CHAPTER EIGHT
song: maneater — daryl hall & john oates
THE COOL BREEZE hit Rachel's face as she sat down next to Josette in one of the lake docks, dangling their legs above the dark still water. Josette's presence felt light, like a ray of sunshine in the midst of a cold November morning. Even though they barley knew each other, Rachel swore that being by her side brought her the same comfort as being around her sister Grace.
As they talked calmly, the blonde thought about how different the Parker siblings were. Kai had that dark and mysterious aura around him that made rooms feel heavier when he walked in— which was the same thing that made Rachel curious. Josette, however, was the complete opposite; joyous, kind, trustworthy and calm.
"Did he bother you tonight?" Asked Josette, referring to her brother.
Rachel didn't want to say 'yes' so bluntly, so she decided to withhold the truth "We talked a little." She ended up saying "Why?"
"I figured he'd be with you— or close to you somehow. I believe he's been trying to become your friend."
Rachel cocked her head with surprise.
"My friend?" a big frown appeared on her forehead "What a weird way to make friends he has." She scoffed.
"I know." An embarrassed look spread across her face "He's not very good at it."
The way Josette said that, made Rachel feel bad for judging him so quick, even though he was a pain in the ass.
There was a momentarily silence that Rachel felt the need to break. "You're very different from each other."
"Everyone says that." Josette smiled faintly, shaking her head.
"Yeah 'cause you're like— super nice. And he's— let's just say he's not that nice."
"Yup... That's him." Josette chuckled before pressing her lips together.
"And you two get along?"
Josette frowned a bit, thinking about the answer to Rachel's question. She had never stopped herself to think about it before.
"When he doesn't hate me, yes." She replied hesitantly "I mean, I love my brother and I know he cares for me— in his own way. But it's just— it's complicated."
Rachel noticed how Josette never said that Kai loved her too, which made her feel sad for Jo. The way she talked about him showed how much she actually cared for him.
"Complicated how?" The blonde asked.
"My parents compare Kai to me a lot and I— I guess that's what makes him reject me so much. And he has— all this anger and rage and jealousy inside of him and I— I want to help him but I don't know how. I don't think he wants my help either" She sighed loudly.
Josette tilted her head back, briefly admiring the stars before turning her head back to Rachel with what it seemed to be a worried expression. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said all of that. But I haven't talked to anyone like this in months."
Even though Rachel tried to empathize with Josette, she realized she couldn't. Not when she understood Kai on the situation on a deeper level. She had known that feeling her whole life— the feeling of being compared. And she hated it profoundly. In her case, it was always Imogen. The good daughter. The perfect student. The popular girl.
She understood Kai's anger, rage and jealousy— because she felt it too towards Imogen. She knew that it didn't matter what they did, their siblings would always come first.
Maybe they had a lot more things in common than she thought.
"It's okay. I'm a good listener." Rachel gave her a smile.
"I know" Josette smiled back at her "Thanks for listening to me, it means a lot."
"Of course." Rachel nodded, swinging her feet awkwardly when the conversation fell silent "Why haven't you been to school since Wednesday?" She decided to ask.
Rachel hadn't been able to stop thinking about what her and Amy saw when they were spying on Kai. The way he grabbed her sister and hurt her. The way Josette pleaded and asked him to never do it again.
Do what again? That's what Rachel wondered.
The only thing she knew is that Josette disappeared for a few days after that.
"I was sick." Josette answered slightly in a lower tone "But I'm okay now. Oh and I've been meaning to ask you if it's worth it joining the cheerleaders team 'cause I've been thinking about it but I'm not sure." She added quickly, changing the topic.
Rachel caught on that she didn't want to talk about why she had missed school.
"Practice itself it's cool— sometimes. Really tiring as well. The people on the team though? Fucking annoying." Rachel snorted.
Josette laughed. "At least we'll be together if I join."
"Please do. I could use a friend."
She couldn't imagine going to practice without Mary Anne, being left alone with Leah and her group. During summer, she thought about leaving the team but her mother pushed her to continue solely for the reason of her sisters being cheerleaders during their high school years too.
"Is your brother joining any sports team?" Rachel asked.
"I don't think so, he hates sports based on cooperation. He says it's dumb relying on other people to win something."
"Deep." Rachel raised her eyebrows ironically which made Josette chuckle.
"He's kind of a loner. If he were to join a team, it'd probably be the baseball one since it's the only sport he enjoys watching on TV." The brunette shrugged "By the way, Rachel, I know this is unrelated but I... I haven't stopped thinking about it all week and I just— I wanted to tell you that I'm sorry about your loss."
"It's alright." She didn't know how to respond to that. Also, she wasn't expecting Josette to take their conversation to that matter.
"If you need anything, you can always come to me" Josette smiled faintly before checking her watch "It's late. I gotta find Kai, my dad'll be pissed if we're not home on time." She got up, letting out a loud breath.
Rachel didn't want Josette to go. That would mean having to spend the rest of the night alone considering Amy's behavior till the moment. She ended up standing up on the lake dock feeling discouraged, not wanting to go back to the party but finding herself obliged to.
Someone approached them before they could leave.
"I heard my name." It was Kai, who had a smile on his face.
"Great. You're here." Nodded Josette "We have to go." She walked towards him before turning to her new friend "Rachel, do you need a ride?"
The blonde's gaze traveled from Josette to Kai, who was also expecting her answer. He had a knowing smirk on his lips and Rachel wondered if he had deciphered what she was thinking about while he kissed Amy. It felt like he did. And that made her uncomfortable.
"I'm good. Amy's driving me home."
"Is she, though?" Kai furrowed his eyebrows "She left a while ago."
"What?"
A wave of anger flowed through Rachel's body. No, it wasn't anger. Disappointment. She was disappointed at Amy. Even so, what pained her the most was that it was her fault. Her fault for expecting more from someone who had the temerity to proclaim they were friends.
"Maybe she forgot." Josette said softly, trying to play the matter down.
Rachel pinched the bridge of her nose, inhaling sharply to keep her cool. "No, she didn't."
"We can take you home, it's really not an inconvenient. I'm not letting you walk alone all the way up to your house at night." Continued Josette.
"I'll take her home."
The three of them stared at the owner of those words. Sean Campbell stood in front of their eyes. Rachel hated his perfectly slicked back blonde hair with a burning passion. Every time she saw him she wondered what she saw in him when they started dating long ago.
"I'd rather get murdered." She replied.
"Don't be childish, Ray." He said sternly.
"No" She shook her head "You don't get to call me Ray anymore. And I'm not being childish, I'm just stating facts. And the fact is, I'd rather get murdered than to be around you. So yeah."
Sean sighed, shifting his attention to Josette and Kai who were still standing there not really knowing what to say or do. "Can you give us a moment?" he asked the pair.
Rachel rolled her eyes.
"Um..." Josette hesitated.
"No." Kai was quick to answer.
Sean gave him a weird look. Rachel just frowned. Her eyes searched Josette's, who was waiting for some kind of approval that indicated they could leave. Rachel nodded towards her.
"Yes, Kai." Josette said to her brother in a warning tone "Just a moment. We'll wait for you, Rachel."
Josette left the lake dock along with Kai, who clenched his jaw and seemed reluctant to leave Rachel alone with her ex boyfriend.
Once they were gone, Sean took a few steps towards her. "We haven't talked about it."
"That's because I've got nothing to say."
"Well, I do." He pointed at himself.
"Well, I don't care."
The soft tone he was using to talk to her just made Rachel more angry.
"Rachel, listen. I didn't mean to, it just hap—"
"You cheated on me with my best friend!" She snapped, flinging her arms at him "'I didn't mean to'. Well you certainly meant lying to me about it, you pice of shit!" She mocked his voice as he pointed at him.
Sean sighed "Okay, you're angry. I get it. Let it all out." He smiled knowing it would only make her more furious.
He used to do that a lot when they were together. Specially when they were in public. If Rachel got mad at him for whatever reason, he would simply smile and laugh to make her seem like a crazy person to other people's eyes.
"Suck my dick, Sean." She spat her words.
He chuckled in response. "Oh my— Are you hearing yourself right now? What would your mother think of you if—"
Rachel cut him off. "What would yours think of you if she knew you're a fucking cheater just like your daddy?"
Sean smiled dropped completely at her words. Rachel knew her words hurt him, she was there while he cried about his father doing that to his mother. She was there when he said he hated him so confidently. She was the one to tell him that everything was going to be okay.
And saying that to him felt wrong but so liberating as well.
Still, he kept his composure."Look at you" He shook his head in disappointment "Full of anger, all foul-mouthed and belligerent, screaming at me like you're demented, dressed like some kind of..." He trailed off. "This isn't the Rachel that I knew. She was kind, and understanding and calm. My sweet girl, full of light, devotion and love."
"Don't you dare talk about devotion— or love. We agreed to wait until marriage and not only you cheated but you did it with my best friend! Who is now dead, by the way. So what did that get you?" Rachel scoffed.
"It just happened!" Sean let out frustratedly "I couldn't control my feelings at the time, you need to understand that I never meant to hurt you, Ray— Rachel." He corrected himself "And I should've appreciated you more, I should've appreciated what we had... I did. Months later. When it was too late. And I regret what I did so much."
"Things don't 'just happen' when it comes to Mary Anne, you know? I can't believe you both did this to me! For months! Behind my back! And now you have the audacity to come and tell me that you regret it?! Fuck you, Sean!" She yelled.
"I was going through a hard time, okay?! And I wanted to be faithful and I wanted—"
"Who cares?! I don't give a fuck about what you wanted, the reality is you weren't! So, fuck you! Don't fucking speak to me again!" Rachel walked past him, her hands pressed into fists.
"Rachel, I—"
"Go to hell!"
That was probably the worst thing she could say to him considering he was from a very religious family just like her— one of the main reasons they started dating. They had known each other for years since they would always go to church with their families, which led Rachel's parents and Sean's parents to become friends.
Sean grabbed Rachel by the wrist before she could go too far, making her turn on her feet. She felt her whole body quiver in anger at his touch and, with no second thoughts, she punched him in the face with such force he took a few steps back, freeing her from his grip.
Sean brought his hand up to his nose, which had started to bleed. He groaned "What's wrong with you?! You're crazy!"
Rachel seemed unimpressed at his attempt to make her feel bad "You deserved it." She said, before leaving him alone at the lake dock.
When she was far enough, she cursed under her breath as she stared at her red knuckles. She finally whined at the pain, massaging her own hand and trying to soothe it. She'd been wishing to punch him for months, so it didn't bother her feeling a little bit of pain.
She heard a voice a few meters away "You coming or not?"
Kai. He had both of his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket.
"Where's Jo?" She asked approaching him.
"Sleeping in the car. She was tired."
Rachel thought it was weird how quickly Josette had fallen asleep but decided to shrug it away for once. She just wanted to go home, sleep and forget the night.
She nodded towards Kai and they both walked in silence to his car. Rachel didn't really want to have any kind of interaction with him, but her house was far away and Amy had bailed on her so she had no other choice.
Rachel bit her tongue when she saw through the car windows that Josette was sleeping in the backseat, leaving no space for her to sit other than the front passenger seat. That meant being too close to Kai for her liking again.
"Hello? I don't have all night." He complained, waiting for her to get on the car.
Rachel rolled her eyes, letting out a huff as she opened the car door. Once she was finally in, Kai started driving. She felt uneasy having to tell him where she lived but she did it anyways.
There was this unspoken tension in the air, Rachel felt like she could cut it with a knife. Even though Kai was looking ahead, she knew he was paying attention to her movements. She looked back at the sleeping Josette, who seemed completely knocked out, then she looked briefly at him and back at the road.
She was embarrassed to remember the way she was staring at him and Amy making out, like an idiot. Just the thought of it made her want to jump out of the car, knowing he caught her staring too. Her face started heating up.
"Did it hurt?" He suddenly asked after a couple minutes.
"What?" She frowned.
"When you punched him."
"No." She lied.
"It looked like it did. I mean, you punched him really hard." Kai laughed "His face was very funny, though. You think you broke his nose? I'd pay to hear him explain how it happened." He talked fast.
Rachel widened her eyes, snapping his head back at him "You were watching?!"
"Yes." He answered like it wasn't a big deal.
"What the fuck."
"Hey, I was just curious about the dynamic, you know? Because you two look like siblings, which is kinda weird... Wait, not kinda. It's really weird." He snorted. "Then I heard the 'waiting until marriage' thing you both agreed on and, no offense, but it kinda made me laugh 'cause like— he cheated. So." Kai shrugged. "Ironic, isn't it? Like— he didn't want to sleep with you but he slept with someone else."
Rachel would've punched him too if it wasn't because her knuckles hurt and he was driving her home safely. Thankfully they were pretty close to the destination.
"You're fucking weird." She ended up saying. "I wonder what Amy saw in you."
"I'm attractive, what can I say?" He smirked.
Rachel scoffed "You're not."
"Considering you couldn't get your eyes off me and my hands when I was kissing your friend, I'd say you're lying right now."
Her mouth opened in disbelief, she didn't expect him to bring that up. Ever. But there he was. It caught her so off guard that she didn't even know how to respond.
"I— I wasn't— I was just surprised." She stumbled on her words.
"What's surprising about it?" He looked at her for a moment before looking back at the street he was diving by "That it turned you on?"
Rachel's face went completely red. What a douche, she thought, completely embarrassed. And angry for the way he talked about it.
"Woah, stop right there." Rachel raised her eyebrows, trying to play it cool "I was surprised anyone would kiss you."
"You wanted to." He grinned.
"No, I didn't."
Kai scoffed "Are you trying to convince me or yourself?"
"You're— Ugh! I'm not doing this" She sighed exasperatedly "Stop the car."
Kai frowned, even though his stupid smirk would not leave his face. "Really?"
"Yes. Stop the car." She repeated sternly.
"Your house is only a couple of blocks away, we'll get there in—" He stopped talking as soon as he saw Rachel opening the passenger door and unbuckling her seatbelt "What are you doing?!"
"I told you to stop the car!" She yelled.
Kai hit the breaks which made her jump forward on her seat. Josette rolled slightly, almost falling from the backseat, but she kept sleeping completely unaware of what was happening. Rachel wondered if Kai had drugged his sister. For some reason it wouldn't surprise her if that was the case.
"Done." He looked at her with a bored expression "Now what?"
"Now I'm walking." She said.
Kai licked his lips, not knowing what to do anymore. He fucked up again. He should've stopped after the first comment, he knew that. But the impatience he felt for having Rachel all to himself would always kick in. He just wanted her to admit it. To admit that she wanted him. Kai knew she did. Rachel didn't understand why or how yet, but it was okay. He'd wait. She would understand they were made for each other eventually. It was just confusing at the moment.
Before Rachel could get out of the car, Kai quickly grabbed her arm as he muttered something that Rachel did not understand.
There was no way of making her stay so he made sure she'd think about him while they were apart.
"Let go of me!" Rachel yelled slipping out of his grasp "What the hell was all of that about?!"
"Nothing."
"Sure." Rachel said ironically, getting out the car and slamming the door close.
Kai laughed at her behavior, watching her walk down the street. He drove slowly by her side as he rolled his windows down. "A 'thank you for driving me home' would've been appreciated." He teased "You're welcome, by the way."
"Fuck off." She clenched her jaw, inhaling sharply.
"I guess that'll have to do it." He shrugged before driving off.
She just wanted the night to be over at that point. They ruined it completely. First Amy, then Sean and then Kai. And now, she was pissed at her friend, her right hand hurt and she felt extremely embarrassed since the guy she hated knew she had thought about kissing him. As much as she had tried to deny it to him.
How much she hated finding him attractive. If he wasn't a complete asshole, Rachel thought he'd be perfect. But that wasn't the case.
a/n: i had so much FUN writing this chapter omg i wanted to wait a few more days to publish it but i was too excited. also i made the gif and it's super bad quality but idk i kinda like it😭 i'm thinking i should add one to every chapter
tysm for reading! likes and comments are always appreciated <3
—lex.