Fostered

Chapter Nine

A week later, Calla and I are enjoying a basically ritualistic night at the beach. We get high and tear into some snacks. Then, we go skinny dipping in the freezing water. I steal a few kisses, which has become somewhat of a normal thing now, and then we scramble back to the shore. We collapse on our big blanket and lie on our backs, laughing like idiots. Eventually, the laughter dies down and a comfortable silence makes its way between us. I feel Calla's hand brush against mine and I lace my fingers through hers.

"I'm not ready for you to go," She says quietly.

"What do you mean?" I ask, tilting my head slightly to look at her out of the corner of my eye.

"I'm not ready for you to not be with me anymore. When you turn eighteen, you're not going to live with us anymore unless my parents adopt you. And that will take forever." Calla explains, squeezing my hand a little tighter.

"Leave it to you to get all sappy and sad during the turn up," I tease harshly.

"I'm serious, Sloan."

"I know..." I mutter.

"I don't want to lose you," She says, nuzzling against my arm and wrapping her arm around my stomach.

"You won't, Calla. Why would you?"

"Because time is going by a lot faster than I thought." Calla reminds me.

"I know, but don't sweat it, kid. It's gonna be fine." I reassure her, kissing the top of her head.

She looks up at me and I smile before bringing my lips to hers. Her lips are salty and soft. I enjoy the brief, tender moment and the silence of the world. Why worry? Our lips slowly separate and Calla shivers.

"Let's go get something warm. I'm freezing." She tells me, rising to her feet and gathering her clothes.

"Alright," I chuckle.

We get our stuff and toss it into the trunk of the car. Calla makes me drive again and we search for someplace to get hot chocolate or coffee or something. We're nearly all the way back home when we pull to a stop outside a twenty four hour diner and run inside. With wet, sandy hair, we wander into the restaurant and see that there are literally only four other people inside. And three of them work there. Calla and I sit down at a booth and order some hot chocolate. I laugh at how paranoid she is about being high in public as I lean back and stretch out my legs. The waitress brings us our drinks and we graciously drink them in a matter of minutes. Then, we pay for the drinks and head back toward the car.

"I miss my bed," Calla sighs and I laugh.

As I open the door for Calla, I see a group of teenagers hanging out by a car in the parking lot. They seem to be discussing whether or not they want to eat here. Unfortunately, our car is parked one space away from theirs, so we have to get closer to the obnoxious kids. We walk to the car and as I'm unlocking the doors, I hear a familiar voice.

"Hey, dyke!" The male voice shouts.

I freeze and my grip on the keys tightens. I quickly conceal the keychain in my left fist, leaving the two actual keys to poke out from between my fingers. Calla comes closer to me and wraps her hands around my arm. I turn to face the guy, who is now a few feet away from me. His friends all watch in anticipation as I swallow the lump in my throat.

"What?" I ask in a harsh tone.

"Is this your girlfriend?" He asks, stepping over to Calla, "Funny that you felt like you had to screw around with my girlfriend, when you have your own right here."

"Fuck off. I didn't touch your girlfriend." I grumble, shaking my head.

"That's not what I saw..." The guy trails off and steps even closer to Calla.

I grit my teeth and Calla speaks up, "What is he talking about?"

"She doesn't know?" He lets out a loud laugh and then gets in Calla's face, "Tell you what... You let me bang your girlfriend, and I'll forget about everything that happened."

He reaches out to touch Calla and I realize that I'm about to lose my temper. I step back and wind up my right arm for a punch, feeling the anger bubbling inside of me. I drive my arm forward with everything I've got and I smirk with satisfaction when I feel his face connect with my knuckles. There's a loud popping sound and he clutches the side of his face. Calla stares at me, shocked. His friends instantly start rushing over and I begin to feel a sense of panic.

"Holy shit, Cole!" One of his friends hollers.

"Get in the car!" I yell at Calla.

She hesitates and gawks at me in disbelief, so I scream at her again. She finally rushes to the passenger's side and gets in the car. I turn around and I'm faced again with Cole. He staggers a bit as he looks at me with a face twisted in anger. He clenches his fists and swings at me, but I duck and step back. Some of his friends yell, clearly impressed by my dodge. But I know my luck will run out, soon. Cole steps forward and takes another swing, so I step to the side and tighten my grip on the keychain again. He throws another punch and this time, I'm not so lucky. His knuckles graze my chin and my head turns to the side a bit. The guys who are watching yell loudly and start going berserk. I take short, shallow breaths through my mouth as I try to keep my focus on my opponent. He sets up for another hit, but I quickly deliver another punch to his jaw. As he steps back, I lift up my foot and kick him hard in the groin. He makes an 'oof' sound as he reaches for his crotch.

Someone in the background starts chanting about a cheap shot and Cole recovers quickly. He punches me hard in the stomach, causing me to double over. Then, he snatches me by the neck and slams me against the side of Calla's car. My head hits the window and I see stars for a moment. When my vision clears, I'm staring into Cole's eyes. His hold on my throat gets tighter and tighter and I struggle to lift my arms. Mustering all of the strength I have left, I use my left hand to throw a powerful hit at the side of his face. There's a loud, blood-curdling crack and I feel one of the keys leave my hand. Cole roars in pain and steps back, dropping me to the ground. Some of Cole's groupies rush to his aid. I try to rise to my feet, but I'm overcome by his remaining friends.  They shove me onto the ground and start kicking me and beating me. All while spouting hateful words and insults. I clutch my head and bring my knees to my chest in an effort to protect myself. I can hear Calla get out of the car and start screaming, but amidst the commotion I can't see her. I try to hold out for as long as possible, but someone kicks me in the back of the head and everything goes black again.

When I come to, Calla is holding my head in her lap and everything is fuzzy. I can hear someone talking above me and I can feel Calla stroking the side of my face very gingerly. I smile up at her, but my grin fades when I feel blood trickling down my face. Time moves very slow as I raise one of my hands in front of my face to see my palm soaked in blood. I look to the sound of the voice and see the woman from the restaurant talking on the phone. She has a worried expression on her face and she talks in a hurried tone. I blink slowly and far off in the distance, I can see Ethan standing beneath the glow of the diner's neon sign. I reach my hand toward him, but Calla takes my fingers and twines them with hers. Ethan stares at me and I open my mouth to call his name, but nothing comes out.

The next thing I know, I'm being lifted into the back of an ambulance and police are speaking with Calla. I try to sit up and see Calla, but one of the paramedics shuts the ambulance doors before I can catch a glimpse of her. I start wailing and another paramedic begins saying a bunch of medical lingo. I thrash hysterically on the stretcher and scream until my lungs are burning. I only have a few seconds to throw my tantrum before the first paramedic injects me with a syringe and everything turns black once more.