by C. L. Stone
“She took all of Sang’s clothes,” Luke said. “All those blouses and skirts, leaving Sang with barely anything. She tried on all of it. What’s she’s wearing now was the closest in size and it barely fits.”
“Hey,” Nathan said, his blue eyes fixed on Marie. “Isn’t that my...” He turned, squaring off his shoulders.
I grabbed Nathan by his arm. The girls had started to notice we were looking at them. “Yes,” I said through my teeth. “And that blue shirt Danielle’s wearing is Luke’s. Don’t say anything. If we make a big deal about it...”
“I don’t give a fuck,” Nathan said. “I didn’t give that to her.” His fists clenched and he started across the drive.
“I’ll get it back,” I said, stepping in front of him. Out of desperation, I pressed a hand to his chest. This seemed to distract him and he looked down at me. “Give me time. If we tell her it’s yours, or if we try to force this, Marie could tell my mother things we don’t want her to know.”
He narrowed his eyes at the two of them, but they seemed disinterested. His jaw set, his glare crushing. He grabbed my hand from his chest, holding on to it as he turned away. It felt like his squeezing my hand held back the fury bubbling under the surface. Did he feel so strongly about that shirt? I didn’t realize. I vowed to steal it back and hide it the first chance I had. If he liked it, I’d give it back. I wouldn’t want it ruined or held over our heads by Marie.
Kota stepped up next to us. “They didn’t leave you anything?”
“Just a bunch of jeans and t-shirts,” I said.
Luke followed, dropping our things at his feet and straightening out his hurriedly put together outfit. Derrick stepped up next to him, looking uncomfortable and out of place.
“I’ll try to bring them back so you can go through them,” I told Derrick. “I’m sorry about this.”
He shrugged. “That shirt was old anyway. I don’t think it fits any more.”
“Can’t you do something about her?” Nathan asked. “She’s your sister.”
“I don’t know. I’ll try talking to her.” He kept looking over at his sister, maybe wishing he had stuck with talking to them. I hooked my fingers into the jean shorts and readjusted them on my hips. “We’ll get through today and figure it out later.”
“Do we have time to change?” Nathan asked. He looked to Kota. “Can’t we get something for her? Does Jessica have...?”
The school bus turned the corner, heading in our direction.
“No time,” Kota said. He fished his cell phone out of his pocket. “Maybe if we catch the guys before they leave.”
When the bus got there, I fell into the seat next to Kota and Nathan slid in next to me. Luke fell into the seat next to us. Derrick trailed to the back, not sitting near his sister and not sitting close enough to us to be considered ‘with’ us. I found it strange. The guys may not have been openly popular, but they were good-looking and nice and dressed well. They seemed to get along well with one another. Why did it feel like Derrick didn’t really want to be associated with them in public?
At the school, Kota, Nathan, Luke and I were the last to get off the bus. We trailed Marie and Danielle out of curiosity. Boys hooted the moment Danielle walked into the crowded cafeteria. She stared ahead with a scowling smirk and swinging her hips a little more. Marie crushed her books to her chest, looking out of place next to Danielle in her t-shirt and jeans.
“Oh yeah,” Nathan mumbled next to me. “Holler at the girl who doesn’t know what dress size she is.”
Kota checked his phone again. “Let’s get out to the parking lot,” he said. “Gabriel says to meet them at Victor’s car.”
Nathan took the violin case from me. I followed after Kota, putting my hand on my hip so I wouldn’t lose the shorts on the way out. When I was falling behind them because of how I had to walk to keep the shorts up, Kota came back for me. Blushing, he wrapped an arm around my waist, hooking his thumb into the belt loop and hanging his hand on my hip. We walked together like this, trying to look casual. I think I was blushing more at feeling his hand on my waist than I was about the clothes. Still, I felt so out of place next to them in their nice slacks and shirts with ties.
Cars were still pulling into the lot and we had to make a slow crawl toward the back where Victor had parked his BMW. Victor and Gabriel were leaning against the car’s trunk waiting for us as we approached. Gabriel looked intense but the shadows under his eyes were gone. I was happy Luke and I hadn’t bugged him last night. At least he got some sleep.
“Oh my god,” Gabriel said, his bright blue eyes sliding down my clothes. “You weren’t kidding.”
“Can you help?” Kota asked.
He nodded. He curled his fingers at me and then had me spin a little in front of him. “Motherfucker. All right, hang on.”
He opened the passenger side door and took a seat with his legs stretched out. He pulled me by the hips until my waist was eye level with him. “Okay, you guys make a barrier. I don’t want anyone thinking I’m molesting her.”
I blushed and watched the guys crowd themselves together to make a wall. With the car door open, I was blocked on the other side, too. Gabriel reached for his book bag and pulled out a pair of scissors. He started cutting the shorts, hooking his fingers up into them, pulling at the crotch a little to straighten it out.
A wave of heat washed over me. “Gabriel...”
“Just give me a minute,” he said. “I’m going to make this into a skirt. It’ll still look like shit but it’ll be less shit. And why the hell did Danielle steal your clothes?”
“Attention,” Kota said. “And she got it.”
“Fucking ugly,” Nathan said.
Luke’s lips twisted into a frown as he stared out into the parking lot.
Victor stood sentinel with his arms crossed over his chest. His fire eyes blazed. “Why don’t I just go get her something?”
“We don’t have time,” Kota said. “The closest store is a Wal-Mart and you won’t make it back by the first bell.”
“That’s what we’re doing this weekend,” Victor said. “I’m taking her for clothes.”
The definitive way he said it made it sound like they were planning something to do with me that weekend and this was the confirmation. “No, guys,” I said softly. “Don’t...”
“You need clothes, Sang,” Victor said in a sharp tone. “You’re going.”
I was turning a little to say something to him but Gabriel slapped me on the thigh. “Stop wriggling,” he said. “I’m going to cut you by accident if you do that.”
I stood still hoping anyone passing by wouldn’t notice. Gabriel worked at cutting out the shorts. He folded them to make a hem and he used some tape inside his makeshift cuff. He also managed to tape up the inside of the skirt at the waist so it hung tighter. “Nothing a little duct tape can’t solve,” he said. “Now we need a shirt.”
Victor went to the trunk of his car, pulling out a clean white shirt. “Always carry a spare.”
“I can go put it on in the restroom,” I said.
“Put it on here,” Gabriel said. “No one’s watching.”
“I can’t...”
“Just do it quickly.”
My cheeks lit on fire. I accepted the shirt. Victor stepped back into place, his back turned to me. Gabriel hung his arms over the open door, blocking the window with his frame. The boys focused on cars around us, distracted.
I ripped the big t-shirt off. The warm, moist air of the south touched bare skin that had never before been exposed. I slipped my hands through the sleeves of the shirt, catching the Armani label. The shirt probably cost more than all of my old clothes combined.
While it was still big, it was far nicer than the t-shirt. I buttoned it up to my neck. “Okay,” I said.
The guys all turned around, checking out the finished product. The hem of the shirt stretched over the top of the shorts-turned-skirt. It was enough and hid the wrinkle where Gabriel had used duct tape to correc
t the size.
Victor’s fire eyes lit up to a smolder. “It’s not bad. You look pretty good in my clothes.”
“It’ll do for now,” Gabriel said. He picked up my wrist, unbuttoning the sleeve and rolling it up my arm to make a cuff above my wrist. “At least you won’t be tripping over your shorts today.”
Relief washed over me. Gabriel approved for now. The guys had come to the rescue again. “Thank you. Really, I mean... thank you,” I said, fumbling over my words. There was no way to express the feelings I had for them at that moment. How many times have they gone out of their way to help me? I was starting to lose count. It made me wonder why they bothered to be around me when I really was so much trouble.
Gabriel’s eyes fell on my face. He stared at me for a moment, his lips moving but nothing was coming out.
Nathan took my wrist. “Let’s get out of here before anyone thinks we’re taking turns.”
I had no idea what he meant but the others followed close behind.
♥♥♥
Danielle never got on the bus that afternoon.
“She got sent home around third period,” Derrick said on his way to the back seats.
“Karma’s a bitch, isn’t it?” Nathan said under his breath, the corner of his mouth lifting.
Weekend
I dreamed of a hovering dark ghost that wanted to devour anyone who did wrong. Thieves, murderers, rapists, it enveloped them in darkness and they disappeared.
And I was the thing it wanted the most.
“Sang,” Victor’s smooth baritone voice drew me from the depths of my dream. My forehead was on his arm stretched out underneath my head and I’d been curled into him. His free hand swept over my cheek, brushing my hair from my skin. “Wake up.”
I half remembered Luke saying we were late the morning before, and I sat up quickly, afraid I’d slept in again. “What’s wrong?”
Victor rolled onto his back and looked up at me. “I was going to ask you that. You were shaking.”
I sucked in a slow breath through my nose, stretching my back and pushing a palm to my face. “I was?” Did I always shake when I was sleeping? No wonder I scared Silas so much.
It was dawn. I realized it was Saturday. We weren’t late for anything.
“Were you dreaming?” he asked. He sat up, the blanket falling away from his chest. He’d taken off his Armani shirt he’d worn the night before and was left in the ribbed tank he’d worn underneath. It was fitted to his chest and stomach. My eyes refused to stop staring at his lean, strong physique. It was the most undressed I’d ever seen him.
I barely remembered him crawling into bed. After letting Luke sleep in the bed with me the night before, it felt wrong to chase him back to the attic.
I blushed when I realized he was staring at me with the same intensity.
“Mmm... maybe. I don’t remember,” I said, the fib dripping from my lips, positive my lie was obvious.
Victor’s fire eyes sparked. “Are you sure?”
A finger wandered to my lip, and I nodded, afraid to admit to lying and afraid to tell him the truth about the dream. His fire eyes forced me to put extra effort into not shaking in front of him. The dream seemed too small and unimportant.
Victor’s head tilted and he looked uncertain. “Okay... well do you want to get going?”
I nodded. Not that I really wanted to go, but it gave me an excuse to escape his questioning and a chance for him to forget, or so I hoped.
He got out of the bed. “Go shower and dress. I’ll call Nathan, and let him know we’re heading over.”
I started to move and then paused. Something felt out of sync to me. I was still half asleep, uncertain exactly what it was.
“What’s wrong? Do you hear something?” he asked. He was standing by the attic door, looking back at me.
My cheeks warmed again when I realized what I was missing was sitting in someone’s lap. They’d done it so often that now when it didn’t happen, I felt out of place. It was Victor’s first night with me. He didn’t do it like the others. Maybe he didn’t want to.
“Sang,” Victor stared at me for an answer.
I shook my head. “Sorry,” I said as I drifted to the closet, pulling out some clothes to wear.
He frowned, waiting until I was at the door before he opened the attic and crawled inside.
I drew a bath, taking a little extra time to wash, shave and take care of my hair. Victor had warned me we were going out today and I didn’t want to look as shaggy and worn as I felt. I wanted to soak but I knew Victor was waiting for me.
The bath drained as I dried off. I slipped on the pair of blue shorts I’d worn into the woods and a light gray shirt Kota gave me after we got home from school.
I opened the bathroom door and leapt backward. Victor was leaning against the doorframe in the hallway. My hand fluttered to my chest. “Victor?”
His fire eyes locked on mine again. “Do you always take baths in the morning?”
What was he doing in the hallway? He could tell I was taking a bath? If he’d been listening at all, he must have known. How long was he out there?
“I... well I felt like one,” I said, which was mostly true. “Did I take too long?”
He shook his head slowly, the fire dimming. “No,” he said, the soft frown remaining on his face. He turned away from me. “Check on your mom and let’s get out of here.” His voice dripped with something heavy, sad.
It broke my heart. Maybe there was a reason he didn’t like me. I’d been lying to him all morning. I summoned some courage and pressed forward, vowing to try to be honest with him the rest of the day.
♥♥♥
My mom was asleep in her bed; I left her a banana, a box of raisins and a bottle of water. Marie was in her room, her music playing, and would sleep until late in the afternoon. I was surprised she was home, but I suppose she couldn’t go out to Danielle’s house every evening. Her parents might notice. Maybe I should have been worried that my mother or Marie would check on me, but according to Victor, we had too much to do and he didn’t seem too concerned if we were caught out.
We met with Nathan in the woods behind my house. He was kicking at some leaves near the wood slab bridge. When he heard us coming, he looked up, smiling.
“Got everything?” he asked me.
I nodded, hiking my book bag up on my shoulders. They’d warned me to bring anything I’d need as we might swim at some point. There wasn’t much in my bag except for a change of underwear and the charger for my phone, which was tucked into my bra.
Kota, Silas, North and Luke would be gone for most of the day at the diner.
Nathan reached for my hand, wrapping his fingers around mine. “Let’s get going. I left Gabriel at my house.”
Victor trailed behind us, and my heart weighed heavily with the guilt of the morning we’d had. I wanted to take it all back. I was worried he didn’t like me now.
We walked through the woods to Nathan’s backyard. Nathan led the way to his back porch and opened the sliding glass door for me and Victor.
Victor walked around us, collapsing onto the leather couch. Gabriel was sitting on one end. He handed off a controller to Victor. I recognized Soul Caliber, a fighting game, on the wide-screen TV. The couch was big enough that all four of us could sit. Victor scooted closer to Gabriel and let go of the controller long enough to pat the seat next to him, his eyes expectant on mine.
Relief flooded through me. He wasn’t going to stay mad at me, at least.
I dropped my bag on the floor by the foot of the couch and sat down next to Victor. Nathan sat on the edge, putting one arm on the armrest and stretching to put his other arm on the couch over my shoulders, his fingers on my collarbone.
I willed my heart to stop fluttering so much.
“When are we going?” Gabriel asked, clicking buttons on the controller. I wasn’t able to tell which fighter he was. They were both about half drained of health according to the screen.
“
When the stores open, I guess,” Victor said. “Around nine or ten or so.”
I squinted at them. It was barely dawn now. “You guys wanted me come over this early?”
Victor shrugged. “Have something else to do today?”
“No,” I said. “I was just wondering.”
Victor cursed under his breath as Gabriel’s fighter kicked his hard enough to knock him out and end the battle. The big screen flashed with blood and gore from Victor’s fighter. Victor patted my knee, grinning. “You can come over when you want, you know,” he said. “You don’t have to wait for an invitation all the time.”
I blushed; if it were up to me, I’d never leave. “Meh, you guys will get sick of me eventually.” I meant it to be funny and cracked a smile.
Nathan’s hand lifted from my shoulder and chopped me on the head. “Shut up,” he said.
“What did I tell you?” Gabriel said. “See what I mean? She does do that girl shit. I knew it.”
I blinked in surprise, unsure what they meant. “I’m sorry,” I said quietly, blushing.
“You were doing that thing where a girl disses herself to get more compliments,” he said.
“That’s not why she said it,” Nathan said. “She doesn’t like attention.”
“What do you mean?” Gabriel asked, resetting the game.
“Don’t you see her at school? She practically hides behind us. She’s totally oblivious when the guys are trying to make eye contact in class.”
My eyes widened. “What? When do they do that?”
“See?”
Gabriel pointed a finger in my direction. “Just don’t say shit like that. That stuff drives me crazy. I can’t stand it when I’m telling a girl she’s pretty and she’s just giving me a load of insecure bullshit.”
I wondered if this was similar to what Silas was saying about the pouting and Gabriel asking me not to do it, but I didn’t know what to say to test it. I also wondered what girls he was telling such things to.
Victor sighed heavily, sitting back against the cushion of the couch. “Stop it. Sang’s not like that.”
