Page 13 of Giving In

I eye at Rose’s joint, but she doesn’t give a shit and doesn’t even try to hide it

“It wasn’t practice, it was tryouts,” I reply. “I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

“Tryouts?” Rose raises an eyebrow. Her raspy voice makes her sound constantly disinterested.

“Yeah, tryouts. I sent about a dozen emails about it. I only have twenty spots on the team and showing up fifteen minutes late didn’t help you get one. You didn’t have to fight me on tying your hair up either.”

She looks at me, chuckles, and gives Ciara a look. “I already have a spot on the team. And I don’t tie my hair up, Goody. You ask me at every practice knowing you’ll get the same answer. Seems like you’re the one fighting me on this.” Her cocky lopsided smile glued to her face.

“Right, but I mentioned that a spot last year didn’t mean one this year. Ciara you saw that, right?” I ask as I turn to her.

If Rose wants to act like she’s not interested in anything, fine. But I won’t bite into it. Like, what the hell is it with her and not wanting to tie her hair up when she exercises? Is she scared her fan club will complain?

She licks the paper of her joint, rolls it, and puts it in her pack of cigarettes before slowly getting up. Gradually her face goes from right in front of me to well above mine and I have to look up to keep looking in her eyes. She’s so tall and intimidating.And gorgeous.

“Don’t be silly. I know you wouldn’t want to lose your best scorer, you’re a smart girl.” She picks up her bag and makes sure her locker is locked before turning to me again. “You want to take us to the top? Do yourself a favor, keep me on the team.”

I’m about to reply but she puts a condescending hand on my shoulder and smiles. Her straight Colgate white teeth are so perfect I almost want to punch them. “I’ll see you at practice, Goody.” She turns to Ciara and gestures towards the exit with her chin. “Gotta go, Jake is waiting. See you tomorrow.”

I watch her leave in shock and turn to Ciara who is grabbing the rest of her stuff. “The nerve she has.”

“To be honest, sheisyour best scorer,” she says in a shrug. She doesn’t wait for a response and leaves me behind.

Yes, Rose is my best scorer and I know Coach T would never let me kick her off the team. It would still do her good to humble herself.

I’m biting the inside of my cheeks and re-run the conversation in my head as I head out. That’s something I do a lot. I think it’s part of being someone who constantly tries to better themselves. Or maybe it’s just part of being anxious and overthinking everything.

I push the huge front doors of our school open and head straight to the bike racks. As usual, there is only one bike here: mine. All the other kids at Stoneview Prep are happy to drive their latest sports car that mommy and daddy dearest got them to fill the void they leave when they’re on business trips. Don’t get me started with the kids who have drivers.

I unlock the chain on my bike and look up to check out how many of these gorgeous cars are still parked. Only two, and I recognize one of them as Rose’s: her black convertible Bentley Continental that makes me so jealous it almost gives me a headache. I turn around with my bike and stop in my tracks.

Not too far from me, Jake and Rose are talking to another guy. He’s taller than both of them and what I would most definitely describe as dark and handsome. His dark brown hair is short on the sides and long in the middle, gelled back in a sleek way. While he’s got a cocky grin on his face, his black eyes are saying the opposite. He’s wearing simple dark jeans and a black tee, tight around his biceps and chest, and showing his tattooed arms as well as tattoos creeping up from his chest and all the way to his neck.

I recognize one of the tattoos on his neck straight away, having just seen it on Rose’s forearm. It’s of a thin ‘X’, big enough to fit a small crown just above where the two lines cross and a ‘W’ right under. On the left side of the crossing there is the number ‘19’ and on the right side ‘33’. I’ve never really wondered what it meant until now, seeing it on this guy’s neck.

I quickly see the tension between the twins and the mysterious guy could be cut with a knife. Rose and Jake have lost all their sassiness and I’ve never seen them so serious.That mysterious guy, he’s got something malicious about him. Even from here, I can feel it brings something odd about Jake. That dreadful side he seems to hide so well.

Jake looks my way and I suddenly duck down behind a knee-high wall. I have no idea why, I just have this feeling that I don’t want to get caught spying on their conversation. And while I don’t want to getcaught,I am still curious to know what’s going on. Old habits die hard.

I leave my bike on the floor next to me and duck-walk closer to them, making sure I stay low enough that my head won’t pop up. With my height, it’s not too hard. I finally get close enough and I slowly look around to check on them while I eavesdrop on their conversation.

“You can’t stay here. We don’t want to see you and the Murrays surely don’t want to hear about you,” Jake says in a cold voice.

“Is this how you welcome me back into your life, Jake?” the stranger asks with a firm British accent. “I’ve been looking forward to seeing you two again. I found myself quite lucky that business brought me here.”

“Business,” Jake sniggers. “You can’t bring that to Stoneview.”

“Oh, but I am. I’m overtaking Stoneview actually and you’re more than welcome to help. I would love nothing more than that.”

“You’reovertakingStoneview?” Jake spits. “This city’s got its own shit, what are you tryna do? Start a fucking war?”

The stranger just smiles back at him before turning to Rose. “You’re amazingly quiet, love.”

Rose takes her time taking a pack of cigarettes out of her pocket, then takes out the joint she rolled earlier out of the pack. She brings it to her mouth, grabs a lighter in her other pocket, and lights it. She takes her time to inhale and finally exhales the smoke in the stranger’s face before replying.

“Don’t talk to me.”

He lets out a genuine laugh. “God, if–

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