Getting Caught In The Rain

Chapter 7: Aqua

I didn't see Ricky all day or the next day. He didnt come to school, not even to meet me during lunch in the little room we had for ourselves. He also didn't come over to my house like he usually did. Alex was still missing as well. The third day of Ricky's absence, I started getting worried. I didn't want to call his house but I had to find out if he was okay and if he was hiding something. The only other place he could be was his house. If his dad was a police officer he probably worked during the day so maybe I could sneak into Ricky's house. If only I knew where he lived. Then it hit me, I don't know where Ricky lives but someone else could find out for me. Wendy, yes, she could help me! Wendy was a computer geek I sat next to last year in science. She would brag about how she hacked into the school's database from her computer and could change students grades for them. That meant she could also see where all the students lived.

During lunch, I went to the library where Wendy might be. I searched around all the tables until I saw her. She was sitting by herself staring at her laptop. " hey there, Wendy" I said as I pulled out a seat across from her and sat down. "hi" she said without glancing up to see me. She was obviously occupied by something on her computer. "I need your help" I said. "okayyyy.. One second" she said before closing her laptop and looking up. "this better be worth my time. What do you want?" she said. I leaned over and whispered "I was wondering if you could access someones address for me through the school database." "I most certainly can but I'm gonna need something in return" she said. "fine, how much?" I asked. "30 bucks" she said firmly. "what?! No way!" I exclaimed. "suit yourself" she shrugged. I really didn't want to pay that much but I desperately needed to talk to Ricky. "okay, here" I said as I dug in my pocket to pull out $20. "this is all I have in cash, I'll have to give you the rest tomorrow." I said. She grabbed the money with a braces filled grin and opened up her laptop. "what's the name?" she asked while typing so fast Im sure whatever record there was for the fastest typer, she broke it. "Richard Louis" I said. She paused but then continued to type. I had a pen in my hand ready to write with. She finally got to the address and told me. I frantically wrote it on my hand then grabbed my bag and rushed out. "don't forget the rest of my money!" she said. I was about to turn around and say thanks when the librarian gave out a loud shhh! sound. I rushed out of school telling the secretary I wasn't feeling good. She was a good friend of my mom. They met in high school and became best friends. "I can't just let you leave honey." she shrugged. "my mom will call later, she's busy at work and I really don't feel good" I pleaded. "you can stay in the nurses office." she said. "please, I can't stay. I'm gonna throw up everywhere." I said and pretended to cough up something. She looked terrified with a disgusted expression. "you're lucky I trust you, but I better hear from your mother before 6." she said.

I ran out of the school and to my car. Thank God for GPS. I put Ricky's address into my phones navigation system. I started driving to Ricky's house.

Ricky's house looked abandoned. Shingles were missing, the grass had grown unruly, and the paint was slowly coming off. I decided not to park on his driveway but instead across the street at a house up for sale. Now, how was I going to get in? I thought. There was no car in their driveway which meant his father wasn't home, but I still didn't feel safe knocking on the front door. I quietly went around to the back of the house and saw a small window leading to the basement. I laid down on the ground to look through the window. No one was there but the punching bag slowly swayed as if someone were just punching it not too long ago. I tried to push the window open with all my might. I finally opened it and slowly crawled in. I made a little cry as my stomach began to hurt again. I was half way through when some grabbed one of my legs from outside and pulled me out. I screamed. The person easily pulled me by one leg until my entire body was outside. I turned over on my back to see Ricky towering over me pointing a rifle at me. He gasped and put the gun down. He then held out a hand to help me up. I pulled myself up then brushed off the shrubs on my clothes. "what are you doing here?" he asked. "why were you pointing a gun at me?!" I said. "I heard someone walking around the house so I came outside to see who it was and if they were trying to break in. Then I saw you." I breathed heavily. His hair was pulled back but a few strands fell in his perfect face. He was wearing a black undershirt that showed off his tense, sweaty muscles. He must have been the one using the punching bag. "why are you here?" he said. "I was looking for you. I haven't seen you since the other night and I just wanted to know if you were okay." I said. "I told you not to ever come to my house,why didn't you listen to me?" he said with a stern look in his face as he out his hands on my arms and made me look into his eyes. "I.. I don't know, I just..." I said. He let go and walked away to go pick up his gun. He glanced at me and from the look on his face I knew he could tell I was scared. "I'm so sorry. I swear, I will never hurt you." he said with a promising look that erased his anger from before. "come on" he said and took my hand to lead me into his house.

The inside of his house was surprisingly nice and had a warm feeling about it. Except for the heads of various animals hung up on the walls. We sat at his dining table. I was looking up at the poor animals sadly when Ricky said "sorry about the umm.. heads. My dad is a hunter. Thats also why I have the gun." I stopped staring and looked over at him. I noticed the way his eyes weren't green and hazel anymore instead they were a vibrant blue mixed in with green to create an aqua. He had the features of a model but only the imaginations of dreams could create. "Jane, I'm so sorry if I hurt you or scared you, but you must understand that if you had come here when my father were home, He would've killed you." he said seriously. It was hard for me to believe that a policeman could be so vicious. "I'm sorry, but I missed you" I said. He put his hand through his hair and leaned back in the chair. "I missed you too" he said. "then why didnt you come to school, or my house, or even try to call or email?" I said furiously. "are you hiding something? Is there something I should know?" I said softly. He couldn't look me in the eyes. He didn't say anything. "Ricky, you can tell me. I'm here for you." I said and took his hand in mine. After a few seconds he finally spoke. "after I left you Sunday, I found Alex and we got in a fight. Someone found out and called my father." he said. "did he hurt you again?" I asked. "no, instead he said he's fed up with me and is going to send me to some Military school in Ohio, if I get in another fight." I tried to fight back tears. Just thinking of Ricky not being here made me want to cry. "it's okay, you wont get in another fight. I'll make sure you don't." I said trying to be assuring but Ricky looked doubtful. "Jane, I'll try my best but if I get angry don't try to stop me, I could hurt you. If that were to happen, I wouldn't be able to live with myself." he said. "I tried to avoid you because I knew if I have to leave, I wouldn't be able to.. to be without you. I wanted to try and live without you, but I realized I can't. Not only do I want you, I need you." he said and put his hand on mine. Now the tears started to pour out. I let go and got up to get napkins in the kitchen. "Jane, please don't..." he said and got up. He took my hand and spun me around to face him. He held my back and started kissing me. I opened my mouth and let him in. Our breathing got hard and he forced on. I sat on the counter. Ricky took my legs and put them around his waist as he kissed my neck. I put my fingers through his wet hair and gave out a little moan. I let go to take off my shirt. he took off his shirt too. We continued kissing when Ricky pulled away and said his mom was coming home soon. "come on" he said and took my hand. We went up the stairs to his bedroom. "is your mom okay with me being here?" I asked. "yeah, she doesnt care." he said as he closed the door and turned the lock. I looked around his room which was surprisingly clean and organized. I looked back at Ricky. He had a wild look that made me want to melt into him. He picked me up and we continued kissing. Soon we ended up on his bed. Then we fell asleep.

Ricky woke me up about 2 hours later. I was happy to know I still had my pants on. "my dad is going to be home soon" he said as he put his shirt on which I wish he didn't so I could take in the view a little longer. "okay" I said. "are you coming with me?" I asked. "of course" he said and took me by the hand to kiss me. We went downstairs. Ricky's mom was on the couch watching t.v and talking on the phone in French. It was hard to believe she and Ricky were related. She was a short blonde lady with a fragile structure. No wonder why she doesn't stand up for Ricky, she was probably terrified herself. We walked out of the house without Ricky saying anything to his mom.

While I was driving I thought of some questions I still needed to be answered. "how bad did you beat up Alex, Ricky?" I asked softly. "uhhh.. I don't think I hurt him badly but I definitely gave him some hard punches." he said. "why do you ask?" he asked. "He hasn't showed up to school" I said. He laughed "well, I must've scared him pretty badly". "I don't think that's it though. He's not the type of person to run away or get scared. Nobody has seen him, not even his sister." I said. "don't worry about it. He got what he deserved" he said. I turned to look at him. His eyes were back to their original color.