A Rose to Keep (The Society 1)

Heather didn’t like to ask for help. She felt being at this school was enough charity. Last year, she’d spent most of the winter with leaking shoes. I only knew the damage when she came to my dorm and I saw the trail of wet feet. I’d presented her with a new pair of shoes the next day. She’d been real upset and hated that I pitied her. I simply told her that I care. She was my friend, and I’d do what I could to take care of her.

We linked arms and walked out to the main hall.

The guys were already lined up.

This was one part of school I hated, the mixed groups of students. Male and female. Back in public school, they had done an experimental program where they separated the genders. Most hated it. I relished it.

It kind of helped doing gym without any guys to point out my bouncing breasts with the rude comments and pointing fingers.

We took a seat on the bleachers and I saw the Saintly Devils were not too far from us. They all kept looking at me, and I hated the attention.

“You’re shaking,” Heather said.

“I’m fine.”

I noticed Heather liked to touch me a lot. Hold my hands, tuck my hair back, even putting her hand at my back. At first, I found it a little uncomfortable. I wasn’t the touchy-feely kind of person. Then I thought of Drew. She was the only person to give me physical comfort. I never brought it up with Heather and just learned to deal with it.

Some people liked to be affectionate.

Heather grabbed my hands, holding them. I didn’t know why I was so nervous.

Gym always made me feel this way. There was no getting away from it.

“You can all moan and groan, but we all know what is coming. We’re going to do laps. Assess your fitness level, and then we get to decide what to do with your asses for the rest of the year,” Coach Bilson said.

We got to our feet and headed outside. At least it wasn’t raining. Coach Bilson didn’t like excuses. He told us all we were living in a different time than when he was a kid, but what didn’t kill you, made you stronger. He didn’t take any crap from anyone. I thought he was the only person the Saintly Devils didn’t piss off.

You made an enemy out of Coach Bilson, your time during gym was a nightmare. Once we were on track, he got us all lined up into separate running times. Heather had to go first, so she lined up and was gone. The next crew was Chloe and several guys.

What a surprise, I was left to run alongside a couple of other girls and the guys I’d been trying to avoid.

“Are you ready for this, babe?” William asked.

I wrinkled my nose at him. Running was the sport of the devil. If I kept a good pace, I didn’t look like a total loser. What I couldn’t do was sprint. I wouldn’t last the lesson, and Coach loved to make these last. They were hard and grueling.

The moment he shouted go, I took off, keeping a steady pace.

I wasn’t going to lie, my heart raced like crazy, and a part of me was a little embarrassed I wasn’t quite as fit as everyone else. I was a bigger girl, had been all my life, but I’d prided myself on being able to do as much as I can and keeping active. I often enjoyed walks, and there was a short time I did some yoga. After I nearly trapped myself into a position and panicked, the yoga came to an end. There were better things in life to do than attempting to bend like a pretzel.

The guys were ahead of me, and I was more than happy with that.

It was hot.

I was tired.

I so didn’t want to run.

This week alone had been one of the weirdest I’d ever experienced.

The selection. The attention. The guys. They weren’t taking no very well. Even after four days—we started on Tuesday—you’d think they would have taken the hint. Nope. No hint taken.

We had just finished one lap when Coach shouted for us to take another. I glanced over and saw Heather running, keeping to herself. I was so ready to call it a day.

“Hello, beautiful,” William said, moving in a little closer.

I groaned. “Can we not?” I was only going to be able to use a few words. I was already out of air.

Damn. Running was no easy thing.

“You know it’s Friday, right?”

“Of course.”

“There’s a party happening off campus.”

“No.”

“You’re going to make us work for it, aren’t you?” William asked.

“I’m not making you work for anything.”

“Yeah, you are.”

I was so angry I stopped. “What will it take to make you leave me alone?”