Okay, so school's back in session and this hardcore English class is really my only concern. I'm trying my hardest and I'm working at it a lot which is the real reason why I haven't been updating as well I feel I should. But the good news is, I have two classes that are insanely easy, for the moment at least, and that's how I'm able to give you this update right now. :) Hope you enjoy!!!
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Chapter 4
Thankfully she had a wristwatch beeping to wake her from the deep sleep she had gotten on the hard, cold, wooden, splinter clad park bench. The sprinklers were going of in locations around on the green the surrounded the walkway the bench she occupied. She knew she had half an hour before she needed to get to school and she planned on taking a quick shower without having to go back to her broken home.
She took surveillance of the park and as far as her eyes could see, still hazy with sleep, no one was around to witness her makeshift showering technique. She stripped herself of her shirt roughly, quickly as to get back in it before some innocent bystander got a good look…and then decided to call it in as possible abuse from what their sight let them collect. She did the same with her pants and thought about how her 'shower' was going to work.
She wanted to make sure that her underwear or bra didn't get wet because it would defeat the purpose of her having removed her clothes, but she didn't have anything to dry herself off with either so no matter what, she would still be wet. She scanned the park for anything that would dry her off in record time and found nothing. Then a thought hit her.
She ran her feet over the spout of one of the sprinklers nearest the trees, woods, then dropped it and stepped aside before sticking out her right leg. After the water had made its way entirely down and across her right leg, she repeated her actions with her left afterward doing the same thing with her arms, one by one.
She let the water spray her hands one by one and wet under her armpits to get as clean as possible and took off running around the edges of trees. She hoped the wind she was picking up as she ran was helping dry her off faster when she noticed a fairly elderly man making his way down the trail with a paper in his hand, the crisp morning the perfect time for a stroll.
She sprinted back to her clothes and threw her shirt and pants on, knowing she would have to be dry enough whether it was the truth or not. She straightened her shirt out, barely having covered her midriff in enough time before the man peered over his paper and smiled at her, politely lifting his hat in a 'hello'.
"Hi," she quietly greeted, waving at the man as he passed by her. Once she was in the clear and the man had persisted through far down to the end of the line of trees, Sara tensed and winced as the beating from the night before still had its stinging effects that, from experience, she knew would last for at least another day or two.
She raked her hands through her hair to make it look presentable and grabbed her bag, everything she had taken from the night before safely secured inside it.
--
She must not have the kind of precious time most people tend to have, Catherine mused about the fact Sara spent all her 'precious' time writing.
She had already gone through twenty-some pages front and back and understood completely that the brunette was none other than Sara Sidle and assumed the red head mentioned frequently after the fifth page was none other than her. And Sara had been quite subtle for a handful of feelings that were writing themselves off the page toward Catherine's character. Throughout it all, she kept reading.
'The cold, hard, cement floor of the dark and dreadful basement was the furthest thing from her father at the time. Though it was a safe place for her to be, she was not there by choice.
The bad man had locked her away, dependant on her youth, or rather, what she had left of it. The leech infested her being and suckled every bit of her physically and emotionally. She had nothing left of or within herself. She was lost, but so was Radiant Red whom she found with her cigarette smoking and batting lashes. She was hidden among the deepest affected of them.'
Catherine's eyes had widened, having never left the paper. She finished what little of the story she had and was amazed. She knew Sara was good at something, had a talent, and it wasn't only writing. She could read people, oddly enough. She had seemed antisocial and rebellious to the point she stood for herself. Instead, she took the senior by surprise and wowed her with the ability to explain her situation without having ever met Sam or her mother.
Had she overheard my talk with Warrick or Lisa? Did one of them tell?
She shook her head, trying not to spend much time thinking about it as she got into her mother's old car and headed out for school.
Catherine spotted Sara heading over the rise, stumbling down the hill though not rolling or hitting the ground. She was coming in the direction of the park, which made the smaller woman wonder what Sara had been doing over there.
She noticed Greg running to Sara's aid and didn't know what to think as Warrick approached her with a warm smile. Catherine was dazed and furrowing her brows in contemplation of the situation she was faced with since Greg was the only person to know about her abuse and worried a lot about what was unfolding.
"Hey, Cath, what's going on," Warrick tried to ask as he touched her shoulder.
"Uh, Rick? I have to go…see what's wrong with Sara. I'll be right back."
Catherine fled to the hills, hoping Sara would talk to her, knowing they should given the things she read.
"Sara! Hey, Greg. Um, are you okay? Is something wrong?"
Sara smiled, happy to know Catherine cared. "I'm, uh, looking for a place to stay. I need some fresh clothes and somewhere to sleep. I hate to ask but…"
Greg cut her off. "I'll take you in!"
Sara stretched her smile. "I was actually kind of hoping Catherine would…"
Catherine's eyes widened.
"Let me stay with her. I mean…I think we're around the same size and I know we're both girls…unless there's something you're not telling me," Sara attempted to make light of the situation.
"Oh, yeah, sure. Um, after school you can hitch a ride with me." She looked calm and collected other than the smile plastered across her face out of sheer happiness and excitement.
"Great," Sara sighed and smiled in relief.
--
Catherine only noticed the first sign of even a bruise when Sara reached for the she offered on the bleachers. Her right wrist was slightly exposed for a few seconds, revealing a dark purple mark and red rash.
"Sara…" Catherine furrowed her brows and waited for the brunette's attention. "Why is it that you need a place to stay?"
"Uh…I don't…"
"Sara," the red head folded her arms over her chest, shifting her weight onto her right leg.
Sara looked at the cigarette seconds before flicking the flame of the lighter and ignited her addiction. She then dropped her hand holding her lighter near her feet and focused on her knees, picking at the ratty jean material. "My life is…way too messed up to tell anyone and expect whomever I'm telling not to think I'm crazy."
"Hey," he slumped down next to Sara and rested her head on the younger woman's shoulder, placing her hand on Sara's elbow. "You can tell me anything…and I promise not to judge. Believe me, I know what it's like to want to keep quiet."
Sara looked over Catherine's hurt expression and leaned onto the senior, forcing her to sit up before the brunette boldly pressed their lips together.
Catherine took a moment before opening her eyes to see an, equally as she had been earlier, concerned Sara. The brunette was serious but felt for Catherine.
"You shouldn't let him get to you. If you do, you'll be everything you r not and I would hate you to be."
Catherine furrowed her brows and curled herself up, knees to chest. "How is it that you know who he is?"
"She was his accessory to a party at one of his casinos. It made the headlines and I saw on one your papers in class last year. You signed it Catherine Flynn. Lily's last name was mentioned and I assumed. Plus, you seemed to be having trouble with something."
Catherine looked down, defeated. She clenched her teeth feeling weak and exposed. Sara recognized her vulnerability, crawled closer and opened her mouth to speak.
"My mom likes to get high and pretend nothing's wrong. My mother likes to be the boss so he can prove himself to our dad. And…our dad loves his alcohol and enjoys beating my mom and me, but I'm his favorite punching bag."
Sara's confession had her focusing on the ground as Catherine looked up with moist eyes. She lightly gripped the taller woman's hand for support, Sara pulling Catherine into her for serious warmth and proper affection. She wanted Catherine to understand she was not alone and had a chance with her to let all her feelings, no matter how weak they made her appear, out. Sara attempted to express she was more than wiling to be the shoulder for the red head to cry on any needed time.
"I'm sorry…about the things you're dealing with. You're still coming home with me, right? I would hate to see you go back."
Sara smiled as they had pulled away from each other and wiped away Catherine's tears with the ad of her thumbs. Catherine choked out a laugh and took Sara's place by roughly passing the back of her hands directly under her eyes, embarrassed about her unnecessary emotional crisis.
"I'm glad you care where I stay and just to let you know… you can take me home anytime."
The purr sent a shiver down Catherine's spine and caused her to drop her jaw, her breath hitching at the brunette's touch and proximity that drove her wild.
Catherine was driving her mother's old car and could leave whenever she wanted and waited for Sara to finish her conversations with Nick, Warrick, and Greg.
"Actually…if it's not too much to ask…my cousin can't give me a ride home and I missed my bus so…"
"Yes, Greg, I'll give you a ride," Catherine rolled her eyes and shook her head, burying a laugh deep within her chest, shown but not heard.
"Sweet," Greg victoriously smiled and punched back his elbow in satisfaction. He swung his arm around Sara's shoulders and neck and began walking to the senior's car.
"Hey, wait a second, Greg," Nick taped the freshman on his arm, the arm around Sara. "Let us say goodbye to her. You get the car ride."
Nick smacked the back of his hand against Warrick's chest without making eye contact with tall, dark and handsome.
"Yeah, we'll see you Monday," Warrick concurred and stepped forward, pulling Sara into a warm, tight hug. Nick followed Warrick lead with a wide smile and a squeeze before pulling away from the friendly gesture.
"Yeah, see you guys then," Sara genuinely smiled as she waved at the retreating, fit figures heading o their ride.
Greg then continued on his journey to Catherine's care, the red head discretely slipping her hand in the brunette's.
"This…is your car," Greg frowned and stifled his laugh with much ease.
"What, just because your cousins can be rolling in the dough, his dough, and can afford the latest set of wheels doesn't mean my car is worthless," Catherine argued, not upset but defending her giant, weighs a ton, hunk of metal.
"I think it's nice. Way better than the scraps from the junk yard Greg or myself can acquire," Sara smiled, squeezing Catherine's hand before reluctantly letting go of her grip and heading around the back of the car to the passenger's seat.
Greg rolled his eyes, hating the fact that he had to be considered a child and settle in the back seat. He threw the door open when the senior unlocked the car and hastily plopped down into the large seat allowing three people.
--
"See you later, Greg," Sara and Catherine unintentionally simultaneously called to the spiky blonde as he lightly trudged up the porch steps. He was happy to be home, but he wanted to stay with Sara to reassure himself she was okay and enforce fun for his hurting friend.
"Later. Oh, and don't forget to call me! I wanna know what's going on over the weekend," his eyes bugged out and pleaded for Sara to agree.
"Yes, Greg. I'll cal you," Sara laughed out the passenger's side window. "Now go have a good dinner and stop worrying about me."
He took her urging action of carelessly flailing her arm out the open window in the direction of his front door and made it to the light, spring screen door.
Catherine's gaze upon Sara as she rolled up the window and turned, giggling, to Catherine who was sparkling along with a gracious smile that could light up a room.
"What," Sara inquired, still laughing but furrowing her brow in confusion toward her new friend's expression.
"Greg really does care, you know. I'd say he loves you like a sister. You should call him tomorrow…like he wants."
"I know," she chuckled. "And I planned on it. Are you worried about me, too?"
"Well, I'm not worried about you in the way of self-harm or anything, but…emotionally, your parents. Call me crazy, but I don't think anybody should have to go through all that you have."
"If you're going to get emotional…maybe I should drive," Sara joked.
Catherine chuckled, but soon came to the realization that maybe the joke was a good idea.
"Have you ever driven a car?" Catherine turned her body a bit to better face her friend.
Sara averted her eyes and shifted nervously in the passenger's seat. "No."
Catherine took her quiet reply as a reason to believe the brunette was abashed. She smiled, loving the reactions Sara demonstrated.
"Okay, I'd say this residential area should be easy enough. Get out!"
"What," Sara's face flared up, she felt as though she were on fire.
"Come on, I'll teach you what I've learned. You'll only be going ten to thirty miles an hour! I promise we'll take it slow."
Sara calmed herself and only slightly, now nervous instead of confused and hurt. "No, I couldn't. I know I would wreck the car faster than you can say…"
"Now!"
"Okay, I guess I really over exaggerating because I should've have already wrecked the car by now."
Catherine shook her head with a light laugh, unbuckled her seatbelt and pulled at the handle to open her door.
"I won't take no for an answer," Catherine pushed with a smile, not to sound cruel or punishing.
Sara remained inanimate until the red head opened the passenger door, bending down with her ass out and her cleavage on display.
"What will it take to get you behind the wheel?" Her tone was calm, relaxed, almost soothing.
Sara gave Catherine a once over, her eyes carefully raked over every last inch of her figure. The older woman mischievously grinned and stood up straight, her fingers slickly stumbling down to her pants button. Sara's eyes widened and she shifted to get out of the car and rushed around to the driver's seat.
Her eyes remained wide for a good ten seconds once she was in place as Catherine had asked. She clenched and unclenched her fists on the steering wheel at the assumed position of ten and two. Catherine bit her bottom lip as she entered the car and wondered if Sara was more scared of her than controlling a heavy metal box with plenty of difficult concepts to grasp other than all the need-to-know road rules.
"Okay, so you've never driven a car. Anything else you're a virgin at?" Catherine had to know so she would not feel so rejected.
"Sure, but we can talk about those way later…like sometime after you're not expecting me to learn how to drive!"
Sara was tense and worried as both could clearly tell. The brunette wanted to learn how to drive, among other things, with the girl she trusted, but in all due time. She didn't want the pressure to be on and 'take it slow' like Catherine had said, but that would not be the case if she unexpectedly had to participate in pleasing Catherine.
"Fine," Catherine grinned. "Tell me later. Let's get this lesson started. Just try and relax."
Sara took several deep breaths in an attempt to cool down and prepare herself. She flexed her fingers and lessened her death grip on the steering wheel, looking over at Catherine as she had who was wearing the cutest smile that instantly became infectious.
"What next," Sara asked through her smile, for the moment not taking her eyes off the beautiful and amazing Catherine Willows.
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Hope this length pleased you lovely readers. :) I worked on it all week just for you and I hope to be able to do this a lot over the remainder of the year. :D I love reviews as I've said all too many times before so...give it to me and I'll give it to you! haha, Double Meaning. (that's what she said) ;)
