Chapter 4 – What?
"Jane?"
Coach Cooper's voice echoed through the quiet female changing rooms. She had noticed that only one sports bag remained on the benches, a jersey with the number 7 still visible, had been roughly stuffed inside it, meaning Jane was still here somewhere. After checking the showers and the rest of the locker room, she could hear a faint thudding noise coming from the sports hall, 'punchbag' Riley thought immediately, knowing it was a familiar haunt for Jane. As she pushed open the old wooden doors into the gym, the silhouette of Jane Rizzoli was illuminated by the faint sunlight streaming in through the large windows at the top of the hall. She was throwing quick and sharp punches against the punching bag, clearly needing to release some anger.
"Rizzoli. Don't you have a home to go to?"
Riley approached the young Italian slowly, but Jane didn't reply, her punches coming more rapidly against the bag, her breathing heavier and more ragged.
"Rizzoli you're going to hurt yourself if you don't let up."
Still no reply.
"JANE! Listen to me." Riley placed her hand against Jane's left shoulder blade, as an attempt to make her hear her.
The pounding stopped. Jane dropped her bandaged hands to her sides and took a deep breath.
"Thank god for that. Are you going to tell me what the hell's made you so angry? Or do I have to guess that too? I haven't seen you like this since…"
Turning to look at Riley, she could see frustrated tears forming in Jane's eyes,
"Maura's been here a day and you're already trying to sleep with her. You tell me how I'm meant to feel. After everything we've been through, and you have the audacity to tell ME to stop flirting with her?"
The anger from her jealousy was seething through her. Coach Cooper was no longer a member of staff, she was her competition. "You could see that I like her. You could see that she likes me too and we have a connection. Yes, it's the first day, and yes I know I sound crazy, but god it's there. You can see it too! Is that why you… you want to hurt me?… So you try and get in the middle? What makes you think that's okay with me?" Jane's anger was bubbling over, her heart was pounding so loudly she could barely hear Coach Cooper's reply.
"Maura?" Riley scoffed. "Jane, I think you need to remember that it's Doctor Isles to you, as long as she is a teacher in this school you had best remember that student/teacher boundary. Remember that talk we had about it? You clearly didn't listen!"
"So what? You think the answer to me 'keeping my boundaries' is you forcing your number on her, even though you've barely spoken two words to each other, and most of those words were about how talented I am? Yeah, that really sounds like the stuff of a romance novel, she's really going to fall for that. You're more pathetic than I remember Riley." Jane started to walk back towards the changing rooms, she wasn't going to rise any further.
"Watch your mouth Rizzoli. It's Coach Cooper inside school grounds and I am not above benching you." Riley shouted after her, causing Jane to whirl around in fury and start back towards Coach Cooper.
"Benching your star player over a little jealous spat? What would your explanation be to the team huh? Just because you can't have me Riley doesn't mean you get to hurt me and my future!" Jane's face was inches away from Riley's, both pairs of eyes staring down each other, neither one wanting to break first.
"Don't you dare say anything like that again. Not ever. Especially in this school. Doctor Isles is your teacher Jane, as am I. A teacher that has also just taken my number, so if I were you, I'd let go of your silly school girl crush, walk out of that door and go home and forget why you came in here." A look of fear, anger but more noticeably guilt washed over Riley's face as she started to back slightly away from Jane, realising how they looked if anyone was to walk in.
"Why can't you understand I asked Maura out to try and detract attention from you?" Riley's voice was soft this time, as if to apologise for the tone she had just used with the young Italian. "This is to protect you and Maura. I'm not the only one that will notice if you keep flirting with her so openly. If she gets with me, neither one of you will get into trouble with the law. I'm protecting you Jane. I'm protecting you from any trouble. Trust me." Riley gently placed her hand onto Jane's arm, "Please Jane, trust me, let me do this for you."
Jane brushed off the hand quickly and laughed, "No Riley. You're not protecting me by trying to sleep with the most beautiful woman we've ever seen alright? You're really taking one for the team there aren't you? The last time I trusted you, you broke me remember. Or is that something else you'd like to forget? I'm done with you. I'm going don't worry."
Throwing down the towel that was around her neck, Jane stormed out of the gym, grabbed her bag and slammed the door to the changing rooms behind her. The echo of which, reached Riley who was still standing in the gym. Her feet glued to the floor as the weight of the conversation seemed to crash down around her.
As the floodlights clicked off outside, Riley was plunged into almost darkness, save the last rays of sunlight trickling in through the tall windows above her.
"What have I done?" she whispered into the shadows around her as she picked up Jane's discarded towel, "Why did this have to happen again?".
R&I R&I R&I R&I R&I R&I R&I
After her stand-off with Coach Cooper, all Jane wanted to do was forget. Unfortunately, that meant she had also forgotten the time, and arrived home later than usual after practice. Angela Rizzoli was not impressed.
"JANE CLEMENTINE RIZZOLI, WHAT TIME DO YOU CALL THIS?" the matriarch shouted as soon as Jane's foot passed the Rizzoli threshold.
"Jeez Ma, I was at practice! You know it starts the first day of term!"
"I'm well aware of that Jane, Frankie got home an hour ago. So, I'm going to ask you again, where have you been?" Angela had come away from her seat at the dinner table, her hands placed firmly on her hips. Frankie, Tommy and Frank Sr. all ducked their heads lower into their pasta, afraid of what was to come.
"I was…. In the gym." Jane replied calmly, hoping to god her ma didn't question her further, she wasn't quick on her feet when it came to having to lie on the spot.
"In the gym? Is practice not enough of a work out for you, when you know your mother has been slaving all afternoon to make sure you have some a wholesome homecooked meal on the table?" A groan echoed around the table as the male Rizzoli's knew Jane had walked right into that one.
"I'm sorry Ma okay, I lost track of time." She hadn't technically lied… she had been in the gym and she had been working out; but she wasn't about to tell her mother about the argument with her football coach.
"Well… er-sit down and eat your lasagne." Surprised faces greeted Jane as she sat down. Not once in their memory had Jane Rizzoli ever backed down from an argument, or apologised.
Inhaling her food in record time, Jane asked to be excused and ran up to her room, amid shouts of confusion from Frank Sr. about why she wasn't watching the game with her brothers. When she was finally alone, she lay down on her bed, glancing around the room at her beloved Red Sox posters when the weight of her day finally sunk in and for the first time she could think about what had happened.
"Day one Rizzoli. The first day of the school year and you've already flirted with one teacher and argued with another one. At least I killed on the football field, right?" She wondered aloud to herself, she started to think about Doctor Isles. She then thought about Coach Cooper. "She wouldn't fall for a douchebag like Cooper would she?"
You did. A voice in her mind chipped in.
"That was a mistake, I was 16 and an idiot." She answered back,
We all make them, no matter what your age, even perfect Doctor Isles.
"Shut up!" burying her face in her pillow she missed the quiet click of the bedroom door opening.
"Hey Janie?" It was Frankie.
"Hey little brother… I'm sorry, I'm just not in the mood to talk right now."
"Yeah I noticed," he shrugged his shoulders and sat on the edge of her bed. "I just wanted to see if I could do anything? I know I'm only 16, but I can listen? You shouldn't' be this stressed on the first day Jane."
"Thanks Frankie, I really appreciate it. But it's not something I wanna talk about right now."
Looking disheartened, Frankie nodded his head and stood up to leave,
"Hey Frankie? I promise though. If I ever do, I'll come to you okay? You're a good brother."
"Okay Jane" Returning Frankie's smile as he left the room, she closed her eyes and prayed day two wasn't going to be as eventful.
The last thought Jane had before she drifted off to sleep was, I didn't mean this when I said 'bring it on'.
SO! It's been a while since I uploaded, apologies! Holiday's and new bathrooms really don't go well with trying to proof read/publish my story. However! I also have ANOTHER CHAPTER to upload after this, hopefully to make up for it! As always, reviews are more than welcome :) F xx