“Did you tell your mom why you took her car?”
“I tried. She screamed at me and called me a liar. She said Fletcher’s mom would have called the police if she were being abused. After that, I didn’t try too hard to explain. Mom didn’t like Fletcher. I was afraid she’d tell his dad where they were and he would go after them.”
“Kyle doesn’t know any of this?”
“Sure, he does. He knows all of it. He knows it’s the truth too.”
“Taking your mom’s car to help a friend is not like stealing someone’s car off the street for a joy ride. Why is everyone so upset about it?”
“Why I took it doesn’t make any difference to Kyle or anyone else. No one’s interested in any of my explanations. I’m supposed to be grateful that my parents dropped the charges.”
“Zack, there’s another thing I don’t understand,” Maria said. “How did this break up your parent’s marriage?”
“Because,” Zack said quietly, “Mom had to explain why she wasn’t at home. And, why she hadn’t left a number where she could be reached. You know how I said that she and some friends were watching the game? Well, it turned out it was just a one friend. One special friend. They had their own particular game going and it had nothing to do with watching the Super Bowl.”
Chapter Fifteen
Zack had surprised himself by opening up to Maria. It’d been long time since he’d been able to bare his chest to anyone. Not since Fletcher left, anyway. Maria had been kind and understanding. Maybe Maria had experienced her own share of hurt. Maybe Springsteen was right. Maybe they were all riders on the same train. He closed his eyes and drifted off into a deep sleep.
He awakened to the grating sound of his door being pushed open. A dark shadowy form entered the room, silently creeping towards the bed. Zack steeled himself for the slash of a knife and waited until the intruder was less than a foot away before he jumped.
“Ouch!”
“Sam?”
“Yeah. God! You don’t have to be so rough!”
“Sam?” Zack said again.
“Yes. Get off me!”
He rolled off of her, stood up, then shuffled over to the table and turned on the lamp.
“Turn that off!” she hissed. Zack immediately turned it off.
“What are you doing in here?”
“I thought you could use some cheering up.” Her voice was soft and sultry. “But, not here.”
“Then, where?”
She didn’t answer. He took a step towards the bed and banged his toe on the steel leg of the frame.
“Oh my God!” he exclaimed, hopping on one leg. “Jeez, that hurts.” He underestimated the distance to the edge of the bed, slid down the side, and landed with a thud on the floor.
“Zack, will you be quiet!” Sam said. “You’ll wake everyone up!”
He pulled himself up on the bed, grabbed the sheet and covered up. Suddenly she was next to him and he smelled gardenias. Oh, shit. He threw off the sheet and crawled around on the floor, searching for his jeans.
“What are you doing?” Sam demanded. “It’s hard to talk to you when you keep moving around.”
“I’m trying to find my pants.”
“Well, where did you leave them?”
“How should I know? I just took them off. I don’t usually have to fumble around in the dark for my pants.” He felt around and found them on the floor not too far from the bed. “Okay, I got them.” He slipped them on and zipped them up.
“Good for you.”
“Sam, what are you doing here? Trying to get me killed?”
“Sh,” she cautioned. “I want you to come with me. I want to show you something.”
“Like what?”
“Something special. Something I know you want to see.”
“Huh?”
“Zack, don’t be obtuse. Come on.”
“Where?”
“To the ruins. I want you to see something important.”
“The ruins? Walk to the ruins in the middle of the night? No thank you.” Zack paused, thinking about Michael’s map and that Sam and Michael had been more than friends. She might know something. “Wait a minute. Something important? Like what?”
“You’ll see. I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.” He heard a jingle. “I have the keys to one of the jeeps.”
“In that case,” Zack said, once again fumbling around in the dark.
“Now what are you doing?”
“A shirt. I have to find a shirt.”
“You don’t need a shirt,” Sam insisted.
“I do need a shirt. I’m not going out in the jungle, in the middle of the night, without a shirt.”
“Toughen up, Zack. What are you afraid of? Vampire bats? They only bite while you’re asleep.”
“Vampire bats? There are vampire bats here?”
“Yeah, didn’t you know?”
“No. No one mentioned any damn vampire bats. Forget it Sam. I’m not going out to the jungle. Period.”
“Zack don’t be such a baby. Here, catch.”
A T-shirt hit him in the face. He grabbed it before it fell to the floor and pulled it over his head. “Where did you find this? I can’t even find a shirt, and this is my room.”
“I have many talents Zack. Finding things is just one of them.”
And, that was just what he wanted to hear. Sam must have found the codex. If not, then she knew where it was hidden and needed him to help her get it.
They left the bungalow, sneaked past the side of the main house and around to the jeep. Sam slipped in behind the wheel.
“Push it, Zack,” she whispered.
“What!”
“Push it. If I start the engine now it will wake everyone up.”
“You don’t have permission to take this, do you?”
“Sure. I woke Dr. Collins up right before I came into your room and asked him if I could take the jeep out for a midnight spin,” Sam mocked.
Zack went around the back of the jeep, put his shoulder to the body and shoved as hard as he could.
“Are you pushing?”
“Yeah, I’m pushing,” he grunted. He couldn’t help it if the damn thing wasn’t moving. Who did she think he was? Samson? He tried again. The jeep didn’t budge.
“Oh, wait.” he heard her say. “I need to take the brake off.”
She released the brake and this time he felt the vehicle move. It took awhile but they finally got it down the driveway to the road.
“What a guy,” Sam announced, as he hopped into the passenger’s seat.
“I hope this is worth the trouble we’re going to get into,” Zack grunted. “I sure don’t need this.”
“It’ll be okay,” Sam assured him. “Wait and see.” She started the engine and put the jeep in gear. The gears shrieked as the jeep jerked forward a couple of feet, and died.
“What are you doing!” Zack yelled, looking back at the main house relieved that the lights were still off.
“Can I help it if I’ve never driven a stick shift before?” Sam wailed. “How do you work this thing?”
Zack groaned. “Change places with me,” he said. “I’ll drive.”
They crawled over each other as they exchanged seats. He restarted the engine, put the jeep in gear and they were on their way.
“What a guy,” Sam said again.
“Yeah, right. So where are we going?”
“To one of the temples. Just go like you’re going to the site.”
Zack tried to miss as many of the ruts as he could but they still bounced around quite a bit. Driving at night was almost as slow as walking.
“Turn!” Sam shouted. She looked over her shoulder. “You were supposed to turn back there.”
“Nice of you to let me know,” Zack said, stopping the jeep and putting it in reverse. He backed up and made the turn. “Now, where do we go?”
“Not far.”
“Not far is right,” he said. The headlights revealed jungle brush a h
undred yards in front of them. “This is a dead end.”
“So, I guess we walk the rest of the way.”
They got out of the jeep and Sam turned on her flashlight. Zack wished he’d thought to bring his own. “What’s down here?” he asked, trying to remember the layout of the ruins.
“You’ll see,” she answered giving his hand a tight squeeze.
They came to a large walled-in plaza dominated by a temple. Sam took his hand and led him across the plaza to the temple steps.
“Where are we?” he asked looking around.
“A temple,” she answered.
“Which one?” he asked.
“I’m not Maria so don’t ask me to give you the rundown. Okay?” Sam answered. “They’re all the same anyway.”
“Don’t worry, that I don’t want to know. Is this what you brought me out here to see? A stupid temple?”
“No, I thought you might be interested in this.” She put her arms around him, stood up on her toes, and covered his mouth with hers.
He drew back. “Samantha, what’s going on here? Is that what we’re here for? What about the map? What about the codex? What about Kyle?”
“Map? Codex?” she repeated blankly.
“Uh? Yeah?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know anything about that.”
“Then what about Kyle?”
She put her lips in a pout and ran her fingers along his jaw. “Kyle?”
“Kyle,” he reminded her. “My brother? The guy you’ve been hanging with lately?”
“Oh, him,” Sam said. “He’s no challenge.”
Zack pulled her arms away from his neck, held her firmly by her shoulders and looked down at her. “Now, that’s cold.”
“Maybe. Why do you want to talk about Kyle?”
“For starters, because I’ve never seen him so serious about a girl before.” Zack rubbed the bruise on his face. “And, because I know what he can do when he gets angry. And . . .maybe because being a challenge isn’t very flattering.”
She wasn’t buying it. “You don’t like being a challenge? You don’t like being pursued by someone who wants you?” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “I mean really wants you.” Again she put her arms around his neck. “Tell me you don’t like it,” she said.
He didn’t completely trust her. “What’s really happening here?” he asked. “Why me?”
She played with the hair at the nape of his neck. “Why not you?” she murmured. “So what if you were spending time with Maria? I knew you were interested in me.” Slowly she drew her hand down and stroked his shoulders with her fingers. “You are interested aren’t you? Earlier you were even a little jealous.”
“Samantha, this is crazy,” he said.
She looked up at him. The moonlight gave her a porcelain complexion. Her fiery red hair and sultry blue eyes made him think of a Greek goddess. She was beautiful, delicate, and fragile. He took her in his arms and kissed her. Then, her mouth opened and her tongue began probing between his lips. He let her explore, wrapping her in his arms and kissing her back. She was soft, and warm, and smelled lightly of perfume. To hell with Kyle. To hell with Maria. And to hell with the Mayan codex. Making it with Samantha would be a different kind of treasure.
“Mmmmm,” Sam murmured, pulling him down to the temple steps.
They kissed deeply and passionately. He reached for the top button of her shirt. Suddenly, she pulled back. “Zack, you better stop,” she said, looking over his shoulder.
He should have snapped to her sudden change in attitude, but he didn’t. He simply nuzzled her neck in response and pulled her in close. “Yeah, but you can be made? Right?”
Her body stiffened. “Zack! I mean it!”
“Aw, c’mon Samantha,” he responded, still not catching on. She put the palms of her hands against his chest and pushed him away roughly.
“Leave me alone!”
“Didn’t you hear her?” Clifton bellowed. Zack knew he was dead meat. His t-shirt cut into his windpipe as he was yanked backwards and tossed to the ground.
“You piece of shit,” Kyle yelled, kicking Zack hard in the side. He exploded in pain, drawing his knees up to his chest and gasping for air.
“Knock it off!” Clifton barked. He held his hand out down to Zack. “Here.” Zack slapped it away. Slowly and painfully he got to his feet.
Samantha watched from the edge of the plaza.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Clifton asked. “You don’t learn do you? You just don’t learn. Did you really think you could get away with pulling the same kind of stunt here that you pulled last winter?” Clifton looked over at Samantha. “And you,” he said. “I hope you’ve learned your lesson. You ride back with Kyle. Zack, get in the car. I think you’ve caused enough trouble for one night.”
Tears filled Sam’s eyes. Kyle put his arms around her and she leaned her head against him as they walked the down the road to the cars.
“If you were my kid,” Clifton muttered as Zack brushed the dirt off his pants.
“What?” Zack retorted. “If I were your kid what? What would you do? Hit me? Knock me around? Punch out my lights? Go ahead. Do it. Everybody else has, but hey don’t let that stop you. You’ve wanted to have it out with me ever since I got here. Just remember, it’ll be the only time you ever fucking touch me!”
“Get going,” Clifton said. “Move!”
Zack shuffled out ahead of him, aching with every step he took. They reached the cars and he saw a slight smile on Samantha’s face. As they drove back to the main house Zack stared out the window at the blackness of the jungle, wondering how he kept getting himself into these kinds of messes.
When they arrived at the main house Bruce was waiting in the shadows of the verandah. Sam gave him a nod and a smile as she passed. In return, he gave her a thumb’s up.
“Hey, Surfer Dude,” Bruce called out. “Have a good time?”
Zack stopped dead in his tracks. “What do you mean?”
“Figure it out for yourself,” Bruce laughed, then opened the door and went inside.
Back in his room Zack once again crawled in-between the soggy sheets, burning with anger and humiliation, but most of all with desire.
###
Maria left at dawn. The previous night she’d heard the racket Bruce and Kyle had made as they woke up Clifton. Afterwards, she’d heard Zack, Sam and the others return.
Zack had laid such a line on her, and of course she’d fallen for it, all of it. She was such a gullible fool that she’d believed every single, stupid, deceptive, lie. While she’d been feeling sorry for him, he was stealing Dr. Collins’ car and sneaking out with Samantha. What kind of excuse was Zack going to come up with to get him out of this one? Didn’t matter. She didn’t care. He’d played her for a fool and until she got her feelings under control she couldn’t face him. She’d cry if she saw him, she knew it.
Fog hung over the jungle paths and clung to the damp vegetation. Still, it had a calming effect. She had always liked walking, liked the rhythm of it. She liked the feel of early morning when the world seemed brand new and the day offered endless opportunities. Only, now Zack had spoiled that for her, too.
She reached the Great Plaza, empty except for the park police in their brown uniforms. They nodded as she walked past and she waved. She hoped she didn’t look as miserable as she felt. For the first time she was at a loss as to what to do with herself. So, she kept walking and finally ended up in the Plaza of the Lost World.
She sat on the bottom step of a temple, still wet from the mist. What was it about Samantha? Every boy she met lost his head over her. No one could see Sam for the bitch she really was. Even Zack. Especially Zack. A lump began to form in her throat and her eyes began to moisten. She looked up at the sky as she bit her bottom lip and forced the back the tears. She would not cry!
She sniffed and shook her head. Movement from one of the palace doorways caught her attention. Watching her was a small grayish brown coa
ti. Maria opened her backpack searched around and pulled out a bag of pretzels. She broke one into two pieces and tossed one piece over to the raccoon-like animal. It saw the pretzel, but was too timid to approach it. Maria sat without moving. After a few minutes the coati was overtaken by curiosity and slowly inched its way towards the pretzel piece. It sniffed the pretzel, snatched it up and scuttled back to the safety of the empty palace room.
The sun had risen and the air was warming up. Parrots began squawking and the monkeys began their chattering. Suddenly a sense of peace overcame her. Three days ago, she hadn’t even known that Zack had existed. She’d been happy, well maybe not happy, but at least content. Yeah, Sam and Bruce had annoyed her, and so had Michael, but all they were in her life was a minor irritation. She’d have to get back to that place again. And, she would. She was here in Tikal, one of the greatest of all the Mayan kingdoms and she wasn’t going to let anyone – let alone a boy, spoil it for her.
The coati reappeared and she threw the other piece of pretzel to it. This time it didn’t hesitate, but scampered out, grabbed the pretzel and ate it right in front of her. For the first time that day, she smiled. She got up, climbed to the very top of the temple, took a book out of her backpack and began to read.
Chapter Sixteen
Zack lacked the guts to face anyone so he confined himself to his room until after lunch. When he entered the kitchen, Samantha dressed in her bikini, was getting a beer out of the refrigerator.
“Have one,” she said. She twisted the cap off the bottle, handed it to him and got another one for herself. “Come swimming with me.”
“After last night? You’ve got to be kidding,” Zack answered taking a sip. “I’m already in enough trouble.”
“With your Uncle?”
“My uncle, Kyle, and probably Dr. Collins too.”
Ninth Lord of the Night Page 13
