Chapter eighteen.
Secrets and lies.
{Not heavily edited}
"Did you think I was gonna miss my baby brother on the field?" Ryder asks with a smirk on his face. I narrow my eyes at him and turn back to the game. I watch as Lark starts to get more into the game, watching him play any sport is hot as shit and I love it.
"I'm sorry about what happened." Ryder says and I ignore him. I pull my phone out and start recording when Lark begins getting closer to the net. He shoots again and the crowd goes wild. I smile and continue to record.
"I'm sure Lark doesn't want the entire game documented." Ryder remarks. I don't look at him because I don't want to talk to him not after what he did to Lark. No one bothered telling me why that happened, by the way.
"You'd be surprised. Even if he doesn't, I want it documented." I reply, ignoring him again and turning back to the game.
Lark stares at me and Ryder for a moment. Kai gets tossed into the field and I grin when he immediately begins helping out. Lark rolls his eyes and I smile slightly at his jealousy. The game continues on for what feels like hours. Lark gets temporarily benched because he'd fallen on the field and twisted his ankle. He limps out of the area but I don't leave to find out where he's going since Kai starts to play. Ryder gets up and walks off. I don't think much of it since he had to have just gone to get a drink or to the bathroom. I continue to record but Ryder nor Lark are back yet and I know somethings wrong.
I walk behind the school and stop when I see a crowd of guys standing around a beaten Ryder and Lark who's on the floor next to his brother. My eyes widen and I'm unsure of what to do. I listen in on what they're saying.
"I never thought I'd see you two again." The guy, whom I presume to be the leader, says.
"Feelings mutual." Ryder responds, he gets a fist to the face and he laughs. My jaw drops slightly as I watch the exchange.
"You're such a dickhead." Lark remarks to which he receives a kick to the gut. That's enough. I turn to leave and get Pogue and Liam but I crash into a hard chest. My eyes widen.
"Yo, Juan!" he calls, this guy is huge and bulky. He grabs my arm and pulls me forward. The leader, Juan, looks at me with hungry eyes which makes me scared and uncomfortable. Ryder and Lark turn slightly and when they see me their smirks drop and their expressions turn worried.
"Well...who are you?" He asks, biting his lip seductively. I stare at him in disgust. I'm not in much of a position to be a smartass, but regardless who would I be without my sarcasm?
"Fuck you." I reply with narrowed eyes. I rip myself away from the guy holding me. Juan stares at me for a moment and grabs my face. I glare at him when he looks down at me.
"Don't touch her." Lark and Ryder say together. Juan ignores them and proceeds to look down at me.
"Are these your boyfriends?" He asks with a chuckle, letting me go and throwing me to the ground roughly. I look at the people surrounding us. It's only what? Eight? We can take them. Okay Lark and Ryder can I could probably just punch someone but that's it.
"Old habits die hard, huh? Where's Allison?" Juan asks He's probably referring to the fact that Ryder and Lark are constantly going for the same girl, he looks at me and tilts his head to the side.
"Leave her alone, Juan." Lark warns. I'm trying my best to be brave but things aren't looking so good for us. I chew on my bottom lip worriedly as I contemplate the amount of ways these guys could probably kill us.
"She's nothing like Allison. This girl is scared. Allison wouldn't be." Juan remarks. Lark and Ryder scoff, my jaw clenches and for a second I think "what would Allison do".
I laugh a little as I think back to my old life.
"Whats so funny, smiles?" Juan asks. I look up with dark eyes, if I'm going to date bad and get involved in things like this I might as well be bad. I glance around, the guys aren't really paying much attention. Lark and Ryder are staring at me with eyebrows raised. I look back at Juan.
"Y'know... it's kind of funny that you need so many guys just to jump Ryder and Lark. It's almost like you're scared of them." I remark, his jaw ticks and I smirk. There it is. He reaches down and pulls me up by my arm. I look him square in the eye.
"I...am...not....scared of them." He growls, he waves his hand and the men leave. Good. Now I understand how egotistical he is. With the men gone, he'd done exactly what I was hoping and now it's three against one.
Looking into his eyes, I knee him in the balls. Lark and Ryder get up quickly, they grab him and drag him against the wall of the school. Lark holds Juan on the wall by the neck, a dark look on his face. I don't think I've ever seen him like this, it's almost like he's Ryder.
"You made a big mistake coming after us." Ryder warns. I watch as they beat him up, looking the other way when they get a little too carried away. When they're done they walk with me out of there. Lark stops walking, turning his head slightly.
"If you come after us again the consequences will be much worse." He growls before taking my hand. They're about to go back to the field but I stop them.
"What the fuck was that?" I snap. Ryder and Lark exchange glances before sighing. They better tell me what that was because I'm done with secrets. All it's done is bring nothing but misery into my life. It's all Larks brought into my life. With that realization I decide that I'm going to give him at least one more chance because forgiving him every time something like this happens just shows him that he's allowed to constantly fuck up because I'll constantly forgive him.
"That was just some of my old buddies. It's nothing to worry about. Let's just get back to the game." Ryder replies in a tone that makes me want to listen to him but I've heard that tone countless times and I'm beginning to understand where Lark learnt this stuff.
Suddenly, I take a look at Lark and see the Bruises on his face from the last fight and the new ones. The cut on Ryder's lip and the blood seeping from his head from a few moments ago. I feel something I've never felt before, some sort of fire in my chest. I start to take deep breath because I feel like I'm about to explode. I ball my fists and press my nails into my palm to try and bring myself back to reality.
"Don't give me that bullshit. I'm done with listening to you guys lie to me. To listening to the shit that comes out of your mouth," I begin, my voice raising with ever sentence "All I get is secrets and lies and if that's all our friendships or relationships are going to be then I want out. Because obviously your past is starting to affect me and you won't even help me understand!" I yell. I can't stand to look at them so I turn and walk away. I take a few deep breaths to settle myself as I walk across campus to my dorm. When I arrive and open the door I immediately go to my room. I crash on to the bed and my eyes shut. For the first time in a while I have real long sleep.
~*~
After I snapped at Ryder and Lark they've been avoiding me. Today's Larks birthday and I'm unsure if I should say something to him or let the day go by like nothing. I know I shouldn't ignore him on his birthday since he's still my boyfriend, I think at least, also I have an invite to his party and he told me I necessarily have to be there. I look at the time and sigh, I don't want to go to school. I leave the dorm without Lucy since she's skipping today. I'd gotten a phone call from my mom that she wanted me to come home because she wanted to talk to me about something but I don't think I want to come back. I didn't tell anyone since Jordan would want to go. I arrive a the school and when I walk in, my eyes fall on Lark whos talking to Allison with a smile on his face. Ouch. I try my best not to think about it, I walk by them and my eyes catch Larks. I don't hold the glance, I walk over to where Jordan is standing.
"What's Lark doing with Allison?" I ask and he shrugs.
"Dunno. They've been really friendly lately. He's been hanging out with her and Ryder a lot. I went over to Larks place last night to hang out with Liam and Pogue and they told me he went out with Ryder and Allison." Jordan explains, I raise an eyebrow. What the hell is he doing with them? Lark hates brother, hes scared of him. He hates Allison too so what's he doing with them?
"That's....strange." I remark, the bell goes and Jordan says his goodbye and leaves but I just stand there for a second. My locker slams shut and I turn quickly only to face Lark. Oh my God. He's examining me closely, the look on his face is hard to describe. He's never looked at me like this, with cold eyes.
"Lark, what the hell are y-"
"Listen, sweetheart, I don't think I made this clear but we're done. I had my fun and I'm bored now. So, thanks for the memories but I'm over it." Lark says, I've heard the tone he's using. It's the hard and cold tone he uses to talk to everyone in school. He's never used that voice with me. His words are clear to me, but I'm confused.
"What?" Is all I manage to say. That's when I see it; the smirk. The smirk he uses when he's about to break someone heart, when he's about to hurt someone. Its a devilish smirk as if he's enjoying every moment of what's happening and what he's doing to me.
"You didn't actually think I felt anything for you, right? Babe, lets be real here. Have you seen the girls I hook up with?" He asks with an amused tone. I feel like theres a frog in my throat, my chest is aching and I don't know what to do. I don't want to cry in front of him, I won't give him the satisfaction. But, I notice he hasn't said my name or called me "kitten"...weird.
"Anyway, sweetheart, have a nice life...or don't, I really couldn't care less." He says before winking at me and walking away with the same smirk on his face. I stand there for a moment longer before turning around and watching him leave the school. I feel like my knees are weak, I lean against my locker and take a deep breath to calm my nerves. I loosely walk out of the school and go out to the parking lot. I sit down on the curb and let the cool air swirl around me. It's numbing yet soothing in a way. I just sit there, my silent tears shedding and blowing away with the wind. My cheeks are tearstained now. I get up and start to walk down the street, I wander around until I find myself in front of a bar. I sigh, I have no idea where I am. I pull my phone out to call someone but my phones dead.
"Sunshine?" a voice says from behind me. I know this voice too well. I turn around and see Ryder with a cigarette in his mouth. I'm not wearing a jacket or a sweater since I left everything in my locker. Ryder comes forward and quickly takes his jacket off and drapes it over my shoulders. "What the hell are you doing out here, sunshine? Its freezing!" He exclaims, He wraps an arm around my shoulders and guides me to his car. It's a black impala, a newer version. I numbly get inside and rest my head against the window. Ryder climbs in the car and he turns on the heat as he looks at me worriedly.
"What happened?" He asks, I chew on my bottom lip as I feel the tears returning to my eyes "Shit, don't cry. Take a deep breath, you're fine." He says soothingly. I take a few deep breaths and I tell him everything, starting with how me and Lark even got together all the way to what just happened. His eyes are wide when he listens to my story.
"Alright, Kat, if there's one thing I learned in life is that no one will ever have your back the way you do. You don't need anyone besides yourself. You're going to relax, forget about him and move on. You've gotten through everything in your life there's no reason why you won't survive this," Ryder says and for a moment, I feel better about what had happened. "Lark is going to realize the mistake he made sooner or later. You're going to his party tonight, alright? Show him you're okay." Ryder says, I nod. I turn away from him, he gently squeezes my hand before starting to drive.
"Where are we going?" I ask and he shrugs.
"I don't know yet."