“Welcome Edwin and Co. basketball team to the court!” The announcer said over the speakers.Cheers resonated through the court as the boys ran proudly into the court pumping their fists in the air.“Gooooo EAC!” We cheerleaders cheered. Shewa was on the court taking pictures of our formation as we waved our pompoms in the air.“That’s a lot of fanfare,” the announcer continued. “Let’s see if EAC can keep up this spirit when the game begins. Now welcome on court St. Patrick’s boys!”“Tigers! We are Champions!” their cheerleaders cheered as the boys ran into the court to join our school boys. The boys showed a spirit of camaraderie, slapping hands with other and patting backs even though they were supposed to be rivals. Unlike we cheerleaders who were shooting evil glares at our rivals. It’s crazy to see how much enmity one game can cause. St. Patrick and Edwin and Co. aren’t always enemies but since both schools wanted to win it was inevitable that we should be at loggerheads.“That ch
I looked out into the court and the boys still warming up to their game. Andre was running to Aaron’s left because it looked like Ian was going to throw the ball at him. His legs were bent at the knee and for a second I watched the muscles move and remembered how his muscles felt when he lifted me. That was the first nice thing he did for me – okay that’s not fair, he did prevent me from embarrassing myself at the beach. I forced myself to look away from him. We had that talk about staying away from each other for the sake of our friends. I swallowed hard and looked across the court again for Aaron. I found him reaching up to catch the ball when Ian passed it to him.“Aaron Pratt.”When Jessica didn’t give the response I expected – she wasn’t even responding at all – I glanced at her and she was watching me closely.“What?” I asked.She shook her head. “You are not doing this because of the Head boy Head girl thing, are you? I know that has always been fated but is that why you want A
“Well, that wasn’t a good ending to the first quarter.”Coach said as much to the boys when he spoke to them but he wasn’t harsh, he simply encouraged them to do better since it was just the beginning. But he had things to say to Aaron and Andre. He finished with Aaron first and rushed him off to join the other boys getting refreshments in form of water. Our classmates and some of the other people there were encouraging them not to be discouraged and to play harder.Meanwhile with Andre and Coach…“Rios, you are only new to the team but you told me you used to play back home and you proved that by quickly becoming the star of the team in just two weeks. I understand that this is your first major but it’s also a first for all the other boys.”“I understand that, Coach,” he responded.“From what you told me you need this opportunity more than the other boys on the team and I have seen you work hard to prove that as well but what’s happening to you tonight?” Coach asked him. “You seem al
“Oh my God that was a close one! We almost didn’t win!” We were cheering so hard that for a second we all forgot how tired we were, how much our feet hurt, and how much our arms hurt from pumping fists and pompoms in the air to cheer. All that mattered was that we won. The biggest win was seeing some scouts and even celebrities talking to Mr. Jorge, congratulating him for the good game. The last few seconds had been crazy but here we are now celebrating and happy because we won the game. Everyone was holding hands as we chanted. “We are the champions! We are the champions!” For that moment alone all enmity or unsettled business was thrown aside to celebrate the common victory. Even Coach was dancing with us as we cheered. St. Patrick’s students obviously weren’t too happy with losing but what can I say? There’s always got to be a winner and a loser. I am just glad the winner is Edwin and Co. The good thing is everyone wins because I also saw some scouts talking to the Vice Princip
I can’t tell you for sure who was more surprised but I can tell you that Shewa and I had the same expression on our faces as looked at each other wondering what the heck just happened.To my surprise, we were one of the few people shocked by Carla’s actions. Everyone else was probably too excited by our victory to see a problem with what Carla did or they probably thought it was a harmless joke. Well, can someone play me Sweet Home Alabama?I watched Andre move back, a dazed dark look in his eyes as he held Carla’s gaze. She was smiling excitedly. I fought the urge to hold back the bile in my throat and when I glanced at Shewa again she mouthed, ‘Psycho’ to which I giggled.Well can’t say Shewa and I were the only ones bothered by what she did, even Andre couldn’t seem to stop frowning in Carla’s direction but she didn’t care.I don't think I will ever understand or get over Carla kissing her twin brother like that.When it was Ian’s turn to kiss, he readily went for Shewa first. She
“Bianca, please don’t go. I love you I swear. I never meant to hurt you. I never meant for things to go this far.”Those words meant nothing to me. Empty promises like the rest of his words. His lies. He lied consistently and like an idiot I believed every word he said because I was so desperate to be desired. The same way I believed Siobhan’s words. She had my best interest at heart.Right!While fucking Aaron on the side.My best friend! The girl I spent my childhood with. My other half, my sister. I trusted her like my flesh and blood and she didn't think twice about hurting me. With the boy I loved!I trusted her and told her everything. We never kept secrets from each other. We never lied to each other! I never cheated on her with her boyfriends!It all made sense now. The covert looks, the sneaky glances, the unwarranted touches from Siobhan on Aaron, the unsolicited advice asking me to think twice before having anything to do with him...it all made sense and like an idiot, I wa
It felt good. It felt so good. Better than the previous times.My arms moved up to push him away but they found themselves curving up his arms to his strong biceps pulling him closer for the kiss. I was standing on my toes hungry for more, hoping he would never stop.His soft lips pressed urgently against mine, he urged my lips apart with his tongue and I obliged, giving him access. I craved his touch, his kisses. A few seconds ago I was lost in my heartbreak, now I just want to keep kissing Andre because nothing ever felt so right. I tasted my tears on his lips as they mixed with his kisses.He moaned against my mouth, his hands sliding down my back to the small of my back and further down. With the slightest pressure, he pressed me closer and I felt his stiff erection against my lower belly.“God, I can’t stay away from you,” he moaned. "I don't ever want to stay away from you."My eyes flew open and my senses came back to me. In a flash, I pushed him away from me. He came back with
This time there was no holding back. No, I didn’t feel selfish when I wrapped my hands around his neck to kiss him, I felt as if I was doing something right. And why should I feel guilty?I felt my broken heart heal as his warmth covered me. His hands were large and warm on my waist and he pushed me gently back until I was resting on my elbows, raising my upper body to deepen the kiss. His mouth left mine and he kissed my cheek, my ears, my neck and my chin. As he did so chills rose on my body and I couldn’t stifle the small sigh that escaped my mouth as he continued to kiss my neck. I laid on my back and his body covered mine, one of his legs delving between my legs.With my hands on both sides of his face, I kissed him back, his cheeks, his lips, his jaw…we both smelled like sweat after our exhaustion earlier that evening but just the aroma of him was clouding my senses. I raised my knee and lightly brush his groin surprised to find him hard. His excitement fueled mine and I realize
When I woke up it was the morning of the next day. My room was bright and I couldn’t open my eyes because of that but when I tried to lift my hand to shield my eyes I discovered there was someone holding it. For a moment I panicked thinking I was back in Mainland, restrained. But when I opened my eyes it was Siobhan and she had tears in her eyes.“Siobhan?”She threw herself at me and hugged me tight. “You are alive! I was worried. I was so worried I was never going to see you again.”I hugged her right back because I had missed her so much. My heart ached at the thought at I could easily have died and never seen her again. But when I released her and saw the bandage on her wrist my heart lurched.“Oh my God Siobhan, what did you do?!” I asked sitting up.She cried and told me what happened and as I listened I found it increasingly hard to believe what she was saying. There’s no way I can be Edna and Anton’s daughter. And Siobhan had tried to kill herself because of that?I felt so so
Andre’s POVIt was a lot of hours since we got the call from Carol. Anton already had the money ready. The rest of the group had gone to freshen up but I was told to stay back at the hospital.“But, Mr. Hayes, Carol wants me. That’s the only condition she offered for releasing Bianca, the money doesn’t matter.”“I will not leave you to her mercies. You are the only link I have to your father and if I must do something right, I will take you under my wings and look after you like a son. But I want you to stay here and look after Siobhan, make sure she doesn’t try to hurt herself again, and talk to her when she wakes up.”I nodded my head but I was still worried.“What if Carol doesn’t…”“I have enough money to bribe her to leave you alone. I can only hope she accepts it and leaves you alone for good.”Tears filled my eyes as I doved into his arms for a hug. He hugged me just as tight.“It’s the least I do for what happened to your father. Now stay back and keep Siobhan safe.”“Yes, sir
“I’ve got a call,” he announced to everyone else. We all gathered together, forming a small circle. He waited until everyone was there before picking the call. The phone wasn’t on loudspeaker but I strained my ears to hear what Carol had to say. Of course, she demanded money and made the request I knew she was going to make. Give me Andre Rios.When Anton dropped the phone from his ear he sighed.“Well?” Cole asked impatiently.“She will let Bianca go for a price and in exchange for Andre.”Four pairs of eyes turned to me, three of them curious to know why Carol would make such a specific request.It was Cole who voiced the question. “Why does she want you?” he demanded. “What do you have to do with this?”I started to answer truthfully but Anton interrupted me. “He has nothing to do with it but we will give her the money she wants and negotiate for him,” he pointed at me.Cole wasn’t convinced with his answer but the look in Anton’s eyes was one that demanded respect for his decision
Bianca’s POV“You said this was Siobhan Hayes!” Dez argued.“I said this is the girl, don’t put words into my mouth, Dez. And try not to argue with me. What did you learn?”Carol had sent Dez out early to scout for information around town. She wanted to be sure the police weren’t on their tail. But Dez didn’t have such good news.“The news is, one of the students missing from Edwin and Co., the Head Girl, is Bianca Davis and she was last seen in the company of a gang woman in Mainland.” Dez, though short had the build of a boxer and from the scars on him, I could see he has been in his own fair share of vicious fights. If I tried to escape how many steps would I take before he overpowered me?I didn’t even want to think about escaping. I just prayed silently that some miracle would happen and I would be allowed to go home.Carol listened to Dez for a moment and then nodding her head, looked in my direction.“Turns out you are causing a whole lot more trouble than I expected.” She turn
The next morning after a sleepless night I heard a knock on my door. I sat upright in bed thinking it was Siobhan. I was ready to confess now but first I needed to call Carol.But when the door swung open it was not Siobhan that was standing there, it was Edna. Her eyes were puffed and red and she looked extremely vulnerable.“Can I come in?”“It’s your house ma’am, you can,” I responded humbly climbing out of the bed. She walked over and sat gingerly on the edge of the bed. I joined her not knowing what to say or do.“Do you think I am a monster?” she asked. Her hazel eyes stared into my soul. I know what color Bianca’s eyes are, they are hazel but they definitely didn’t look like this woman’s. Yet…the possibility was there. “You are Andre, right? My daughter’s classmate. Tell me, Andre, and be honest with me, do you think I am a monster?”“You did exchange a child for one of the craziest reasons I have ever heard, anyone would think what you did was insane. But you cared for Siobhan
“When we couldn’t have a child I resorted to drastic measures…”“Yes, you invited me to your mom, Mrs. Hayes, under the guise of a friendly invitation, drugged me, and assaulted me in the hopes of getting pregnant when you feared your husband was sterile. You almost destroyed my marriage!” Bianca’s dad yelled holding on to his wife protectively.Judging by Siobhan’s reaction to the news this was the first time she ever heard of it. Her mouth hung open and if Anton hadn’t been holding her she probably would have fainted.“I apologized for that,” Edna moaned softly, her voice croaked. “I know it doesn’t change what I did but I regretted my actions that day, I felt like a monster for almost destroying you, and believe me even now I regret that decision.”“Yet you made another terrible decision, Edna. When does it end? The lies, Edna, when do they end?”“They end now. I’ll tell you what happened.” She sniffed. “Years after we got over that unpleasant issue I found out why we couldn’t have
Bianca’s POVIt’s hard not knowing what your abductors want from you.Well, I wasn’t blindfolded so I could see everything going on and one thing I realized was there was no way out for me. There was nowhere to run to when we were on the road and when we bypassed security and got to Mainland, Carla pulled out a gun and made sure I kept my lips shut as we made our way to town to a house she said belonged to Andre’s dad. It was a nice house but as we walked past rooms and halls I could see that it was lacking financially.How many more lies, Andre?Thinking about him broke my heart because I didn’t know what to think. Just last night we confessed our love to each other and found comfort and pleasure in our bodies. What was he hiding even then? Why wouldn’t he tell me?Even though my heart fought hard against my doubt it felt like everything was a lie. He and Carla – if her name is Carla at all, had it all planned. The ease with which I was taken out of school shows careful planning. Als
“Who is he?” Was Anton Hayes’s first question as soon as we got into the house. Siobhan’s mom had grabbed her almost as soon as we came out of the car, hugging her and crying as she kissed Siobhan’s hair and face.I think that was about the same time Mrs. Hayes noticed me standing there with my small luggage. Her eyes were hazel unlike Siobhan’s and very curious as she took in my appearance.“He is my classmate,” Siobhan said. “He lives far away so I offered him a place to stay. He can stay here right Dad?”Anton was staring at me a little too closely and I felt uncomfortable but then he grunted and I guess that means yes. A housekeeper came to carry our bags and I suppose she was going to prepare a room for me too.“What happened?” Mrs. Hayes asked, going back to hysterical. “The school suddenly called and asked that all students should be taken out of school. It’s all over the news but no one is saying anything. What happened?”Siobhan shared a glance with me and as she had been doi
“Please don’t!” Carol cried, putting her hand up.to stop him. “I will go with him, Alex. I will go to Edwin and Co. with him and get Siobhan back.”Alex stopped moving. His eyes were glazed over and he continued to stare at my pathetic state on the floor with Carol cradling my head on her shoulder. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t look like he could utter a word as he stared in a trance. I coughed and blood sputtered out of my mouth. Carol cleaned it up her face etched with worry lines.“I d-don’t…” I managed to say.“You have to.” Her voice was firm, her tone strong. “Come let’s get you away from here,” she said as she helped me up. I took a few steps, grunting in pain as I did and came to stand in front of Alex. He didn’t move out of the way but Carol steered me away from him and helped me as I walked away from the room.I heard a thud and went I glanced back Alex was on his knees on the floor. I looked away but I didn’t hear his sobs as he cried and wondered how he could have beat