I fixed myself a salami and cheese sandwich and grabbed a Red Bull, then leaned against the door frame to watch the combat taking place on the screen, cracking up laughing when Conrad’s character got his teeth knocked out.
The front door squeaked and clicked shut, and I poked my head out to see who arrived home, but I must’ve been mistaken. I hung about for another ten minutes, but my next class was in half an hour, and I went back upstairs to grab my books and walk down the road.
The scent of perfume hit me before I saw the girl sitting on the edge of my bed. Not just any girl, either, but Coach’s daughter, sitting back as if she belonged there. My patience ran thin with anyone who disobeyed my rules. No one enters my room without my permission.
“Out,” I pointed my thumb behind her to leave. “You’re in the wrong room.”
She didn’t move; instead, she leaned back, placing her palms on the mattress and pushing her chest out. “I was wondering if you want to study? I’m a bit confused about a few things, and I need to pass my physiotherapy course.”
“Nah,” I pressed sternly, not in the mood for this shit. “There are another forty students in our class, go ask one of them.”
“Oh, but I wanted to study with you,” she said in a shrilly tone that made my hair stand up on end. To think that I considered asking this chick to the Charity Fucking Ball to piss off my mother.
“I don’t care. Leave. Now,” I pointed to the door as her cheeks turned red because she obviously was expecting a different reaction. “And don’t fucking disrespect me again.”
“You’re not nice,” she spat, slowly getting up from my bed and taking her time to walk to the door to deliberately irritate me.
“I don’t give a shit about your feelings,” I snarled, but as she walked closely past me, she dithered, then shot me a calculating look. Once she was gone, I slammed the door on her, then got ready for my next class.
It wasn’t the first time a girl had found her way into my room, and it won’t be the last, but there was something in that look she gave me. The usual girls who crept into my room were opportunists, whereas Melrose was something else. She wasn’t getting the message that I wasn’t interested. What man would be interested in a girl who was too keen and clingy?
But a little twist in my gut urged me to check my drawers to ensure she hadn’t gone through my personal stuff. Ez hid the Boleyn girl’s Glock in his room, and our hunting rifles were kept in the safe in the games room at the back of the closet.
After shuffling through my stuff, it looked as though nothing was taken, then I went into Ez’s bedroom and found thehandgun under his clothes in his second drawer, and shook my head disapprovingly. The fucking was loaded, and he thought this was a good hiding place, but at least the safety cap was on.
Ez should know by now to lock his bedroom door when he’s not around. You’d think after what happened last season, he’d be more vigilant. Obviously, he’s got a short memory and needed a swift reminder when the Yorks snuck into our rooms and spraypainted the floor and walls with red and yellow paint, and it took days of stripping withMethylene chlorideto get that shit off the surfaces.
When I returned to my room down the hall, I stopped to find that the chick was back in my room again. “Did you not hear me the first time?” I growled at her.
“Sorry,” she tilted her head, trying to look cute, but all I saw was the Bride of Chucky. “I forgot my hair tie,” she said, holding up the tie I hadn’t noticed was left on my bed.
Her flirtatious gaze found the handgun in my grasp and hesitated as I tucked it in the back of my jeans, under my T-shirt, so it was out of her sight. Damn, I really did not want her to see that.
She didn’t say anything, but her eyes gaped for a few seconds before she left. This time, I followed her down the stairs, then poked my head into the games room, “How did this chick get in here?” I blurted hotly.
Conrad got up from his chair to see who I was talking about and shuddered when he spotted the Bride of Chucky. “What the fuck is she doing here?” he made a face like he smelled something bad. “Was she upstairs?”
“Do you know how she got in?” I snarled at our other roommates, who shrugged, wearing blank faces.
“What did she want?” Conrad asked as he stepped to the front window to watch her go, or maybe it was to make sure she did go.
“I didn’t ask because I don’t care,” I told him, leaving out details of her sitting on my bed in my room as if she wanted me to fuck her or something. I also didn’t mention that she saw the gun because Conrad and the others didn’t know about the gun.
He clenched his teeth, shuddering again. “Coach’s daughter, man,” he reminded me, not that I needed recapping. “Fuck, she’s got a thing for you.”
“You reckon? She can be desperate elsewhere,” I snarled, heading back up the stairs to grab my bag for class and my Triumph key and helmet. I hid the gun under my mattress to deal with later, as I’d need to find a better hiding place for it, then I locked my bedroom door as I left.
“Thank fuck it ain’t me,” he sniggered when I came back down again. He was still standing at the front window, watching her walk down the street toward the bus stop.
“Yep, well, I think I got rid of her this time,” I mumbled as I stepped out of the entrance, then took a sharp right, stepping down onto the overgrown lawn to the basement cut into the side of the castle.
Lev’s Suzuki was gone, but Ez’s and mine were still here. The faint scent of firecrackers still lingered after the Yorkies raided us. Yeah, we still owed them a visit, but I’ve been so busy that I hadn’t gotten around to organizing something. Besides, it was always best to let the seas calm first before we created a storm, as they would be expecting retaliation.
I wheeled my bike up the stairs and outside, knowing that Lev had already tested and greased the engine and checked that it was all in good working order after sitting unused for weeks. It crossed my mind as I started the Triumph’s engine that now I was the captain of the Castlehill Kings, I had to stay on my best behavior. I mean… faultless, golden boy for an entire season.
After our embarrassing defeat last year, Coach meant business this year and wouldn't hesitate to inflict pain on us to reach hisgoals. If that meant stripping me of my captaincy so we could get the best possible outcome, then he would. So maybe it was better if I stayed out of trouble and just let Ez and Lev have their fun.
The Triumph felt good as I rode down the street, revving it a few times, before accelerating and disturbing the peace.
