Unbreakable Rules (Too Many Rules Book 3) (12 page)

It was one of those beautiful Northwest spring days. A warm sun, piercing blue skies. The kind of Northwest day that made your heart hurt. The cool breeze brought a faint scent of new life. Everything full of promise and new beginnings.

The quad was full of kids. All trying to get as much sun as possible. We didn’t get enough days like this, we needed to soak up as much vitamin D as possible.

The place was crowded with noisy laughter. But, Hailey and I were in our own little world. We sat cross-legged on the grass sharing things from each other’s lunch bag.

She liked fruit. I liked hard boiled eggs.

It was weird how I didn’t feel nervous around her anymore. How I could talk to her without my tongue becoming tied in knots? I don’t know why things were different, but they were.

“So, are you missing your friends?” she asked suddenly. Her eyes had grown concerned as if she was worried about something.

Why would she worry about me missing my friends? Did I say something that made her think I was regretting being here with her? How could she even think that? I went over in my mind every word we had said to each other, but couldn’t find anything that would lead her to believe that.

“No, why?”

She hesitated for a moment. “It’s just that you’ve sat with your friends every day since the first day of ninth grade…”

“You noticed where I sat?” I asked teasingly. “Who knew that Hailey Martin was keeping track of my whereabouts?”

She laughed and slapped my arm. “You know what I mean.”

I decided to give her a break. “No, I’m not missing them. They’re big kids, they can handle life without me telling them what to do.”

She smiled, then returned to her apple.

“What about you?” I asked. “Would you rather be with your friends?” The thought sent a dagger to my heart. I held my breath as I waited for her answer.

She absent-mindedly waived her hand. “The ones that matter, understand, the ones that don’t understand don’t really matter.”

We smiled at each other for a moment. It was sickeningly sweet and I loved every moment of it.

It had been like this for two weeks. It couldn’t last, could it?

“Did you hear?” Hailey asked. “Lance Johnson asked Bri to the Prom. Finally. We didn’t think he’d ever ask.”

“No, I hadn’t heard,” I answered.

She looked at me with a raised eyebrow, then slowly shook her head as she focused on her apple.

I might not be the smartest person around. But, it doesn’t take a ton of bricks falling on me to get my attention.

“Um … Did you want to go to the Prom?” I asked. My heart raced. Had I just asked Hailey Martin to the prom? What universe had I fallen into?

She paused for a moment, then said with a sweet smile. “Ryan Hardy, did you just ask me to the Prom.”

All I could do was swallow heavily and nod my head.

“I would love to go with you. I thought you’d never ask. You sure left it to the last minute. It’s only two weeks away.”

“Great,” I said. It was all I could think of as my mind ran in a thousand different directions.

“On one condition though,” Hailey said with that sweet smile of hers. I had learned that when she smiled like that, she was letting me know everything was okay. And, that I would do anything she wanted.

“I get to go with you to pick out your tux.”

“What? You don’t trust me?”

She laughed. “Ryan, do you really want to go rent a tux by yourself, or worse, with your mom? Or would you rather spend the day with me telling you what to do?”

When she was right, she was right. 

I accepted her condition and we fell back into a comfortable silence. Obviously, she was thinking about what she was going to wear and what she was going to tell her friends.

All I could think about was the fact that the Homecoming Queen was going to the Prom with the King of the Nerds. Me.   I couldn’t believe it. My life was barreling along at a million miles a minute.    Just a short while ago, I had been quietly eating lunch here on the grass. Now, I was taking the most beautiful girl in the world to the prom.

Life was pretty great.

Shopping with Ryan was pretty cool. Just hanging out with Ryan was cool. I didn’t feel that nervousness or hesitancy I normally feel around boys. With Ryan, it was different. Comfortable, easy, fun, and exciting, but comfortable.

My butterflies still got riled up. That electric spark was still there when we touched. But, it was different now. I didn’t fear it disappearing. I didn’t worry about what others would say or think.

This was Ryan. This felt right. Nothing else really mattered.

We walked through the mall hand in hand. He leaned over and whispered, “I think I want a sky blue tux. What do you think?”

I gasped for a second, then realized that he was kidding. The big jerk had gotten me. I slapped his shoulder and pulled him towards the tuxedo shop.

It was the only one in town and we were late in the process. If they didn’t have what we needed, then we were going to have to go to Seattle.

“What do you really want?”

He shrugged his shoulders. “Truth?” he asked. “Conservative.”

“Yes,” I said. “Heaven forbid you stood out or anything.”

He laughed, “What about you, what are you wearing?”

I smiled. “You’ll have to wait to see.”

I had found a killer burgundy dress that was going to be a knockout. I couldn’t wait for him to see me in it. But, it would wait until Prom night. Some surprises were best flavored with anticipation.

The clerk approached. A young woman with a sexy haircut and a dress a little too tight. But, on her, it worked. A little shiver of jealousy ran up my spine when I saw her check him out and nod approvingly.

Ryan was oblivious of course. Another point in his favor.

“Prom?” she asked.

No, a trip to the international space station, I wanted to answer, but bit my tongue.

The clerk pulled out a tape measure and started running it across his shoulders as if he was hers.

‘Get a grip,’ I told myself. She’s just doing her job.

“Let me guess, classic, conservative?” she asked.

Ryan smiled and nodded. It was as if he’d found a fellow someone who understood his soul.

“Over here,” she said as she led him to a rack of black tuxedos. She started pulling out several different suits, holding them up to him, then shaking her head before reaching for another.

What was I? Chopped liver. How had this woman taken over so easily? Why was Ryan letting her?

“Ah yes,” she said as she held a suit up next to his chest. “What do you think?” the woman asked me, as if suddenly deciding to include me as an act of kindness.

Before I could answer, she turned and smiled up at Ryan. “Go try this and we’ll see. It will give us an idea of what we are dealing with.”

Ryan took the suit and stepped into the changing room. The clerk immediately disappeared back to the register to finish some paperwork.

‘This isn’t about you,’ I reminded myself as I silently tapped my foot while I waited.

My mind wandered to the last few weeks. Who would have believed that I would be going to the Prom with Ryan Hardy? Who would have believed my insides would become this excited over a boy?

I spent every free moment thinking about him. My body ached to be next to him. I found myself daydreaming about what it would be like growing old together.

Ridiculous, right? I had it bad. Bri said I was losing it because school was coming to an end. Either that or I had a brain tumor.

My eyes clouded over as I stared off into the distance remembering our kisses. Thinking about …

“What do you think?” Ryan asked from behind me.

I turned and my world stopped. Damn, the man looked good. Sexy. Confident. In control. All the things that could make a girl's knees go weak.

The tuxedo emphasized his wide shoulders. Tapering down to a narrow waist. 

He raised an eyebrow in question. But, I couldn’t find the words to express what he did to my soul. God, he was good looking. And, he was mine.

I smiled and nodded. “Yes,” I said. As if that was all I had to say.

The clerk returned with that silly smile of hers. I could tell she liked what she saw. I couldn’t really blame her. The man looked scrumptious.

She adjusted the shoulders and checked the fall in the back. All the time nodding her head in approval.

She stepped back and joined me in admiration.

“A tall man makes a tux look so much better, don’t you think?” she said in aside to me.

All I could do was nod in agreement.

“We will take it,” I said before Ryan could change his mind.

“Good,” the clerk said. “It won’t even need any alterations. You can take it today if you want.”

“And a burgundy tie, if you have one?” I said.

Ryan looked on, lost. Decisions were being made without his input or concerns. I didn’t care. He was wearing that tuxedo to Prom and every girl there was going to eat her heart out.

Within minutes, we had what we needed and were out of the store.

“That was easy,” Ryan said with a confused expression on his face. “We’ve got all day, what do you want to do?”

“After seeing you in that tux. I can think of a something I’d like to do.” I smiled up at him and wiggled my eyebrows.

The look of surprise and hope that flashed to his eyes was priceless. It made my insides shiver.

“But,” I continued, “It’s still a little early in our relationship. So we should probably go bowling instead.”

His eyes lost their shining hope for an instant, to be replaced instantly, by a deep frown.

“Bowling?”

“Yes, bowling,” I said as I looped my arm through his. “It’s probably the only thing I can beat you at.”

He continued to frown for a moment as if trying to process something.

“Relationship? Are we in a relationship?” he asked.

He could be such a dunce sometimes, I laughed. “Oh, honey. A girl doesn’t take a guy tuxedo shopping unless she is in a relationship with him.”

His smile returned to his eyes. It was the kind of smile that could calm a raging sea and ignite a fire inside of me at the same time. For a moment, I wondered who was more surprised. All I knew was that of the two of us. I was the lucky one.

“Bowling it is then,” he said as he pulled me close.

“And next week, maybe we could go to a party. Jerry Sands is throwing a full on blow out. The last of the year. What do you think?”

He frowned for a moment. I could tell he wasn’t thrilled, but then he shrugged his shoulders. “Sure, if you want to.”

I knew he was doing it for me and that simple fact made me feel special. It took a lot to get Ryan Hardy to do things he didn’t want to. But, a simple request from me had him stretching his boundaries.

I pulled him close and let him take me bowling. Sometimes, life can be just so great.

The party was pretty much as I expected. Loud, with the sweet reek of Marijuana greeting us as we walked towards the house.

Jimmy lived in the better part of town. It didn’t take much. The better part of town were the houses without a car on blocks in the front yard.

Hailey shot me a look from under her brow. I think she was as nervous as I was.

I took her hand and threw back my shoulders. If we were going to do this, no use hiding it.

Jimmy was the first to greet us. His eyebrows shot up a little when he saw Hailey holding my hand, but he recovered quickly.

“Hey guys, great, thanks for coming,” he said over the loud music as he handed each of us a red plastic cup of beer. “You know everyone. Chips and stuff are in the kitchen.”

“Thanks, Jimmy,” Hailey said as she pulled me into the crowd. The place was fuller than the mall on Christmas. A thick cloud of smoke hugged the ceiling. Kids were standing and talking, dancing, or draped over couches. Kelly Long and Sam Warner were making out on the stairs. The heavy beat of a Taylor Swift song pound through my body.

So, this was a high school party. I didn’t see what the big deal was. It reminded me of the cafeteria at school.

I did notice that it wasn’t only Celebs. Band Guys, Drama Queens, even a few Delinquents were in attendance. In fact, every one of the different social groups except for Nerds seemed to be there.

The hair on the back of my neck stood up as I caught people glancing our way. Wide eyes and dropped jaws being the typical response. I just knew they were all thinking.

’So it’s true.’ Or, ’Wow, she sure has fallen a long way.'

I started to take a drink of the beer. It seemed to be some kind of automatic reaction to holding a cup. But, then, I remembered I was driving and placed it on the mantle over the fireplace.

Hailey smiled and took a sip from her cup. Her face made a slight grimace before her tongue darted out to wipe those luscious lips of hers. A warm chill ran down my spine.

We stood there for a moment, gazing into each other’s eyes. We might have stood there all night, but Hailey’s friend Bri, wove her way through the crowd to her side.

“Hey, you guys made it,” she said. I could see a hesitant worry in her eyes as she glanced out towards the back yard. “Jarret’s here,” she stage whispered over the music.

Hailey shrugged her shoulders, then turned to me.

“Come on, you want to dance?”

My heart jumped to my throat. What did I know about dancing? Besides, there didn’t seem to be enough room to think, let alone enough to dance.

Before I could figure out a way to avoid it, she pulled me into a semi-bare spot and started to move her body in time with the music. She looked at me provocatively with a cock of an eyebrow as if asking if I was going to leave her hanging.

Swallowing hard I tried to catch the rhythm without looking like a total dork. I felt all long and narrow. My arms seemed to be about three times too long and my feet felt like they were encased in lead sandals.

Everyone was looking at me. Not only was I a crummy dancer, but this was Ryan Hardy, King of the Nerds, dancing with Hailey Martin. In public. Or, at least, trying to dance. God, how I hated being the center of attention.

Hailey, on the other hand, acted as if was no big deal. Of course, she’d been the center of attention her entire life. To her this was normal. People staring, talking about her behind her back. Thinking and judging. Every day, every minute she had to put up with this. I’d have exploded a long time ago.

Her body moved and swayed in a sexy, curvy twist that made the blood rush from my head. I forgot about everyone else for a moment. All my attention zeroed in on the girl in front of me.

The music morphed into the next song and I eventually started to relax and enjoy myself. It was impossible not to smile. Hailey Martin. The most beautiful girl God had ever invented was dancing with me and enjoying it.

She smiled up at me, then leaned forward and whispered.

“Thanks for coming with me.”

All I could do was nod. I wanted to tell her she could have asked me to attend my own execution and I would have gone gladly if it made her happy.

“You want to get some air?” Hailey asked finally. We’d been dancing for fifteen minutes. Or, at least, she’d been dancing. I’d been moving around enough to pretend like I was trying.

“Sure,” I said, thankful for the break.

She nodded to Bri, who was talking to Lance Johnson by the fireplace, but watching us out of the corner of her eye. I was glad to see that Haley had one true friend here tonight.

For the seventh time, I wished Mark was here. He’d have made a total ass of himself, but at least, I would have had someone to watch my back. We could have laughed with each other about the stupid teen rituals and expectations.

Besides, I could have rubbed his face in the fact that Hailey Martin was my girlfriend, again. Voluntarily, I might add. No guilt trip, no pressure placed on her.

God, life can be great at times.

The cool night air greeted us like a long lost friend as we stepped into the back yard. Jimmy had lit the place by strategically placing camping lanterns. A soft yellow glow highlighted the shadows as people mingled and joked. It seemed there were even more kids out here than inside. The music was just as loud and the smell of beer and pot even stronger.

“So, if it isn’t Nerd slut and Douche bag,” a slimy voice said behind us. Two other voices cackled in support.

I turned, yep, Numb Nuts McGee and his two leeches, Oaks, and Wheaton. My heart kicked into high gear as I stepped in front of Hailey. She’d gotten that pissed off scared look.

“Listen you jerk …” I started to say.

My world erupted into a shower of sparks. Something had hit me upside the head. It felt like a sledgehammer, the big kind. I never saw it coming. Hadn’t even really thought it could happen that fast. Nothing could happen that fast.

Jarret had sucker punched me.

A gray misty fog intermingled with the sparks and stars floating in front of me. My knees felt weak and I was having difficulty seeing.

Surprise, pure, clear, surprise finally registered in my brain. Where had that come from and why? Then I saw him before me. He became clear and focused. That stupid grin, eyes that danced with joy at what he had done.

My fists clenched as I launched myself at him.

“Grab him,” he yelled as he stepped back.

His two big goons, Oaks and Wheaton clamped onto my arms like vice grips and held me back. I twisted and turned, stomped and kicked, but they continued to hold me like some kind of robotic machine. No matter how I tried, I couldn’t get loose.

My insides tightened into a ball as I thought about what was going to happen. Hailey was seeing this. My mouth went dry and a true fear washed through me.

“Nooooo!” Hailey screamed as she turned towards Jarret. Several girls grabbed her as well. This had been a planned event I realized. The jerk had set it up ahead of time. No way could they be this organized.

Jarret smiled again, then swung his fist into my gut. It was like getting hit by a telephone pole. The air whooshed from my lungs and I was afraid I was going to throw up right there all over the grass.

Suddenly, the most frightening thing in the world became the idea of getting sick in front of Hailey.

Shaking my head, I gulped in as much air as I could and tried to figure out a way to escape. Please God, don’t let this happen, not in front of Hailey.

Everyone else in the back yard had turned to watch.

A sudden quiet had come over the crowd. I would have expected them to be yelling “Fight, Fight.”  But, they stood there in shock. Give them a minute and I was sure they would find their voice.

Another fist slammed into my ribs. A hard grunt gurgled out of me in response.

“That’s for fourth grade,” Numb Nuts said as he leaned in to make sure I had gotten the message.

I didn’t know what to do. The hands holding me felt like iron clamps. There was no one in the crowd who would help. I saw several smiles, as if pleased to see me getting what I deserved.

Hailey continued to twist. She got one hand free and started to bring her hand towards a girls face like an Eagle reaching for its prey. But, another girl grabbed her and pulled her hand down to her side.

Seeing an opportunity, I did the only thing I could think of and brought my forehead down onto the bridge of Jarret’s nose as hard as I could. I felt the cartilage crumble under the force of the blow. A stream of crimson blood squirted onto my shirt.

Jarret howled and stepped back, bringing both hands to his nose as if trying to keep it on his face.

I smiled back at him.

“You’re a loser,” I said. “Does your mom know she gave birth to such a jerk?”

The smile had fallen from his face to be replaced with an insane look of anger.

He’s not right in the head, I thought. I’d always known there had been something missing inside of Jarret McGee. Some crucial ingredient that made a person whole.

His fist slammed into my face and I felt my lip split into a million pieces. I really needed to learn how to slip punches.

Oaks next to me laughed and squeezed harder. Hailey looked at me with wide eyes. That anger in her face had been replaced by fear. It tore my heart in two to see her afraid like that.

Another fist hit me in the left eye followed by a quick knee to the groin. A loud “Ohhhhh” went up from the crowd as half the boys cringed.

I was surprised at first at the lack of pain. Instead, there was a sick feeling at the bottom of my stomach that grew and grew until it threatened to erupt. The only thing that stopped it from showering my new friends was the sudden pain that exploded throughout my entire body.

It was as if my body knew how much pain was coming and tried to hold it back, but was quickly overwhelmed and succumbed to the inevitable. When it broke through it was twice as big and twice as powerful because it had been held back.

I gasped and sunk in on myself. My staunch stanchions holding me let me drop and laughed. At least, I assume it was them. My eyes were closed as tight as a ducks butt.

It could have been the moon laughing, for all I knew. I didn’t really care. At that moment, I would have preferred dying to tell you the truth.

My mind was trying to get a grip on what was going on when one last shot hit me in the ribs as Jarret kicked me in the side, lifting me off the ground.

“Youth don’t ‘elong ‘ere,” Jarret said through his broken nose as he stepped over me to join his friends and be greeted like a long lost conquering hero.

I had broken the unbreakable rule. Claimed the Princess. They could forgive a lot of things, but that wasn’t one of them.

He turned to say to Hailey, “Nowth it’s over, bitch.” Another laugh erupted, this time, led by the girls in the group.

“Are you all right?” Hailey asked, ignoring his taunt. Her voice was heavy with concern as she knelt beside me. Her hand lightly brushed my face as if trying to wipe away the bruises.

I wanted to say something smart, something funny. To try and save this disaster somehow, but my mind refused to work for some reason. Instead, I curled up in a fetal position with my hands between my legs as a sickening sense of shame washed through me. Fighting with the ache in my groin.

The beautiful Miss Hailey Martin had watched me get my butt kicked by her ex-boyfriend. Is there anything worse? Is it possible for a life to be any more useless?

“Do you want me to call the police?” she asked.

“NO,” I barked as I rolled away from her touch. The last thing I wanted was more attention to this fiasco. I’d slink away and fix it later. Believe me, I was going to get them. They’d never see it coming.

“No,” I repeated. “Let’s get out of here.”

“Um, Okay. Are you sure? He attacked you.”

How could I explain it to her? Getting the police or any authority involved would just multiply my shame. Couldn’t she understand? I just wanted to crawl into a hole and heal.

Every second I was there was a reminder of what she had seen. What they had all seen.

I got to my knees, then slowly stood up. I had to lean forward with my hands on my knees. It hurt to breath. Those shots to the ribs had left an impression. My head pounded on the inside like someone was using a pickaxe to try and to get out. I couldn’t shake the feeling that my knees were about to give way.

The yard became fuzzy for a moment, but finally came back into focus. It is amazing what oxygen can do to a system.

A large laugh erupted from the Jarret crowd. Someone had said something funny about the King of Nerds learning a few things.

I looked around at everyone else in the yard. They stared back with covered glances. There were a few looks of concern, even worse, pity. A few blank stares, as if asking, ‘what did you expect?' Most people though just turned their backs, obviously hoping I would just disappear.

“I’m so sorry Ryan,” Hailey said. “I didn’t think he’d do that. I swear. I just wanted my friends to meet you. To learn the true you. I never thought…”