Scarlett White

by Chloe Smith

  "Yeah. He, well, he...um...asked if I wanted to..." Her voice faltered.

  "Scarlett, if you l-like him, then go out with him." Tristan tried to say it as calmly as he could; Scarlett wasn't stupid, she could tell that on the inside calm was the last thing he was feeling.

  "No, no, it's nothing like that," Scarlett reassured him. "You're my boyfriend; when are you going to get that through your head?" Scarlett paused and then continued before Tristan could reply. "He asked me to go to the beach with him…and a couple of friends," Scarlett added to make it sound more casual. "He said that we would only go as friends, and nothing more."

  There was silence on the other end.

  "Tristan?"

  "Tristan?"

  Tristan knew Christian a lot better than Scarlett. And he knew that Christian was a player. Once he saw what he liked, he got it. It angered Tristan at times, but since they lived in two completely different states, Tristan wasn't too annoyed...until now. Being in two different states from Christian and Scarlett was starting to really aggravate Tristan. He needed to warn her.

  "Sorry, look, go if you want to..." he took a deep breath, "but, I have to alert you that, Christian is a player; a huge player. And he will get what he wants eventually." Saying this out loud was worse than just thinking it. Tristan's hands curled into fists, and his whole body shook.

  There was more silence as Scarlett let this sink in. "He really seems like a nice guy though—"

  Tristan clenched his teeth. "That's how he does it. He seems like a great guy, and then he traps you. It's how he's always caught innocent girls, like you."

  "I'm not naïve, Tristan," Scarlett said defensively, sounding angry.

  Tristan took another deep breath. "I know you're not. I just think you should be careful around Christian."

  "I-I won't let him trap me. He already knows that we are..." Scarlett's voice trailed off.

  Why didn't she finish her sentence? Why did she stop? They were still together, weren't they?

  "Scarlett?"

  "Um...sorry, I have to go. Talk to you soon." And then the line went dead.

  What the hell had just happened? Why did she just hang up on him? Did she like someone else? Did someone else catch her interest because Tristan wasn't there?

  Tristan hung up his phone; his whole body had gone numb. He stared unseeingly at the wall opposite him. Was he losing Scarlett?

  "I-I won't let him trap me. He already knows that we are..." Scarlett's voice trailed off.

  Somebody was standing right outside her car window. Who was it? All she could see was a white T-shirt advertising some football team. And then the person tapped on her window and bent down so she could make out who it was.

  "Scarlett?" Tristan's voice brought her back to reality.

  "Um...sorry, I have to go. Talk to you soon." Grudgingly Scarlett shut her phone and threw it in the passenger's seat.

  She slowly unrolled her window, "Yes?"

  It was raining, and it was raining hard. Some of the big droplets were splattering all over her clothes and makeup. Great.

  "Look, Scar, I know that you probably—"

  "What do you want, Christian?" Scarlett snapped, clearly annoyed at being interrupted.

  "If you say 'no,' I completely understand, but my ride bailed on me and..."

  "And you want me to give you a ride?" She meant for it come out sarcastically, but it came out with a sigh like she knew she wouldn't have a choice.

  "If it wouldn't be a bother." For being a so-called player, he wasn't that unctuous. He was pretty smooth, which clearly screamed PLAYER, but Scarlett ignored it.

  "Get in," she said, rolling the window back up, desperately trying to save her new clothes.

  "Thanks," Christian replied, shaking the rain from his hair as he shut the passenger side door.

  "No problem," Scarlett lied.

  She could feel his body heat rolling off him and she was all too aware of his cologne. She inhaled and felt slightly dizzy. Scarlett shook her head and put the car in gear, pulling out of the parking lot.

  "Text Melody for me and tell her I'll be late," Scarlett instructed, indicating the cell phone Christian had moved when he got in.

  "Melody Harman?"

  Oh, not you too! "Yeah, want me to set you up with her?" The idea struck her right then and there. Maybe if she could get Christian to go after somebody else, she wouldn't be having these strange feelings whenever he was around her.

  "No, thanks."

  "What? You don't like her? Isn't she, like, a legend or something?"

  "Yeah, she's pretty hot."

  "That's a total insult. You should have seen her yesterday," Scarlett tried again. She had to get Christian liking someone else. Even if that someone else was in college. Why wasn't Christian Cox, the biggest player at Humphrey Day, digging the idea of getting set up with Melody Harman, the legendary hottie, also known as, the blast from the past?

  "I dunno. She's just not my type."

  So, now you have a type? I thought your type was females. Scarlett gripped the steering wheel tighter. She let out a frustrated sigh and continued glaring at the road, sure that if the expression "If looks could kill" was true that whoever crossed her path would be dead.

  "Did I anger you?" Christian's voice was soft now, and Scarlett could feel his eyes on her. Her hands slipped on the wheel, and the car swerved. Scarlett hit the brake and ended up on the side of the road in a grassy area.

  Christian had grabbed the car door and was holding onto it tightly. "Whoa, I didn't mean to upset you so much. Maybe next time I'll walk." He paused to gauge her reaction, when her face remained expressionless he said, "Look, I really didn't mean to make you angry—"

  "It's not you who angers me," Scarlett finally answered. "It's me."

  "Um...okay?"

  It was true. Scarlett was infuriated with herself for feeling what she felt towards Christian. She should feel revolted by his words and behavior; instead she felt drawn to him because of it.

  She shook her head again, trying to clear her brain. "All right, where do you live again?"

  Chapter Sixteen

  Ten minutes later, Scarlett walked up to the front of the shopping mall and found Melody, holding a compact mirror up to her full, pale pink lips and applying more subtle lip gloss.

  "Well, finally," Melody said when she noticed Scarlett. "I told you to be here at 3:15. What happened?"

  "Sorry, I meant to text you, but got sidetracked. I had to drive the needy home," Scarlett quickly explained.

  "You don't sound too happy. What's up?" Melody asked, leading the way into the store's double doors.

  "Nothing—"

  "Oh, would you cut the crap? I know nothing is something when you say 'nothing' like that because if it were really nothing, you wouldn't have brought it up, hence the said nothing obviously means something. And I always know everything about anything that's something. Make sense?" Melody spoke quickly and fluidly.

  "Not in the slightest," Scarlett said, looking at Melody sideways.

  "Spill," Melody translated.

  "You heard about Tristan Cox…my boyfriend?" His name burned in her throat.

  "Yeah," Melody said slowly.

  "Well, he has a cousin named Christian Cox who lives here and goes to school with me. And he's been...very nice to me this past week. Well, I tried to make it clear that there would never be anything between us, but I'm not too sure I've been doing a great job of that. So, he asked me to go to the beach this weekend. And just to make you, my mom, and Timothy happy, I said 'yes'; now I am desperately regretting that decision.

  "Anyways, he needed a ride home, and I agreed only because it was raining, and I pitied the poor boy. And during the ride he...he..." Scarlett trailed off, not sure what she was trying to say.

  "Lots of times, loathing is mistaken for love," Melody said quietly, not looking at Scarlett.

  Scarlett frantically shook her head. "No. I do not like him in the slightest bit. Not like that
anyways. He's a nice guy, but I have a boyfriend." It's just his scent makes me dizzy, his voice makes me light-headed, his eyes make me melt, his personality draws me, his face intrigues me...

  "All right, so I've got mixed feelings," Scarlett finally admitted. "But, I'm still completely devoted to Tristan." Tears welled up in the corners of Scarlett's eyes.

  "Of course you are. He was your first love. But, first loves are not always your last," Melody replied soothingly. "Give Christian a chance at least. If you still don't like him, then there's nothing between you two, but if you do..."

  Scarlett collapsed in the chair of a dressing room twenty minutes later and felt drained of all the energy that was still remaining in her. She was so confused it made her head hurt.

  The next day at school, while Chloe and Millie were having a very colorful argument over who was better: Edward or Jacob, Scarlett realized that her cell phone vibrated against her skirt's pocket, and she quickly flipped it open.

  "Hello?" She didn't even care to look at the caller ID.

  "Um...Scar," Ginny's voice rang through the other end. Scarlett's heart quickened just at the sound of her voice. Relief flowed through her system as someone from her past called her. But the next words chased the relief away quickly. "There's been an accident. I know I should have called you earlier, but I've been grounded and I didn't get to sneak my cell back until today. Anyways," a pause and then, "Tristan's in the hospital..."

  Scarlett's vision blurred. She couldn't have heard right. The room suddenly felt warm. Hot even. Too hot. "W-What?" she stuttered.

  "What's wrong?" Zoey asked, noticing Scarlett's serious expression and the worried look in her green eyes.

  Scarlett merely shook her head as Ginny continued on the other end of the phone.

  "Tristan...he was knocked down during Saturday's game...and now he's in the hospital. He hasn't stirred yet. He's in a slight...coma."

  And then Scarlett gasped, her eyes looking straight ahead, but not comprehending anything that she saw. She stood up on wobbly legs. She needed to get out of here; it was much too hot for her. She needed to go outside and get some fresh air. But before she could even think about trying to get her legs to move, she fainted.

  ~*~*~*~ FLASHBACK ~*~*~*~

  SATURDAY'S FOOTBALL GAME

  It was Saturday evening, and Tristan was sitting in the locker room with the rest of his teammates. Their coach had finally returned from his extended vacation and was standing in the front by the whiteboard, drawing out plays, but all Tristan heard was, "Blah, blah, blah, run, blah, blah, blah, ball, blah, blah, the receiver will then, blah, blah, blah, Tristan, are you listening to me?"

  It took a few minutes for Tristan to realize that the coach had actually spoken to him and the entire football team was looking at him now. He shook out of his trance. "Um...yeah, sorry. I just...have a lot on my mind at the moment," he admitted.

  He could hear the silent whispers of the others explaining his unusual actions to the ones who didn't pay attention to gossip and drama. He took a deep breath and tried to pay more attention to what the coach was saying. It took all of five seconds for his attention span to collapse yet again, and his mind wandered back to Scarlett.

  I wonder where she is. I hope her new school isn't like ours, filled with drama and all the jazz. Maybe she'll call me later. I should check my messages. Maybe I should call her. I could ask Ginny for some updates.

  "Cox!"

  Tristan came back to reality. "Yes, coach?"

  "You aren't paying attention. What has gotten into you?"

  "Nothing...it's—nothing."

  "It better be nothing. This game determines if you get that scholarship or not. There are coaches coming from all sorts of colleges to check out the rising seniors."

  With that said the entire team—all except Tristan—jumped up and whooped.

  While they were running onto field, Kyle came up from behind Tristan and nudged him in the arm, "C'mon, Tris, get your head in the game," he said, looking up at the stands and spotting the university coaches.

  The two teams were in position, ready for the play. The front rows were growling at each other and shouting insulting things to the opposing team. The referee blew his whistle, and the football flew into Tristan's hands. Tristan took a few steps back and looked for someone open. Everyone was covered. And then Tristan spotted an opponent running head long in his direction. That meant someone on their team was open.

  Tristan searched and spotted Tom Walters waving his hands in the air heading for their goal. Tristan threw his most famous spiral and heard it quickly zoom through the air. He could faintly hear the crowd thumping their hands and feet. And that was the last thing he heard.

  Suddenly he was rather roughly knocked to the ground by the opponent. His head hit the freshly manicured grass too hard, and the next thing he saw was darkness.

  ~*~*~*~ END FLASHBACK ~*~*~*~

  When Scarlett fainted, she had hit the tile floor pretty damn hard. And now there was a small bruise forming on the back of her head from the impact. Everyone quickly crowded around her. Plenty of students were on their cell phones, calling the ambulance. Chloe, Millie, and Zoey were all on their knees doing everything they could think of to revive Scarlett. Christian was staring dumbfounded at Scarlett's pale face with a large group of onlookers who were all too petrified to move. His wide, brown orbs searched nervously for any signs of movement.

  "The ambulance is on its way," someone called.

  "Scarlett?" Chloe asked. "C'mon, Scarlett, oh God, wake up...Scarlett?"

  "She's not breathing," Zoey said as she lifted her ear from Scarlett's chest.

  "HELLO!" This voice came from Scarlett's abandoned cell phone lying on the floor next to her hand.

  Millie picked it up. "Um...hi?" Her voice was shaky.

  "Where's Scar?"

  "Are you a friend?"

  "No, I'm her very best friend," Ginny answered. "Where the hell is she?"

  "Um...She just...fainted and now she's not breathing, and there's a large bruise on her head," Millie replied.

  "WHAT!" Ginny screeched.

  "Yeah, the ambulance is on the way, and here comes the school nurse. Look, I'm gonna hang up, but I'll…um…call you back?" Millie felt awkward talking to someone she didn't know.

  "No, you very well will not. You put this God damn phone up to Scar's ear, and I will revive her."

  "I don't think that's a good idea—"

  "I don't give a fucking shit about your opinion. Do it now!" Ginny yelled into the phone.

  Millie gave in and tentatively put the phone up to Scarlett's ear.

  She didn't know what Scarlett's friend said, but soon enough Scarlett's eyelashes fluttered, and she made a sort of moan.

  "Oh, thank God," about twenty people breathed.

  Millie, forgetting about the phone completely, dropped it and came to Scarlett's aid along with the rest of the student body.

  Nurse Adele shooed them away to give Scarlett room to breathe. They could all hear the ambulance pulling into the school parking lot, and soon enough Scarlett was lifted into the back of the ambulance and rushed to the nearest hospital while her mother was called.

  Beep...beep...beep...beep...beep. The emergency room that Tristan was in was silent except for the slow beeping of the heart monitor. Most of the juniors had been crowded in the little room along with Tristan's family the first day. It had been three days since the football incident and there had been no change in Tristan's recovery process. All of the students were kicked out by the doctors, but the family was permitted to stay.

  It was ten o'clock Monday night, and Mary and Bryan were both asleep on the leather couch while Julia, Tristan's mother, was sitting in a small, metal chair next to Tristan's bed. Her hand clutched Tristan's, and her thumb gently stroked the top of his pale hand. She looked into her son's face with sad eyes. Tristan's face was ghostly pale, and his eyes were sunken into his head with dark circles underneath his eyes.

 
The door opened, and Julia looked up with tired eyes to see a male doctor enter with a clipboard.

  "Mrs. Cox, we just received the results of the tests taken earlier today," the doctor said in a grave and solemn voice. "There are seven different levels of consciousness. One starting with complete consciousness, and the seventh being comatose, which is the state that Tristan is in. The scientific definition is those in the state of comatose cannot make a response to stimuli, have neither corneal nor gag reflex, and they may have no pupillary response to light. In other words, they cannot be aroused."