by Carla Thorne
“I am the last person who would know anything about that.”
She thrashed around in the water to face me and then laughed. “I’m sorry, Scout. Your face is so red.”
“Yeah, hangin’ around you keeps me in a constant state of some kind of embarrassment.”
She smacked the water. “Well, I’m sorry I’m so embarrassing to you.”
“You know that’s not what I meant.”
“What did you mean?”
“C’mon, Ivy. You’re beautiful and talented… I don’t know what I’m doin’ here. I don’t have pool parties where friends as cool as Jacob show up. I mean, look over there. That’s a herd of leftover Arrows who don’t know what to do without Paige. My grandma called those swimsuits scandalous and threatened to send one of them home. She gave her a pink, sequined breast cancer t-shirt and told her to wear it.” I paused to catch a breath and should have stopped talking. I didn’t. “This is truly not my life. Ever since we all got together, I’m completely out of my league. And you… The time I spend with you…”
Ivy blinked water off her lashes and stared at me.
I’d been trying to dig myself out of a hole and I only slipped in deeper. I was a teenaged boy. I had little to no control over how my body acted or reacted to anything. I was a mess. A mess with a supersized zit growing in the middle of my forehead right that very moment.
Ivy touched my knee and another swarm of hormones attacked from nowhere.
“I know what you meant, Scout. We’re fine.”
Easy for her to say.
In her mind, we were back where we started—our Scout and Ivy groove that everyone knew and recognized.
All my mind could see was her bobbin’ in the water in a yellow swimsuit top and tiny swim shorts. I figured I would have to jump in the cold, deep end whether I was ready or not. We were more than friends but not quite anything else, and one day I was gonna grab that girl and kiss her. She was either going to kiss me back or beat the crap out of me.
I wouldn’t survive it either way.
Chapter 6
Ivy
So… Scout was having a weird night at his own pool party.
I assumed it was because it was at his pool.
Nowhere in my most horrible nightmares, imaginations, or visions could I see being in the car one minute with my family, and the next under water, fighting for my life—and watching my family float away, disappear, and die.
I wanted to be there when he conquered his fear and dislike of socially acceptable water events.
It wasn’t going to be that night.
And then Mary and Gavin showed up.
Gavin held her hand as they walked toward the hot tub. She clearly wanted to let go and fix the tie at her waist that held her striped wrap in place. The guy held on when she tried to pull away. It eventually dropped from her body and he scooped it up.
Possessive much?
Mary dropped her bag by a chair and rushed over. “Great party, Scout.”
“Thanks. I think.”
“C’mon in,” I said. “There’s room.”
Gavin was at her heels. “Hey guys.” He bent to nudge Mary’s arm. “I thought we were going to see Jacob and the guys and start a volleyball game.”
“We are. Go ahead. I want to talk to Ivy a sec.”
Gavin seemed annoyed as he attempted to crowd in beside her. “I’ll wait with you.”
“No, go ahead. I’ll be there in a minute.”
I shot Scout an I told you so glance.
“Yeah,” Scout said. “It’s all set up. Just pull the net across.”
Mary settled in as Gavin skulked away. “Where’s Deac?”
Scout pointed toward the house. “He’s in there charming my grandma out of another plate of brownies.”
Mary laughed. “That would explain why Claire Cannon is over there with two other guys. He’s going to lose his homecoming date two years in a row.”
“Do you think she has any idea she’s the object of his affection and the subject of so many of our conversations?” Scout asked.
It was kinda funny when I thought about it. We had at least one Claire Cannon conversation every time we were together and I doubted she knew Deacon existed.
Mary moved closer as another person dropped in. “What else is new? Have you heard from Corey?”
“No. I don’t hear from her much. I wish she’d text me… Hope she’s OK.”
“What was the last word on when she’d come back to school?”
I reached for my Dr Pepper. “I don’t know, but hey, check it out.” I took a drink and pointed. “Cassidy is totally into Jacob and I think it’s mutual.”
Mary turned her gaze toward the couple and watched every move they made for longer than seemed necessary.
“Uh… Mary? Is there something you want to talk about?”
“What? No. Of course not.”
I bit back a laugh. “Have you talked to him any more since the small electrical incident? Remember, it wasn’t a fire.”
“No. We don’t see each other during the day, but he and Gavin have apparently been tearing it up on the football field. Half the time I don’t know if they really don’t like each other or if they’re playing.”
“Jacob is older and twice his size. They better be goofin’ or Gavin might get his butt handed to him.”
As we spoke, the two prepared for volleyball. Jacob stretched his long, muscular arms to snap the net into place while Gavin flapped in the water nearby and tried to help.
“I better get over there. It’s time to pick sides.”
“You just got here. C’mon, we have more people to talk about.”
Mary hopped out. “No, I told Gavin I’d be there for the big game. We’re a pretty good team at the net.”
I wanted to roll my eyes but I didn’t. “You athletes are pretty competitive.”
“No, this is for fun. Come and play.”
“I’m good. I’m waiting for Deacon to arrive with more brownies and we’re going to watch and add commentary from over here.”
“OK. See you in a bit.”
Mary skipped off to stand in the group of people who waited to be chosen. Jacob won the coin toss and got to pick first.
He picked Mary.
Wait. He picked Mary?
Deacon returned and sat beside Scout with a bunch of snacks. “What’d I miss?”
Scout took a brownie. “Uh… You could say pool volleyball got a whole lot more interesting.”
“How?”
“Captain Jacob had first pick and took Mary.”
I laughed. “Yeah. Right out from under Gavin’s control of her every movement.”
Deacon waved it away. “He’s messin’ with his head. Classic psych move, and Mary’s a good sport so she’ll play along because she’s also competitive.”
“That’s a pretty big move,” I said. “He didn’t even pick one of his own big football guys to dominate at the net.” I dropped a bar-b-que chip and chased it around the swirling water to fish it out. “That’s the words, right? You want tall people at the net to block and hit it back?”
Deacon shrugged. “Sure… But this is pool volleyball. These guys are more interested in whose bikini top is going to slide off.”
“Don’t be a pig.” I tossed the wet chip and it stuck to his chest.
“And don’t forget,” Scout added. “You rotate to serve, so it’s not like they’ll be in the same place all the time.”
“But Jacob’s got Mary right beside him,” Deacon said.
“Duh.” I tipped the bag for dry chips. “Because she’s a good athlete. She’ll set him up for that spike thing or whatever. That’s how you get points, right?”
Scout rubbed his eyes and laughed. “We are some amazing armchair quarterbacks over here. How has ESPN not called us to give us our own show?”
We watched a while, then it got more crowded.
Deacon changed position as the game heated up and the cheering got louder. “Why
does Mary look so aggravated?”
“That could be anything,” I said. “I don’t think she’s a big fan of Jacob. Ever since the fire—”
“Small electrical incident,” Scout and Deacon said together.
“Sorry. Forgot. Since the small electrical incident, she’s steered clear of Jacob. Maybe his move to pick her for his team made her mad. Or maybe she’s mad at Gavin because he keeps making ugly faces across the net. You know he’s not happy about Jacob picking his girl.” I held my hand up for Scout. “C’mon. Pull me out. Let’s get a better spot to watch the fireworks.”
Those fireworks didn’t take long to start.
I didn’t know the score, but Deacon said that game was to win the set. OK, sure. What did interest me was Jacob and Mary at the net—directly across from Gavin. Mary looked like she was trying to have fun. Gavin, not so much. “Gavin should be careful,” I whispered to Scout. “His claws are showing.”
As expected, Mary tipped the ball to Jacob. I was unfamiliar with the rules, but I understood the stretch of his arm and that the explosive strike he executed was a game winner. The speeding ball dropped right behind Gavin and into the water for a flawless score.
The expected celebration was a mass of slippery hugging arms, splashes, and high fives—topped off by one spontaneous and joyful embrace between two not-quite friends—Mary and Jacob.
And Gavin lost his mind.
Rather than a sportsmanlike congratulatory handshake across the net, Gavin stalked forward, chest first, at the net, and bumped them apart. In one swift move, he dove down and shot up from underneath the barrier and took a swing. Gavin had some meat on him, but he had nothing on Jacob, who avoided the punch and pushed Mary out of the way.
Deacon jumped in to… I have no idea what he was going to do.
“Aw crap, Scout,” I said. “I’ll go get your grandparents.”
“No need. Between the security cameras and their stations by the window… Three… Two… One.”
“Knock it off! Out of the pool!” Scout’s grandpa was right on time.
Sadly, Gavin was slow to listen. When Mary made the mistake of stepping back in, she took one of Gavin’s raging elbows dead-center to her face.
The blood came as though someone turned a faucet on at her nose.
Jacob scooped her up and had her on the side of the pool in only a couple of strides.
Scout tipped out an ice chest and gathered what he could in a towel.
Gavin hovered nearby like a near-feral cat that wanted to come closer but was afraid.
But Jacob…
Like a protective papa bear or big brother, he leaned against the wall, sat down, and propped her against his chest. “Lean forward. Breathe through your mouth.” He held the wad of ice and blood-soaked towels and regularly switched them out with Deacon’s help. “I got you,” he said more than once and peeled her wet hair away from her face.
Scout’s grandma rushed over with her phone. “Did she lose consciousness?”
“I saw black for a second,” Mary said. “But I didn’t pass out.”
“Good. How’s the bleeding?”
“Hasn’t slowed yet,” Jacob said.
“All right. Your mom’s on her way to take you to the ER.”
“Seriously? It’s a nose bleed.”
Deacon handed Jacob a fresh towel. “Uh… No. Looks—and sounded—more like a nose crack.”
“Just being cautious,” Scout’s grandma said. “Don’t want a crooked nose on that beautiful face.”
“Tell your friends to head home,” Scout’s grandpa said.
“I need to be with Mary,” he said and glanced around the pool. “I think they know the party’s over.”
“All right. I’ll see everyone out.”
Scout and I dropped to the ground near Deacon, Mary, and Jacob.
Gavin tried to slip into our protective circle. “Mary, I—”
“Dude.” Deacon raised his hand. “This is not the time.”
“I’m sorry, Mary,” he persisted. “You know that was an accident.”
She nodded. “Go home, Gavin. We’ll talk later.”
He didn’t stay, but he didn’t exactly leave either. Jacob shot him a withering glare that sent him shrinking to the corner of the house. I got madder with each burst of blood that spread on every towel we could reach, and wished Jacob would’ve used one of his grizzly-sized paws to smack the crap out of Gavin.
Scout’s grandma stayed close. “How’s the pain?”
“Between rolling an ankle on the field and takin’ a cleat upside the head, well… I’m past all that.”
“Dizzy?”
“No.” She leaned her head back against Jacob’s chest. “Why won’t the blood stop?”
“Because it’s probably broken,” he said. He gently pushed her head forward again. “I know you want to lay back and rest, but stay this way so you don’t choke or swallow too much blood. That’ll only make you queasy.”
I scooted closer. “Here. I’ll hold your forehead in my hand so you can relax.”
Deacon glanced at his hands. “No. Let me.” He shrugged. “Worth a try, right?”
“Great idea. Now you’re thinking like a…” I looked around. “Great idea.”
The fast clip of Mary’s mom’s sandals screeched around the corner.
“I’m guessing that’s your mom,” Jacob said.
“Yeah. Let me stand up.”
“No.”
In one smooth move, Jacob stood and once again had her in his arms. He headed around the house. “Which one’s your car?”
Mrs. Hunter pointed. They strapped her in with fresh ice and towels.
“Let us know,” Scout’s grandma called after the car.
Gavin still hovered in the periphery of the chaos and didn’t say a word, and Jacob slipped off with his friends without a backward glance.
Deacon slapped his arm around Scout’s shoulders. “Well, for someone who didn’t want to have a party and didn’t even get wet in his own pool, I’d say you’ll be a legend within an hour.”
“Yeah, that’s exactly what I wanted.” He tore away from Deacon’s grasp.
I rushed to comfort him. “It’s OK, Scout. None of this is your fault. Who knew Gavin had such a violent streak?”
“You did, didn’t you?”
“Look. Just because I don’t trust the guy doesn’t mean I knew he was capable of decking his own girlfriend during a game of volleyball.”
“And what about Jacob?” Deacon asked. “He instigated that whole thing by messing with Gavin’s girl.”
“That’s one way to look at it,” I said. “But it’s no excuse for that kind of reckless outburst.”
Scout narrowed his gaze. “But you yourself would have ripped Gavin in two if you could have reached him.”
“So what? I’m not perfect. Never mind that now. Let’s help your grandma clean up and get into some dry clothes so we can go by the ER.”
“Yeah.” Deacon rolled a whole plastic-wrapped tray of Rice Krispie treats into his dry towel.
“Really?”
“Yes. Really. Who knows how long we’ll be at the hospital?”
I picked up a trash bag and gathered paper plates. I scanned the area for stragglers and was surprised to find Gavin still hanging out around the side of the house—with a girl.
But not just any girl.
Corey?
Chapter 7
Mary
My head bobbed against the seat as my mom took a turn too fast. “I don’t teed ta hopital.”
“Yes, Mary, you need the hospital. We have to be sure. It looks like a crime scene back there. What happened? Scout’s grandma said Gavin hit you?”
“It was as assident.”
“I’m sure it was, honey. Stop talking and rest.”
“Then top assin testions.”
She smiled and held my hand. “Sorry, baby. It’s too swollen for you to make sense. You can tell me all about it after they get an x-ray, get the
bleeding stopped, get the swelling down, get the pain under control… Honestly. How could Gavin be so careless?”
“Dats a testion.”
“Sorry.”
I squeezed my mom’s arm with one hand and kept the ice pressed hard against my nose with the other. The pain thrummed through my face like the beat of a thousand bass drums. My eyes blurred as the swelling spread upward, and it became harder to get a breath.
And boy, was I mad.
And hurt—not just physically.
And completely confused.
Why did Jacob pick me? I was flattered at first. Everyone talked about what an amazing athlete he was. Even Gavin admitted that. I thought it was about the game… About strategy. But why do something that would so obviously cause tension at a friendly pool party volleyball game?
And I couldn’t even begin to explore the depths of my sadness about Gavin.
The rage in his eyes and anger that was so focused on Jacob, he’d forgotten me.
He didn’t pause. He lunged.
It wasn’t fun anymore with Gavin. None of it was. Not the scene in the park near Scout’s house earlier on the way to the party, not the discussions about our friends and plans, and not the time and attention—all the time and attention—he demanded of me.
Nobody knew and nobody asked, but close friendships seemed to be sliding away, and more and more of my time was spent telling Gavin how happy I was with him but how I wasn’t ready…
I glanced at my mom. I wanted to talk to her and it would probably be OK, but I literally couldn’t form words and it wasn’t the time.
And my dad… He was totally going to lose his sh—
“You OK, baby? Almost there.”
I nodded as I thought about my dad’s head popping off when he got off the plane from his work trip and heard about my nose. God help Gavin.
As for the other stuff, he’d never know about that.
Time got fuzzy later on as I rested in a curtained room and waited for what they’d do next.
One by one, my friends snuck in and waved. Ivy blew me a kiss. Deacon had somehow found a yellow gown, a blue shower cap looking thingy, and green latex gloves.
