by Kristie Cook
“So I’m your muse,” I said and smiled coyly.
“That’s a very good description. My muse, Clara Belle,” he breathed and ran his fingers down my cheek.
“So how do you know my middle name?”
“I saw it in your school file. That secretary’s office is very nicely decorated-”
“Eli!” I laughed. “You broke into the school?”
“Technically, I was already in the school. I broke into her office.” He smiled gorgeously at me. “I had to know you,” he admitted and shrugged.
I leaned over and put my head on his chest. Some girls might be upset about him digging through their files. I was just glad he cared enough to go to the trouble. He sighed happily and ran his fingers through my hair. It felt so good. For the first time in days, I felt like everything was ok and maybe working out for the best.
“So, do you have more questions for me?” he spoke into my hair.
“Tons, but I can’t seem to work my brain right now.”
“Well, can I ask one thing?”
“Sure.”
“Can I have the kiss that was supposed to be mine anyway?”
I looked up at him and smiled. He turned my face up toward him and pressed his lips to mine gently. I pulled back a little.
“I … don’t want to lead you on.”
“You’re not. I know what I’m getting into. I can be patient, I told you.”
“I’ve been called a tease before,” I muttered thinking about Tate and then regretting it.
“You are not a tease. I asked for it, didn’t I? I won’t get the wrong idea. I’m glad to spend any time with you I can get. Sometimes … a kiss is just that.”
I pulled him back to me and let him ravish my mouth furiously, turning in my seat to reach him better. His breaths were huffing like we were running a marathon and he groaned several times as my skin heated and he absorbed the want I felt for him and my happiness at the situation for the moment. It was odd to think that I was essentially feeding him what he needed to survive. When I ran my hand through his hair his grip tightened on me and he pulled me closer and I let him kiss me deeper.
I let him devour me.
Chapter Eight
After Eli took me home, ten minutes before curfew, he walked to his house despite my protest to drive him. He assured me he’d be fine and waited for me to go inside. I was glad the Pastor and Mrs. Ruth weren’t waiting for me. I’d just had one of the longest make out sessions of my life, case being, because I didn’t have to stop him, and I’m sure I had that just-been-kissed look. Unlike Tate, he didn’t try to push me too far, didn’t try to ply me with sweet nothings as he reached for skin under my clothes.
It was heavenly to feel safe in more ways than one.
He did tell me he’d see me in the dark so I wasted no time trying to get to bed. That night, he took me back to the park. It was daytime again and we sat and counted cloud animals as we lay in the grass. I lay my head on his stomach and ran my fingers over his eyebrow piercing. Once again, he walked me home when it was over and kissed me on my porch.
The next morning, I woke feeling giddy and refreshed. I was ready to get to school. I hadn’t wanted to go to school in a very long time. After putting on a sweater with my uniform skirt, I made my way down for breakfast.
“Hey, sweetie,” Mrs. Ruth said as she scooped and cut pancakes onto plates. “How was your night? I was pooped so I went to bed early.”
“It was good. I was home at eleven something, I promise.”
“We trust you, I just wanted to see if you had fun.”
“Yes, ma’am. I did have fun. Eli showed up.”
“You seem to mention him a lot lately,” she said with clear inflection as she passed me a big plate of flap jacks with extra butter, just the way I liked them.
“Yes, ma’am,“ I agreed and left it at that. “Thanks for breakfast.”
“Of course. The munchkins have to eat anyway. Hannah, wipe your mouth.” When Hannah gave her a sulky look, Mrs. Ruth gave her a do-it-now look herself. Hannah wiped her mouth, with the quickness. “So, how are the new classes? Do you have any with Tate?”
“Just homeroom. I like them all fine.”
“And how are things with him?” she asked and I heard her disapproving tone.
“I’m not seeing him anymore. He cornered me one day and … well, Eli came to my rescue.”
“What?” She dropped the fork she was using and fumbled to recover it. “What happened?”
“Nothing. It’s ok. It wasn’t a big deal.”
She thought for a second, chewing her pinky nail.
“Do you want Pastor to talk to the principal about switching homerooms?”
“No, it’s ok. I’m not going to run from him.”
“But it would be better, I think. I heard some rumors, Clara, going around town. Steroids? Please tell me it’s not true.”
I put my fork down mid-bite and sighed.
“It’s true.” She gasped and covered her heart so I went on. “He claimed he was only doing it for the meets, the championships. His dad puts a lot of stress on him. I told him no more but the last time I saw him he … well, let’s just say he wasn’t very nice. I accused him of still taking them and he didn’t deny it. So, I told him it was over but he didn’t take the news too well.”
“Clara! You should have called us! I’m surprised the school didn’t.”
“They didn’t know. Eli … he punched Tate,” I admitted and scrunched my nose at her look. “It was in my defense.”
“Clara, this is serious. This should have been reported!”
“Eli just ushered me to class and made sure I was ok. I didn’t even think about it. It’s fine. I think Tate’s pride was hurt enough for him to forget about me.”
“This is all very scandalous,” she sighed and shook her head. “I have to tell Pastor but I’ll keep it low key.” She gave me a look with twisted lips. “He’s not going to be happy about this, especially after what happened at the match.”
“I know. I didn’t want to worry you guys.”
“It’s not your fault but it needs to be addressed.”
“If you say so,” I said softly. “I’d rather just forget it myself.”
“How easy is it going to be to forget when homeroom starts in,” she looked at the clock, “seventeen minutes?”
“Crap, I gotta go,” I said quickly and chugged my milk. “See you guys.”
“Clara, please be careful. I worry about you.”
“I’m fine,” I assured her. “Bye, munchkins.”
“Bye, Clara!” a sweet chorus sang behind me as I made a mad dash to grab my cell and blot on some lip gloss.
I tousled my locks and ran to the door, only to be caught by Pastor.
“Hey, running late?”
“A little.”
“Wouldn’t be running off to see a certain dashing young man, now would you?”
“Maybe,” I said coyly, causing him to laugh, and kissed his cheek. “Bye!”
“Have a good day, sweetheart.”
“I’m sure I will!” I called and barely looked both ways before running across the street.
I thought how strange things were. I was never really close to our pastor and his wife before this. I went to church along with my parents but I never really participated. It was just something I’d always done. Now, however, they really were like parents to me. Pastor worked a lot. A lot. But what did you expect from a Pastor? That was how it should be. And they practiced what they preached. They were the sweetest, nicest, most sincere people I’d ever known in my life. I was extremely blessed that they offered to take me in instead of putting me in foster care. I would always be grateful to them for that. And though I missed my parents with an ache that still stung and burned in my chest and made my eyes prick, I was as happy as I could be in my situation. And I knew that when I peeked back at the house, Pastor would still be there watching to make sure I made it safely. I turned and there he was. I wa
ved and smiled. He waved too and took that as his cue to go back to his work.
I waved to a few people I knew and hastily made my way inside. I had to get to my locker before homeroom. I almost growled when one of the girls from the Spirit Squad stopped me.
“Clara, hey. How. Are. You?” she said in her biggest sympathy voice. It rankled me because that was exactly how people talked to me after my parents died.
“Fine. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Well, I heard about everything that’s been going on with Tate. And now Eli. Boy, you sure are busy, huh?”
“What does that mean?” I asked as the hair on my neck rose and buzzed with annoyance.
“Nothing,” she said innocently and flipped her long chestnut hair, “but you can’t really blame Tate for hitting Eli, can you? After he found you out like that?”
“Found out what?” I said suddenly very intrigued.
“That you were seeing Eli behind his back. I heard all about it; how he punched Eli by the cafeteria.”
I sighed and felt my lips pull back in a sneer.
“Get your facts straight, Brittany. I wasn’t seeing Eli behind Tate’s back, for one. For another, Eli hit Tate, not the other way around.”
“Oh, well, Dee is telling everyone that you were caught at the away showers with Eli and that Tate went ballistic.”
I felt my jaw drop and all I could do was stare. Dee was a real piece of work. How dare she? Who did she think she was? I realized Brittany was still going and I’d missed half of the conversation.
“And so anyway, I was like, Mike, please. There’s no way Eli’s head went all the way around.”
“Ok,” I stopped her. “Now Mike?”
“Yeah. They told the whole cafeteria what happened. Poor Eli. I hope his nose grows back straight.”
I almost laughed. “Stop listening to them, Brittany. Just because the words are uttered from their lips doesn’t mean it’s golden.”
“So, it’s true? They kicked you out of their group?”
“I left,” I confirmed.
“And Eli and Dee aren’t dating anymore?”
“They never were!” I yelled and then bit my lip.
“Sorry,” she groaned. “Look, you are apparently strung out about this whole thing, so I’ll see you later.”
“I’m not strung out, I’m just sick of it all.”
“They’re your friends,” she reasoned.
“No, they never were. They were just the people I was stuck with.” I looked at her closely. She was a Sophomore. I felt it was my duty to enlighten her. “Brittany, listen. This is going to sound very after-school special but just listen. High school doesn’t matter. I thought it did. I thought being popular was important. I thought having a hot guy be your boyfriend and everybody knowing your name was awesome but it isn’t. It gets old and it gets pointless. Don’t follow them just because you think you have to. Be your own person.” She gave me the weirdest look, like I was shooting green slime from my ears. I sighed. “Ok, thanks for telling me but everything they said was a total lie. Dee’s just jealous and Tate’s pride is hurt. See you at the pep rally later?”
Her eyes lit up again and she smiled.
“Totally! And don’t worry about Tate. Eli is so much hotter anyway. Tootles!”
There was no way to reach her. My old friends were like a tractor beam; a total façade of coolness and success. I couldn’t really blame her. I used to be exactly like her.
I rubbed my eyes as I pushed through the people to get to my locker. Eli was there waiting for me. I sighed in relief and it made me smile that it was an instantaneous reaction. I really did like him and wanted to be with him.
“Hey, gorgeous,” he said languidly and scooted over so I could open my locker door.
“Hey,” I said and looked up at him. “Have you heard the news?”
“About Tate dismantling my face? Yep.” He rubbed a hand down his cheek. “Feels smooth enough to me.”
I laughed. “Yeah. Smooth.” I grabbed my notebook, took a quick look into my magnetic mirror and shut it easily. “So, how was the rest of your night?”
“Good enough, I guess,” he said and let his arm surround me. He whispered in my ear. “Could’ve been better.”
I pulled back and smiled at him, but it faded away. I don’t know how I knew, he looked exactly like Eli. Exactly. He’d even gotten his eyebrow pierced, which was freaky enough in its own right. He saw the change come over me and smirked.
“Dang. What gave me away? Was it my suggestive tone or debonair looks?”
“How did you get in here?” I asked and tried to pull away, but he held tight.
He gave me a sardonic look. Oh yeah, public school with an emphasis on the ‘public’. Our small town wasn’t bad boned enough for metal detectors or security guards.
“Ok, fine. How did you get a uniform? And what’s up with the eyebrow? It’s creepy.”
“You don’t look happy to see me, Clara,” he sang and when I tried to pull away this time, he let me go. “I don’t want any trouble.”
“Really? Then what are you doing here? And how did you know all about that Tate stuff?”
“Well, I’ve been here all morning waiting for you to come. Everyone apparently knows Eli and have been giving me their condolences all morning. Don’t worry,” he assured, “I kept his precious reputation in tact and acted appropriately shocked at the revelation that a human boy could lay me out flat.”
“That’s not what happened,” I told him, my voice raising in annoyance at the thought that everyone was talking about Eli. I kind of wanted to smile. I’d never been the protective type before. “Eli is the one who … You know, what? Never mind. You still didn’t answer my question.” I crossed my arms over my chest to seem more confident when really I was shaking because I realized I was now in an empty hallway with a Devourer who hadn’t suddenly grown a conscious like another one I knew. The bell must have been about to ring. “What are you doing here?”
“Eli. He needs to come back and stop this ruse. It’s been years. Many. Way too long to play the sullen runaway child.”
“Maybe he doesn’t want to go back,” I countered. “Maybe he likes it here.”
“With a snack like you hanging on his sleeve, I’m sure he does,” he replied wryly, his accent still perplexing me to place it. “That’s beside the point.”
“Why? Why can’t he just be rogue?”
He chuckled. “I can’t believe he told you everything. It’s so out of character for him.” He moved forward to stand over me, his chest almost bumping mine and my pulse jumped. He licked his bottom lip and smiled. “But as I said before, you are unlike anything I’ve ever tasted. Maybe that’s why he stays.” He twitched his head to the side. “Doesn’t want to lose his little candy store … do you, brother?”
I peeked over his shoulder to see Eli staring daggers into Enoch’s back. I blinked to clear my vision because it seemed like Eli’s veins were standing out … and blue almost. When Enoch looked back too, Eli’s face changed to one of boredom.
“Enoch, leave her alone.” He came forward and pulled me to him. He kissed the corner of my mouth then dragged his lips to the place under my jaw. My breath caught as my heart spiked and they both sighed. Eli then let his tongue touch my skin and he groaned before pushing me a little with his arm. “Go to class, Clara. I’ll see you at lunch.” The bell rang. He smacked me on the side of my thigh right as I was about to turn.
Oh no he-
His eyes pleaded. He begged me with them to just do what he said. Oh yeah. The whole Enoch-can’t-know-how-I-feel-about-you thing. I sucked it up and made my way to class. I even turned at my homeroom door and winked at Eli. Even though I kind of wanted to slap him a little, I also understood. But I so didn’t want to leave him like that. I felt like there was a good chance I’d never see him again. He nodded his head to my class for me to go. I went, begrudged. And I was late.
I felt Tate’s gaze on me but I refused to look his
way as the teacher eyed me with pursed lips. Homeroom only had a few minutes left. I was really anxious to see Eli and find out what happened. The school’s morning news was blaring a story about the drinks getting spiked at the last formal and at the upcoming Homecoming Dance, this would not be tolerated. Yeah right.
The bell rang and I dashed to the hall to find it devoid of Eli. Or Enoch. Dang.
Chapter Nine
I jumped and squealed when someone put their arm around my shoulder. It was Eli … I thought.
“It’s me,” he assured and smiled. That genuine smile alone let me know who it was.
“What happened?” I asked and put my arms around his neck. “I was worried.”
“Clara, he can’t hurt me.”
“Then why are you so afraid of him?”
“I’m not afraid of him, I’m afraid of what he’ll do. I don’t want you to be in danger because he wants to play with me.”
“Would he really hurt me?” I asked and leaned back to see his face.
“I don’t want to think about that answer,” he said softly. “Let’s go to class.”
He visibly shook himself as if to be rid of the images or thoughts we had conjured. Then he once again put his arm around my shoulders and we made our way through the throngs of students. I saw Sarah, who studiously avoided me, even after I waved at her.
***
We walked to lunch together and once again I dreaded it, but Eli was oblivious and gently led me to the line and paid for my food, once again. We made our way out to the table and Patrick waved us over. I gave in, feeling the heat of hateful gazes on me, and saw Tate there at my old table. Dee wasn’t all over him though. She was all over Mike. Gross. She was kissing Mike, eyes wide open, and staring at Tate, begging him to look and be jealous. Sad poor girl. It must be miserable to live that way.
Eli called me back to reality with a hand on my lower back. He leaned to whisper in my ear.
“Don’t spend another minute of your life worrying over them,” he commanded softy and kissed my cheek.
“Gross, you two,” Patrick chimed. “I’ll have to kiss Ike to keep up with you if you don’t tone it down.”
