RIVALS

Chapter 21

The sky is dark and rain is pounding. Thunder clashes and lighting strikes.

I sigh and close the curtains, hoping the rain lets out before Clay gets here.

I flop back on my bed and sigh.

Do I always have this bad of luck?

I sit up faster than the thunder can clash and I smirk.

Imma find out what Clay's hiding.

I walk out of my room and sit down in front of the TV.

"Northwood county's storms should be over fairly soon. As the storm moves east it will hit-"

"Good enough for me," I mumble.

I lay back on my bed and rub my knee. It's been a little better today, but it's always worse when I wake up or I'm exercising.

I finally get up and peek out the window one more time and see the rain has let up. I smile and grab my shoes from my closet and give myself a once over.

This time I just decided on black leggings and a t-shirt with some tennis shoes. Or rain boots.

The doorbell rings and I rush to get it. Clay smiles at me and tugs his Letterman closer to him and says, "Ready?"
I nod and grab my raincoat from the hook by the door and follow him outside.

We climb in his Jeep and start driving down the muddy road.

"Where are we goin'?" I ask.

"There's a small café nearby and I was thinkin' we could go there."

I nod and watch the trees fly by.

We ride in silence (besides the radio) and reach the cafe within minutes.

We walk in through the sprinkling rain and Clay flashes me a smile as we walk to our table.

Don't fall for it Cara.

I give him one back and follow the waiter.

We sit down and he pulls his phone out of his pocket and sets it on the table. "I've got to run the the bathroom, would you mind getting me a Dr. Pepper?"

I smile and nod as he runs walks off.

I scan over the menu and wait for the waiter to come back by.

Ring ring...ring ring...

I look over at Clay's phone and pick it up. "Hello?"

"Hey Cla- wait, who're you?"

"My name is Cara Morgan," I say. "I'm on a date with Clay. More importantly: who're you?"

The girl in the other end of the line scoffs. "I'm his so called girlfriend. He cheated didn't he?"

"Looks that way," I answer.

"Well, I'm super sorry. My name is Kayt Reed. We gotta get him back somehow!"

"Okay," I laugh.

"Gosh, what a bi-"

I grimace at her choice of words and say, "How about you call back in about 20 minutes. We should be done with our date by then, so when you call I'll pick up. Deal?"

"Deal," Kayt says. "Bye Cara. I hope that bastard gets what he deserves."

I grimace once more before hanging up and setting his phone down.

I flag our waiter down and order a water and Dr. Pepper.

Clay comes back before the drinks and we engage in small talk.

If he didn't know what was coming for him I might've enjoyed our time.

We order soon after, both hamburgers and fries and talk about school while we're waiting.

"So how's cheer?" he asks.

"We're doing really good," I say. "I'm actually on the dance committee so I've been helpin' decide what to do for our winter dance. We kinda thought about doin' a 60's sorta theme. But we're running short on funds so I have a few ideas about what we could do to raise money. With the cheer squads help of course. We've all got connections somewhere so it'll come in handy in a small town like ours."

Clay nods and looks interested. "Yeah, I think we'll just do a space theme or somethin' like we do every year."

I nod and sigh. Clays face brightens up and he says, "Here comes our food!"

I turn slightly, and sure enough, there it is.

I eat my food fairly quickly, trying to keep and eye on the time. Clay chuckles when I'm done and says, "I guess you didn't have lunch?"

"Yeah, that's it," I lie with a smile.

He chuckles and starts eating his food again. I tap my foot on the ground and pick up my phone.

"Ooh dang," I say. "It looks like the rain'll get worse. We should head back."

I show him my phone and he nods. "Good idea."

He grabs one last fry then we head up front to pay.

I look at the picture wall where couples post a picture. There was even one where a guy proposed to his girlfriend.

I've got to show this place to Clark.

I smile a little, then remember the mission at hand.

I sigh and follow Clay out the door.

I steak a quick glance at the time on my phone an smile. "Just in time," I mumble.

"What was that?" asks Clay.

"Just in time," I say. "To leave I mean. It looks like the rain'll hit pretty hard."

He nods and unlocks his Jeep. He starts jogging when it starts to sprinkle more and I jog/limp behind him.

I let out a breath when I reach his car and rub my knee cap.

I climb in and put on my seatbelt.

Clay looks both ways before pulling out into the street and then speeds up.

I turn on the radio and get comfortable in my seat.

Ring ring...ring ring...

I grab Clay's phone from the console before he can object and I say, "You shouldn't talk and drive. Especially not in this weather."

I press the button and hold the phone up to my ear. "Hey Kayt!"

"Wha-...how? What the hell Cara give me my phone," splutters Clay.

"Hey Cara! Am I on time?"

"Perfect," I say.

I hear Clay sigh beside me and I feel his hand reach over and try to grab the phone.

I maneuver it out of his reach and I say, "Eyes on the road Clay."

I see the highway up ahead and gulp. Clay's going pretty fast and he's not paying attention.

Clay continues to try and get his phone and I yell, "Eyes on the road!"

I feel my eyes widen and my breath hitch in my throat.

So if a sudden, I'm flying through the air. The car is spinning like a ballerina and I scream.

"Clay!"

I grab onto the door and close my eyes shut.

My head starts throbbing after it hits the window.

Black spirals form in my vision and the last thing I hear is the frantic voice of Kayt.
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