Finding Solace

Chapter 9

Callum

"I think it's official now, guys. We've totally lost our friend." I heard Henry jokingly say behind me.

"Poor Callum." Jake sobbed. "I'm gonna miss him."

"Don't kill me off yet." I grumbled. "Shouldn't it be more like revived?"

They all burst out laughing. "You said it man!" Jake said enthusiastically. "What do ya say we all head somewhere to celebrate?"

"Heck yeah, what about that new nightclub everyone's been talking about?" Henry added excitedly.

"Do you guys only think about partying?" Blake asked exasperatedly.

"Oh shut up, you bore. Seeing that romantic scene just now made us want to find love too." Henry interjected.

"What romantic scene?" I asked in bafflement.

"When you were protecting the damsel in distress against the bad guy." Henry said, scoffing. "And she was clutching you like you were her knight in shining armor. If this isn't romantic, I don't know what is." He shrugged.

"Ugh! Will you stop your allusions to fairy tales? It's creepy." I said.

"I agree with that. You're supposed to be more grown up now, so act like it!" Blake chastised.

Henry glowered at Blake but the latter didn't pay him any mind as he addressed me. "Putting that matter aside, what was with this Josh guy? The way he acted towards Jillian was totally not normal. Does he also have a thing for her?"

"There's no doubt about it." Henry said, then looked at me as he added "You should be careful of him, he also seems a bit deranged."

"Isn't that the case for all of Dan's other buddies? It's like they all got contaminated with his craziness after hanging out with him." Jake said.

"Yeah, both Daniel and Josh might pose a big problem in the future. But at least Jillian doesn't seem to feel the same for Josh." I frowned to myself as I added. "In fact, she almost seemed to fear him."

"So you noticed as well?" Blake said. "She might have been lashing out at him, but I could tell she was just putting up a front. In truth, she was terrified."

Hearing my doubts confirmed only made my chest ache for her even more. I sighed in frustration. I shouldn't have allowed him to take her away. It was really cowardly of me. I should have faced her brother head on and maybe convince him to stop interfering in her life. 

Henry tapped me on the shoulder. "Don't worry about it, man. We'll find another occasion to face her brother and make him let her go. Even if you wanted to help her today, Jillian was reluctant. You wouldn't want to do the same as those bastards by going against her wishes, would you?"

I sighed. "You're right. Thanks for cheering me up."

"Now that everything's settled, can we go to that club?" Jake asked impatiently

I was about to refuse them, when I heard several bikes coming towards us. Four bikers came into view and they quickly closed the distance between us until they were riding in a circular motion around us, blocking our way. We all looked at each other, already knowing who were hiding behind those helmets. I steeled myself for what I knew was to come. Eventually, the riders pulled to a stop and dismounted their bikes, then pulled off their helmets to reveal their smirking faces.

"Missed us guys?" Daniel asked sarcastically.

"And you were doing so well, evading us since school started. It was only a matter of time, though." Rick chimed in.

"We weren't exactly evading you." Henry sneered. "We just do not go around itching for a fight like you guys.

"Keep telling yourself that." Rick said.

"Can we cut the crap and get this fight started? I've been itching to bash some skull for awhile." Ben said, cracking his knuckles.

"I wanna go first!" Rick said excitedly, taking a step forward.

"You guys cut the crap!" Daniel bellowed, making them both freeze in place. "Things will get real ugly soon, but I need to make my point first." He said while sending me a condescending look.

I glared back at him, no longer intimidated by his cold gaze. The first time I saw him, I remember thinking he wasn't human. And he has proven that point time and again during the past two years. A normal human couldn't possibly be capable of such ruthlessness. It beats me how a sweet person like Jillian could possibly be related to someone like him.

"I must say you've got guts to actually enter the same school as me. You should already know that this place is my turf." Daniel snarled.

"I believe that anyone's free to attend this school." I said nonchalantly.

"Yeah." He replied wistfully. "I personally find this situation rather favorable coz I'll get to knock you guys around more often." Then he grit out. "But I'll warn you one more time. You are not, under any circumstances, to get close to my sister. Anyone who does will experience hell. I'll let you have a little taste just so you'll know."

With those words they all charged at us at once. Daniel went straight for me, while Henry and Jake engaged Rick and Ben respectively. This left Blake to contend with the deadly Kai. I didn't have the leisure of worrying about them, though, because I had the most vicious among them trying to bring me down. Daniel dealt a series of blows to me in rapid succession. I had to focus mainly on blocking or evading his attacks. Is it just me or has he become much stronger since the last time we fought. Finally I saw an opening and punched him in the stomach as hard as I could. As usual, the guy seemed to be made of steel and didn't even flinch. He managed to land a couple of blows to my face and midriff. I wasn't as unaffected by his attacks and it took me a few seconds to snap out of my stunned state. We were lucky Josh wasn't here. Otherwise, it would have been a lost cause.

"You getting tired already?" He sneered. "That was just a warm up." With this, he charged at me even more viciously. The rest of the fight went on with me mainly focusing on defending myself and I took more blows than I managed to land on him. However, I was growing tired and was having trouble evading his attacks. Daniel, on the other hand, still had the same stamina and was attacking with the same fervor as when he first started. Just when I thought he would knock me out completely, another motorcycle came racing towards us. We all looked in its direction.

"Sorry for making you wait, guys!" Josh called out cheerfully.

Great! We were dead meat now. There's no way we'll be able to take him on as well. A quick check on my friends revealed they were as frazzled as I was.

"You took care of Jillian?" Daniel asked.

"Yep, she's now safely ensconced in her home." Josh said.

"What?" Daniel asked in disbelief. "Are your ears just for decoration? Didn't I tell you to take her somewhere else?" He appeared to be seething.

"When did you ever tell me this?" Josh asked.

Daniel went to him and punched him a couple of times causing Josh to crash against the pavement. "You really are f*****g useless!" Daniel thundered.

"I swear it, man, you never told me any of that." Josh said, raising his arms in defense.

"You're saying it's my fault now?" Daniel roared while delivering several kicks to Josh's crouched form. Everyone stared at him with trepidation, not daring to interfere.

"I get it, I apologize." Josh said desperately. "Shouldn't you be making sure Jillian is okay first?"

Daniel sighed in frustration and ripped out his cellphone.

I was also confused by his reaction. Why would he not want to send Jillian back home? Was she in danger somehow? I also felt my concern for her growing.

"Damn! She's not answering her phone." Daniel mumbled to himself, seeming worried.

"Is there something going on with Jillian?" Rick asked cautiously.

Daniel just glanced at him, appearing too preoccupied to answer. "I have to go." He mumbled finally and rushed to his bike, riding it with such speed that he disappeared from view within seconds.

"What just happened?" Ben asked, appearing confused.

"I'm worried about Jillian." Rick said. "Hey, Josh what happened to her?"

"How the hell would I know that?" Josh uttered. "I just left her in front of her house... that bastard never told me that she wasn't to be brought there. And he had the guts to beat me up coz of that." He grumbled as he painstakingly got back up.

"So what do we do now?" Ben asked, glancing towards us.

"Somehow it's not as fun without Dan. Let's just stop here for today." Rick replied. "We could find some thrill elsewhere."

"Okay." Ben said reluctantly. "You coming Kai?"

He shook his head. "I've got other things to take care of." He said simply before heading towards his bike and riding away.

"Well then, see you guys later." Rick waved at us as he and Ben also rode away.

For some reason the confusing turn of events made us remain frozen in place. Seeing Josh head towards his bike prompted me into action.

I intercepted him and asked the question that had been bothering me for awhile. "You know what could have happened to her, don't you? Why was Daniel so worried?"

"Why would I tell you?" He sneered. "And you'd better keep your distance from Jillian. I don't know what you did to stir her interest, but it will never work out between you two."

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, sending him a condescending glare.

"Jillian has several... issues." Josh said wistfully. "Even in the unlikely circumstance that she does develop feelings for you, these issues will quickly catch up to her and the end result won't be pretty."

"I can't understand a thing you're saying." I blurted in frustration. "What issues are you talking about?"

"That's all I'll say for now. You'll understand the truth of my words soon enough if you keep associating with her. But don't worry," He added with a smirk. "Even if she ends up brokenhearted through all this, I'll be there to comfort her."

I grabbed him by the collar and sent him a scathing glare. "What did you say?"

"You heard me well. Do you really want to start a fight with me? I might have taken a beating but I still have my full strength." Josh scoffed.

I reluctantly released him, but not before sending him one last warning look. He just smirked at me in response before speeding away as well on his bike.

It was then that I finally regarded my friends.

"How did you guys hold up?" I asked.

"Not bad, we managed to land a few hits." Jake said with a proud smile.

"I did much more damage than that." Henry scoffed.

"What, you're gonna try to compete with me on this as well?" Jake asked, annoyed.

"Stop trying to show off." Blake said. "You both know that we barely avoided getting beaten to a pulp."

"Yeah, they seem to have gotten much stronger." I agreed.

"So what?" Jake said. "We're also much stronger than before. This time they took us by surprise. Next time, we'll be more prepared."

"You're probably right." I said with a smile.

We ended up having to take a cab home. When my father saw my beaten up state, he was worried as usual. I've always lived alone with him, my mother having abandoned us right after giving birth to me. I wasn't complaining, though, because my dad has always been the most caring when it came to me, more than making up for the lack of a mother. Luckily, he was also a doctor which has proven very helpful ever since I started dealing with Daniel's harassment.

I tried calling Jillian several times, but she still wouldn't answer her phone. I was so worried about her but also frustrated at not being able to do anything. I was currently laying down on my bed trying to mull over the day's events. So much had happened. To think that just this morning I was despairing about not being able to make any progress with Jillian. Now we were already friends and I even have her mobile number, which I kept trying to call every five minutes, but to avail. My worry kept escalating with each minute and I was regretting sending her alone with that guy all over again. The worse is that Jake and Henry kept calling me, asking about Jillian, then discussing about nonsensical stuff when I told them there was no news. What if I miss Jillian's call because of them? I had just ended their call when it started ringing again.

"What is it again this time?" I asked, feeling beyond exasperated.

"Sorry, am I calling at a wrong time?" Jillian asked hesitantly.

My heart thudded at finally hearing her voice. I immediately got up in bed but the movement was too sudden and I got dizzy. I couldn't speak in the time it took to get my bearings.

"I guess it is pretty late." She said dejectedly when I didn't answer. "I'm really sorry for disturbing." She seemed about to end the call.

"Wait!" I called almost desperately. I explained to her about Henry and Jake. "I'm sorry for saying those words."

"It's fine." She said, laughing. "Sorry for not calling you earlier."

"What happened?" I asked in concern. "Daniel appeared really worried and left in a hurry."

"Dan? How did you..." Then she gasped. "Did he attack you guys?"

"Yes, he came with his friends shortly after you left."

"It must have been Josh who informed them where you guys were. Are you okay?" She asked, sounding worried.

It heartened me to hear her so concerned for me.

"I'm fine." I reassured her. "The fight didn't last that long. Like I said..."

"What about your friends?" She asked, cutting me off.

"They're fine as well." I said with a sigh. "But now it's your turn to answer my questions. Why was your brother so worried about you? He was saying that Josh shouldn't have brought you home. And you weren't picking up your phone. I was out of my mind with worry."

"You were worried about me?" She asked in a small voice.

"Of course I was!" I said incredulously.

"Thanks." She murmured. "I find that really touching."

"There's nothing to thank for. I really..." I wanted to say I cared for her but it might seem too forward to say that now. "Anyway what was that all about?"

"It was nothing. Dan was just being an unnecessary worrywart. I had a few things to take care of at home, but with his help I managed to pull it off. This is why I wasn't able to call earlier."

"I see." Her explanation was rather vague and I had trouble grasping it, but it wasn't my place to argue further.

"Apart from that, did everything else go well? Josh didn't bother you too much, did he?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Nope. He's harmless for the most part." She sighed. "Let's not talk about that guy. It'll spoil my mood."

We carried on the conversation with small talk. It felt so good to hear her voice. Like a soothing balm caressing my body in a most delicate way. I laid back down and let her sweet voice wash away all the weariness and pain. There's no way I could ever bring myself to give up on her, regardless of what others are saying. For her, I will fight all the enemies with everything I have.