The Water Girl

River

Today has been a fun day so far. We have been having outside festivities for the seniors during the last couple of months of school. It's nice, but it doesn't make much sense because we still have finals to deal with. I'm ready for the finals, but I'm not sure about the football jocks. I have a feeling that Rock is going to want to cram for the finals during the last week of school, and I'll probably have to help him.
        As I'm thinking about this, Rock sneaks up behind me and grabs me by the waist. He starts running with me, and I can't help but squeal. I ask him what he's doing, and he says he's getting me wet. He's started calling me "little River" instead of the water girl, and I find it kind of cute. I protest, saying that I'm not wearing the right clothes, but Rock insists that I should let loose and have some fun for once. I give in and we slide down the slip and slide together. We also join in the tug-of-war games that are happening. We end up on different teams, and Rock tells me that I'm going down. I can't help but laugh at him when he comes up from the ground covered in mud. But my laughter turns against me, as Rock quickly covers me in mud as well.
      I giggle and push him off me, but my shirt is stuck to my body. I awkwardly make my way to a table that has shirts for sale. Sydney notices my appearance and asks what happened to me. I simply answer, "Rock." We turn around to walk towards the bathrooms, and I see Rock standing with his friends. His eyes are glued to me, and it feels strange to have him being so nice to me. He kisses me and touches me sweetly, and while I enjoy it, it still feels weird. I smile at him and then walk off towards the bathroom.
     In the bathroom, I entered one of the stalls to have some privacy. However, Amy and her cheerleader friends followed me in. Amy made a mean comment about me being dirty and suggested making me even dirtier. Hadley, another girl, laughed and suggested painting me red. Sydney, who was with me, warned Amy not to touch me or she would break her nose. But Amy ignored her and signaled for three other girls to hold Sydney in place. Amy and Hadley approached me while I tried to back away, but I ended up against the wall, giving them the advantage. Amy punched me in the nose, causing it to bleed. I covered it with my hand, feeling the pain. But the worst was yet to come when Hadley hit me in the ribs, causing intense pain. I tried my best not to cry, not wanting to give them the satisfaction. Suddenly, Rock, who must have heard the commotion, burst into the bathroom in anger. He pushed his way through the girls to reach me and asked if I was okay. He was furious and said that this had gone too far. Amy taunted him, asking what he was going to do about it. Rock calmly replied that he wouldn't do anything, but the coach would handle it.
      Amy quickly turns around, almost giving herself whiplash. "Coach, this isn't what it looks like. River fell, and we were just trying to help her up, right River?" Amy pleads, looking at me. Against my better judgment, I stand up and confirm to the coach that Amy's version of events is true. It's pointless to get anyone in trouble this late in the year.
     "Amy, you and your friends need to leave this bathroom right now and leave River alone. If I catch you near her again, you won't like the consequences," the coach sternly warns. Amy and her friends scurry out of the bathroom, tails between their legs.
     Once everyone else has left, Sydney and I are left alone with the coach and Rock. The coach turns to me. "River, why are you protecting them?" he asks. "Coach, I'm not defending them. I just don't see the point in getting anyone in trouble this late in the school year," I explain. The coach shakes his head. "Alright, well, Rock, why don't you take River home for the day?"
    "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. Rock, take River home," Sydney suggests. Rock helps me out of the bathroom, and we make our way to his jeep.
     "I'm so sorry, River," Rock apologizes once we're in the jeep. I know he genuinely means it, but it's not his fault that Amy is such a nasty person. "It's not your fault," I reassure him.
     Rock chuckles at me and remarks, "Leave it to you to be so sweet about this." I sit back in my chair and gaze out the window for the rest of the ride. I don't know what else to say, and honestly, I just want to let it go. We finally arrive home, and I step out of the jeep. My body aches from the blows and kicks I received from Amy and Hadley before Rock and coach intervened. Rock rushes to the front of the jeep and comes to my side, helping me into the house. "Let's get you inside and into bed," Rock says to me.
    "Um, Rock, I need to take a shower," I inform him once he brings me up to my bedroom, as I am still covered in mud. "Right... right," Rock responds, then walks over to my dresser drawers, preparing to get me some clothes.
    Oh no, he's going to see my underwear drawer. "Um, Rock, I'll get my own clothes," I tell him, crossing the room to my dresser drawers and placing my hand on the top one.
   "Oh, Ms. River Darby, are you hiding something good in your underwear drawer?" Rock teases.
   "That's none of your business," I retort, asking him to leave my room so I can retrieve my clothes and take a shower. Once Rock exits my room, I gather everything I need and head into the bathroom. As I undress, I examine the damage Amy and Hadley inflicted on my body. I have a couple of bruises on my rib cage and a large one on my sternum. I step into the shower and let the warm water run over me, standing there for a while.
      After I finish showering, I dry myself off gently because touching my ribs and sternum causes sharp pain. Once I'm dressed, I leave the bathroom and find myself in Rock's embrace. "Pull up your shirt, River," he says.
   "Why?" I ask, taken aback. "I heard you in the bathroom. You were in a lot of pain. Now lift your shirt." Why does he have to be so concerned about everything I do these days? Reluctantly, I do as he says. When he sees my bruises, he gasps and starts taking pictures.
"What are you doing, Rock?" I ask, pulling my shirt back down. "I'm taking pictures of the bruises and sending them to mom to see what she wants me to do. That bruise on your sternum looks terrible." Just then, Rock's phone rings and he answers it immediately. "Hey mom, yes, that happened today about thirty minutes ago. That damn bitch Amy and her friends did that to her. Okay, we'll be right on our way." Rock hangs up the phone and turns to me. "Mom wants you to go straight to the hospital so they can examine your bruises. She doesn't like the way the one on your sternum looks."
  "Okay," I tell Rock, and we head to the hospital.
                                                  🏈🏈🏈
The next day, I wake up feeling even more sore than yesterday. Mom and Gab reassured me that there was no internal bleeding after the X-ray and ultrasound, just bad bruising. But that doesn't make the pain any easier to bear. I decide to get out of bed and go downstairs to the couch. I have to stay home from school for a few days, but I don't want to spend the whole time in bed.
     Later in the afternoon, Rock walks in and sees me sitting on the couch. "Girl, why are you out of bed?" he asks.
    "I couldn't stay in bed all day," I reply. Rock shakes his head at me and leans down to kiss me. "Are you hungry?" he asks.
    "I can get something myself," I tell him. But Rock gives me a look. "Baby, let me take care of you this time, okay?"
     It feels strange, but I agree. "Yeah, okay," I say.
    Rock goes into the kitchen to cook something just as everyone else walks into the house. "River, why are you out of bed?" Mom scolds me. "Oh my god, you and Rock need to stop with this," I tell her. "With what, sweetheart?" Mom asks.
   "I'm fine with the bruises. It's just a few busies," I assure my mom. And it's true, I really am okay. Rock had a broken leg before and no one fussed over him like this.
    "Okay sweetheart, we're just worried about you. These bruises look pretty bad, kiddo," Mom says.
    Rock lets us know that dinner is ready, so we all head to the kitchen. "Spaghetti and meatballs, please?" I ask him. He knows it's my favorite, especially with some fried potatoes on the side. There's just something about dipping a fried potato in the spaghetti sauce.
    While we're enjoying our meal, someone knocks on the door. "Who could that be?" Mom wonders as she gets up and walks towards the living room. I hear her open the door and say, "Oh hey sweetheart, come on in." So it must be someone Mom is comfortable with.
    When Mom returns to the room, Sydney is with her. "Hey girl, how are you feeling?" Sydney asks me, coming over to sit beside me. "I'm okay," I tell her. Rock fixes her a plate, so Sydney joins us for dinner. After we eat, Sydney and I go up to my room.
   "So, Rock really gave Amy a hard time today. It was so funny. I wish you could have been there to see it. Man, I've never seen Rock so protective of you," Sydney says, laughing. "I know, it's still weird having Rock on my side," I tell Sydney.
   "I'm just glad you two have finally realized how much you mean to each other. You've always had a connection, but you've both been too stubborn to see it," Sydney tells me. "Whatever!"