Devour

by Shelly Crane

  I lay back down and smiled as I wondered if it had been real at all. It was crazy to think so, but I wanted it to be so badly.

  ~ ~ ~

  By the time I reached school the next morning, my heart was in a tizzy. I was scared; scared of what I was going to do with Tate and Dee and all the rest of them. I was a little early this morning so I sat in the courtyard under the oak with a bench around it, along with everyone else in their little groups but, I was alone.

  A couple of smiley freshman came up and asked me about joining the spirit squad. I was debating quitting, though I didn’t tell them that, so I directed them to Sarah. They gave me funny looks when I pointed them her way. I knew it was because I wasn’t sitting with my friends. I just smiled extra brightly and waited for them to move on.

  I was about to pull out my math book when I heard a commotion and looked to see Dee, Mike and Megan chanting ‘chili boy’ across the yard. Patrick was about ten feet from them and had just sat down with his friends. He shook his head and looked away from them angrily but they didn’t stop. Chili boy? That wasn’t even a good insult!

  My mind made itself up right then and before I even realized what I was doing, I’d packed up my stuff and was making my way to Patrick.

  Dee and Mike looked deviously gleeful as they slapped hands. Dee watched giddily me as she actually thought that even after her betrayal – something that was so hurtful and evil that I was confused as to how she was really even a human girl - I was coming to sit with them, but when I veered off her smile turned to disbelief.

  I heard Mike mutter, “What is she doing?”

  “Clara!” she called and waved for me to come. “I forgive you. Come sit with us,” she said snidely with a little evil smile.

  “Yeah!” Mike yelled too even though he had no idea what was going on. “It’s all good, baby.”

  I glared at them as I made my way to Patrick. When she realized what I was doing she turned bright red. No one crossed my group. They were like the Mob of high school.

  “Patrick,” I said softly and saw him stiffen before he turned. He looked at me with a little frown and waited for me to say something else. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know...I didn’t mean to put you in the middle of all that. I’m really sorry and they were wrong to act like that.”

  “You were sitting right there with them, as I recall,” he said smoothly but I could tell he was fighting for control.

  “Yes, I was,” I said and heard my voice choke back tears, “and I’m ashamed about that. I just wanted to say I was sorry,” I repeated and walked away towards the school.

  He watched me and when he saw me pass Dee and the rest of them, he yelled my name. I turned to see him standing, his friends looking between the two of us. He waved me back and I started slowly his way again. I could see Mike and Dee and the others watching us. I could practically feel the anger pouring off them as they glared daggers. And Dee. She thought she had me, that I’d have to just suck it up and endure her and everything she’d done to me. That I’d just take it, but she was wrong and now she was mad.

  “Clara, get your butt over here or have you not gotten his notes yet,” she yelled and laughed.

  Mike snickered as he bumped fist with Tommy when he walked up to join them. Megan and Sarah were just as happy as the rest of them as they giggled into their fists.

  I joined Patrick, my books in my hands, my bag over my shoulder. I looked up to him tentatively.

  “What’d you do?” he asked, his arms folded over his chest.

  “What?”

  “What did you do to the ice patrol to get shunned?”

  “I didn’t do anything. I just found out who my real friends were.”

  “And who are they?” he asked and cocked his head.

  “I don’t have any,” I said in a cheerful voice with a big fake smile.

  They all burst out laughing.

  “You’re alright, kid,” Patrick said and put his arm around my shoulder. “Come on, sit with us.”

  I sat down and really got a look of Patrick’s friends. There were five of them that hung out regularly, four guys and one girl but the girl had an almost shaved head and a nose ring connected to her earring so I was intimidated and kept my mouth shut with her. Patrick introduced me to everyone and I felt bad because they all knew who I was, but I didn’t know any of their names except Patrick.

  Then I felt it; the awareness that Eli was there. I looked up to see him staring at me. He smiled wide and knowingly. When he started to make his way to us, Dee bolted from my old group and wrapped her arms around his neck. He pulled her off gently and set her aside as he continued to walk to us.

  She huffed and started to follow him but saw where he was going and slowed. He walked right up to me, pulled me up from my bench and kissed me right there in front of everyone. I heard Patrick and his friends whistling and clapping before Eli released me, my cheeks blazing a hot crimson. I saw Dee walk red faced and angry to grab her purse and then Megan and Sarah following her as she stalked away.

  He leaned down to whisper in my ear, “I’m so proud of you, CB.” I just smiled up at him. Then he spoke again. “I told you I’d see you tomorrow, didn’t I?”

  I gasped and grabbed his shirt front. In the Reverie, he’d said that. It was real?

  “Tell me, please,” I pleaded.

  “We’ll talk later,” he said with a smile. “At my place.”

  “Promise?”

  “I promise.”

  “Hey, Eli. What’s up, man?” Patrick said and they bumped fist and did some strange hand shake, arm bumping thing. It looked intricate. “Dude, we’ve gotta show you the town this week, man. There’s a club here that’s pretty sick, if you go on the right night.”

  “Yeah, sounds good.”

  “Cool.” The bell rang ending any further comments. “See you guys later.”

  Eli walked me to home room, brushing my shoulder with his and we got many looks but I no longer cared. Everyone was used to seeing me with Tate and I’m sure it was strange for them to see me with Eli all of a sudden, but I could care less. Eli was smiling sexily as we walked and when we reached my homeroom door he leaned in, forcing me to retreat to the wall.

  “I’m so glad I can do this now,” he confessed softly and rubbed my arm discreetly.

  “Me too.” I groaned, tugging on his shirt front, my actions refuting my next words, “I gotta go.”

  “I’ll see you at lunch, ok?” he said through a broad grin that displayed his enjoyment of my actions.

  “Ok,” I said and bit my lip.

  I looked both ways and pulled him to me, feeling his smile against my skin as I kissed his cheek. But a loud bang startled us apart. We both looked over to see Tate standing at my locker, his fist firmly planted into an imprint in the metal where he had punched. He was looking at us - glaring was a more appropriate description.

  He pushed off and turned with everyone watching him like he was a ticking time bomb. He punched another locker on his way and then disappeared out of sight.

  “Crap,” I muttered.

  “Hey. Don’t worry about him,” Eli said softly and tucked my hair behind my ear. “I’ll take care of him if he wants trouble.”

  “He’s still using.”

  “I know.”

  I sighed.

  “Ok. See you at lunch. Be careful, ok?”

  He smirked.

  “You’re cute when you worry.”

  “Ha, ha,” I said and smiled before heading into class.

  ~ ~ ~

  “I can’t believe you,” Sarah scoffed and banged her locker shut as she started down the hall. “I mean, you already had this amazing hot guy and now you take the other available hot guy. What’s with you? I don’t remember you being this selfish,” Sarah said hotly.

  “Sarah, Tate hit me. He cheated on me. He’s using steroids. What was I supposed to do? Pretend it didn’t happen just to keep the clique happy? Eli has been there for me through all this.”

 
; “How convenient,” she said and tried to go around me but I stopped her.

  “Sarah, don’t be like this. You weren’t mad at Dee for hanging all over him, so why are you mad at me?”

  “It’s different.”

  “Why?” I asked in bewilderment.

  “Because she’s Dee and you’re you. I don’t know it’s just different. I didn’t expect him to go for her anyway.”

  “I can’t help it if he likes me. I didn’t chase him, it just worked out this way,” I explained.

  “It just worked out this way,” she repeated blandly and stopped to look at me. “And what was that stunt with Patrick this morning. WTH, Clara?”

  “What they were doing was wrong and you know it. Dee and Mike and everybody else shouldn’t be able to just do whatever they want to people just because they are who they are.”

  “Whatever. You never complained before.”

  “I know. And I’m making up for lost time now.”

  “You’re not going to sit with us at lunch, are you?”

  I hesitated, already knowing the answer but dreading her reaction.

  “No. I can’t. I don’t want to be around Tate.”

  “Well, I guess that’s it then isn’t it?” she spouted and started walking again.

  “Is it really that important to you? To be sitting at that table?”

  “Yes! It’s all I have, Clara! I’m not pretty like you. I don’t have guys throwing themselves at me. All I have are them and that table.”

  I stopped following her and let her go.

  “You can sit with me anytime you want,” I called after her.

  I met Eli at the door to our next class. I’d told him I wanted to talk to Sarah before class. He had wanted to go with me because of Tate but I assured him his class was way away from ours.

  “How’d it go?” he asked and ushered me into class with a hand on my back.

  “As expected.”

  “Sorry.”

  “It’s ok. If paying for your past sins were easy, everyone would do it right?”

  He smirked down at me.

  “Very philosophical. And true.”

  “Seats, people,” the teacher grunted as she entered and I made my way to mine.

  Class went by slowly, waiting for lunch. I dreaded it but, also welcomed it. I needed to get this over with and the sooner the better. I wondered if Patrick would have a problem with my sitting with them or not. I was sure Eli and I could sit alone somewhere else.

  I laughed under my breath. I was an outcast! It was hilarious and liberating. After spending my whole life being seen as some spoiled and undeserving privileged cool kid, I was a loser! And it felt awesome. I turned to Eli to see him smiling at me, like he knew what I was thinking. I smiled back and bit my lip when he winked at me. I heard a loud ‘ahem’ from the front of the room and looked to see the teacher with a brow raised, eyeing us both.

  I mouthed a sorry and she shook her head in amusement before going on with class. Then the bell rang.

  Eli and I walked together after we went to his locker. I realized that was why he always got there after us. We shuffled our way to the cafeteria and stopped in the doorway, my heart galloping. Eli took my cold hand in his and brought it up to his mouth to kiss my fingers. He leaned towards me and whispered in my ear.

  “It’s ok, Clara Belle. I’m right here with you.”

  Five

  “How do you know my name?”

  “I’ll explain it all tonight. Promise.”

  “Is your family going to be there?” I said, feeling suddenly way more anxious about that than I felt for this cafeteria right now.

  “No. I live alone.”

  “Live alone? At eighteen? But I thought you said you live with your parents?”

  “Sweetheart,” he crooned and my heart jumped. No one had ever called me that before and it did funny things to me. I bit my lip. He groaned and pressed his face to my hair. “Clara, you’re killing me,” he whispered.

  “What do you mean?” I whispered, confused.

  “Nothing.” He took a deep breath. “I’ll tell you everything. I’ll answer every question...tonight. Ok?”

  “Ok.”

  “But promise me something.”

  “Alright.”

  He hesitated and looked at me seriously and for long seconds.

  “Promise you won’t hate me.”

  He’d said that in a Reverie once too.

  “Why would I hate you? Eli, you’re scaring me. What, do you have a wife and kids somewhere?” I joked and he laughed sadly and pushed my hair back from my face.

  “I only wish it was that simple. Don’t worry, it’s nothing like that. I have faith that you’ll be able to handle it...I just can’t lose you. Not after only just finding you.”

  “I have no idea what that means, but I promise to keep an open mind.”

  “That’s all I can ask of you,” he said and took my bag from my shoulder. I followed him as he set our stuff at a table and then pushed me from behind with his hands on my sides to get in line. “I’m starving.”

  “Me too. What are you getting?”

  “Hmmm. So many choices,” he mused sarcastically.

  I looked it all over. The lunch lady, who’d I’d never met before because I never ate school food, gave me a foul look as I left a gap between me and the guy in front of me in my indecision.

  “I’ll take the chicken fingers. Please.”

  She slopped them on my plate and I trudged down the line, after grabbing a juice and honey mustard sauce. Then I remembered that I had no idea what lunch cost and I had no money on me. Eli skipped me at the register and said he was paying for both. He smirked at me and we made our way to the table. Tate was already seated with everyone else and they stared at me in disbelief. Tate’s face was tight, his fist balled up on the table and he stared me down all the way until I sat down. Dee looked like she was about to explode but then made her way over to Tate. She rubbed his shoulder but he threw her hand off and glared at her before looking back at me.

  I sat with my back to them and looked at Patrick tentatively to see if he’d object to my sitting with them. He saw me looking and winked. I smiled and tasted my chicken. It was pretty good and tasted nothing like the feet everyone claimed. All the guys talked about this club they’d been to the night before. Monoxide. It was supposed to be an everything club, different nights for different tastes. Like Monday was chick rock night, Tuesday was Goth and Pain night (I didn’t ask him to further that explanation) and Thursday nights were rock night and they had live bands there.

  Today was Wednesday so naturally they asked if we wanted to go with them tomorrow night. Apparently it was a weekly ritual for them. Eli looked at me and shrugged but then his expression changed and he cleared his throat.

  “We’ll let you know tomorrow,” he said carefully and I realized he thought there might not be a tomorrow for him and me.

  He was worried about whatever it was he was going to tell me; that I’d want nothing to do with him. That frightened me a little but I knew it was possible for him to go into my subconscious. I was already believing and open minded to the supernatural at this point. What was he going to say? He was an angel or something?

  When the bell rang I turned to see Tate already gone. Good. Eli walked me to class and later in Art, we had to do a sketch portrait of our desk partner.

  “Oh, I can’t wait to see this,” Eli snickered as he posed, his head on his hand, looking at me.

  “Don’t move. That’s perfect,” I said with a hand up.

  I started on his hair and outlined his face. His nose and lips were next. I lingered on his mouth, getting the shape of his smirk just right. His eyes and his eyebrow ring. His ears and neck. His arm holding up his jaw, lean but muscular and sinewy. The bell dinged to tell us it was time to switch.

  “Can I see it?”

  “Sure,” I slid it towards him, “but it’s not that good.”

  He pulled it to him and looke
d at it. His smile was genuine, I could tell, as he glanced between me and the drawing.

  “It’s really good, CB.”

  “CB?” I asked, amused.