When Monday morning came, I had a little over 2 hours sleep over two days under my belt. I was exhausted, but I was alert, I had to be. I dragged myself out of bed and made a steaming hot cup of coffee before collapsing on the lounge to switch the early Monday news on. I had half an hour to leave for school, yet my body wouldn't allow me to move.
The news made me feel more depressed, one stabbed in a nightclub across town after a brawl over a girl. Two arrests after a year ago hit and run. Everything was morbid. Everything made me feel worse than what I already felt. I ended up channel surfing until I found a bunch of scheduled cartoons, sure it was childish and un-productive, but it made me feel better, happier in a way as I sat in the almost dark, listening to the light rain fall. I was quite comfortable sunk into the lounge, my body relaxing for once over the entire weekend, to the point where my eyes fell.
My phone began to ring, suddenly forcing me awake when I realized I had dozed off without images of aggression and violence.
"What?" I groaned into the phone, angry whoever it was had woken me
"Eden, where are you?" Penny asked through a whisper
"Home" I yawned
"Are you sick? It's nine in the morning" She whispered and yelled at the same time
"Nine?!" I jumped pulling my phone from my ear to glance at the time. Sure enough, it was five past nine in the morning. I was long gone late, yet, I didn't feel all too guilty. I had fallen asleep, I was comfortable, I needed a break, I needed sleep, I was working way too hard and my brain needed to catch up.
I leaned back down and continued to watch the cartoons across the television, the bright colours entrancing and distracting.
"I'm not sleeping too well lately, I might take today off to catch up and see you tomorrow" I lazily told her
"Are you serious? You haven't missed a day in at least two years, are you sure everything's okay?" She worried
"I'm fine, I promise" I urged her, keen to hang up and attempt to drown myself into sleep
"Okay, I'll pop by this afternoon and give you the work" She chirped before hanging up on me, shortly after, I received a message
'I'm in class, talk this afternoon'
I slightly smiled to myself before settling back down into the lounge. Oscar hadn't messaged me since, apparently he wasn't happy about the fact I had walked off with a stranger and rejected him. I guess I deserved it, thinking back, I should have stayed with him, I missed him. I missed talking to him. He was normal, plain, and I missed that.
I picked my phone back up and decided I couldn't do without him, guilt was riddling me up inside and I wasn't going to let that happen.
'Oscar, I'm really sorry about what happened Saturday night, I was wrong and shouldn't have left you. Please forgive me, I miss you'
I set the phone back down and waited impatiently for a reply, anything, something would be appreciated. If he chose not to speak to me again, sure, I would be hurt, but I couldn't blame him. I blew it, I deserved it.
I let myself settle into the lounge again until I began to doze off, thankfully. It wasn't long until I had passed out completely, no sign of a bad dream, no sign of Jaz, no sign of nightmares, it was pure bliss.
When I woke, I felt like I had caught up, revitalized. I stretched my limbs out, switched my newly found love for cartoons off and made myself a sweet cup of herbal tea. The rain outside had stopped and it was just about time for Penny to be heading home, or in today's case, to my home. I grabbed a fleece blanket and wrapped it around my shoulders, the bottom dragging on the floor as I opened the front door inhaling the calming scent of after-rain moisture. The sky was overcast, creating a dark cloud of shadows. All was silent, all was still as I left the front door open and sat on my porch in my mother's wooden rocking chair. I closed my eyes and soaked in the ambience around me, it was beautiful and I wished I could have frozen time. I watched the street in front of me, no sign of human life, no sign of distress. I wished life was like that all the time. That was until I came to know the boys across the street.
My eyes glanced at the taunting house opposite me. I was aware the boys were home, the motorcycle standing in the garage which was slightly open, the car tucked into the back. I wondered what was going to happen Wednesday. Would they turn up again despite what had happened, what other choice would they have if Phoenix decided to get himself into another street fight? Surely they wouldn't actually go to a hospital, or would they take the risk to uninvolve me? How was I involved now, was I out of the picture? Things felt calm, untouched, but for how long?
Questions and questions rambled through my brain and it was hard to answer any of them myself, impossible actually.
My eyes broke back into reality when I saw Penny dawdling up my driveway like she was exhausted from the long walk from the bus stop.
"Afternoon" I smiled towards her, blowing the steam from my tea into the air as it danced like smoke.
"Hey, you sound better" She smiled as she sat beside me on the two seater wooden chair.
"I feel heaps better" I nodded as she dumped a bunch of books on my lap
"Thanks for this. I think I just needed to catch up on sleep..." I scoffed as she watched me intently
"Are you sure?" She cocked her eyebrow
"Yeah, why?" I asked, worried she was getting suspicious of my story
"You've been a little off this week, something about the look in your eye" She shook her head "It's different" She narrowed her eyes on me
"Different?" I mused
"It can't be Oscar, seeing as you ditched him the other night, so who is he?" She assumed leaning towards me with a smirk
I hesitated, feeling my thoughts trail straight towards Phoenix for some unwanted reason
"There's no one" I tried finding it hard to keep a straight face
"I don't believe you"
"I don't have time for anyone else"
"What about this guy you ran off with?"
"I told you, he was an old friend, we knew the same people, hadn't seen each other in years. I wanted to catch up" I shrugged
"I see..." She mumbled as she watched me with slit eyes
"I don't care if you believe me, it's true" I shrugged again casually, tearing my eyes from her to look back towards the street
It was working perfectly; she believed me and stopped the questions until the door across the street slammed shut causing both mine and Penny's eyes to dart towards the culprit. To my dismay out stormed Phoenix, his build tense and hunched as he pushed the garage door up to pull his motorbike out. I tried to keep my eyes away, but before I could focus on anything but him, his face peeled up to meet a staring Penny and I.
"Please don't tell me that's the brother you've been fixing up" Penny mumbled as she stared completely straight ahead towards him, unconcerned
Just as quickly as all the other times, Phoenix's head bowed back down. He lit the ignition of the bike, jumped on and sped down the street as fast as he could
"Are you serious? That's really the guy?" Penny continued before turning her hard gaze towards me
"What difference does it make?" I shrugged leaning back as I tried to get the image of his beautiful brown eyes from my head
Penny's mouth gapped open "I don't even know what to say.."
"That's a first" I mumbled, sipping my tea
"Eden Skye" She shook her head as she leaned towards me
"He's bad news"
"I mean, from what we know yes, but.. wow, just.. wow.. now I see why it's been so hard for you to let go.. " She stumbled
"I'm having a hard time judging them Penny"
"Them? Please, please don't tell me the brother is that good looking too?" She continued, her mouth hanging open as her eyes remained planted on me without blinking
"I need to stay away from them, everything I've witnessed says I need to stay away from them" I bit into my nails
Her eyes were narrow "What do you know about them that I don't?"
"Ever heard of street fighters?" I admitted.
I could tell her half the truth, not about the part where I was involved. I would limit her information, the dangerous parts anyway.
"They aren't!?"
"Phoenix is" I shrugged
"Phoenix?"
"Phoenix and Jett"
"This whole thing is eerily like some kind of super hot fantasy from a movie" A smile began to form
"Penny, you aren't helping here, tell me to stay away from them, tell me it's too dark to get involved in"
"I can understand why you're having trouble letting go, trust me, the mystery around it all, and just their.. their faces.. it's enough to make me want to get involved and then struggle with wanting to get more involved"
"Penny!" I yelled back, staring at her with force
She looked back at me and seemed to think about it for a moment
"Okay, okay! It's a bad idea" She mentally shook herself, holding her hands up "Its definitely something too dark"
"You need to help me stay away from them, please, for once, keep me away from these guys" I urged
"Okay, I'll do my best.." She nodded
"So what did I miss today at school?" I breathed, trying to change the subject as quickly as I could
Some part of me panicked now that she knew who lived across my street. But the other part of me knew eventually she would find out. Besides, she had a boyfriend, who I was sure she liked immensely, surely she wouldn't even attempt to speak to these brothers.
-
"So I have a surprise for you" Penny bounced as we sat in English class Wednesday afternoon.
"What's that?" I asked uninterested as I set my books down on the table.
"We are going on an adventure tonight" She winked as I paid more attention to the teacher speaking
"What time?" I asked, going along with it
"Nine, Brad and I are going to pick you up" She smiled as the teacher stopped talking and in walked the principal
"Okay" I agreed mindlessly as I watched Mr. Langley approach and speak to the teacher before turning on us
"Miss Milford, will you come with me please?" He spoke, his eyes daunting on me as my heart began to beat erratically.
In that moment I had only just remembered who was chasing me and the street fighting gate crashing bandits in the school halls. I was in a whole lot of trouble and as I began to walk from the class, I began to panic. What was I going to say? He would want the names of the men I was with, and why they were there. What excuse did I have? Would they even believe the truth? Then the police would arrest Jett and Phoenix, could I bring myself to let that happen?
I walked into the office with Mr. Langley in tow before I was signalled to sit beside the unimpressed looking Mr. Baits. I couldn't bring myself to even look towards him as I breathed in the tension, my ears hot and my palms sweaty.
"I am aware of what happened Saturday night during the dance" Langley started as he clasped his hands together behind his desk, the door closed giving me no room to breathe out a viable excuse.
"First What I would like to know is why it happened?" He began
I was hesitant, but that was only making me look worse than I already did
"I don't really know" I stumbled, admitting defeat
"I'm afraid that's not good enough" He sighed
"I knew them" I started, my mouth creating the lie "They were gate-crashing, and I knew that as soon as I saw them"
"So they're friends of yours?" Mr. Baits joined in
"Unfortunately" I scoffed
"And how did you get involved?" Langley continued
"I tried to tell them to stop, to leave. It's hard to explain what happened next..." I admitted, thankful my head was working wonderfully to lie today
"Explain the easiest way you can" Baits nodded towards me as they watched and waited
"My friend has it out for one of the guys that go here. They've always hated each other. This person showed up, and they got into it verbally. I pushed at them to leave and then you saw them" I looked towards Mr. Baits, proud of my lies
"They panicked, I panicked, and so we ran" I shrugged
"And I would already assume you are going to refuse giving me any names" Langley asked as he watched me intently
"They're my friends" I shrugged as I agreed
"Your friends put Jaston Mills in the hospital Eden, it's very serious" He urged me with crossed eyebrows
"Do the police know?" I asked, instantly worried if Phoenix and Nova had already been dobbed on.
"The hospital was obliged to call the police, but unfortunately Jaston wasn't very forthcoming with what had happened himself. Now, if you are scared or afraid, for yourself or your friends, I can help, the police can help. I have never had a problem with you, and I never thought I would, I find it strange you have made sorts with these kinds of people and I pray that you don't let it interfere with your grades. You have a bright future Eden don't destroy something permanent for something temporary"
"Believe me, I'm surprised I've made such friends too, but it won't be a problem involving me anymore, I hope" I scoffed, looking down at my sweaty hands
"I hope it won't be a problem at all anymore" He replied quickly with stern eyes, dark and decorated with wrinkles and topped off silver rim glasses
"If you change your mind Eden, if you ever need help, you know where we are, don't hesitate. These men you are friends with, I've seen them around before, they aren't the sort of people you want to be around" Mr. Baits added as he and Langley stood.
"I know, and thanks" I nodded as I followed them
"And if you see them again, tell them the couple of grand we have to pay to repair the parking lot gate will disadvantage our students and their scholarships" Langley sighed as he rubbed his temples, clearly stressed as he opened the door for me, the office pushing fresh cold air into my lungs
"I will actually" I snickered as we left the room Mr. Baits giving me a short nod and smile before leaving.
"Stay focused Eden" Langley nodded towards me before he held a hand out for me to head back towards class.
By now, I would assume Penny to be sitting on the edge of her seat, completely engrossed in the idea of why someone like me had been beckoned to the principal's office.
"What the hell was that about?" She whispered as soon as I sat back down in class.
"He saw my friend at the dance Saturday night, thought he was a gate-crasher or something" I shrugged, becoming increasingly good at lying
"Was he?"
It was a simple good question, one that made sense. We hadn't covered why he was at the dance.
"He was picking some old design work off of Mrs Elli that he left here" I lied again as quickly as I could. Penny hated Mrs Elli, which would only work in my favour even more so.
"On a Saturday night?"
"He knew the dance was on, guess he wanted a perv" I half laughed
"Typical male" She rolled her eyes "How old is he anyway?"
"Nineteen" I lied again, I had no idea how old the guy was, just that his name was Donovan.
"Is he cute?" She continued
"I guess so" I shrugged again.
She lowered her head at me and gave me a 'duh' look "Details Eden, details" She urged
"Maybe we should wait for lunch, then we can tell Brad the details too" I sarcastically shot
"Hardy har, har" Penny rolled her eyes