Belle 9: Miranda Hits

I was walking home the Monday after Thanksgiving break. I didn’t feel like waiting for Brody to come out with Miranda and start their after school make-out. It was getting to a point where I couldn’t stand it anymore.

I actually liked the walk home on the country farm side of town. Even with the tree nearly naked, it was still pretty to look at. I remember walking home with Brody before he had a car. We’d take our time getting home. He’d help me balance while I walked on the old white wood fence lining the dirt road separating from the line of trees along the fence. We’d sometimes hop the fence and climb the trees pretending to be monkeys or play hide-and-seek or tag.

The memories of him were so sweet and warm, but it was rare to have anything close to those kinds of memories. I was left alone to remember while Brody left and forgot them all. I could still hear us laughing in the wind, but all Brody could hear was valley girl voices nagging him. I missed him like crazy.

I, suddenly, heard a convertible coming up fast behind me. I turned around just as it went to hit me. I jumped up on the fence so it missed. I heard valley girl laughs coming from the car. It whipped around and stopped right in front of me.

Miranda jumped out of the car with her leading ladies. They crowded around me. They could’ve killed me right there just from the smell of their old lady perfume.

“Listen, b***h, I don’t like you hanging out with my man, so I suggest you delete his number, don’t talk to him, don’t look at him, and don’t think about him. Understand?”

“Brody wouldn’t let that happen.”

“He wouldn’t know, because you won’t tell.”

“What makes you think that? I know you’re just dating him to hurt me and honestly hurting my best friend just to hurt me is a new low even for you. What makes you think I’m not gonna be a friend to him and tell him everything?”

She laughed with her friends. She suddenly turn serious and snapped her fingers. Next thing I knew I was on the ground and my left eye hurt so bad I couldn’t open it.

“That’s what’ll happen if you say anything. That and so much more,” She knelt down to my eye level as I sat up. She got in my face, “So don’t you dare say a word. Understand?”

“Why are you doing this?”

“I think you know the answer to that. So we’re clear?”

I sighed, “Yes . . .”

She smiled like the sweet girl she wasn’t, “Great. See ya later Neon Hair.”

She bounced over to her car followed by her ladies. The crammed inside and pealed out leaving me in a dust cloud. I couldn’t believe what just happened. How was I going to get out of this one? Brody saw me every day. He’d see the black-eye soon. I could probably make something up by tomorrow, but avoiding him until then was going to be hard since he promised to work hard at keeping our friendship alive. I wasn’t about to stop my friendship with Brody because of some girl, but I’ll tell him to keep it on the down-low.

As much as I wanted to tell him what was going on, I couldn’t. He’d protect me no matter what Miranda threw at me, but knowing he’d get hurt by it was what stopped me.

I got up and started walking again. My eye was throbbing. I didn’t want to check when I got home. I just wanted to ice it and go to bed.

When I heard the sound of a car coming up, I jumped back to the fence thinking it was Miranda again. Nope. It was Brody. He pulled up behind me.

“Hey, get in!”

“No!” I tried to pull hair in front of my face to shadow my eye as I kept walking. I heard him jump out and running up to me.

“Hey!” he turned me around, “Where you off to in such a hurry?” he tried to pull my hair out of my face. The more I fought against it, the more he worried about what might be wrong. When I finally gave up, he turned red.

“Who did this?”

I was able to come up with a believable story, “Some guy was mocking his karate and hit me in the halls. It’s okay.”

“I’ll kill him.”

“No. It’s fine. Really. I’m okay.”

He looked at me shaking his head then smiling, “When will you ever let me defend you like I’m supposed to?”

“Never,” I giggled.

“Here,” he threw my bag in the bed of his truck and grabbed my waist, “Hold on,” he set me on the fence so I could walk it like I used to. He did think about that stuff. Good to know.

He held my hand as I walked on the rail that wobbled like crazy. In the middle it wobbled right as I took a step. I slipped off, knocking Brody’s balance off as I landing on his shoulder. He fell to the side. I landed on my back in the grass; he landed on top of me, his face in the belly of my shirt. All we could do was laugh. He scooted up on me.

“I’m clearly not coordinated enough for that,” I stated.

“You were doing fine.”

“Nope,” I denied giggling.

“Yes, don’t deny.”

I was suddenly lost in his eyes as they stared at me. I have no idea how long we were staring at each other like that, but it was amazing. I could see him, all of him. The person I wished to call mine. The person I wished would call me his.

He broke the stare, shaking his head, “We should go.”

He stood up, pulling me up. I got in the truck off habit. I was suddenly confused on what that was. What did that mean? Was I over thinking something that could be nothing? I just need to stop thinking about it, now.