Storm Shades

by Olivia Stephens

  “I’ll take you.” His eyes soften. For a split second, Sofie wonders if he really is as good a liar as he’s pretending to be.

  “I’d rather make my own way.” Sofie knows that there’s no way she can handle being trapped in a car with this man, not with all the emotions flying around her body. At least in a cab, she could curl up on the back seat and let the tears come, holding them in was starting to hurt her chest.

  “Do you have to argue with everything I say? I’ll get my keys.” He looks at her, as if he thinks she might run away while he’s inside the house, but she’s had enough adventures in the woods to know that plan would be the worst possible idea.

  She takes a few deep breaths, looking up at the bright blue sky. There’s not one cloud in sight. The air is warm and has that fresh smell you only get outside of the city. It was a perfect morning, except for the fact that Sofie felt like her heart had been torn in two.

  She gets into the truck, slamming the door hard, angry with herself for being so stupid. She wasn’t a teenager. She knew that you didn’t fall in love with someone in a couple of days. Whatever she was feeling, it wasn’t love, and it wasn’t heartbreak. It was just disappointment, disappointment that she had been so wrong about someone that had seemed so right. That’s what she keeps repeating to herself.

  As they drive in silence, Sofie keeps her gaze fixed out of the window, watching as the tears start to blur her vision. All she wants is to get out of that car and never see Ashton again, that would be a good start to making herself feel better. She doesn’t want to speak to him, to see him, even to hear his name.

  But Ashton has other ideas. “About last night...in the woods...”

  Sofie feels him cast a sidelong glance at her, but she keeps facing away from him. “Don’t worry. I’ll keep you and your little group of vigilantes’ a secret. I won’t turn you in.” She can’t even bring herself to care about what she had witnessed the night before; it pales in significance to what she was feeling now.

  “Thank you.” Ashton’s voice is gentle, and it seems like he wants to say something more. Sofie feels her whole body tense, as she waits to hear what’s coming next, willing him to say something that will explain or even erase the way he’s been acting all morning. But nothing comes.

  The drive to the motel seems to take hours, but it can only have been about twenty minutes. There’s nothing so excruciatingly awkward as sitting in a car with someone you’ve slept with and not exchanging a word, she thinks. As Ashton pulls into the parking lot, she mumbles her thanks and goes to jump out of the truck.

  “This isn’t how I wanted things to be.” Ashton’s admission stops her in her tracks. The gentleness has returned to his voice, and it sparks a small fire of hope in her.

  “Then, why are you doing this?” She looks at him, her eyes sparkling with tears, and she tries to read in his face whatever it is that he’s trying so hard not to say.

  He shakes his head, like it’s not a question he can answer, raking his fingers through his dark blonde hair, still wet from his shower this morning. “I’d really like us to still be friends.”

  Sofie’s mouth hangs open as he says the words that every woman dreads hearing after having sex with someone. “Just a tip,” she replies sarcastically, “don’t sleep with women that you just want to be friends with.” She hops out of the car, slamming the door hard.

  “Sofie!” The voice makes her freeze. It can’t be, she thinks, not now. Her gaze scans the lot and sees the stretched limo with the windows blacked out and there it is, the license plate she was hoping not to see. SHALE 4. As if this day couldn’t get any worse, Luke Calambor steps out of the car. “Sofie, good to see you.” He walks towards her holding her at arm’s length and running his eyes over her. She has to rein in her temptation to pull away from him.

  “Mr. Calambor!” Sofie tries to sound bright. “We hadn’t realized you would be coming to the site so soon. What a great surprise!” She hates herself for putting on this show for him, but she knows that it’s safer to have him in a good mood than a bad. She’s seen him lose his temper, and she’s resolved not to be on the receiving end of that particular treat again.

  “Well, after Dr. Grey told me about those samples you sent her, I couldn’t stay away. That’s what I’ve always loved about Jennie—she’s such a reliable employee.” Luke smiles at her in a way that brings to mind a snake.

  “Jennie came to you about the samples?” Sofie tries not to sound so surprised, but that didn’t sound like the person that she knows, the person who she had trusted.

  “Of course. That’s protocol.” Luke looks at her, as if challenging her, but Sofie remains silent, not wanting to give anything else away. “I didn’t want to waste any time. The PR girls think we need to start drumming up support for the drilling ASAP.” Luke sounds so excited and, almost unconsciously he starts running his hands up and down Sofie’s bare arms, making her skin crawl. Luke was a handsome man, he had that preppy, moneyed presence about him, but his greed and his sense of entitlement was enough to counter-balance his looks as far as Sofie was concerned, not to mention the fact that he’s married. Something over her shoulder catches his attention, and his hands stop their stroking, his expression hardening. “Who’s your friend?”

  Sofie follows his eyes to Ashton’s truck, which is still stopped only a few feet away from them. He’s gripping the steering wheel like if he lets go he might fall off, and he’s staring at Luke with an intensity that would make most men take a step back. But Luke seems to be enjoying having an audience, he smiles at Sofie, going back to stroking her arm.

  “Darwin said that you had quite a party last night.” Luke looks at Sofie and flicks his gaze over her shoulder at Ashton, his implication clear.

  Sofie finds her voice again. “Yeah, we all needed to let off some steam. But I guess I’m not much of a party animal anymore. I fell asleep after a couple of drinks.” Sofie forces a laugh at her own expense. “Ashton was kind enough to give me a lift back this morning.”

  “Isn’t that neighborly of him?” The sarcasm in Luke’s voice is palatable, but Sofie doesn’t entertain it.

  “I should go and get ready for the survey, wouldn’t want to hold the team up.” She sidesteps her boss and tries very hard not to run for the entrance of the motel. As she reaches the doors, she hears an engine rev. When she looks over her shoulder, she sees Ashton driving away, and Luke staring hard after him. She couldn’t shake the feeling that this day was about to get a whole lot more complicated.

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