"A
Single Yellow Rose" – Chapter Nine
Saturday Evening…Salem High
School Homecoming...
Chloe fought hard to control her
tears as she relished in the strength and warmth of Philip's arms. She had
thought that telling Philip about her past was the hardest thing she had ever
done but making the decision to sneak out of her front door two nights ago was
even harder. But she had never felt a stronger sense of purpose in her life.
And she had Philip to thank for that.
When he had insisted that she needed
to tell her parents what she had shared with him that night in the park she'd
protested but deep inside she knew he was right. Telling her mom and Craig
about what she had gone through, not just in the last few weeks but the hell
she had lived with for the last seven years, took every ounce of strength she
had. She was so scared they wouldn't believe her or that they would blame her.
But even worse, she was afraid they would send her away. She had concentrated
on her Mom's hands the whole time as she told them what she had been through,
unable to meet their gaze.
She could feel Philip's eyes on her while she spoke
and she had waited every second to hear the slamming of the front door, telling
her that it was all too much for him to take. But he'd kept his promise and
stayed with her and that was why she left. To take care of unfinished business
so she could keep her promise to him… to be okay.
"I can't believe you are here,"
Philip whispered into her hair turning to place a kiss on her cheek but Chloe
found herself backing out of arms.
"Philip, you shouldn't be out here,
the game is going to start any minute."
"The game? Who cares about the
game!" he cried. "When did you get back? Are you okay? Where have you been?"
"This morning, no… but I'm working
on it and Iowa."
Philip looked at her in confusion.
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm trying to answer your
questions. I got back this morning and no…I'm not okay but I'm taking the right
steps to work on that and I was in Iowa."
Philip pulled Chloe away from the
crowd around the bonfire, trying to find a private moment during a very public
event. "Iowa? What the hell is in Iowa?"
"Philip, we can talk about all of
this later. You really need to get back to the team, look the marching band is
already on the field."
"Chloe, answer me…why Iowa?"
Locking her gaze onto the center of
Philip's chest, she took a deep breath before speaking. "I went to see my
foster father…one of them anyway. The one who…the one who…"
"Chloe, you don't have to say it."
"Yes, I do…and if you are going to
stick around you need to hear it. I went to see the man… who… molested me."
Philip squeezed her hands hard with
his own, his lips pressed into a thin line. "Why? He could have hurt you
again."
"No, he can't…he's dead."
"What?"
"He died a few years ago…that's why
I was moved yet again. But I've kept him alive…inside of me. I gave him the
power to hurt me these past years by carrying his ghost with me." Chloe felt
the tears gathering again in the corner of her eyes and she quickly brushed
them away.
"No matter how much I tried to bury it, or ignore it
or pretend it didn't happen he was always there to remind me. But I took away
that power. I went to his gravesite and told him I wasn't going to let him hurt
me anymore. I'm not going to let him…let me hurt myself."
"I would've gone with you, you
know."
"I know that."
"But it was something you had to do
by yourself."
Chloe nodded, thankful that he
understood. There was so much more she needed to talk to him about but this
wasn't the time. She pulled on his hand and turned back toward the field. "Come
on, you've got a game to play."
Philip fell in step beside her,
unable to take his eyes off her. "You said you got back today…have you been
with your parents all day?"
Chloe nodded. "Some of it. I went to
see Belle's mom, Dr. Evans early this morning when I got back into town. I knew
I need to talk to someone and I couldn't think of anyone else to turn to. We
talked for a long time and she convinced me to call my Mom and Craig. I had a
medical exam and then I had to talk to the police."
"You know about your voice coach
then…"
Chloe nodded. "Yeah, it's pretty
hard to believe. I know what he did to me but that poor girl…"
"So, you're back to stay… right? No
taking off again?"
"Philip we can talk later…after the
game. You've got to get back to the team or you won't be able to play."
"Come on, there is a group of people
who are going to be so happy that you're back."
Philip lead her through the crowd,
staying close as others began to notice whose hand he held in his grasp. As he
reached the announcer's booth, he saw their friends waiting there. Suddenly
Belle was racing towards them and seconds later she was holding Chloe is a
tight embrace.
"I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!"
she cried. "Oh Chloe, I can't believe you're back!"
Moments later, they were surrounded
by Shawn, Mimi, Jason, and Brady. All talking at the same time firing questions
that Chloe was unable to answer just by the sheer number of them. Belle let go
of her, and one by one they all welcomed her with warm hugs.
"I'm glad you are okay," Brady said,
as he finally released Chloe, letting her feet touch the ground again.
"We were all really worried about you," Shawn
voiced.
"I can see that now," Chloe said,
"and believe me, it's good to be home."
"I thought poor Philip here was
going to go nuts these past few days," Belle added, "he even had his dad
pulling some strings to try to locate you."
Chloe could only stare at Philip
through the group of well wishers, watching as his embarrassment at Belle's
revelation.
"Good thing you left that rose,"
Jason said, "I'd hate to think how Philip would have played tonight if he had
to go on that field without knowing where you were or if you were okay."
"You gonna sit with Shawn and me?"
Mimi asked, after offering her welcome home hug.
"Sure," Chloe said "if I can get my
folks to let me out of their sight for a few minutes."
"Oh my gosh, I've got to get over
with the team," Belle said, "I'll see you all at half time."
"Yeah, speaking of teams, we better
get back inside," said Jason, continuously looking over his shoulder at the
double doors that lead from the locker room out to the field. "Coach is going
to have our asses for being out here."
"Well, go then!" Chloe said, "I've been
telling Philip that for the last ten minutes."
"Okay, we're going," Philip replied,
"you will be here after the game right?"
"Scout's honor," Chloe answered,
making a quick cross over her heart, "I'll be here."
Philip and Jason headed back towards
the school and Belle started towards sidelines in front of the bleachers.
"Jason,
wait…your jacket!"
Cringing at eagerness in her voice,
Mimi hadn't meant to call out his name out so loudly that not only Jason but
also Philip and Belle stopped as well. Crossing the distance between where she
stood and where Jason had stopped seemed take forever. And of course he was
standing directly under one of the overhead parking light, creating a spot
light effect shining down on the two of them.
"You forgot your jacket," Mimi said,
stopping in front of him.
Jason stared down in those green
eyes of hers and wondered at the emotion he saw there. But then abruptly Mimi
seemed intent on looking in every direction but his. He tried to get her to
look at him but the few times he was able to catch her gaze he could swear it
was fear it saw reflected in her eyes, but that didn't make any sense. What
could Mimi possibly be afraid of?
She hadn't even really looked at him since he'd come
out here to help Philip. Except for when he'd bumped into her, literally, while
everyone was looking for Chloe and he found himself grabbing hold of her shoulders to steady
the both of them. He had marveled at the warmth of her skin despite the fall chill in the
air and immediately felt the heat of her stare as her gaze took in his unusual
attire of a plain black tee shirt over the tight, gold football pants. Having
never seen Mimi ogled him so openly before, he felt a little embarrassed in her frank appraisal. Jan
rarely had bothered to take the time to break away from her own image in the
closest mirror to look in his direction. Several moments went by in silence
before the realization of what she was doing stuck Mimi and he could tell the
moment it did by the blush that colored her face.
By that time the rest of the gang had caught up with
them and Mimi told them all about how she'd found Chloe near the bonfire.
Then Philip had shown
up and the last time she'd seen them they were in a deep conversation. As he
waited for either Philip to show back up or one of the coaching staff to drag
his butt back into the locker room he hadn't given one thought to the jacket
Mimi still held in her hands.
"Hey, Jason," Philip called, "come
on!"
"I can't worry about that now,"
pivoting away, Jason waved his hand in the air, "just hold on to it."
"Jason, I can't!" Mimi called following him, "I mean
what if I put it down somewhere-"
"Well, then just put in on. You're wearing
practically nothing but that little tee shirt… you must be getting cold."
"That's okay, I'm naturally hot
blooded-" Mimi voice broke off as she watched as Jason slowed to a stop and
looked back over his shoulder, one eyebrow rise into a high arch.
"Well, wear it anyway, that way you known you won't
lose it.""
Wear it anyway, wear it anyway…the
words repeated themselves over and over in her head instantly bringing back
pieces of the conversation she had with Jan…what
would people think…you know what it means to wear a guy's jacket…
Mimi immediately thought back to the last two nights
in her bedroom. She'd been sitting on her bed doing her homework but every time
she looked up she saw Jason's jacket hanging off the back of her desk chair.
Finally unable to stand the temptation, she'd tossed her books aside and
grabbed the jacket trying it on for size. Enjoying the weight and roominess of
it, a quick whiff confirmed that it still smelled like Jason…clean and
outdoorsy. She had even spent a few moments modeling it front of her mirror,
turning one way and then the other, having to see how it looked from all
angles.
"Jason!" Mimi again took a few steps toward him but
stopped when he did, sighing loudly at again hearing her call his name.
"What!" he yelled, turning back
again.
"Jason, you don't understand..."
But he did understand.
He had been trying for the last week
to get up the nerve to ask Mimi out on a date. He had blown the perfect
opportunity last Saturday when she had shown up here at the high school while he was
running extra laps. Unlike Philip, who was a natural talent in any sport he
tried, Jason knew he had to work harder to make the team and being chosen to play varsity this year was an honor he
wasn't about to lose by slacking off. She'd shown up on her bike and then she'd
surprised him when she asked if he wanted some company while he ran. He agreed
and she circled the track on her ten speed while he jogged along beside her.
When some other guys from the team showed up for a pickup scrimmage game she had
quietly said goodbye before he could even thank her. Or ask her out to the
movies that night.
Despite going out with Jan for almost a year, he had little experience with dating, as he and Jan had become a
couple after party one night when he'd had a few too many beers. She had
informed him next day that they were together and he hadn't even thought twice
about it. He hated to admit it now but being with Jan had had been more about
having a girlfriend than really caring about her. And he eventually realized
that Jan was using him as well but by then things had been going on for so long
it was easier to let things continue than to rock the boat.
Until the end of this summer. He still didn't know
what had finally gotten in to him. Maybe it was seeing the way Philip had
changed since he gotten involved with Chloe. Maybe he decided he wanted the to
feel the same way about someone that his buddy felt.
But Mimi didn't feel the same way about him.
He remembered the relief that went through him
yesterday morning when Mimi revealed he had left his jacket with her. And then
the crazy idea popped into his head that perhaps she'd forgotten it on purpose
because she liked having it.
'Damn…see what you get for thinking, you stupid
sh*t,' he thought to himself.
"Jase…you don't get it." Mimi said, interrupting his
thoughts.
"Then why don't you explain it to me?"
"Look, you guys may think this no big deal and I'm
sure you take great pleasure in making fun of the girls that think it is
important…but I can't wear this…don't you have any idea what the other girls
will think…well, I'll tell you what they'll think…they'll think you and I
are…that you gave this to me…oh God, what would Jan think-"
"Jan! How in the hell did she get in this
conversation!"
"She told me about the two of you…how things aren't
really over and if I put this on, I mean just so I don't lose it… the gang is
going to think…I don't want to get in the middle of anything…damn you Jason,
you are making me look like a fool and you don't even care…"
"Jesus H. Christmas!" Jason swore as he advanced on
Mimi. "Has anyone ever told you that you talk too damn much!"
Stepping forward and clasping her body tightly to
his own, he captured her hands between the two of them as his mouth covered
hers hungrily, his tongue sinking deeply past her open lips. He reached around
to rest his hands at the small of her back and he could feel her shaking in his
arms. As he started to end the one sided kiss, he felt her fingers curl tightly
into the front of his tee shirt and then she was answering his kiss with a
passion that caused him to pull her tighter to him, cursing his jacket that was
acting as a barrier between his hips and hers.
Slowly he ended the kiss, the sound of both Shawn
and Philip's wolf whistles ringing in his ears. Bracing his forehead against
hers, Jason slowly opened his eyes and found Mimi had done the same. He tried
to read the feelings he saw in her eyes but he had no idea if he had finally
gotten through to her. "I want you to wear my jacket."
"But-"
Jason quickly covered Mimi's lips with his fingers,
stopping her. "No buts…okay?"
To be continued…