Authors: Sabrina Riley
Chapter 4
“Are you going to the game tonight?”
Maya shrugged. If it wasn’t football, it was hockey. The school spent so much money on their sport’s programs that they couldn’t update any of the classes. It seemed like a waste of money to her, but it was the number one social event in Stapleton. There really wasn’t anything else to do and to save herself a Friday night at home alone, she finally agreed to go.
“Yeah, I think I will. Who are we playing again?”
Her friend rolled her eyes. Donna had a way of making Maya feel silly and it was one of those times. “Geez. It’s like you don’t even go to this school. We are playing Clover. Everyone thinks that they are the ones that trashed the locker rooms and the halls, though no one was found when the cops got here. It is going to be the ultimate revenge when we beat them tonight.”
Maya just nodded again. She was never going to be that into a team and she certainly wasn’t going to be practically hyperventilating like Donna, but it was nice to see someone getting some fun out of college. As her time there drew near, Maya was starting to wonder if she had wasted her time studying. There was no grade higher than A, but she should have cared more about things.
“What game is tonight? I mean, what sport? I keep hearing about the pep rally and everything, but I am not sure if it is football or what?”
Again her friend shook her head and looked at her as if she was an alien. “You really need to keep up on this stuff Maya. It’s hockey time. Football has been over for a while.”
Maya didn’t care, but she was looking forward to the after party. After every game, win or lose, there was always a nice big bash afterwards. It would be the perfect place to just chill out and have four too many beers to help her forget about the day before. She was still considering how to dump her professor, but nothing had come to mind. His class had been worse than she thought, so Maya really just needed a night to unwind.
“Well whatever it is, as long as there is a big party at the end of it, I am happy.”
“There will be. Josh is having it at his house. You know that he is single right now.”
“Uh huh.”
The last things she wanted to think about was the quarterback of the football team. Donna seemed to forget that she tried to stay away from the jocks. They were bad news and everything that happened with one, all knew by the end of the night. The quickest way to become a slut in her school was to do it with one of the jocks. Maya had seen it time and time again. She didn’t want to be one of the casualties. It was bad enough that she had been with a professor, her delicate reputation wouldn’t stand a jock. Most people thought she was the good one out of the inseparable duo, but it was Maya that liked to put her hair down the most.
“Well if you are not going for him. I think I will. We can’t all be dating some hot professors that make us forget about everyone else.”
She shot her a look. Donna was one of the only people that knew she was dating Justin. Looking around to make sure that no one heard them in the cafeteria, she looked back at her. “Why do you have to say things like that?”
“Because you are turning down a football player that is hot and has a rock hard body for some old man. Something has to be wrong in your brain. I get that Justin is hot, but he is not Josh hot. I don’t think he would have to do anything to me, just look at me and that would be it.”
Donna should have learned her lesson. She had been one of the people that had tried out the jocks. They had not treated her well and since everyone had a phone, everyone instead of knowing about it, could see it live on a couple porn sites. Donna had been devastated but she didn’t let it stop her from getting what she wanted. Apparently what she wanted was a guy named Josh.
“Well you can have Josh, he isn’t my type.”
“Honey, he is everyone’s type.”
She almost told Donna about that guy in the closet. Maya was practically bursting to tell someone, but she held it to her chest. There was no way that she could say out loud how she had felt. She wasn’t even sure that she knew how she felt about it. All she knew was that she wanted something more than a dumb jock with a nice body.
“That may well be, but I am taking it easy on guys for a while. I need to be single for a bit.”
“What happened with you and Justin?”
“He told me he loved me.”
“What a jerk!” She laughed and then sighed to herself. “You are strange, you know that right?”
Maya sighed to. She knew that she had issues and that most girls would like to hear that their boyfriend loved them. To her, it had been the death sentence of their relationship. “Yeah I know Donna. But it doesn’t change who I am. I think me and Justin are just too very different people and it just isn’t going to work out.”
“Good, I thought he was kind of creepy anyways.”
“Tell me how you really feel Donna.”
“I will. You need to be with someone our age, not grandpa.”
“He was twenty-eight.”
“See.”
Maya didn’t see him as that old, but it was over in her mind. “Enough about him, so who are we playing again?”
Donna just rolled her eyes, not sure if she was joking or not.
***
Maya was surprised at the turnout for a hockey game. She didn’t understand the rules, but the excitement was palpable in the space. Everyone was there to cheer someone on. Maya found herself getting excited. There was a lot of fighting in the sport, something that she had never seen break out at a football game until after the game ended and the loser were sore. In hockey, the men would just start hitting each other. She should have been offended, but strangely she liked watching it.
At the end of the game, there was a huge brawl and when one of the men, the one who had started it all, pulled his mask off, she kind of gasped. It was the man from the closet, the one who had held her against her will in a way.
She didn’t have time to think about anything else as he was in the middle of a fight with one of their players. It escalated until most of the team was on the ice fighting. Maya looked around and no one seemed as surprised as she was about it. It seemed almost natural that there would be an end brawl. Her eyes went back to the mayhem and she knew who it was that she sought. She was looking for Russell. That was what the back of his jersey had said. He had been doing well that night if the announcers were right. She had no idea what she was actually looking at, but had tried to listen and learn.
He stood up and seemed to be looking her way. Maya fought the urge to wave. The fight was being broke up and after a few moments she realized that the game was over. It had been called off or something, she was surprised they had let it go on so long. The man was gone from her sight and her friend was pulling on her to get up. “Come on, we got to get to the party.”
Maya shrugged her off. “I am going to stay around for a minute. Why don’t I give you a call when I get down there?”
“You know where it is at, right?”
Maya did. Donna wave and went with the flow of people out. She sat in the seat for several minutes. Maya didn’t know why she was still there, but she wanted to see him. It was a need that defied reason and once the place had started to clear out more, she stood up and started back towards where the team went after the game. She came to regret that decision though, as she got closer to the back of the gym.
Chapter 5
“Hey hon. Who are you looking for?”
Maya looked up at the tall man and didn’t know what to say. The man was standing over her, towering over her and she was finding it hard to remember what she was doing back there. He was bleeding from a cut on his face, but he didn’t seem to notice.
“I am here to see Russell?”
“Rick?”
She shook her head, not sure if that was his name or not. Maya had only seen the last name on the jersey.
“I’ll get him for you.” The man looked her up and down, mumbling something about Rick getting all of the girls. It made Maya blush to be instantly thought of in that way. She could have been anything to him, but it was immediately believed that she was his lover. It said a lot about the man that she was waiting for and it was almost enough for Maya to leave. She didn’t have time to take off though. Rick was standing there minutes after the other one had went back in.
“So Rick?”
His eyes darkened and he nodded his head. “Yeah. I can’t believe you are here.”
“I saw you in the game, so I thought I would say hello. You know, see you in the light.”
Rick was shocked to see her. He had been trying to find her, but with no name and only a description that included her measurements, Rick hadn’t known anything about her and the search had been a waste of time. He thought he had seen her in the stands, but had then convinced himself that he was seeing things. “I can’t believe you are here.”
She didn’t know why, but she really liked the way he was reacting. Rick looked happy to see her and since he had been such an integral part of her recent changes, she felt the same way about him.
“Rick? Are you about ready to go?”
Maya looked back at the blonde with her hand on his shoulder. He looked at her a little stunned, but recovered quickly. “Not right now Andrea. Why don’t you go wait for me at the truck?”
Andrea was going to say something, Maya knew that she would have if he had said something like that to her, but instead she huffed and made her way presumably where he told her to go. “Wow that was harsh. Is that your girlfriend?”
He nodded that she wasn’t. Of course she had to come out at that particular moment. He sighed and tried to figure out what to say in his mind to get him out of it. “No she is just a friend. We were going to go to a party. Do you want to come?”
Maya shook her head. “No I don’t want to be a third wheel. I have my own party to get to. I just wanted to say hi and great job.”
She was starting to turn away and he stopped her once again with a light touch. It didn’t bother her so much, but Maya was feeling a little silly for being there and the last thing she wanted to do was embarrass herself any further. “I’ve got to go, but it was nice to see you again, under better circumstances.”
***
“Who was that girl?”
Rick just shook his head, not answering Andrea. She always had the worst timing and he was genuinely mad at her for it. There was something there, between him and the woman, but he still didn’t even know her name. She had watched him play and now knew who he was and Rick was still left in the dark. He didn’t like it and the constant talking from beside him wasn’t helping him clear his mind at all. It just made him more aggravated and finally he told her to shut up. Andrea started to pout and he cursed under his breath. He was sick of dealing with girls like her. She was just a handful and she rightfully knew it, but she did give good head. That is what he kept her around for.
After a time she started to touch his chest as they drove out to the point. Her hands moved lower and he was quickly forgiving her for her bad timing. She could mess everything up, but Andrea had a way of putting it all back together as well. Leaning back and trying to remain focused on the road, Rick was once again forgetting about the girl that seemed to pop up.
Getting to the party, he was more relaxed and Andrea was less clingy. It worked out and he found himself having a good time. The game hadn’t been the success that the team had wanted, but it was enough. Rick had gotten some good licks in and at the end of the day that was what the game was about. It was about aggression and everyone there had gotten it out. He was feeling good about everything.
He was sitting on the front porch of the small shack in the woods when his blurry vision caught the flashing lights that everyone dreaded. Rick had nowhere to go and though they were not hurting anything, the shack was someone’s and they didn’t want the trespassers there. The police kept coming and soon most of the people there were arrested for trespassing. They were making an example of them and Rick couldn’t do anything but put his head down. The lift from the game was gone. Now they were all going to jail, the whole hockey team with another twenty people there at the party as well.
The arrest made the front page of the paper and though Rick was initially arrested for trespassing like all of the rest, his fingerprints popped in the database from some that were picked up at the school and he had since been charged with larceny and destruction of property as well. There was nothing he could do about it but call his parents and hope that they would help him with a lawyer.
He was screwed and as his court date loomed, Rick wished again that he had never went to Stapleton that night. Nothing good had come of it, but a girl that was like a ghost and now possibly the ruination of his career. His parents were willing to help with the lawyer part, but they didn’t help with the bail, making him learn from his mistakes. Rick had known they would be like that and though the lawyer was a good one, he was already telling him to plead it out and put himself at the mercy of the courts. Rick had no intentions on doing that, but he wasn’t sure yet how he was going to get out of it.
Chapter 6
“Russell. You have a visitor.”
Rick looked up from the game of spades he was playing with a couple of the guys in his block. He had been there for weeks and though he was still getting used to the place, he had never had a visitor before. Most of his friends were afraid to come around and get pointed at as well. His parents were too busy on vacation. He had made the mess and he was supposed to get out of it himself. It was the way of his family, so Rick couldn’t imagine who it was that was there. When he asked the guard who it was, the man just shrugged and told him that he wasn’t his assistant.
He was leery to see who it was, sure that it was going to be bad news. Rick never expected the girl from Stapleton. The guard was walking away as he sat down across from her at the metal table. She smiled up at him as her eyes took in the orange jumpsuit. “You know, I thought that the whole orange thing was just in the movies, but they actually make you wear them.”
Rick scowled. “What are you doing here? Are you just here to rile me up?”
She shook her head. “No I was trying to decide if you needed my help to get off and if I should help you, but with that attitude, I don’t think I will.”
Maya started to get up and he stopped her. “Wait. How can you help me?”
“I already told the cops what I know. That you were there with me in the chemistry lab and that it was why your prints were there. If you go with it, they will have no reason to hold you. They have no evidence beyond that and I just gave you an alibi.”
He was stunned. “Why would you do that?”
She shrugged. Maya had been asking herself the same question, but she didn’t really have an answer for it. He had done something to her, changed her in a way and made her realize that nothing was going to change unless she changed it.
“I don’t know Rick. I guess I just didn’t want to see you stay in here. You have a career to get to. I heard about the deals and I figured that it wasn’t worth losing it all.”
Rick was speechless and he just stared at her. “I don’t understand.”
“You don’t have to. You helped me and I am trying to return the favor. There isn’t anything else to understand than that.”
“How did I help you?”
She stood up. “You made me see.” Maya had been told that she didn’t have long with him and the guard was already giving her the look that it was times up. Rick stood up and wanted to stop her, but he had already been warned about touching her.
“Can you at least give me your name?”
Maya turned around and smiled. “It’s Maya.”
Rick sat back down in the seat and watched her leave. He wanted to believe her, had no reason not to, but he was afraid to hope that it was actually going to all be over. Could it really just be over like that? He wasn’t so sure.
That evening he was called out by the guards again and that time it was for a release. He was met by a police officer that had interrogated him before and he didn’t seem the least bit happy to be letting him go. “I don’t know how you managed to get Maya to help you, but you better be lucky that she is who she is or you would still be rotting in jail.”
Rick didn’t answer, not really sure what he was talking about. He was more interested in the smell of the fresh air and the cell phone in his hand. He called to get a ride, one apparently not provided. He was left in the parking lot of the jail, waiting for someone to come and get him. It had been a strange few weeks and all he could think about was Maya and getting home to some real food and a hot shower. It didn’t matter that he still didn’t know why he was out. All that mattered to him was that he was free.
***
“Maya, what were you thinking?”
She was home for the weekly meal and the daughter was already done talking to her parents. She had pulled a few strings for Rick and though she had wanted it to stay quiet, it had gotten back to her parents, much like everything else seemed to. They were not happy that she had used the family name to get her way, but there had to be something good coming out of being a Stapleton. The town was named after her family and even in the present, it held some clout with the locals.
Her father was mainly mad that she had given the school some money for the damages. She may have told one of the police that she felt it was her fault for leaving the place unlocked in her moment of passion. It was something that they swore not to tell anyone, but Maya wondered if her father knew about the story she had told to make it all happen. He would have been madder, she told herself. He would have been practically jumping up and down in anger, she was sure of it. So he must be mad about the money.
“I just wanted to help a friend. He will pay it back.”
“A friend? Why have I never heard of this friend?”
She played with the carrots on her plate. “I don’t know. I just met him a while ago. He played hockey for Clover.”
Her explanation was not what he was looking for. There was no way that he was going to let it go, no matter how much Maya didn’t want to talk about it. She was sure that he would let it go after a few days. He never could stay focused on anything. “If you want, I will transfer the money over from one of my accounts.”
“It’s not about the money Maya. It’s about the sneaking around and the fact that you are just bailing people out of jail, lying to police officers.”
She didn’t need to hear about the lists of things that she had done and not done. There was no reason, but an hour trapped with a man, not speaking, had awoken her to the fact that she had been sleeping. He had saved her from a relationship that she had hated and Rick had done nothing more than just to be himself. She couldn’t explain that, it didn’t even make sense to her.
“Do you love this boy or something? Maya you have to give your father something. You can’t just say you don’t know.”
She looked over at the older version of herself. They looked just alike and she acted much like her until the moment she just didn’t. Now she saw it all for what it was. Justin had been the older man that was going to take care of her, just like her mother had found, but Rick had reminded her body that there was more than being well off to worry about. Maya now knew that she wanted passion and desire. It had seemed like a pipe dream with Justin and it was because she hadn’t been shooting high enough. Before she was worried about a comfortable life, but now Maya wanted it all and wasn’t going to settle. More than her parents had.
“Yes, if that is what you need to hear. I care for this man and I wanted him to be out of jail. We have the resources and it didn’t seem like a big deal.”
Her father didn’t see it as ‘no big deal’, but a sharp look from his wife made his temper change. “Fine. I will leave it alone, but next time you try to do something like that, you need to talk to us first.”
Maya agreed that she would, hoping that there wouldn’t be a next time. She needed everything to just settle down and for people to stop asking her why when she didn’t even have the answer for herself. Why did she feel so much for a man that was so different that her, different than anything she had ever been around? Rick was rough and tumble and he had pulled her into his world, when he had pulled her into the closet weeks before.