My Future Stepbrother

Chapter 7

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful.

Despite a few snide comments from the plastics about my hoodie during gym, it was nice to have some semblance of normality back.

School was the one thing I was good at. It came easily to me. Although I still had to cram for tests it wasn’t the bane of my existence like it was for some. I’d always found it easy to keep my grades up and I actually enjoyed it when I did find something challenging.

Brie had arranged to meet me out front after last period. Bio.

The entire session Jayce and his goons hadn’t left me alone. I felt ball after ball of paper smack into the back of my head but I refused to turn around and let them see they were getting to me.

I tried to focus on Mr Lewis' incessant ramblings when all I really wanted to do was practise my dissecting skills on Chad Wilson's face.

A final spit ball hit my head and I snapped. I whipped around with my number two pencil in hand and slammed it into the desk where Chad's hand was. It landed right between his middle and index finger penetrating itself deeply into the wood. Chad ripped back his hand and checked it for invisible injuries.

"You psychotic freak!"

I just gave my most innocent smile back whilst flipping him off.

At the end of class Mr Lewis told us that we would be doing a pairs project that would be half our grade this semester.

I prayed to the earth mother to give me anyone that didn’t resemble a One Tree Hill reject as my partner. Give me Stefen Abu with his hallatosis or Kallie Bridge with her head gear braces and ability to throw up at the mention of any human bodily function. Anyone, just please not anyone of the lot behind me.

“Aleah you will be paired with... Chad Wilson.”

Why do the powers that be hate me?

“Guess it’s just you and me Brucey boy" mused Chad wearing a grin that was much too big for my liking.

As the bell rang I lunged for the door faster than a fat kid seeing an ice-cream van.

Before Chad had the chance to say anything more I was out front with Brie.

She looked stressed. I didn’t want to add to it so I just kept quite and walked her to the bus stop while she vented.

“Kevin says it’ll cost $600 to fix the bug. I just don’t know how to get that kind of money. I mean, the car isn’t even worth that much but I just love her so much, I can’t just scrap her.”

I’d offer her every penny I had saved over the summer but I knew her pride wouldn’t let her take it. It just wasn’t who she was.

I gave her a quick hug and offered anyway before she borded the bus. She politely declined so I told her to call me later and we’d come up with a plan.

As I turned back towards the school I realised I didn’t know where Jayce was. I looked around the car park but his black sports car was nowhere to be seen.

Fuck. I should have got the bus with Brie.

I turned and started to walk towards the Manor.

15 minutes in I was getting tired, between gym today and the first day back I wasn’t at my peak physical performance.

I looked over at the hillside park. Dad always told me not to go through there after it became a hot bed for the town low lives but it took 10 minutes off the walk and it was the middle of the day.

I decided to chance it.

Walking through it was peaceful. Although it was more of a woodland with a path than an actual park it was still really beautiful.

I saw a cyclist in the distance and after a minute they were zipping past me. I could see the park gate at the end of the path and was grateful that in a few minutes I would be welcoming myself into a much needed hot bubble bath.

“Hey beautiful, tell me, what you got under that hoodie?” The deep voice came from the banking next to me. I looked up and could see three men sitting on the dirt, beers in hand, slightly shielded by the large oak trees around them.

I looked behind me but the cyclist from earlier was long gone and there was noone else around.

I carried on walking, ignoring them as they continued their verbal assault on my body. I wasn't far from the park gate and could begin to hear the noise of the traffic on the street.

“Hey beautiful, I’m talking to you!” the voice was harsher this time.

I started to move quicker wanting to get away from the shade of the trees and into the light. They wouldn’t follow me into the light.

As I started to break into a run I was yanked back to the floor.

The man that had been shouting at me had a handful of the hood from my hoodie and was pulling me back towards where they were sitting.

“We just want to talk to you cute thing. Nothing else, just talk.” He spat his liquor filled saliva over me as he spoke. His brown greasy hair was stuck to his forehead and his clothes smelt like a damp abandoned house. I knew I couldn’t fight my way out of this. I let my hands run themselves along the floor as he pulled me, desperately looking for something, anything, to defend myself but I felt nothing.

I needed to act fast, smarter. I slipped myself through the holes and inside of my hoodie. As the guy pulled me by my hoodie once again I slipped out. I broke off in a crawl before I eventually found my feet and began to run.

I screamed for help as I hurried towards the gate with everything I had. I quickly glanced behind me but the men weren’t following me, they were just standing there laughing. The disgusting creature still had my hoodie in his hands and pulled it to his nose dramatically inhaling my scent. He smiled a yellow toothy grin at me.

“Beautiful! You forgot something!” He taunted waving my hoodie in the air.

I turned towards the gate when I ran straight into what looked like a white mountain. I felt a strong pair of arms wrap around me to keep me from falling backwards. I took a deep breath before looking up terrified at what I might see. The scent of what was infront of me hit my nose with a sense of familiarity.

I looked up to see Jayce's face looking back at me. I let the tears fall freely at the sight of his familiar chiseled jaw and sandy blonde hair.
I buried my head in his chest and could feel the moisture covering his white shirt. I couldn’t control the shakes taking over my body, all I could feel were Jayces hands placed against my back protectively. Just like they had once before.

I looked up to meet Jayces eyes.
“Can you take me home please?” I pleaded.

Just as Jayce turned to walk me towards the gate a voice echoed from behind us.
“Sweet thing! You look completely fuckable without this. I think I’ll do you a favour and keep it.”

Jace snapped his head in the direction of the man dangling my grey hoodie then snap them back to me taking in my dishevelled appearance. I had placed just a thin tank top underneath my hoodie and that was all that was left to cover my now shaking body.

“Leave it Jayce, it’s just a hoodie.”

As I went to round jayce I realised sometime else, school bag wasn’t with me. I looked down the path and saw it half way between us and my attackers. It must have fell when they first grabbed me.

Jayce followed my eyeline to my bag.

“The car is just out there, go get in, I’ll meet you there.”
Jayce forced me around him towards the gate. I began to walk when I glanced back and saw him walk straight past my bag.

Oh fuck.

Jayce approached the revolting grease ball that attacked me. He had his back to us now but was still holding my hoodie.
Jayce grabbed him by the shoulder and turned him, then without warning swung a solid left hook at the guys face.

I shuddered at the noise of bones cracking. Although I had seen Brie slap many a bitch this was the closest I’d ever been to true violence.
The man hit the floor hard and I could see the crimson blood that was beginning to replace his facial features.

The other two cronies just backed away from Jayce as he leaned down and tore my hoodie from the unconscious man’s hand.

He walked back towards me bending slightly and grabbing my bag from the floor in one fluid motion without slowing.

I could see the blood dripping from his hand onto the path as he approached me.

“I told you to wait in the car" were the only words he said as I followed him to his vehicle.

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