Roxie & Griffin: A Found by You Novelette Read online

  Clare giggled, a right dimple showing. "To his credit, it was a busy hallway and he didn't see me. And he may not look it on T.V.," she paused, facing the screen, "but he's massive. Like legit, pretty freakin' huge."

  No... he looked it all right, and from what I’d seen on the balcony that one night, he dwarfed the girl he was with. My stomach went sour. The girl who broke up with him. That really sucked.

  Clare nudged me. "Why do you ask?"

  Shaking her question off, I went back to my drink. "No reason, just talking."

  "Hmm. Well, don't forgot we got our bout tomorrow. Against St. Charles College. I'll swing by your apartment and we can walk over to the gym together."

  Clare still did that to this day, walked with me to practice and our bouts. I guess, in the beginning, she had to. She had to in order to make sure I didn't flake out and not go. That was a long time ago, though. I suppose she did it out of habit now. I let her know that was fine, but lost her again to conversation. I think I could have stayed in it, but I found myself watching T.V. Foolish? Yes. Stupid?

  Definitely, yes.

  That stupidity followed me home that night, only my monitor’s light brightening the room as I sat cross-legged on my bed. I knew it was wrong as I had other things to do, chat and whatnot. And really, videos to make, but I didn't do any of that. I searched for a guy I'd never even met. Hell, one I somehow felt sorry for one night over a month ago. I didn't know his name then, though, but now I did.

  He really was everywhere—this guy. He really was something special to this place. He accomplished more for himself at his age than most of us would our entire lives and I wondered what that felt like. Did he like the attention? Or did he feel constantly weighed down by the pressure?

  Or was I really putting too much thought into this guy and should just go to bed?

  I snapped my laptop shut, agreeing with the later. Sliding it to my side, I lay my head back to get to sleep, but a thought made me slap down my hands with a groan. I hadn't washed my jersey for the bout tomorrow and I had classes all day and wouldn't have time to do it.

  I faced my alarm clock and just after three stared back at me, a laugh at the lateness of the hour in my voice.

  It's gotta get done, I guess.

  Dragging myself out of bed, I found my black shorts and Venomous Vixens jersey crumpled up in a heap on the floor since the last bout we had. I snatched them up, finding my lacy stockings nearby. All us derby girls had a pretty interesting style for sure. With mine, I found elements that connected me to how I spent my nights. Lace linked me to the "diva" in me, I guess. I could be me without showing the world too much. I didn't wear them all the time with my outfit as the things made my legs itch like hell, but I felt like wearing them tomorrow.

  Since I hadn't done laundry that week, I grabbed all the stuff that needed cleaning too, stuffing them and my outfit into a sling bag. I thought to bring my laptop and its bag too. We only had one laundry facility for the entire complex, so I'd need something to do while I waited for my loads to finish their cycles. After bundling up in something warm, I headed into the elements, my steps brisk to help me get through both the chill and the thick of the night. It really was late and getting jumped wasn't something I desired.

  I cracked the door open, holding it with my boot as I slid through with all my stuff. Once cleared, the door closed with a snap as it was weighted to automatically shut. I guess they didn't want it flailing if someone forgot to close it.

  The room sat quiet of anything, no people and no machines working, and that was something good about coming here so late. I strategically did my laundry late for that very purpose. Tonight, I just happened to be a smidgen later, I guess.

  I found a seat by the folding tables to leave my laptop, coat, and gloves, and then the job of separating whites and darks began. I had a lot of dark clothing, so I didn't want any staining. My heart jumped at a sound behind me, the doors of the laundry room opening.

  Damn. Somebody would come down wouldn't they?

  I shook my head to myself, moving my arms to separate again. Hopefully, they'd leave quickly. Squeaking hit the floor tiles, shoes, but then stopped. After some rattling, I assumed the change machine, the squeaks continued, and all the while I continued to separate. I wanted to turn and see who was in there with me just out of sheer curiosity, but I kept the urge at bay. I wouldn't want folks staring at me. But that was made hard by the sound of steps getting closer. My ears perked at them, the squeaks getting louder, closer, and my body seized up when they stopped.

  They stopped right behind me.

  A shadow darkened my entire right side, and then a smell came, a sweet smell, a masculine smell that squeezed my insides, making them jump and flip flop all around.

  "Do you need a quarter? I got an extra one from the change machine."

  And goddamn... why did my heart stop?

  Breathing, swallowing, I turned on my boot heel. But I think I knew even before that, before turning, who it was. It was that smell. It smelled just like what I imagined he’d might smell like.

  Making the full rotation, I lifted my head, but not completely. Partly because he was so tall, “like legit, pretty freakin' huge’” as Clare had said. And the other part? The mere awkwardness of me. But I did see his hand, though, long fingers extended and a large palm. In the middle, a silver quarter swam in a pool of tanned skin. He was that fine layer of golden, no doubt the product of the sun like that hair I remembered.

  That hair. I could see the blond out of the corner of my eye, but as I wouldn't look directly at him, I couldn't make it out completely. It sat in the sphere of my peripheral at the moment.

  Just fuckin' look at him, Roxie.

  But I couldn't. Only stared at the quarter he held. He held for me.

  I reached for it, trying not to touch him while I did. He might think that was weird or something.

  My mind was telling me all kinds of stupid things at the moment.

  I got it but not without brushing skin, warm skin and not clammy like mine. Once I retrieved the coin, I pulled it back to me, turning away from him in a sweep that told me I was acting liked an idiot. But he didn't leave right away, he stood behind me.

  Thank him, Roxie girl. Thank him.

  "Thank you," I rushed, pushing the quarter into one of the slots on my machine.

  And then he laughed, a deep sound, one that vibrated throughout the entire room.

  "Anytime," he said, his voice going away with it. He was moving, but not far. He went to the machine two down from me, and that's when I looked, finally looked.

  He had sweats on, shorts despite the chill, and a University hoodie covered his large body. And he was big, massive really. God...

  His blond head moved and I turned mine. My hands went into overtime now, my body holding my breath. And I think I did hold my breath, possibly the entire time we were in the room together. It couldn't have been more than five minutes, but it felt like an eternity.

  He finished loading his own laundry, eventually, taking his basket with him as he went back out into the chilly air, and that's when my brain made contact with my lungs again.

  After the communication, I let out the breath and turned my head. I stared at it then, that quarter Griffin gave me located in the change area, and my skin cooling told me my cheeks held warmth.

  Lifting my hand, I touched them, feeling that warmth. It was a heat I got from a quarter, a quarter that came from a guy that no way gave it another thought after he'd given it.

  I closed my eyes at the very thought. At the butterflies that ran rampant in my belly...

  I was such a dork.

  ~ 5 ~

  Griffin

  No one was in the laundry room when I came back, and that didn't surprise me. It was well after four in the morning. I blamed that on my crazy schedule. I had school during the day, basketball in the evening, and then there were the parties pretty much every night.

  Parties.

  One started right
after I got off the chat line, and of course, I was freaking dragged into it. The guys wanted a pre-celebration before tomorrow's game, and this was the big one. The scouts would be there for me. So of course with that stress, that pressure, I came out for a couple drinks. It helped eased me up a bit, but I think I sat there for all of an hour, getting nudged by either my roommates or ass before I got fed up and started studying. I studied so that told me how bored I was. I couldn't go to sleep, though. I was too fuckin' stressed out, between the game and then everything with Sarah...

  The books didn't cut it. There was too much silence to think in my head, so I started cleaning my room, my door closed to the rest of the world. Eventually, I decided to wash my game clothes. I expected the area to be empty. It always was when I went to the laundry room this late, but there was someone there. A girl in all black although her hoodie had pink dots on it. I gave her my quarter and then came back, but the party was still in full swing.

  So I headed out again.

  I walked campus a bit, the cold air shocking the senses, yes, but bringing me an eerie sense of peace. Sometimes quiet was nice, sometimes not doing anything or having to be anything wasn't bad. I looped a small area a few times before coming back to an empty laundry room. I took the small load I'd washed out and headed over to the dryers. The one I chose had a red light on it, indicating fifteen minutes left, so I chose that one to save a few quarters. I really hated change rattling in my pocket. I would have headed back to the battle ground that was my apartment, but a text had me stopping.

  A text from Tanya.

  Hey. Long time no hear.

  I fought myself from rolling my eyes to the ceiling. Yeah, she hadn't heard from me. Things kind of happened that way when you broke up with a guy after cheating on him. Again.

  Looping my leg around a stool, I took a seat at the folding table. I needed to sit down and think about how to deal with this. On the one hand, I didn't need to respond at all, but then that felt wrong. It felt like her.

  Yeah, well. You know how it is, I typed. It wasn't the most witty response, but I really didn't have much to say. Turned out she did.

  I guess, yeah. Can we talk? Talk about that? "How it is."

  I really didn’t see the point in doing that, talking, in fact, this felt familiar, too familiar to all those other times. She'd be in my life and out of it just as quickly before coming right back into it.

  Bringing my thumbs down, I stopped history from repeating.

  Nah. Things are busy now. It's late and I got to catch a few hours of sleep before class. I got my game tonight. Really no time. Sorry.

  Oh, yeah. Your game. I guess you don't have time.

  No, I didn't. Especially for more of this, her.

  I'll get at you later, she said, and I hoped she wouldn't make good on the threat.

  I slipped my phone away, getting up from the chair, but then I stopped. I stopped to text again. Sitting down, I decided to make on some good advice I'd recently come into. If it was time to be done with all the stupid shit, I needed to commit completely. I owed that to someone, a girl I'd met only once but deserved nothing but respect and support.

  Hey, I texted Sarah. I know it's late or I guess early. I don't expect you to answer, but I wanted to know when your appointment is.

  I didn't think I had to specify what appointment. That seemed obvious so I left it simply at that. I went to put my phone away, but it went off in my hand.

  Sarah: Tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. Why?

  Tomorrow? At eleven. I had a class then, but I could get out of it. I needed to. I could only hope she'd let me go with her and help her through this.

  Me: Do you mind if I come with you? To just be there? It's okay if you don't. No problem.

  I waited with bated breath, but the next text set my mind at ease.

  Sarah: Sure. That would be kind of great actually.

  Kinda great. Yeah, it would be. I told her I'd meet her at the doors, and again, she told me how great that would be. I needed to be there for her, and in a way, it would bring me closure too. My big game was tomorrow and either way we'd both know. After that, we'd take each step as they came.

  I smiled at that bit of advice as well.

  Another text buzzed my fingers and I thought it was weird as I'd just confirmed everything with Sarah. But it wasn't her. Tanya's name came up on the screen. Without thinking, I deleted it, not even reading. I didn't have time for that anymore. I couldn't be that anymore.

  The next buzz that sounded caused me to look up.

  My laundry was done.

  *

  Sarah stood from her chair when I arrived at the Health Center, rushed really. I had ten minutes from the end of my ten o' clock class to her appointment, but I made sure I got there. She looked different from the last time I'd seen her in the coffeehouse. In fact, really different. For starters, she'd dyed her hair. It was brown, natural, and I felt that definitely suited her a lot better. It looked like her if that made sense.

  She had a large smile on her face, too, and I felt my own nerves ease by it. I made my way over to her, a faint sweet smell in the air as I did, the scent of the fresh laundry I washed, and for some reason that eased my mind, too.

  Guiding Sarah inside the Health Center, I told her, "Whatever happens." I was greeted with yet another smile. She appeared almost relieved, like me being there made all the difference.

  That my support made all the difference.

  I thanked my Internet guardian angel again.

  ~ 6 ~

  Roxie

  Slamming left on my skates, I clipped the shoulder of a St. Charles Black Cherry, the team we were against tonight. She crashed to the floor, tucking her head in as Black Cherries and Venomous Vixens skated around her. From my side, I caught the chants of "Elbowa! Elbowa!," my teammates cheering me on as I created an opening for our team. Clare, our jammer, squeezed right through the block of Black Cherries and Venomous Vixens with ease. She got points for our team for every player of the Black Cherries she passed and a look over my shoulder told me the Cherries’ jammer wouldn't make it through the block of us even if she tried. We were far too clustered, and as it turned out, doing so would have been pointless for her. The buzzer sounded, signaling the end of the bout. We didn't win a whole lot, but when we did...

  Damn, did we cheer.

  I caught Clare by her hips and spun in a circle of victory, the other girls coming to join our celebration. The party continued in the locker room, the girls all deciding once again that we'd go to Freddy's for drinks. I really had plans, though, videos to shoot. I didn't get out of the celebration without some groans of a hard time, but I dodged every rag thrown at me. Quite literally rags were thrown at me in the locker room in disappointment, but I laughed, throwing them back. After the girls calmed down, I made for the exit, but Clare rolled in front of me before I could.

  "You know what I'm going to say," she simply said.

  And I did know, so I shrugged, wiping my brow of some sweat that gathered there from the bout tonight. She knew I had a life before roller derby. It may not have been much, but...

  It was all I knew.

  She hugged me then, not forcing me to do anything I didn't want to do. She never did, because she got me. She was a friend.

  Some shouting sent us looking over our shoulder toward the wall of the locker room, which really kind of freaked me out. Our girls were damn loud in here, but what was going on next door could be heard even over that.

  I pulled away from Clare. "What's up with that?"

  She shrugged now. "St. Charles."

  I gazed to my right at the St. Charles Black Cherry girls we just defeated. We often shared a locker room with our competition as the school only allowed us so much space for our tiny sport. Clare laughed at me glancing over at them.

  "No, Elbowa," she said, putting her hand on my shoulder. "Basketball. The men's team is playing today against them, too. It's been all over campus. Where have you been?"

  She knew I did
n't pay attention to basketball, hell, really any sport, which was why I caught the sarcasm in her voice. I laughed it off, but stopped.

  St. Charles.

  Why did that sound familiar...?

  "There's a really big game coming up," Griffin had said that night. "Against St. Charles..."

  St. Charles. He said there'd be scouts there. That this game meant a lot to him...

  I lifted my watch. I wondered if basketball games ended the same time our bouts did?

  Clare laughed in front of me. "You got someplace to be or something? Oh, yeah, that's right--"

  In a rush, I grabbed my coat off the bench, sliding into a hug with Clare right after. Her eyes flashed open, surprised, and I smiled at her. I smiled and I had no idea why. I decided not to question the fact, though, nor did I dwell upon those active butterflies that suddenly made their way into my stomach once again. "I'll see you, okay?" I told her, hoping she didn't question my behavior either. If she did, I had no answers.

  Gratefully, she didn't linger on my sudden urgency to leave, nodding before letting me go. She raised her hand. "But hey? Will I see you before you go home for the holidays?'

  My feet slowed. Holidays. I hadn't thought about them, I guess. I turned over my shoulder, finding myself forcing a smile. "Nah, I'm staying here. On campus."

  I did that every year, so she didn't question that either.

  It didn't take me long to make it to where I was going. Basketball was always played in the University's largest gym next door. It had to be in order to fit everyone in. Outside of it, folks filled the halls like the University was giving out free beer, but that was my school. Basketball was definitely the thing it prided itself on, and Griffin Chandler and his track record? Well, they most assuredly contributed to the fact. But what I wasn't so sure about?

  Why I, a girl who had absolutely no interest in basketball, was here? That didn't stop my feet from moving, pushing my way through the crowds to get in. Eventually, I turned my brain off and just went with it, working my way into the crowded gym. The guy at the ticket counter told me I didn't have to pay as the game was almost over, so any plans I had to change my mind and come to my senses went out the window at that.