Crushing (8 page)

“But why would you get kicked out for that? You were doing the right thing.”

“I put him in the hospital, Rory. Broke some of his ribs and his arm, and gave him a concussion. On top of that, his dad is a big shot on the school board, so . . .” He looked out at the ocean again. “I would do it again though. There is no way I would let that go.”

I was in a bit of shock. He really meant it when he said he had a problem with guys putting their hands on a girl.

“Why did you do that? I mean, it’s a good thing the way you feel about guys hurting girls, but why didn’t you stop after you got him away from her?”

“I didn’t just want him to stop. I wanted him to know he could never do that again. When a guy beats a girl like that, it isn’t an accident. They are usually habitually like that.”

“You could have been arrested.”

“Except they didn’t want the other kid to get arrested too. I wasn’t the only one who saw him punch her, so it was a draw. Sort of. He got to stay at the school.”

“Are you kidding?”

“Nope. It’s that whole ‘not what you know but who you know’ thing. And the girl wouldn’t press charges.”

“Were your grandparents really mad when you got kicked out of school?”

He shook his head. “No, uh, no. My grandpa—he had a stroke about three months ago. He can’t walk or talk anymore. My grandmother is great, but I think she felt like she was in over her head. She needed to focus on taking care of him. After I got kicked out she said she wanted me to have a ‘positive male role model.’ Since my grandpa couldn’t be that anymore, she wanted me to live with my uncle.”

“Is it weird living with him now? Like living with someone you don’t know, or is it okay?” I asked.

“No it’s good actually. He’s cool. He would have taken me when I was little, but he knew he wouldn’t be around enough. And since he never got married, I would have been alone too much. We’ve spent quite a bit of time together over the years. You know, he used to take me on vacation with him every summer. All the vacations he took were with me. He would take me to Hawaii to go scuba diving or hiking the outback. We’ve had some great times. He really doesn’t take time for himself outside of his job, me, and of course the love of his life—golf.”

“I’m sorry to hear about your grandpa. Were you close?”

“Yeah. He’s great—or was. Now it’s like he’s not even there. I miss him, but I was lucky to have as much time with him as I did.”

“So is he going to get better?” How sad for Gage.

“The doctors are pretty sure he won’t recover, but you never know. We’re going to try to visit as much as we can. My uncle misses him too.”

“Your uncle seems really nice. We saw him when he came to the police station. He was worried about you.”

“Yeah, he’s surprisingly parental. I kind of thought he would be a bit less involved, but apparently he takes it seriously.” He grimaced a little.

“What did the detective say to you?”

“He just wanted to know what happened. I told him, and he asked a few questions. I couldn’t tell him much. Since I just moved back, I didn’t really know how anything connects here now. My uncle was ready to call his attorney. It was a little embarrassing really. The detective was cool about it. How about you?”

“Same. I just told him what happened. Except my dad is now even more paranoid, if that’s even possible. We had a huge fight.”

“I don’t suppose my presence helped.”

I was so angry and embarrassed about the way my dad had acted. It was shameful how rude he’d been. “Unfortunately, no. I’m sorry he was so rude to you at the church.”

“It’s fine. He has a right to his opinion. He doesn’t know me yet, so I’ll just have to win him over with my sparkling personality.” He leaned over and batted his eyelashes at me.

“Sparkling? I don’t think so.” I pushed him backward onto the sand.

“I’ve missed you, Rory.” He laughed. “Life was boring without you.”

“Is that your polite way of saying I’m a pain?”

He put his hands behind his head and sighed while looking up at the stars. “No, it’s my way of saying my life was more interesting when you were in it.”

“Didn’t like Florida, huh?”

“Well, this always felt more like home,” he said.

I lay back in the sand too, and we stared at the stars. It felt like an electrical current raced between us, and my heart was pounding, but I was somehow where I wanted to be. I tried to breathe slowly and listen to the waves crashing on the sand.

I looked at my phone and realized it was late. “I’m going to get going.” I stood and brushed myself off. “Thanks for telling me all that.”

I had known in my heart that he hadn’t done anything horribly wrong to get kicked out of school. Even though I hadn’t seen him in years, I knew he wasn’t that type of person. I was so glad he told me.

He nodded. He got up, and we started to make our way back.

#

Bailee was completely tuckered out by the time we reached the path. I picked her up and carried her this time. She was so cute and snuggly. I rubbed my face against hers. She still smelled like puppy. Gage smiled at the two of us and shook his head.

“She really loves you. I think she knows you saved her.”

“Well, technically you saved her,” I pointed out.

“Hmmm, I guess,” he said.

“Did anyone respond to the posters about her yet? I’ve seen them around.” I’d been wondering who could have left such an adorable puppy. Maybe someone was looking for her. I hoped not, but still.

“Nope. I’ve told the pound that I have her, and they haven’t had anyone missing a chocolate lab of her age, so I’m pretty sure she’s mine now. As thrilled as Nathan is about that.”

We had arrived at my back gate. He reached out and pulled my hair out of Bailee’s mouth, which she was happily chewing on. His fingertips brushed the back of my neck, and I shivered. His hand lingered there for a moment.

The squirrel dance team was twirling to seventies disco, and I had to try to keep myself standing upright.

“I see why she loves you so much,” he said.

The breath caught in my throat. He smirked and reached down to grab Bailee out of my arms.

“Can you get back in without acrobatics, or do I have to stand at the bottom to be your safety net?”

“I brought my keys. I should be able to get in. They’ve gone to bed, I’m sure.”

He looked thoughtful. “Maybe I should have my uncle come over and reintroduce us soon. I need to get on your dad’s good side. Dominic has a head start. Time to pull out the big guns.”

“It’s not a competition, Gage.” I frowned.

“If you say so.” He nudged me toward my gate.

“Ugh, ridiculous.” Boys are so dumb.

“Good night, Aurora.” He was grinning when I looked back. I shut the gate with a snap. I heard him laughing as he walked away.

I snuck in the back door. I was right; my parents were in their room at least. I crept up the stairs as quietly as I could and tiptoed past their room. When I got into my room, I went to my balcony doors. I looked out to the beach, and my heart started pounding.

Someone was out there. Standing on the beach directly across the golf course from my house.

I couldn’t actually see his face. The hoodie he had on put his face in shadow. The beach was about the width of a football field from my house with the golf course in between. Even though it was a ways away, I could tell he was facing my house. There was something really disturbing about the way he was so still. I could swear he was looking right at me. A chill whipped through my body.

I jumped to the side and whisked my drapes closed. Crap. What kind of weirdo did that? I peeked through the drapes, and he was gone. Had I actually seen someone? Maybe it had just been someone walking by who had seen me at the window. People walked on the beach all the time but usually down closer to the water. Not too many people were out there this late at night. I knew after everything tonight, my nerves were on the surface of my skin, but I was officially creeped out.

I made sure the lock was secure on the doors and my windows were all closed and locked too. My imagination was in overdrive. I needed to calm down. I took a hot shower and got into bed. I started thinking about what Gage had told me about his situation.

What was troubled about his background? I could tell by the way he was acting there was something. Why had he lived with his grandparents? When we were little, he just said his mom died and that had been that. Back then with his stutter I had never pushed him to talk. Now I wanted to know. I wanted
him
to want to tell me. Whatever it was, it probably wasn’t good.

#

A girl’s voice. “Wake up.” I pull myself into a sitting position. “Here.” She shoves a water bottle into my hand. “There isn’t time. Do what he says. Exactly what he says and he might not hurt you.”

“How long have you been here?” I ask.

“Too long. I think he’s done with me now. Drink.”

I don’t really want to know what she means. I drink.

When I woke up the next day, I had a text from Jackson. He had heard about the police interview. Did anyone around here ever keep their mouths shut about anything?

What’s going on? Heard about what happened. Are u ok? Do I need to come home?

Jeremiah had actually called, but I had been in the shower. He left a message saying if I didn’t call him back, they were going to check with the ’rents to see if everything was under control. He sounded worried. Gotta love my brothers. I texted them both back that I was fine and told them exactly what happened.

I did demand that they make it to our Friday night dinner this week. I hoped to work on the Gage situation when my parents were relaxed and enjoying a nice dinner. Not to mention being in a public place, where yelling would be frowned upon. Maybe the boys being there would help too. I would have to work on them both this week by text to try to get them to see my side before the dinner. I could almost always talk them into seeing things my way.

People always ask why I get along so well with my brothers and why it seems like they would do anything for me when most brothers can’t be bothered. We fight, but generally they don’t give me as hard a time as other people’s brothers do to their sisters. They are also a lot more overprotective than most. They have always taken me with them wherever they go unless they are on a date, and sometimes even then. My parents are crazy with the overprotectiveness because I make them worry. My brothers are overprotective out of guilt. Or at least that’s how it started. See, they lost me once.

Obviously they got me back again, but still. We were pretty little, and I don’t even remember, but they do. I had heard the story a million times.

They were six and I was four. We were in a hotel in the Caribbean. My dad brought us all with him to a medical conference. We did this once or twice a year. My parents had been pretty easygoing until then. They worried about me getting sick of course, but this was when the real paranoia started. We had had the run of the hotel for days. It was laid-back there. On this particular day my brothers and I had been running ahead of my mom, and the three of us got on the elevator before her. The doors closed, and the boys decided to Christmas tree the buttons so it stopped at every floor. You are supposed to do this after you get to the bottom, but they were young and didn’t know any better. So we were stopping at every floor, and I decided to get out for some reason. The boys weren’t paying attention, and the doors closed.

When my mom found them at the bottom, they had no idea which floor I was on. It was a big hotel, and we had been on one of the top floors. She went into a complete panic. They shut down the exits of the hotel, but it took a while. They called my dad out of the conference. Notified security and the police were eventually called. There was talk of abduction. There had been some cases of missing children in the area that year. Some “kind” person at the hotel informed my parents of a horrible story about two little girls from the island that had gone missing and been found dead in a ditch three days later. After that, one of my dad’s doctor friends advised my dad to sedate my mother because she was completely inconsolable, bordering on hysterical. He hadn’t done it, but it had been a close thing.

You would think Jackson and Jeremiah would have been watched pretty carefully at this point, but my parents were beside themselves because I had been missing for so long. Security was searching the hotel room by room. The police put out a Missing Persons Report, and everyone at the hotel was looking for me. My brothers snuck off to find me.

They put their heads together to try to figure out where I could be. The day before we had been outside in one of the corners of the garden near the beach and found a dog that had had puppies. I had been fascinated with them. Somehow I had made it outside undetected and was asleep curled up in the bushes with the momma dog and the puppies. The momma actually growled at my brothers when they tried to get me out of the bushes. So, instead, they proceeded to shout the place down until someone came. My parents were horrified, embarrassed, and so relieved my mother couldn’t even speak.

Even though my brothers were the ones that found me, they got in a heap of trouble. They knew they were supposed have been watching me and they hadn’t. My dad sat them down and explained to them that as my older brothers they had responsibilities and what could have happened. Whether it was what my dad said or how scared they had been, I’m not sure. It must have stuck with them.

I have almost no memory of this event. I do remember playing in the bushes with puppies, but I’m not entirely sure it was the same day. I really liked puppies, and if they were around, I would find them.

They never lost me again, but I’m pretty sure this one event started the paranoia that now rules my life. Overprotective brothers and parents that still think I’m that little girl who wanders off.

#

The next day school buzzed about what happened at the church, and the fact that the three of us had to go to the police station made for a lot of staring and gossip. And answering the same questions over and over again. My morning classes seemed to last all day. I wasn’t sure if I was looking forward to golf practice or not, but at least I would be too busy to answer questions.

At lunch Dom cornered me at our regular lunch table. He knew I was not a morning person, so he hadn’t spoken much when he drove me to school. He had seemed preoccupied anyway. I hadn’t asked. I thought he was upset about the whole thing last night. Now I wasn’t so sure.

When I got there, our table was empty, thankfully. I found a spot in the sun. I couldn’t even think about eating, so I didn’t go to the caf. I just wanted to soak in some sunlight and have a quiet moment to myself. I leaned back with my elbows on the table and closed my eyes. The quiet lasted about twenty seconds.

“Hey, Ror.” I felt him sit right next to me on the bench. “People bugging you as much as me?”

“Yup.” I didn’t open my eyes. I didn’t want to talk or even think about it right now.

“I wish they’d move on to something else already.”

“Ummhmm.”

“Sooo…” Uh-oh. “Are you going to the Sadie Hawkins?”

Crap. I sat up slowly and opened my eyes. “You know I have to. All Student Leadership has to be there.”

“Are you going with anyone?” I saw his eyes flick to a table near where we were sitting. Gage was sitting with some of the guys from the golf team and a few girls. Gage was looking right at us. I looked away quickly.

“No. I have to be there early for setup, and I just planned on not asking anyone. It’s easier.” I resumed my sunbathing position. I didn’t want to get into this now. And certainly not with Dominic. I wasn’t going to start worrying about whom I planned to ask and whose feelings would get hurt. Not happening.

“But it’s our last one. You can’t go alone. That’s just wrong,” he reasoned.

“Dom, it’s fine. I just don’t want to make a big deal.”

He poked me in the side.

I turned my head to glare at him.

He was grinning. “All right, but you’re gonna wear a nice dress, right?”

“Duh. Of course.” What was the point of a dance without the dress?

“What color?” he asked

“It’s purple, why?” Since when was he interested in what color I wore?

“I want to bring you flowers. You know, that match. You have to have flowers, or it’s not really a high school dance.”

Just when I think he’s going to irritate me or make me uncomfortable, he always does something sweet. I was relieved he wasn’t going to force the issue of the dance. It would be so much more fun if I didn’t have to think about who I was with. The lack of pressure earned him a big smile.

“Okay, Dom. Thanks.”

He grinned back, looking like a little kid at Christmas. His dimples were showing.

He proceeded to tell me his story about the police interview last night, making me laugh when he imitated his dad. His dad was Italian and very demonstrative. He was always gesturing and flailing his arms. Even when he drove. We always joked that if we tied his dad’s hands behind his back he wouldn’t be able to talk. He had apparently made the detective crazy asking questions and being worried they were accusing Dom of something. The poor detective just wanted to ask some questions, and he could hardly get a word in edgewise. Dominic finally had to step in to calm his dad down to tell his version.

By the time he had finished, the table had filled up with our friends. Dominic went to long lengths to redirect the conversation away from last night, and we spent the rest of lunch talking about other things, like Holden’s latest speeding ticket and Veronica’s dad’s newest, crazy girlfriend. It was a relief to have everything back to normal. The last two weeks had been intense, and I really just needed a break from all the drama.

When I looked back at Gage’s table, he was laughing and talking to one of the girls. She was a cute blonde. One of the JV cheerleaders. My stomach did a flip, but I made myself to look away. I needed to stop being ridiculous. I had no claim on him. He was my friend. I needed to be happy that he was starting over and making new friends. My friends were going to be a hard sell after the beach party, and he needed to find his own group so he wasn’t alone and unhappy here.

I got up from the table when the bell rang to make my way to class. I looked to Gage’s table, as he walked away with the cheerleader. It’s what I deserved. I didn’t know what I wanted, and someone was going to get hurt. My parents were being a pain in the neck, and all the drama was getting to be a bit much. Maybe I just needed to let him find his way. Sticking with my group of friends would be easier. Wasn’t easier what I wanted? Then why was my stomach clenching and my hands shaking?