Torn Between Two Enemies

Chapter 5

The year before…

The sound was not loud, but Kate knew what sound that was. She was not naïve and had watched porn. But in school? Come on! Kate didn’t know what to do now. She needed to leave but this was the closest restroom and stupid Flo had just spilled coffee all over her blouse. Kate sighed, these two were going at it like there was no tomorrow. It seemed like she had no other choice but to leave.

But then she heard the woman whisper-scream a name: Chris, over and over again. Kate closed her mouth, trying hard not to laugh. The school had several Chris. The name was quite popular but she was willing to bet all of her money that the Chris that was now inside the stall banging this girl was the same Chris that had been flirting with her like crazy.

Now Chris, if Kate was not mistaken was seeing Jenna, right? But it didn’t sound like Jenna, though. This was so interesting. Kate didn’t make a habit of caring about other people’s business. But if Chris was still seeing Jenna and the girl that he was banging now is not her, well, Kate might have something here to blackmail Chris one day. Not like she’d do it anyway, but hey, it was nice to have something to hold on to. So, Kate waited until they’re done.

When they finally opened the door, Kate’s jaw dropped. Hannah Williams! Chris was with Hannah Williams. How could that be? Hannah was a senior while Chris and Kate were still sophomores. And Hannah, she was… she was…

When Hannah saw her, she got so shocked she let out a yelp. “Kate,” she gasped.

“Hannah,” Kate gasped also.

Hannah stared at Kate; her eyes pleaded. When Kate just gave her a blank stare, she turned around and ran out of the bathroom.

Chris saw the whole thing, the boy grinned and shrugged like it was not a big deal. He was probably happy that Kate was there. The boy liked to brag about his conquests. “Hey, Kate,” he said with his casual demeanor. Then winked.

The nerve! Kate came to him and slapped him hard.

“Whoa, what the hell! Are you crazy?!” Chris asked, angry and confused. “Why did you slap me?! Don’t go all jealous on me now!”

Jealous? Chris thought that she was jealous? God, who the hell he thought he was? God’s gift to women? He was so conceited. Kate turned around; she had no time for that stupid boy who thought the world revolved around him. She had more important things to do. So important she didn’t even care about the coffee stain on her blouse.

Kate ran, hoping against hope that she could still catch him. He might be in the parking lot now just finished with practice; she just needed to find his pickup truck. It was there! It was still there. Kate was excited to see the truck. But he was not there yet. That was okay, she could wait. So, Kate waited, she waited patiently.

“Kate?”

Kate looked up. When she saw Logan she smiled, but her face was wet with tears. She ran to him, hugging him tight.

“Oh, princess, what’s the matter?” Logan asked, worried. “What’s going on?”

Kate looked around, realizing that people could see them. She asked Logan to open the car door and hopped into the passenger seat. She then covered her face with a baseball cap that she found on the seat.

Logan sighed but walked towards the driver seat. “Home, princess?” he asked.

Kate shook her head. “No,” she said.

Logan arched an eyebrow. “Why?” he asked.

“I don’t want to see Lucas,” Kate answered.

Logan chuckled. “Don’t worry, Lucas doesn’t get home until late these days.”

This was news. “How late?” Kate asked.

Logan shrugged. “Nine, ten…”

“Why?”

“Not sure,” Logan answered. “He hangs out with Mark and Dion; I don’t know if you know them. Sometimes, he–”

“What?”

Logan sighed; he didn’t know what to say. But then again, Kate herself was dating some boy, right? Although Logan was not really sure about that. “Lucas hangs out with girls here and there. Nothing serious, though.”

Okay. That shouldn’t hurt, right? Kate sighed, remembering the reason why she was sitting inside Logan’s truck. They had to do something now; they couldn’t continue sitting in a parking lot. “Okay,” she said. “Go home, then.”

Logan chuckled again. “Okay, princess,” he said.

“Do you have a lot of laundry?” she asked.

“Some,” Logan answered with a shrug.

“I’ll do it,” Kate said with a bob.

“That’s okay, princess,” Logan said. “It can wait until the weekend. That’s when we do laundry, remember?”

Kate gave him her sweetest smile. “I don’t mind,” she said.

Logan chuckled. He knew that Kate wouldn’t mind, he even knew that Kate would do their laundry with genuine pleasure. “Okay,” Logan said, started driving. “What’s going on, princess? I have a date.”

Now Kate looked at Logan with a sad face. She loved and admired Logan like her own brother. She felt hurt when someone hurt him. “Don’t go, please,” she said. “Spend time with me. Let’s have dinner together and help me with my homework.”

Logan shook his head. “What homework?” he asked, laughing a little. Kate could be too much sometimes. “You don’t even have your book with you. Come on, princess. I need to do this.”

“You can’t!” Kate almost snapped. “You can’t go, okay?!”

Logan stopped the car before looking straight into Kate’s eyes. “What is it that you’re not telling me, Kate?” he asked in a stern voice.

Kate was crying again. “Oh, Logan,” she said. “I can’t tell you. I don’t wanna hurt your feelings. I’m sorry.”

Somehow, Logan understood everything. “Kate,” he said. “What did you see? Tell me, you need to tell me now.”

“Hannah.”

Now Logan stared blankly at Kate. She knew about Hannah? This was supposed to be a secret. Nobody was supposed to know about Hannah and Logan.

Hannah and Logan were a matchmade in heaven should they both don’t live in Alpequa. Just like Kate and Lucas. Hannah was beautiful, and sexy, the most popular girl in the senior class. But she was a Williams. She was part of the Alpequa rich and famous white-collar family, just like Kate. She was not supposed to date Logan.

And Logan. He was handsome, tall, athletic, and smart. Logan played football and was the quarterback. Next season Seth would replace him, and he was not even as good. This didn’t happen very often, the school ‘unofficially’ preferred someone from the old money family as their quarterback. But Logan was magnificent, better than any boys in their school. He’d made them win state championships. Something that hadn’t happened for quite a long time. Logan was all that, he was even offered football scholarships from top universities. All he needed now was just choose one.

He could’ve been a heartbreaker if he had not been from a blue-collar family. He and Hannah were not supposed to mix. But they’d fallen in love when they were sixteen and had been together ever since. Although they kept their relationship a secret. Logan kept on saying that he had a date, but he’d never talked about who he’d been dating. Still, Kate knew, she’d always known all along. Bruce and Lucas too, knew. They’d once seen Hannah’s photo in Logan’s phone. They hadn’t said anything. Together, they kept his secret.

“What about Hannah?” Logan asked. Somehow, he knew. This couldn’t be good if it made Kate cry.

Kate shook her head and placed her hand on top of his. “You don’t wanna know, Logan,” she said in a whisper.

Logan turned around. He didn’t wanna cry but somehow, he shed a tear. Just one, at the corner of his eye. “There’s something in my eye,” he said.

Kate nodded but didn’t say anything. Together they were just sitting inside the truck on the side of the road until Logan had enough power to continue driving. They rode in silence. When they’re in the house, Logan ran upstairs to his room. Kate walked to the basement and started to separate laundry before putting them inside the washer. She then cleaned the kitchen before calling Bruce and asking him to bring Italian subs for dinner.

Logan didn’t come down for dinner so Kate only had it with her ‘future-father-in-law’ who was confused and had a lot of questions but didn’t know where to start asking. Bruce Jenkins was a man, and not really a very sensitive one at that. He didn’t talk, especially heart to heart. He knew there was a problem, but until somebody came to him and asked for his help, he would continue minding his own business. Right now, there was Kate there playing house. And for that, he was grateful.

“I’m gonna bring Logan’s dinner to his room, okay dad?” Kate said.

Bruce nodded. “Okay, princess,” he said. “He’s not… he’s not sick, is he?”

Kate contemplated before answering, “He’s sad. But I’m here. He won’t be sad for too long.”

Bruce chuckled. “Okay, princess,” he said, believing her. “Go to his room. You don’t mind if I take a shower and rest, do you?”

Kate shook her head, telling him no. When Bruce climbed the stairs, she cleared the table before going upstairs herself with the subs, chips, and a coke. She knocked on Logan’s door before coming in.

Logan was lying on his stomach. He didn’t move when Kate called his name. He was dead to the world. This made Kate angry. Hannah Williams. Who the hell she thought she was?

Kate sat on the floor beside Logan’s bed. She caressed his hair. “I’m going to ruin her,” Kate said to nobody in particular. Somehow determined. “Just wait and see.”

“No,” Logan said. “Leave it alone, princess.”

“But she hurt you,” Kate shouted.

Logan laughed. He became tired and defeated. “It’s not gonna last, anyway,” he said. “Our relationship, I meant. Look, in a couple of months high school is over for me. I’m going away for college. There’ll be other girls. This time, if I’m ever in a relationship again, I won’t make it a secret. This fuckin town, man. This fuckin town is too much.”

“What about Hannah?”

“I’m done with her.”

Kate didn’t believe him but she chose to not question him anymore. She was just glad that he wanted to talk to her. She considered that a victory. Now, if she could just make him eat his dinner.

“Yum,” Kate said. “This Italian sub is so yummy.”

Logan turned his head so fast he shocked her. “Is that from Luigi’s?”

Oh God. Where else could that be from? Luigi’s was the best sub’s place at Alpequa. It owned by real Italian family, which by the way, stupid of her for forgetting, was related to Hannah William’s mother. Hannah was half British and half Italian. That was why she was super beautiful and sexy. She’d got the best of both worlds.

“Oh,” Kate said. “Come to think of it, it’s not really that good. Why don’t I make you PB&J, instead?”

Kate was about to stand but Logan stopped her. “Don’t worry, princess,” he said. “I can skip dinner one time. I don’t feel like eating. Just… just stay with me, okay?”

“Okay,” Kate said.

“Now, is it possible if I ask you to just stay there? Stay and don’t talk? I don’t need anything. I just need you here.”

“Okay,” Kate said again, smiled, then positioned herself to be comfortable on the floor beside his bed. She felt tired herself. She just worked very hard, why, with all those house chores. So, she slept.

Logan found her asleep under his bed. He carried her to Lucas’ room and put her on his bed. Lucas was not home yet. It was almost ten. He’d be home soon. Now Logan was hungry. He went back to his room then stared at the sub. Hannah loved the subs, he did too. Who didn’t, really? Who didn’t love Italian subs? It shouldn’t just be associated with Hannah Williams. People ate Italian subs everywhere around the world. Hannah was just one of those people. And if he ate the sub now, he was just one of those people himself, right? With that thought, he reached for the sub and devoured it.

***

Lucas came home to a sweet girl sleeping soundly on his bed. The girl. He didn’t talk to the girl in school ever. How come she was here?

He turned around to find his dad standing by his door.

“I called the Conrads,” his dad said. “They’re not happy that she’s here. But I asked them to let her stay. Somebody from their house came and brought her clothes.” His dad pointed to a small bag on top of his study desk. “Tell her to wear those to school tomorrow morning. Good night, son.” With that, his dad turned around and walked back to his room.

What should he do now? His family didn’t know how bad she’d hurt him. He hadn’t told them and he’d never do. They loved her and their house was her safe haven. It was a symbiosis mutualism kind of thing. They needed one another. They accepted how shitty she had been treating them, but they still welcomed her every time. The Jenkins were such masochists.

But she did their laundry, and did their dishes, and cleaned their house. She was their woman of the house. The one that was missing since Lucas had been born. They’d been holding on to her. They couldn’t let go; they wouldn’t let go. Now Lucas had to pay the consequence. How many times did his heart have to break for her? But then again, men didn’t need hearts anyway, right?

Lucas sighed. Yeah, he just couldn’t deal with it. What would he say to her come morning? He wasn’t gonna play that game, he needed time. One day everything would make sense. One day he’d go to college and make something out of himself. By then, only by then, he might be worthy of her, but not before. In the meantime, though, he wasn’t playing this game. He wasn’t risking breaking his heart one more time for her.

Lucas rummaged through his closet and put his clothes into his backpack. He wasn’t going to be here when she woke up, he was going to be at Mark’s. Logan could take care of her.

***