Lacrosse

7- Overnights and Hug-Me-Tights

Josh

After scurrying to gather our equipment from the benches, I run with Kendall getting pulled behind me to my navy blue Ford Focus. I quickly toss all of our lacrosse gear in the trunk as Kendall gets settled in to the passenger seat.

I move around to the front of the car and slide in to the driver's seat, closing the door behind me. We sit in silence as I shove my keys into the ignition and the car comes to life, the headlights turning on automatically.

Kendall screams at the sight of what the bright white lights reveal. Placed periodically across the gate of the field are colorful pictures of her. The images spread from one end of the fence to the next.

I hurriedly get out of the car and start yanking the photos out of their places on the fence, not even bothering to look at them until I'm back in the car with Kendall. Then, we start sorting through the inch thick stack of pictures, trying to see what they all are.
To our horror, a thick, black X has been scribbled across one person's face in every picture. Kendall.

"Where did these come from?" she asks quietly. I don't even reply. I barely even hear her. I just keep flipping through the pictures.

There are some from lunch earlier this week, Kendall smiling and laughing under the X. There are some of her walking between classes. But most of the photographs are from practice last night and tonight. A picture of Kendall and the Simmons twins flashing the camera. A picture of Kendall running her laps, me following behind her. One of the two of us kissing before getting in the car last night. And then a bunch from our practice session after practice had officially ended, including ones of us kissing.

"Let's get out of here," I mumble, not knowing what else to say. What else is there for me to say? Hey Kendall do you happen to know who has been stalking you for the past week?

As I pull out of the school parking lot and on to the road that leads to Kendall's house, she turns to me and asks, "Can you spend the night at my house tonight? My parents are out of town and I don't feel safe sleeping there alone."

"Sure Kend," I reply. "I'll just stop at my house on the way and get some stuff."
A few minutes later, my Focus pulls into the driveway of my roomy two story house.
"I'll be quick. If you get scared, you can just come on in." I walk in the front doors and hustle up the stairs, throwing together an overnight bag. I grab a clean pair of underwear, clothes for school tomorrow, exercise clothes for lacrosse practice, and my toothbrush. I run back down the stairs and shout to my mom that I'm sleeping at Kendall's house tonight, exiting the house and driving away before my mom has the chance to object.

The two of us ride in a silence that isn't comfortable but isn't necessarily uncomfortable until we arrive at Kendall's small trailer home. I park my car in the empty driveway and take in the shuttered windows and peeling white paint.

I step out of my car and remove our lacrosse equipment from the trunk, while Kendall takes my overnight bag from the back seat. I drop the equipment off in the screened off patio area that leads to the squeaky metal door of the house. Kendall holds it open for me as I enter, immediately finding myself in the kitchen. The trailer only has three rooms. There is the kitchen, which also serves as a living room due to the old fashioned TV resting next to the refrigerator, and two bedrooms- one for Kendall and one for her parents- that hold minuscule bathrooms inside. The Freed family doesn't have much, but what they have is enough for them to be happy.

"I'm going to take a shower in my parents room. You can go ahead and use mine," Kendall says before disappearing around the one corner of the home, returning a few seconds later with a faded cyan towel in her hand.

I enter Kendall's tiny bathroom and grab a spare towel from the linen closet located behind the door. Stepping inside the tight boundaries of the shower, my mind travels back to the field. The sound of the camera snapping a picture replays in my head. The lights turning on blinds me once again. The voice over the sound system says the same words over and over again. We want her. And then those pictures. Who took them and why? If this is Pittsburgh Hills trying to screw with us, they're taking it pretty damn far. Stalking Kendall? That's insane.

After relishing in the warmth of the water trickling over my body for ten minutes or so, I step out, running the torn fabric of the towel through my wet hair and then tying it around my waist. I exit the bathroom and step into Kendall's room to grab my pajamas, well my boxers, from the bag sitting on top of her dresser. I forgot to pack pajamas, don't judge me.

"Sexy," Kendall jokes, her voice tired. I see her lying in her bed, her dark hair dripping water on to her pillow and red spaghetti strap tank top. I slide my boxers on underneath my towel and lift it to my hair, wiping the remaining water from it, and then hanging it up on a hook on the bathroom door.

"Goodnight babe," I whisper, kissing Kendall on the lips softly. "I'm going to go sleep on one of the chairs on the patio."

As I'm leaving the yellow walled bedroom, I flick the light switch into the off position, causing darkness to encroach it.

"Josh," Kendall says.

"Yeah?"

"You can sleep in here with me if you want."

I find my way through the darkness to Kendall's twin sized bed, cursing under my breath when I stub my toe on an uneven piece of wooden flooring. When I finally find the bed, I slip under the covers, barely having enough room for my whole body to fit.

"Thanks for staying with me," Kendall says, yawning.

"I'll never leave you," I coo.

"I'm scared. They've been following me all week Josh. Who knows what they'll do to me if they get the chance."

"They won't get the chance because I won't let them." I pull Kendall's body closer to me, feeling her body form to the curve of mine. I toss my arm over Kendall's waist protectively and I feel the warmth of her fingers as they intertwine with mine. I feel the damp coolness of her hair as it drips on my chest and her feet against my legs. I run the fingers of my free hand through her tangled hair gently and kiss her exposed shoulder.

"I love you," Kendall whispers.

"I love you too."