Oct. 18th (Monday)
When I got to school, Ryder and Blair were already at our usual table. I sat down and drink some of the water I had. Not long afterwards, I spotted Julia and Marie walking towards the school. There was something different about Marie and it wasn't just the fact that for once she wore her hair down. I saw she was wearing big bracelets on both wrists which was unusual and she seemed to be wearing make-up today which I never noticed her wearing it before.
"Girls." Ryder said when Marie and Julia got close to us.
"You dressed up for someone today?" Ryder asked looking at Marie.
"Not complaining you look good with make-up." Ryder said smiling at them as they both looked at him.
For a second I thought I saw hurt flash in Marie's eyes but then she shook her head and it was gone.
"A girl can dress up without it being for a guy." Julia said then they walked past our table.
"Ok I was just trying to give her a compliment." Ryder said.
"Maybe it was coming from the wrong guy." Blair said before looking at me.
When we saw Tucker and Eric walk towards the school, I saw that Tucker had a black eye and a bruise starting to show on his left cheek.
"He got in a fight with someone." Ryder said shaking his head.
"He probably won." I said before drinking more of my water.
"I'll talk to you guys later." I said standing up then knocking on the table once before walking away.
I headed straight to Marie's locker to see if she would talk to me. I was a little surprised when I saw Julia wasn't around her. Marie was staring at something in her locker and had her left arm up where I couldn't see it.
"Hey." I said stopping at her locker.
She jumped and when she did her left arm fell down then I saw she had deep bruises on her wrist.
"What happened?" I asked with big eyes.
She quickly put on her bracelet then closed her locker.
She signed it's nothing I just fell.
"That doesn't look like you fell Marie." I said in a worried voice.
She signed I'm fine so don't worry about it. Go be with your girlfriend.
She walked away before I could say anything else.
I wasn't going to just let it go what I saw so I asked around and was able to find Julia's locker before first period.
"What do you want?" She asked when she saw me before I stopped beside her locker.
"What happened to Marie?" I asked.
"Nothing; she just fell." She said before looking away and grabbing a book from her locker.
"That's a lie and you know it. Those deep bruises I just saw on her left wrist are not from a fall." I whispered in a mad voice since people was walking past us.
She shot me a look then closed her locker.
"Mind your own business Shay and go back to Blair." She said then she walked away.
"I am not with Blair." I said following her.
"Then you fooled the whole school with the way you two have been hanging out with each other then you took her to the dance." She said shaking her head as I caught up with her.
"Do you know what happened or not Julia?" I asked grabbing her right arm and making her stop then she turned to look at me.
"Let go before I get Tucker or Eric." She said in a mad voice and trying to get her arm out of my grip.
"Did Eric do that to her?" I whispered in a mad voice.
"She hasn't had a thing to do with him since the fight you two had. She just fell and that's it Shay so leave it alone." She said before finally getting her arm out of my grasp then she walked away.
The bell for first period rung after that and I shook my head before walking in the direction of my first class. When 4th period came around, I got there early and like usual I knocked on Marie's desk. She didn't look up at me then I touched her left hand. She looked up at me and all I saw in her eyes was sadness mixed with hurt.
"Can we talk at lunch?" I asked.
She removed her hand from underneath mine before signing there's nothing to talk about then she looked back down at her desk.
I shook my head before walking to my seat. I watched her all throughout 4th period and I couldn't help but think something was going on.
All throughout the week I continued to watch her and she kept wearing the big bracelets and make-up to school. The next week was Fall Break. When we came back to school, I noticed that she was wearing a turtle neck under her school uniform and she was still wearing make-up.
Monday (November 1st)
Marie's POV
During our first break, I went to the library and to the very back where the librarian let's me eat my snacks and read books. I hadn't been sitting at the table for long after finding a book to read before someone sat down on my left side. I looked to see it was Shay.
I signed shouldn't you be with your girlfriend?
He signed Blair and I aren't dating; we are just friends.
I nodded my head before looking away and back at my book.
"What's going on Marie?" He whispered as he pulled his chair closer to mine.
I signed nothing without looking up at him.
"Don't tell me that; I saw the deep bruises on your left wrist and that didn't come from a fall now you are wearing a turtle neck and still wearing make-up." He whispered.
I looked up at him.
I signed it's none of your business.
"You are not going to push me away Marie. I let you do that once after the fight with Eric but I am not going to let you do it again." He whispered in a mad voice.
I signed why do you care?
"You know why I care." He whispered.
I just looked at him and he slowly lifted his right hand before moving it towards the top of my turtle neck. I gulped but I didn't stop him and when he touched the top of my turtle neck, he slowly started to pull it down.
I saw his eyes got big when he got it all the way down and could see my neck.
"Who did this to you?" He whispered in a mad voice and softly touching the left side of my neck.
"Angel, please tell me. Someone hurt you; how long has this been going on?" He whispered.
I looked down at my hands. He let out a sigh then I felt his lips on my neck. He softly kissed my neck on the left side and I closed my eyes. He kept softly kissing my neck until the bell rung. I stood up after that and fixed my turtle neck before walking away without looking back at him.
When 4th period came around, he knocked on my desk like usual then dropped a note on my desk before walking past it. I opened the note to see it said meet me after 7th period at my locker (locker number 2254). I closed the note then looked towards his desk. The moment our eyes locked I nodded my head and he smiled at me.
Shay's POV
I waited for I don't know how long at my locker and Marie never showed up. Ryder did find me and asked if I wanted to hang out at the football field. He told me he had a car so all I had to do was text my dad to let him know. I did that then we headed to the football field. As soon as we sat down in the stands, Ryder handed me a cigarette before getting one out for himself then lighting it. He handed the lighter to me and I lit my cigarette.
"Don't you know there is a no smoking rule on campus?" Samantha asked then we looked to see her as she walked past the stands.
I saw Julia was with her and right beside Julia was Marie. Julia shook her head when she saw us but Marie didn't even look in the stands as they walked past.
"School is out Princess." Ryder said and Samantha flipped him off as they walked around the fence and onto the track.
When Tucker saw I was in the stands after Eric and him showed up, he shook his head. Tucker walked around the fence and when Marie saw him do that she quickly followed him. Tucker marched right into the stands and stopped in front of me.
"Yes." I said before blowing smoke directly in his face and Ryder laughed.
"You need to quit stalking my cousin." Tucker said.
"I thought we had a truce going on." I said.
"Does it look like she wants to be around you? She stood you up take a hint." He said before throwing the note I had given to Marie in my lap.
Marie stopped beside Tucker after that and grabbed his right arm to try to put space between us.
"Leave her alone before I let Eric beat you up again." Tucker said looking at me.
"He couldn't win the last time what makes you think he will win this time around?" I asked.
"Because I'll help him out." Tucker said and Marie's eyes got big.
She shook her head then tried to turn Tucker to face her.
"I think your cousin wants to talk to you." Ryder said and Tucker gave him a look before looking at Marie.
As soon as Tucker faced Marie, she started signing stuff really fast that even Ryder couldn't keep up with everything she was saying. I could tell Tucker knew because he started signing stuff back to her.
"Hold up, what bruises?" Ryder asked as Tucker signed something.
"Don't tell me you think Shay would beat up a girl?" Ryder asked in a mad voice.
Marie's face went pale then she quickly ran out of the stands.
"Shut up; this doesn't involve you." Tucker said pushing Ryder backwards and he fell backwards.
I shook my head before standing up. As I went to walk past Tucker, he grabbed my left arm. I quickly hit him in the nose before jerking my arm away from him then following Marie.
Marie's POV
I was sitting on the back of Tucker's truck and looking at the ground when I saw feet stop in front of me.
"Angel." Shay said.
I still didn't look up and I heard a sigh before he bent down and moved his face where I could see him.
"Talk to me please." He said in a pleading voice.
I signed you should just leave me alone Shay.
"What happened? Why did you stand me up and are putting back up this stupid wall between us?" He asked in a mad voice.
I signed it's for the best.
"I am tired of people telling me what's the best for me." He said in a mad voice.
"I like you Angel and I think you like me too so I say screw the stupid hierarchy at this school and your cousin and let's try to see if a relationship would work between us." He said putting his hands on my knees.
I signed it wouldn't work trust me.
"What happened Angel? We were fine earlier and now…" He started to say as he stood up then he put his right hand under my chin and lifted my face up so I would be looking him in the eyes.
"If she doesn't want to talk to you, then leave." Tucker said and I looked to see him.
He pulled Shay away from me after that and Shay gave him an evil look.
"Try it loser and see if I don't put you in the hospital." Tucker said getting all up in Shay's personal space.
Shay looked at me then back at Tucker.
"No; I am not getting in a fight with you. Angel cares about you and I am trying to win her over not give her more of a reason not to talk to me." Shay said and Tucker just looked at him.
Shay slowly walked back towards me and Tucker let him. Before I knew what he was doing, Shay grabbed my right hand then took out a pen. He wrote something on my hand and when he was done, I looked at it.
"It's my number; text me later." Shay said then he let go of my hand and walked away.
"Do you like him?" Tucker asked after Shay walked away.
"Marie, do you like him?" Tucker asked again after I didn't say anything.
I signed I think so but don't worry I won't tell him our secret.
He nodded his head.
"Tread carefully. I don't think a guy like that can change his stripes." He said.
I nodded my head.
"Come on, let's get home." He said then I got off of the truck.
Shay's POV
I was eating some of the pizza my dad ordered when he came out of his office and into the dining room.
"How was school?" He asked as he grabbed a slice then sat down at the table.
"Same as always." I said before drinking some of my Coke.
"Give me more than that Shay. Same as always to you means you getting in trouble." He said.
"I didn't get in trouble. Give me some credit dad I can go more than a week without getting in trouble." I said before standing up and grabbing my plate.
"How's that girl you learned sign language for?" He asked.
"Good." I said before walking into the kitchen.
"You ask her out yet?" He asked.
"No." I said putting my plate in the sink.
"Afraid she'll say no with your history?" He asked.
"Gee, way to make me feel great about myself and build up my self-esteem." I said before taking the stairs in the kitchen up to my room.
Around 7:30, I was staring at the math problem in my math book. I wasn't concentrating too much on it because I kept looking back at my phone hoping Marie would text me. I had just started trying to figure out the problem when my phone vibrated. I quickly sat down my pencil and picked up my phone to see I had a text and when I opened it I saw it was from an unknown number but it didn't take me long to figure out who it was from.
You love pushing the boundaries, don't you? – Angel
Maybe. – Me
You always listen to what other people tell you? – Me
They have my best interest at heart. – Angel
But don't you get tried of them telling you what to do like you can't think for yourself? – Me
We are from different worlds Shay. – Angel
We don't have to be if you just let me in. – Me
Talk to me; give me a chance and say screw you to everyone who thinks we shouldn't be talking to each other etc. – Me
Angel. – Me
Angel, talk to me; don't go quite on me. – Me
I wish it was that simple Shay. I think it's best we keep our distance from each other. – Angel
If this is about the bruises, I won't tell anyone Angel. – Me
Is your dad a cop? – Angel
Yes but I don't tell him everything. – Me
Give me a chance; let me take you on a date. The first game of the playoffs is this Friday, how about you and me go together as a date and afterwards we go get something to eat. – Me
It's a home game. – Angel
I know. I can pick you up or you can get a ride from one of your friends then after the game I can take you out to eat. – Me
Think about it and get back to me. – Me
I shook my head when she didn't text back then I put my phone down before going back to trying to concentrate on the math homework.