Unraveling (8 page)

Rollo sighed. “Katy, you’re my best friend. I love you like a sister and would do anything for you. But sometimes,” he picked at a thread on the couch, “sometimes, I really miss the old carefree Katy. I know what happened with Preston wasn’t your fault but I hate that you’ve let it consume your whole life. You’re stronger than that, Katy, and yet, you want to let it eat away at you. I wish you could see that it wasn’t your fault. You didn’t ask for Preston to rape you. That’s why it’s called rape, Katyrina. I just hate that you’ve let that prick rule the last two years of your life. You deserve to be happy, Katy. You deserve to find love, more than any person I know. I try to understand, but sometimes it’s really hard trying to be strong for you all the time. Sometimes, I need you to be there for me.”

“Rollo,” I sobbed. “I’m such a horrible best friend.”

Then I surprised both of us by practically tackling him to the ground in a hug.

I pulled away and looked at him. “Everything you said was completely true. I’m so sorry,” I sobbed.

He held his arms out and I buried myself against his pudgy body.

“This is progress, Katy,” he said. “I love ya, baby cakes.”

“I know you’ve been saying the same things to me for a while now, but I think I’m finally ready to listen. You’re right. I deserve to be happy. It’s going to take time for me to heal, but I’m going to try.”

Rollo pulled me out of his arms and held my face in his hands. “
I know you can do it, Katy. I know you can get over this. Find your spark again.”

“Find my spark,” I whispered.

Rollo grinned. “And you can start by being nice to Jared.”

10

Be nice to Jared.

Ha!

Forget, ‘be nice to Jared’, I think I needed to focus on not making a fool of myself.

Jared always seemed to be able to leave me completely speechless and looking like an idiot.

Rollo and I were getting ready to leave Fight For It, when Jared came running out of his workout room.

“Katy, wait up,” he said, his chest rising and falling with each breath. He had a white towel around his neck and he used that to wipe his sweat drenched face.

“I’ll be out in a minute,” I told Rollo and tossed him my car keys.

Rollo grinned before going out the door.

“What’s up?” I asked Jared.

He chuckled breathlessly. “I was hoping you would be free Friday night.”

“Oh-um-yeah-” my words strung together. “I’m free.”

He smiled and crossed his arms over his chest. “Good. I doubt you’re going to tell me where you live, because you’re obviously the closed off type. Am I right?”

I blushed.

“Ah, your cheeks don’t lie,” he pointed to my face. “Meet me here around five o’ clock?”

“Five works for me,” I fidgeted nervously. “But you can just tell me where to go and I’ll meet you there.”

Jared threw his head back and laughed. “Nice try, kittycat, but I’m not telling you where we’re going.”

“I don’t know if I like not knowing,” I whispered, afraid to say the words out loud. I hated sounding like a
scaredy cat.

Jared’s face softened and he reached out like he wanted to caress my cheek but dropped his hand to his side instead.

“Katy, I promise you, I’ll never hurt you or put you in a position of danger. I know I need to
earn
your trust, but this one time, I’m asking you to trust me anyway.”

I took a deep breath.

It’s all about moving on and letting go, I told myself.

“Okay,” I finally answered him.

“Okay?”

“Yeah,” I took another deep breath. “Just this once, I’ll trust you anyway.”

He smiled. “Thank you, Katy-”

“Dude! Get your ass in here!” someone yelled from the training room
Jared worked out in.

Jared gave me an apologetic look. “Sorry about him,” he tossed his thumb over his shoulder. “I better get back in there.”

“Not a problem,” I turned to head out the door.

“Katy,” he said and I turned back to face him. “I’m really looking forward to Friday.”

“Me too,” I answered automatically, and surprisingly, it wasn’t even a lie.

Jared grinned from ear to ear. “Good.”

“Jaaaaared!” The voice yelled again.

“Bye
, Katy,” Jared said and disappeared into the room.

“Bye
, Jared,” I whispered to the now empty space.

~***~

Oh my God, I was going on a date with Jared.

I had completely gone and lost my mind.

I didn’t even know his last name!

Oh gosh, I could feel a panic attack coming on.

I sat down on my bed and took a deep breath. In. Out. In. Out.

Okay, that was better.

Just a little.

Not really.

Calming thoughts, Katy, just think calming thoughts, I told myself. Besides, it’s not really a date. We’re just… going out. There’s a difference. A big difference. There are no preconceived notions about kissing and other stuff if you’re just ‘going out’. A date implies something more.

Oh,
who was I kidding, there was no way I could calm down until this night was over.

I grabbed my cellphone off my nightstand and called Rollo and then Piper.

Thirty minutes later there was a knock on my door.

I slowly peeled myself off of my
yellow comforter and to the door.

Piper stood there, beaming. I could see Rollo walking down the hallway.

“Thank you, guys, so much, for coming over, at such short notice. I’m freaking out and I really need your help.”

“Not a problem,” Piper smiled, “I didn’t have any plans.”

“And you know me,” Rollo said, “I’d cancel a hot date to be here for you, baby cakes.”

“Get in here,” I motioned them inside and closed the door. I was actually surprised Rollo hadn’t pushed his way in already, the way he always made himself at home. “Rollo, this is Piper. Piper, this is Rollo.”

“Nice to meet you,” Piper said.

Rollo scared the crap out of her by wrapping his arms around her. “I’m so happy Katy has finally found a girl friend. I can only help
so much with the girl stuff,” he said, pulling away. He grabbed a piece of her hair and held it up. “I
love
the pink.”

“Thanks,” she said. “I like your shirt.”

“Finally! Someone that appreciates them!” Rollo exclaimed.

“Oh Lord,” I smacked my forehead. “Which one do you have on today?” I asked.

Rollo turned so I could see. It read: Some Dudes Marry Dudes. Get Over It.

“Sometimes I wonder why I hang out with you,” I muttered.

“Because I’m-”

“Fabulous,” I cut him off. “I know. You remind me of your fabulousness daily. Now
, can we please stop talking about this? I have to leave in-” I looked at my watch “-less than an hour in order to meet Jared on time and I really need you guys to help me.”

“Say no more,” Piper said. “Where’s your closet?”

I motioned down the hallway.

“We’ll have you looking even more beautiful i
n no time,” Piper assured me. She was already walking down the hall.

Rollo and I followed her.

She threw the closet doors open, scanned the clothes there, and then started opening my dresser drawers.

“Where are you going? That definitely plays a part in what you should wear,” she said, flipping through some sweaters.

“I don’t know,” I put my hands in my back pockets.

Piper’s jaw dropped and she pushed a piece of black hair behind her ear. “You don’t know?” she practically shrieked.

“No,” I shrugged. “He asked me to trust him and I said I would.”

“Damn girl,” Rollo said. “You really are giving Jare-bear a chance.”

I giggled; I had withheld that information from Rollo the other day.

Piper went back to my closet and grabbed a pair of jeans. She threw them at me and commanded, “Put those on.”

“Right now?” I squeaked.

Piper rolled her eyes. “Duh, it’s not like you’ve got anything I haven’t seen before and I’m pretty sure Rollo here won’t care either.”

“Fine,” I grumbled, taking off my sweatpants and pulling the jeans on.

“Hmm,” Piper mused as she went searching through my closet. “Jared has made this difficult since he won’t tell you where he’s taking you. Normally, I’d force you into a dress, but that might not work for what he has planned. Hence, the jeans,” she pointed at me. “But you need a cute top. Not one of these,” she flicked the row of different colored solid shirts.

Finally, Piper looked down at her own shirt.

It was a lacy black tank top, with a gold colored lace overlay, that flared out at the bottom.

She looked back up at me before peeling the top off. “You owe me,” she said, handing me the shirt.

I took it and stared for a moment.

Piper tapped her foot and crossed her arms over her chest, which made her boobs practically fall out of her black bra. “Trust me, it’ll look great. I’m going to take you shopping soon. All you own is jeans and t-shirts.”

“Thanks,” I said, pulling on the top. I turned to look in the mirror and was surprised by how good it looked on me.

“Damn girl, you got a body,” Rollo commented. “You’ve got to stop hiding under all those baggy shirts.”

“Do you have a curling iron?” Piper asked.

“Yeah, in the bathroom,” I pointed to the door across the hall.

Before I knew what was happening, Piper had pulled me into the bathroom and
motioned for me to sit down on the closed toilet seat lid.

She found my curling
iron and plugged it in to heat up.

“I really need to go,” I loo
ked at my watch. I bit my lip nervously, my knee jumping up and down in agitation.

“Not yet,” Piper said. “This won’t take long.”

She was right, in less than ten minutes she had my hair curling down my back, and she had redone my makeup. I barely recognized myself. I hardly looked like the girl that was afraid of her own shadow.

“Oh
my gosh,” I breathed, poking my face. I half expected for the image in front of me to shatter.

It didn’t.

“You have some serious skills,” Rollo high-fived Piper.

“Thank you so much,” I told them. “You guys are the best. You didn’t have to come over here and-”

“Stop before you make me cry,” Rollo held up a hand and pretend to sniffle.

“You’re welcome,” Piper said with a smile, “but you better get going.”

“Crap! I’m going to be late!” I exclaimed, clamoring out of the bathroom and down the hall. I grabbed my purse. “Thank you again,” I said to Rollo and Piper. “I’ve got to go. Lock up behind you. Love you guys!” I called, already out the door.

I started my car and drove at least five miles over the speed limit the whole way to Fight For It.

I was still four minutes late but it was better than ten. I parked next to Jared’s Toyota in the back lot but he wasn’t in his car.

Instead of going inside, I stayed in my car.

Excitement bubbled in my stomach and I couldn’t help but smile. In the short time that I’d met Jared, he’d turned my world completely around, making me feel things I hadn’t felt for a long time. I could only begin to imagine the affect he’d have if I opened up and let him into my heart.

A few minutes later, I saw him walk out the back doors. He wore a pair of jeans and a knit, black, long-sleeved, shirt with the sleeves rolled up. His hair was wet, making it appear black instead of brown. A red gym bag was slung across his shoulder.

He looked up and saw me sitting in my car and a smile broke out across his face. I couldn’t help smiling in return.

“Hey,” I said, getting out of my car.

“I was afraid you wouldn’t show up,” he ducked his head down, and went to the back of his SUV. He opened the trunk and dropped his bag in.

I pulled my jacket on. “I wouldn’t ditch you. I’m not that kind of person.”

He finally looked up at me.

“Oh my God! Jared! What happened
to you?” I shrieked, looking at him in horror.

He shrugged and leaned against his car. “It’s part of the job description.”

“Job description?” I asked, staring at the purple bruise around his eye and another on his jaw.

“You didn’t know?” he asked, puzzled.

“Know what?” I was completely at a loss.

“I’m a MMA fighter. I’m this place
’s pride and joy,” he motioned back at Fight For It.

“What’s MMA?” I asked, even though I felt like I should have known the answer.

Jared chuckled, and scratched his jaw. “Mixed Martial Arts.”