One of the Guys (24 page)

“
Fuck!” Matt said, storming into my
room. “Logan! What’s wrong?”

“
I… she… this…” Was all I managed
to say, not caring that Matt had walked in on me in my
state.

Looking around, Matt picked up and
read my letter, and watched the footage. He didn’t say anything. He
just wrapped his arms around me as my body shook with
grief.

*****

Chase

I didn’t want to leave my room,
even though it was my eighteenth birthday.

There was nothing to go out
for.

Sure, I had to go to practice
tonight, but right now I wasn’t interested in leaving the comfort
of my bed, or the soothing purring of my cat next to me.

I was supposed to be celebrating
turning eighteen with Logan.

No matter how hard I tried not to
think about him, I couldn’t switch off. It made me angry, and sad
at the same time, when I would remember all of the times we’d
shared. I was sad because I’d really loved being with him, but I
was angry because I’d allowed myself to be so consumed by Logan
that I didn’t see anything else. Everything I did, everywhere I
went, it was always with him in mind. Even my last birthday present
was for the both of us. My Dad had confessed that to me, saying he
got the tickets because it was something we both loved and we could
go together.

Thanks Dad.

I couldn’t help but wonder if Brent
Loman had received my letter, or had replied.

Swallowing back the tears that
threatened, I wasn’t going to allow myself to slip back into the
hole I’d gotten myself out of.

“
Chase, are you up?” My Mom knocked
on the door, before slowly opening it.

“
If you mean awake, then yeah.” I
said, quietly, so she wouldn’t hear the sadness in my
voice.

“
Happy birthday, sweetheart.” She
smiled, sitting next to me and stroking my hair.

“
Thanks, Mom.”

“
Your Dad is waiting downstairs for
you. He wants to wish you happy birthday.” She said, her smile
widening.

I knew she was up to something,
because my Dad would’ve just come up himself.

“
Ok. I’ll get dressed.” I groaned,
kicking back my covers.

My Mom left my room, and I showered
and dressed.

Wearing my new black skinny jeans
that Poppy had said gave me ‘killer legs’- whatever that meant- and
my new dark blue three quarter sleeve T-shirt, I walked down the
stairs.

A couple of days ago, Poppy had
literally dragged me to the stores, saying that I had to ditch the
cargo’s for stuff that actually fitted, and I stopped arguing with
her when I saw that they actually looked pretty good.

If I wore a long top, my ass would
still be covered. But would Poppy be happy with that?

Fuck
,
no.

I wasn’t allowed home until I came
out with something that fitted me.

Mumbling and cursing at her under
my breath, she laughed it off as we walked out of the
store.

“
Come on, Chase. You need to stop
with the oversized gear.” She’d complained.

“
That’s my
style.” I countered. “I don’t want to change because
you
guys think I
should.”

Poppy didn’t, but I knew she was
just helping me take my mind of things.

“
Look.” She’d
said, raising an eyebrow at me. “You’ve worked damn hard to get a
figure like that, and hell
knows
you’ve earned it. It’s about
time that you stopped hiding away. What will you do when you
graduate, and start at college? Are you going to hide away then,
too?” Poppy had a point, but I wasn’t going to make it
easy.

I’d agreed to the one outfit, and
secretly I was pleased with the result.

“
Good morning birthday girl!” My
Dad grinned as I walked into the kitchen.

“
Good morning, Dad.” I replied as
he wrapped his arms around me, pulling me in for a warm, comforting
hug.

I loved my Dad’s hugs. I always
felt safe and secure.

“
Your Mom and I have a surprise for
you.” He winked, when he loosened his grip.

Releasing me, then taking my hand
as if I were a little kid, he led me to the front door.

Opening it, he gestured for me to
walk ahead.

My jaw dropped when I saw what was
in the driveway.

A brand-new, black Mustang GT
Fastback.

My chin hit the floor, and I think
I stopped breathing for a while.

“
Do you like it?” My Dad
asked.

“
Dad, this car costs a fortune!” I
squealed, looking over the sleek body with eighteen-inch alloy
wheels. All shiny and new, and sexy as hell.

“
The perks of
the job, sweetie. I get a
huge
discount.” He
whispered.

I knew he did, but it still cost a
lot of money.

A fucking Mustang!!!
I squealed inside. My first car is a fucking
Mustang!

“
Do you want to take it for a
spin?” He asked, handing me the key with a black ribbon attached to
it.

I shook my head. My Dad knew I
loved black.

“
Happy Birthday, Chase.” My Mom
said, wrapping her arms around me from behind.

“
Thanks, Mom.” I said.

“
Well? Are we going to just stare
at it, or what?” My Dad asked, and my Mom laughed.

“
You two go and take the car out.
No speeding though Chase. It may be a fast car but that doesn’t
mean you should.”

“
Ok, Mom.” I said rolling my eyes,
and giggled when my Dad did the same.

I got in the car and adjusted my
seat.

Pushing the start button, the
engine roared to life and the excitement helped me to forget about
Logan.

Scrap that, I just thought about
him.

Logan was supposed to come with me
for my first drive when I got my car.

I paused, holding the steering
wheel.

My Dad, seeming to know what was
wrong, rubbed my hand.

“
It’s going to
be ok, baby.” He said soothingly. “
You’re
going to be ok.”

He was right. I was going to be
fine. I hope.

Taking a deep breath, and
plastering a weak smile on my face, I turned to my Dad.

“
Yes, I am. Now let’s take this
girl for a spin.”

“
That was fucking
amazing!”

I laughed, hearing those words
coming from my Dad’s mouth. I’d never heard him swear in front of
me, only when he thought I couldn’t hear. It was funny.

“
It was, wasn’t it?” I
said.

We’d driven around the town,
purposely driving down the highways so I could pick up
speed.

So much for hiding away.

With
this
car, there was no chance of
that. People stared at us and for once; it didn’t bother
me.

“
Did you two have fun?” My Mom
asked when we reached the door. She shook her head, giggling at the
insane grins on both our faces. “I’ll make birthday
breakfast.”

Later that afternoon, I picked up
Poppy in my sexy bitch of a car.

Her eyes and mouth popped open as
she took in my new brand spanking vehicle.

“
Jee-ee-zus!” She whisper shouted.
“That’s one hot car, Chase!”

“
Thanks.” I said. “My parents got
it for my birthday.”

“
Happy birthday!” She smiled,
catching me off guard when she pulled me in for a hug.

It felt weird to be hugged by
anybody other than my parents… and Logan.

You thought about
him…again!
I admonished myself.

As usual, I smiled through the
tightening in my chest, and tried not to let the pain show in my
eyes.

“
Thanks, Pops.”

“
And, may I add, that you look
great in your skinnies and Tee.” She said, beaming at me. “Also, I
got you something!” She said in a sing-song voice.

Poppy pulled out a box, wrapped in
sparkly pink paper, from her bag. She handed it to me and rolled
her eyes when I scowled at the girly pink bow on top.

“
Open it.” She said, shaking it so
I would take it from her.

Taking the box, I unwrapped it. I
pulled out a small square frame with a quote in the
center.

‘
A true
friend is someone who sees the pain in your eyes, while everyone
else believes your smile’.

I felt my throat close over as I
stared at the words

“
I know you want people to think
you’re ok, Chase, and you probably want to believe it too. I want
to let you know that I can see how much you’re hurting, and that
I’m here for you. I won’t breathe a word to anybody. I
promise.”

I didn’t say anything. I could only
feel the pain grip me as a single tear rolled down my
cheek.

I wasn’t ok. Not by a long shot. My
heart felt as though it had been ripped out of my chest, stomped
on, and shoved back in.

Poppy pulled me into her arms
again. I could hear crying, and it took a few seconds to realize
that it was me.

*****

Poppy, and I,
talked for a little while before we needed to meet the other girls
at the practice hall. Luckily, the red and puffiness in my eyes had
subsided by then.

As we got out of the car, the other
girls whistled appreciatively.

Sian ran her fingers over the hood,
as she walked around the car. I noticed that Kate, Sian’s friend
from a different school was here. Again.

She’d turned up, last week, and
Sian had looked a little too pleased to see her, although she
seemed to be attempting to hide her enthusiasm.

I’d noticed them glancing at each
other frequently and, at first, I wondered if Sian, and Kate were
up to something.

I had a light bulb moment when I
saw how Kate had looked at Sian. There was definitely
something
there.

Going through our routine, it came
to the part where the girls would throw me up, I would do my thing,
and then they’d catch me. We’d practiced with mats under us, but
the thick, soft surface only made the girls unstable.

I insisted they just stood on the
floor. They’d already done some stunts with Carly, and I was
willing to give it a go, with some easier stunts first.

Moving in time with the movements,
we performed our routine until we were gathered in a circle, the
girls gathering around me. Splitting into two groups of four, two
soon-to-be juniors were lifted and thrown up, performing a simple
basket toss, as they were just learning to be flyers. Once caught,
and returned to the floor, four ‘seniors’ -Sian, Poppy, Gretchen,
and Charlotte, turned inwards, facing me. Boosting me up onto their
hands, they threw me high up in the air. As they were just
practicing catching me, I went straight up and down. Nothing to
it.

Finishing off the final touches,
Carly was pleased.

“
Girls, you were all really great!
The other squad is going to be so jealous!” She squealed, clapping
her hands in front of her.

Getting up off her chair, and
moving on her crutches, she stopped in front of me.

“
Chase, this is going to be so
great. Thank you for doing this.” She smiled.

I could tell she was genuine, and I
returned the smile.

“
You’re welcome.”

“
I can’t wait to see the looks on
the guy’s faces.” Laughed Charlotte. “They’re going to be
experiencing quite a bit of pain on the field.” She
giggled.

“
I can just imagine.” Gretchen
added, joining in with the laughter.

When the naivety wore off and I
realized what they meant, I blushed.

“
Oh. I get what you mean.” I said,
embarrassed, my cheeks turning pink.

The girls laughed louder, but they
weren’t making fun of me. They were having fun thinking about the
effects our ‘dancing’ would have.

To be, honest… I was excited to
find out exactly what effects they were.

“
So, the uniforms are ready and we
need to practice in them, to make sure they fit properly.” Sian
announced.

My stomach dropped. I knew I’d
have to wear the little dress with the
really
short shorts underneath, but
it had only just hit me that it was so soon.

“
Can I try mine at the very last
minute?” I asked.