Street Smart

Chapter 114: Kelly

Loud screeches filled the air. Young girls and boys filled the hallway. I straightened my sunglasses and fixed my hat. My jacket was zipped up as much as it could, covering the most amount of my face as possible. Embarrassed, I made my way to the stage, the viewing area, so I've been told.

    I sat down in the back corner of the stage, trying to stay as far out of sight as possible. There were many other parents and families watching and we looked out at the court, right beneath one of the basketball hoops. The game was in action and already in the second half.  Bardan Academy was winning, which I will admit was exciting to see.

    I found Samantha on the court, her hair in a messy ponytail and her cheeks were growing red. She looked immensely concentrated, which is to be expected. It did make me feel a bit better about myself, because if she's so concentrated on the game, she shouldn't see me.

    Samantha was playing, it looked, with all her heart — which I disgusted, but it was good to see she could commit to something with that much emotion. But I didn't like the feeling of sitting in this particular room. All I could think about was Dax Barrett, and I hated every image that floated through my mind. My heart was shaking. When Samantha got hold of the ball and went up for a layup right in front of me, things went blurry and transformed. In front of me wasn't a group of parents, or Samantha, and I wasn't in the back of the crowd but in the center of the court where Dax was running towards me, sweaty from playing in the championship game. Confetti was flying and kids were either cheering or causing an anger management problem. I stood very still as Dax came barreling over wanting something I didn't want to give him, but had no choice. It was those eyes. I knew. I knew from the first day I arrived.

    "Tonight." His voice was raspy and gross and I hated every bit of his body being so close to mine. He was so smart, though. He knew what he was doing and he knew how to do it. Since being placed in the Barrett house, it was clear he had a history, and one his parents were oblivious to. Or, maybe it was just like selective hearing. They choose to ignore what he did to the foster girls that drifted through their walls. If he said tonight was the night, it was. I knew his parents were going to be gone — they had left me a plate of food for the day — so I knew this was coming. I wasn't ready, but that didn't matter.

    Dax left just enough distance between us as we left the basketball court and until we got home for nobody to be suspicious. It was that kind of space that was almost worst than what was to come, because all you could do was think and fear. Nothing was happening, but you felt it so deeply.

    We did do it that night. I tried hiding out in my shabby room, hoping maybe another plan would arise for his Friday night plans, but nothing did. I was sitting on my bed when he came rushing in and brutally started throwing my clothing to the floor and thrashed himself at me. It was awful, and terrifying. What disturbed me the most was he hadn't even had more than one drink yet, and I knew there was a whole three cases in the fridge waiting to be consumed by him and only him, which meant that this night was only just beginning. And it was. The longer it lasted and the more he drank, the more brutal and inconsiderate he became. It was an all night affaire.

    Cheers escalated and my mind was brought back to the real world, where Samantha was jogging around just like Dax Barrett had once. Living in the game.