“Go on, go on,” Terzini urged.
Gabriel approached his manipulation of Terzini with extreme caution. He kept his face expressionless and his intonation flat and emotionless. It was imperative for him to present a lucid, rational explanation for his earlier actions.
“Wouldn’t it have drawn attention to me, and to us, had I ignored the situation and not helped a girl who was being attacked?” he asked then added, “And she saw me, too. That would not have been in keeping with the behavioral patterns of feeling human beings. Furthermore, I know that I disobeyed your direct orders by attending the school function. My objective was sound. My intent was to further submerge myself into the student populace, to blend seamlessly. I told many of my fellow students that I was going. Not attending would have made me seem odd on my first day. I am supposed to blend unnoticed,” he reasoned. “I went, as most other students did, and I responded in a crisis much like any of them would have, sir.”
Terzini did not respond immediately, but allowed Gabriel’s counterpoint to linger in the air. He stood eerily still, his face expressionless, inscrutable. His maker’s gaze did not waver. It remained on Gabriel. He was forced to wait uncomfortably as Terzini deliberated internally.
When finally ready to speak, Terzini was firm and businesslike.
“Let us go to the police station before the officers become suspicious of our whereabouts. Go to the study and secure our identification information from the desk drawer. Remember, at the police station, I am your father. You must refer to me as ‘dad’ not ‘doctor’. I am Mr. James.”
“Yes sir.”
“And as for the situation this evening, you will not associate with anyone in any type of extracurricular capacity, ever. Is that understood, Gabriel?”
Gabriel knew that such infractions would not be tolerated; that he had received a singular pardon. Though his creator was arrogant to a fault, he dared not underestimate him a second time.
“Yes sir.”
“This must never happen again. If something like this happens again, I will destroy you,” he warned callously before releasing Gabriel from his arresting watch.
Gabriel’s mind spun out of control as he turned from Terzini and walked to the study. He knew he would have to figure out a way to see Melissa aside from at school.
Chapter 3
On Monday morning, Melissa arrived at school fifteen minutes before the first bell sounded. She needed the extra time to prepare for her day. She did not sleep much over the weekend. Too much time had been devoted to agonizing over this day. She knew there would be whispers and stares, questions even, and thought the sooner she arrived and handled whatever arose, the better off she would be.
She felt certain the entire school knew what had happened at the bonfire Friday night, but Melissa did not know what consequences to expect. She had been drugged. Kevin tried to rape her. Though the facts were plain that she was the victim, she wondered whether his immense influence alone would lend him credibility and exonerate him from what he did, what he had tried to do.
Her thoughts swirled around the many factors that contributed to public opinion, churned at the idea that intentional drugging and attempted rape could be excused by his reputation
Her worry filled the weekend. She fretted over the judgments of her classmates. Yet all the while, she found it impossible to reflect on the incident without considering Gabriel. She had not spoken to him all weekend and wondered whether he had gone to the police department with his father and given his statement.
Standing before her locker on the morning she had dreaded for two days, her hands trembled. Two days and an extra fifteen minutes were not sufficient time to brace herself for unknown and possibly harsh judgment of her fellow students. She fumbled with uncooperative fingers, attempting the combination on the dial of her locker. After several unsuccessful tries, she finally opened it.
As she searched her locker for specific books, she heard footsteps approaching. For a fleeting moment, she wondered whether her body would fit in the narrow locker, if she could closet herself inside until graduation.
Melissa assumed the impending footfalls belonged to a fellow student in search of juicy gossip. Her knees felt rubbery from nerves as she prepared for the beginning of a day of unending prying. Nevertheless, she stood ready to decline answering any questions. She took a deep breath to calm herself before she closed the door of her locker and simultaneously attempted to balance a stack of textbooks and binders in one arm. But Melissa’s deflection was not necessary. As she looked up from her toppling stack of books, she saw a familiar pair of deep-set, sapphire eyes staring at her. Entranced by the depth of their color, her hands trembled and her mind swirled for a different reason. Her pulse quickened and she felt the warmth of a deep blush spread across her cheeks as the notebooks and hardcovers tumbled from her arm and fell to the floor.
Gabriel smiled and stooped to help her gather her things. She was relieved to see him rather than a nosey classmate.
“Oh you don’t have to do that,” she smiled and fumbled as they collected her belongings. “Thanks so much for helping.”
“No problem,” he replied. “You okay?”
“Um, not really. I’m kind of a mess today as you can see,” she admitted.
“I’m so sorry.”
“I didn’t hear from you this weekend. I mean, I had hoped you’d call me.” Melissa’s blush deepened.
“Yeah, about that, my dad was not too happy about having to go to the police station in the middle of the night.”
Melissa winced. “Oh God! You helped me and I got you in trouble. Great. Way to go me! Did he ground you?”
Melissa was deeply saddened, to say the very least, and felt responsible for Gabriel’s punishment. She did not intend to get him in trouble, but did. The blame was hers.
Her insides quaked at the thought of Gabriel being punished for helping her. The fault was hers, yet she was powerless to help him as he had helped her, which got him into trouble first. The irony of the circumstances was unfathomable.
“According to him, my punishment hasn’t even begun,” Gabriel murmured.
“Gabriel, I am so sorry. I mean, the last thing I wanted to do was cause problems for you.”
“He’ll get over it,” Gabriel said offhandedly. “It’s been a long time since he was a teenager.”
Melisa regretted ever agreeing to spend time with Kevin Anderson. Her poor judgment had begun a chain of events with profound consequences, some of which had yet to manifest themselves.
Gabriel opened his mouth to speak but closed it immediately as he turned and saw Kevin approaching. His eyes were bruised and a piece of white tape sat across his swollen nose.
Melissa felt faint and dizzy and feared she would vomit as Kevin advanced. Flanked by his minions, Chris Mace, John DeNardi and Eric Sala, Kevin shot her a withering glance. Gabriel stepped in front of her, positioning himself protectively.
“Whoa, down boy,” Kevin said sarcastically. “Get a leash for your attack dog, Melissa.”
“What do you want, Kevin?” Melissa asked, struggling to steady her voice.
“I just wanted to thank you for sending the cops to my house Friday night. It gave me the opportunity to tell them my side of the story, you know, the truth.”
His words were cutting and dripping with hostility. Melissa had been the victim and had truthfulness on her side. But Kevin’s arrogance and anger made him sound as if he had been the one wronged. She found herself thrown completely off balance.
“Your side of the story?” she wondered aloud.
“Yeah, you know, how you were popping pills at the bonfire and how you and your boyfriend here were drunk and drugged out and jumped me in the woods,” Kevin began.
“What?” Melissa asked incredulously. She was thrown by his accusation, the ridiculousness, the inaccuracy.
He ignored her question and continued. “Of course, I told them the facts after my parents called the family lawyer. Made tho
se flatfoots wait nearly an hour while Alan Shapiro drove up from his estate in Bedford Hills,” he bragged. “In case you’re wondering, yes, it is the same Alan Shapiro that was on the Today show over the summer. He represents celebrities and my family.”
“Get the hell out of here Kevin, now!” Gabriel warned in a low, threatening voice.
Kevin persisted, disregarding Gabriel’s warning, with his unrelenting speech. Melissa felt her legs threaten to give way beneath her as his monologue was beginning to draw a crowd.
The group formed with a single student who stood by her locker to be in earshot. Quickly, however, more joined him.
Incited further by the gathering audience, Kevin carried on.
“The bullshit story that you spun, Melissa, was something else. I’ll give you credit for that. Me trying to rape you? Please! That is about as obvious as a lie can get!”
Kevin no longer spoke just to her. He was addressing an audience. He was orating, performing.
“After my parents and my lawyer finished with those cops, they were apologizing to me. And you,” Kevin gestured to Gabriel. “You’ve been here what, two days, and you go to the cops to try to set me up for this piece of white-trash ass?” he accused. “Do you even know who I am? This is my school. I’ve lived here all my life. I am this fucking place.”
Kevin had raised his voice so that he was close to shouting. He began rattling off his accomplishments as if his school resume would somehow validate his story.
“I’m all-state in football, basketball and wrestling. Teachers love me, my classmates love me,” he boasted. “You think your bullshit statement to the police is going to change anything? I have a future–college, a great job, money. And where will you go, Melissa?” Kevin directed his attention back to Melissa. “Maybe you’ll go to community college or maybe you’ll work for you dad at the supermarket stacking bananas for him. Either way you will always be poor white trash.”
Melissa was paralyzed by the ugliness of his words, by his cruelty. Her feet felt immobile, as if weighted by lead boots. Her mind willed her to leave, to get out of the line of fire, but her legs remained inert as his words assailed her. Students circled her and Gabriel. Some whispered, others screwed up their faces and shook their heads in disapproval. Her head began to spin. Panic seized her. But his bitterness was unrelenting.
Kevin’s voice faded in and out as he spoke to Gabriel, “My dad even suggested that I press charges against you, pretty boy.”
Gabriel ignored Kevin. Instead, he focused on her and her deteriorating condition.
“I’ll deal with you another time,” Gabriel threatened through clenched teeth. “And I promise you’ll have more than a broken nose next time.”
Melissa could not distinguish one menacing face from the next, they melded together to form a unified, nightmarish image. The animosity of the horde was palpable, their ill will clear. Gabriel wrapped his hand around hers and pulled her toward him before pressing through the crowd.
As the two pushed passed the perimeter of students, Melissa’s legs lightened and she quickened her pace from a brisk walk to a jog. Shoving open the metal exit door, they stepped into the rear parking lot.
Immediately, Melissa and Gabriel were bathed in golden light. The brilliance of the day was a stark contrast to the darkness that lurked in the confines of the school building. Blinded briefly, they had to squint to locate Gabriel’s SUV.
After their eyes adjusted from the gloom of the school to the lustrous glow outside, Gabriel found his car. He quickly opened the passenger side door for Melissa then climbed in and turned the key in the ignition. The SUV roared to life. He depressed the gas pedal and the two left the campus of Harbingers High School.
The abundant sunshine had warmed the leather interior of the vehicle but Melissa still felt cold inside. She wrapped her arms around her body to combat the chill. Gabriel, attuned to her need, turned on the heater. She felt drained by what had happened at the school. She could not summon the energy to speak. Instead, she tipped her head back on the headrest and gazed into the intense sunlight. Melissa and Gabriel drove in silence to the entrance of Interstate 29.
Gabriel broke the silence and spoke first. “Hey, don’t let that dirtbag get to you Melissa.”
“Huh, too late for that,” Melissa replied sadly.
“I’m serious. That guy is scum. Everyone will see that.”
Melissa turned to face Gabriel, saw how his golden skin glowed in the sunlight.
“You were there. You saw how those vultures gathered around us to get a front row seat. They don’t care if Kevin is scum or not. He’s Kevin Anderson. Every girl wants to date him and every guy wants to be him.”
She felt her sadness quickly being replaced by anger.
“This will pass,” Gabriel assured her. “I promise you. Kevin had his five minutes to strut around. This will blow over. It’ll just take some time.”
“I can’t imagine that happening,” Melissa said dejectedly. “Where are we headed?”
“Honestly, I have no idea. But I have a full tank of gas and six and a half hours for us to decide. I’ll just drive until you tell me to stop, okay?”
Melissa and Gabriel continued westbound on Interstate 29. They crossed a river and traveled across three entire counties. Just before leaving the state, the roadway crested at 1,275 feet, its highest elevation. Scenic overlooks occupied the right-hand shoulder and offered an expansive view.
“Can we stop here?” Melissa asked, pointing to a service area that bore a sign boasting a scenic view.
“Sure,” Gabriel answered as he directed the Explorer to the rest stop.
Once the car had stopped, Gabriel turned the engine off and they both climbed out of the Explorer and stretched.
The sky was scrubbed clean and was a clear, rich cobalt blue. Unfiltered sunshine lit the fall foliage on the rolling hills of the valley. Shades of red, yellow and orange highlighted the treetops. The view lived up to its title. It was scenic and filled with vibrant colors and lush greenery.
Picnic tables had been placed on the grass and a small building stood to the side. Along the wall of the building, various vending machines had been stocked with drinks and snacks. Passing one such dispenser, Gabriel bought two bottles of water and two bags of pretzels. He offered one of each to Melissa as they ambled along the grassy space and found a picnic bench to sit at.
Looking out at the breathtaking view, Melissa spoke.
“Thank you for getting me out of there. I couldn’t take much more.”
“No problem. I would have liked to have crushed Kevin’s face in.”
“You wouldn’t have gotten an argument from me,” Melissa joked.
“I would’ve liked to knock him around for what he said about me being poor white trash,” she continued. “I mean, everything he was spouting was total bull! Just because I am not living in the biggest house in Harbingers doesn’t make me poor or trash.”
Melissa turned a deep crimson.
“And so what if I can’t afford to actually go to the schools I apply to. There’s no shame in working and going to community college. Last I checked a college credit is a college credit. I can get my Associate’s degree and transfer to a four-year school.”
“I’m so pissed that Kevin got to you like this. That jerk succeeded in making you feel bad. He wanted to make you feel small and ashamed, and he did,” Gabriel fumed. “It wasn’t enough for him to smack you around and try to force himself on you, now he’s going to make up lies and try to turn people against you and try to humiliate you? No way! I won’t have it. This will end. I’ll see to it myself if I have to.”
Warmed by Gabriel’s passionate rant, Melissa found her mood lightening slightly. She was reminded that she had skipped school, however, and decided that she should call her father.
“Gabriel, I need to call my dad. Do you mind if I go back to the car?”
“Here are the keys. Take your time.”
“Thanks.”
&nb
sp; Melissa returned to Gabriel’s SUV and called her father. She knew that he would worry if the school attendance office called asking where she was. He would call home and find her not there either. Then he would really be upset. Melissa wanted to spare her father any unnecessary anxiety, so she called him and told him exactly what had happened. Honesty proved the right decision as her dad shocked her by telling her he’d phone the attendance office and tell them she was ill.
Never one to lie, Melissa knew her father to be a man who prided himself on being honest. His willingness to fib, as perplexing as it was, was intended to be a show of unity. He was communicating his support for her, and she appreciated it.
Relieved and pleasantly surprised, Melissa joined Gabriel at the picnic table.
“Is everything okay?” Gabriel asked.
“Amazingly, yes,” Melissa answered. “I told my dad I ditched school and why. I told him I was out here with you and instead of freaking out he called me in sick at school. I have the whole day. Go figure.”
“Wow. You’re lucky. If I called home and told my dad that I cut school and took off, I’d be a dead man,” Gabriel confided.
“I know what you’re saying. I mean, my dad used to be really strict like that. But lately, I don’t know,” she paused to ponder her dad’s recent behavior. “He’s changed. And after what happened this weekend I totally expected him to, like, lock me in the basement or something. But he didn’t. Instead, he’s been sympathetic and nice.”
“It sounds like he loves you and respects you. He wants to take care of you, make things easier for you.”
“He’s always had good intentions, don’t get me wrong. He’s just never gone about it like he is now.”
“That’s good. I wish I had a dad like that.”
Melissa considered the weight of Gabriel’s words. She had often thought of her tiny family of two in terms of what, or who, it lacked. After all, her mother was dead and she had no sisters or brothers. Her continual emphasis on the negative points of her life had blinded her to all that was positive. She had never bothered to concentrate on how very fortunate she was to have a strong and loving father and an extended family; to have grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins–a brood of people who loved her and she loved in return. Nearly every facet of life centered on family. Family was the core of her existence.
Planet Urth Boxed Set Page 82
