RAINSTORM

Ch. 46

During the break everyone's at the school's park. The clouds have cleared, and light and warmth grace the cold ground.

Rachel notices Hector across the field of fresh cut grass. He has already been looking at her.

An exchange of smile.

His gaze makes her uncomfortable. Not in a bad way. At the pretense of tucking her hair behind her ear, she looks away. But seeing him felt better. And just when she brings herself to do so again, a hand on her shoulder steals her attention.

"Hey," Ricky says, sitting down at her side.

"Hi," Rachel says. A tinge of heaviness in the pit of her stomach. Not at seeing Ricky. But at being seen with Ricky.

"Nice outside huh?" Ricky says.

"Yeah."

"Hope it remains nice on the day of school dance, too," he says.

Rachel prays that her face doesn't give away her surprise to Ricky. She forgot about it. The promise she made him at the planetarium.

"Yeah," she says, grinning wider to make up for the guilt.

"So..." Ricky says, "do I have to match up a tie with your dress or something?" His shyness comes through in spite of his best efforts.

Rachel's guilt overflows. Soon after she agreed to go to the dance with him, Rachel did go to a shop to find a dress. But she was too distracted at the time because of— 

Rachel takes a quick look across. Although it was briefly, when she saw Hector's face, she could tell it wasn't good.

"I'll tell you once I narrow down my options," Rachel tells Ricky.

He laughs. "Options? You sound like my sister. She turns our house upside down yelling she has nothing to wear when her closet is on the verge of bursting open because of how stuffed it is."

"Correction: We never have anything new to wear."

"Corrected."

———

It was jealousy that got him in trouble with Rachel, among other things. He should ignore the image of that prick with her.

The punching bag slides to the middle of the roof.

A few eyebrows shoot up in the studio.

"You sure this is your first time?" Jay says. It was his idea to introduce boxing to Hector. The past few weeks Hector has been— volatile. Boxing can help angry young men to let off some steam.

"I'm a natural at everything," Hector says.

"I should take you golfing next then," Jay says.

"You golf?"

"Why? I don't look the type?"

"You in a polo shirt, white pants and shoes? That's awful."

Jay laughs. "Well, I really am not that type. But my father in law loves it. I sometimes golf with him. It's the only time he doesn't remind me how much I don't deserve his daughter."

"So buttering up the in laws is how it works?"

"Always. But your partner would not have to worry about that. For better or worse. How are you hanging in there kid?"

"I'm fine. People should stop worrying about me."

"You don't want that. Trust me. You may have shitty luck with your parents. But you have good friends. At times like this you should rely on them, instead of pushing them away— What?"

Hector had frozen. An idea.

"What did I say?" Jay says. Hector hurries over to his bag to take out his phone.

"Rachel," he says when the phone connects.