by Weil, J. L.
“I was so happy when I saw you, a girl my age. As you can see we are kind of lacking on neighbors.”
No shit Sherlock.
“It’s been so long since someone lived in your house. I’m really glad you guys bought it.” She was so sincere and eager, I couldn’t help but like her. “Do you have plans tomorrow?” she asked.
“Umm,” I muttered caught off guard. “I was thinking about going into town and doing some shopping. Clothes and new bedding, I’m redecorating.”
“Oh fun! I love decorating…and shopping. Any chance you want to hang out? I could show you where all the cool stores are.” There was a hint of hopefulness in her tone.
It took me only a second to answer. “Yeah, that would be great.” Judging by her clothes, she had great taste. Plus this was me making an effort. If I was going to be stranded here, it would be really nice to have at least one friend.
“Great. I’m so excited. Just come over when you are ready to leave. I’ll let you get back to unpacking. It was really nice to meet you Angel.”
“Please don’t do me any favors.”
She laughed, her dimples peeking on either side of her rosy cheeks. “You’re funny.”
I started back up the driveway. “I’m really glad you came over Lexi. See you tomorrow.”
Maybe Spring Valley wouldn’t be such a bust after all. At the very least, Lexi did not have an accent.
Yay for small pleasures.
Chapter 2
The next morning I moseyed onto the white porch of Lexi’s house. This time I made sure I didn’t looked like trash. I was dressed in a tank top and shorts that made my butt look outstanding. I hadn’t bothered with any makeup though since it was too hot today and would melt off my face anyway.
Pressing the doorway bell, I took a step back to wait for Lexi. Nervously, I checked the time on my watch hoping it wasn’t too early. My mom was still asleep after her shift last night. Shuffling my feet over the wood planks, I whirled around at the sound of footsteps behind me and nearly gave myself whiplash.
Heavy footsteps trudged up the steps. Raising my gaze from a pair of converse shoes, I found myself staring at a very defined chest. It hugged against a white t-shirt that left no room to guess how many packs this stomach had – at least six by my count. The well-toned body leaned on the porch column, hiking up the hem of his white shirt just a tad. A line of dark curls peeked out and buried into a pair of low jeans, hugging in all the right places.
I sucked in a sharp breath.
I’ve seen nice bods before, but this was straight out of an Abercrombie and Fitch poster ad. My eyes traveled up the length of him, trying not to let the drool fall out of the side of my mouth. I was pretty sure I had stopped breathing too. His jaw line was chiseled to perfection, and his lips made me want to take a bite. They were full, kissable lips, the kind that just begged for attention, and boy were they getting plenty from me.
I have never been the swooning type, but I swear when I looked into his eyes framed by inky thick lashes, I just about fell over. With my luck I’d topple right over the porch rail any second now. His eyes were a breathtaking stormy gray. They almost didn’t seem real, and they burned into mine. His onyx hair was tousled like he hadn’t been to bed yet, and judging by the time of day I would say he was just getting home.
The images that popped into my head just then had me flushing and none of it was from the heat. I must have died and gone to hell, because it was surely a sin to look that hot.
Holy crapola.
He lifted a brow studded with a silver bar. “Hello?” His voice was deep, dark, and sounded like a wicked dream. I bet he tasted just as sinful. “Can I help you?” he asked, dipping in annoyance.
I hadn’t the foggiest idea how long I stood on his porch looking like I’d never seen the male species before. But in my defense, boys my age did not look like him. What had my mom said about there being hotties here?
She was dead on.
He crossed his arms over his chest. “Do you like what you see? A picture lasts longer you know.” He smirked arrogantly at me.
It was like having a bucket of cold water splashed on my face. I couldn’t believe he had the audacity to call out my stunned examination. It was so insulting. Okay so I totally made googly eyes at him, but was it necessary to toss it in my face?
I wanted to die.
“I – I was looking for Lexi,” I stammered, furthering my mortification. “My name is Angel. I just moved in next door a few days ago.” I was rambling, grabbing at anything to redeem my self-confidence that had been shot the nanosecond he stepped on the porch.
“You’re kidding me right? Angel. Your name is actually Angel?” he asked like it was the worst possible name on the planet.
I stiffened. Shooting him daggers of steel, I thought about kicking him in the shin. What a jerkwad. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure it wasn’t my name I stuttered.”
He laughed. And as divine as the sound was, it also pissed me off.
“Just freaking great. I have a neighbor named Angel.” He might have laughed, but it was anything but cheerful. It sounded damn right irritated.
“What is wrong with my name?” I demanded, getting more heated by the minute.
“Why are you looking for Lexi?” He completely ignored my question.
It crossed my mind to sock that six pack, yet I was pretty sure it would hurt me more than it would hurt him. And I wanted to hurt him.
“Umm, we met yesterday. I mentioned that I was going shopping–”
“Shopping, that explains it,” he cut me off.
He said the word shopping in dripping sarcasm. Like her decision to hang out with me had nothing to do with me exactly.
“And she asked me to come along,” I quickly finished, biting my bottom lip. “Is she here?”
He blinked, running a hand through his unruly midnight hair. He was one of those guys that looked great even after pulling an all-nighter. “Probably.”
Proper etiquette would have been to either let me in or go get Lexi, however he did neither. He just stood leaning against the wooden pole, like he had all day. I, on the other hand, couldn’t wait to get away from him.
“Errr, any chance you could get her?”
“Not a chance in hell little girl.”
My mouth must have dropped to the ground, while my eyes widened like saucers. Figures the hottest guy in ho-dunk Spring Valley would be the biggest dick. I wanted to stomp on his foot, kick him where the sun don’t shine, and leave him groaning on the ground.
“I’m not a little girl, I’m seventeen. And you can burn in hell.” Well he deserved it.
His eyes laughed at me, amused by outburst. “You just might get your wish.”
I wasn’t anyone’s play toy. Just as I was about to turn around and say screw them both, Lexi threw open the front door like a ball of energy. She wiggled her brows at dickhead.
“Angel, you’re here.” She smiled at me brightly. “I see you met my cousin Chase.” She eyed him narrowly.
“Unfortunately,” I muttered.
He grinned like the devil. “Yep, Angel Eyes and I have been getting acquainted.”
I snorted. I would like to acquaint my foot up his ass. The gleam in his eyes said he knew exactly what horrible thoughts I was thinking. He was insufferable. How could sweet Lexi be related to douchebag of the year?
“Good, you ready?” she asked me. It was hard to believe that she wasn’t suffocating in the thickening tension between us.
I nodded by head, unable to trust my tongue.
Finally, I thought, freedom from the narcissistic jerk.
His hand snaked out like a viper, grabbing Lexi’s arm. The movement was so fast it blurred my vision. “Where do you think you are going?” His voice had hardened, along with his eyes.
They actually looked like they were glowing a little bit. It had to be a trick of the sun. He cast his eyes down at Lexi, hiding them behind a veil of thick eyelashes. I stepped closer, trying
to see if it was still there.
“Out,” she proclaimed, pulling her arm from his grasp.
“Do you think that is wise?” His deep voice had gone quieter and just as lethal.
“I like her.”
He lifted the pierced brow in a habit I was swiftly finding irritating. I was two seconds away from walking off this porch and never stepping foot on their property again.
“We’re going shopping Chase, not on a murderous rampage. Bye.” She called over her shoulder, looping her arm through mine. “Let’s go.”
“See you around Angel Eyes,” he called from the porch, sounding like the smirking prick he was.
I turned my head around, away from Lexi and did the most mature thing I could think of. I stuck my tongue out at him.
His laugh followed me all the way to the car. Deep. Wicked. Throaty.
Jamming the keys into the engine of my little Fusion, it purred to life.
Lexi fiddled with the straps of her designer handbag. “Sorry about Chase. He can be… difficult. I swear he is pissier than a girl during that time of the month.”
Difficult was putting it mildly. I had a few other choice words for him.
“I don’t think he likes me much,” I admitted, the feeling entirely mutual as far as I was concerned. The less I saw of Chase, the better.
“He’s been hurt a lot so he is super leery of people in general, and he’s crabby if he doesn’t get enough sleep. You just have to get to know him.”
When hell freezes over. It was a little consolation knowing that I had prolonged his slumber, served him right for being such a class act douche.
“Really,” she said after the look of I gave her. “He’s not that bad once you get to know him. I swear. He’s just looks rough around the edges. I hope he hasn’t scared you off. If I know him, he probably wasn’t very nice.” Her eyes were sympathetic and a little sad.
The car was humming along the deserted road. “Don’t even worry about it. Like you said, he doesn’t know me.”
That seemed to pacify her. She smiled, her twin dimples winking. I still couldn’t believe how incredibly gorgeous the two of them were. They must have some genetically altered genes or something, like infused with model essence.
Her long blond hair was swept off her face in a ponytail, trailing down her back like a waterfall. And again she was dressed in an uber cute outfit. Her feet were cloaked in a pair of wedges so not appropriate for shopping.
I cringed inside. Just the sight of those shoes made my ankles swell. Not to mention all the calluses I would have.
The strip center was of course on a street named Main. All country towns have one road in and out of town called Main. It was like law.
The shops that lined the street were surprisingly normal. Sometimes it was nice to be wrong.
This was one of those times.
I was sure that when I walked through the stores here, there would be nothing I liked, after all this was the sticks. Even though Lexi was dressed from Saks Fifth Avenue, I’d still been skeptical. I assumed she got her clothes online, or maybe she shopped in the city. So when I walked into the home goods shop, I could have eaten my words or thoughts.
The shelves were stacked with pretty linens, colorful comforters, designer towels, and so forth. Sure they had some country style for the bumpkins, but I was positive I could find something suitable.
What a relief.
“So what kind of theme are you going for?” Lexi asked me as we strolled down the aisle.
Good question. “I don’t really know. I guess whatever catches my eye.”
She looked at me like I had grown a third eye. “You don’t have a design in mind?”
“Nope. I kind of planned on just winging it.”
She pursed her lips. “What about a French theme, the Eiffel tower?” she offered
I shook my head. “Nothing too girly and I need color. Black and white is too drab.”
“How about this one?” She held up a silvery comforter set that was stellar, not my usual style but something about it appealed to me. There were shades of black and purple woven through the threads.
The color reminded me of his eyes. I instantly regretted the thought, angered that it ruined the comforter for me. The last thing I wanted was a constant reminder of him in my bedroom.
I trailed a hand over the material, gnawing my lip. It was really pretty and soft.
Dammit. Since when did I let some guy control my life? Not that I knew many guys. Okay none, but that was beside the point. I was getting it and that was that.
It wasn’t until we were checking out that I noticed anything unusual. The store had plenty of business, but as we walked in line people slowly backed away or switched lanes like they were deliberately avoiding us.
Odd.
Briefly I wondered if I stepped in dog shit or something. I sniffed the air, only catching the scent of my peachy body wash and Lexi’s expensive perfume. Neither of us stunk.
Then what was the problem?
I looked at their faces. It was almost as if they were subconsciously repelled. It didn’t seem intentional, and Lexi wasn’t alarmed. But I did notice that mothers gathered their kids closer and none of them looked us in the eye.
What? Did they fear us? Two teenage girls, really what harm could we cause?
We easily made our way to the register, and the cashier’s bright smile died on her lips at our approach.
Weird.
Then I remembered. I was in Hickville. It didn’t have to make sense. Small town, maybe they recognized a newbie.
Great. Now I was a freak.
Mabel, her tag read, took a step back as far as the confined space would allow. “Mornin’,” she mumbled with a slight accent.
Ha. They do have accents.
“Hi,” I replied over the beep, beep, beep, of the scanner as she swiped my items.
“Morning,” Lexi said smiling sweetly.
Mabel ignored her, and Lexi’s smiled dipped.
Well that was rude. Maybe Mable needed a lesson in manners. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from saying something that was bound to put a label on my head. Small town, I reminded myself, people talk.
Confused, I looked Mabel in the eyes and was stupefied to see fear and traces of repulsion in her glare. She did not like having to wait on us and looked ready to bolt if given the chance.
Her glower was aimed at Lexi.
Afterwards, we stepped outside into the grey warmth – again no sun. Frowning, I realized I was going to lose my awesome tan in no time.
“That was weird,” I said to Lexi beside me.
“What?” she asked like she didn’t have a clue, yet I had seen her expression falter.
I gave her a, you’ve got to be kidding look. “How rude that cashier was or people in general? You didn’t notice how they treated us like we had some kind of zombie plague?”
Yeah I totally played too many video games.
She shrugged her porcelain shoulders. “People aren’t always the friendliest here.”
That went against everything I’d heard about small town communities.
We weaved in and out of the little shops, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was being followed. It felt like little beady eyes watched my every move, making the hairs on the back of my neck spike.
I was totally being paranoid.
Seriously though, Lexi could shop. My feet were numb, and I think I lost a toe somewhere between the chocolate shop and lingerie store.
While we were perusing, I kept my eye on the people around us. Just like before, they went out of their way to put distance between us. I was starting to feel isolated, and the spooky feeling never left even as we headed back to my car with packages in tow. Glancing across the street, I spotted a guy staring at me. There wasn’t anything strange about him except…he gave me the heebie jeebies. Even with sunglasses covering his eyes, I knew he was looking straight at me.
Lexi stiffened beside me, and I knew she
felt it too. “It’s getting late, we should probably go.”
I couldn’t have agreed more.
Safely in my car Lexi went into full chatter. She talked my ear off until I swear it bled. I wasn’t complaining and sort of found her exuberance for life refreshing.
“Cute car,” she commented as we sped the twenty minute drive back to my house, and I was finally able shake the stalkerish vibe.
“Thanks, I think.” My car was not boast-worthy. The fact that it got me from point A to point B was enough. “So why is your cousin living with you?” I almost hated myself for asking, but the question had been harboring in the back of my mind all day. He was sort of annoyingly imprinted in my mind.
“We are his only living family,” she said a little sad. “He’s been with us since I can remember.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry,” I apologized, thinking I wasn’t all that gung-ho about divulging into my family history.
“No it’s okay…really. But I wouldn’t advise asking Chase. It makes him moody.” She folded her perfectly manicured hands in her lap.
You don’t say. Chase moody? How could I’ve missed that?
“Got it, moody, I remember,” I replied, letting sarcasm lace my words.
She laughed. “You’re funny.”
Oookay. “What do your parents do?”
She looked out the window. “It’s just my dad. And my brother,” she added as an afterthought.
Whoa, there was another one? “You have a brother?” My voice was as shocked as it sounded.
She nodded her head. “Yep – Travis. He is a year older than me and just graduated last year. Now he just bums around. My dad is forever on his case.”
“So you are going to be a senior this year. Me too,” I added.
“Chase is too. We’re the same age. This is going to be so much fun,” she squealed.
Ugh. I groaned inside. We apparently had different ideas of fun. Possibly spending a class period with the unbelievably hot douchebag did not sound fun. Not in the least.
I pasted on a smile for her benefit. “Great,” I commented between my clenched grin.
