The Seven Devils (YA "New Adult" Romance) (11 page)

He studied me carefully. “What business do you have with Neil?”

“No business… I just need to talk to him. To apologize.”

He looked taken aback. “You think you need to apologize to him for something? Listen, he’s not here and won’t be back for several days. My advice to you is to leave and never come back. My son is the type who always has something he should be apologizing for, not someone you should ever ask for forgiveness. Whatever wrong you feel you have done to him, rest assured he has done much worse to you, whether you realize it or not.”

“How can you say that?” I shot back. “He’s your son!”

Neil’s father’s eyes burned into mine. “Listen, I’m allowing him to stay in my house until graduation at the risk of my safety and that of my wife because I feel some sense of responsibility for what we created. We are forced to be with him and deal with him for 18 years or our lives, and that’s our problem, but for someone to willingly spend time with him… to defend him. That’s, I’m sorry, but fucking stupid.”

I felt as if I had swallowed fire; my insides burned with hatred. “Where is he?” I asked.

Neil’s father shook his head at me and turned around to head back into the house. “A science thing at Carnegie Melon. Now get out and don’t come back,” he said as he flipped the lights back off and returned inside, dragging the bat in beside him.

***

“You really need to break up with him. Now,” Hannah said. “You’re not safe around him!”

“I know,” I replied, rubbing my temples. I hadn’t even told her the whole truth about Derrick and his threats, all I said was that he was really pushy and was constantly all over me. “I’m just not sure how to do it. I mean, I can’t do it here at school, that’s for sure. I don’t want people to overhear.”

Hannah shook her head slowly. “I knew Derrick wasn’t right for you. You’re too nice for him Ellen.”

I stared across the bathroom at an open stall door where I could see some girl had scrawled DERRICK IS SO SEXXXY!! “I know. I’m so stupid,” I replied.

Hannah laughed. “Well I can’t say I can blame you. He is really cute. Not as cute as Garret of course,” she ended, giggling.

“So when can I finally meet this boyfriend of yours?” I asked, happy for a change of subject.

Her eyes got bigger. “Seriously? You’re ready to go out with us? Let’s do it on Wednesday night! The teachers have their in-service stuff Thursday and Friday, so we have a long weekend. We’ll watch a movie or something!”

“Sounds great,” I replied, grinning. “I’ll hang out with you two on Wednesday night and I’ll see if I can get Derrick alone on Thursday and end it with him. Somehow,” I added, rubbing my temples again.

“This is going to be great,” Hannah said, bouncing up and down.

I was silent for a few moments. “Do you think Neil will ever speak to me again?”

Hannah immediately answered, “If he doesn’t, then he’s not as smart as I thought he was. You two are right for each other, I can see it.”

I smiled. “Thanks Hannah. I’m sure it’s not fun to hear me whining on and on about him like this.”

“I can see it in Neil though too. When you were together he looked actually happy, which was a real first. Lately he has been looking even more miserable than usual in class. Plus I used to see him every now and then running along my road at night, but I had been seeing him nearly every night before he left on this trip. I don’t think he does anything anymore but run. He misses you; it’s clear.”

“I just wish he would let me talk to him. I know we could work it out,” I said miserably.

“Well, that’s the plan, right?” Hannah asked. “By the time he gets back from this science thing, Derrick will be history and you’ll talk to Neil and explain how much you miss him. Everything’s going to work out… you’ll see!”

***

The next day I made sure to eat lunch in the cafeteria with Derrick so I could set up a date for Thursday. I passed Hannah in the hallway and she flashed me a thumbs up.

Nearly as soon as Derrick and I sat down he said, “So I wake up at the party and find that you left without me? How do you think that made me look?” His nostrils flared and he grabbed my arm.

I faltered. “I just wasn’t feeling good. I didn’t want to ruin your night, so I walked home.”

Derrick’s grip loosened. “Well, we have a four day weekend to make up for lost time. Come to my football practice after school tomorrow and we’ll have some fun afterwards. It’s our last practice of the year and I’m sure I’d appreciate a good rub-down afterwards.”

“I can’t tomorrow. I have plans.”

His mouth became one tight line. “Plans? With who?”

“My friend Hannah. I’m going to watch a movie with her and her boyfriend,” I said.

“Hannah Wright?? That dipshit deaf-mute? Why would you want to spend time with her?”

I stared at him coldly and ripped my arm out of his grip. “She’s only deaf, not mute. And why would you say things like that? She’s my friend.”

“You’re my girlfriend,” he said fiercely, leaning closer to me, “You’re supposed to come to practice and my games to support me.”

His cold stare shook me and I sat back in my chair, but I stuck to my guns. “I’m sorry, I already made plans. We’ll go out on Thursday.”

He looked so angry that I was tempted to give in and go out with him Wednesday and see if Hannah could do something on Thursday instead, but I held firm. I wasn’t going to be pushed around anymore.

“Fine,” he said stiffly. “But you’ll owe me.”

I wasn’t worried. He’d be out of my life in no time.

***

What I really should have planned for those days off was nonstop studying. I found myself falling behind in my classes at an alarming rate. For weeks I don’t think I heard a word my teachers had said, I was too busy staring out the window and imagining ways I could get Neil to talk to me again. I had three tests the next week and God only knows how I’d manage to pass them, especially with having plans on Wednesday and Thursday… and hopefully Friday too if Neil was back by then. There was no way I’d push off my plans for meeting Garret or ditching Derrick, though. I’d make it through my school work somehow.

Mr. Hanover informed me in band that he had considered giving me a solo for the Christmas concert, but decided against it. He said he had been questioning my commitment to the band. I told him quite honestly that I was questioning it myself. It was hard to get into it the way I used to when so much else was going on in my life. It didn’t make things easier that Erin treated me like a leper. Melanie was a bit nicer, but she was also still Erin’s best friend, so she rarely spoke to me if Erin was around, which was almost always the case.

My mother had some news for me when she came home from work that evening. “I dumped Phil!” she announced.

“What? Why?” I asked.

“He wouldn’t stop talking about his ex-wife,” she said. “I just got sick of dealing with it, so I decided to move on to greener pastures!”

“Greener pastures?” I asked.

“Yep. I asked out my boss,” she said, grinning, “and he accepted! His name is Chad and he’s ten times the man Phil will ever be. A hundred times the man your father was,” she added snidely.

“Well, why is it that I try to tell you Derrick isn’t a good guy and you tell me to stick with him, but you get to dump your guy, no questions asked?”

She rolled her eyes. “Because Phil was a loser, and from what Austin has told me, you can’t do much better than Derrick in this town,” she said, heading to her room.

I exhaled sharply. “You don’t know a damn thing!” I called after her. “Either of you!”

Chapter 13

Hannah and Garret picked me up Wednesday evening and Garret drove us out to Hannah’s house. It was several miles outside of town, and when we pulled into the driveway I remembered what Hannah said about seeing Neil running. “Neil runs all the way out here?” I asked.

Hannah laughed. “Yeah, here and even further. I told you he ran a lot. He’s not kidding around.”

I shook my head, astonished, and tried to figure out how many miles it must be from Neil’s house to Hannah’s and back.

I was bombarded by Hannah’s parents as soon as I entered the house. “Here she is John,”

Hannah’s mom Donna said, and put an arm around my shoulders.

“Hi there Ellen! Nice to meet you,” Hannah’s father said, and shook my hand.

“We were thrilled when Hannah said you were coming over. It’s so nice to know that not everyone at that school is a –“

“Donna,” John interrupted her. “Why don’t you go get these kids some sodas while I show off the backyard?”

“Dad,” Hannah said, “We didn’t come here to admire your work.”

“Oh it will only take a moment!” John said excitedly and motioned for me to follow him out the French doors at the far end of the room. When I stepped out into their backyard I was completely speechless.

“What does she think?” Donna called from the kitchen.

John grinned, “I think she likes it!”

Their backyard was absolutely beautiful. There was a cobblestone path leading through a large wooden arch that was covered in thick vines. Beyond that were gigantic bushes cut into the shape of animals; a lion, hippo, monkey, and even a giraffe. There was also a huge fountain in the center with soft lighting to show off the animals as well as its own brilliant water show.

“This is my little workshop,” John said. “I own a landscaping business and I always try out my new ideas here. You should see it in the spring when I do it all in flowers. I thought the animals here would look nice and add life to the yard all through the winter.”

“It’s wonderful,” I said. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“Thanks,” John said, grinning. “My landscaping business is also what brought Hannah and Garret together! He started working with me when he was just a freshman in high school, and when he met my Hannah, you could just see the sparks fly.”

“Oh, Hannah had never mentioned how they met!” I said as he led me back inside.

Hannah, Garret, and I retreated to the basement where we put in a slasher movie. “We don’t go to theatres much,” Hannah explained. “It’s hard for me to follow movies since they don’t always show the people who are talking and they don’t supply subtitles.”

“Fine by me!” I said. “Besides, you can’t do this in a theatre,” I said, putting my feet up on an ottoman.

I enjoyed my night with them, especially the chance to meet Garret. Hannah had mentioned that he was funny, but I didn’t expect to get a stomach cramp from laughing so much. His jokes helped me keep my mind off the fact that they looked so cute curled up on the couch together and I was there alone.

Towards the end of the night I said, “Garret, you’re a guy. I have to break up with someone tomorrow and I’m kind of nervous about it. Is there a good way to break up with someone without it getting really messy? I just don’t want to make him angry.”

“Whatever you do, don’t say you just want to be friends,” he said, sitting up.

“But I do just want to be friends,” I said, laughing. “He wasn’t that bad when he wasn’t trying to stick his tongue down my throat.”

“Yeah, but don’t say it. It’ll just piss him off,” he replied.

“So… just say ‘I don’t want to see you anymore’, and that’s it?” I asked doubtfully.

“You could always knee him in the crotch; that’ll get your point across,” Garret suggested.

“Just tell him you don’t think you’re right for each other,” Hannah suggested, elbowing Garret in the ribs. “That’s truthful and straightforward.”

I nodded. I couldn’t wait until it was all over with.

***

Derrick had said to dress nicely for our date, which made me kind of nervous. I asked him if we could just have a nice casual date, but he wouldn’t hear of it. He picked me up at 6:30 sharp and I was amazed to see he was even wearing a tie. When he saw me his eyes lit up.

“Another skirt,” Derrick said, eyeing my legs appreciatively. I couldn’t help but blush. He drove us to a restaurant about a half hour away and it looked extremely expensive. We were seated by a waiter who knew him by name, and Derrick ordered for both of us without even touching the menu. “My parents take me here every Sunday for family brunch,” he said. “I know the menu by heart.”

I smiled and asked him about football and how the practice had gone. He went on and on about how they were sure to beat New Bremen, Minster’s rival team, the next evening and I just sat there, smiling and nodding, letting my mind wander. I shouldn’t break up with him in a nice restaurant like this, especially one he frequents often. How embarrassing! Maybe afterwards we could go somewhere quieter and I could talk to him there. But what if he was so angry that he left me there and I had to find my way home alone? There’s no way I could handle that in heels. I’ll do it as he drops me off, I decided. I just needed to make it through the night.

Derrick asked me if I had fun with Hannah the night before, and smirked when I told him I had a great time. I was glad when the food came so that I wouldn’t have to make conversation. My fettuccini was so fantastic it almost made up for my company.

When the check arrived, I asked Derrick to let me pay my half. It didn’t seem right to let him buy me dinner when I knew I was about to break up with him. Derrick looked as though I had smacked him. “Absolutely not,” he said firmly. I opened my mouth to insist again, but I realized that I probably didn’t have enough money on me to cover whatever my part of the bill came to. I shut my mouth and let the subject drop.

We got back into his car and he turned to face me. “What next?” he asked. “Where do you want to go?”

It was still early enough that I knew he’d complain if I asked him to bring me home already, and if we went to one of his friend’s houses I knew he’d end up drinking.

“How about something quiet. We could go for a walk in the woods behind my house maybe? It would look really beautiful tonight with the full moon.”

“Fine,” he said, and began to drive.

“You have such sexy legs,” he said, looking down towards them. He placed his hand on my thigh and began to inch it up under my skirt.

“Derrick!” I said sharply.

He grinned. “Just admiring the goods. Are you going to tell me you’ve never pictured me naked?” he asked.

I blushed at the thought. “See?” he said. “You’re just as bad as I am. I know you want it as bad as I do.” I just shook my head.

We stepped into my house for a moment so I could grab a pair of real shoes. Derrick lay on my bed while I laced my sneakers and said, “Are you sure you still want to take that walk? We could stay right here.”

“No,” I said firmly, “I’d really like to take a walk.”

“Alright,” he said. “You play boss now, I play boss later.”

I held onto his arm as we walked through the woods. I hoped I wasn’t sending mixed signals, but it was hard to see even with the full moon and I didn’t want to trip and fall. I hadn’t planned on going far, but my courage kept failing me and we were quite deep in before I worked up my resolve.

“Can we talk?” I asked.

“Okay,” Derrick replied.

I stopped walking and turned to face him, then got too flustered and stared at the ground instead.

“I don’t think we’re really working out. I just don’t think we have anything in common. I think we’d make better friends than boyfriend/girlfriend.”

“Crap,” I thought immediately, remembering the conversation with Garret. I wasn’t supposed to say the friend thing.

Derrick didn’t say a word, and when I looked up I saw he was just staring at me. After an uncomfortable pause, he said, “So I’m just supposed to take you out, and talk to you, and get nothing in return? Hear about your stupid little disabled friend instead of sitting with the guys at lunch? Spend all my money on gas and food for you and this is what I get?”

He took several steps towards me and I took several back.

“What’s in it for me Ellen? What do I get in return??”

“I… I don’t know what you mean,” I said, my voice cracking in fear.

“Austin told me about you, how your dad treated you, so I took it slow. I sat there week after fucking week before I made my move and asked you out. And still nothing?”

He grabbed my face roughly, making sure I was looking him in the eyes. “Do you have any idea how much your dinner cost tonight?” he yelled, “and I’m not getting anything out of it other than the pleasure of your company?”

“I offered to pay,” I said piteously.

“You owe me much more than that,” Derrick said, sneering.

He shoved me and I flew backwards into a tree. The impact made my head ring and I fell down to my knees. My heart raced and I realized how stupid I was to bring him to a secluded place.

Derrick lifted me roughly by the shoulders. He pinned me between his body and the tree, then with a smirk, used one hand to lift me by the neck. It was the same way Neil had held him that day in the bathroom. My body seemed to turn to ice; so sudden and so instant was my fear.

“No No NO!!” my brain shouted as he ripped open my shirt. My hands clawed at his, but he barely seemed to notice this as he pushed my bra up, exposing my breasts to the night. His eyes flamed and he seemed like an animal. He examined my body as if it were a fresh kill. I felt completely helpless.

His grip on my throat loosened a bit as he lowered his head and took my right nipple into his mouth. I gasped for air and then tried to scream, but he squeezed my neck even tighter, cutting off all airflow. I choked and panicked, trying desperately to tear his hand from my neck.

“You stupid cunt,” he growled at me as he began to undo his belt with his free hand. “I’m going to fuck you so hard you won’t be able to sit for weeks without thinking of me.”

I tried to kick him but it seemed to have no effect. He was just too strong for me. I was growing weak and realization set in. Not only was he about to rape me, but I may die as well.

I stared down in horror as he undid the button on his pants and unzipped them. When his pants dropped he tossed me to the ground like a piece of trash. I managed to get to my hands and knees before he grabbed me by the hips and forced my skirt up.

His nails dug into my skin as he ripped my panties down. I managed to turn my body as he struggled to get them past my knees and I kicked with all my might. My sneaker connected with his nose and he fell backwards.

“You BITCH!” he cried and smacked me hard across the face. I fell back and screamed, but I was so out of breath that I knew it was probably too quiet to carry to the houses nearby. I curled onto my side, jerking my bra back down and pulling my legs in as tight as possible to try to protect myself.

Behind me I heard Derrick say, “What the –“ and then groan. I looked back at him and there was Neil. He held Derrick to the ground with a knee to his chest and I watched as he punched him square in the face repeatedly. I watched in horror as Neil stood and kicked him in the side several times.

Derrick’s head lolled around and fell to the side so he was facing me. I saw the blood oozing from his mouth and nose. He didn’t seem to be conscious any longer. His bright blue eyes stared lifelessly in my direction. Fear was crashing into me like waves.