The Only Exception // l.p.

Chapter 2

"I see the streets, burn, every time I fall asleep. I'm losin' all my sanity. I can't hide from the voice that speaks inside of me." I smiled feeling the beat and listening to the rest of the song. Hollywood Undead was a pretty good band.

"Hollywood Undead huh?" Mrs. D asked. I nodded my head looking out of the window. School was out in three minutes so I got my stuff packed. "They're a good band."

"They're okay." I replied waiting for the bell to ring so I could go to the gym and practice before the big fight tonight.

"You fighting in the big fight tonight?"

"Pfft. Yeah. I can't wait till schools over so I can hit the gym." Mrs. D smiled at me, knowing that I was the best girl fighter in the whole school.

"I might be there tonight to root for you."

"Really?" I asked shocked.

"Yeah. My husband is a big fan of boxing, and he scored tickets to tonight's fight." We both smiled as the bell rang. "I may see you tonight!"

"Okay!" I smiled and walked towards my bus before I was stopped.

"Bam! Let me drive you." Jake's familiar voice rang through the air. Once I turned around he wrapped his arm around my neck.

"You can take your arm off me." Jake rolled his eyes and kept it slung around my neck. "Do you want another incident like this morning?"

"Relax. Everyone knows we're friends." Friends? That word didn't settle right in me. I have never had a friend. Do I want one? No.

"Jake you're my coach. Coach and friend are two very different adjectives. One means your my athletic instructor, the other means you have a bond of mutual affection." Jake looked like he wasn't understanding any of this. "I don't think we have a bond of mutual affection. I think of you as a coach. You think of me as a friend. Get the picture?"

"Yeah." Jake said angrily taking his arm off of my neck.

"Short temper much?"

"Yeah I'm short tempered when someone says that 'oh we're not friends! You're just my coach!'" He had this high pitched girly voice and it ticked me off.

"I do not sound like that!" I yelled once we got to the parking lot.

"Oh, you wanna bet?" Jake laughed.

"No! Because I have better things to do than to listen to a poor coach tell me that I shouldn't be practicing as hard as I am AND say that I shouldn't be a boxer! Well you know what Jake? Fuck you and your coaching! I don't need you! From now on I'm on my own!" I turned quickly on my heels and started running down the busy streets. Jake was a jerk who didn't deserve to be a coach.

I'm the fool who let him be a coach.

"Bam come on! You need me!"

"The only thing I need, is for you to leave me alone!" I yelled picking up my pace and going down alleys.

"Bam whether you like it or not, I'm your coach! You need me!" Jake yelled as he grabbed me by my waist and placed a hand over my mouth. "I'm gonna be your coach. You try to replace me, and I'll smack the living shit out of you. Just like all those times before." For the first time in a while, I was scared. I was scared for my own life. Sure Jake was scary, but never this scary. "Without me you wouldn't be here. You wouldn't be this tough." Jake had me up against a wall, hands between the wall and my back, and my mouth covered with his huge hand. "Do you know how much I've done for you?"

I closed my eyes and didn't open them again.

"I let you have a home when no one else would! I gave you food, clothes, protection, money, and even a fucking job and this is how you repay me? Saying that I'm no longer your coach!? Your such a petty bitch! Just like your mom!" That's when something inside of me snapped. I quickly jumped and kicked Jake in the chest and started running. He knew I'd go to the gym, but that's where I was going. "Fine. I'm done being your coach! Find someone else!" He screamed at me as took a sharp left turn and saw my familiar building. My home.