An Everlasting Relationship

Chapter Six

         Monday came too quickly and I wearily trudged into home economics. Because of all the crap that happened on Friday, I'd totally forgotten about my math exam and had walked into the classroom this morning totally unprepared. Fortunately it was pretty easy material, but I would've liked to be better prepared. I wanted to have a 4.0.

         Isaac was the only one in the classroom. When he saw me, he gave me a sheep-ish look. I half-smiled, half-grimaced at him. "How are you feeling?" I asked.

         "Better," he responded with a shrug. "Listen, I'm really sorry about Friday. Can you tell Chris for me? I know I was being stupid, but what I said is true. Someone is trying to get the gang back together."

         I felt my heart skip a beat and I folded my arms over my stomach. "How do you know? Who would want to do that? Why?"

         "I don't know," he replied, frowning. "But I know it's not Shawn. He might know something, but he's not the ringleader here."

         I bit my lip, chewing on it slightly. How sure was Isaac about this? Maybe he was attacked in the ally because someone was bored and wanted a fight. But after last year, what members would even want to continue to fight? Half of them went to jail and the other half got their ass kicked by Chris.

         "Holly."

         Jumping, I pulled myself from my thoughts and noticed Isaac had moved closer to me, his bright green orbs only inches away from mine. He put his hand on my shoulder and squeezed it gently. "I know you've probably gone through a lot, but I'm only saying this because I'm worried. I know they're going to go after Chris. Everyone has always wanted to beat him. He was the best of us. And I don't know all of what happened last year— I haven't even heard Chris's name in years — but I figure it was pretty bad for you too. It could happen all over again if we're not careful."

         I knew he was right. Even though Chris didn't want to admit it to me, I was sure Chris knew he was right too. It was going to get dangerous again. My lips started to tremble, but I pressed them together forcefully. No. I wasn't going to cry about it. I wasn't going to stand by and be the victim this time with everyone protecting me. This time I had to pull my own weight. This time it wasn't about me; it was about everyone.

         "What should we do?" I asked, holding Isaac's gaze with determination.

         He looked surprised by my response. "What?"

         "What should we do?" I repeated, feeling my heart beating fast in my chest. If we could stop this before anything even really began, it'd be better for everyone.

         "Holly, you should stay out of it as much as possible—"

         "No," I said, cutting him off. Was my heart beating from fear? Or excitement? Maybe both? "We're stopping this."

         Isaac ran a hand through his shaggy brown hair. His expression was indecisive, his jaw clenching and unclenching. The door to the classroom opened suddenly, a couple of my classmates spilling in. Isaac fell a step back, but his eyes stayed on me. "You want to help?"

         "The sooner we get this over the better," I told him.

         "Chris won't like it—"

         "Chris doesn't like when I do anything even slightly dangerous."

         Isaac fidgeted, but I could tell what he was thinking. He wanted to figure out what was happening too— of course he did! Three men assaulted him because of whatever it was. "We'll talk later," he finally decided, eyeing the students in the classroom.