Holding On

Chapter Twenty-Three

"What are you doing just standing there, dumb butt?? Come on, move it. Go change." My brother scolded me as soon as I got in the house. I rolled my eyes and went up to my room. As soon as I was in the comfort of my room, I fell face first on my bed and passed out.

***

My eyelids flickered open, and automatically shutting when the light strikes my tiresome eyes. Rolling over, I squinted at my clock. 11:48 a.m. I smiled and rolled over again, shutting my eyes. I started to fall back asleep.

My eyes snapped open as I sat up faster than a blink of an eye. I turned my head back to the clock, which now read 11:50 a.m. Fudge! Fudge! Fudge! Scrambling out of bed, I picked out a pair of gym shorts and a sports bra with a tank top to go over it. I rapidly switched into my outfit that was resting (thrown) on my floor.

Slipping on my crocks, I ran down the stairs, skipping a stair case here and there. I walked into the kitchen, casually. Sam was sitting there, pigging out, like always. He's such a fat-ass. I smirked to myself. "Lunatic," Sam mumbled from his sitting position. I stuck out my tongue at him. He snickered, "childish."

"Pig-face!" I glared at him. I took a banana, and stormed out of the kitchen, leaving the dare devil to himself. I grabbed my phone from my room as I devoured the banana, dropping its peel in the trash on my way out.

I put the song paradise on while waiting for Jake. I began singing along to it, " some people all about the dollar bill. It's quite a feel. It's all the same, everyday, how you gotta deal with all the pain it is gonna heal. We never change for..." Someone interrupted me by clapping.

"Wow, you're an amazing singer." I turned around, facing the owner of the voice. It was Jake. My face flushed with embarrassment.

"Uhh....thanks."

"Don't worry, darling. I can definitely keep a secret," Jake winked at me. I started shuffling my feet nervously. We got into his car and he drove to the arena.

***

Jake held the punching bag as he instructed me to punch it with all my force. Left, right, left, under-cut. Right, left, right, under-cut. Side-kick. "Umph." Jake stumbled back a bit. I smirked.

"How was that??"

"The kick part was unexpected, but well done. You're gonna be kicking ass in the future."

My body stiffened, "I said I'm not fighting in the arena, or did you already forget?"

He rose his hands in the air, surrendering. "I didn't say anything." I smiled and nudged his shoulder playfully. He grinned back, and threw a punch at me. I ducked, so it looked like he was punching the air. My smile turned into a smug smirk. I ran away, and Jake ran after me. I ran around the gym, dodging people, but Jake was still on my tail. My body crashed down onto the matts, I let out a loud squeak. Jake tackled me down. I squirmed, trying to get free. He snickered, and set me free. We were laying down on the matts, panting.

"Come on, get up. You need more practice." I nodded. We both got up and walked back to the punching bag. He taught me several different ways to kick and where to kick to make the person be in more pain. He also taught me some more punches. Always give the person a jab to the throat. You automatically have an advantage if you do.

Jake took me over to his house to meet up with Joey. Jake went to take a shower while I waited for Joey to get dressed. Their walls were painted white, they didn't have too much furniture. Nothing too luxurious. It felt welcoming, cozy, and a comfortable place to be. A hand was snapping in front of me, bringing me back to reality. "Where were you zoning off to, Rose??" Joey asked me while smiling warmly at me.

"To coco land," I returned his smile. He chuckled as he shook his head.

"Where do you want to go?" It looked like he already had something in mind.

"Where ever you please, Prince Charming." He grinned from ear to ear. Then he grabbed my hand and started tugging me along. We left without saying good bye to Jake.

"There's an ice cream parlour just down the street and across. I know it's nothing special but..."

I cut him off, and continued his sentence for him. "But it's ice cream." He nodded his head in agreement.

"Yes that's exactly what I was going to say." We walked down the side walk. There were no cars so I crossed the street. Then I turned back and Joey wasn't following me. "Joey, come on. There are no cars." He shook his head. I sighed and waited for the crosswalk thing to turn green. It didn't take long for it to turn green. I smiled as Joey was crossing the street.

When he was in the middle of the street, a big black suv truck was driving up the road. Joey started running because the truck wasn't stopping. He almost made it, but he was too slow. The truck had hit him, and drove away. My eyes widened. I ran towards Joey. I pulled up my phone and quickly dialled 9-1-1. "Hello, what's your emergency??" I heard the person on the other end of the line pick up. I told her everything, then I hung up and waited for the ambulance to come.

I crouched down beside Joey. I picked up his head, and rested it on my lap. The back of his head was bleeding. His body was full of minor cuts. Tears were dripping down my face and onto his pinkish t-shirt. Joey's face was starting to pale. Cars started arriving and stopping. The people in the cars would come out and they gathered around me. A woman tried to pull me away from him, but I only held on tighter so she let me be. I put my face on his chest and just wept.