This Trust of Mine (5 page)

I took in a
deep breath and repeated until every last ball was back where I had started. As
I jogged back over to my belongings, I heard a faint clapping in the distance,
which jarred me out of my focus. I was an in the moment kind of guy and someone
always had to fuck it up some how, especially when I was practicing.

When I
caught sight of a beautiful brunette in the distance, I could have sworn it was
Kayla. I could imagine her here with me, watching me throw and bat, something
she had never seen before. Before I knew it, I had a ridiculously happy smile
plastered across my face. As I jogged closer to the amazingly beautiful girl,
her face finally came into view and I stopped dead in my tracks, almost
trippin' over my own two feet. I should've known it wasn't Kayla. She was a
million miles away, or so it seemed, and in a different state. Korena stood there
staring back into my eyes, but I just couldn't bring myself to look away. I
knew with every fiber of my being that being around this girl was only going to
lead to misery, but somethin' inside was craving the attention. I shook the
thoughts from my mind before I spoke. I needed a level head to get my point
across, and every time I was around this girl, it seemed to turn to mush. At
least until she opened her mouth to speak. That's where her and Kayla differed.

"Hey
Madison. You looked great out there." Her voice was shrill and it made me
want to cover my ears like a five-year-old child and scream.

"What
are you doing here Korena?" I could tell she could sense my displeasure
with her being around, because her facial expression went from excitement to
disappointment in less than five seconds.

"I'm
sorry to just show up again, but you have been ignoring me and I just kind of
wanted to know why."

She was
fidgeting and playin' with long strands of her hair. The fidgeting brought my
mind back to thoughts of Kayla, but I quickly squashed those knowin' that this
girl could never be Kayla; no matter how hard she tried.

"Look
Korena, I'm going to be completely honest with you. I have someone back home,
in Texas. We aren't really together right now, but I made a promise to her that
I have already broken, and I'm not looking to repeat it anytime soon. Got
it?" I finished gathering all my equipment back into my bag and was makin'
my way in her direction to head out to my truck.

"Don't
you think you should have shared that with me before you slept with me last
night?" She was starting to get angry, I could hear it in her voice.

"Maybe,
yes, but we also agreed to not call each other."

"I
never said that."

"Um,
yeah you kind of did. We both agreed that we didn't do numbers and calling the
next day. I'm sorry, but it's just not going to happen." I was almost to
the quiet sanctuary of my truck, when my phone started blaring its custom
ringtone for Kayla. I could hear Korena's footsteps falling in line with mine
and now I was just starting to get pissed off. I quickly turned around and she
almost ran head first into my heaving chest.

"Korena,
it's not gonna happen. I'm sorry."

She quickly
turned and started walking towards the only other car in the lot when I decided
to answer the phone before Kayla hung up.

"Hey
pretty girl, how are ya?" I waited with baited breath, hoping she would be
in a more talkative mood today.

"Hey
cowboy, so much for a call this morning, huh?"

"I'm so
sorry, Darlin'. I totally spaced that I had practice this mornin'. I was
actually just about to call you. I was hittin' some balls around after practice
and lost track of time. How has your day been?" God it was so good to hear
her voice. I missed her sweet Texan drawl and the way she called me cowboy. She
had only uttered a few words and my body was already humming.

"My day
has been...amazing, actually. I woke up this mornin' still feelin' a little bit
crummy, but that changed fast. When I got outside, my grandparents had a
surprise waitin' for me. It was the most beautiful cherry red..."

"Madison,
I guess I'll just call you later then?"

Shit, shit,
double shit!

I hadn't
noticed that Korena hadn't left the parking lot. She was now standin' by the
hood of my truck, tryin' to get my attention. What was it gonna take for this
girl to leave me the hell alone? I covered the speaker of the phone as quickly
as I could, praying that Kayla hadn't heard her.

"Madison,
who is that?"

Damn it! Of
course I wasn't that lucky. "Nobody pretty girl, nobody at all. Now what
were you sayin'?" I was prayin' with everything inside of me that she
would just let this thing go. I caught Korena's eyes in my line of sight and
pointed my finger at her before covering my lips with my pointer finger. A
mischievous smile spread across her full pout before I continued my
conversation. "Now what were you sayin?"

"If you
need me to let you go, I can? Maybe you should go talk to whatever girl is
waitin' around for ya."

"It's
not like that. She just a girl from one of my classes."

"You're
not even in classes yet."

Shit!

"You're
one horrible liar, Madison Raine. Goodbye!"

The line
went dead and I had the overwhelming urge to unleash on Korena. I would never
hit a girl, ever, but trust me this bitch deserved it.

"Why
the hell would you do that?"

"Do what?"
She was tryin' to be all flirty and play coy, but that shit wasn't about to fly
with me. She was fuckin' with the wrong guy this time.

"You
know exactly what you did. Don't ever talk to me again Korena. If I had wanted
to be with you before, your little stunt just now just ruined any chance of
that. We're done."

I jumped up
into my truck and started the engine, revving it loud enough to make my point.
I threw it in reverse and gunned it out of the parking lot. I didn't need to
look in the rear view mirror to know I had left her standing there, hurt and
most likely cryin', but if you're gonna try and fuck with the only relationship
I had ever wanted, then I was sure as hell goin' to make you pay for makin' me
lose it.

I made my
way back to the dorms in no time at all, and I prayed that Kayla would pick up
her phone when I tried to call her back. I threw my stuff onto my bed and sat
on the floor as I listened to her voicemail pick up. I let out a strangled
groan and quickly dialed her number again. After my fifth attempt and no
answer, I resigned to let her come to me, but I hoped that wouldn't take a
million years. I threw my phone onto the small wooden nightstand before I
headed to the showers. This day had taken a turn for the worst and it wasn't
even my fault. Okay, most of it was my fault.

Kayla

"You
have got to be kidding me? Seriously, another girl?" Cami's voice was
higher pitched than I had ever heard it before and I almost wanted to start
laughing, but I was too pissed to even try.

"Yeah.
She was all, "Madison, so you'll call me later then?" I mean come on.
What the hell?" I was pacing around my room so hard, that I'm surprised I
wasn't leaving a ring from my boots skidding on the carpet.

"Oh
hell no. Who the hell does this girl think she is?" Cami was just as
pissed as I was and before I could stop her, she was on her phone with none
other than, Glenn.

"How
could your boy do this to her? She doesn't deserve to be treated like this,
especially not by him."

She paused
for what I could only assume was Glenn arguing back with her. I didn't know if
he already knew what was going on, but if he didn't, he sure would now.

"I
don't give a shit. If you only knew what she has been through, you wouldn't
even be trying to stick up for that piece of shit."

"Cami,
what the hell?" I couldn't believe she had just said that to Glenn. The
only people who knew about that night, was Cami and my Gram. "CAMI!"

She stopped
mid bitch out to turn and look at me.

"WHAT
KAY?"

"I told
you not to tell anyone. What the hell do you think you are doin'?"

She waved me
off and rolled her eyes before she continued on with her interrogation.
"Don't tell me you didn't know about this other girl. If you ever want any
sort of a relationship with me, you will tell me the truth right this
second." She took in an audible breath before settling herself into a
sitting position on my bed. "Swear to me that you have no idea? Because I
swear to god above that if you are lying to me, I will have your balls. Okay,
okay, I believe you. Okay. Um..It's not my place to say. I'm sorry. I shouldn't
have said anything. I'll talk to you later."

I was
standin' at the end of my bed, hands on hip, tapping the toe of my boot against
the carpet. "Well?"

"I'm so
sorry Kay. I didn't mean to let that slip out. I was just so mad at that
douchebag. I just don't understand what the hell was going through that dumb
ass brain of his. You need to tell him, Kayla."

"No
Cami, that's where you are wrong. I don't
need
to tell him anything. He is free to live his life however he wants, and so
am I. I don't need him runnin' back to me, just because I was raped by my
horrendous ex boyfriend. I don't want him bein' with me out of pity."

Cami made
her way off the bed and over to me. Her arms wrapped tightly around my waist
and the million tears I had wanted to let go, broke through the dam and flooded
my eyes.

"Kay,
it's going to be okay. I promise honey."

"How
can you promise that? You don't know."

"I may
not know how it will all turn out, but I know you Kayla James, and you are one
of the strongest people I know. To have been able to put up with your mother
for as long as you did and then Wren. I know you'll come out on the other side
of this being stronger than ever."

I hugged
Cami back as tightly as her tiny frame would allow. I was thankful in that
moment to have her here with me. I was grateful to have one person in my life,
outside of my grandparents of course, that loved me enough to stay by my side.
Apparently, I had misjudged Madison when it came to that.

I pulled
away from Cami and dried my tears with the bottom of my tank top. When I lifted
the hem and exposed my bare belly in front of Cami, I had forgotten about the
bruises that still covered my stomach and ribs. I quickly put my tank top back
in place and started makin' my way over to the bathroom, when Cami shot across
the room pulling the bathroom door closed before I could make it inside.

"What
the hell are those?" When I didn't answer she got louder. "Kayla
Anne, what the fuck are those? And how have I not noticed them?" She
pointed directly at my belly before I turned and headed for downstairs.
"Don't you dare walk away from me, Kay. Get back here!"

I was now
running out the back door, heading in the direction of our spot. I needed to
get away, I needed some time to think and breathe without the constant scrutiny
of my best friend.

When I
reached the top of the hill, I bent over trying to catch my breath. I hadn't
been able to run as well as I used to, but I was finally starting to feel like
my old self again, at least in that department. After a few seconds of rapid
breaths, I made my way over to the welcoming shade, I threw myself onto the
ground next to the trunk. I slowly lowered my head down as I stared out at the
expansive horizon, trying to digest everything that had happened in the last twenty-four
hours.

I had told
my grandmomma and my best friend about one of the worst experiences any person
would ever endure, I almost told my non-boyfriend about it, and I had heard
another girl practically hit on my non-boyfriend. As much as I knew he deserved
to know, now I wasn't so sure. I was already scared to tell him, knowing he
would always look at me differently, but now I was scared to even face my best
friend knowing I would probably have to tell her the whole truth this time
about what had happened.

I
frantically searched my front pockets for a cigarette and let out a sigh of
relief as my fingers grazed the crinkled package. I brought the butt of the
cigarette to my mouth and inhaled the intoxicating smoke into my lungs, filling
them to the brim. As I exhaled the remaining smoke, I opened my eyes to a
scrutinizing glare. Cami stood over me, hands on hips just waiting to pounce.
"What do you want Cam?"

"Look
Kay, I'm sorry I let that slip out when I was talking to Glenn. I was just so
damn frustrated at the fact that he wouldn't just tell me the truth."

"Have
you ever stopped to consider that maybe he was telling the truth?"

"Maybe.
It just seems unfathomable with how close him and Madison are. I mean it's very
hard to believe that Madison wouldn't tell Glenn something like that."

I took
another drag off of my smoke before continuing. "Cam, Madison has been
gone for a month. I mean, I'm sure he and Glenn talk, but I honestly don't
think it's as often as you or I would like to believe. You know Glenn well
enough now, to know he wouldn't lie to you."