School, Sex and Secrets II (School, Sex and Secrets #2) Page 10

  She gasped! “Vanessa! Oh, my God! What did you say?”

  “I said that I would meet him there and sent him the text, but then no more than a few minutes later, the fire alarm went off!”

  She gasped again! “Holy shit, Vanessa! You talk about perfect fuckin’ timing!”

  “Who are you fuckin’ tellin’, Ava?!”

  She laughed.

  “Ava, I don’t wanna see him at all! I said that I wasn’t scared of him to Brad because him and Lisa are in my class, but I am afraid of him, Ava! He said that if I didn’t see him today that he was gonna hurt you or Brad, or both of you.”

  “Don’t worry, Vanessa, he’s not gonna hurt either one of us. If I have to, I’ll get a fuckin’ gun myself!”

  “Ava . . .”

  “I’m serious, Vanessa!”

  “I know, honey, but we need him alive so he can go down for what he did to Natalie.”

  “That’s true.”

  I looked around and saw John staring right at me as he talked with a group of boys. “Fuck, Ava! John is staring right at me!”

  “Be cool, honey, okay?”

  “I’m trying.” I looked around and saw Brad walking towards me smiling; I smiled big in return. “Ava, Brad is walking towards me. I gotta go, honey.”

  “Okay, now you’re safe, sweetie. Talk to you later.”

  “That’s for sure.” I hung up, and Brad and I embraced and kissed. I held on to him as he had his arm around me. “So, how long are we gonna be out here?”

  “I don’t know. Someone told me that a few students said they saw smoke inside the school but couldn’t specify where it was at — probably full of shit. Someone probably pulled the alarm just trying to cut class,” he replied with a grin.

  I laughed. “Well, if they did then I need to thank them personally for it.”

  He grinned. “Why?”

  I looked up at him. “Brad, don’t look over at John when I tell you this, okay?”

  “Okay,” he said as he stared down at me.

  “He sent me a text saying that he wanted to have sex with me in the sports equipment storage room this period. He said that he was gonna hurt you or Ava, or the both of you, if I said no.”

  He tried his hardest not to look over at John as he nodded with a sigh.

  “That fire alarm saved me from having to meet him there, Brad.”

  He looked down at me and nodded. “I believe you, Vanessa, but he’s gonna try again — you know he is. That motherfucker! I swear I feel like going over there and punching the shit out of him and getting his DNA that way.”

  I chuckled as I held on to him. “Yeah, all we need is a little blood and saliva and we got it!”

  We continued to hold each other as we waited for an announcement about when to go back into the building.

  “There’s Marc. C’mon on — let’s walk, baby,” he said.

  We walked over to Marc as he stood talking to three guys that I didn’t recognize.

  Marc smiled when he saw us and then excused himself from them. “Hey, what’s up, you two?” he asked while he stared at me.

  “Vanessa got a text from John — he wanted to have sex with her in one of the storage rooms and said that if she didn’t that he was gonna hurt me and Ava,” Brad informed him.

  Marc shook his head as he looked at me as I nodded to him. “Damn, he’s not gonna stop with this shit, is he? So, he wanted to have sex with you when?”

  “I was supposed to be meeting him now for it, but the fire alarm went off. He text me last period,” I replied.

  Marc nodded at me, and then looked at Brad. “What are you gonna do, man?”

  “Nothing. She’s not gonna have sex with him and he’s not gonna threaten her to anymore. He’s gonna have to go through me if he thinks he’s gonna get to her,” Brad said.

  I smiled up at him.

  Marc looked down at me with a smile “And me, too.”

  I smiled up at him as well. “Thank you, Marc.”

  “No problem, Vanessa. I care about you like the way I care about Brad. I don’t want anyone to hurt either one of you,” Marc replied.

  Brad and I nodded with a smile.

  We all looked over at John as he continued to stare at me. I couldn’t even imagine what he was thinking.

  “Well, enough about that son of a bitch. I was just talking to the guys over there about a party at the lake in a few weeks,” Marc said.

  “Sounds good, man. What day is it on?” Brad asked.

  “They were telling me it’s gonna be on a Saturday, but they’re still tryin’ to get everything together for it,” Marc replied.

  “Well, let me know when they do — we’ll be there,” Brad said, as he looked down at me and smiled.

  “Sure will be. The weather seems to be getting warmer sooner so hopefully this will keep up in the weeks ahead. I haven’t been to the lake in a while so I look forward to it,” I said.

  “So do I,” Brad replied with a smile.

  We stood in a circle and talked for several more minutes.

  After standing outside for almost a half hour, an announcement finally came over the speakers stating that we could all go back inside school and to our next class.

  There were only twenty minutes left in Senior English as I sat in class staring at my phone as I waited to see if John was gonna text me, as well as seeing if Lisa was going to since I still didn’t rule out for a second that she could be the new secret person.

  A minute later, John walked in with Lisa. They completely ignored me as they walked to their seats. I didn’t look at either one of them but could see them both staring at me.

  Mrs. Whitman began class.

  A minute later, I received a text . . . U just got lucky earlier! Don’t think you’re gonna get that lucky next time! I knew this was from John. I looked at him as he stared at me very coldly. This gave me chills because I knew that he’d meant it. I wanted to text him back and say to him that Brad said that he would have to get through him and Marc if he wanted to get to me, but I didn’t wanna make him mad because at this point, he was capable of doing anything, and the last thing I wanted for him to do was hurt the people that I loved and cared about the most.

  Later on that night as I was in a deep sleep, Natalie appeared in my dream. Even though the dream was dark, I could tell that she was at school. She was standing in one of the halls, and right next to a fire alarm! She pulled the alarm, smiled at me, and then slowly disappeared.

  I woke up crying. “Thank you, Natalie,” I sobbed while I wiped my eyes. I didn’t need anymore convincing that it was her earlier today that made the fire alarm go off so I wouldn’t have to see John. I believed in paranormal stuff like this, and believed that she could’ve possibly known that he had every intention to do to me what he did to her in there, especially since he knew that I knew that he killed her, and that him saying that he wanted to have sex with me in there was just a trap because he knew we never had that type of sex in there. I knew I needed to work harder than ever to get John’s DNA to put him where he knows he damn well should be because I believe Natalie saved my life.

  CHAPTER 16

  “Damn! It’s jumpin’ for real down here!” Ava said excitedly.

  “It is!” I agreed.

  “It’s got it goin’ on for sure — looks like it’s gonna be a great party!” Brad said.

  We all walked around to find our friends as the shore was packed with people as everyone was definitely having fun at this party at the lake. People brought their own towels and were cooking as if it was a full-blown football tailgating party as others played football as well as volleyball, while others danced to music blaring from several speakers out of the back of someone’s SUV.

  I looked around and saw Lisa and Marie talking to people. I smiled and waved to Marie; she waved back with a smile, but Lisa turned completely away from me. “Yeah, fuck you, too, bitch!” I said softly.

  Brad and Ava laughed.

  “I’m sorry, but I don�
��t like her at all,” I said. “I could be making the bitch mad right now by being all over you, Brad, just like what she used to do when she was with you — but I’m not like that.”

  Brad looked down at me and smiled. “I know you’re not, Vanessa.”

  “Well, you should be!” Ava said.

  Brad and I laughed as we continued to hold hands.

  “She tried to run you over and said all of that nasty shit about the two of you? Fuck that jealous, hating-ass fuckin’ bitch!” Ava said.

  I laughed as I high-fived Ava.

  Brad grinned as he continued to stare at Lisa. “No fighting, ladies.”

  Ava and I laughed even harder.

  Ava laid down a cover that she brought with her and we both sat on it while Brad went over to Marc, Ken, and Zac, as well as some of his other friends and teammates.

  I looked down at my phone and saw that there was a text from Brad saying that he was going to the bathroom but he didn’t know where it was so it was probably gonna be a while. I text him back and told him that it was okay and that if he got lost to let me know.

  It was almost a half hour later and dusk dark, and Ava and I continued to sit on the blanket as we listened to the music as people still danced and socialized. Marie was sitting with us as well.

  I looked around for Brad; I didn’t see him. I got up. “I’m gonna go look for Brad. He told me that he was going to the bathroom, but I see that he hasn’t gotten back yet.”

  “Do you want me to come with you?” Ava asked.

  “No, you can stay here. I’ll be okay.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, Ava honey, I’m sure.”

  “Okay,” she replied with a smile.

  I walked towards where the bathrooms were; I didn’t see Brad in sight. It was getting dark and I sure as hell didn’t wanna be walking alone in the dark in the woods. After all, I was still getting nightmares from that day that I was out there with Brad when Marie shot John and we thought she’d killed him. But he was alive and well, and fortunately, he hadn’t shown up at this party tonight.

  Out from nowhere, John appeared!

  I gasped!

  “Hey, Vanessa. I’ve been waiting for you,” he said with a wicked grin, and then whisked me off of my feet and ran fast through the woods as he carried me!

  I felt like I was in a nightmare as everything around me was a blur as he ran with me in his arms. I knew if I didn’t get out of this that I was not gonna get back to the party alive. “John, where are you taking me? Let me go! Put me down!”

  “Not until we get down again, baby!” he said, and then suddenly stopped and put me down. “Don’t you dare fuckin’ run!”

  I stood stiff. I didn’t wanna run because I didn’t know what he had on him. I looked down and noticed that I was standing on a cover. I knew that this wasn’t a coincidence; I knew now that he’d planned to bring me here.

  “Sit down!” he demanded.

  I sat down fast because I didn’t wanna make him mad.

  He threw a can of beer to me, and then opened one himself.

  “No thanks — I don’t like beer,” I said.

  “No problem, baby. I just wanted you to relax your nerves before we do it, that’s all.”

  I looked at him and took a deep breath as I tried to figure out how I was gonna get up and run back to the party since it was now dark, but it was obvious that he came prepared with a light although the moon was shining enough light down on us. I sat like a stone because I still didn’t want him to touch me. “John, I have to get back to the party — Brad is probably looking for me.”

  “FUCK HIM! You’re with me now, and you know the deal we have.”

  “John, you know damn well that Brad did not agree to any deals with you being able to fuck me whenever you wanted and you know it! He told me all about it!”

  “Well, just because he didn’t agree to it doesn’t mean that it’s not gonna happen, Vanessa.”

  “John, look! I don’t owe you anything! Why are you doing this to us? You have to turn yourself in for what you did to Natalie!”

  He finished drinking his beer in record time, it seemed, and then crushed the can in between his hands . . . and then put it in his pocket. “Then you tell that whore Marie to turn herself in for trying to kill me! I’m not doing anything! Come here! I’m ready to fuck!”

  I sat in the same place.

  “GET THE FUCK OVER HERE!” he yelled.

  I scooted over to him very reluctantly. He put his arm around me and I turned away since his breath reeked of beer and other alcohol.

  “What’s wrong? My fuckin’ breath stinks?! Too fuckin’ bad!”

  “John, come on, you know this is wrong!”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah, blah, blah, blah . . . there are so many things in this world that are wrong — too many things to count — so why should we even care what they are, much less count them?”

  I looked at him. “Um, John, you’re drunk so you’re not in any condition to have sex.”

  “How the fuck would you be if someone shot you two fuckin’ times in the chest and your supposed friends left you for dead?”

  “John, we thought you were dead. But remember, you killed Natalie, don’t ever forget that. Marie would’ve never shot you if you didn’t kill her.”

  “I am gonna forget about Natalie because I’m not going to prison for what I did to her!”

  “So since you don’t think that you need to go to prison for what you did to Natalie, then you don’t think Marie should go to prison because of what she did to you?”

  “Fuck yeah I think she should go to prison! So should you and Brad!”

  “John! Brad and I didn’t do anything! How many times do we have to say that to you?”

  “You two were there — that’s the bottom line! Look, I don’t feel like arguing with you anymore about this shit. I’m not feeling well so just go — get out of here.”

  I couldn’t believe this. He was actually letting me go! I got up slowly and began to walk away from him.

  “Hey, Vanessa!”

  I turned around.

  “This is nowhere near over with yet! I’m gonna get what I want out of you because I don’t trust you, Brad, Marie, Ava, or anyone! Just like when that fire alarm went off that day at school, you just got lucky tonight!” he said.

  I turned back around and walked back towards the lake.

  As soon as I got out of his sight, I started to run as fast as I could. As soon as I could see everyone, I began to walk. I saw Brad talking in a group with Marc, Ken, and Zac. I looked around and saw Lisa talking to a group of girls.

  Ava walked up to me. “Brad came back about five minutes ago; I tried calling you to let you know. I was getting worried about you.”

  I nodded. “Sorry, Ava, I didn’t hear my phone. I’m gonna go over there and talk to him.”

  “Okay,” she said with a smile.

  I walked over to him, and then tapped him on his back.

  He turned around with a smile. “Hey, baby. Where were you?”

  “Looking for you. Where did you go?”

  “To the bathroom,” he replied as he held me.

  I smiled as I looked around and noticed Lisa looking at us; she then turned away with a grin.

  Brad and I continued to hold each other as we kissed.

  Several minutes later, John stumbled over to Marc, Ken, and Zac. He fell to the ground, and Ken and Zac helped him up as Marc just shook his head. It was clear that he was too drunk to have sex with me.

  Ava walked over to us. “Whoa! I think he needs to go home.”

  “He just needs to go away forever,” I said.

  “I second that,” Brad said.

  “Well, I’m ready to go — we’ve been here long enough,” I said.

  “Okay, let’s go, then,” Brad said.

  “Well, I’m leaving, too. I don’t feel comfortable being alone anymore anywhere if John is around,” Ava said.

  “WE’RE LEAVING! G
OOD NIGHT, EVERYONE!” Brad said, as he had his arm around me.

  Everyone waved to us and wished us the same.

  “EAT SHIT, JOHNSTON!!” John yelled.

  There was a mixture of gasps and laughter, with some thinking that John was playing while others thought that he’d meant it.

  Brad looked back at John. “YOU DO THE SAME, CATCHTON!” he yelled back at him.

  “Brad! You didn’t have to say that!” I said while we walked up the path to his SUV.

  “I’m not gonna have that motherfucker disrespecting me in front of people. I told you I’m not afraid of him, Vanessa, and I mean it. If he wants to throw down then I’m all for it. But he better enjoy his freedom as much as he can because he will go down for what he did to Natalie. He’s the one that should be afraid of us telling on him, not him telling on us and Marie.”

  “I agree, Brad,” I said as I got in the front seat.

  Ava got in the back. “We have got to find a way to get his DNA again. Without that, the case against him killing Natalie is hopeless.”

  “I know,” I said, but didn’t tell Ava yet about me running into him in the woods and he took me to a place where we talked and he had a can of beer and even threw me one. I could’ve tried to get it then but he would’ve tried to kill me. I turned my attention to Brad, who looked straight ahead expressionless. “Baby, is there something wrong?”

  “Besides John? No, nothing is,” he said, as he looked at me and smiled. He held on to my hand.

  I looked at him and smiled while I wondered if he was really telling me the truth.

  CHAPTER 17

  After school on that following Wednesday — after the party at the lake on the previous Saturday — I was in my room on my computer when there was a knock at my door. “Come in!”

  My mom opened the door. “Hey, honey. There’s a boy downstairs who says that you invited him over to study?”

  I looked confused because I didn’t invite anyone over. “Who is it?”

  “He didn’t tell me his name. He said he’s in your English class.”