Random Knigghts by Dennitra Lomax (crime books to read TXT) 📖

schedule, he wanted to have every class with me, on both days. So, I sat alone in the cafeteria. Today, I felt more eyes on me than I ever had before. The incident in the hallway earlier today only intensified the stares, and I expected that much. But, I didn't expect one thing.
"Are you and Liam together?" A high pitched voice asked.
I looked up to see who was asking me this question, when I recognized her instantly. Her strawberry, blonde hair and baby blue eyes were hard to forget. She was the same girl who’d been only a few feet behind Liam and I, just yesterday. I remember she’d been accompanied by a group of girls that day, so I looked around her to see where they were. No posse?
"Um, what do you mean?"
I knew what she meant, but I wondered if she had the guts to say it again. While I was looking at her.
"You know, are you guys 'together, together'?"
She smiled a fake smile, and acted as though she were my friend. Of course she had the guts to ask me again. She wanted Liam and, it appeared, she’d go to all lengths to get what she wanted. She was just that kind of girl.
"Well no, but..."
She didn't even wait for me to finish before jumping up and down, clapping her hands together.
"Great! Thanks Allison," and she was gone.
"Your welcome," I muttered, under my breath.
I knew I would have problems with this girl. I didn't want a war to break out between her and I over Liam, but I felt it would be inevitable. I shrugged out of my seat, and walked to my next class. The last two periods flew by. In U.S. History we watched a movie, that I didn't watch, and had to take notes, that I didn't take. Liam kept trying to talk to me, but I managed to pretend I was busy taking notes. It made me both sad and angry when I thought about him joining the football team, and the thought of him dating the strawberry blonde only intensified those feelings. I thought it better to hold my feelings in, until we were alone after school.
On the walk to Spanish II, Liam asked me if I were okay, I lied and said that I was. I wasn't sure if he believed me, but he stopped trying to talk to me and didn't ask me any other questions, so I guess he did. During class, Mrs. Esperanza passed out a long list of words that were in Spanish. We had until the end of class to translate them all into English, so that kept me busy enough that I didn't have to pretend. When the bell sounded, I handed in my paper to Mrs. Esperanza, and all but sprinted to the door. Liam wasn't as eager. He sat in his desk for a moment, while everyone filed out of the room and only then did he hand his paper in. He walked over to me slowly, or maybe it just seemed slow because I was so eager to talk to him, then he shrugged past me without saying a word. I walked beside him, and when I looked at his expression, I stopped walking. His eyes were low and his shoulders hung in. He was sad. I must’ve made him sad by not speaking to him. Although he hadn't seemed to be paying attention to me, he stopped walking too, and looked at me. When he met my eyes, he filled the gap between us in an instant and his arms were around me. I hadn't realized I was crying, until he whispered to me.
“Don’t cry Ally, I'm sorry."
My hands were balled up into fists, and by the way they were throbbing, they’d been that way for a while. I unclenched them, and wrapped my arms around him too. I can't believe I’ve cried twice in one day! What’s with me? Liam had my emotions going insane.
"No, I'm sorry, I was being such a jerk to you ever since...earlier."
I was certain he knew what I was talking about, and he did.
"I noticed." He laughed and stepped back an inch, but kept his arms around me.
"It's just, I have so many questions."
"Then ask 'em." He grasped my hand and led me outside.


Chapter Five

Liam and I walked home slowly after school, neither of us seemed to be in a rush to get there.
"Are you going to join the football team?" I shouted.
After he noticed I was no longer walking, he turned to me and smiled. I wasn't sure if that was good or bad, so it didn't put me at ease. He could see his smile hadn't served it's purpose.
"Of course not Ally. I don't want to join their stupid team," he placed his hands on my shoulders, “Is that what had you mad all day?"
I exhaled slowly. So he wasn't going to join the team, what a relief. Why couldn't he have just told me that earlier? It would’ve saved me from the anxiousness I’ve felt, ever since Matt asked him to join in the first place.
"I wasn't mad…" I looked for the right word, "I was, worried."
His hands still rested on my shoulders, I hadn't noticed how heavy they rested there until just now. I moved my shoulders, and he got the hint. He dropped his hands to his sides, then as if he were uneasy, shoved them into his front pockets.
Liam's attitude changed, hence the stance, and his voice wasn't smooth as it usually was.
"What were you worried about?"
He looked annoyed, and that confused me.
"What do you think? That, I'm not strong enough to play with them? Or is it that I'm not good enough?"
He wasn't looking at me anymore. His eyes looked past me, and he seemed so far away even though he was standing right in front of me.
"What? Liam, that’s not what I meant at all."
He snapped back from wherever his mind had taken him, and looked at me with confused eyes.
"What did you mean then?"
His head cocked to the right a little, like how a dog does when trying to understand.
"When I said that I was worried, it wasn't because I was worried about you. If you joined the football team, we wouldn't be friends anymore."
The thought made me drop my head and I fought the tears, once again, that wanted to spill out. Liam's warm hand was under my chin before I was fully under control of my water works.
"Ally, it'll take more than a stupid football team to break this up," he motioned his free hand between us, "and besides, I'm not joining their cult."
He chuckled, and I forced my tears away so I could join in.
"There's my smile."
The fact that he declared my smile as his, made my heart flutter. We began to walk again.
"I thought you said you had a lot of questions..."
"Oh yeah, I did. Well, I do. I totally forgot."
I tried to remember the list of questions I’d prepared earlier today, probably should've written them down. I doubt I’ll be able to remember them all.
"Um, while you try to remember," the sarcasm in his voice made me giggle, "we can go to this spot I know of."
I froze, my heart began to race and my breathing was uncontrollable. But, I managed to spit out two words.
"What spot?
I'm sure he heard my voice crack and, if not, he certainly noticed that I was as stiff as a statue.
"Ally, relax. It's just a place I remember from my childhood."
His words, and his smile, helped me do just that. I walked over to him, then we continued to walk. I replayed his sentence over and over again in my head to help me relax, until I actually listened to the last part of it.
"Wait, you said a place from your childhood?"
"Well, yeah. I was born here and lived here when I was a kid. My family and I moved away when I was younger, but I still remember a few things."
"Wow, that’s so cool. I would’ve never guessed you were originally from here."
"Yup. I'm a country bumpkin, just like you."
We laughed, not at his joke, but at the coincidence of both of us being born from this place. It was like a breath of fresh air. Liam was born here, so was I, and neither of us seemed to turn out 'right.' It wouldn't be long before everyone writes Liam off because of his friendship with me. Or try to intervene, into our friendship. Sure he has a reason why he turned out different, he did live elsewhere for a decade, but it didn't matter to me. It brought us together.
"Where did you live, after you moved from here?"
My questions were gradually coming back to me.
"New York."
"Awesome! How is it out there? I have a cousin who lives out there. Why did you leave?
My words ran together, blurring any chance of him distinguishing question from statement.
"Whoa, Ally take it easy. Could you repeat that for me, but slower this time."
He held a huge, contagious grin and I smiled.
"Sorry. Okay, first question. How is it in New York? I've always wanted to go visit my cousin who lives out there, but David would never allow it."
"Who's David?"
I hadn't meant to mention him. Talking with Liam was so easy, I didn't have to watch what I said. But I hated to even think about David, let alone talk about him. I wanted to tell Liam everything. I yearned to tell him all about David and what kind of man he was, if you could even call him a man. But I couldn't tell him, so I settled for explaining who he was.
"He’s… my father."
Nausea filled my stomach, and I clung to it in desperation. I didn't want to lose it in front of Liam, not over him. So, I pulled myself together and looked up at Liam. His face was concerned, a face I’d seen before, and I knew I hadn't pulled myself together fast enough.
"What was with…the pause?"
He’d picked up on my hesitation. Oh dear.
"Um, let's just say, he doesn't deserve father of the year."
I smiled, an awkward smile, hoping he’d leave it alone.
"Welcome to the club."
Liam's smile was just as awkward as mine. I guess his dad wasn’t so grand either, I felt better. Knowing he and I shared something else, only strengthened our bond. In my mind at least.
"Here we are."
Liam stopped in front of a large oak tree, shadowing a perfect sitting spot beneath it. The grass seemed greener here than grass anywhere in town and a few flowers bloomed only in the shadowy spot, giving it an even surreal feeling.
“Wow,” I whispered, under my breath, too low for him to hear.
How did I not notice this place before? A spot like this would be hard to forget, which is probably why Liam remembered it. Then again, it wasn’t exactly in plain sight. I looked around but didn’t see the street we were walking on before, only trees and brush. Where were we? We weren’t walking for