by Carla Thorne
“Wait. I’ll drive you home.”
“I can’t do that. Not that I don’t trust you, but I just got my license, and I’m about two weeks away from getting my grandma’s car. My dad didn’t sell it when she died. So, it’s mine. If I don’t get in any trouble. And I told my mom I was headed home. On my own. On foot.”
He stood tall and crossed his arms, towering above me. “Not that I don’t enjoy your rambling, but a basic no thanks would have sufficed. Now I’m wondering why you had to include the part about not that I don’t trust you. I thought we were past weird conversations. Why would you have to tell me it’s not that you don’t trust me? I mean, we’ve been through some stuff.”
“Again. Sorry. I meant that about driving. I promised my parents I wouldn’t get in a car with other teenage drivers, and yeah. Lame. I’m going home.”
“I’ll walk with you.”
“That’s not necessary.”
“Oh, it kinda is.”
“But you have your car. You should go find a place to run where you won’t possibly step on a skunk or something equally smelly or gross in the dark. Also, it could be dangerous.”
“Rambling again.”
Why was I doing that?
He clicked his alarm. The blink of the lights illuminated a rear paper license plate and the shiny finish of what had to be a brand-new car. Interior lights stayed lit and faded to a soothing shade of blue before dimming completely.
“Is that yours?”
“Yes. Now do you want a ride?”
“It’s amazing, and yes, I truly do want a ride, but no, I can’t.”
He laughed. “You’re something, you know that?”
“Why? Because I don’t want to mess up my chances of inheriting a car that has beige cloth upholstery, no place to charge my phone, and smells like an old lady’s lilac perfume? Did I mention the radio is stuck on an all-talk station?”
He laughed again and headed for the bike path. “Never mind, but believe me, I’d trade my new car for your old one any day?”
I rushed to match his stride toward my house. “Why?”
“Because your old beater comes from the right place. That pricey piece of machinery back there doesn’t.”
“Where does it come from?”
“From one of two successful people who think if they give me a car like that it’ll make everything OK.” He slowed. “It won’t.”
“I’m sorry, Jacob. I know your parents’ problems have been hard on you.”
“Yeah, well, I won’t be in the middle much longer. Once I head for college, I’m never coming back.”
I nodded, but I couldn’t imagine it. I had even less of an idea of how to help. “It’s almost Christmas break, and after that you’ll just have three semesters to go. Next year you’ll be a senior and you’ll be really busy. You’ll be fielding all your offers to play college ball. You’ll be on to the next phase of your life before you know it.”
Something about that made me sad.
He picked up the pace again. “What is Gavin doing to you?”
“Nothing. Why would you ask that?”
“You don’t even know what you said back there, do you?”
“When?”
“When I found you at the track.”
“You mean when you fell out of the woods?”
“Don’t do that.”
“What?”
His jawline tightened as he walked even faster. “Try to change the subject. When someone asks a question, the other person should answer. What do you want for dinner? A steak. Did you pay the electric bill? No. Are you having an affair? Yes, aren’t you? Yes.” He stopped and bent to rest his hands at his knees and breathe. He stood with a blast of emotion on his face. “Lying is a waste of time and it hurts people. You said this yourself, Mary. You value honesty.”
His truth melded with mine and clicked like a lock and key. “And you hate a lie.”
“And that’s the same thing. My parents lie to me because they think they’re protecting me. My coaches lie to me because they want a better performance and to make themselves look good. Friends lie to me to get something, and girls lie to me to be popular. So, when I ask you what Gavin is doing to you, I want an answer, because no one who claims to care about me ever just tells me the freakin’ truth!” His fists trembled at his sides as he came down from the loud and painful declaration. “I’m sorry.”
I grabbed his hands. “Don’t be sorry. You’re right. We talked about this that day and you’re right.”
“I overreacted.”
“Yeah, but you have a lot on your mind. I can see why a good run on a cold night like this would make it better. I get it.”
“I shouldn’t have said any of that to you.”
“We’re friends. You can say anything you want to me.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. Just stand here a second.”
I grabbed my phone and texted my mom again. I’m fine. Jacob is walking me home.
I took his hands again. “Now. Look at me. You asked me a question. The truth is, I don’t know what Gavin is doing. We were together almost a year. He was aggressive and it’s over, but he’s still trying to make up for everything and it’s getting weird. He shows up where I am, and he inserts himself in my life at the same time he’s dating Corey, I think. It’s so strange. When I heard someone behind me tonight, I assumed it was Gavin because he’s always just…there. I’m not afraid of him, but I don’t know what he’s capable of. And that’s the truth. I don’t know what to do about him. I don’t know what he’s doing.”
Jacob swiped his hand across his mouth. “OK. I see. Thanks for telling me.”
“Listen, Ivy is the only one who knows all this. You can’t repeat it, and you can’t mess with Gavin. I know you two have had your problems on the football field, but—”
“He’s not worth my scholarship, Mary, that’s for dang sure.”
I smiled. “Good answer.”
“Don’t get me wrong, though, you’re worth everything—”
“What?”
“Uh… Nothing. I was trying to say I can’t let something go if I see it.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. I can take care of myself. I’ll do what I have to do if it gets any worse. This isn’t your problem. Do you hear me?”
“Yeah. I hear you.”
“Good. Now let’s run.”
“What do you mean?”
“We’re gonna run. Of course, you’ll have to hold back or I’ll end up two miles behind you, but let’s just run. There’s a loop around the park in my neighborhood and it’s all lit, so let’s just run.”
I turned to take off, but he swooped me into his arms. It was the first time a guy had pulled me so close in what I thought was a romantic way since Gavin had been so pushy. My instinct was to jerk away and bolt—or even take a swing. I quickly reset my brain before the moment was lost. It was Jacob, not Gavin. Still, while I remembered the comfort and safety when Jacob helped me at the pool, I also remembered pain and a lot of blood.
I shook off the bad memory.
He was so tall, his embrace had lifted me off the ground. He loosened his grip and I slid down his body like a super-sleepy, boneless kitten. I lifted my gaze to his.
“Glass,” he said.
“What?” My breathless rom-com response surprised and annoyed me.
“There are two broken beer bottles right in front of you on the path. I didn’t want you to step on them.”
Ser-i-ous-ly?
“What?” Crap. I’d done it again.
He took two steps back and set me on the ground. “Don’t step on the glass.”
“Thanks.” I curled my arms around him and rested my head on his massive chest. “Thank you for watching out for me. Again.”
He returned my hug and swept his strong hands across my back. I felt nothing but heat, and for the second time, the distinct connection of a lock and key.
Click.
And then we
ran.
Chapter 18
Ivy
It was the grossest thing I’d ever seen.
Well, maybe only one of the grossest things I’d ever seen. My mother had recently gotten a raise at work and used it to reward me with a couple of streaming subscriptions to watch what everyone else had already seen. I’d been seeing some medical and science things that were beyond disturbing.
Then I saw what I saw by the locker room.
Corey and Gavin groped and grinded against each other like a couple of barnyard animals—but with more slobbering—and considerably more grunting.
I turned to get away as Corey slid down the wall. I considered where her mouth was headed and knew I was gonna have to have my eyeballs scrubbed out of my head.
I ducked around the corner and made a sound when I brushed a trash can.
All their noise stopped, so I did too, and flattened my back against the wall.
“Someone’s there,” Corey said.
“No one’s there,” Gavin answered.
I decided if I heard footsteps, I was going to keep walking. What could they do? Give me crap for interrupting that? Ha! I didn’t even know the consequences of what they were doing if a teacher came along.
The rustle of clothes—ewww—told me they weren’t going to check. I was on my way out until someone spoke.
“Wait,” Corey said to Gavin. “Not until we talk about the pep rally.”
“What about it? All you and the Arrows have to do is make sure Jacob is late to the gym. He needs to walk in after it’s started, and this is very important, he needs to walk in on the end that exits to the parking lot, not the end from the campus hallway. Oh, and like it’s real obvious he came in after the rest of the team.”
“He’s the star player. If anything, Coach will want him leading the guys through the blow-up arch. Something tells me they’ll know he’s missing.”
“Then your people will have to get real creative, won’t they? If you need help from my guys, let me know.”
“So, we delay Jacob and send him in a certain door. Why?”
“That part of the plan is really none of your business.”
I’d held my breath so long my heart took over and started to beat out of control. Shallow breaths didn’t help, but at least I wasn’t dizzy. I had to hear the plan. Knowing Gavin’s mean streak and Corey’s gullible nature… Wow. The combination of a diabolical mean guy and a do-anything-for-him minion could be dangerous.
“I’m serious, Gavin,” Corey said. “If the Arrows could get in trouble, we should know.”
“You won’t get in trouble. If all goes well, the Arrows won’t be on the hook for anything.”
“What are you going to do?”
“The less you know the better. Just delay Jacob and send him in the area we talked about, and make sure you’re close to an exit.”
Close to an exit…
The words reverberated in my head as Gavin’s muffled voice disappeared in what was probably him doing his best to pick up with Corey where they’d left off.
I covered my ears and headed for the door.
Move child…
Once outside, I crouched against a brick column and closed my eyes. Not one person roamed that end of the campus. All the words and images tumbled in my head and I couldn’t make sense of them. And where was Mary? I knew I was supposed to meet her by the locker room after her soccer meeting, but no one else was around. Why wasn’t anyone else around?
Move child…
“Yes, I heard you,” I whispered into my own chest. “I understand, but what am I supposed to do?”
While completely unbelievable and strange, the voice had become so familiar to me, it was no longer accompanied by the sense of a cool hand grazing my cheek. Was it weird that I was growing so in tune with my Warrior abilities that all I needed to hear was the voice?
The smell of smoke hit my nose. Not cigarette smoke, not bar-b-que smoke, not campfire smoke, but the hot-plastic scent of an electrical-type fire—a lot like the smell of the small electrical incident and/or the not-quite-a-fire from the ice cream social.
I opened my eyes and moved farther between the column and the shrubs to avoid being seen. A little cloud of black smoke appeared and hovered before my eyes.
I squeezed them shut again. “Please tell me I am not actually seeing a ball of smoke…” I looked again and the mass had grown. It pulsed in front of my face like an active storm cloud. Dark, but still fluffy, the swirling puff released more of the burning smell.
I raised my hand and drew a finger through it. “I see you. What are you trying to tell me?” I’d gotten pretty brave about the whole hallucination thing since I’d last had one. Even my heart rate had slowed.
Tendrils curled around my hand and dissipated into the air.
There was going to be a fire and…something else? It wasn’t clear. The fire wouldn’t be like the one in the Saints Café. It would be bigger and scarier, and Gavin had something to do with it.
Peace surrounded me as I stood to tap out a text to Mary.
Soccer meeting? Where are you?
She responded fast. What meeting?
We were supposed to meet today.
No. Tomorrow.
I sent a poo emoji. My bad. I’m a day off. Where are you?
Post weight-lifting smoothie with Jacob. Sorry we got our wires crossed. Wanna come?
Can’t. We need a Warrior meeting 911.
Are you OK?
Yes, but we need to talk. Corey came out the door without Gavin. Gotta run. I’ll call ASAP. All fine right now.
I fell into step with Corey as she headed from the athletic building to the front of the school. Her cold look didn’t stop me from trying.
She glanced back at the door and then to me. “What are you doing here?”
“I had a mix-up with Mary about a meeting spot. What about you?”
She didn’t answer, but it was clear she wondered if I’d heard or seen anything. “I have to go. My ride’s probably already here.”
“I miss you, Corey.”
She stopped and turned my way. “What?”
“I miss my friend. You see, my friend had a rough time and went away to get help. When she came back, she was different and didn’t want to be my friend anymore. I miss her.”
She took off walking again. “Stop talking about me in third person—or whatever that is you’re doing.”
“Then stop acting like we don’t know each other. What happened to you in that hospital, Corey? I visited you all the time and you seemed better.”
“I had lots of visitors, and I learned a lot about myself. I’ll never not be in control again. No one is ever going to bully me, and I’m going to be the one in charge of me.”
I grabbed her arm to slow her down. “Are you sure about that?”
She jerked her arm away and spun. “What do you mean?”
“We’ve talked about this before, Corey. Don’t trade one kind of manipulator for another. Who got to you in that hospital? Did someone threaten you?”
“No,” she spat out. “Someone empowered me.”
That took the air from my lungs. Nothing about her behavior seemed safe, smart, happy, or logical. Sebastian promised the Destroyer had allies. People like Gavin and Paige made sense. Could they have convinced Corey to take a darker path? Someone had twisted her brain around backward while everyone else had been working to straighten it out.
And I had no idea what to do about it.
I stepped back. “I’m here if you need me, Corey.”
“I don’t need you.”
“At least be careful. Especially with Gavin.”
“No, Ivy. You be careful.”
Chapter 19
Mary
Jacob held two smoothies. “You said surprise you. I have a veggie apple kale thing and a veggie carrot spinach thing. No extra powder because it’s late. Just pure wellness blends.”
I tried not to make a seriously disappointed face. �
��The apple one, I guess?”
“I’m kidding.” He set a plastic cup and straw in front of me and pulled out a chair. “I got you chocolate banana something. It’s vegan, but still sounds promising.”
“Oh, thank God. I’m not sure I can do kale.”
“No one can really do kale, Mary.”
I pulled my notebook out of my bag. “What’d you get?”
“I still have to do the spinach thing. No more sugar today.”
I considered his size, athletic ability, and discipline. “You must have to consume an enormous amount of calories and protein a day.”
“Yeah. I’m sure our housekeeper is really sick of cooking chicken. She does a whole bunch of food stuff for me on Sundays and stocks the fridge.”
I slid a stack of papers across the table. “That’s nice. Weekdays are busy. Especially for you right now.”
He thumbed through the pages. “What’s this?”
“I sent some docs to your laptop, but thought you could use these notes for your term paper. Your junior English teacher was also my creative writing and journalism teacher. She likes things a certain way. My notes and her feedback will give you an idea of how to make your term paper stronger.”
He dropped the top page and took a long drink. “You dug this stuff out for me?”
“Yes, Jacob, that’s for you. I thought it might help. Now, did you bring your history notes so I can quiz you?”
“You were serious about that?”
“Why wouldn’t I be serious? My mom said you could drive me two miles to my house as long as we were working out and studying. I’m close to getting my car, and she’s probably spying on me right now, so yes, I was serious.”
“For real? You suburb people are weird.”
“Hey! There’s nothing wrong with us small-community people. It’s good to know your neighbors. And this is Texas. Yes, it’s true half the people you meet are armed and drink too much sweet tea, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a great place to live.”
