Chapter Nine:

I blurted out: 'I love you!'

The shock and disbelief was all over her face when her friend came around saying I needed stitches. I was bleeding all over Sam. My name was called, but nothing could stop me looking at Sam. The girl I loved so much.

'Final call for Jordan October - you are needed for the 100m finals!'

'I need to go Sam; they are calling me. I'm sorry'

She automatically stepped back and let me go. I saw blood all over her and felt so bad, hoping she had an extra top. As I walked off, I heard her classmate ask if she saw that look on my face, and with no response from her he repeated.

'Sam, what did you do to the guy. It is almost like he loves you just for cleaning his hand … pathetic juniors.'

I had to run with a bleeding hand and still came first, but with the dehydration, the loss of blood and all the excitement in my heart, I fainted. I regained consciousness with a nurse cleaning my wound and asking if I had eaten anything. I realised that I had not. My food was with my sister and I never had a chance to get to her, worried that I might run into Sam. I still had to do the 200m and 1500m finals, so I needed to get ready, but first the stitches had to be done. A pale-faced Abby came into the gazebo with her friends.

'Jordi, are you okay? I got such a fright when I saw them carrying you, and when I saw Sam with blood all over her saying it was yours! Gosh, and here you are sitting and laughing as though it is all a big joke.'

'Well it is! One moment I am the man winning and the next I'm getting carried off the track like a bag of potatoes; guys my reputation!'

'You're worried about that and here I was worried about the fact that you could be seriously injured or dying, you jerk! I even told the two of them that I will be nice to you from now on.'

'Well, now you know I am okay, so stop this nonsense and go. I have two other finals to run.'

Sam walked out last and kept eye contact as she passed the nurses. I threw caution to the winds and pulled her back. She rushed into my arms and I moulded her body to mine for a while.

'Don't do that again, Jordi!'

I needed her to be okay, her tears were running again. I gave her a clean sweater from my bag and Abby made her appearance asking why she was taking so long. My hand was paining and my head started as well. Even eating two bananas and a snack bar and drinking lots of energy drinks did not help. I could only do the 200m. I won it but asked to be excused from the 1500m because I knew I was totally exhausted.

I sat with my sister and ate everything left over in the bag. Feeling a bit better, I moved closer to Sam, putting my top over my lap and hers just so that I could hold her hand. My one hand was throbbing with pain and the other being massaged by soft fingers.

'What happened?'

'I hit the wall out of being a conceited jerk.'

Abby heard it but didn't understand why I would do that. I told her it was none of her business.

'Next time knock that thick head of yours in as well, idiot!'

Everyone was going mad, jumping up and down with excitement for the long distance runners, except Sam and I that could finally sit and talk. We needed to move closer so that we could hear each other, and her hand that rested on my leg started drawing absent circles. I put my hand on top of hers asking her to stop.

'It will make trouble for us again, Sam.'

She, as always, immediately knew what I meant and stopped.

'Would it be such a bad thing right now?'

'Yes, because it would be more of an embarrassment than enjoyment for both of us, Sam.'

Sam moved even closer and whispered in my ear.

'Something to look forward to then, Jordi.'

That gave me hope that somehow, she was thinking about us being together again.

'We really need to talk Jordi, tonight won't be a good time with your sister sleeping over and tomorrow we have dress fittings before we go away for the weekend … so can we do movies on Monday? Buy the tickets for the same cinema at 5, okay?'

I agreed, for it sounded so exciting and with that I stole a fast kiss, putting a lovely blush on her cheeks before my sister interrupted.

'What were you saying to my friend to make her blush, Jordi?'

'You know Abs you are such a bitch sometimes,' shot Sam.

I laughed. She deserved it, but it made my sister very suspicious, looking back and forth from me to Sam, who just looked away indicating that the conversation had ended.

The trip back home was annoying because miss lap dancer decided she needed to sit with the 'school's hero'. My sister did not like this girl and I honestly tried to get rid of her, but Adam, the matchmaker, ignored my plight. I was so bored by this girl's conversation that I fell asleep, waking up to noisy girls going on about what a match we make, showing pictures of us asleep and facing each other.

I was genuinely sleeping; Tara next to me was pretending to sleep. Well, the picture looked good and soon became Tara's new profile picture which I was sure would get a lot of likes, except by someone who was silently killing me with her looks. I knew it was back to square one again and it sucked. I messaged Sam to explain, but no reply. When I asked if we were still talking or not, she ignored me. I could clearly see her reading them with a thick frown reminding me of one of the canals running through our cities. I couldn't understand women! How in hell's name would I possibly know what was happening while I was asleep?

I messaged Tara next to me, asking her to remove her profile picture and she wouldn't unless I gave her a good enough reason to do so.

'I have a girlfriend, Tara!'

She asked who it was and I told her to just do it. Tara in turn updated her status:

'Jordan's girl better identify herself or lose her man!'

I could see the determination on her face, the photo would stay. I looked at Sam and the anger was clear. When Abby asked her what was wrong, she said nothing. Abby commented on Tara's status: 'you better take my brother's picture off your phone you can see he is just not into you.'

Tara replied 'get over yourself, sister dearest. Look who he is sitting with' and kissed me right there. I pushed her away, but my hand was kept on her chest while everything went from bad to worse. I hoped this girl was ready for a fight because it was coming! I couldn't move without being rude and Tara knew it and used it.

The bus stopped and Abby forcefully knocked against the girl when she passed her. Sam told Abby that it wasn't worth wasting her time on Tara, and when Tara in turn called her a bitch, Sam punched her square in the face. She had this massive smile on her face even when the three of them were told that detention was waiting for them after the September school holiday.

Later, I texted Sam asking what that punch was about. She never answered so I let it blow over because it was just useless asking her to talk when she was upset for no reason at all. Oh well she might have a reason. Tara's status changed again before the night was over saying that she would see her sister-in-law at detention.

I enjoyed this fighting, not because of Sam, but because Abby had met her match. So, I kept Tara as a friend on social media for that reason alone. I got one text asking me to tell my friend to stop with these comments before she lost her teeth. I told Sam to do it herself or just admit to everyone that she was seeing me.

Saturday dragged by and again I had a massive headache out of the blue. My mom said that I needed to go to the doctor to check it out, but maybe it was just a migraine. She gave me tablets and water and left me to sleep further.