Unexpected Love
Chapter 6
“Uh, what the hell was that?” Amber asks still staring at me.
“Amber don’t start”, I say defensively.
“Marva, you cannot have a relationship with Rick Collins!” Amber walks over to the bed and stands in front of me.
“Why the hell not?”
“Because you’re Marva Mallory! Top girl at Central Bucks and future prom queen!”
“Amber you know I don’t care about that stuff”, I say shaking my head.
“But it matters, Marva. You have a reputation to uphold. Do you really want to go be known as the prom queen who is dating a freak?”
I stand up and look Amber straight in the eyes. I speak calmly but Amber takes a few steps back, anyway. “Rick is not a freak. He’s a great guy who isn’t full of himself. He’s honest, caring, and I like him. I really like him.”
Amber hold up her hands. “Marva, I’m your best friend who’s just trying to look out for you.”
“Right, you’re my best friend and I would expect you to be happy for me.”
“Marva. You’re a beautiful, smart, and outgoing girl. Okay, so Rick’s a nice guy. But he’s also awkward, lonesome, and terribly shy. If you guys get together, how long is it really going to last? You two are more different than alike.
High school is all about status. What level are you lowering yourself to by going out with Rick?” Amber shrugs her shoulders before sitting down on the bed.
“Just think it through, okay,” Amber pleads.
“Alright”, I sigh as I sit down next to her.
“So, what hairstyle are you going to wear?” Amber asks trying to lighten up the mood.
“I’m thinking a chignon or a French braid. Let’s look up some hairstyles online.” I power on my laptop as Amber runs her fingers through my relaxed hair.
“Hey, how ‘bout we wear the same hairstyle?” she asks.
I shrug my shoulders as we look through images of braids and updo’s.
After about twenty minutes of searching and viewing all the styles you could imagine, I come to a decision.
“Let’s both wear chignons but have them styled differently”, I suggest.
“Cool”, Amber agrees. “I’ll set up our appointments at the salon.”
For the rest of Amber’s stay we talk about school, Syracuse University, and of course, prom.
“Well, I’m going to go now”, Amber says as we both stand up.
“Alright, funny bunny.”
“Oh, and think about what I said earlier about Rick.”
“Alright, funny bunny”, I say with my hand on my hip.
After Amber leaves I head down to dinner.
After dinner I get ready for bed. As I lay in bed I think of the ‘advice’ Amber gave me about Rick.
‘High school is all about status. What level are you lowering yourself to by going out with Rick?’ she had said. Unfortunately, she was right. I mean how long would we last? Was there anything really between us? Did I really have feelings for Rick? I asked myself these questions and couldn’t answer. As I thought over it more and more I realized that me and Rick would never have anything together. And I had to quit sending the wrong messages to him.
While I lay there I resolved to put an end to me and Rick’s relationship. I had to buckle down, prom was right around the corner and like Amber had said I had a reputation to uphold.
I reached over and grabbed my cell phone from my nightstand. I quickly dialed Amber’s number. First step, skip the bus.
“Hey”, Amber rushed out in a hushed tone.
“Hey, uh, what are you doing?”
“I’m at Lamar’s.” Lamar was Amber’s long time boyfriend. He was a wide receiver on our football team and also Ronnie’s best friend. Ironically, Lamar was the complete opposite of Ronnie. He was black, polite, humble, and down to earth.
“Oh, well could you pick me up for school tomorrow?”
“Sure”, Amber says suspiciously.
“Alright, see you in the morning”, I say quickly.
“Okay”, Amber says hesitantly. She wants to know if I’m taking her advice. But she’ll find out soon enough.
As I make my way through the halls of my school I think of Marva. She wasn’t on the school bus this morning. Usually she calls me when she can’t meet up with me. I had only seen her a few times in the hallways today. I wanted to walk up to her but she was always engrossed in conversation with her friends. Usually when she was in her circle, she would look up at me and nod or wave. But today she just kept her head faced on her friends.
I have to admit I am a little scared. I hope I didn’t scare her off yesterday when I poured my heart out to her during our picnic. I know it’s silly to think that, Marva is always honest and open with me about her feelings.
Besides today I’m going to pop the big question to Marva. I want to ask her to go with me to prom. I am beside myself in excitement and something tells me she’ll say yes.
After P.E. I make my way to the locker room. I hate physical exertion and aren’t any good at it. I just want to shower and get back into my regular clothes. As I make my way over to the showers I notice that Ronnie and some of his friends are in the showers as well.
Crap.
They notice and glare at me, especially Ronnie. I keep my head down and walk into a shower stall. I try to clean myself as fast as I can. When I step out of the showers I notice Ronnie and his pack are gone. I quickly dress and make my way to the exit, when I notice Ronnie’s pack guarding the door. Ronnie steps out and approaches me. I want to run, but where can I? The only exit was the one they were blocking.
“I told you to back off. But you just can’t listen can you motherfucker?” Ronnie glares hard at me.
I start to back up but before I can get far Ronnie grabs my shoulders and yanks me towards him. The rest was a blur as Ronnie punches, slaps, and occasionally kicks the crap out of me. The beating goes on for no more than a minute, but when it’s over I am on the floor with my arms shielding my head. I feel blood coming from my nose and lip.
Ronnie stands over me with his fists still clenched. “I hope you got the message, Collins.”
He turns and leaves the locker room with his friends. I painfully stand to my feet and limp to get some paper towels. My whole body hurts and I feel like I want to vomit. At the sink I clean my cuts with water and the paper towels. I clean up as well as I can which isn’t really good. My nose isn’t broken, Thank God. But my lip is busted and I have a bruise under my left eye, which no doubt is going to turn into a shiner. Thank God school is almost over.
“What the hell happened to your face?” Carl exclaims in study hall.
“Ronnie” I groan.
“Jesus, man. He did this because of Marva?” Jose says studying my wounds closely.
“Yeah”, I sigh. “But he won’t scare me. I’m in love Marva and I’m going to ask her to prom today.”
Carl and Jose exchange looks, but know better than to say anything to me. I have always been firm in my decisions.
Jose breaths out a heavy sigh. “Why don’t you come over to my place after school and have my sister clean you up. She’s really good with these types of things.”
“Okay”, I say.
Instead of taking the bus back home I ride to Jose’s house in his car. I try calling Marva to tell her I wouldn’t be on the bus but I don’t get an answer so I just leave a message. When we get to Jose’s house we head up to his sister, Sabrina’s room. Jose lightly knocks on her bedroom door.
“Yeah?” she answers.
“It’s me and Rick.” Jose calls.
“Come in.”
We enter Sabrina’s room and find her sitting on her bed. Sabrina Lopez is twenty-three, who after graduating from college put off medical school to come back home to take care of her and Jose’s sick mother. Sabrina is a beautiful girl, with tanned skinned; waist length, brown hair; and honey colored eyes. After Marva she was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen.
Sabrina looks up at us with her killer smile, which melts away when she sees my face.
“Rick, what happened?” Sabrina’s voice full of concern.
“Uh, some guy beat me up over a girl,” I smirk.
Sabrina shakes her head and walks over to me to examine my wounds.
“Come on”, she grabs my hand and leads me to her personal bathroom.
I sit on the toilet as Sabrina applies her special balm to my cuts. She never reveals what’s in it but Jose did say that he once saw Sabrina put honey in it.
“So Jose tells me you’re in love”, Sabrina says as gently massages her balm into my wounds.
“Yeah”, I say softly.
Sabrina smiles, “So who’s the lucky girl?”
“Marva Mallory”, I say with a grin. I can’t help it.
Sabrina cocks her eyebrows. “The Marva Mallory? Miss Popular?”
“The very one.”
“Haven’t you been in love with her since, like, forever?”
“Yes, and I still can’t believe she likes me too.”
Sabrina smiles, “I’m happy for you, Rick”.
“Thanks. That makes one person.”
“Is Marva the reason this guy beat you up?”
“Yeah, but I won’t let that scare me away from her.”
“Aww”, Sabrina says smiling even brighter.
“Well, you’re a wonderful guy Rick. And if she sees what I see, I know she knows it too. Just love her and if she’s sincere, she’ll love you too.”
“Thanks Sabrina.”
“You’re welcome” she winks. “Now let’s do something with that black eye. I got something that will have it gone in two days.”
“How do you come up with these potions?” I ask amazed.
“My abuelita gave me her recipes. I use them and add some of my own ingredients to them.”
“Have you ever considered selling them?” I ask as Sabrina applies something that smells like tar to my left eye.
“No way! I’d rather give them away for free than sell them. When I become a doctor I’ll give them to my patients.”
As Jose pulls up to my house I grab my things.
“Good luck. I hope she says yes”, Jose says as he slaps me on the shoulder.
“Thanks, man. I hope she does too. Oh, and tell Sabrina I love her.”
Jose belts out a laugh. “She did patch you up pretty well.”
“She’s great!” I say.
“Yeah, she is. She’s amazing”, Jose says adoringly. Jose and Sabrina are really close and I envy their relationship. Watching them interact with each other has always made me wish I had a sibling.
“Well, later”, I say as I get out the car.
“Later”, Jose says before pulling off.
Instead of going in my house, I head over to Marva’s first.
I ring the doorbell and wait. I stand outside for a couple of minutes before the door opens. Marva looks at me in surprise before giving me a smile that doesn’t reach her eyes. I feel like something is wrong but I can’t place it.
“Hey, Rick. W-what are you doing here?” she asks. Her eyes land on my wounds and she furrows her brows, but she remains silent.
“I just wanted to stop by. Is now not a good time?”
“No. No. Come on in”, she says as she steps aside to let me in.
We head up to Marva’s room in silence.
“So what’s up?” Marva asks as she sits down on her bed.
“Just wanted to talk to you about some things. But, how was your day?”
“Pretty good,” Marva says bluntly.
“I didn’t see you on the bus this morning.”
“Yeah, I rode to school with Amber”, Marva says as she runs her hands through her silky, brown strands. She then looks at me closely, getting a good look at my wounds.
“What happened to your face?” Marva asks concerned.
“Um, well. Ronnie, um…” I sputter.
Marva perks up and stares at me. “Ronnie did this to you?”
I nod my head.
Marva shakes her head. “Rick, we need to talk. I-”
I hold up my hands. “Marva, don’’ let Ronnie scare us. He’s been doing this for years, it’s time someone stands up to him”, I say nervously.
Marva reluctantly stays silent, so I continue.
“Marva, the reason I came over here was to ask you to be my date to prom?”
There was a long silence before Marva finally speaks.
“Rick, I can’t”, she says looking me in the eyes.
“Marva, don’t let Ronnie do this to us.”
“THERE IS NO US!” Marva exclaims. She catches her tone before lowering her voice and continuing, “Rick this is not about Ronnie. It’s about the fact that I don’t want to go to prom with you because we don’t have anything.”
I feel my heart almost stop. Marva did not just say that! I must not have heard right. We had grown so close over these past weeks and we both showed feelings for each other. How could we not “have anything”?
“M-Marva”, I sputter. “W-what do you mean? I thought we were getting closer.”
“Rick, we’re from different worlds. I couldn’t possibly go to prom with you or date you.” The emotion had all but drained from Marva’s face and eyes. She stares at me blankly while I stare back at her bewildered.
“Why not?” I demand. “You told me you don’t care about those things. That being popular wasn’t who you were but how people viewed you.”
“Rick, being popular IS who I am! I have a reputation to uphold. We can’t be together, it would never work! You’re not for me and I’m not for you.”
“What are you saying I’m not good enough for you?” I ask.
Marva doesn’t answer. She now stands with her arms crossed. Who was this woman? Where was the Marva I had grown to fall in love with? Why was she being so distant and abrupt?
“But what about all the things that happened between us?” I ask pleadingly.
“They didn’t mean anything. Just because you kiss someone doesn’t make them your soul mate Rick.”
Another blow. This could not be happening. NO! NO! NO! NO! I love this girl! What went wrong? What did I do?
“You helped me come to terms with my Dad’s suicide you helped me through that. You’re the first person I could open up to about him”, I say as my voice breaks.
Marva still stares at me blankly. “I was glad I could help you through your situation. But I’m not a therapist.”
My stomach drops and I now look at Marva through a new lens. Carl and Jose were right! They were right! Marva never really cared for me, she was just using me! But for what?
I take a deep breath and try to hold back the tears that are threatening to spill over. I won’t let her see me cry. “So what was I a distraction? Was I just something to make Ronnie jealous?” I ask bitterly.
Marva shrugs her shoulders. “You can think whatever you want, Rick. I’m just telling you there’s nothing between us.”
“YOU BITCH!” I shout. “You lead me on. If you never cared, why didn’t you ignore me like you always did?”
“WHO ARE YOU CALLING A BITCH?!!! YOU… YOU FREAK!” she shouts back. “You think I really wanted you?! Well I didn’t! Get over it, you damn loser.”
“You’re the loser, Marva Mallory! You are! You think you’re so great, you and your friends. You all walk around like God made you special or something. Well let me tell you something.” I walk up to Marva and stare her right in the eyes. A face I once considered heavenly now looked repulsive.
“You are a loser. You’re a failure to your parents. They could have never asked for a worse daughter. You’re selfish, arrogant, and going nowhere. You’re nothing special Marva and one day that truth is going to smack you in your damn face.”
I could tell I hit a mark. Marva’s eyes welled up with tears and she wore a hurt expression.
“Get out”, she whispers.
“Fine! I never want to see you again anyway.”
Marva’s eyes well up with another emotion. Guilt, maybe? I don’t know and I don’t care. I turn and rush out of her room and out of her house. I am through with Marva Mallory!
When Rick leaves, I lay down on my bed. Damn! I can’t believe that just happened. I wanted to let Rick down easy, not get into a name calling match with him. I saw the hurt look in his eyes and I couldn’t help but feel like a bitch. I wanted to apologize but in my heart I knew this all was for the best. Amber was right, Rick isn’t on my level and never will be.
I sit and think about our argument. I don’t feel like I did or said anything wrong. And if Rick actually believed I was going to make him my boyfriend, he only has himself to blame for his own naiveté.
Soon my thoughts drift to Ronnie. Today was Friday and he had been throwing me looks all day. He wanted his answer. A picture of Rick’s bruised face flashes in my mind but I quickly push it away. No more thoughts of Rick Collins.
I grab my cell and dial Ronnie’s phone number. I’ve always had it programmed into my phone but have never called it. After a few seconds Ronnie picks up.
“Hello, Marva”, he says in a teasing voice.
“Hey, Ronnie”, I say trying to sound cheerful.
“What a pleasure to hear from you. What brings this call?” he asks mockingly. Ronnie can be such an asshole.
“I wanted to talk to you about you prom proposal.”
“Oh, really. And what’s your answer?”
I hold my breath. I’m about to sell my soul to the devil but I have no other choice.
“Well, I thought it over and I decided that I would love to go to prom with you.”
“Great”, Ronnie says coolly.
We finalize the plans for our date and ten minutes later everything is finished.
“So, how’s your friend, Rick?” Ronnie asks mischievously.
“Don’t know, haven’t talked to him”, I lie.
“Good. Is it going to stay that way?”
“I guess. We aren’t friends anymore.”
I skip out on telling Ronnie about me and Rick’s fight. He’s no confidant of mine. I’ll just let him think the ass whooping scared Rick off.
“Well, that’s nice to hear. Well, I gotta go, babe. Be pretty for me on prom night.”
“You know I will”, I say in a false, sweet voice.
Ronnie chuckles before hanging up the phone.
“Ugh”, I say as I lay back on my pillows.
Well, it was a necessary evil and besides it’s only for prom night.
***~~~***
Monday morning I am standing at the school bus stop when I hear footsteps approaching. I turn and look into the hazel eyes of Rick. He quickly turns his head from me and remains silent until our bus comes.
As I board the bus I sit next to a smiling Ronnie. Rick makes his way to the back of the school bus ignoring us both. If that’s the way he wants to be, then fine! It didn’t have to be this way. Friday, I was originally going to tell him that we couldn’t be in a relationship but we could still be friends. But since it didn’t work out like that, I soon realized that this way-neither of us talking to each other-was for the best. I have a rep to uphold, I can’t even be friends with a guy like Rick.
During the weekend, I sulked and mostly stayed in my room. I ignored all my calls from Carl and Jose. Even though I felt bad about ignoring them I was heartbroken. Marva Mallory had made me feel cared for, liked, appreciated and in a matter of minutes she snatched it all away from me. I wanted to forgive her, wanted to call her and apologize for calling her out of her name. But as I reflected on it more and more, I realized that Marva had expressed her true feelings and had treated me like I was beneath her. I didn’t owe her a damn thing!
Mom had been a worried about my sullenness, but especially about my bruises. I just told her I wasn’t feeling too well and that my bruises had come from overexertion in P.E. Fortunately, she bought it. I hated lying to Mom but I didn’t want to upset her. She watched over me cautiously during the weekend but let me relax until I was feeling better. After purging myself of all feelings and thoughts of Marva I was back to my old self, which Mom was happy to see.
I didn’t even feel the urge to speak to Marva at the bus stop. My stomach didn’t even flip when I saw her. I was through with her. Marva went on about playing her role of ‘Miss Popular’ as she sat down next to Ronnie on the bus and chatted and laughed with him and his friends. I ignored them and read the book I had just started reading over the weekend.
When I walk to the lunch table with my tray in hand, I notice Carl and Jose both staring at me looking annoyed.
“Why didn’t you answer any of our calls?” Carl asks sporting a frown.
“I’m sorry guys”, I say. “I was mentally cleansing myself.”
Carl and Jose give me confused looks so I relate the story of me and Marva’s fight to them.
“I’m not going to say I told you so”, Jose says while shaking his head. “But, I never trusted that girl.”
“I can’t believe she said those things to you. Who does she think she is? She can’t treat people anyway she sees fit”, Carl says as he frowns even harder.
“You guys were right she was using me. Probably trying to make Ronnie jealous. I mean, this guy beat the crap out of me over this girl and she acts like she doesn’t even care. I was willing to stand up to him to be with her. And what do I get, nothing. Not a damn thing!”
Carl and Jose shake their heads.
“I loved this girl, guys! But I was too blind to see that a girl like her would never love me back.”
“She’ll get hers. People like her always do. She’ll regret the way she treated you”, says Carl.
“He’s right, Rick. Just let her go, she’s not worth it. You can find way better”, Jose adds.
I nod my head in agreement.
“You guys are right. And I’m sorry I didn’t take your advice. You were just looking out for me. I’ll never trust anyone more than you guys.”
Jose smiles, “Don’t worry about it, man.”
I smile back at my friends and we finish our lunch discussing more cheerful topics.
No comments:
Post a Comment