenger side of my black Jeep Wrangler. She grabbed my phone and started playing Taylor Swift, which was enough to make me gag, but she needed it I guess.

"So, what happened?", I asked.

Shelby shifted in her seat and swallowed harshly. Her leg began to shake a bit, so I put my hand on her thigh. She looked up, then back down nervously.

"Me and Andrew were out on the dock watching the sunset. I told him about how right before the sun meets, the horizon, it flashes green for a moment." "He", Shelby started. "He wouldn't stop touching me. He kept trying to take my bathing suit off, and get his hand beneath my shorts. Eventually, I threw him off of me but-"

"Do I have to go back there?", I hollered. I pulled over to the side of the road. "I will seriously beat the living piss out of him Shelby I swear to God. Sorry, but I will literally beat his ass-"

She grabbed my face, locking her eyes with mine. "I don't want to talk about him.", she whispered.

I watched as her eyes drifted to my lips, up to my eyes, back to my lips, and back up to my eyes once more. She unbuckled her seatbelt, shifted, and sat on my lap. "Shelby, I'm not one to oppose a little mackin', but don't you think you're kind of vulnerable right now?", I asked, panicked. Shelby pressed her forehead to mine, and I bit my lip as I looked into her eyes aligned with mine.

She pressed her lips to mine, sending butterflies into my stomach, swirling around my heart and lungs. Her breath traveled against my teeth, cooler than any ocean breeze I'd known. As the kisses got deeper, I felt her smile against my lips.

"Still wanna be friends?", I asked, between the eclipse of our kiss.

"Shut up.", she said grinning, as she took my coat off, smiling as our lips met again.