Chapter 31: Chapter 30. Sleep, Eat, Homework, Box, Study, Repeat

CLAIRE

By the time Friday rolled around, I was worn out and on edge. Dark circles shadowed my eyes, and my steps were slow and heavy.

I’d spent the entire week trying to avoid Blake. I won’t pretend it didn’t hurt when he passed by me without a second glance.

But that’s what I wanted, wasn’t it? I needed him to keep his distance, to stop trying to wedge himself into my life. If he got too close, he’d be in more danger than I was.

He’d be an easy target for my enemies. They’d go after Blake, and then what? I’d lay down my life for Blake if it came to that.

Blake doesn’t deserve my life. I chose it. He didn’t. He has no business being a part of it.

I let out a sigh, closing my locker door and resting my forehead against the cool metal. It’s a welcome relief for my tired, overheated head.

I’ve been so swamped with homework this week that I’ve barely had time to box. But now it’s the weekend.

My plan: Sleep, eat, homework, box, study, repeat.

Shaking my head, I grab my bag and start heading out of the school.

I stop in my tracks when I feel my phone buzzing in my back pocket. I pull it out quickly, flip it open, and check the message.

Unknown

2559 Cherry Street. Meet now. No questions

I stared at the message on my phone, confused. Who had my number? I didn’t recognize the ID.

I looked down at my black sweats, grey hoodie, and purple converse. I was so exhausted this morning I didn’t bother with anything, not even my hair!

I just got up, put on my shoes, and left the house with my bag. I probably looked like a homeless teenager wandering the streets.

I didn’t know how I was going to make it all the way to Cherry Street looking like this and feeling so tired.

Finally, I just shrugged and sighed. Screw it!

I put my phone back in my pocket and started walking home. I’d drop off my backpack before heading to Cherry Street, which was about eight blocks from my house.

I didn’t miss the look of confusion on Blake’s face as I passed him and Ashley, their hands intertwined. Tears welled up in my eyes and I looked down, focusing on the hard pavement below.

He was just like all the others! All men want is one thing! And it’s never love!

I thought angrily as I stomped down the sidewalk. Blake had done exactly what I expected: He’d finally hooked up with Ashley. He must’ve been put up to trying to talk to me!

If he can get over me so easily like that. But then again, we’ve only hung out for about a month. Did I even mean anything to him?

A single tear slid down my cheek as the wind picked up, blowing my hair and making my skin tingle from the cold, turning a rosy shade of red.

As soon as I got home, I dropped off my book bag and left the house. Dad had gotten a small job as a mechanic. He started working on Tuesday and has been cleaning up his act.

Even though mom and him still seem to be drifting apart, this is a big improvement. They’re both working, and mom is still being nicer to me.

In fact, she gave me a Christmas present on Monday morning. She’d gotten me a small silver ring with a dark purple pearl on it, to match my Converse.

I’d given her a tight hug before going to school that day and have been wearing both the ring and the charm bracelet ever since. I always make sure to hide them when in public, though.

I mean, the bracelet is real gold and the silver is real too. I’m not about to let them get stolen!

It’s ten past five when I finally make it to Cherry Street, and a wave of fear and panic washes over me. I’d just walked, unarmed, into a place I didn’t even know why, from a number I didn’t even recognize. I was in deep trouble!

My eyes quickly scan the dark, empty alleyway. Seeing no one, I spin on my heel, ready to bolt, but a voice stops me. A familiar, feminine voice.

“Hello, White Wolf,” the voice says, a fake teasing tone in her voice.

I turn around quickly, already sighing in defeat as my eyes land on Selena.

“Poisonous Silver,” I respond in a bored monotone. I already know what’s coming. A fight. Selena would never back down from a fight, and I knew she’d jump at the chance to fight me.

“Awe. Are you tired?” she asks, pretending to be concerned.

I glare at her, pulling my hood over my head so all she can see are my dark hazel eyes. I’ve gotten so used to pulling my hood over my head, it feels like a form of protection. It’s comforting.

I see her roll her eyes. “Always hiding…” she says, starting to walk closer. “I wonder why that is.” She speaks to no one in particular.

“What the hell are you doing here?” I ask, remembering that the last time we fought, I ended up being stabbed in the gut!

She lets out a bitter laugh. “I’m here on strict orders, dear White Wolf,” she tells me, circling me as she speaks.

My hands instinctively clench into fists as she gets closer. I know now that this was all a setup. It doesn’t take a genius to figure that out.

“You know, I must admit, you handle pain very well. I mean, we were all expecting, I half hoping, that you would bleed out by morning,” Selena says, stopping in front of me, her sly grin on full display.

I tense at the word “we” and my mind immediately jumps to who she’s teamed up with. Though I have a pretty good idea who it is.

I take a deep breath, fighting back the bile rising in my throat at the sight of her. “What do you want?” I ask, keeping my voice steady and emotionless.

“I told you, I’m under strict orders.” She pauses, glancing at her silver watch on her right arm. “And they should be here any minute, so just hold on,” she tells me, her voice dripping with false sweetness.

Logan. The name echoes in my mind. My nails dig into my palms. I’m done running, I’m done losing, and I’m done being played. I’m a fighter! And now is the time to fight back!

Without any warning or hesitation, I swing my arm out, catching her off guard, and hit her square in the jaw. Selena stumbles back from the force and clutches her jaw, a string of curses spilling from her mouth.

“You bitch!” she screams, lunging at me. I sidestep quickly, grab her by the hair, and throw her to the ground, hard.

As her head hits the ground, I stand over her, close enough to react if she tries anything.

“You may think you’ll win Selena, but you should know, I’m not one to give up so easily,” I tell her, my voice hard and firm.

Her eyes harden as she sets her jaw straight, and immediately kicks up her legs, landing on her feet. We both circle each other slowly, fists raised.

“That’s fine, because you know that I’m not either,” she says, before lunging at me. Selena fakes a left, then swings right, hitting my jaw, hard.

I spit out some blood and turn quickly, catching her left fist mid-punch. With a sudden wave of adrenaline, I grip her fist in mine, before twisting it to the side. A strangled yelp escapes her lips.

“Why do you keep fighting, White Wolf?” she taunts, her voice sending unfamiliar shivers down my spine, and I hate it!

“I mean, no one here loves you! Why couldn’t you have just tried that suicide again, huh? Maybe a second time your dearest daddy wouldn’t be there to save you.” She smirks cruelly at me.

I freeze. The blood drains from my face and immediate tears prick my eyes.

She knew! How—how did she know? I never told anyone!

She cocks her head to the side, her cruel smirk still on her lips.

“What? You think we don’t know that? We know everything there’s to know about you Claire. Including your attempted suicide two years ago.

“Now tell me, why’d you try it in the first place?” she asks, teasingly.

She knows! She knows why and she just wants to see me broken, again. But not this time. I’m a fighter for a reason, and I won’t let her get to me, not this time.

“I don’t know. Since you seem to know everything, you tell me,” I taunt, slowly inching my feet over to her as our eyes stay locked on each other.

She glares at me, knowing that I wasn’t affected by her comment about my attempted suicide. And then, her cruel, sly smirk appears on her face, and I know this can’t be good.

“How’s Blake?” she laughs. “I hear he’s a real charmer with the ladies. Too bad he left you, right?” she chuckles bitterly.

I shake my head. “No, it was the other way around,” I reply.

That stops her chuckle short, and her hard eyes are back on mine in a second. “You left him?” She asks, with genuine shock in her voice.

I shrug. “Honestly, what was I supposed to do?” I ask, suddenly feeling a bit vulnerable talking about this.

“Besides, we weren’t dating or anything. And, it’s not like we’d stay in touch forever,” I whisper the last part, my voice cracking just a little.

She smirks, again. “You’ll be alone forever, White Wolf. It doesn’t matter what happens. Who could love a pathetic piece of shit like you, anyways?” She laughs, gesturing to my outfit.

I simply shrug. I didn’t care about what I was wearing, though I’ll admit, it did hurt a little to hear that.

“Oh, and let’s not forget your parents, right? How you’re so unloved even your own creators don’t care to spend time with you. I can’t blame them, though.

“Then again, they’re probably just like you. Pathetic, useless, and worthless,” she finishes, venom in her voice.

That was my undoing. Fury builds up inside me instantly and I feel a rush of adrenaline course through me.

I lunge for her and land a left uppercut to her cheekbone. Hearing the sickening crunch of her bone under my fist was like hearing a chorus of birds chirping in the morning: Soothing and pleasurable to the ear.

My hands shoot out and grab her shirt collars. As I look at her now, she’s wearing a light blue V-neck shirt, with black skinny jeans and dark red tennis shoes.

Her hair is up in a ponytail and some strands come loose as I drag her up with me, and slam her against the wall of the alley.

I make sure my voice is firm, venomous, and hard as I speak to her.

“You listen here and good. You can talk crap about me 24/7 and I’m not going to care. But I swear to the God of all the holy heavens if you talk about my family that way, you’re in for a real beat down.

“I will not tolerate my family being brought into this. You don’t know shit about me! You may know the incidents that have happened in my life, but you know none of the reasons for anything that’s ever happened in my life.

“So I suggest you shut that big smart ass mouth of yours up, before you really get hurt. And next time…” I bring my lips to her ear, and in a deadly tone, say, “I won’t be so nice.”

As I look back at her, her eyes show pure terror and fear. Her hands tremble slightly and I can feel her heart beat rapidly as I shove her backwards.

“And you call me pathetic,” I spit.

“You’ll all die,” she whispers, still shaking.

Clenching my fist, I turn around quickly, and, with as much force as I could muster, punch her straight in that perfect nose of hers. At least, it was perfect!

Just like that, she’s out cold. There’s a tense silence that fills the air after that, and I lean against the wall, putting my head down in shame and defeat.

Suddenly, I hear a loud clapping. My head snaps up, and my eyes harden at the sight of Logan and James.

I straighten up, squaring my shoulders and standing tall. “I’m done playing games, Logan,” I say strongly.

Logan nods, his grin wide. “I feel the same. But I’m offering you one last choice: Join Deadly Snakes,” he says, his voice devoid of emotion.

I glance at James, his face pleading.

“Claire, just give it a shot. I swear, you’ll love it. We can be together, and you’ll make so much more money. You’ll get used to it,” James says, taking a small step towards me. I instinctively step back.

“No.” My voice is firm and final. “I won’t kill, I won’t fight for money, I won’t abandon my life for the brutal, sadistic life you lead,” I declare.

James sighs, his head dropping. “Why do you have to be so stubborn?” he mutters.

“How many of you are there?” I ask.

They exchange a glance. Then, James speaks up. “Claire, it’s just us. We’re not here to fight you. We just want you to join us. You’d be a natural.” James grins.

I return his grin, not because of him, but because now I know it’s only them. And I can definitely handle Logan and James.

I’m probably going to regret this, but it’s the only weapon I have right now. I grip my iPhone tightly, maintaining my grin.

“That’s kind of you, but that doesn’t mean I’ll follow your path,” I say innocently before hurling my phone at Logan’s head.

It hits him square in the forehead, and he crumples. James jumps back, still processing what just happened.

I seize the opportunity and swing my fist at him. His head snaps to the side from the impact, and I sweep my leg around his, tripping him. He lands on his ass.

Quickly, I straddle him and rain punches down on his face. I channel all my frustration and pain that he’s ever caused me into each hit.

And let me tell you, the pain I was inflicting on him, his screams of fear, the tremor in his voice, it all just fueled my energy and rage.

After one final punch to his left eye, I lean down, my lips brushing his ear, and whisper softly, “I was in love with you too.

“But you showed me how wrong I was to keep fighting for you the day you broke my heart.”

My breath tickles his ear, and I press a quick kiss to his lips. “Goodbye,” I whisper, watching as his eyes flutter shut, and his breathing evens out.

He’s not dead, but he’s out cold.

I stand, brushing off the dirt and blood. My hood still covers my face as I wipe away the sweat, my jaw throbbing from the punch Selena landed earlier.

A choked sigh escapes my lips. “Oh god…” I murmur, looking down at the three bodies. I slowly walk over to my phone and pick it up, examining it. There’s a small crack along the edge.

Not too bad.

I haven’t taken ten steps when I hear heavy breathing and footsteps. My body instinctively tenses, ready for a fight.

“You’re White Wolf. Claire is White Wolf.” As soon as I recognize the voice, I spin around, my eyes widening in horror and shock at the sight of Blake with Ashley.