The Lies We Breathe

Chapter 21 - Thur, Aug 10th: Who would do that to my car?

Thursday came and went and there was still no sight of Justin. I tried looking for him everywhere but to no avail. He was underestimating my persistence though. But for today, there was nothing I could do.

During one of the breaks, I happen to catch sight of Blake by his locker and he was alone. Now or never, I thought. I took a deep breath and headed in his direction.

"Blake," I called after him.

"Leave me in peace," he replied moving away from me. "Haven't you caused me enough trouble already?"

"Is it my fault you can't drive?"

His jaw immediately drew into a hard line and I regretted I said that.

"Listen you upstart, I've had enough of you. Stay away from me!"

"We will work on this project together, whether you want it or not," I told him rising my chin stubbornly.

"I don't want to," he replied. "Go away,"

"Give me your terms. What do you want in exchange? I won't leave the school. And I won't have sex with you." I don't know why I said that. Maybe because I remembered the way he looked at me when I wore that green dress, or when he landed on top of me in his room.

At that, Blake burst out in laughter.

"Sex with you? I could have any girl I want."

"And it seems like you are set on doing just that."

"You are not one of them. You are maybe just a two."

"A two?" I asked not quite comprehending.

"On a scale of zero to ten, you are just a two."

"Screw you!"

"What else you've got to offer?

"I won't break up with Liam."

"Right. It's so much better having two boyfriends at once."

There it was again.

"I don't have two boyfriends."

"What about the guy from last night?"

"Jake? What makes you think he is my boyfriend?" And then it clicked. Jake kissed me in the parking lot last week. Of course. Blake must have seen us.

"Jake is not my boyfriend. Well, not anymore. We dated a long time ago."

"Well, you better tell Liam." Blake began moving away from me again. I grabbed him by the shirt to stop him from leaving. He looked at my hand as if I had mud on it.

"It seems like we will never see eye to eye. How about a fair fight? If I win, you are full in on this project. And if you win, you get a chance to face Jake. I gotta a feeling you two are like bulldogs just waiting to fight it out and see who can piss the furthest. Deal?"

Blake considered. I could see that I had his attention now. I didn't care if I was throwing Jake under the bus. I was still too mad at him for what happened yesterday.

"All right. When and where?"

"Tonight at my martial arts school. It's the only one downtown. Be there at 7. You can bring your friends, but you must promise me that there won't be any fighting between anyone except you and me."

"I will be there," he replied. And I didn't like the way he smiled. It got all my alarm bells ringing.

When I walked out of my last class, I was surprised to find Frank waiting for me.

"He had his ribs once broken on the left side," he told me. I didn't have to ask whom he meant. "He will be protecting his left. Are we done?"

I nodded. This information was worth gold. The way Blake dodged the book I'd thrown at him, and stood his ground when he and I fought in his room, was enough of a preview for me to know, that Blake was a dangerous opponent. He was stronger than me. Taller than me. Jackie would call this a stupid idea. Maybe it was. But what choice did I have? Besides, Frank, the traitor, had just given me a fighting chance.

I walked out of school and looked up at the sky. It was a still beautiful summer day and I was eager to go home and get ready for ronight.

"Oh no!" I exclaimed when I got to my car and saw what was done to it. Someone had sprayed "Slut" in huge letters on each side. I rubbed on the paint, hoping it would easily come off.

It wasn't.

My eyes caught sight of Blake and his friends standing around his fancy black car. I wasn't gonna let them get away with it, though. Not this time. I came prepared. I opened the trunk and pulled out a baseball bat and with that, I marched toward Blake's car.

Blake saw me coming and the sight of the bat in my hands immediately whipped the smile on his face. He peeled himself off his car and blocked my path.

"What's gotten into you?" He asked, attempting to wrestle the bat out of my hands.

"If you as much as touch my car again, I will make yours pay for it," I shouted at him.

With a firm pull, he took the bat away from me.

"I haven't done anything to your car," he replied through clenched teeth.

He then grabbed me by the arm and dragged after him back toward my car. I pushed his hand away, but followed him nonetheless and so did the others.

When he had a good look at the sprayed words, his jaw drew hard. I thought I saw him give Josh a quick glance. I heard a few snickers from others. I had expected Blake to make some stupid remark, but his next words surprised me.

"If anyone as much as touches her car again, they will have to deal with me," he announced eyeing his friends. "And you," he said looking at me now, "stay away from my car."

He gave me a warning look and began walking back to his car, with my bat thrown over his shoulder.

"My bat!" I called after him, but he ignored me.

I wasn't sure if to trust that Blake had nothing to do with this. I gave the word written on my car another glance. It was unmistakably the same writing as yesterday on the whiteboard. Who else would do that?