Injustice
26. Injustice
🤍🖤🤍 Natalie 🤍🖤🤍
After an uneventful and surprisingly peaceful day at school, I spend my time watching tv and hearing mom rumble about my college choices. She doesn’t want me to go away. I, on the other hand, want to put as much distance between this town and myself.
I glance at my watch, expecting Jacob to turn up anytime. Half an hour passes, then almost an hour. I sigh, thinking about texting him, but remember that boy barely uses his phone. I change my clothes and walk over to his house. If he can come unannounced, it’s only fair if I surprise him too. I am eager to visit him. I want to see Coco, not him... After all, I didn’t meet her during my morning jog today, or him for that matter.
As I knock on his door and patiently wait for it to open. I suck in a breath as I see, Not Jacob, Not his mother, nor any other family for that matter, But West standing in front of me.
Talk about an uneventful day.
“Hey” He smirks, noticing he has taken me by surprise.
I shake my head and turn to go back, “Bye!”
“Oh, come on. Don’t tell me you are afraid of me now?”
I stop in my tracks, “More like repulsed by you.”
“Who is it?” I hear Jacob’s voice as he comes and stands behind him. “Oh Hey”
“I can see you have friends over. I can come later.” I tell Jacob.
“Oh, come on, Natalie. You are saying as if we don’t know each other. Come on in.”
I raise my eyebrow. Fucker. If he is dreaming about embarrassing me in front of everyone, he has another thing coming.
Jacob seems reluctant but says, “Only if you are ok..”
“Looks like you are having a team get-together. I don’t wanna intrude.”
“It’s just me and Jacob. Come on!! “West cuts in. “We won’t bite you!”
I roll my eyes and walk inside the house to wipe that smirk off West’s face. Coco attacks me with jumps and kisses. I look around and notice nobody else is around.
“They ain’t home,” Jacob tells me.
I nod. “I was waiting for you. Really had a nice time walking her yesterday,” I say while petting Coco and cursing myself inwardly. Why am I explaining myself? It was a bad idea to come here without a call. I am conscious of every word coming out of my mouth. I see West observing our interaction curiously. It makes me even more uncomfortable.
Jacob grabs his phone from the kitchen counter, “Shoot did you text me or something? I didn’t check my phone!”
“I figured that much.” I chuckle. “So what you guys were doing?”
Jacob tells me they just came home and plan to play some games on his Xbox. West tells him, “We can play Injustice... She is very good at it.”
Jacob turns his head. “Really?”
I want to roll my eyes again. Why do people get surprised as if gaming is some rocket science? But I settled on a shrug. “I was! We can play to figure out if I still am.” It’s an old game I enjoyed.
“Sounds like a plan…”, Jacob says and takes us to the basement where he has set up his boy’s den. Or he will set up his boy’s den... Apparently, he hasn’t unpacked his Xbox after moving into this house. There are just boxes lying around. While he sets it up, we make casual small talk, and the room is full of awkward energy. When Jacob is done with the setup, I cheer inwardly, thinking I will be out after a round of game or two.
“Are you planning to starve me, J?”
J? I shake my head with amusement. West is fond of endearments. I wonder what he calls Riley now? I have only heard him say, babe. I was rather expecting Ri or ley.. Nah, too odd. I guess that’s why he settled at babe.
What the Fuck!
Why am I thinking about it?
“Yea, I am hungry too. Let me grab something to eat first,” Jacob hesitantly leaves for the kitchen. He is confused and curious. I can see it on his face. But he hasn’t asked how we know each other.
“How are you doing, Nat?” West asks as soon as Jacob leaves the room.
Oh, so we are back to Nat...
“Never asked me that question in school in the last one year, West. What’s so special today?”
“Never had a chance! You are always running away from me.”
“tsk... you see, I am not very fond of your sweet tongue. It has been spitting too much venom lately”
West chuckles and I wonder how long I have to endure this ass. He studies my face quietly while I ignore his very existence. He asks in a low voice after some time, “So... are you planning to fuck Jacob too?”
And… We are back on track! I don’t have enough swear words in my vocabulary for this asshole.
I give him a tight smile. “Why do you care? Are you jealous?”
“Why would I be? I have Riley...”
It’s his way of saying you are the one alone. It’s pitiful that he is right. He didn’t stop after taking Riley. He made sure to isolate me. Anybody who approached me for a date or just for the company, nasty rumors were spread about them too. So they left me alone for good. I never yearned for a company of friends, but he has isolated me long enough to crave it. I hate him for this.
I finally look at him, “Of course you have her... Hope you are treating her better… Not sleeping around behind her back!”
West’s jaw clenches. I prepare myself for another befitting comment out of his mouth. But he doesn’t as we hear Jacob coming downstairs. He enters with both hands full of eatables. I am glad he is back in the room. I was seconds away from either bashing his head with the controller in my hands or strangulating him with cables lying around.
“Is this your dinner?” I ask him with surprise as I observe he has bought his whole pantry for us to eat.
“Heyy! I am still growing.”
“Dibs on Joker!” I say as the game screen loads. Turns out playing ‘injustice’ was a great idea. Bashing West’s head in real life isn’t possible, but I get plenty of chances to do it virtually.
Jacob is surprised at my skills, but too good to let me win. One match turns into two, then more.
Finally, I excuse myself after almost an hour. I didn’t want to give West the satisfaction of knowing that I was uncomfortable around him. He wasn’t talking, so it was bearable.
Jacob comes with me to the door, “You guys don’t have a good history, it seems…”
“You figured that much?”
He nods. “See you tomorrow morning by the lake?”
I say yes and take leave with dread. West is gonna fill him in about me tonight. God knows what he will tell Jacob and probably Jacob will be repulsed by me. I tell myself I don’t care. But I cannot help but feel frustrated about it.
27. West
🤍🖤💜 Jacob 💜🖤🤍
West wasn’t in a good mood at practice today. On ice, he snapped too many times for no reason. The coach’s reprimand afterward didn’t help either. In the locker room, I offered him a night out. His car wasn’t in the parking lot, so I knew he wouldn’t go home sooner tonight. He was reluctant to come with me but when I said, “We could play games or maybe go for a jog near the lake.”
Either I just imagined it or indeed a flicker of recognition crossed his face. “Where is your new house, exactly?” He asked.
He agreed when I told him about the locality. On my way home, I tried to coax out the reason behind his mood but didn’t press when he avoided the topic. As I neared my house, I noticed West glancing toward Natalie’s house.
That was the moment I felt they might have a history. I am eager to know ‘what history’ to be exact. We barely hang out together apart from matches or after-match dinners. Most of our conversations are limited to the locker room.
When Natalie agreed to stay for a game. More like he forced her hand. Not literally, but it wasn’t subtle either. I was embracing myself for some drama, wondering If I need to take sides. But then I saw West glancing towards Natalie, smiling. It wasn’t some mocking smirk or sneer, but a genuine smile.
That made me confused.
It contradicted the argument they were having when I was in the kitchen. I wasn’t eavesdropping. I know because they weren’t very discreet!
“How are you doing, Nat?”
“Never asked me that question in school in the last one year, West. What’s so special today?”
“Never had a chance! You are always running away from me.”
“tsk... you see, I am not very fond of your sweet tongue. It has been spitting too much venom lately”
Couldn’t hear the rest of the conversation but it’s clear they don’t like each other. Natalie has some balls to stick to him as she did. I must give her that!
Now Natalie is gone, and I feel like calling June. But she is a smart mouth and I am sure she will tell me more than what I ask for, with tons of spices added. So I hold my horses and call for My Inner Peace.
No success there either.
I go back to the basement, and we continue playing for another hour. Eventually, we decide to go out for dinner. As we come out of the house, I spot him looking at Natalie’s house again.
“Are you gonna warn me to stay away from her?” I ask him casually while getting in the car.
I cannot ignore it anymore. I need to know what I am dealing with exactly. I have a soft spot and respect for West. But I am too smitten by Natalie to ignore her.
“What?”
“My Sister... She warned me about Natalie. Are you gonna do the same?”
I am unable to read his expression. But after a while, he says, “These are just rumors, Jacob. There isn’t a fraction of truth in it.”
I glance at him, wondering if I have any right to ask him more. I take a shot anyway. “How do you know her exactly?”
“We were friends...” He adds after a pause, “then I treated her like shit.”
I stay quiet. We might not be very close, but I know it’s rare for him to admit mistakes.
28. Radio silence
🤍🖤💜 Jacob 💜🖤🤍
She didn’t meet me the next morning or the morning after. I glance at the last text I sent her yesterday.
Me: ‘Are we up for our study session today? I’m kinda excited to attend your school on Monday.’
It’s Sunday evening and I haven’t heard from her. There’s been radio silence for two days. I was busy with a chemistry competition today, so I didn’t give it much thought earlier. Now I sit in my room, reflecting on our last conversation.
“You guys don’t have a good history, it seems…”
“You figured that much?”
I nodded. “See you tomorrow morning by the lake?”
“Sure,” she had told me in a meek voice.
She probably decided to choose a side for me. I cannot describe my disappointment in words.
