Chapter 7
Daniel made sure that his bike was properly tied up with the chain before he twisted the lock on it. He adjusted his bag on his shoulder and lifted the glasses he had on that helped to hide his black eye before he began walking to the entrance of the school when he saw... Rosana with the boy that had beaten him up last night and with the other four who were with him.
And she was laughing with them while sitting on his bike.
His eyes widened when he saw her lips move (she was talking!) and then she playfully punched the one with very bright blonde hair.
What the hell was happening?
He was confused as fuck. His sister is socializing and he would have been glad about that if it wasn't with them of all people.
Something inside of him shifted when he saw how comfortable and at ease she was with them. When did that happen? And why would his sister, who always stood by him and followed him, be interacting —on her own— with assholes like them? Rosana might not be squeamish about fighting, but she never condoned violence or fighting and yet she's associating with him.
If it wasn't for the fact that it looked like she was enjoying herself, which was rare, he would have thought that they were forcing her to stay there. Well, that was what he was hoping for but he knew that even though Rosana was quiet and antisocial with others, it didn't mean that she was timid or easy to intimidate. She sure as hell never did anything she didn't want to do.
He clenched his fists when he saw the boy who had beaten him up smile at his sister and Rosana looked up at him with a kind of smile he had never seen her wear before.
His protective side roared inside of him like it never did before and turned away from them and walked into the school with purpose. He was going to make sure those assholes stay away from his sister.
***
All-day Daniel was avoiding her and she knew that it was either because he saw her with the boys this morning or because she always had one or two or all of the boys with her in every class and at lunch.
They could be so annoying. They didn't allow her to carry her bag and when she told Tommy that she could carry her own bag when they had their first period together, his only reply was, "Johnny made it clear that you shouldn't carry your bag."
This had made her angry. Irrationally angry that was. She was relieved that she didn't have to bear the pain of having the bag press on her bruises but on the other hand, she felt incompetent and weak and she hated that.
Rosana stormed up to Johnny who stood by his locker with the rest of the boys; Tommy trailing behind her with her bag.
"What the hell, Jay? I can carry my own bag."
"Oooh, Firebird alert!" Dutch sung with a wide grin that made Rosana throw a glare at him before she looked back at Johnny.
Johnny was taken aback by her anger. Girls, he shook his head. They were so confusing.
Johnny poked her shoulder softly and watched her grit her teeth as she hissed in pain, "Really?" He raised a brow at that.
"I'm not weak, Johnny."
Johnny looked into her light grey eyes and saw anger with a hint of hurt. She thought he saw her as weak when he just wanted to take care of her. But, then he felt pride bloom in his chest, enveloping him with warmth.
He should have thought better than trying to coddle her. There was a reason why the boys had begun to call her Firebird.
"Tommy," he signaled for him to give Rosana's bag to him.
"Here," and when she tried to reach for it he pulled back slightly to bend down and whispered in her ear, "I never thought of you as weak. But, if it becomes too much, let us know." His breath fanned her neck gently as he spoke and surprisingly... she began to shake violently. For a second he thought she was laughing but the tendons on her neck were far too tight.
Johnny quickly looked at her face to see tears forming in her eyes and her breathing coming out too fast, she was starting to hyperventilate, fuck!
"Oh, shit!" Bobby cursed, "It's happening again."
The boys threw panicked looks at one another, she had done this before. When Dutch had touched her shoulder at Bobby's house after the attack and accidentally frightened her.
Johnny threw Rosana's bag to Bobby who was closest to him and quickly looked around them to see a janitor's closet nearby and began pulling her towards it. The boys didn't need to be told that they should prevent any prying eyes from seeing Rosana like this as they walked in a way that no one might see the girl's small trembling figure.
The second the janitor's closet door closed behind them, it was as if Rosana was possessed by the darkness around them and began to fight and claw against Johnny.
"Anna! Anna! Stop it, it's me, Jay. Anna, calm down."
That didn't work, so Johnny gripped the side of her shoulders and shook her, hard.
"Rosana! Snap out of it."
Johnny pulls her against his chest and wrapped his arms around her struggling form as he spoke against her hair over and over again, "It's me, Johnny. You're safe. You're safe, sweetheart. You're safe. No one can hurt you again. It's me."
Rosana stopped fighting after a few seconds and came to her senses but she still couldn't breathe properly.
Johnny moved his hand to where he assumed the light switch should be and turned it on only to see her holding her neck and struggling to breathe.
"I-I c-a-an't breathe, J-ay." Her words came out more broken than usual.
"Shit," he cursed, "Come on, Anna. Do what I do," He breathes in deeply through his nose and out through his mouth, "Slowly. There we go, in and out. That's it, Anna. Again."
Both of his hands were cupping her cheeks to keep her gaze on him and to keep her grounded. When she began to breathe normally, he rested his forehead against hers, exhausted and concerned.
Goddammit, she almost gave him a heart attack.
"You're okay. You're okay. I got you. I got you." His soft, out of breath words were meant for her but it comforted him as well. A sob broke free from her lips before she threw her arms around him and cried against his chest.
***
Rosana was mentally and physically tired when she finally came to her apartment complex after school, having had Bobby walk her home because Johnny and the others were needed by their coach more than Bobby who made an excuse of quickly retrieving something from his locker. He's probably going to run back just so he doesn't get into trouble for being late.
She has barely known them for three days and they were already starting to become a part of her life. Already starting to mean a lot to her. And who could blame her?
Rosana opened the wooden gate and almost bumped into a man who was picking up a screw or something that was lying on the ground next to the gate.
"I-I am so sorry. I didn't see you there."
The Japanese man with greying her and wise eyes, smiled up at her with a dismissal wave of his hand, "It nothing. No worry," the man said.
"Oh, you must be t-the fixer guy Danny told me about," Rosana smiles softly before she bends down to pick up two other screws that lied on the floor when she saw he was going to bend for it, "Here, let me."
"Danny? Who this Danny?"
Rosana winced as she bent down and tried not to come back up too fast. She keeps on forgetting how sore she was.
"Danny is my brother Daniel. W-We are the new people in apartment twenty." Her words were strained due to her aching limps.
"Oooh, apartment with broken faucet?" His accent making his words sound so different but a good different.
"Yes, that's the one." Rosana handed the old man the screws. She was about to go to the apartment when the old man turned his back to her and motioned with his hand, "Come, come, follow."
"Uh," Rosana was confused and a bit worried about following a stranger.
The old man turned to look at her over his shoulder, "I see morning you walk funny. I teach you something for pain. I no hurt you, come."
This time he said 'come' with impatience and leaving no room for arguing. Rosana felt like a child being caught with her hand in the cookie jar. She honestly thought that she was hiding her pain well but it seems as though the stranger caught on.
She followed out of curiosity and because she wanted to make sure that he would keep whatever suspicions he had to himself.
She followed him into what must be where he fixes things and was glad when he left the door open as if he knew that she was slightly scared. She clenched her fists, she hated that part of her that surfaced a few days ago where she always felt minor fear of being jumped and attacked and then being powerless to stop it.
"Sit." The Japanese man ordered and she sat on the bench —putting her bag next to her with a wince— as she looked at the beautiful tiny plants that looked like mini trees on the biggest table. It was adorable.
"These plants are beautiful." Her voice filled with awe as she gazed at them. One could tell that they were being taken care of.
"No plant, tree. Bonsai tree." The man said with his back to her as he began looking for and doing something.
Rosana ran the tips of her fingers over the soft delicate-looking leaves of the tree that was closest to her and murmured softly, "Barnsai tree."
"Bonsai," he corrected and came to set down a bowl with a green liquid in it and another with clear liquid on the table next to her. Rosana tried not to gag and covered her nose, "That s-smells awful, Mister..."
"Miyagi. Name?"
"Uhm, I'm Rosana but you can call m-me Rose."
"Nice meet you, Rose-san." He smiled softly at her and Rosana felt her chest lighten. There was something about Mr. Miyagi that made her feel at ease, it was his eyes.
"It's nice to meet you too, Mr. Miyagi," she bowed her head in a similar way as he did for her with a small smile on her lips.
She watched as Mr. Miyagi took off his headband that had a black outlining flower in the middle with a few polka dots on the sides. He folded it in a shorter rectangle before dipping it completely in the green smelly water.
"Smell bad, heal good. Take scarf off."
Rosana didn't even want to know how he knew about her neck. So, she silently took her scarf off and used the end of it to dip it into the other bowl of clear liquid before she brought it to her neck to gently wipe off the makeup she knew would be there. Once she felt that it was all gone, she put the scarf on the table.
Mr.Miyagi rinsed the headband out, opened it, and slowly and gently wrapped it around her neck. He watched her carefully as she tensed up and watched as she relaxed when he was back in his seat.
"Who hurt you?"
Rosana could tell that the man was angry but not at her... at whoever had hurt her. She thought that was sweet.
Rosana looks down at her lap and sniffed when the smell hurt her nose with its smell but she could feel how whatever that liquid was, numbed and eased her bruise. Mhh, that felt good.
Rosana shook her head with tears in her eyes. Not sure if she could trust him.
"I tell no one. Promise."
Rosana lifted up her head to see Mr. Miyagi look fierce and serious before she inhaled, "I don't know w-who they were exactly. I was attacked by four m-men two days ago on my way home. I was helped by f-five boys who attends the same school as me."
"They hurt you further?"
She shook her head in a no at what he was implying about the men and wiped a stray tear that fell down her cheek, "They were about to but no, they d-didn't."
"Take gloves off."
Rosana took off her gloves as he asked and unwrapped her bandages as well and placed both of her hands, on top of each other, into the foul-smelling water the way he gestured her to.
"You scared of them?"
Rosana thought about it and said, "I'm not scared of them, I guess. I'd s-say that I'm scared of feeling h-helpless again. Of being frozen with fear. I n-never want to feel like that ever again."
"Miyagi will help."
"How?" She asks curiously. She already asked Johnny to teach her karate when all of the boys said that it's best if she learns it by them than from their Sensei. They didn't want to tell her why but she'll find out sooner or later. Anyway, Johnny agreed to teach her and she couldn't have been happier about it.
"Problem here, fear here, yes?" Mr. Miyagi pointed to his own head, meaning that her fear was all in her mind.
She nodded and then he smiled, "I teach you what I learn by father about controlling fear."
Rosana inhaled, what did she have to lose at this point. So, she nodded, "Okay."
***
Johnny was deep in thought as he worried about Rosana. He hated to see her cry. Every tear and sob she had let out earlier had chipped away at his heart till he was aching and hurting as much as she was. He had never felt like that before and it's probably because of how unfair he thought it was.
That this sweet, soft, kind, and beautiful girl was suffering. What for? She did nothing wrong and she was the one suffering.
He never ever wanted her to feel that kind of fear again. To hyperventilate just at the mere feel of someone's breath on her neck. He promised her that he'll help her through it all. He will with the only way he knew how.
"Sorry, man, what did you say?" Johnny asked Tommy who was talking animately with him and Bobby.
Dutch and Jimmy had computer class with Rosana.
Before Tommy could repeat himself, someone slammed into Johnny from behind and pushed his front against a locker.
Johnny quickly spun around and was about to punch the person when he was momentarily surprised to see that it was Daniel. And that second of hesitation gave Daniel the chance to slam his forearm against Johnny's neck and pinned him to the locker.
Bobby and Tommy were about to intervene but Johnny lifted up his hand in a gesture that told them to not come closer, "Don't."
Johnny smirked when he saw Daniel's purple eye, "Nice grape you got there."
Daniel snarled, "At least I didn't get hit by a girl."
Johnny chuckled, "True but at least I can honestly say that your sister hits harder than your pussy hit to my nose last night. That," Johnny cocked his head to the side, "was pathetic, by the way."
Johnny could tell that Daniel was growing even angrier than before and Johnny wanted to beat the crap out of the guy but then he knew that Rosana would be angry at him.
Daniel gritted his teeth, "Just stay away from Rosana. You and your friends." He spat out.
Johnny pushes Daniel off of him easily before taunting him, "What are you going to do, huh? Lie on the ground and wait for your sister to pick you up."
Daniel snarled and threw a punch at his face. Johnny was quick to react and pivoted on his feet as he moved to the side before coming to stand behind him and watch as his fist connected with the locker.
"Dammit!" Daniel cursed as he shook his fist, "Just stay away from her. She doesn't need you assholes in her life."
Johnny grew serious this time. He didn't want to think that sweet Rosana deserved better friends than him and his best friends. Because it was true. She should be keeping company with people like Ali and her friends, and boys who acted like pussies.
And if what happened a few days ago didn't bring them all closer, he would have considered it. Maybe. Probably not. But, that shit did happen and she needed friends who could be there for her right now, and that was them whether this douchebag likes it or not.
"It is not for you to decide what Anna needs, man. She can decide for herself."
"Anna?" Daniel spat it out as if there was a foul taste in his mouth, "You gave my sister a nickname?"
"Yes, and she likes it." He says smugly, hiding his anger and worry for Rosana. If this douchebag makes Anna upset, brother or not, they were going to have a few problems. She had enough on her plate right now.
Daniel shoves him one last time, "Just stay away from her!" He said before he stormed off.
___________________________________________
Heeey guys!
Woah, Rosana just had a panic attack. I hope I made that scene okay.
Please vote and comment :)
What do you guys think so far?
I hope you all enjoyed it!!!