A Collection of Stories

The Girl Who Signed

Finally Friday arrived, and I couldn’t wait to meet Daniel!

Could I be any more sarcastic?

When I came in, he was already at my desk, standing at his full height. He was tall, maybe six foot three (and muscular!!!), olive toned skin, jet black hair, and haunting hazel eyes. He looked like a god. He shouldn’t be here for a scrawny, pale skinned, four foot eleven girl like me. He should be a model or something, not my translator. I took a breath and walked over to him, slamming my books down on the desk. He looked at me, taking off his jacket and draping it over the back of my chair.

“You must be Madeline.” He said, taking my books and my bag. “I’m Daniel. You don’t have to talk to me, okay? You can hate me, cuss at me, whatever you want. Just please try to get used to me being here.” He said, looking me in the eye.

That’s a first.

‘You will call me Maddie, got it?’ I started. ‘Here are the ground rules: No funny business, if you have a sudden desire to get to know me; don’t. You don’t touch me unless you think something is seriously wrong with me. You do not look me over like I’m hot, you do not pick me up, you do not help me with my bag or books, and you absolutely do not snoop into my records. Are we clear?’ I signed. Daniel nodded; he looked like he was trying to hold back a smile. He grabbed a spare desk and chair, putting it next to mine. I raised an eyebrow at him, removing his jacket from my chair.

‘What are you doing?’ I asked as he took his jacket and sat at the desk.

“You think I’m just going to stand for the next six hours?” He said as I sat in my seat.

‘No, but do you have to sit next to me?’ I asked. He shrugged, and looked at my schedule.

“No, but I want to get to know you better. I know I’m breaking that rule, and I don’t care. I refuse to spend the next semester sitting next to a girl who I know nothing about.” He said to me. For some strange reason, what he said made my stomach flutter. I shrugged it off and put my feet on my desk, closing my eyes.

Don’t let him get to you, Maddie. He’s just a boy, just a boy.

I opened one eye and looked at Daniel. He was hunched over a note book, scribbling down something important. He continuously looked at my schedule and books then went back to his notebook, scribbling down more words. He was the first boy in… ever who ever took an interest in me. I smiled faintly and closed my eye again, leaning back in my chair and easily fell asleep. It felt like only minutes until I was rudely awakened. My chair was pulled out from under me and I landed flat on my ass. I growled and looked up at the culprit, fucking Damien Helmsley. He smirked at me as I stood, facing him. I looked around quickly, Daniel was in the front of the room and the teacher was out of the room.

“Cat got your tongue?” He chuckled, grabbing my face in his hand roughly. I pushed him away, but he chuckled and grabbed my arms, drawing me to his chest roughly. I swallowed tightly as I attempted to free myself from his grasp. I couldn’t scream, and Daniel wouldn’t notice. He was absorbed in his own little world, and no one would pipe up because this was Damien. I could smell the booze on his breath, and there was no doubt that he was high. I was honestly scared of this guy, and I had to protect myself. I spit at him, causing him to drop me. He growled and wiped his face as I scrambled to my feet.

“You little bitch!” He yelled. I didn’t even see the next part happen; it was all a blur. Damien had slapped or punched me, I couldn’t tell, and maybe a few other things before I hit the ground. Damien went to lunge at me, but someone stopped him. At that moment, I finally felt pain explode all over my body; in my face, my ribs, and my chest. I heard Daniel’s voice and someone helping me up.  I let out a noise and clutched my side, trying not to cry. The person lifted me up into his arms and carried me to the nurse, murmuring calm words into my ear.

I opened my good eye and looked up. Daniel was…carrying me? He smiled softly at me, tightening his arms around my small body.  My stomach felt fluttery again, or maybe it was pain. I didn’t know. I just wanted it to stop. He carried me into the Nurses office and explained to the nurse what happened. She checked me over and gave me ice. She pulled Daniel out of the room and started talking to him. I could hear the murmurs, but couldn’t make out the words. I sighed and closed my eyes, resting the ice on my face.

Moments later, Daniel came in and picked me up, being careful not to move me too much. I opened my good eye to look at him. “You okay?” He asked. I nodded and pressed the ice harder on my face. He sighed and looked at me. “I’m taking you home.” He murmured in my ear. I pouted at him, trying to use, quote on quote from my mother, “sexiness of my paleness”. “Not gonna work.” He whispered in my ear.

I grumbled as he carried me out to his truck. He didn’t ask me where I lived or anything, so I assumed he just knew. He got in and drove off, the opposite direction of my house. I looked at him and raised an eyebrow. He smirked and kept driving until we reached a house. I got out slowly and looked at the house. I was beautiful, simple. I liked it. Daniel came up behind me, resting a hand on the small of my back.

Boy this guy was touchy-feely.

He brought me into the house and sat me down in the kitchen. He sat across from me, his long legs touching mine. We stared at each other for a long time before either of us wanted to break the silence.

“Why don’t you talk to people?” He asked softly. I shrugged and looked past him. I really didn’t like talking about stuff anymore. I guess you could say I am depressed. I could feel him watching me, almost studying my face.

‘What?’ I asked, looking at him. He looked at his hands.

“Nothing, Maddie.” He mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. I reached over the table and touched his hand.

Hey, I can be a heartless bitch sometimes, but that doesn’t mean I’m not caring.

‘You can tell me.’ I told him, looking at his eyes. He took a deep breath and shook his head.

“It’s not important, Maddie, really.” He said, getting up and going to the fridge. He grabbed two glass bottles and sat back down. He opened them both and slid one to me. “It’ll numb the pain.” He muttered. I watched him as he downed half his bottle before I even took my first sip. I recoiled at the taste of the alcohol, it was too bitter. Daniel raised an eyebrow at me, taking a slow sip from his bottle.

“Too bitter,” He asked and I nodded.

‘I like Schnapps better.’ I told him, downing part of my drink in one gulp. ‘This shit is disgusting.’

Daniel smirked. “Then why are you still drinking it?” He asked. I shrugged, biting back a smile. I downed the rest of my drink and yawned, resting my head on my arms. I fell asleep easily, the alcohol numbing my senses. I woke up hours later in a very comfy bed. I smiled faintly and snuggled into the covers, letting myself be engulfed by the warmth. My face was throbbing slightly, but all the pain came from my ribs. I pushed the covers back slightly and pulled my shirt up. There was a nice bruise that spread from the front of my ribs, all the way down my side. I moaned and snuggled under the covers. I heard talking outside of the room, and I contemplated on whether to get out of this very comfy bed or let my damn curiosity get the better of me and go snoop.

My damn curiosity got the better of me.

I got out of the bed and went over to the door, opening it slowly and slipping into the hall. I heard Daniel and a woman. She sounded older that him, maybe his mother. I followed the voices until I saw them. Daniel was sitting with a woman, definitely his mother, in what I assumed was the living room. I didn’t go in, but I hid behind the wall, listening to them.

“Mom, she’s different, really different. She’s not afraid to speak her mind, and she speaks with her hands. Mom, I really like this girl.” Daniel said.

There was a long pause before his mom spoke. “Daniel, you’ve only known this girl a day, and she’s underage. You could get into a lot of trouble.”

Daniel sighed and spoke softly this time. “I know momma. But I can’t help how I feel about her.” He was talking about me. I ran back to the bedroom and hid under the covers, wishing everything was back to normal.