Guardian (The Guardian Trilogy) (23 page)

“Where
are we going?  Kris will wonder where we are.”

“We’re
supposed to be getting dinner, remember?” he reminds me.  “I’m taking you to my
place.”

“Not
necessary,” I immediately respond as I will my body to stop shaking.

“I
disagree,” he says calmly.

“What
are you?  My father?”

Dane
looks at me out of the corner of his eye.  “Ah...no.”

I cross
my arms in frustration and look out the window, weighing my options to get out
of this.  There aren’t many.  Jumping out of a moving vehicle doesn’t really appeal
to me.

Dane
pulls up to a small complex of townhomes just outside town.  He parks and turns
off the engine.  “We’re here,” he says and immediately gets out of the car.

I
remain seated with my arms crossed.  Unfortunately, I’m still shaky.  I was
hoping to have stopped by the time we got here to plead my case for taking me
back to Bay Woods.

He
opens my door.  “Come on.”

I look
away from him defiantly, and he sighs loudly.  “If you don’t get out, I swear
to God, I’ll make you.”

I snap
my head around to look at him.  His expression is serious; he’s not joking.  I
huff as I haul myself out of the car.  “Happy?” I ask sarcastically.

“Extremely.”

I
follow him up the sidewalk to the unit on the end, #202.  We go up a few concrete
steps, and I wait on the small porch as he unlocks the door.  He swings it
open.  “After you.”

I
tentatively walk inside and he follows me, flipping on a light switch by the
door.  A small living area is illuminated, and I can see a dining area at the
end, which I assume is connected to a kitchen.  In front of me, a flight of
stairs extends upward to the darkened second floor.

Dane
gestures toward the couch.  “Make yourself comfortable.  I’ll be back soon.”

I turn
to face him.  “You’re leaving me here?  What am I supposed to do?”

Dane
looks exasperated.  “Sit down.  Relax.  Take a nap.  Watch TV.  Snoop through
my stuff.  I don’t care.”  He takes two steps back toward the door.  “I’ll go
finish up.  I’ll be back within the hour and then we’ll get your car.”

And
with that, he closes the door behind him.

Awkwardly,
I look around the room.  There’s a couch, a loveseat, and a coffee table.  All
black.  I walk farther into the living room and gape at the huge flat screen
TV.  Who needs a television that big in a room this size?  It sits on a modern
looking stand that holds all the necessities – DVD, stereo, Playstation.  I
walk over to the small dining table that is surrounded by only two chairs.  In
the center is a small withering plant of some kind; it looks mistreated and thirsty. 
I don’t think twice about entering the kitchen to find a glass to water for the
poor thing.  Evidently, horticulture is not Dane’s strong suit.

The
kitchen is tiny, but holds many stainless steel appliances.  On the counter, a
few drinking glasses lay drying on a dish towel.  I grab one and fill it,
noting the stack of dirty dishes left in the sink.  After I water the plant, I
refill the glass and take a drink myself.  When I raise the glass to my lips, I
realize my shaking has subsided.  Good.

What am
I going to do here for an hour?  I glance around the place again.  I look at
the dirty dishes and my orderly instincts take over.  I fill the sink with hot
water and set to passing the time by washing the dishes.

When
that’s done – it’s only takes me about ten minutes – I wander back into the
living room.  I plop down on the couch.  It’s very comfy and soft; it feels
like leather.  I look around the room again and realize that, although the
place is a little messy, there’s a lot of expensive stuff in here.  My eye
falls on two framed pictures on a side table.  I lean forward to get a better
look.  The first is a group of guys, Dane included, posing with their arms
around one another while they sit on some bleachers.  The second picture is of
Dane with his arm draped casually around a beautiful dark-haired girl; both are
smiling brilliantly at the camera.  They favor each other.  A sister, maybe? 
Dane doesn’t talk much about his family.  Come to think of it, neither do I. 
If he’s not teasing me about something at work, our topics of discussion
usually revolve around Matt and Shel, annoying customers, or how I’m feeling. 
That last topic of conversation is getting old.

I turn
away from the pictures, spy a massive remote on the coffee table, and decide to
watch TV.  I play with it.  How do I even work this?  I find the power button
and press it.  The flat screen turns on but it’s static.  I locate the channel
buttons and try to select a different station.  Nothing happens.  After about
five minutes of this, I give up and turn the TV off.  I sigh and put the remote
back where I found it.  There are a couple of magazines lying on the coffee
table.  I select an issue of
Rolling Stone
and scoot into the corner of
the couch to pass the time by reading.

As I
flip through the pages, my mind replays today’s events and I shudder.  Well, at
least I know how James’ parents really feel.  Sadness clouds my thoughts.  I
always feared they disliked me, especially after James decided to leave
Ferris.  I mentioned my worry to James in the past, but he always blew off my
thoughts telling me they loved me and I was part of his family.  James doesn’t
have any siblings; I was the daughter they never had, he’d tell me.  Boy, was
he wrong.  Or just covering for them.  I’m leaning toward the latter.

I scoot
down to lay my head against the arm rest of the couch and close my eyes.  For
once, I’m silently thankful for James’ restriction.  He didn’t have to witness
what happened today.  He would be furious.  My thoughts drift to Dane and his
actions at the store.  What would have happened if he wasn’t there?  How far
would the situation have escalated?  An image flashes behind my eyes; I am curled
in a ball, rocking back and forth, sobbing on the floor in the Baked Goods
aisle, as James’ mother stands above me pointing and screaming.  Yeah, that
very well could have happened.  What did occur was bad, but it could have been
much worse.

I
turn on my side and realize that I have to thank Dane when he returns.  I need
to apologize for being so difficult and thank him for diffusing the situation. 
Thank him for allowing me some time alone to process what happened.  Thank him
for being an amazing friend when he has no reason in the world to be.

I hear
muffled voices and my forehead pinches in a frown.  Who’s talking?  I open my
eyes to a hazy darkness.  I blink and focus my eyes.  I’m still at Dane’s and
the TV is on, casting the only light in the room.  I must have fallen asleep. 
I stretch my legs out in order to turn over and end up kicking Dane in the
side.

“Ugh!”
he whispers.

I pull
my legs back and pick up my head.  “Sorry!” I croak out, my voice thick with
sleep.  Dane is sitting opposite me, not quite at the end of the couch.  I move
my legs over the side and sit upright just next to him.  “What time is it?” I
yawn.

“About
twelve,” he says.

I snap
awake.  “Twelve?  We should go.  I don’t want to keep you any later.”

“Take
your time.  I didn’t want to wake you.”  I look at his profile in the changing
light of the television.  He’s resting casually against the back of the couch. 
“Your car is outside.”

I stare
at him.  “How?”

“You
left your bag at the course.  I found your keys and called Matt.  He helped.”

I shoot
him a look.  “You mean you went through my stuff to find my keys.”  Not that it
matters.  I should be grateful I can get up and leave.

I can
see him grin through the light.  “You did my dishes.”

“And
watered your poor plant,” I look past him toward the table.  “Are you killing
it on purpose?”

He chuckles. 
“No.”  He pauses and smiles.  “Find anything else interesting?”

I look
at him quizzically.  “I didn’t snoop or anything, if that’s what you’re
asking.”

He
pretends to pout.

“Are
you disappointed?”

“Wellll,”
he draws out the ‘L’s, “I was hoping to come back and find you in my bed.”

My
mouth falls open.

“Sleeping,
of course.”  I think he winks at me.

My mouth
snaps shut.  “I’ll settle for the couch, thank you.”

Dane laughs
and leans forward to rest his elbows on his knees.   “I’m just kidding.”

Our
eyes lock for an instant.  He continues to look at me and it makes me
uncomfortable.  It’s definitely time to go.  I break our stare and look away. 
“Where’s my stuff?”

“By the
door.”

I look
over and see my bag hanging from the doorknob, then turn back to him.  “Thanks.” 
I stand to walk to the door, and he follows to show me out.

Reaching
my bag, I pull it off the handle and loop it over my head and across my
shoulder.  I turn around to find Dane right behind me.  There’s no time like
the present to offer my apology and thanks for earlier.

“I’m
sorry for being difficult,” I say.

“You’re
entitled.”

“No,
I’m not.  I want to thank you for stepping in at the store.  Without you, I
don’t know what would have happened.  I want to thank you for letting me stay
here, too, for letting me calm down alone.  It really helped.”

Dane
takes another step closer to me.  “There’s no way I wasn’t getting you out of
there, even if I had to pick you up and carry you out.  I’ve never seen anyone
attack someone like that, let alone a grown woman!  She’s clearly deranged.”

“Really?” 
I let out a sarcastic snort.  “How do you know?”

He
frowns.  “You can tell just by looking at her that she’s not well.”

I can’t
help my curiosity.  “Did she…did you say anything else after I left?”

He
regards me for a moment, apparently deciding if he should tell me or not.  I
can tell by his eyes he determines I can handle it.

“She
told me I should watch myself around you for my own safety, after what you
supposedly did to her son.”  He eyes me cautiously.  “Something about being in
cahoots with the devil.  Is there something you’re not telling me?” he asks,
trying to lighten what he’s just shared.

I swallow. 
That woman loathes me.  “What did you say?”

Dane takes
another step forward and leans in, so our faces are only inches apart.  His
eyes lock on mine, so I will understand how serious he is when he speaks.  He
reaches out and places his hands on my shoulders.  “I told her she was the one
who needed to go to hell,” he says solemnly.  “That you are amazing to have
held up the way you have, no thanks to people like her.  That you loved James.”

I look
down, breaking his gaze.  “Thank you,” my voice wavers.  “Thank you for
defending me when I couldn’t defend myself.”

Dane’s
hand leaves my shoulder and appears under my chin to tilt my face up toward
his.  “You shouldn’t be put into any situation where you to have to defend
yourself.  Ever.”

My mind
flashes to James and all the times I’ve had to defend myself to him.  My love
for him, my choosing to work at the course, my having Matt and Dane as friends,
my choice to release him when I die.

Dane
interrupts my thoughts by letting go of my chin and tucking a piece of my hair
behind my ear.  “Do you know what I mean?” he asks.

I nod
because I do know what he means.  All too clearly.

He
searches my face.  For what I don’t know.  His hazel eyes lock on mine again,
and my heart starts to pound.  His breath catches, and I know what he’s
resolved to do.  He leans forward to kiss me.  It’s like it’s happening in slow
motion and I’m powerless to stop it.  My whole body tenses under his hands, and
I close my eyes as if to block it out.

Dane
can feel my body go rigid.  I sense him pause for a second and then feel him
kiss me tenderly against my forehead instead of my lips.

My eyes
pop open.  He searches my face again, still holding on to my shoulders.  He
looks cautious, maybe even a little nervous.  I see a realization hit him and he
steps back, releasing me suddenly.  “I’m sorry,” he apologizes.  “I don’t know
what…that won’t happen again.”

I nod
and give him a weak smile.  “I’m not mad.”  It’s the truth.

Dane
looks unsure, like he’s overstepped a huge boundary and there’s no going back. 
I don’t want him to be upset because, strangely, I’m not.  Did I want him to
kiss me?  No.  And he realized that.  I step toward him and he takes a step
back.

“Are
you afraid of me now?” I ask jokingly, referring to when he asked me that same
thing weeks ago.

He appears
to relax.  “No,” he smiles.

I step
up to him, stand on the tips of my toes, and give him a quick, chaste kiss on
his cheek.  When I back down I notice his puzzled expression.  “Thank you for
realizing everything I need.”

He
shoves his hands in his pockets.  “That’s what I do.”

I turn to
the door and pull it open.

“Have a
nice night,” he says to me as I step outside.

“You
too,” I half-heartedly wave to him.  “See you tomorrow?”

“See
you tomorrow.”

I walk
down the steps and spot my car immediately.  When I slide into the driver’s
seat, I look up just in time to see Dane close his front door.  I can still
feel where he kissed my forehead; still feel his hands on my shoulders.  I
reach up to touch the hair he tucked behind my ear and feel myself melt a
little.

Then I
freeze as what happened comes crashing down on me.  What am I thinking?