Tainted Love

Savannah

Gym went over smoothly. Percy and I moved on to our next class and got paired for a group project.

Sitting at the back table, I decided to tell him once we got home that I handled the biker prince problem.

When the bell finally rang and we started to walk, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up and the feeling of being watched came over me.

I looked around, tucking my jacket in the crook of my elbow and repositioning my bag under the unrelenting sun.

I didn’t see anything at first, until we walked off the school grounds. Then I saw them.

Damon and his two friends sat at the end of the street where we would cross, on the park bench like they had nothing better to do.

Percy was scrolling through his phone. Before I got the chance to suggest we change sides of the road, my blond-headed Sunshine called my fake name.

Waving back, I turned to Percy and snatched the phone from his hand.

“Percy, I fucked up but I can handle it. Don’t look but I need you to cross the street and go home.”

I whispered rashly, keeping a calm and neutral expression on my face for the guys in front of us waiting for me to get there.

“What the fu—” His eyes flicked up and saw what I must be referring to; his body turned rigid and I saw fear flash in his blue eyes.

“I know, but I’m fine. Keep walking and call me if I’m not behind you in five minutes. Everything’s okay. Go.”

I handed him his phone back and gave him a shove in the direction I wanted him to go.

Doing as I said, just like when we were kids, he walked across the street and didn’t look back.

When I got to the park bench Sunshine beamed a smile at me.

“Hello, beautiful,” he shamelessly flirted.

“Sunshine.” I waved my hand again and eyed him suspiciously.

“I asked around about Ginny Granger and no one seems to know who you are.”

Damon stuck his sunglasses on the collar of his white T-shirt, making them hang at the deep part in his V-neck.

“Did you ask with a g or j? Might be how you pronounced it,” I teased.

Sweat glistened off his pale skin.

“Why are you asking around about me anyways? Did I not make it clear I wasn’t interested?” I swayed to my cocked hip and folded my arms at my chest.

Damon scoffed so effortlessly, like this was the last thing he believed.

“Besides your not looking for a ‘new toy,’” I added smugly and took on a deep voice to say it like he did. Sunshine’s smile grew along with the brown-haired boy’s.

“Why are you hanging out with that faggot?”

Damon looked in the direction that Percy went. One thing I have never, ever put up with was anyone talking bad about Percy.

He came out as bisexual when he was fourteen and I have always had his back.

This was a hairpin trigger for me.

“The accepted vernacular is gay, which he isn’t. Wish it was nice talking to you, Angel, but it wasn’t. I don’t have time for a homophobic asshole like you.

“I’ll be on my way. Bye, Sunshine.” I waved to the blond and even extended my courteous wave to the brown-haired boy before I shot daggers at Damon.

My flats hit the pavement hard. I didn’t make it across the street before Sunshine was at my side.

“I’m sorry he made you mad.” He got in front of me to walk backwards so we could face each other.

“Don’t be sorry, just educate yourselves.”

I stopped walking so he wouldn’t follow me home. I could see Percy peek out from behind a bush a few houses down.

“Can I help you with something, Sunshine? I really would prefer for you not to follow me home.”

He smiled, a toothy grin that if he was my type, maybe it would work like he clearly expected.

“done Your name isn’t Ginny.”

“Who says?”

“Why did you take Damon’s clothes?”

He changed subjects but I didn’t miss the look he gave behind me.

Turning so I was sideways and had a clear view of my surroundings, I switched which arms held my jacket and bag.

“I needed them. It was, hand to God, an emergency. I am sorry but what’s done is done. Help him get over it.”

My phone started to ring and I knew it was Percy.

Looking at it, I hit accept and held it to my ear.

“I have to go, Sunshine, have a good night.”

I waved one last time and started up a fake conversation with Percy before he could say anything back or ask any more questions.

I speed-walked away and looked back to make sure I had no more eyes on me before I let Percy out of the bush and we hurried home.

As soon as the door shut, Percy was in my face demanding to know what was going on.

“So…it was Damon I borrowed from and when I went to return it he caught me. Nothing happened, I just have their attention right now. Everything is fine.”

He did his normal stressed routine and talked himself through everything I said like it was a question.

He kept to himself and when Uncle Jonah came home he didn’t offer him much dinner-time talk, making me do the brunt work of it.

Uncle Jonah always made sure to take time each night to talk to us separately, like he was tucking us in or something.

He wanted to give us independent attention and make sure we were okay.

He seemed to take longer with me even though I hardly gave him anything real.

I love my uncle, don’t get me wrong, it was just hard to open up at all.

And Uncle Jonah looked a lot like my dad, who I missed so fucking much it physically hurt, so I tried everything not to think about it.

Seeing him come in every night made that much harder to forget.

If I closed my eyes, I could pretend it was Dad talking; he sounded like Uncle Jonah whenever he had a cold and his voice was scratchy.

When he came in that night, I took it as a time to ask him about the biker king and his prince.

“So I heard about the biker king. His son goes to our school.” I nudged him to talk about it without me directly asking him.

“Lucien and Damon.” He nodded, taking a slow walk around my room and looking up at my blank walls.

“That whole side of town seems to be a pain in my ass.” He groaned and rubbed down his aging face.

“How about this weekend we go to the hardware store and get some paint? Some brushes? And you can just go crazy?”

He pushed me into my past, wanting me to make my room like my old bedroom.

I had different colored paint everywhere.

When I turned eleven, Mom moved all my furniture out and covered the floor in thick plastic tarps.

We had gallons and gallons of paint she let me sling and splash on my walls.

When I was done, it looked like the colors had melted from the ceiling and dribbled down.

I loved it.

“I don’t know about this weekend... a lot of school work to do... and I have group.”

I hated telling him no, but I couldn’t replace what I lost.

There wasn’t a reason to try.

He nodded, understanding what I was really saying.

“Damon isn’t giving you any trouble, right?”

He looked at me fully, his complete attention cast to me, which made me look away.

His cop side shined through.

“No, I don’t have any classes or anything with him. “ That was the truth.

“Good. Any news on Percy?”

Uncle Jonah chuckled.

“No, he’s good. I think he is an old man in a teenage body, stressed about every little thing but good. “

He nodded, the silence drifting into the room like fresh fallen snow.

“I’m good too, Uncle. Messed up still, but I’m good. All things considered.”

I wanted to ease his worry.

Percy definitely got that from his father.

“I know, kid, you’re too strong for your own good. You’ve always been. Brave and fearless. I never met a kid who could do the shit you do with the ease you have.”

He turned and looked at the dresser.

It was my dad’s when he was a kid.

Covered in stickers from the growth of his life, each one a memory he placed.

The leather jacket lying on top made Uncle Jonah reach out and touch it.

“It looks good on you. He would love seeing you in it, Ellis not so much. Pretty sure she’d kick my ass for even letting you see it.”

He brushed over the patches on the side.

Dad’s leather jacket was my personal family heirloom; it is my most prized possession and I take care of it with my life.

Dad was in a “bad boy club” with his high school buddies, and all of them had matching jackets.

The patches that are sewn into the side are customized and personally made.

Dad’s jacket was cracked and creased with breaks and nicks all along it, covered in grime when I found it stashed in the attic.

That’s what I focused my time on when I first got released from the hospital.

I had stitches and casts, I was on suicide watch and couldn’t be left alone.

So working on restoring dad’s jacket was what filled my time.

Even though it’s regularly 90 fucking degrees outside and will be for the next three months, I still won’t go without it.

Uncle told me good night and hit the lights, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

And they were completely filled with a dark angel, prince of the bikers and the biggest asshole I’ve met in a long time.

Even with all things considered, today was kinda…fun.