The girl with the bad reputation

Chapter 28

I woke up at five am to go for a morning run. I changed out of my nightwear and into my running clothes. My mother was down awake in the kitchen humming and singing for herself. Whenever she is up early she has a good day. She would bake and make sweet goods. I went out onto the front porch taking in the fresh cold February air. I started running down the street running another way than I usually would. I kept running faster and faster to avoid the thoughts entering him. I wanted to only think about the breath getting harder to find and how my lungs felt like collapsing. How my legs felt like giving in. I wanted to think about how my body wasn't able to run this fast. But I didn't care.
You can do what you want, he always said. If you want it enough you'll take it. My thoughts echoed those words and I ran faster than before.
I stopped and looked at my watch. Five miles in fifteen minutes. I stood catching my breath trying not to die. My throat felt like it was closing and my lungs hurt whenever I breathe. I watched the sunrise. One of the few reasons I woke up this early. I wanted to witness everything wake up with me. To witness the birds who start singing and the sun lighting up the streets making the sketchy areas seem less creepy.
I was occupied in my own thoughts surrounding everything that happened the past two weeks. I felt a person approaching me close behind.
I turned around in a low circle kick hitting the person in the chest. It was only us two out here, I looked down at the apparent guy on the ground. As a few sun rays hit his face I recognized it. Him from the club. My foot was on his throat. "Why are you sneaking up on me?" I said, keeping my foot on his throat.
"You....know...Kaden?" I looked at him when he said his choked sentence. I lifted the pressure on his throat.
"Yes, why?" I had to know. This guy has been following me for I don't know how long. I looked at him with a skeptical glance. What did he want to know? This guy said the last time I saw him he belonged to a gang called the black eagles. I had done some research on them and nothing could be found. I had to search elsewhere and the little bit of information that I scattered was that there was a powerful Mafia. Every person's fear.
"He hasn't been himself lately. He needs you" my pressure found its way back onto his throat. Something about his words triggered me. He left me without notice. So why would he need me? He seemed just fine at school. Nothing faced him at all. It angered me how he could be that fine while I waited for him to return torn apart.
The guy beneath me tapped on my leg with his hand and my focus went to him. His face was turning slightly white and I lowered the pressure on his throat again. He gasped for air as I stared at him. I forgot he was here for a moment.
"How do you even know me?" I was curious about the one thing I knew could give me a clue. He looked torn. The kind of torn when you have to do something that might break loyalty. His eyes flickered every once in a while when he was thinking about what he should do.
I got slightly impatient. My runner watch was going crazy. I had stood here for twenty minutes with this dork. I hope this leaves a bruise. After him, debating with himself for a couple of minutes he finally spoke;
"I'm almost certain you helped that kid away that day. The kid to who you got Kaden to apologize to. I know you found him familiar as well. It can't be a coincidence you share the exact same look.
Not only that I've seen you at the fight club. You're good. Black widow. Something you kept secret for a long time I believe-" my face dropped. How did he...I was too stunned to deny it. No one had suspected it before.
"Since that face of yours, I'll allow myself to say I'm right. I don't know how much Kaden has told you which is why I'm not going to say more except for Kaden haven't figured out who you are out either. I just put two and two together.
Since we both found you familiar." My mind was spinning. So many thoughts ran through my head that I wasn't able to think straight. I tried to focus on him, but his name kept echoing in my thoughts, Kaden.
Kaden was a part of a mafia? How would that even make sense? I've never seen anything that has shown criminal activity. I didn't know whether to trust him or not. But why would he lie? I had connected the dots about Jake and Kaden knowing each other. Which meant that Kaden was a part of a top leading mafia. Something about that idea of him being involved in criminal activity seemed kind of interesting. It still scared me that he could hold such a natural facade around everyone.
Was he really a part of the Mafia? My eyes went down to Jake laying on the ground with my foot on his throat. My sight blurred and the main focus I had before was shaken. I wasn't able to focus anymore. My eyes kept flickering back and forth and my mind kept getting flashbacks from when we were together laughing. My memory thought back to his lips on mine and how they felt like they were paired from heaven. My thoughts betrayed me.
Jake was laying on the ground with a slight smirk on his face and I pressured a little more, sending him a glance saying don't you dare. I looked at my phone and checked the time. It was getting late already.
"Tell him he can come to me if he needs me." as I said that I started running home. Mom looked at me scared and confused. I smiled and went upstairs for a quick shower. It was late already. I changed into a black polo shirt and a pair of black jeans.
I looked at Aubrey and debated whether I should tell her or not. Because she had told me from the start that I should be careful and this would prove her point that I hadn't been careful enough. I didn't want that. But at the same time, I felt bad for lying to her. But I had to. It was for the best.
We had eaten a quick breakfast my mother made for us and hurried to school since we had a couple of minutes before class started.
When we got there we had five minutes to get to class. Aubrey and I separated after we had gotten our things from our lockers and went to our separate classes. She had a history while I had PE. I hated PE. I found it unnecessary. For what purpose would I need to throw a ball? The few times I showed up at PE were when there were fighting classes. Other than that I usually skipped the class. I had excused myself to the teacher to use the bathroom. When I went out into the hallway a familiar pair of blue eyes caught mine at the end of the hallway. I was unsure it was him. But when he started approaching me I started to get nervous. My palms started sweating and I wondered if this would have anything to do with my meeting with one of his fellow gang members earlier. I had a slight fear in me, but the moment he stood in front of me glancing in my eyes the fear was gone.

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(Edited 13.03.22)
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