Cheating Time (29 page)

He smiled back and my heart actually
leapt.

I could tell by the way Thorne practically
threw biscuits on the next few trays that he wasn't happy at all
about my affections for Jayden, or Jayden's for me.

After that, I lost sight of my Surrogate
Soldier. I was too busy helping to do anything but obey Rorie's
every order. She had high expectations of herself and anyone
helping her. She didn't revert back to the Thorne-worshiping twin
sister until we'd served the last person.

It was then she made a heaping tray of eggs,
biscuits, and sausage for her brother. He took his tray and headed
toward one of the empty picnic-style benches. She trailed behind
him with a giant glass of orange juice. I think he was glad to see
the sister he knew and loved had returned.

I made myself a much smaller helping and
joined him, sitting across from him. Just as Rorie was turning to
go back toward the kitchen—not to get her own breakfast—I said,
"Rorie, you've been working hard all morning. Get your breakfast
and come sit with us."

I was patting the bench next to me. Surprise
and awe flooded Rorie. "You mean it, Carles. I can have breakfast
with you?"

"Rorie, as long as I'm here with you, you
are welcome to have every meal with me, and I'll help you as much
as you'll let me in the kitchen. I think you've seen cooking isn't
something I'm good at, but I'm willing to do whatever you want," I
said, smiling back at my new friend.

She turned and ran to the line so she could
make her own plate. I watched her until it occurred to me there
were eyes boring holes into me.

"What? Why do you keep looking at me like
that?" I asked.

"I've already told you. No one except
me—
not even my parents
—treats her
like she has feelings. I've just never been around anyone like
you," he said with the same tenderness he reserved for his
sister.

"Well, that just makes me mad. How could
anyone not see how special she is? And I don't mean that in a
derogatory way. I mean she's the kindest, gentlest, and most
extraordinary person I've ever met. Anyone who can't see she
exemplifies the type of person we should all be isn't worth my
time," I said, picking off a piece of the fluffy biscuit and
putting it in my mouth.

"And that is the exact reason I've never
found anyone else that I wanted to spend more than a roll in the
hay with. Not one of them saw how much she meant to me. Not one of
them gave her a second glance. One of them even insisted she not be
allowed to go near her. She… she worried Rorie would infect her
eggs." Thorne laughed, but it was sardonic and heavy.

"Like I said, Thorne, not worth our time.
The thing is… there are other people like me. For whatever reason,
you've surrounded yourself with superficial women who can't see
past Rorie's exterior. Though, I have to admit even that is as
beautifully bright as her soul. She's just a little different than
us. That doesn't mean it's a bad thing," I reasoned.

Nodding and eating, Thorne said, "Yeah, I
know, but it takes a special person to see what I see. I see it
because she's my sister and I love her. You don't have any real
reason to notice who she is inside, but you have."

"I'm just going to suggest if you stopped
being superficial in your girlfriend search, you might have found
dozens of girls who would've accepted Rorie," I chastised before
taking a big gulp of juice.

His gaze met mine. "It doesn't matter. We're
together now. We've been promised to each other in a way that is
legally binding. The only person who can void the contract is
Barone, and he'll never do that. He wants us together more than
anyone."

Thorne didn't seem at all upset by the
mandate or about the fact that Barone would never void the
agreement. I, on the other hand, felt anger spread from deep inside
me.

"I'm not marrying anyone just because our
parents agreed to it when I was still an infant. Surely we've
evolved past betrothments and dowries. I'm not marrying anyone who
hasn't won my heart," I said, and there was no hiding the anger I
felt.

I loved Jayden. I'd die an old maid before I
married anyone but him.

Thorne wasn't offended by my tirade.
Instead, he grinned and said, "I have every intention of doing just
that, Carles."

"That will be hard to do since it belongs to
someone else," I spat.

Thorne shrugged and swallowed his last bite
of food. "There were people my whole life that told me Rorie wasn't
worth my time… that told me I should put her in a school with her
peers. I've kept her with me and have taught her everything she
knows. She's not just functional. Everything she does is done
better than non-Down syndrome people who would try the same
feats."

I agreed with him, but I couldn't figure out
where he was going with this train of thought.

"What I'm saying is I'm patient. I'm
prepared to do whatever I need to do to
'win your heart'
.
You and I'll be good together. Besides, you've ruined me. I'll
never be able to look at another woman who isn't you. It's you or a
life of celibacy, and I'm not sure that's possible," Thorne said
suggestively.

He laughed the loud belly laugh that turned
him into someone as kind and lighthearted as Rorie when he saw my
mouth drop open in pure shock.

"Come one, Carles, surely you're not that
innocent," Thorne said before my humiliation registered. Dropping
his own voice, he whispered, "Oh my God! I wouldn't have said that
if I'd have known you never…
you know
."

I tried to hide my embarrassment. "I'm not
even seventeen. What would make you think I'd have done anything
with anyone? I'm not a slut," I snapped.

"I-I don't know. I just thought the way you
and the Surrogate were when you're together that the two of you had
done… a little more than kiss," he explained.

Holy baby
Jesus!

"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you," I said,
gathering my trash and preparing to head toward the kitchen for
cleanup duty.

As soon as I stood, Thorne sidled up next to
me and grabbed my tray. When I glanced up at him with a plan to
tell him I could clean up after myself, he winked and said, "I have
to tell you I'm anything but disappointed by that, Carles. Anything
but disappointed."

For the millionth time since I'd met him, I
rolled my eyes. He put his elbow out for me to hold. I ignored him
and shoved my hands into the pockets of my jeans and followed him
to the kitchen, where we helped Rorie wash the dishes. With more
energy than the Energizer Bunny, Rorie was ready to prepare lunch
as soon as the last breakfast dish was dried and put away.

Determined to get cleaned up before I
embarked upon the first lunchtime chore, I stepped in front of
Thorne and said, "I don't suppose you could point me in the
direction of the nearest shower. I'm in serious need of one."

"I'll do better than that. I'll take you to
the supply tent and then walk you to the shower barn."

"Thanks," I said.

This time when he put his elbow out, I
grabbed it. I wasn't sure why. It just felt natural walking with
him.
Near him.

At the supply tent, I found a pair of jeans
in my size and a fitted tee. I turned my back on Thorne while I
grabbed an undergarment and shoved them between the folded jeans.
Finally, I confiscated a brand new pair of hiking boots.

Right before we left, Thorne grabbed two
shower baskets. From my quick glimpse into their contents, I saw a
towel, rag, and toothbrush as well as some toothpaste, deodorant,
soap, and shampoo.

"Why two?" I asked curiously.

"I've been watching over you for the last
four days. If either of us needs a shower, it's me," he said,
stacking the clothes he'd picked out on top of the baskets.

As soon as we stepped out of the supply
tent, I saw Jayden. He looked clean and refreshed, obviously having
just taken his own shower given the water dripping from the locks
of hair hugging his neck.

"Jayden," I sang in delight.

His own grin widened. "Carlie, what are you
doing?"

"The same as you. Thorne took me shopping in
the supply tent. Now I'm going for a shower," I shared.

Jayden's eyes flashed over to Thorne, who
suddenly looked completely bored with Jayden.

"I know where it is. I'm just coming from
there," Jayden said.

Thorne stepped closer to me. "I have to get
cleaned up anyway. I'll show her."

Jayden, determined to prove he was more
alpha than Thorne ever thought of being, slid his hand in mine and
intertwined our fingers. With his boldness and his tight squeeze, I
smiled.

Before Thorne could do or say anything,
Jayden was leading me straight toward a building that did in fact
look just like a red barn with giant barn doors. I had no idea what
I was going to get myself into, but I knew I wasn't going to have
any part of a communal shower.

Is this why the two of
them are fighting over who stays with me while I shower?

I knew enough to swear that if the shower
situation were unisex and everyone showered in the same area at the
same time, I'd bow out of this and wait until everyone was asleep
before I came back. It wasn't until we were a few feet from the
barn that I realized it had been divided down the middle and there
were two entrances. One had a stick figure that had a triangle
dress for a body. The other stick figure, obviously a male, had
super long arms and legs.

With a final squeeze of my hand, Jayden let
go. "I'll wait right here for you," he promised.

Like I had so many times today, Thorne
rolled his eyes and without another word, he entered the side of
the barn allocated for men while I entered the side for women. I
had no idea what the men's showers were like, but the women's side
was completely empty. I was glad. I'd put off looking at the
snakebite wounds long enough. I needed to see how disfigured my
body still was and gauge the sites for potential scarring.

Very carefully, I peeled off my T-shirt. On
my neck, I saw two areas—each surrounding a puncture site—that were
the yellowish-green of an old bruise. The tiny round holes where
the fangs sank in and the snake injected its poison were what could
only be described as angry red and covered by scabs.

If I were in any mood to joke about my
mangled body, I'd think about how much Tawney would love to create
a story from my tragedy. In it, the heroine would be forever linked
to reptiles and viewed as one of their own now that she'd lived
through their hazing, one that was geared toward killing her or
bringing her into their inner circle.

Who am I
kidding?

Tawney's story would always be about true
love. Her version would be more
Princess and
the Frog
. She'd kiss him. He'd turn into a prince.
They'd live happily ever after.

Where's the fun in that
story?

Suddenly, my own tendencies kicked in, more
scientist and researcher. Rather than getting lost in a story about
a man and a woman, I began considering the possibility that I might
be—
or could easily be
—vaccinated
against the venom of snakes now that I'd endured so many bites and
actually lived.

Where's the harm in
assuming something this horrendous actually left me stronger than I
was before? And there is actually a good chance my theory could be
proven.

With a new mission, one a lot less worried
about wounds and scarring, in mind, I stripped my clothes and
counted the number of bites. After I realized I'd been bitten no
less than fifty times, I was glad I'd been studying them from a
scientist's perspective. If I'd remained the typical narcissistic
teenage girl that I was deep down while I looked at my bruised and
misshapen legs, I'd have cried. I'd have wondered if they would
ever again be the slender, muscular legs I'd known and loved my
whole life.

With the prick of a tear as it dripped from
the corner of my eye, I knew somewhere deep inside, that typical
narcissistic teenage girl was seeing what I was seeing. She was
wondering if she'd ever again be able to wear shorts or a swimsuit
without drawing disgusted stares from onlookers.

Depressed over the knowledge that I was much
more shallow than I'd ever thought, I stopped counting. Stopped
studying the wounds. Instead, I grabbed soap, shampoo, rag, and
towel, and headed into one of the many shower stalls.

It may have been early spring, but the water
was still wintery.
Icy cold.
Way
too frigid to bask under the spray for longer than necessary. By
the time I got out, I was shivering and my lips were blue. Before I
was fully dried off, I snatched the clothes I'd gotten from the
supply tent and donned them. Hoping they'd add even more warmth, I
put the boots on before brushing my hair.

As soon as I had them laced up, my toes
already seemed warmer. Feeling a little better, I grabbed the comb
from the basket and dragged it through one section of hair at a
time until it was smooth and tangle free. Then I pulled it back
into a ponytail and wrapped a band around it.

As soon as I saw the snake hickey on my
neck, I reconsidered my hairstyle and almost pulled it down. After
I remembered I'd be spending the rest of the day on kitchen duty, I
decided the narcissistic teenage girl was going to have to put on
her big girl panties and forget about my wounds, was going to have
to refuse to be embarrassed by stares, and was going to have to
thank the heavens above that she was still alive.

Unfortunately, my resolve to rise above my
superficial tendencies was tested the instant I walked out of the
shower room and Jayden, the Surrogate I loved, grinned
appreciatively toward the cleaned-up version of me… right before he
scowled. The bites on my neck hadn't gone unnoticed, and he looked
like he wanted to kick some snake ass all over again.