Kiss of A Titan
Chapter 44

It wasn't long after he had returned back to join his teammates that Katherine landed two aerobic somersaults at the horizontal bar arena in front of two companions. She had been putting up quite a remarkable display with her stunts under the watchful eyes of the other trainees ever since Richard was absent from the gymnasium and not only were her two friends absolutely thrilled to have witnessed her performance but everyone in the hall was impressed with her skillful stunts. I too was present the entire time she was having fun training to impress her teammates and I was still among the few spectators who were watching her training performance from afar when Richard came in but he seemed to have a lot on his mind and didn't bother to look in my direction neither did I move from where I was at the edge of the swimming pool to find out why he looked a bit despondent after returning back from Coach Robbins office. Paige and the other girls were already flocking around Katherine after she was done with the last stunt and I was still enraptured in watching them chattering amongst themselves that I didn't took quick notice of Lori walking straight to where I was still in the water neither did anyone notice her when she slipped into the gymnasium prior before a few of the athletes were alerted when she was sighted trotting from the exit as though something had gone wrong. Some of the athletes including Richard's close buddies thought that she was marching straight to where they were taking some time to rest on the seats that served as the bench for the team at the pre-season games to see Richard when they first saw her but were astonished to see that she stopped briefly at the shallow pool where I was taking my time rest my body at the edge of the rectangular pool. Over half of my body down to my abdomen was already submerged in the water with my head resting on my two arms on the tiled edge of the pool by the time Lori stood above me and I felt her cold vicious stare the moment I saw her at first glance.

It was obviously well written on her face that she was indeed upset about something and I was taken aback when she appeared out of nowhere right in front of what I had been watching. Judging from the pink blouse and white T-shirt beneath the fancy red sweater she wore, she wasn't here for her usual cheerleading business but she had come for something I was anxious to figure out.

"You must be feeling good about yourself, right?", She said as she gave me the jealous stare with her eyes all red which told me that she had been crying.

"What?", "Don't play dumb and pretend not to know what I mean", "I really have no idea what you mean...", "Well, maybe if I do this, you'll understand my intentions", "Wait... What are....", The words were barely out of my mouth when, all of a sudden, Lori pushed me further deep into the water. I unavoidably sank into the water despite fighting back to resurface. Her hands were heavily bearing down upon my shoulder as I struggled with the water using great tenacity to push her hands off. I frantically tried to resurface from being drowned by the water but her grip was firm and it was difficult getting my head back to the surface.

Each passing minute no one came to help, I was finding it difficult to breathe inside the water and the pressure she applied on my shoulders was overwhelming to the point that my frantic hands couldn't shake off.

I was screaming for help trying my best to remain buoyant but the water running into my mouth kept drowning my voice each time I tried to call for help and the pressure on my shoulders kept increasing each passing minute Lori deliberately pushed me into the water. All I could think of at that moment was to break free from her but it was harder with the water hovering above my head.

From afar, an athlete strolling in from the exit somehow took notice and raised an alarm which got everyone's attention.

It was almost too late for everyone to react but Katherine, accompanied by Paige, came hurrying to the scene to stop what they thought was really happening. Richard had heard the loud cry along with the other boys who weren't brave enough to move a muscle when they realized what was happening and came rushing from behind to help the situation which had almost subsided by the time he arrived. The atmosphere in the hall suddenly became tense for all the athletes at the sudden realization of what had caused the loud cry and before Richard got to where I was, Katherine had nudged Lori aside and pulled me out of the water.

With the help of others, I luckily got out of the pool but with the consequence of coughing out water and I was at the brink of fainting in the arms of those who rescued me when Richard arrived.

There was an airy cold feeling of death written in faces of the athletes that acted as spectators watching Richard carry me off on his back out of the gymnasium along with Katherine and those that came to help after they figured out what had transpired while the culprit was horrifically looked upon by those that were left behind.

***

After the incident, I was taken to the school infirmary where I was given medical attention. Richard was the one who brought me there and when I was later discharged after school, he was among the few sympathizers to check if I was feeling better before I went back home.

Aunt was notified about the incident through a phone call she got from the Guidance Counselor and came to see the Principal regarding the whole issue the following morning. She came alone without me to see him in his office only to meet Coach Robbins also there in the Principal's office as well. He too was summoned to show up regarding the issue since it happened in the gym and I was a part of his team. As both men had expected, she wasn't happy about the situation I went through and had thought it best for me to quit athletics even though the Principal as well as the coach reassured her that such an incident would not happen again.

It was when she returned from the meeting that I got to know from her that I was given a week off from school to recuperate fully from the near death experience before resuming for school in the first week of August. She didn't tell me much about what was decided about Lori even when I tried to find out from her what was to become the culprit but she was unwilling to let out some details about Lori whom I believe must be facing rumors about her actions in school or perhaps, suspension of some sort.

After hearing about the incident, Chloe and her two friends paid me a visit three days after Aunt's meeting with the Principal and I felt more acquainted with their friendly show of affection as well as their comforting words but their visit was lesser compared to that of Richard whom I didn't expect would come see me at my doorstep early Friday morning before the last weekend I had left before I could turn up for school. Coming to see me was a completely different case from what I had expected and he seemed rather obligatorily charming to show up at my doorstep.

Thankfully, aunt wasn't home when he came but Tom was the first person he saw at the door after ringing the doorbell. Tom dressed in his usual blue shorts and striped T-shirt was a little obnoxious of the presence of the total stranger at the door.

"Hey, there, little fella, is Rosalie inside or....", "She's inside her room", "Great... can you call her out for a second?", Richard asked but Tom seemed a bit unwilling to carry out his demands.

"First tell me what you want with her, and then I'll go call her", Tom replied, holding the door ajar. The situation between them seemed to be turning in Tom's favor but I took notice that someone was at the door. I came out of the kitchen where I was preparing lunch and found Tom at the door with half of his little body size concealed by the door. At first, I thought he was talking to himself and wanted to sneak upon him just like he often does whenever I had my back facing the other way but I stopped going any further when I heard the visitor's voice.

"Sorry, but it's kinda between us so....", "Then I can't help you", "What?", "You heard me. You're not even her boy-", I quickly grabbed hold of Tom's mouth before he could say anything obnoxious. He tried to loosen himself from me but my grip was too firm and he couldn't break himself free since I was stronger than he was.

"Hi...Richard, thanks for stopping by to see me", I said with a pretentious grin across my face and glared at Tom who tried to pull my palm off his mouth.

"Please...let go of my mouth!", Tom pleaded vehemently even though his stifled voice wasn't louder than usual. Then he bit me before I could remove my hands.

"Ouch! You bit me, I quickly released him before he could do any further harm to my palm. "You asked for it",

He giggled triumphantly and ran back into the living room before I could get hold of him.

"Now Tom, Kindly go to your room before I smack your little brains out", I threatened but he naughtily drew his tongue out and scurried upstairs to his room leaving me angry at the door. Richard had been quiet the entire time I was dealing with Tom and watched me as I closed down to join him at the front porch. He was still lost in thought as we stood close to one of the wooden pillars supporting the house. I rested my back against the pillar and waited for him to break the silence first but he appeared to be ruminating about something which got me irritated at his demeanor.

"So....what do you want to see me for?", I asked, breaking the silence first and folded my hands to listen to whatever he had to say, which must have brought him to my doorstep.

"I...huh came to see if you are okay after what happened", "As you can see, I'm doing alright...Thanks for your concern", "You recovered quickly than I had thought", "Of course... You think I'm that fragile, huh?", "That's not what I meant", "Then say it out clearly to me so that I can understand", I replied with my voice almost breaking at the thought of the same reason he and I both know that he was unwilling to share. He nervously tucked his hands into his pockets and drew closer to me after stealing a glance at the broad vicinity.

"The point is...I believe what happened is my fault and....", He stuttered but I retorted before he could complete his statement.

"You here to apologize because of what your ex did to me", I scoffed and looked the other way "How did you-", "It doesn't matter how I knew about it but it's clearly wasn't your fault...It's hers", "I know that but she tried to harm you because of what happened at the games", He voiced his opinion and we both fell silent. I looked further away to hide the tears dripping down from my eyes and sniffed twice to stop myself from crying. I was beginning to feel irritated at the thought of what had happened and felt it would be better to change the subject so as not to think much of what had been eating me inside ever since I was told to spend the day off from school. I dried my tears with the back of my palm when Richard failed to say more than what he needed to say at that moment.

"What about Coach and others? Did they say anything about me?", "Well...he didn't say much but I can tell he's still worried even though he didn't show it. As for the others, I actually have no idea if they are concerned or not", "It's okay, then", I replied with a nod.

"When will you be coming back? I mean, when will your stay at home be over?", I didn't answer but looked at him suspiciously.

"What's it to you?", "I'm... just curious that's all", He replied with a bit of a concern on his face "I don't know yet but I'll be in school as soon as I can", "Hmm... That's good to know", "Sounds like you have the whole thing figured out before coming here", He was puzzled.

"What thing?", "I shouldn't have said that....never mind", I said shyly and kept my eyes away from him. He smirked and shook his head in amusement but I wasn't amused.

"What's so funny?", "Um...nothing, I guess I'll be leaving now", He answered and climbed down the stairs ready to leave but I stopped him halfway.

"Wait a minute....Don't go yet. There's something I need to know first", "I'm all ears", "Why did you do that?", "What exactly?", "That thing you did during the pre-season game", The words came out of my mouth even before I could have a thought of what to say.

"You mean the kiss?", Richard asked and smiled wistfully in a sort of way that I became angry at myself for asking in the first place. His response sounded itchy in my ears and I nodded instead of answering his question.

He turned around and took steps up closer to me. Then he brought his head closer to me as though he wanted his approach to be flirtatious.

"Actually...I still can't figure that out", "Really?, Now that's absurd", "What's so absurd about me telling the truth?", "You disappeared for four days and came back a day before the pre-season games only to be moody towards everyone including me and you...kissed me right out of the blue right in front of the school at a crucial moment of my life..", I explained almost out of breath. He was perplexed and totally astonished at the explanation I gave to him.

It took him some time to ponder about what I said and I know he was getting to understand how I had been feeling the entire time I was enjoying my stay at home. His countenance soon turned pale and he withdrew away from me after much thought about my opinion.

"You won't understand if I tell the reason why I skipped class", "Then at least give me a hint", He exhaled deeply and looked away from me. Then he returned his head to face me when he was ready to let the cat out of the back.

"It was my mom... The doctor said her condition was getting worse and....the medication wasn't working out like I had expected", "Oh...I'm so sorry", "It's okay. I didn't want to tell anyone to make them feel pity for me", "I understand", "Will you continue swimming when you get back?" he asked, changing the topic.

"I can't promise that I'll be seen around the gymnasium after what happen but I'll have to talk to aunt about it", "Good to know...Do well to talk to her. Can't wait to see you back in the team", "Me too", I said and smiled but he returned it with an awkward gaze.

"Catch you later, Thomason", he said and walked away, trekking towards the road. I watched as he went till he disappeared into the next neighborhood. It was then that I realized that he had walked all the way from his home to come see me without having to ride his car.