In his grasp

It’s my birthday

A few weeks past and Joe has been really busy. He was finishing off his degree and was occupied with work and planning on his own business. We haven’t seen each other but we have spoken a couple of times. Well today is a bit of a special day which will take my mind off of things. I never usually like my birthday but this year, something felt different .

“Happy birthday!” Molly shouted down the hallway. I blushed with embarrassment. 

“Shh, I don’t want everyone knowing, you know what it’s like with the guys in school, they will think that it’s okay to give me birthday ass slaps. I don’t want a red ass” I said to her. She laughed at me and wrapped her arm around my shoulder. She guided me through the hall and said.

“So...” oh god, she sounds like she’s planning something. I squinted my eyes at her. 

“I was thinking... we skip last period” I was shocked and scoffed at her “why?”

“It’s your birthday and I want us to celebrate. I got clothes, a hair brush and make up” she smiled. 

“Okay but what are we gonna do” I asked. She gave me a cheeky look and put her hands in my shoulders. 

“I thought we could all go out for something to eat” she laughed. I looked confused. 

“All?” She turned me to face the middle quad. The middle quad is a small bit of grass in the middle of the school that has benches and a steps leading up to it. Standing there was a few friends, including Ryan who looking back at me smiling. Ryan is in my science class. I have always had a bit of a crush on him but he was one of those popular guys that everyone gets on with and all the girls fancy. He winds me up in science but not in a bad way. More like a funny way that I can tolerate and he sticks up for me when Grey gets too much. 

“What do you think?” She asked, everyone looking at me waiting for my reply. I shrugged and said. 

“Yeah okay, lets do it” everyone laughed and cheered in excitement and the bell rang for our next class. 

Soon enough it was the end of our lesson before last period and me and Molly rushed off to the bathroom with our bags to hide whilst everyone gets to their class, including teachers. We put our make up on, brushed our hair and got changed into our cute casual outfits. After ten minutes we messaged our friends to see where they were and where we were meeting them. They all replied in minutes. 

‘Bus stop, 5mins. Ryan’ I smiled and looked at Molly seeing if she was ready. We grabbed our bags and ran to the back gate by the field. We chucked our bags through the gap and squeezed through. We picked them up and continued to the bus stop where everyone was waiting. 

We got to town and entered the restaurant. Everyone was laughing and joking the whole time. My phone kept buzzing in my bag but I ignored it in case it was my mum. The last thing I wanted was for people to think that mummy’s checking on her little baby. Ryan kept looking at me which made my cheeks turn red, but I tried to control myself. 

After a few hours we all split the bill and left the restaurant. We went separate ways to different bus stops... even Molly. Me and Ryan were left on our own. We had a quick chat about school life and how funny it is in science. He looked at me and said. “Did you want me to wait with you?” after he noticed his bus arriving. I looked past him to see a black sporty Corsa which was flashing its lights at me. My blood ran cold. “s**t!” I pulled my phone out of my pocket. 6 missed calls. I felt my palms sweating. I opened my phone and looked at the call list. 

“I... sorry... no it’s okay... my ride is here” I stuttered. I gave him a hug goodbye and then rushed towards the car. I opened the door and closed it behind me, panting with panic and looking down at my hands. I looked over to see Joe with a very angry and irritated look on his face. 

“I’m so sorry Joe, I didn’t know it was you calling...” his face didn’t move a muscle. 

“...I thought it was my mum, I thought she was ringing to have a go at me”. My heart was racing as his face was still exactly the same. He sat in silence for a moment and then drove the car. We sat the whole time, not a word spoken. He drove to the spot we went to the first time we were in the car together. He turned his lights off and turned to me. 

“Where were you?” I looked down at my fingers. 

“Out with my friends, we were celebrating my birthday” I answered. 

“Who was that?” he blurted out. I scrunched my up my face. 

“Ryan, my friend from science” I looked at him to check for any change in his expression. He was little more tense. 

“Why would your mum be mad at you?” he questioned. I paused and shrugged. 

“I skipped last period” his face was filled with anger. It scared me. For a minute we sat there. Why did he seem so angry that I skipped one class?  Bet he has done it before.

He turned back to look forward, grabbed the steering wheel and said  

“Get out”. My heart dropped. 

“What?” 

“Get out, Lauren” his tone raised slightly. 

“But... Joe...I” he interrupted me, shouting this time. 

“Get out of the car!” Tears welled up in my eyes