Hide (Sequel to RUN)

Chapter 7

“She annoys me,” she hissed, sitting down next to Valda. I looked in the direction she was glaring to see the coach. The pursed lips made sense now. 

“We know,” Valda sighed, eager to get on to a new subject. “But look who joined swim team.” She nodded in my direction. Mariana’s gaze fell on me, instantly curious. 

“So you’re Lekia. Can I just congratulate you now for attacking one of the preps? Seriously, next time you’re about to tussle, send me a call.” I smirked a bit, “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Come on, girls! Do your warm up!” I got up immediately, pulling my swim cap on. 

“You’re eager,” Valda observed, standing up herself but still stretching. 

“Faster we start, faster we get done,” I replied, quoting a common phrase from dad. With that, I pulled my goggles over my eyes and dove into the pool. 

~~~~~~~~~~~

As I pulled my seemingly heavy body out of the pool, I couldn’t help but notice the stares. Everyone’s eyes were on my arms, legs, and back. No doubt wondering if the scars were real. I huffed internally, walking over to a trying-to-be-inconspicuous starer in the next lane over. 

“Would you do me a favor?” I asked, turning my back to her. “Can you scratch my back? There’s this itch in the small of it that I just can’t reach.” I looked over my shoulder to see the mixed look of shock and disgust on her face. 

Her curiosity got the best of her, though. She reached out hesitantly and began to delicately rub her fingers over my scarred flesh. 

“Little bit harder,” I directed. She followed suit, gaining confidence.

“Up just a bit higher…Right there! Goodness that feels good!” I thanked her quickly and walked back over to Valda and Mariana, who were the only two willing to share a lane with me. 

“What was that about?” Mariana asked, nodding her head at the girl. 

“I was tired of their staring,” I explained, rubbing my hands up and down my arms, suddenly self-conscience. My hands jumped as they hit each scar. I stopped. 

Frankenstein. Another voice rang in my head. 

“Okay, girls!” the coach, whose name was Erica, clapped her hands. “Good work today. All of you. So far the best times are Lekia’s.” She glanced over at me, fire darting out of her eyes. “So, as of now, she can pick any event she wants. We’ll have another one of these before the first meet. Best times get put in the race. You’re done. Have a good night.”

I pulled my goggles and cap off gratefully. They had been giving me a headache. Mary got in step with me, as did Valda. 

“Did you see Erica?” Valda asked. “Man she was pissed. She doesn’t like you much, does she?” 

“Don’t believe so,” I answered, twirling my cap on my pointer finger. “What do you think, Mary? Does Erica like me much?”

“Mariana.” Mary huffed automatically. “And no. She doesn’t like you. Even if you do have the best times on the team.” I smiled a little at my mistake. I’d been making it all practice, and it’d been driving Mary nuts. 

“Sorry.” I looked over at her. “I’ve got a cousin named Mary over on the mainland. I guess the name just kinda rolls off the tongue.” We entered the locker room in a single file, with me leading it. 

The room, which was boisterous as we entered, fell deadly quiet. Every single girl had their eyes turned on yours truly. Most were shooting daggers, looking like Erica. 

I have never been one to draw attention to myself. Ever. But the limelight was just stuck on me, apparently. I took it as I did the reporters; head held high and eyes straight ahead. 

“‘Sup,” I greeted everyone, reaching back and taking the hair ties out of my hair. They kept their eyes on me. Shrugging my shoulders, I continued on towards my bags. Once I reached them, the whispers had started up. Not the whispers in my head. At least, I hope they weren’t. These were the girls whispers. 

Only God knew how rumor was rearing it’s ugly head at that time. 

I started stripping, just wanting to get out of there. There were several gasps of astonishment. 

“Lekia!” Valda hissed several lockers down. “What are you doing?”

“Getting changed…” I drawled, confused. I stood up, bare naked, and looked around. All the girls getting changed in the locker room were doing it discreetly. Others were going to the shower stalls and changing behind curtains. 

“Oh,” I mumbled, feeling my face getting red. Last year, I wouldn’t have dared to strip in a locker room. It was too uncomfortable. But I’d just done it without a second thought. “Sorry.”

I pulled on a sports bra and underwear quickly, going from full naked to only half naked. 

“Bet you’ve been naked a lot in the past few months,” a voice drawled, one of the girls appearing around a set of lockers. I was pretty sure that she was the team captain.

“I’m not going to grace that question with a response,” I told her off. “If you wanna know my personal life, just go on the news! They’ve plastered it out there for everyone to see!” I snatched my splint from my bag angrily and forced it back onto my hand.

“Oh get over yourself!” the captain shot back. “You think you can just march in here and get anything you want?”

“Anything I want? What the crap are you talking about!?” I screamed. “If you’re afraid that I’ll take your captains spot, then you should be. Best times get it. But I earned my times and everything else I’ve accomplished. Coach wouldn’t give it to me unless it was the rules. You saw how much she despises me!” That seemed to shut her up. If only for a second.

“I am captain,” she started softly. Then her feet started moving towards me, and her voice grew in size. “Don’t think for one second that I’m going to let some slut girl who thinks she’s a big shot take that away from me!” She took a sloppy swing at me. 

Her face was pressed up against the cold metal of the lockers before she knew what hit her.

“Now I’m going to give it to you straight,” I whispered, barely containing my rage. I was tired of power players like her calling me a slut because they thought they knew everything. 

“My shrink doesn’t think I’m quite mentally sound. I’ve done my own analysis, and I don’t disagree with her. You really think you know everything?” I pressed her harder into the locker. “You don’t know a quarter of it. You don’t want to know the things I’ve seen. The things I’ve been put through. And you’d better pray to God that the same thing doesn’t happen to you, because you would not survive it. Trust me. And with all those things in my head, it’s no wonder why I’m heading straight towards insanity.”