Devour

by E. K. Blair

  When the news came on and there was no word of my vandalism or whatever the guys had done, I uncurled my legs and headed to bed.

  Mason followed me.

  “What?” I went to brush my teeth in my bathroom.

  He perched on my bed, studying me with an impenetrable gaze. He barely blinked. “That car thing should’ve been on the news. Cops would’ve been called.”

  “It wasn’t.” I moved back to the room after rinsing my mouth.

  “You seemed sure of it.”

  “I was.” I pulled off my top, then my bra.

  He still didn’t blink and he sounded bored. “How’d you know that guy?”

  “He’s the coach at my school.” I pulled on a tight tank and then shimmied out of my pants. The light hadn’t been turned on so the room was dark except for a small amount of light that shone through my windows from behind a clump of clouds.

  “That was your dad.”

  I hesitated and held my breath. He looked like a statue, a god made of stone with the light’s shadow on him. His eyes were intense as he seemed to stare through me, into me.

  “Yeah,” I spoke in a small voice.

  He nodded. “I got it.”

  As he moved past, his hand brushed my leg and lingered on the curve of my thigh.

  I closed my eyes as a stab of desire flared in me. This wasn’t supposed to be. I hadn’t expected this.

  Then he moved past and out the door. My hands and legs were a bit shaky when I crawled under the sheets.

  It was past midnight, but I lay in bed. My mind was reeling from the look on David’s face. There was a haunted feel to him, then when he saw the firecrackers in my hand a look of disappointment came next. For a second, I’d been ashamed but then I remembered the lie he had been a part of and everything hardened, it all became clear again.

  He deserved it. He deserved more.

  ‘That was your dad...I got it.’

  Mason’s voice floated in there too. My chest tightened each time I heard it. His face was unreadable, he was always unreadable, but something softened when he spoke those words. Heat flared all over my body and I threw back the sheets. I gasped as the cool air hit my skin, but another need pulsated between my legs. I clamped them together and hoped it would pass. It was an annoyance and not something I needed right now.

  The sound of my phone woke me the next morning. When I answered, Becky greeted me with a chirpy voice, “Morning! Whatchadointoday?”

  “Huh?”

  “Come over. My family’s grilling this afternoon and Adam’s family is coming too. It’ll be fun.”

  I grimaced against how sunshiney her voice sounded. My head pounded. “Yeah, maybe.”

  “Oh, come on, Sam. What else are you going to do today? Homework? You can do it here.”

  “Why do I feel like there’s no other option here?”

  “Because there’s not. Be here in an hour or I’m coming to get you.”

  I grinned at that threat. “It’ll be more than an hour. I’m going to go for a run first.”

  “Okay. Just come. We start grilling after church.”

  The clock said it was nine. “When is that?”

  “After noon.”

  “You told me to come in an hour, but you’re going to church?”

  “My mom goes to church. The rest of us stay home.”

  “Oh. Okay.”

  “Just come. Okay, Sammm?”

  “Yeah, okay. Be there in a couple of hours.”

  “See ya!” There she went away, chirping, as she ended the call.

  It didn’t take me long to get ready for my run and when I headed downstairs, the guys were in the kitchen. Coffee had been made and each had their own mugs. Mason lounged against a counter while Nate had hopped up on the counter. As I came closer, Logan was skirting around the kitchen. He seemed to be bouncing around with too much energy, but he stopped when he saw me first.

  “Should we take bets? An hour? Two?”

  Mason narrowed his eyes over his coffee cup. “I say an hour.”

  Nate grunted and dropped to the floor. He busied himself inside the fridge.

  Logan draped an arm over his brother’s shoulders and grinned at me.

  My back straightened. His smile seemed more of a leer and I heard the mocking tone in his voice.

  “She did see her dad last night so I’m guessing two hours, maybe more? Sound right, wannabe sister?”

  My mouth tightened and I grabbed a water bottle from the pantry. “Don’t be stupid.”

  When I moved to the door, Logan was in front of me in a flash. He laughed at me. “Did I hit a nerve? Your claws are showing.”

  I shoved him out of the way. “What do you think?”

  He opened his mouth for a retort, but I slammed the door shut behind me. I hadn’t taken two steps away before I heard his high-pitched laughter on the other side. Mason barked something and it stopped.

  I sighed, but tried to clear my mind. That was what running was for. My head needed to be clear. I needed to quiet the storm in me and after an hour, it was successfully subsided. Sweat dropped from me as I made my way back into the house and I hadn’t made it to the stairs before I heard my mother’s voice.

  “Really, Samantha. Can you dry off a bit before coming inside after your runs?”

  I gritted my teeth and wanted to go right back for another run.

  She came from one of the side rooms dressed in a yellow dress and a white sunhat. Her make-up was done flawlessly with bright red lipstick. Pink lipstick had been her favorite until a month ago.

  She stopped in front of me and her hands perched on her hips. “David called me last night. We came back earlier because of it. What were you thinking, honey?”

  I knew my eyes were either heated or they looked dead. It was one or the other because both emotions twisted inside of me. “You’re a calculated woman. Figure it out.”

  “Sam—” She started to follow when I went up the stairs, but James’ voice pulled her back.

  “Analise?” he called from the hallway.

  She sighed with a dark frown, but went to him.

  I hurried upstairs and got ready for Becky’s. Thirty minutes later and I was back out the door. It was a welcoming feeling with the mansion in my rearview mirror and when I went inside of Becky’s house, the two places contrasted sharply. One was homey and welcoming and the other had a stranger’s coldness.

  An older woman, probably in her mid-forties, welcomed me at the door. Her dark brown hair was pulled up in a ponytail and freckles covered her face. It made her look tanned and healthy as her eyes sparkled in warmth. “You must be Samantha. Rebecca has told me so much about you.”

  “Yeah...”

  She gestured inside. “Come in, come in. I’m Laura, her mother.”

  “Sam!” Becky hollered from somewhere inside. “Tell her to come out here, mom.”

  Laura patted me on the back. “Make yourself at home. Pretend this is your home from now on. Everyone’s in the backyard. I was grabbing some fruit platters on my way back.”

  “Do you want some help?” I watched as she started to lift two giant silver trays of meat and fruit.

  “Oh, no. Go and have fun. We’re not going to get these nice summer days for long.”

  “Hi, Sam!” Becky waved from a small pool in her backyard. The raft slipped from underneath her and she screamed as she fell into the water.

  Adam shook his head and came over with a can of soda. He had a lopsided grin on and sunglasses in place, dressed in only red swim trunks. “She can never stay on those things on a sober day.”

  I took the can from him. “She’s drinking?”

  “Wine coolers, nothing hard.”

  “But.” I saw Laura at a picnic table where the food had been compiled. Another older lady was with her. She had blonde hair and wore a similar dress like my mother’s. Something told me this was Adam’s mother. “Her parents are here.”

  He shrugged and gestured to two recliners by the p
ool. “They’re pretty lax about it. My folks aren’t. If my mom saw a beer in my hand, I’d be running killers at five in the morning for a month.”

  “She doesn’t say anything to Becky’s parents?”

  “They have different parenting styles, but they’re old friends. They respect each other.”

  “Oh.” For some reason I felt weird as I sat beside him. Becky came over a moment later with a towel wrapped around her. She perched on the end of my seat and water dripped off of her.

  “Did you hear about the Roussou players last night?”

  Everything snapped to attention in me, but I drawled out, “What do you mean?”

  She leaned forward with an eager grin. “I heard the Kades went there with their friends. They wrecked your dad’s car at the Roussou’s coach’s house and slashed a bunch of their football players’ tires. Can you believe that?”

  Adam frowned.

  “Did your dad say anything?”

  I felt Adam watching me, but gave her a casual look. “Oh, no. He didn’t say anything about it.”

  “That’s probably because he won’t press charges. Your dad’s nice like that, but I would if it were my car. I can’t believe they did that. I wish they played for our team. We’d go to state for sure.”

  Laura called out, “Rebecca, go and get your brothers from the basement.”

  She frowned and stood up. “My stupid little brothers.” And off she went, muttering under her breath.

  “You haven’t told her?”

  I shot him a look and remembered he knew about my situation. My shoulders stiffened and the chair became uncomfortable to sit on. “It’s no one’s business.”

  “She’s your friend.”

  “She’s been someone I talk to for the last week. That’s all.”

  “Really?” His eyes mocked me.

  “It’s none of your business either.”

  “Except that Coach Strattan’s my coach and he’s the best coach I’ve ever met.”

  “You’ve only been on his team.”

  “I do football camps in the summer, Sam. He’s the best coach I’ve met and that’s including FC Public’s coaches. They got lucky that the Kades didn’t go to our school. They didn’t develop their talent at all.”

  I studied him underneath my eyelashes. “You sound a little jealous?”

  He grimaced and stood up. “The Kades are some talented sons of bitches, that’s all I’m saying. Your dad would’ve made them better than they are, they might be more respectful too. All they are is rich a-holes right now.”

  “Sam, Adam.” Becky waved us over to the food table. “We need to grab our food first before my little brothers and all their friends get out here. They’re like bugs; their saliva will be crawling all over the food.”

  And after we sat at a far table with our plates; eight boys who looked like they were in seventh grade burst through the back door. They swarmed around the table. Becky was right. As the afternoon passed, the guys never left the food for long. They were different heights, but all were skinny except for one that looked on the pudgy side. When Becky got up and got us some more beverages, her brothers and their friends took over the pool too.

  She sighed as she popped open a beer. “There goes my tanning today. Little rodents.”

  Adam laughed and stole the water she had nabbed. “Come off it. You love your brothers and you know it. You dote on Jake and Greg.”

  She scowled. “I’m going to make their lives hell. JAKE!”

  A boy popped his head out of the water. “What?”

  “If you don’t get your little friends out of the pool, I’m going to tell mom and dad what’s under your TV.”

  He froze and his eyes got wide.

  Then Adam laughed and stood up. “Don’t worry about her, Jake. She won’t do that to you. Come on, Becks.” He tugged her from the table. “Let’s you and me take Sam to the movies.”

  A pink flush came over her cheeks, but she pretended to pull against his hold on her. “I wanted to tan today, Adam.”

  He laughed again and swatted her butt. “Go get cute. We can make a matinee and it’ll be my treat.”

  I watched as she tried not to make it look like she was hurrying inside. Then I frowned when he sat back down. “You’re not being nice again.”

  His eyebrows lifted slightly. “I thought I was being really nice.”

  “You’re not and you know it. What’s your game?”

  He let out a deep breath and glanced at his lap. A moment later he peeked over and I followed his gaze. Two older men were in a heated conversation. Their hands were in the air and each had a can of beer. “I don’t feel like being here. My dad just got here.”

  “Which one?”

  “The tall guy. He got here from a meeting ten minutes ago.”

  From the way he said that and how he was scowling at him, I figured Adam knew something I couldn’t discern. His dad was handsome. He was an older version of Adam and he was dressed in custom fitted shorts with a white shirt. He could’ve been a model for a summer GQ edition.

  Becky’s dad was the opposite. His white wife beater had stains from the grill and his beer belly hung over his board shorts. He had a slight worshipful look on his face as he debated something with Adam’s dad.

  “Did he really have a meeting?”

  Adam’s mother had grown silent next to Laura where they sat underneath a patio umbrella.

  He sighed. “What do you think?”

  Understanding dawned. “This is why I’ve kept quiet about my situation.”

  “Yeah, well, that’s not going to happen to me. He’ll never leave her.”

  I heard the bitterness and asked, “You want him to?”

  “I want her to.”

  I fell quiet. I didn’t know what to say.

  Then Adam surprised me when he tapped my arm gently. “My mom works for James Kade, you know. She’s the assistant to his junior assistant.”

  I shot him a dark look. “So?”

  He shrugged. “So nothing. She talks about how nice he is to her.”

  Relief flooded me and my shoulders sagged forward. Then I gave him a wicked grin. “Oh, so are you saying you could be stepbrothers with Mason and Logan Kade.”

  He grinned. “Yeah, right. Wouldn’t that be a joke?”

  I didn’t know what else to say and Adam fell into a quiet slump. We were both like that, dazing off into our thoughts when Becky rushed outside. She had changed into khaki shorts and a loose top. Her hair was pulled into a high ponytail and she had a small amount of make-up on. Her eyelashes were black and long. I’d never seen her dressed how she was, even when we went to the party.

  She looked nice and I cast a look at Adam underneath my eyelids. Did he think so? But he stood up and shot forward to his car. Her shoulders dropped an inch and the corners of her mouth turned down, but then she flashed me a bright smile.

  “Do I look okay?” She touched the ends of her hair and patted them into place. They already were, but she kept pressing them down.

  “You look good.” And I meant it.

  She cast me a furtive glance. “Not like you. You look great, like always.”

  I frowned.

  “How was your date?” She put the chirpy note back in her voice and fell in line beside me as we followed where Adam had gone to his car. He waited for us, not within hearing distance.

  I hesitated. Now I wasn’t being the nice friend.

  “Come on.” She nudged me with her shoulder. “I really want to know.”

  “Becky.” I grabbed her arm and held her back. “You like him.”

  Her mouth twisted, but she gave me a smile after. “It doesn’t matter. He doesn’t like me, not like that.”

  “He could.”

  “No, he couldn’t. He practically drools any time you enter a room. He’s always had a thing for you.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Even before last year, he was interested. You were dating Jeff, though, so he
asked Ashley out.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “Yeah, duh.” She rolled her eyes, but frowned when she saw that I was biting my lip. “You didn’t know? Really?”

  I shook my head. “I didn’t know that Jess had been sleeping with Jeff for two years. How was I supposed to know this?”

  “Oh. Well.” Her shoulders lifted and dropped in a dramatic way. “You got your chance now.”

  Except I didn’t and I didn’t want it. Then I remembered last night when Mason touched me, how his fingers lingered on my thigh. I shivered as the same desire swept through me again.

  Not good. None of this was good.

  “Are you two coming or what?” Adam called us over.

  “Yeah!” Becky shouted back and dragged me after with a forced excited look in her eyes. She tried to sit in the back, but I made her sit in the front.

  As we went to the theatre I slumped in the back of the car and was quiet on the drive over. Both tried to pull me into the conversation, but admitted defeat when we got closer to the mall. I listened to them talking when we got our tickets and took our seats.

  Their conversation wasn’t forced. There was no taunting, strained silences, or fakeness. They sounded like two friends who’d known each other all their lives and then I realized that they had known each other all their lives. They were neighbors. Their parents were friends.

  I made the decision then that I’d try to be the friend for Becky that she seemed to be for everyone else.

  I sighed. If only I knew how.

  ***

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  “We get out of practice early tonight. Your da—David’s got something, I guess.” Adam dropped a shoulder against the locker beside mine when I arrived the next morning to school. He folded his arms and his backpack’s straps cut into the muscles on his arms and chest.

  That annoyed me for some reason and I opened my locker to stuff the bag lunch Mousteff had shoved at me that morning. He had muttered, like he always did, but this time I was certain I’d heard a few curse words. And I was certain they were directed at me, well, me or my mother. Then I relaxed as I considered that. He was probably pissed about my mom again. That made more sense.