Rayna POV
The next day, I was on my way to gym class when Allison pushed me into a locker, laughing at me. "Get out of the way, slut.".
This girl is starting pissing me off. I shoved Allison back, "Do you honestly think you scare me? I have been through so much crap that you are the last person I fear." I growled at her. She stood there just looking at me while I walked past her, bumping her shoulder as I passed by heading to the gymnasium.
I hear someone walk up beside me. I look over and see Collin staring at me. "What was that about back there?" He asked.
"Sick of taking crap from people. It is time for me to take up for myself. So, what, I have a child. That doesn't mean I am a slut. So, the new me isn't putting up with the bullying shit anymore." I say.
"You should expect to be talked about and called names; I mean, you do have a kid. The people here are bound to say things," Conner says. I stop walking.
Seeing red, I turn to him, "What in the hell is wrong with all you assholes in this school. Not one of you knows what I have been dealing with in my home life. You all think I am a slut because I have a child. Guess what I have heard all the insults and shit my entire life. Your teenage drama shit is getting a little old. Now, please screw off already. I am not interested in a fuck buddy or a relationship, Conner!" I shout as I resume my walk to gym class.
I went into the locker room, changed into my shorts and a t-shirt, then headed to the gymnasium. I took off, running around the outside of the basketball court. By the time everyone else was starting their run, I was on to doing crunches and sit-ups. I am still pissed, and nothing seems to be calming me down.
Conners P.O.V.
After Rayna's tiny blow up, I found myself captivated by her words. What the hell had she gone through for her to react this way? I mean, she has a kid; people will assume she is easy and a slut. There is something that she is keeping inside or scared to talk about right now. I need to find out what it is.
Allison walks to me, "So you and I have something in common with each other, the slut's upset with the both of us." she says with a smile.
Looking at her, "Are you a bitch or what?" I asked before walking into the guy locker room. I need to find a way into Rayna's life, I thought, as I changed into shorts and a wife-beater. Once I head out to the gym, I notice that Rayna was already out jogging around the gym. For a girl that gave birth a few months ago, she looked damn good. She seems to have gotten into shape more since the school year started.
By the time everyone else started their run, she had moved to the center of the room and jumped on sit-ups and crunches. Which soon turned into push-ups. As I watched her, it hit me that I wanted to be friends with her. I want to find out everything there is to know about her. When the rest of the class started on their sit-ups, she jogged again.
Why can't I keep my eyes from her? She is a beautiful girl. "She has a kid, Conner. You need not get mixed up in that." I told myself. Mikey comes up to me.
"Hey, what was that about in the hall earlier?" He asked me.
"The hell if I know, but I pissed her off. She is hella sexy, and being pissed made her even sexier," I say with a chuckle.
The rest of the class passes with me deep in my head, recalling everything that happened. When I went back to the locker room, I showered and dressed in a hurry and waited for the bell to ring. As the bell rang, I rushed out to see if I could catch Rayna before she left.
Standing in the hall, I see her walking out of the locker room. She is with a girl I have seen around but don't know personally. But I heard them say that they would meet up at Bed and Breakfast for lunch.
"William should be down for his nap, and we can talk." Rayna had said, and they split up. Rayna headed for the exit of the school.
"Rayna, wait up," I yell as I jog to catch up with her.
She keeps walking. I reach her, I grab her arm, and she flinches away from me.
"No, don't you dare touch me. I have nothing to say to you." She snarls at me.
I drop my hand, "Look, I am sorry about what I said. I opened my mouth and inserted my foot. I do that a lot when I am nervous and attracted to a girl. I would love to take you on a date, but I know you aren't dating, so can we be friends? I want to get to know you." I say.
"Why would I want to be friends with a person who thinks I am a slut? I don't need fake friends. I need friends that will have my back. Friends that don't think I am a slut since I have a child. Conner, If you think being my friend will get you into my pants, you are dead wrong,"
"Rayna, I don't want anything from you except friendship."
"Why? With my past, I can't be alone with you. I am scared of not only you, but every male around our age. If we are to be friends, I need to have other people with us. Emma and I are hanging out at my home, the Cadbury Bed and Breakfast; you can come after school. Just know that I breastfeed and will need to go to my room to feed my child. I will not allow you to be in my room at all. No matter what. If you still want to be friends, then come over after school," she declares as she walks away.
I stand there watching her walk away when I hear the bell ring for the next class. I shake my head and take off, running down the hall to my English class. As the morning progresses at a snail's pace, I cannot pay attention to anything discussed. All I could think about was Rayna's face as she yelled at me. Damn, was she sexy as hell when she is pissed?
At lunch, I sat at a table talking to my friends about going over to Rayna's house to get to know her. I want to be her friend. I want to learn everything there is to know about her. My buddy's started teasing me about her. They say she would be an easy lay that I wouldn't have to do much. It was pissing me off.
"Did any of you listen to anything she said this morning when she went off on Allison and me? That girl has been through a lot. I am not sure what it is, but I intend to find out. I don't want to get in her pants. I want to be her friend. I swear if you guys start gossiping like girls, I will never forgive you, and I will kick your asses. Now, please leave this alone." I snap.
They dropped it. We started talking about what we will do after high school. But my mind kept going back to the conversation I had with Rayna. I soon concluded that this girl is and will be incredibly special to me.
After lunch, I was heading to class when Allison stopped me. "Hey, Conner, you want to come over to my place after school. We could have a repeat of a few months ago." She purrs.
I look at her. Then shake my head, "I stand by what I said that night at the party. I do not find you pretty, sexy, or attractive. I will not have sex with you again. You were just an easy piece, that is it. Now, leave me be," I snapped at her. She huffed and sprinted away from me.
Two hours left of this hell hole before I see Rayna. I can't wait. The closer it got to the end of the school day, the more excited I was becoming. I couldn't figure out why I was feeling this way. I am just seeing a girl I liked and want to befriend. "Man, am I a little whipped for this lady or what," I think to myself.
***
Sitting in my last class of the day, I watched the clock. Time has been moving so slow; I know it is because I have something planned. So, I tried to take my mind from Rayna and pay attention to the lecture. I ceased to function at all when it comes to Rayna. Why am I like this over a girl? Why has she taken over my every thought?
When the bell rings, I shove my books in my backpack and head out the door. Once in the hall, Mikey runs up to me.
"So, are you still going to Rayna's?"
"Yeah. Rayna is a girl I want to get to know better. The only way to do that is to hang with her,"
"Well, good luck. I hope it goes well for you." Mikey says as we head out of the school.
"Yeah, me too; I don't want to mess this up. Rayna is a beautiful woman. I know that there is more to her than her being a teenager with a kid. She's so jumpy; it's like she is waiting for someone to hit her." I say.
"That is weird. I hope you figure it out, man," he says.
Once I reached my car, I said bye to Mikey, jumped in the driver's seat, and took a minute to compose myself. After I am calm, I pull out of the school parking lot. As I got closer to Cadbury's Bed and Breakfast, my nerves overwhelmed me. My hands shake, and my breathing is labored.
I pulled onto Cadbury's parking lot and tried to calm my nerves. I am still trying to figure out what it is about Rayna that makes me feel this way. Now that my nerves have calmed down, I climb out of my car, take a deep breath, and head to the door. I knock on the door and wait for someone to answer.
After waiting a few minutes, a gentleman in his early forties answers the door saying, "Hello, you must be Conner. I'm Rayna's chosen father, Ryan Cadbury; you can call me Ryan. Come on in, and we can chat while Ray is feeding William."
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Cadbury, sorry, Ryan. So, how long has Rayna been staying here?" I inquired.
Ryan let out a puff of air and replied, "When she was about five or six weeks pregnant, she showed up here wanting to rest for a few days. My wife and I fell in love with her as a person. She came here broken. We are just now starting to see her grow into herself. The progress she has made in the last couple of months is fantastic. She has told me you want to be friends with her. If she says that she doesn't want a relationship, don't push her. Remember, if you hurt my daughter, there will be hell to pay."
I was getting ready to reply when Emma and Rayna entered the room. They each are holding a child in their arms.
"Conner, glad you could make it. This little one is my son William, and that is Jayden, Emma's daughter. Would you like a drink?" Rayna asked.
"Yes, I would thank you. Umm, could I hold William?" I asked.
"Sure, here," she says, handing me William, "I will go grab you a beverage."
She walks away, and I look at a very sleepy William who makes eye contact with me. I introduce myself to him. Then look up and see Emma standing watching me.
I say, "Hi, Jayden, I am Conner. How are you?" She just stares at me.
"Emma, how are you doing? I forgot that you had a child." I greet her.
"I am okay. A lot of our classmates have forgotten. You would think people would know, with what happened to me, not to judge people from the get-go." She said, a little ticked off.
"What are you implying?" I asked in shock.
"Well, the entire school knows why I have a child, so what? Why do you all automatically assume that the next person who showed up with a child is a slut or sleeps around?"
Her reply takes me back a little. I mean, the school knows that one of her father's friends assaulted her. As a result, she got pregnant. Before I could dig too deep into what Emma had said, Rayna came back into the room. Seeing that William was asleep, she took him over to a bed type thing for babies and laid him down.
We all watch movies until dinner time. Emma said she had to get home to get Jay fed and ready for bed. Sarah asked if I was staying for dinner. I nod. We ate with some small talk. After dinner, Rayna and I sat in the living room. I started asking her questions about her actual family. "So, Ray, how did you end up here without your family?" I asked.
"I left home and emancipated myself from my parents. I also disowned my brother." She mumbles. That intrigued me.
"Why did you do that?" I asked. Then added, "you don't have to answer if you don't want to."
"Conner, I don't know if I trust you well enough to tell you things about myself and my ex-family. I mean, I have been hanging out with Emma for two months, and I just told her. Just know that I hate talking about it, and I will never go through that crap again. So, let's get to know each other without talking about my family." she says.
I agreed. We talked and got to know each other some more before I decided to head home. All I could think on my way home was Rayna Beckerman is one hell of a woman. A lady I can't wait to spend more time getting to know, along with her son. From what I gathered today, she is one hell of a mother to William.