Fix me

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

            I have swim practice after school. I am thankful; it gives me something to take my mind off things.

            At lunch, Vanessa didn’t sit by me, talk to me, or look at me. I am scared for her. I don’t want Jeremy to hurt her. I know I have to talk to him, but I am avoiding it.

            I swim faster, thinking I can outrun my thoughts. The effort is in vain. My fear is still there, haunting me. I try to focus only on my breathing. In, hold, underwater, out breathe, repeat. It is calming. It helps me relax a little bit as I complete one, two, five more laps.

            “Excellent, Ms. Chambers.” My instructor, Mrs. Moore compliments me. I nod to her as I pull myself out of the pool and onto the deck. I am not used to receiving compliments. It makes me uncomfortable. “Have you considered going into varsity next year?”  Mrs. Moore asks me.

            Since this is my first year on the swim team at my school, I was in junior varsity swim team. Most swimmers who start their second year usually stay in J.V until their junior year. A second year swimmer in varsity was a big deal. For the first time that day, I smiled. “Do you really think I am good enough?”

            “Did you just see how many laps you completed in less than fifteen minutes?” I had stopped counting, but I didn’t tell her that. “If you have any questions,” she continued. “Feel free to ask me.” I nodded and followed the other girls to the locker room. Some gave me glares over their shoulders. They had overheard Mrs. Moore.

            “Good job, Violet.” A nice junior, I think her name was Kate?, congratulated me. I smiled at her and headed towards the showers. I needed a long, hot one. I wait until everyone leaves. Until I am alone. I can’t shower in the same room as anybody else anymore. Some of the girls give me strange looks as they leave. They think that I am just unbearably shy. I want it to stay that way.

            I finish getting ready long after everyone else has left. I am exiting the locker room when I hear voices off to my left. I know who it is without even looking. His voice surrounds me, poisoning my eardrums and turning my insides to stone. For a second, I wonder how it was possible for one person to have such bad luck. It must just be me.

            “Isn’t that your cousin?” One of his friends asks this. I don’t bother to remember their names.

            I lower my head, tuck my shoulders in, and keep walking. Maybe if I make myself small enough and walk away fast enough, they will leave me alone. Of course, I am not that lucky.

            “Violet?” However, it is not his voice I hear or even his friends. It is Hunter’s voice. I stop and look over my shoulder. It is, in fact, Hunter and he is standing right next to my cousin. They both carry basketball equipment and are wearing gym shorts with an old t-shirt. Hunter’s tattoos are showing. I try not to look at him.

            They stop in front of me. My palms begin to sweat and my breathing becomes slightly faster than it was a moment ago. The hallway is dark and we are the only ones in this part of the school. I avoid eye contact. I read somewhere that if you look in their eyes; it is sending them a threat. Of course, that was for dogs.

            “What are you doing here?” Before I get a chance to answer Hunter’s question, he does it for me. “She had swim practice.” I don’t like the idea of him knowing when I am at school after hours. The thought makes my stomach drop even lower.

            “Didn’t that end a while ago?” the friend on the left asks. He is the tallest of the group standing at least six feet. He has skinny legs and hardly any muscle. His hair is long and black, falling into his darker eyes. He has a nice face, but his expression ruins it. His eyebrows are too close together, as if he has to think really hard for everything. He scrunches up his nose and pulls his lips back, showing his teeth. I wonder if he took it as a challenge when his mother told him to not make faces when he was younger or it would stay that way.