Page 11 of Losing the Rhythm

I held my breath.

“Sure,” he finally said.

My breath slowly released as I reached over and handed him one. I was almost done, making one for everyone. Even an extra one just in case. Especially if Justin had gone swimming this morning. Or if Toby was extra hungry again.

Maybe I should make another extra.

By the time I was done cooking, there were four extra burritos. I was ready to feed a small army.

Seth still hadn’t said anything. He nursed a coffee and simply watched me. Me, I fought good and hard not to look at him. If I did, I knew I was going to break down. He had that look on him, the one that said he knew what I was doing.

He just didn’t know what to do to help me.

“It smells good,” Bryan said, running a hand through his damp black hair. He squinted toward us for a moment before finally putting back on his glasses. “You made burritos again.” He looked over all the wrapped food. “And a lot of them. Who are you feeding?”

“You guys,” I said.

He hummed for a moment as he picked one up and began unwrapping it. “Keep this up and we won’t have to ever worry about starving.”

“Bryan,” Seth said in a warning tone.

Bryan gave Seth an incredulous look, stuffed his mouth with the breakfast burrito, and walked away.

“Is he really okay?” I asked. “He seems more surly than normal.”

“He’ll be fine. And he’s probably not the one who we should worry about.”

We stared at each other, me unwilling to give in and Seth challenging me, daring me to finally speak up. When he realized he wasn’t going to win this time, he sighed and stood up from the stool, his own burrito in hand.

“I need to get to work. Paperwork is piling up again. I’ll see you later.” He turned and walked away. I stared after his broad back, the way it filled his shirt. The week before I was kidnapped, Seth and I had been in a car chase with the Ryder gang. They had run us off the road. Seth’s ribs had ended up broken. He was still recovering from that, and his job banished him to desk duty until he had a clean bill of health again from his doctor. That guilt still gnawed at me.

Seth paused at the door and looked back at me. “We only want you to get better,” he said softly. “We care for you. A lot more than you think.”

With those words, he left me standing there. All alone again with my own deafening thoughts. But his words settled warmly in my chest, dimming the internal scream that was always going in the back of my mind. An eternal scream with no end to it, not to even draw a breath.

I blinked furiously as I looked down at the remaining food. Once I was sure I put myself together well enough, I dumped them all into a bag and headed out. Bryan’s car was already gone. So was Seth’s. I quickly checked that Bebe was all set for the day in the garage before heading out myself.

The drive to school was so quiet that every time I used my turn signal, I hyper focused on the ticking sound it made. As I got closer and closer, my stomach began twisting and tightening. School had definitely become a bit uncomfortable the last couple of weeks. Especially after my abduction. It spread throughout school, and by the time I went back in, everyone was talking about how I had been an ex of the Ryker gang’s leader, and that he got arrested because of me. The how of it varied, but it all came down to me essentially being a slut. Especially since I was such close friends with the guys.

I’d been cornered a few times by the girls. In the locker room, in the halls. But nothing outside of them confronting me and trying to make me feel like shit.

That I could handle. That was fine.

What I had trouble handling was the male students. They leered. They made suggestions. They thought I was easy. It left me feeling dirty every day when I came back from school. My only saving grace was that the guys were sticking closer to me than ever. While it didn’t help the rumors, it definitely made me feel safer.

And the twins.

Hazel and Lillian Wright.

They’d been making it a point to talk to me every day and to call out anyone who talked about me. I wasn’t sure what triggered them into thinking I was friend-worthy, but they were growing on me.

Of course, Micah helped a lot too. We met at camp and became glued at the hips ever since. Or as glued as we could be considering he had lived in Oregon, until only recently when he moved to my town. It was weird having him so close. I was so used to our relationship being text messages, emails, video calls, and random packages. He was also acting as a huge buffer between me and the students.

I was just trying to wait it all out, until the day they got bored talking about me. Yet, each day, it felt endless.

The parking lot was slowly filling out when I got there. I found Bryan’s car and parked nearby, then I headed inside.

Trilec High was a massive high school that accommodated everyone in Higginham, Faydelle, and Coronac Falls. It was the only public school around here, with about half a dozen private schools to help. But still, this place was big and packed. Packed enough that I hadn’t even known the guys until this year despite being in the same grade.

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