He Claimed Me (On Hold)

Chapter 9

"Hey dad." I spoke softly.

"Hey, Marianna. Is everything all right?" He asked, a very evident worry in his tone.

"Um, I know you left the whole gang life behind you a while ago, but do you remember the devils?" I asked, surveying the field, watching in case someone walked by.

"Of course, I do. What's going on?"

"There's a kid here who is in that gang, and I'm worried he might figure out who I am." I responded.

"Are you safe right now?" He asked.

"Yeah. I'm good."

"You can go home if you want."

"No, it's okay dad. I'd still have to come back tomorrow." I sighed.

"Okay, well if you're safe and okay, we can talk about this when we both get home. I'll run a background check and then we need to have a very serious conversation tonight."

"Okay. Sounds good, Dad." I started walking back towards the building.

"Alright. Love you, M. See you when you get home."

"Bye."

"Bye."

I hung up, walking back into the building. The bell hadn't rung yet, so I had about 20 minutes left before chemistry.

"Hey Apple, hungry?" Xavier was walking down the hallways towards me.

"No." I lost my appetite because of the conversation I had just had with my dad.

"Well, here's an apple for my apple. You should eat anyway." He handed me a green apple as he pretended to bow.

"Thanks Xavier." I giggled.

"Of course. Everything okay? You left pretty quickly back there." He motioned towards the cafeteria.

"Oh, I'm fine. Just had to talk with my dad really quick." I brushed it off.

"Okay, sure. Ready to go?"

"Yep. Are you in chemistry with me?" I asked as we turned the corner.

"Nah, just figured I'd walk you."

"Is anyone in my class with me?" I asked.

"Jacob." He grumbled.

"Oh, thank god." I breathed.

"I can't believe you kissed him."

"Xavier."

He just kept looking down, genuine hurt on his face.

"X."

No response.

"X." I placed my hand gently on his cheek, moving his head to meet my eyes.

"We never actually kissed." I rubbed his cheek.

"You didn't?" His breath picked up with a smile.

"No." I laughed. "We did it to mess with you."

"Why?"

"Really?" I asked. Had he forgotten about Fiona?

"Oh, yeah. Sorry about that. I'm just thankful you didn't actually kiss." He seemed ecstatic.

"You do know I've kissed a guy before, right?" I laughed.

"Apple, I'm serious. Don't test me. In my eyes, you are an innocent angel who can do no wrong." He smiled as though he new everything.

An angel wasn't something I was usually referred to in the gang life.

"Thank you." I smiled, giving him a quick hug.

I felt his arms snake around my waist, pulling me closer. He took a deep breath in and sighed in content.

"Alright, time to go see my boyfriend Jacob." I pulled away.

"Not funny, Apple." His face dropped suddenly.

"You should see your face!!" I laughed, clutching my stomach.

He pulled me close, kissing my forehead.

"See you in PE."

"Okay." I smiled, walking into my class.

Nothing interesting happened in chemistry, and now we all had to run the track for PE.

"You're going down, Black." I spoke to Xavier.

"Try me, Johnson." He responded.

"3...2...1...Go!" The coach blew his whistle.

Xavier and I had been doing a lot of trash talking to see who could finish the 5 laps first. I was fit and trained from Miami, and he was on the football team. It was just a matter of speed and ability.

We shot off, running at fast as we could. The rest if the class was left in the dust, we had something to prove to each other.

I started inching in front of him, slowly but surely. We were on our 2nd lap, and out of nowhere, Xavier got another burst of energy. He was suddenly a few feet in front of me. I was laughing the whole time.

"Xavier!" I yelled.

"Come on, slow poke!" He screamed back as we started on our 4th lap.

I pushed myself harder than I had ever pushed myself, and I started speeding up, running side by side Xavier again. We were nearing the end of our 5th lap. I couldn't stand losing to him, he would never let me forget it. Some people may frown upon playing dirty, but that's all I've been taught since I was young.

"Ow! My ankle!" I stopped running, grabbing it, wincing.

"Apple!" He stopped running and turned around coming to my side instantly.

"What happened?" He asked, concern laced in his voice.

"I just won."

"What?" I took off, leaving him behind, crossing the finish line and celebrated.

He shook his head laughing as he walked over to me.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. You played dirty, Apple." He chuckled.

"Oh, shut up. You like it when I'm dirty." I winked, breathing hard. We both walked over to a tree, leaning against it.

"That was hot." He breathed. "Nobody has ever been able to keep up with me before."

"Guess you've met your match." I smiled back.

"Yes, I have."

I turned away, blushing. We both knew he wasn't talking about just the race.

"I'm gonna go get a water bottle from the vending machine. Want one?" He asked.

"Sure. Thanks, X." I smiled and closed my eyes as he walked away.

A couple of moments later, I felt a shadow over me.

"Hola, Mari. ¿Cómo estuvo tu carrera?" "Hey, Mari. How was your run?"

"Bien, gracias. ¿Qué pasa?" "Good, thanks. What's up?"

"¿Has oído hablar del nuevo envío? Tu abuelo lo está moviendo ahora." "Have you heard about the new shipment? Your grandfather is moving it over now."

"No."

Wait a minute? Mari? A shipment? Who was speaking Spanish to me? That was something I only did that in Miami.

I opened my eyes and placed a hand over my eyes to block the sun. It was then where I was met with an evil look. David.