Christmas break was over and everything seemed like normal at school again. I was able to eat with the friends I had missed so much and my teachers were happy to have me back. Mrs. Garcia knew what happened to spring me back to myself, I was so glad I had her to listen when no one else could. I knew she was one of my teachers but she had become like a best friend to me. Every day I made the best of it, we had only about five months until everything was going to change. I shook my head to clear my thoughts of change and tried to focus on something more important, the Sadie’s Hawkins dance. Each of us had worked so hard to ask the boys to the dance, we even got Matt’s little girlfriend involved. He had met her about a month ago at his job, who would have thought she went to our school the whole time? She was about five foot nothing, and had the prettiest long black hair I had ever seen. She was a very petite girl with the darkest brown eyes, but it worked for her. Sadie ended up sharing a class with her after Matt introduced her to us, those two were getting closer by the day. Each of us had made a different puzzle out of different things to ask the boys to Sadie’s. Sadie hid pieces all over Ben’s room at his house that made a shape of a heart. Devyn had left puzzle pieces in each of Sean’s classes making a shape of a blown up paper note. She tried her hardest to make it look just like a note you fold up and pass around in class. Serenity was Matt’s girlfriend and put little hints on music notes for him to meet her in the choir room to see who held the melody to his heart. It was actually really cute the way she did it. I decided to leave a baseball in each of Nick’s classes to hint where to find me. Since he was such a fan of baseball I decided I would ask him on the pitcher’s mound after school, the coach used to be my Chemistry Honors teacher, so he said he would push back practice for a little.
I decided today that I would wear one of my quarter sleeve baseball shirts. It was white with navy blue arms that I paired with a pair of dark blue jeans and my white high tops. I had packed my glove in my backpack this morning while Nick was taking a shower to pitch the last ball. I heard him walking towards the baseball field so I hurried up and took my spot on the mound ready to throw the last ball. I made a mental note to thank Mr. Chettmen for the rest of this year for the baseballs and the time on the field. Nick took a step on the field and the moment he saw me the look in his eyes about made my knees buckle. I tossed the ball up and caught it getting ready to throw it to him. I lifted my knee and swung my arm gently, I wasn’t trying to make him work for it. He caught the ball with his hand without even flinching from my throw. I saw him start to shake his head and laugh to himself. He slowly jogged over to me and grabbed my face with both of his strong hands. My whole world was held in the palm of his hands, I would do anything for this boy. “Kadence baby you surprise me more and more every day. You have to know how much I love you baby. This was the cutest thing you have ever done and I would be more than happy to go with you.” He gently brushed his lips against mine and a small moan escaped my lips. I loved the way his touch made my body feel and I loved the way his kisses sent goose bumps down my back. I kissed him once more before he had to head into the locker room and get ready for practice that I sat on the bleachers and watched daily. I was waiting for Devyn to stop over here and let me know what Sean thought but something felt weird. Usually by now at least the coach was standing out here talking to me about the plays he had come up with but today I was alone. I texted Devyn asking how much longer she would be and I never received a text back.
It felt like eyes were burning through me and I wasn’t sure if I was sitting here letting my mind get to me or if someone like Nate was watching me closer than usual. I heard a loud screech come from the visitor side of the baseball field and I immediately stood up making my way to the boy’s locker room when I heard footsteps. My heart was beating so hard I swore anyone would be able to hear it. My breathing was racing so fast I could barely get any air in. I was almost at the door when Josh ran out of the door and smacked right into me. As soon as he saw me lying on the floor having a panic attack he scooped me up in his arms and sat me down on a rock. “Kadence…Kadence look at me, focus on me sweetie. You need to breathe sweetie. Come on do it with me, in your nose out your mouth ok?” I did as Josh said focusing on just his soft brown eyes. Josh was another one of the really good baseball players who was also heading out to Oregon with us. “Kadence what the hell made you freak out?”
“Josh, he is here, he has to be here. I was all alone and then I heard the gates moving by the visitor side and it just…I could just feel him Josh!” I felt the tears start to sting my eyes but I couldn’t show that this upset me I had to stay strong. “I have a plan, it will only be a little longer until he is gone.”
“What do you mean you have a plan?”
“If I tell you, you cannot say anything to Nick, you promise?”
“Ahh shit Kadence, don’t get me involved with this.” He let out a long grunt. “Ok, what is your plan, and it better be good because I am risking my ass being beat by your man.”
“The whole idea I have is for Devyn and Nick to get as far away from me as I can get them. My uncle is going to help me on that part. When they are gone I need someone to pick me up in the park and take me Sadie’s new house because Nate has no idea she moved. I know I can call him and end it, he will freak out no doubt about that, but by then my Uncle will have called the cops and everything will be fine.” The look in Josh’s eyes told me he didn’t agree with this.
“Jesus Kadence are you crazy? You and Sadie can’t do this alone. Let me know what I can do.” Josh threw his hands in hair and looked away. “Nick is going to fucking kill me, but I need to make sure you do this safely if I am any kind of friend to him.” I kissed Josh on the cheek and looked straight at him.
“Thank you for everything Josh.” Finally all the players started coming out but I didn’t see Nick. Josh started to run after the rest while I waited. Nick still hadn’t come out so I decided to run in.
I quietly walked in to the, what seemed empty locker room. There was no sound coming from anywhere in there causing my whole body to tremble. Where was Nick? Why wasn’t he out in practice? I heard a locker move and I ran over to it. I stopped dead in my tracks and sucked in a breath of air, there stood Nate, staring straight at me with that crazy look in his eye. He took two steps towards me and I took two back. Why did he have to come here? Why was it so hard for him to understand? “Nate please, just leave. If the coach comes in here you are considered trespassing, please just leave.” Nate didn’t say a word to me, he stared straight through me with the hatred in his eyes. I prayed someone would walk in any second now and rescue me. Every time Nate took a step toward me I took a step back, I thought about running but there was no way I would make it out of here without him catching me. Was it worth trying though? I backed up against the window that looked into the coach’s office as Nate walked closer to me. I thought to myself, please don’t let this be my last breath, please someone walk through those doors.
Nick
Coach asked me grab the extra bad of bats for practice so I exited the back way. I knew Kadence was going to wonder where I was, but when I got out there she was gone. I assumed she went with Devyn and Sadie because of all the work they did for Sadie’s. Something in my stomach wasn’t right and the longer I stayed on the field the worse it got. I ran back in the dug out to get some water when I saw Devyn and Sadie walking up with no Kadence. As I looked over to my right Serenity, Matt’s girlfriend was jogging over to them again with no Kadence. I looked at Coach Chettman, and he knew what I was thinking once he saw Kadence missing. I felt my whole body fill with panic as I watched the girls all ask the same question, do you know where Kadence is? I ran out to the bleachers and caught all their attention, “Where is Kadence girls?” Once I saw the look on their faces I knew the answer already, it was Nate. I turned to run to the parking lot when Josh and I collided as he ran towards the locker room. I saw the panic in his eye, he knew where Kadence had to be. “Nick don’t even start I will explain later ok.” I nodded my head to give him the sign to take the lead. We slowly walked in the locker room and I could see Kadence pushed up against Coach’s office window. The look on her face about killed me she looked so scared. I looked to Josh who was ready to kill someone, he didn’t hang around a lot but him and Kadence grew close over the years of us playing together. That girl was like a little sister to him and he would lay his life on the line for her. I ran back outside real quick and yelled for the girls to get the coaches. Once I walked back in Josh was nowhere to be found by the door way, I had to squint but I noticed that fucker made it to other side of the locker room and was ready to make his move. We exchanged eye contact and nodded in agreement we were ready to go. Right at that moment both Coach Chettman and Coach Robinson flew through the door. Robinson grabbed me and held me down, but I broke free. I was finishing this son of a bitch, no way would he ever hurt her.
I looked around the corner and saw Nate standing with his hands up as if nothing happened. I heard the coach tell him if he was caught on these school grounds again he would see it personally the police escorted him off. Nate started walking out and stopped in front of me, immediately Josh and Coach Robinson were by my side. “Nicholas, tell your little bitch I will be back for her.” I lost it, before I could stop myself Nate was on the ground with blood pouring from his nose. “You crazy ass son of a bitch, you touch her again, and I will kill you my damn self.” Coach Robinson grabbed ahold of me. “Alright boys, were going to mark this as off record, you two have some serious scholarships to look at and I don’t need you two to screw that up. Get dressed and get her home Nick, Josh you can head home too. I won’t hold this against you, who knows what he would have done if you waited any longer.” I walked over to Kadence and dropped to the floor in front of her. “Baby I’m so sorry, I went out the back way because Coach needed the extra bats. I should have said no.” I could never forgive myself for letting this happen. “Nick it isn’t your fault just please take me home.” I kissed her forehead and went to my locker while she sat in the office with my coach. I saw Josh standing there waiting for me to talk about something that I already knew he was regretting. “Alright Josh spit it out what the hell happened? Why did you know where she could have been?” Josh took a deep breath and sat down on the bench. “Bro look, I went to go stretch early and as soon as I walked out the doors, I ran straight into Kadence. I picked her up and sat her on the rock, she was having a god damn panic attack. I focused with her to get her to breathe again and she said she could just feel him there. She said that she heard random noises and it spooked her, she must have waited for you because I didn’t see her behind me when I jogged out to the field. When I saw the girls show up, and then you asking all these questions. I knew she went looking for you, I mean it is Kadence. I’m sorry Nick.” I brought josh in for a hug and told him thank you. I truly was though, if it wasn’t for him I could have lost the only girl I have ever loved.
Kadence
I stayed quiet the whole way home, I was so thankful Josh and Nick walked through that door. How did Nate even get in there? Why was he even in there? Was he originally going after Nick, or was he actually trying to find me? I closed my eyes and saw those eyes staring at me with a type of madness in them. He wasn’t sane at that moment he looked pure evil. Josh was right, there was no way I could do this alone I needed someone like him to help. As soon as the truck came to a stop I hopped out and walked to my room as fast as I could. I just wanted to bury myself in my covers and lay there for eternity. Today was supposed to be so perfect, and it was ruined just like anything else nice would be. Nate will never let me live a life I want, he will always be there watching. Nick walked in and went to his room, not even trying to stop at my room. I heard him change and charge out the door again, he must of went running. I sat there quietly as I let a tear run down my cheek, he never did this to me. He never ignored the fact that I was upset, he always wanted to make me feel better. I heard the door open again and shut and noticed that it wasn’t my parents. I heard footsteps coming down the hall way causing my heart to beat faster than I could handle. I rolled over and stayed under the covers praying that it wasn’t Nate. I felt a familiar jolt of energy surge through my body the moment he touched my side. “Kadence…hey baby turn around please.” I turned around to see a bouquet of fire and ice roses in Nick’s hand. I sat up and threw myself in his lap and held on to him for dear life. “Kadence I love you. Please forgive me for letting that happen. I don’t know what I would of done if something happened to you.” I saw Nick’s eyes start to water as he rested his forehead on mine. “You are my every reason to live Kadence. You mean more to me than the air I breathe baby. I need to have you by my side forever and always.” I kissed Nick softly on his lips, it started so innocent and quickly grew so passionate I couldn’t imagine ever seeing him hurt ever again like I saw today.
I skipped dinner and worked on my homework instead to keep my mind clear of everything. So much was running through my head from what happened today, the dance, and the fact that my birthday was coming up. I texted Josh letting him know to meet me by first period tomorrow a little before the bell so that I could talk to him. This plan needed to be moved up a little bit, I couldn’t wait that much longer. Nate was getting crazier and crazier by the day and who knew what he would do next. I finished my homework close to nine at night, I walked in the bathroom to get ready for bed when I saw a pink bag sitting on the counter. I saw that it was from Victoria Secrets so I couldn’t wait to ask who got it for me. I pulled out a little pajama set, a tank top and little pair of sleeping shorts. They were black with a little pink heart with VS in the middle in the bottom left corner. I saw the card in there and I quickly opened it up.
Hey baby
I know your birthday isn’t for another two and a half weeks but I can’t imagine not giving you everything you want and deserve this is just the first of many. I can’t wait to see you in them and I hope I got the right ones. I love you forever. Nick XOXO.
I instantly stripped down and put my new outfit on. I let my hair out of the pin holding it up and it gently fell down my back. I walked back to my room and nestled under the covers hoping Nick would sneak in here tonight. I was so exhausted from today though the more I fought to stay awake the harder it became to keep my eyes open. Within seconds I fell asleep alone without Nick for the first time in months. It was about ten when I felt my bed move as Nick crawled in as I stared at my alarm clock. The moment I felt his arms around me everything around me felt at ease. His scent, his touch, his hot breath against my neck felt like home to me. No matter how old we got I hoped this feeling would never go away. I started to drift to sleep listening to Nick’s calm breathing.
I got up a little earlier than normal today, I wanted to make sure I got to Josh before Nick did. Usually during baseball season, the players would meet up in the parking lot and hang for a little before we had to get to class. I got up and curled my hair just enough to give it a nice look. I threw on a plain white T-shirt with some plain blue skinny jeans. I knew it was cold and today Nick had a game so I went in his closet and grabbed his red baseball sweatshirt that had his last name printed across the back. Nothing said you were taken like wearing your man’s name. I felt Nick grab me from behind and kiss me on the cheek. “What do you think you’re doing sweets?” I turned around to face him. “You have a game today and it is cold, I had no other way showing off your name or number.” He smiled and pressed his lips against mine, I pulled away faster than usual but I didn’t want to take a chance of my parents walking in. I threw on my black boots and grabbed my back pack as I headed to the kitchen. Just like always my aunt was dressed in a very fashionable suit drinking her coffee as she stood by the counter while my uncle was dressed in his uniform reading the paper and drinking coffee. I dropped my bag and made myself some cereal while I waited for Nick. Morning time was like a routine, my aunt would tell me to have a good day, kiss us on the cheek and leave out the door as my uncle walked out the back door to his work van. Nick came out with his home game jacket on holding his bulky bag filled with his gear. I looked closer at him and he was wearing matching everything with me except his jacket was black. “Devyn filled me in on how you guys wanted us to come up with a creative way to show we said yes, so I came up with going to school matching.” I let out a little chuckle and shook my head, he was too good to be true.
The moment we got to school Nick gave me a kiss that instantly my body melt into him before I left to talk to Josh. My whole body was craving him like crazy I just wanted to go home and love him. I shook my head to remove all thoughts like that from my head, I had to be on point when I talked to Josh. I walked in to find him sitting in his seat already playing a game on his phone as I walked closer I cleared my throat to get his attention. I set my stuff down in my seat that was right next to him, government was the only class we had together, so I had to make this count. I took a deep breath and started to talk. “Ok Josh, you were right, this is not going to work unless I have someone like you with me during this. Sadie now lives about a block from you, so how should we play this out?”
“Kadence I am going to have to see you through this whole damn thing. Something wasn’t right with him yesterday. I got a friend named Frankie that lives up the street from me, once you get into Sadie’s house both of your asses need to make your way to his house I don’t care how many walls you have to hop. But to be honest I think his house is behind Sadie’s new one. You sure your uncle will call the cops or someone is calling the cops?”
“I need you to do it Josh. I don’t want my family involved in this anymore and I don’t want the others involved with it. You and Sadie are one thing but no one else.”
“Alright it is settled then, after your birthday okay?”
“After my birthday will be perfect.” The bell rang and the students started to pile in. Thank the lord Josh was in this class because I would have never passed government with the grades I did if it wasn’t for him. He took the notes and explained it all to me in a language I understood when we would walk to our second classes.
The rest of the day flew by which I was more than happy about. Today was Friday and the start of my birthday festivities Nick had planned even if it meant they were early, but more importantly Nick’s game was tonight. I walked over to the truck to put my stuff up I knew we wouldn’t be leaving anytime soon. I opened the door to find a little red envelope in the seat that I knew was from Nick. I practically threw my back pack into the truck as I reached for the card. The excitement was building in me so fast, I felt like a little girl again. The card read: Hey sweets, here is your first clue. Find the spot where you first became my girlfriend officially the first time. You will find your next clue there to lead you to the next step. Remember I love you. XOXO Nick. I could feel the smile spread from ear to ear on my face. I knew exactly where I needed to go, I took off running towards my old locker in the sophomore hall where I found one of the baseball players Anthony. The moment he saw me a smile came across his face as he pulled out a small card and handed me a rose. The second card read: A white rose is a symbol of purity and innocence. Your innocence baby fills my body with so much love it hurts sometimes. It’s a sign of new beginnings and quiet beauty and Kadence there is no one else that shows me that then you do. If you want to see your next clue think back like it was yesterday where I kissed you so softly to prove you were mine. I thought about it for a second to all the locations nick had kissed me. I thought about it for a few minutes and then I remembered it was outside the locker room, I started to walk as I thought about every area of this school he had stopped to kiss me. As I got closer to the locker room I could feel my chest start to tighten as I thought about yesterday in the locker room. I turned the corner and saw Josh standing there with a black and orange OSU jersey with Nick’s last name on it. I sucked in a breath of air when I saw his name, they already had everything ready for him, was that even possible? Josh handed me another card and I could feel the tears prickle my eyes, I had never been this happy. The third card read: This is your last card, follow the white roses and there is where you will find me. I love you baby, forever and always. Nick. I walked the trail of roses as I picked one up individually each second I got closer I could feel the beating of my heart speed up.
Nick was sitting out in the middle of centerfield on a blanket holding the last white rose. I took off running towards him, once I was in his arms I had my legs and arms locked around him in a death grip. I looked down and saw that there was a little picnic made for the two of us and there went the butterflies in my stomach again. The feelings that I had for him never ceased to amaze me. I pulled away and pressed my lips against his over and over again. “Thank you Nick. I love it.” He threw his head back and started to laugh a little as he put me down and walked me over to the blanket. “Kadence that jersey isn’t mine.” I looked at Nick confused, how was it not his? “I had that one made for you. You have your very own now Kadence baby. Once we are out there you won’t have a chance to wear mine and I couldn’t do that to you.” He started to laugh as the smile grew bigger on my face. “This is yours no matter what. Happy early birthday baby.” I had never been as happy as I was right now in this moment, how could he ever top this year? The picnic was delicious and the kisses that followed made everything sweeter. We started to pack everything up and head towards the truck to put it all away. Nick had placed my roses in a cooler he stashed in the back seat so the heat wouldn’t ruin them. I still couldn’t believe how lucky I was to have such an amazing guy like him. Nick walked me over to Devyn’s expedition and then took off running to get ready for his game. Tonight was a night game and I was more than nervous since we were playing Thompson high. A few of Nate’s friends that were still in school played for the team so it was a sure thing he would be around here. I tried my hardest to ignore that little fact but it had been bugging me all day. I heard snapping in front of my face as Sadie was trying to get my attention. “Uh hello bitch, can you tell us what your overly romantic man candy did for you today?” I let out a laugh and walked with them to the bleachers. I didn’t want to go too much into detail because I wasn’t sure what the others did for them. “How about your asses tell me what the boys did?” Without another word Devyn jumped in.
“Ok, so Sean loved my idea of making a puzzle look like a giant note. So this morning when I woke up I had a pink hibiscus lying on a pillow with a note.” She let out a long sigh and continued. “The stuff that he told me in that letter was just oh my god, you guys. It was like every emotion he has for me came from that letter and the way he said yes to me wasn’t that bad either.” Devyn looked at us and winked and we all just lost it. “What about you Sadie how did Ben take your little love puzzle?” The moment we mentioned ben Sadie’s face became the color of my sweater. Devyn started to nudge her with her elbow, “Bitch you better spill like right now.” Sadie took a deep breath and kept her eyes closed. “Oh my god, he is so amazing, I mean I wasn’t expecting that but it was just, wow. I made sure on each puzzle piece I wrote what I loved about him and the center piece I put the question. He didn’t even waste time, every time he kissed me he told me a new reason of why he loved me. I swear guys I could never imagine falling for him any more than I have but that bastard proved me wrong. After that we just stayed at his house watched a movie and he made me dinner. It was romantic, simple, and cute. So Kadence you want to explain about your swoon worthy boyfriend. What did his romantic ass do?”
“He made me look for clues around the school, first one was in his truck, and the next one was by my very old locker when he first asked me out. One of the baseball players handed me the next note and a rose that led me to the boy’s locker room where I found Josh. He handed me another card that had me follow a trail of roses to a picnic in centerfield.” I smiled to myself as I thought about the look on his face at that moment. “He also gave me an early birthday present, well Josh handed it to me, but it was a personalized Oregon State baseball jersey. And now here I am with my two best friends sitting on the bleachers about to watch a good game.”
“What the hell, Nicks over the top ass needs to stop!” Sadie screamed out as she laughed a little. I noticed Devyn looking out towards the visitor parking on the outside of the gates.
“Devyn he isn’t here, and if he is, I highly doubt he will cause trouble.”
“Really Kadence then why is his truck sitting at the top of the hill? Maybe we should just leave, I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
“I will be fine, the coaches will not let anything happen Devyn relax. Can you just enjoy the game? We won’t get to watch many of these after we graduate.” I knew Nate being here and I staying was not a great idea but I didn’t want to miss this important game for Nick.
It was the bottom of the fourth inning and I was starving along with Sadie and Devyn. Maybe if all three of us went together then it would be ok. Nate wouldn’t be stupid enough to make a scene right now. We walked over to the concession stand and got in line to order some food. I knew we would be standing here for a little so Sadie ran to tell the boys in the dugout not to worry. The moment I felt Devyn grab my hand with her death grip, I could feel his presence behind me. I froze holding on to Devyn for dear life making sure I never let go. Before I knew it his hand was clasped around my mouth as his friend grabbed Devyn. I knew if we screamed the matter would only get worse, I silently prayed to god that they wouldn’t hurt her. Thank god Sadie was not here she would know why we were missing, she would have someone run after us. The two men threw us down on the grass hill so hard I could feel the pain ripple through my body. I looked over to see Devyn crying her eyes out in pain, I crawled over to her as quick as I could, pulling her into me I had to get her to stop. “Please Devyn please, do not cry it will only make it worse. You can do this baby girl. You can do it.” I felt Nate rip me off of Devyn by my arm bringing me face to face with him. “Where is your little prince now Kadence? Nowhere because no one cares about your stupid ass.” Nate back handed me across the face letting me hang from his hold. He whipped me back around to stare in his eyes again, “No one will ever want you like I do. No one will ever give you what you want like I can. No one will treat you decent like I will Kadence, so get your head together and come back with me. I can make you happy.” I used every last bit of strength I had and spit in his face to make my answer clear I was not going anywhere with him. I tightened every muscle in my body preparing myself for the next thing he was going to do. I felt his tight grip around my throat as he pulled me to his mouth, the warm breath against my skin made my body cringe with disgust. “You will regret that you…dirty…whore.” I felt him slam me down to the ground making me scream in pain. I felt one huge blow to my side and then another. I tried like hell not to scream but I couldn’t help it anymore. I felt his body hover over me staring at me like I was nothing but a disgrace. His grip tightened around my throat as thoughts of Nick went through my mind as my breaths grew shallow. I could hear my best friend crying for me to do something, but all I could see was Nate’s piercing eyes.
I looked over to see Devyn being locked in Timmy’s arms, I knew I had to fight back. The moment she saw my eyes she swung her head back and hit Timmy right in the nose. He threw his arms up clasping his nose in his hands as Devyn took off running. The moment I saw Nate draw his attention to Timmy I used all the force I had left in me to jam my knee into his dick praying he would fall to his knees. Once my neck was free I took off running like I was running in the Olympics. I didn’t care at the moment that I couldn’t breathe because my throat had been squeezed so hard. I saw Matt walking towards the concession stand making me push like hell to run faster. The moment he saw me he immediately dropped everything and grabbed me looking everywhere around us. He grabbed his water bottle and tried to get me to drink but I just couldn’t get anything down my throat at this point. I hadn’t seen Nate or Timmy run up towards us but I saw the look in Matt’s eye when he spotted Nate’s truck squealing his tires to get away fast. “Where…where. Is. Devyn?” Matt pulled me away looking completely lost at what I just asked him.
“What the fuck do you mean? Please Kadence tell me that this didn’t happen to you both.”
“I. Need. To. Find. Her.” I could barely talk I was trying so hard to catch my breath. I saw Devyn sitting with Sean by the locker room in the corner of my eye. I pushed Matt away and started to walk over to her trying not to collapse from the amount of pain I was in. Devyn finally saw me and I fell to the floor I couldn’t move anymore I felt like I was broken in so many places. I felt Devyn touch me softly trying to keep herself from crying. “Kadence please tell me you’re ok?”
“I am fine baby girl. I am so proud of you for being so strong.” I felt Matt come up behind me telling Sean to get Nick’s truck keys. My vision came in and out as Matt walked me to the truck, once I was in the truck I fell into a deep sleep as I pictured Nick’s beautiful smile.
Devyn
I saw the truck and panic traveled through my body as I thought about not having all the guys here yet. Kadence had already told me to relax but I couldn’t break the uneasy feeling I had in the pit of my stomach. Something was not right and I had the feeling ever since I saw his truck. I knew I needed to be strong just like these two girls were. Sadie and Kadence were some tough girls, especially Kadence with everything that has happened these last several months. I couldn’t even begin to imagine how she must feel now that I pointed out that Nate was here. We watched Josh and Nick kick ass on the field tonight. Sean had training tonight so he wasn’t going to make it for the first half. He had joined a kick boxing gym and decided to actually train in it to eventually become a professional. Deep down I knew he just wanted to protect us that much more. It was the bottom of the fourth and I couldn’t stand it any longer I needed to eat. My stomach was eating itself from the outside to the inside. We got up since Thompson high had the ball and walked over to the concession stand. Once we saw how busy it was Kadence had Sadie run over to the dugout to tell the boys we were getting some food. I knew once she saw Ben, she wouldn’t be returning anytime soon. I heard my phone ping and I immediately knew it was Sean ‘Baby, please be careful. I am on my way love so I will see you soon. I love you Angel.’ That’s when my heart stopped, Nate’s reflection was in my phone, I knew right then we were in trouble. I slowly slid my hand into Kadence’s and squeezed it to death praying that our hold would never break. My whole body was stuck in a frozen state, I was so afraid I couldn’t move.
I felt a hand grab me aggressively around my mouth wrapping his other arm around my chest. I felt the rough facial hair scratch across my cheek, “Hold on sweetheart this is going to be one fun ride. You scream and I will hurt you understand?” I shook my head up and down quickly trying so hard not to make a noise from the pain of him squeezing me. They threw us down on the cold hard ground down by the other fields as my tears continued to pour down my cheeks. I looked over to see Kadence holding herself trying to hide her pain. How did she ever deal with this all the time? I closed my eyes and silently prayed that Sadie or Sean would see we were missing and would find us before I was hurt anymore. I felt Kadence pull me into her “Please Devyn please, do not cry it will only make it worse. You can do this baby girl. You can do it.” Before I could say anything to her Nate yanked her off the floor like she was nothing but trash to him. I heard him talk to her like she was useless making my heart break. “Where is your little prince now Kadence? Nowhere because no one cares about your stupid ass.” I wanted to hurt him once Nate back handed her across the face letting her hang from his hold. She looked so defeated, the look on her face about gutted me. He whipped me back around to stare in his eyes again, “No one will ever want you like I do. No one will ever give you what you want like I can. No one will treat you decent like I will Kadence, so get your head together and come back with me. I can make you happy.” I tried like hell to get out of Timmy’s grasp on me but it was no use. I couldn’t let this happen to my best friend, “Please…please Kadence do something! Please Kadence don’t let him take your happiness please don’t leave me.” I prepared myself to watch the worse thing happen to Kadence after seeing her spit in his face. I watched him tightly grip around her throat as he pulled her to his mouth, you could see the disgust in her eyes. “You will regret that you…dirty…whore.” The moment I saw him slam her down to the ground making her scream in pain I felt like someone just hit me so hard I couldn’t breathe. I screamed as loud as I could as he kicked her over and over in her side. The louder I screamed the tighter Timmy squeezed me, “Kadence!”
When I caught Kadence’s eyes I knew she was telling me to fight back, it was now or never. The moment I knew I could I swung my head back as hard as I could and hit Timmy right in the middle of his face. I felt his grasp loosen and I took off when he threw his arms up clasping his nose in his hands. I heard Nate scream in pain and I knew right there Kadence was going to take off running like she never ran before. I ran as fast as I could never looking back when I slammed right into Sean. I hit his hard body so hard I fell straight on my butt knocking the wind out of me. “Oh shit angel, I am so sor…why are you crying? What is going on? Where is Kadence?” I wrapped my arms around his neck and squeezed him as if I would never see him again. “Oh my sweet Jesus Sean, I don’t know how it happened it was all so fast. Please…please don’t let me go Sean. I love you so much.” I couldn’t bring myself to look at him with the way I had been crying, I knew he would take off after Nate. Sean pulled me back to look me in the face, but the look in his eyes was pure hatred. “Nate found us.” Those three words was all he needed to know as I watched the hatred turn to pure evil. “Where is Kadence Devyn?” I snapped my head back from the shock of him raising his voice, I was about to tell him everything when I heard my best friend barely walking over to me with Matt yelling after her. I pushed Sean away as hard as I could trying to run to my best friend. The moment I saw her drop to the ground holding herself in pain I felt my eyes fill with tears. . I placed my hand softly on Kadence’s face trying to keep myself from crying. “Kadence please tell me you’re ok?” My effort to hold my tears back was failing but at this point I didn’t care anymore. “I am fine baby girl. I am so proud of you for being so strong.” Kadence grabbed my hand and let herself lay completely flat on the ground. Matt scooped Kadence up in his arms telling Sean to get Nick’s truck keys so he could lay her down there. All I thought to myself was please god, please don’t take my best friend from me.
I knew Nick had a long night ahead of him with Kadence I wanted to help but Sean insisted that I go home and rest. On the way there Sean was completely silent and each time I looked over his grip on the steering wheel seemed tighter. “Devyn you want to explain to me what happened to you and Kadence?” I knew I had to tell him, but I didn’t even want to try and picture the insane look those two had. I took a deep breath, “All we wanted to do was get some food, we thought it was ok because there was so many people. They grabbed us from behind and just took us. I had never been thrown so hard on to a hard surface like that before and I started to cry. Kadence crawled over to make sure I calmed down, she said it would only make it worse.” I turned to look at the window as I thought about Nate hitting her. “Nate grabbed her and just started hurting her…it was almost like he enjoyed it. The look in his eye was some kind of crazy that I had never seen before she ended up spitting in his face and then…” I sucked in a breath of air, my heart was breaking as I thought about what had just happened. “Then he…he kicked her Sean so hard and started to choke her.” I lost it and Sean immediately pulled over to hold me as I sobbed on his shoulder.
“Shh, baby it is ok, I am here now and Kadence is with Nick. You are safe now. He will pay for this damn it I promise.” Sean went to move and I instantly clung to him tighter.
“No Sean please don’t go fight him or do anything stupid. I need you. I can’t let him hurt you. Please.”
“Ok baby let’s just go home and lay down ok?” I let go slowly and nodded my head. I just wanted to be with Kadence at this moment, I needed to make sure she was ok. She looked like she could barely move after what happened and Nick was going to lose it. The boys ended up winning the game but I knew Nick wasn’t going to care after Matt got ahold of him. Once we got home Sean ran me a hot bath with a ridiculous amount of bubbles in it. “Ok now I put some Epsom salt in here Devyn, when you get in baby your sore parts are going to hurt a little but I promise it will make you feel so much better.” I felt the pain already going through my body after he said that. I wasn’t hurting like Kadence but I had never really done anything to hurt this bad. My head hurt from breaking Timmy’s nose and my body was sore from the tight squeezing he did to me. I took a deep breath and slowly eased my way in. Every spot of my body that had hurt burned as the hot water hit it causing me to whimper a little. Sean sat next to me on the edge of the tub as he gently washed my face with a wash cloth. He was amazing in every way, I would never be able to thank god enough for giving him to me. I closed my eyes trying to let myself relax but it wasn’t working out to well. “Devyn Nick already texted me Kadence will be ok she is a tough girl.” I nodded in agreement, Kadence was one of the strongest people I knew that was for sure. Once I made it to my bed I cuddle up to Sean and let myself fall asleep praying Kadence would be fine.
Nick
It was the bottom of the ninth inning and we were tied all I had to do was hit this out of the park and the game was over. I took my position and watched the pitcher’s every move, I had studied him all night. When he threw a groundball he stood still with his hand in his glove, when it was a curveball he would look at first base and back at the catcher, when it was a splitter he would spit. I saw him start to kick the dirt by his diamond which meant he was trying to pull a fast ball. I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly swinging my bat like I was a miniature Babe Ruth. I heard the crowd start screaming as I saw the ball go over the wall, inside I was doing a fist pump to myself knowing I just won the game. I took my time walking the bases as my team mates came running after me. The boys threw me on their shoulders making me feel like the best damn ball player alive. I looked out to the bleachers to see Kadence’s face since I won the game but she wasn’t there. I looked closer and no one was there, Sadie was sitting by Ben a couple rows down but that was it. Once the boys dropped me I looked for Josh who I noticed was scanning the crowd for her too. I remembered Sean asking for my keys so maybe Kadence was in the truck waiting for me or something. We shook everyone’s hand and waited for the coaches to finish congratulating me and Josh for making the game a winner tonight. Once I was changed and had my stuff together, I began walking out to my truck. The closer I got I noticed Matt standing by the door with his head down. My heart beat grew faster and faster every step I took. The look on Matt’s face about killed me, I knew something had to of happened during the game. “Nick, she is lying down in your truck, Sean already took Devyn home. She was pretty shaken up.” I stood there frozen not able to get a word out for what seemed forever. “Nate and Timmy got to them bro. Kadence isn’t bleeding but she is bruised…pretty bad. I know you probably want to kill this motherfucker like I do but Kadence needs you tonight. I got to get Serenity home bro, just make sure you show her she isn’t worthless tonight.” Matt slapped me on the back and started to walk away while I was trying to process everything.
I opened the door to see my beautiful girl sleeping in the passenger seat. I dropped bag of gear and grabbed her hand in mine trying not to lose it. Nate made sure the only way he could talk to her was if I wasn’t around, but why wasn’t anyone with her? Why did Matt say Devyn was shaken up? I felt Kadence start to move and she silently cried in pain making my veins flow with anger. “Kadence you ok? Do I need to get you to a hospital baby?” She shook her head and pulled my hand closer I pulled away to get my shit in the truck quickly and ran over to the driver’s side. I got in and leaned over gently giving her all I could in that one kiss. I felt her smile “Did you win the game cowboy?” and all I could do was let out a small chuckle. This girl was in a ton of pain and she was more worried about my game. “Yes baby I won the game literally, I hit a grand slam at the end and made the last point.” Her smile grew from ear to ear as she kept her eyes closed I knew she didn’t want to face me about what happened, but I had to know. “Kadence tell me what happened and do not cover anything up.” She slowly sat up holding her side trying not to make a sound but I could tell it was killing her to even try and move.
“He grabbed us from behind.”
“Wait, Us? Kadence let out a deep sigh.
“Yes us as in me and Devyn, they took us over to the other fields and threw us on the ground like we were nothing. I knew Devyn crying and screaming would only make it worse so used all my strength to crawl over to her and begged her to stop or it would hurt more. Nate grabbed me by my arm telling asking me where you were, I didn’t answer so he slapped me across the face. I just hung there in his grip, I had no more fight left in me Nick, I’m so sorry. When he told me all this horrible stuff I just spit in his face. I knew it would only make it worse but I couldn’t let him think I was ok with it. He threw me on the ground where he started to kick me and then…then he gipped my throat. If it wasn’t for Devyn smashing her head into Timmy’s nose I would of never had the chance to knee him. I ran faster than I ever did before when I found Matt. I couldn’t breathe so he put me in here.” I sat there silently staring at Kadence planning on beating this kid to death. But the look in her eyes told me I couldn’t leave her, I would give anything to take her pain, her fear, her hurt, I would take it all away.
“I need to get you home this ends tonight, no more dealing with this bull shit damn it. But I can plan that tomorrow right now I need to get you home and taken care of.” I grabbed Kadence hand and placed a soft kiss on it before I took off out of the parking lot.
Kadence had been soaking in a bath for the last twenty minutes as I texted with Sean to tell him Kadence is ok. Once we got home I grabbed her some strong ibuprofen to relieve the pain and stop anything from swelling. I filled the water with some Epsom salt to relieve more pain and filled it with her green tea soothing bubble mixture. She always used it after games and recitals so I figured I would try it now. I heard the drain come undone and quickly rushed in there to wrap her up she was nothing but fragile to me tonight. I picked her up in my arms and walked her to the bedroom to get her dressed. I let her put her underwear on but I put on her favorite Victoria secret sweats and put on one of my t-shirts I laid her in to bed and tucked her in leaving the remote next to her so she could put whatever she wanted on. “Baby I’m just going to take a quick shower ok? Do you need anything else?” She rubbed her tummy and I knew she was hungry, she didn’t want to talk much since that bastard pretty much choked her to death. I called to order a pizza and hopped in the shower. I let the hot water run down my face for a few minutes thinking about what to do about this guy. I had to talk to Kadence first thing in the morning about what to do because I can’t let her hurt like this anymore. It was a little chilly tonight so I threw on my pajama pants and a tank top after my shower, I hurried up when I heard the doorbell ring. I opened it to find Brianna standing at the door, the last person I needed to see. “Oh well, wasn’t expecting to see you here cutie.” I rolled my eyes trying to just hand her the money. “Don’t you want to give me a little tip baby?” Was she actually serious? Note to self, listen to Kadence when she absolutely can’t stand a girl. I stepped out of the house and shook my head at her. “You really don’t get it Bri, are you that desperate? I don’t want you at all give me my damn pizza and leave. Oh and here is a tip for you, stop trying to get with a guy that clearly is in love with his girlfriend.” I grabbed the pizza, handed her the money and walked back inside to Kadence’s room.
We laid in bed together eating pizza while watching a Cinderella story. I would go to my grave with this, I could never let anyone else find out what I watched with this girl. I am sure all of us did it but no way in hell would I ever admit it. “I will never admit that I watched this with you, but this is really nice just enjoying pizza and a movie all cuddle up to you babe. I want to do this a lot when we get to Oregon baby.” She nodded in agreement as she went back to watch the movie and eating her pizza like she never ate it in her life. I got up to clear the pizza when I heard a knock at the door, I quickly turned the television off and slowly made my way to the front door. They started to knock harder as I got closer, I looked out the peep hole only to find Josh. Once I opened it, he just walked in with no hesitation. “Where is she?” I was confused as hell but I pointed to her bedroom and he stormed down the hall. The look on her face was complete shock which didn’t make any sense to me at all now. “Kadence, tell him now, tell him your plan. You need all of us.” I stopped him in the middle of his sentence. “What plan? What the fuck are you talking about Josh? Plus she can’t talk much because that fuck face strangled her damn near to her death.” Josh took a deep breath and let it out slowly looking at Kadence for the ok. “Damn it, Kadence wanted to do this whole plan of getting rid of this stupid ass for good. He doesn’t know where Sadie lives so she was going to somehow get to Sadie’s house and break it off over the phone. I was going to have her hop the fence to get to Frankie’s house and we would take it from there.” I stared at both of them for a second before talking, the anger was slowly building up inside of me knowing that Kadence was keeping this from me.
“So wait you came up with this crazy plan alone Kadence and then you kept it from me?” She turned her head away from me giving me the sign it was true. “Josh we will talk about this in the kitchen, Kadence I will tell you what to do about it. I can’t believe you right now.” I knew if I talked about it in the kitchen Kadence would hear and I couldn’t let that happen. I didn’t even know if I wanted to even talk to her right now. After all the stuff I have dealt with and taken care of her and she can’t be honest about that. I walked out in the backyard and shut the door quietly turning around to face Josh.
“Look Nick, I know you are pissed but she only did it because she didn’t want you to get hurt. She wanted to get rid of him and not have you hurt in the process.”
“So she turns to you instead of me the one that actually has been staying at her fucking house to make sure that prick stays away? What happens if it didn’t work the way she wanted?”
“I knew it wouldn’t work the way she wanted which is why I came here tonight. I love Kadence like family Nick but you’re my boy too. I can’t keep this from you and I can’t let her get hurt. Now I think with all of you it will work. Well everyone except Devyn and Sean. After today I don’t think Devyn can handle shit like this.”
“I’m listening but I am not forgiving Kadence for this just yet.”
“Ok, this is what I think. You will stay at my house the night before, we know that he won’t bug the house with her parents here. In the morning she will call Nate on a three way call with Sadie to get a recording just for proof you know? We all know that guy will flip shit her uncle will call the cops and everyone will be fine.”
“Ok well get ready because it’s happening the week after her birthday.” Josh shook his head and shook my hand. I walked him out and headed towards my bedroom. I was still upset that Kadence wasn’t going to tell me after everything we have gone through. Tonight I was sleeping alone I just couldn’t talk to her after that.
I tossed and turned for close to two hours because I missed her touch. I could hear the soft sniffles she made and I knew I made a mistake getting mad at her. I knew she didn’t want me to get hurt but what was she thinking doing this alone? I got up and walked back in watching her pretend to be asleep like always. “Kadence I know you’re not sleeping. Look I am sorry for getting mad, but I couldn’t understand why you would keep something like that from me then I find out you go to Josh and not me. I did get upset because I want to be the only one that protects you. I’m sorry for over reacting.” Kadence looked up at me with those beautiful eyes of hers. I was so fixated on her eyes I didn’t even feel her wrap her hand around my neck as she pulled me down to her with so much force. “Nick shut up and hold me please.” Those words was all I needed to hear to know all was forgiven. I laid down next to her and held her close praying I didn’t hurt her. We needed to get some sleep since she was dragging me shopping tomorrow for Sadie’s Hawkins outfits. Nothing in this world will ever keep me from loving her like I do and nothing or no one will ever break what has been salvaged. Together we will remove Nate from the picture and I will do it making sure he never touches her through this process. I felt her breathing start to slow, I placed a kiss on her cheek and whispered I love you to her, she was everything and more to me.