Falling - On the Banks of Lake Saint Clare (Falling - Book One) (29 page)

“I remember,” I smiled, thinking of her night with Lloyd.

“You left
The Lane
the other night and he actually said that you left because you probably couldn’t control your animal instincts and wanted him too much.”

“That is so funny,” I said. “It did cross my mind to just call it quits with Michael so I could be poked in the boob by Lloyd.”

“What’s this?” Michael asked, kissing me on the cheek. “You’re leaving me for Lloyd, eh?”

“I knew you would understand.”

I was going to do the same thing,” he winked, making my heart instantly race. “Wanna arm wrestle me for him.”

“Give me a day to get up my energy and it’s on.”

“I’ve miss you,” he said, kissing me again. He sat down beside me and I leaned against him propping my feet on the couch.

Everyone got food and sat around and talked and filled me in on what I missed. I kept thinking about my Dad’s horrible words. I have never seen so much hate in someone’s eyes, except the alley.

“Oh my God,” I said out loud. I instantly felt my blood flow cold and I started shaking like crazy. I was crying and I couldn’t catch my breath.

Michael wrapped his arms tighter around me, “Are you hurting? What’s wrong?”

“Tell me it’s not true, tell me he was lying. Oh my
g
od
! No!
Please
,
please tell me
it
wasn’t him. Tell me it’s a dream. Brad was in the alley. It was him.”

I curled up in a ball hiding my face in my hands. I remembered everything, his hands
,
his fingers
,
his eyes. My eyes. I remembered it all.

“I don’t understand,” she sat down on the edge of the couch. “I don’t know what you are saying. Alex you have to talk to me. What are you saying?”

“It was Brad
!
” I
yelled
.
I started shaking harder.

I could feel Michael’s body pulling me tighter, “Just calm down,” he whispered. “It’s okay. You have to breathe. I’m here. You’re safe.”

I took a deep breath and another and another. The room was so quiet.

“Brad followed me to the alley. He did it. He said he and Rachel found a copy of my birth certificate and adoption papers. Mom, is it true?
He said he was my twin. He’s lying, isn’t he? He’s got to be lying.
Could he be my brother?
”

She looked at Grandma, “
I’m calling Rachel
.”

I could feel Michael’s body extremely tense. I remembered him saying he wanted to kill who did it to me.

My head was spinning and I was dizzy. I could feel hi
s
fist hitting my face. I closed my eyes but kept seeing his fist coming straight toward my face.
My side was
hurting
and I realized I was holding my breath, trying to get it to stop. My head was spinning and I couldn’t hear anything.

I woke up in my bed, seeing Michael was
lying
beside me.
“Michael, you have to promise me you won’t do anything. You have to promise me. I will never ask you for anything else ever if you can just promise me that.”

He didn’t answer. He just looked at
the ceiling not saying a word
.

I
turned his head to make him look at me,
“I want you to beat him so badly
.
I want him to suffer and hurt and have nightmares, but I don’t want you to do anything that will get you in trouble. I need you with me, not in jail. If you go to jail then he won because we won’t be together. You have to promise me that you will stay away from him.”

I woke up an hour later and saw Michael was still beside me
but
asleep. He was so handsome, I thought watching him sleeping so peacefully.
             
I rolled on my back and stared at ceiling remembering the alley. I thought about Brad looking at my breast, his hand on my face, the smell of his breath, the taste of his mouth against mine. I could feel the tears running down my face just like they did in front of Brad. I looked at my fingernails, knowing they had made his back bleed. I shuddered, thinking about his bloody hand on my breast, his penis rubbing against my stomach. I could hear his voice, ““Pretty big news, huh, Sister
?
”

I woke back up and saw Michael he was watching me.

“I can so get used to this,” he yawned.

“What? Sleeping next to me?”

“Uh yuk! No, a daily nap,” he smiled.

“Very funny. Did you sleep well?”

“Mmm, I did. How you feel?”
             
I sighed,
“I feel okay, j
ust so overwhelmed.”

“When Derek and I were in eighth grade he had this girlfriend. She was a nightmare. He was so head over heels for her and the world revolved around her. She would walk down the hallway at school,
yelling, i
n this annoying baby voice
,
‘
DEEEEERRRREEEEEKKKKK!!’
Just thinking about it makes my neck hair crawl.”

I smiled, “What made you think of that?”

“I don’t know. Just want
us
to talk about anything but…”

“So
,
the more I told him she was using him, the closer he got to her and the further he pushed me away. I decided to butt out and let him hang himself. He didn’t talk to me for about 2 months because she didn’t like him to talk to anyone but her. I’d hear her at lunch, ‘Derek, buy me a bag of chips, Derek, carry my books, Derek, did you do my homework?’ I never said a thing, just watched him get pulled higher and higher.”

“There’s got to be a good ending to this, please. I’m thinking since I know Derek, he didn’t get hanged,” I smiled.

“You are so smart. Well, one day I was sitting at the next table in the lunchroom and she said, ‘Derek, I want that chair. Get it,’ and she pointed at mine.”

Derek walked over and I got up and handed it to him. He looked shocked. I said, ‘you’re my best friend; you will always be my best friend, so take my chair. You know I’d do anything for you.’

“He looked at her and then back at me and told her that they were through. Oh Lord, she was pissed. She was calling me names and threw her fork at my head. I thought what the
hell
did I do? I was going to give you my chair.”

“And what’s the moral of that story?”

“Duck when someone throws a fork at you?”

“I laughed, “
Really, what’s the point?”

“I don’t know that there is really a point. We did decide that if we don’t like the other person’s girlfriend, then there must be something wrong with her
,
and we need to step back
,
and take a bigger look.”

“Are you trying to say Derek doesn’t like me?”

“You are so paranoid. He loves you. He does not like all the crap you are going through, but I tell you one thing, he will be right there beside me to defend you.”

He took my hand and started rubbing it with his finger. “I’m so glad I found you. You make my heart happy
,”
he smiled, placing my hand on his heart.

“That’s so mushy for a sexy black basketball player,” I laughed.

“Damn, I missed your laugh,” he smiled.

I never remembered talking to the detective that claimed to have been at the hospital numerous times. We met in her and her partner’s office to get the restraining order against Brad and my father and
also
make a report on what happened in the alley. It was humiliating telling total strangers all the details of the attack. I kept playing the whole evening in my head from the time I was getting something to eat to lying on the ground fighting for air. I was afraid I was leaving something out, so I repeated it from start to finish at least 3 times. After four hours of talking, we finally left.

“Michael, what if I had just sucked it up and stayed at
The Lane
. Why was I so against just putting up with those guys with Erica? Did I think I was too good for them? What if I had just gone to another table or asked for a ride home?”

“There is absolutely no reason to ‘what if’ yourself to death. What if I would have just put Brad in the hospital the day he handed you that coke, then this would have never happened. See, we can what if forever, but it doesn’t ever give us the answer.”

“I asked the detectives if Bra
d is really my twin brother, wo
uldn’t we have the same
DNA
and
then
it won’t prove that it was his blood on me? He said that only identical twins have exact
DNA
so that’s a bonus. Do you think they have him at the station right now? I have no idea why I feel so weird about him getting arrested. Do you think there is enough evidence to even arrest him? Will they try him as an adult because he is only seventeen or a juvenile? Will it be a jury trail and I will have to take the stand and tell a room full of people what he did to me? What are the kids at school going to think?”

“Are you just asking questions to ask,” Michael interrupted, “or do you want me to try to answer?”

‘Hmm good question,” I shrugged. “I’m just really confused. This is all consuming my every thought. I really don’t want to go back to the cabin. Could we go for a drive?”

“Sure, we can do that.”

We walked toward Michael’s car in the parking lot of the police station when a man in a dark suit walked over to me, “Alex Dillard?”
             
“Yes sir?”

“You’ve been served.” He handed me a paper. I opened it up and saw an ex parte’ from my dad. “What the
…
?”

“Priceless,” Michael laughed. “What a fucking loser.”

“There are two,” I said, looking at the papers; “one for Rachel also. What did I do that they need a restraining order on me?”

I immediately called Mom, “What’s going on?” She asked. “You should have been back at the cabin long ago.”

“We just got
finished
. Guess what I just got?”

“What?”

“Restraining orders from your husband and daughter.”

“This is getting out of hand. I’ll talk to you later,” she hung up.

“I hope she doesn’t go over there and start anything. He just got one because he heard I was going to. I’m surprised Mom didn’t expect it. It’s the competitive side of him.”

Michael looked at his phone. “It’s Derek. He wants to play basketball. Want to go and watch this dude in action.”

“Of course,” I smiled. “I always love watching you play.”

“You feel up to it? I don’t want you to get too turned on and pass out. You know I am pretty hot on the court.”

“I’m sure I will be fine,” I smiled. “I want to stay outside. I am so tired of four walls.”

“It still amazes me that your parents built a basketball court before you moved here
,
” I
said,
as we walked around the back
yard.

“Why wouldn’t they? I’m spoiled.”

I saw Derek on the court and stopped.

“What’s wrong?” Michael asked, taking my hand.

“I just don’t know what Derek is going to think about me. Is he going to think I asked for it? Does he think I deserved it?”

“You are really afraid what Derek is going to think?” He took my hands and stood in front of me. “Derek doesn’t think you deserved it. I can’t believe you are even thinking that. Why in the world would he?”

“I am scared he is going to tell you I’m not worth all this and you have to believe him. Like take a step back and look. Like you two vowed to do.”

He placed his hand on my cheek, “there is only one way to find out you are wrong.”

He pulled me toward the court, “Hey, that was sweet,” he said, watching Derek do a slam-dunk.

Derek looked over at us, thr
ew
Michael the ball
,
and hugged me. Not a “hey friend” hug but a very caring hug that made me instantly relieved.

“How are you feeling?” He asked, looking down at me. “You look a hell of a lot better than the last time I saw you.”

“When was that?” I asked.

“I was at the hospital on and off the whole week. I couldn’t let the man do it alone. He was a freaking basket case. Pathetic, I tell ya,” he smiled. “Even more pathetic than usual.”

Michael laughed, “It was a rough week.”

Derek moved a chaise lounge over by me. “You need a blanket?”

“It
’
s 85 degrees outside,” I smiled, “I think I will be fine.”