Thorns & Oranges

Titanium

Chapter Sixteen

There was a commotion at the house when we got back. Of course we didn't hear the arguing until Rey cut off the motorcycle and we both sat there for a few seconds, trying to discern what was going on. I took the helmet off to hear better and my good mood plummeted as I recognized one of the voices as Michelle's.

"What's going on?" It sounded meeker than I intended but Rey didn't hold it against me.

"No clue. Don't go inside without me."

From that comment, I discerned he wasn't just looking out for my best interests anymore but there was something else under it, something I didn't have time to really think about.

"Stay here."

It was more of a command than a request but I heeded it. I stood there, alone in the driveway as he put the bike away. He was going to watch me like a hawk from now on. It made me wonder what had happened from the point of him dropping me off after the race to when he was pointing a gun at my head. That night we'd agreed nothing could or would happen between us. We'd never kissed and he never made me...yeah. But after today, he was acting like I belonged to him and none of that was ever agreed to. When we stopped to get food, he'd glared at the guy behind the counter. It got worse when the guy tried to slip me his number.

The image of Rey looking more threatening than he should with a plastic fork was interrupted as a car pulled up to the curb. I frowned since it looked oddly familiar even though I couldn't place it. It was the driver, however, who jogged my memory. He was Michelle's brother who was one year my younger, a senior in high school. Their mothers were different and currently their father had custody thanks to his mother's perpetual drug use.

He looked a little more than nervous as he waited, completely out of place in this neighborhood. He was more of the polo/plaid shorts type than the wife beaters and saggy pants one normally saw around here. Then it dawned on me what his purpose was for slumming. That bad feeling I had was confirmed as one last burst of fighting happened before the screen door was shoved open and the door was slammed closed. Michelle, with two huge suitcases, was stuck in the middle. I would've gone to help her but I was a little stunned at the sight. I never imagined, even in my wildest dreams, she would actually leave.

But she was.

A mixture of pride, sadness, and fear ran through me when she spotted me standing in the driveway. I didn't want her to leave, it was completely selfish of me, but it would make me the only girl in the house in a sea of testosterone. Plus I was still afraid and pissed at my brother. She needed to be here to mediate. She walked up to where I stood, back straight, and looked at me with a sad expression. Off in the distance, I heard her brother get out of his car and start his journey in our direction.

Michelle placed both suitcases on the ground and hugged me.

"You can't go," I pleaded. "Please don't go."

"I have to, Em. I'm sorry."

I hugged her back tighter. "For how long?"

"Just for a little while." She pulled back and looked at me. "I'll come back."

My face twisted up as tears flowed into my eyes. If she was to come back, I would want it to be because she wanted to not because she felt she had to. "Don't do it for me."

She hugged me again. "Watch yourself," she whispered. "And stay strong."

"You know me. I'm titanium."

We stood there hugging each other for a minute, her brother coming over to get her bags without saying a word to either of us. The air shifted behind me and I knew Rey had finally joined the party.