Page 13 of Intercept My Heart

“Well, I can’t speak for those other girls, but I mean no. I don’t want to do this.”

“I can’t stand prude bitches like you. Do you think you’re too good for me? Huh, bitch?” Things escalated quickly when he shoved me against the wall, pinning me up.

“Get off!” I yelled, praying someone was still in the gym and could hear me.

“Quit making this difficult. Damn.” His hands reached for my pants, causing me to freak out. I’d dealt with men enough to know how this would play out if I didn’t do everything I could to fight back. Lifting my foot up, I kicked him as hard as I could.

“Argh! You bitch!”

With him injured, I figured I could make a run for it, but he caught me before I could get far. We both hit the ground, and he managed to get on top of me. Unfortunately, there were no cameras back here, and my countenance began to fade when he unbuckled my jeans. God, why me? I refused to go down without a fight, so I punched and scratched him. My eyes burned with tears as I fought with everything inside of me.

“If you would calm down, you might actually enjoy it.” His words reminded me of Mr. Dennis, and suddenly, his face replaced Antonio’s, making me fight even harder. My screams were so loud that I never even heard when another voice entered the room.

“Nigga, what the fuck is wrong with you?” Within seconds, Antonio’s body was yanked from mine. My adrenaline pumped so hard that my ears were hot. I scooted up to a sitting position. My shirt had been stretched, but nothing too bad. The two boys tussled, but nothing about the fight was fair. Once I stood up, I realized who Antonio’s opponent was. Dinero.

I’d seen a few videos of him fighting, but witnessing it in person was a completely different experience. The rage radiating from him scared me because it looked like he wanted to kill Antonio.

“You sick mothafucka! I always knew you were a bitch!” Dinero grumbled, raining blows all over him.

“Please!”

“Naw, don’t beg now, mothafucka. You didn’t want to listen when she told you no, so I don’t want to hear none of that shit.”

“Aww, shit. I knew when you ran off, you were about to get in some trouble.” Dre huffed, attempting to grab Dinero off the beaten boy. A few seconds later, a group of boys ran over to where they were to assist him. When they finally got ahold of Dinero, he appeared calm on the outside, but the fire behind his eyes told a different story.

“Aye, what the hell happened?” Dreis observed the scene between the three of us.

“I ran back in here to grab my hat, but I heard someone screaming. I walked in here, and this punk was trying to force himself on her. Before I could think about it, I started beating his ass. All these willing hos out here, and you want to take it fromsomeone who doesn’t even know you. Weird ass niggas,” Nero spat.

“Damn shame. I heard him and his homies got down like that, but I ain’t wanna believe it. Are you straight?” Dre asked me. I nodded, even though I was far from okay. My eyes landed on Dinero, and it seemed as if he was looking into my soul.

“I should probably get going.” My eyes scanned the room in search of my book bag.

“Coach is on her way back in. What do you want to do?” Monte asked Dinero.

“I’mma tell her what happened. I don’t give a fuck about a suspension, but his ass damn sure going down right along with me. Dreis, can you walk her back to class? As a matter of fact, could you do me a solid and keep up with her until school is out? If they send me home, I won’t be able to make sure she’s straight.” My face frowned because I didn’t need anyone to trail me for the rest of the day.

“I got you. I wouldn’t trip about being suspended. Your actions were justified, and if they do suspend you, I’m beating his brother’s ass, so I’ll be right there with you.” The two of them laughed.

Coach Hammer along with Mrs. Welch took statements from Dinero and me before calling in the assistant principal. Once I explained what happened, they allowed me to return back to class. I wanted to stay to find out Dinero’s punishment, but they rushed me out of the room.

Dre ended up escorting me to my classes for the rest of the day. My nerves were so bad, waiting to find out what happened to Dinero. News traveled fast, so by seventh period, everyone heard what took place. Mrs. Maverick told me she would give me a few days off as an excused absence, but I declined. Being trapped at home would be more of a punishment than coming to school. At least here, I would get to eat. The moment class letout, I raced out of the room. I wondered if Dre would be waiting for me, but when I got out of the door, he wasn’t there.

Since I had to take the bus home, I headed outside. I got the shock of my life when Dinero pulled up to the school steps. The naive part of me wondered if he was waiting for someone else, but he shut that notion down when he yelled my name.

“Hey,” I greeted him, making sure to close my door correctly. I thought he would pull off once I got into the car, but he sat there.

“Are we waiting for someone else?”

He chuckled lowly, then tilted his head, “Naw, I’m waiting on your ass to put your seat belt on. You should know better by now, lil’ mama.”

“Oh, right. I forgot about that.” Reaching over, I placed the seat belt over me.

We drove in silence for a while until he finally decided to speak.

“Where do you want to eat? I’m going to grab you some food and then drop you off. They suspended me for a day, but I still have to practice for the game on Friday. I told the coach I left my shin guards at home so I could make sure you made it home without anyone messing with you.”

“Thank you again for what you did.” “Are you okay?”

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