Vixen

She said she'd be there.

I leaned my bike against the curb stop and sniffed the air. The musty scent of pond water, mixed with the sweet hint of antifreeze burned my nostrils. It didn't matter.

I took a quick glance around the parking lot, but none of the few cars scattered around were hers.

It didn't matter she'd be there.

Palms sweating, I sat down on the curb beside my bike, and started picking at a loose thread on my knee.

She was Brian's girl...I shouldn't  have been there. 

I knew I shouldn't. I never should've asked her out in the first place... but, she was the one who said yes. She was the one who picked the place and time. This was her choice. 

Even so, I knew I shouldn't have come.

I didn't know what it was about her, the color of her hair, the sparkle in her eyes when she laughed. All I knew was that when she said yes, I couldn't stay away.

Headlights pierced the darkness, following the road down the other side of the pond. But I knew it was her, I knew the sound of her car almost as well as her voice. 

She came.

I was on my feet before she pulled to a stop. At her door before the engine died. And when she got out, I was there to take her hand.

So small, so warm in my palm.

She smiled at me when she kicked the door closed behind her... a smile that didn't meet her eyes.  The sort of cold smile a fox might give a rabbit. 

My blood turned to ice. 

A popping click of a car door opening pulled my gaze to the sedan parked on the other side of hers. 

That's when I saw him, Brian. His face twisted into a goblin like sneer, made more sinister in the flickering glow of the parking lot lights.

Other doors clicked, and my fingers went numb. He wasn't alone.

For a moment I just stood there like a deer. Heart pounding, my mind searched for something to say, some excuse to explain away the beating to come.

But then, her hand slipped through my grasp. My gaze dropped to her beautiful emerald eyes, pulled narrow and full of hate. "Like I'd ever date you." She snorted, as though just the thought disgusted her. As though I was less than garbage. But before I even had time to process what was happening, she hissed over her shoulder. "Teach him a lesson, babe."

I turned to run, but someone grabbed my hoodie. I spun to break free. A fist slammed into my gut. Pain exploded in my stomach. I fell to my knees, gasping. Unable to breathe.

I don't remember much after that. Only pain. And her. Her voice. Taunting me. Asking me over and over, what made me think she'd ever date a retard like me.

And as the world fell into utter darkness, only one thought passed through my mind.

How glad I was I wasn't Brian.