First and Goal (Moving the Chains #1) (17 page)

I
close my locker and swing my loaded backpack over my shoulder in a daze. Turning towards the direction of the band room, I vaguely notice that the halls are nearly empty. Only a few stragglers remain behind, heading to their last Friday afternoon practices of the fall season. How long was I staring into my locker?

This past week has been a whirlwind. My mind is a jumbled, hazy mess. Things are so beyond tangled that I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to unravel the knot. What in the hell possessed me to tell Rob that story in bio earlier? It’s like I’m under a spell or something. Some freaky magic cast by his voodoo eyes. This is not good. Not good at all.

I need to rein it in and get control of myself before I forget my game plan.

Pros and cons time. Yeah. That’ll sort things out.

Pros first. Okay, so yeah. He’s not the douche bag that he suddenly transformed into last year. And if he’s not lying, then he had a valid reason for his sudden personality change. He’s a really fucking great calc tutor. He might just save my ass and my GPA. If I’m really being honest with myself, it means a lot that someone is willing to defend me against the rumors and constant propositions. It means more that he never believed them. He’s a good conversationalist. God, I didn’t realize how much I missed having someone to talk to. It was so easy to push aside all that we have in common. As much as we’ve both changed over the past year, there’s still so much we share.

Cons. He’s a jock. Jocks are not to be trusted. He’s huge. Jesus, he’s huge. Scary huge. Big, ginormous guns huge. He might be playing me. He’s probably playing me. Everything he’s said might be lies. How would I know if he’s just screwing with me? It’s not like I can prove anything he’s said. Sure, I could question Neveah about the date Alex supposedly took her on last year, but I don’t want to dredge up any painful memories for her, so that’s out of the question. I could ask Alex, but…no. No way. He’s a total slime ball and definitely not trustworthy. I suppose I could interrogate Mike, but that would put him in an awkward position as Rob’s friend and I don’t want to do that to him, either. Besides, Mike knows me too well. If I suddenly start asking him all kinds of questions about Rob, he’ll wonder why. I definitely don’t want that.

Damn Rob Falls.

He’s changing the rules of this entire game. He’s shaking up my world view. Calling me out on my hypocrisy. That actually might be a pro. Not sure.

My thoughts are interrupted when the object of my musings sidles up beside me.

He nudges me with his shoulder, grinning. “Hey, you never said when you’d have time to get together this weekend to finish up the questions packet.”

Although bio was actually fun with him for a change, the memory of my cons list weighs heavily on my mind. My only hope is to control the situation and have him meet me in a safe location of my choosing. “I don’t have to be at work until six tomorrow. You can come to my house, I guess.”

“Uh…what time?”

“Before six.” Obviously.

“Okay, but I have practice and conditioning tomorrow morning. Is one o’clock good?”

“I dunno. If I tell you any more funny naked stories, are you gonna try to force yourself on me or something?” As soon as the words leave my mouth, I regret them. There’s nothing funny about rape. Even speaking of it lightly is unacceptable, let alone joking about it.

He grabs me by the elbow and steers me to a deserted hallway. “Did he
rape
you, Evie?”

His whispered words are harsh and accusing, the look in his eyes a seething hatred.

My back is against the wall, Rob’s powerful form surrounding me. Images of fists flying towards me, the searing pain upon impact, and memories of days spent recuperating in the hospital flood my mind. No matter how many years go by, a large man too close instills fear that I can’t control. It took Mike years to break through my defenses. Eddie very nearly took me back to square one last year.

I look around desperately for someone left behind, still roaming the halls. Rob’s hand on me burns, but I don’t dare shake him off. The last thing I want to do is provoke the sort of anger I know he’s capable of. The memory of one of our fights in the library and all the things Rob said he wanted to do to me and for me not to cry if it hurt washes over me like a tidal wave. My body convulses in abject fear. My lungs struggle to pull in air.

He cups a large hand on my cheek, turning my face up to him. “Eva. Did he hurt you, honey?”

Tears well in my eyes, but no words materialize. This guy is freaking huge. Any wrong word or move on my part will surely rain down a world of pain.

“I’m gonna kill him.” He lets go and stalks towards the exit leading to the parking lot.

It takes a few minutes of deep breathing and blinking the tears from my blurry vision before I put together where he’s going. I drop my bag and manage an awkward run with my aching ankle down the hallway after him, grateful now for the lack of bodies to act as obstacles. Rob’s charging ahead like a bull.

“Stop!” I yell after him.

He does immediately, turning to face me with the most bizarre mixture of violent intent and caring I’ve ever seen.

“Eddie didn’t rape me.”

The absolute confusion that passes across his face makes me wince. “He didn’t?”

“No. Whatever happened between us was entirely my fault. I swear. He did not rape me.”

Rob takes a step toward me. I back away slowly.

“Oh my God. You’re afraid of me.” He’s not asking.

The way I’m practically cowering like some feeble child must be proof enough. I wait for what he intends to do next, mentally running through my options if he moves to continue to the parking lot. I pray that Eddie’s already left for the weekend. The worst-case scenario is that Rob turns on me for somehow making him believe an awful lie.

Neither of those things happens. He glances only once at the door, then back at me. He runs a hand through his sandy hair before turning and walking away without another word.

My knees give out just as he rounds the corner.

M
y body jolts as my mind is ripped away from nothingness. After a few moments of confusion, I peek up at YiaYia with bleary eyes. Yesterday feels like a nightmare. I do a pretty good job of convincing myself that I dreamt it all until YiaYia announces in rapid-fire Greek that Rob is down stairs waiting for me, and questions whether I knew about his visit. She’s upset that I’m still in bed and clearly not ready to receive a handsome, young suitor.

She actually uses the word suitor. Sweet baby Jesus.

I roll out of bed, slide on my glasses from the nightstand, and check my phone to find that it’s not morning at all. It’s a quarter ‘til one in the afternoon. Rob said he’d be here at one, but then all hell broke loose. I completely forgot about our little appointment.

I do a quick clothing check to make sure I’m decent enough. Flannel pajama shorts and a tank top that isn’t see through are good enough. Too exhausted and irritated to care that I’m not even wearing a bra, I stumble my way down the stairs intending to tell him to get lost.

Mrs. Anderson won’t be asking us to prove that we completed the questions. How would she ever know if we skipped them? I might not have aced the calc quiz on Friday, but I didn’t fail it. Rob’s caught me up to the current lessons as of Thursday. I should cast him off now before things get any more complicated.

Hitting the landing at the bottom of the stairs, I don’t find Rob in the entryway. When I round the newel post, I spy him seated on the couch, talking with Papou about something on the television. They’re watching ESPN. Tini sits next to Rob, fawning over him. YiaYia is on the other side of her, slapping her every couple of seconds.

I have officially woken up to the Twilight Zone.

Rob’s gaze catches mine. Naturally, everyone turns to follow his stare.

“So, Eva,” Papou says in his fake-stern tone of voice. “When were you going to introduce us to your new friend?”

I would roll my eyes, but I’m honestly too tired. “Papou, YiaYia, meet Superjock. Superjock, my grandparents. You already know Tini. Where’s Mama?”

“She went for a lunch date with a friend,” YiaYia answers, putting inflection on the word friend; the same tone Papou used to describe Rob.

This is all more than I can handle after the late night I had closing at the diner, and even after nine glorious hours of sleep, my ankle is still throbbing from being on it all night. “I need coffee and some Tylenol.”

I walk into the kitchen, not caring to indulge the lunacy in the living room a moment longer.

I pull my reheated liquid oil out of the microwave and add my typical half mug full of flavored creamer. Rob enters the kitchen, his backpack slung over his shoulder.

He looks around, taking in the old oak cabinetry and worn yellow tile. The cozy space instantly feels smaller with his large presence in it, and I have to swallow down a ball of dread. My mind can’t shake off what happened in the hallway yesterday.

“Where do you want to work?” Even his quiet, old Rob voice makes me wince.

“Nowhere, but since you’ve already ingratiated yourself with my grandparents, they’ll have a conniption if I kick you out like I was planning. So just…go sit over there.” I gesture to the kitchen table, effectively dismissing him until I can swallow some caffeine and pills.

My hands shake with the need to pet my cat for comfort. Actually, if I’m lucky enough for Gatoula to wander into the kitchen, maybe Rob will be horribly allergic and have to leave. Yeah…that could work. Here’s to hoping.

He’s bent over, unzipping his backpack when Tini comes stalking into the room, presumably bound to follow him like some pheromone-driven animal. He unpacks his books slowly, oblivious to her presence.

“What do you want to start on? Bio or calc?”

“Neither. Coffee first. Talk later. Give me ten minutes.” Ah, the sweet burn of my favorite drug. I’m gonna need at least another two mugs to make it through this study session.

Tini does her little flirty laugh as she drapes herself across Rob’s arm. He shoots me a pleading look that can only be translated as “help.”

“Oh, Evie. You’re gonna need more than ten minutes to make yourself decent. Your hair looks like a rat’s nest. I can’t believe you came down here in your PJs and glasses. I’ll keep Rob company while you go do…something.”

The evil grin that settles across his face makes me nervous. He’s about to do something stupid. “Your sister is drop-dead gorgeous without even trying, unlike some people who have to rely on nudity. So tell me, Christina, when’s the last time you talked to Ioannis?”

Between what he said about me, the look of triumph on his face, and the expression of horror on hers, I forget that I have a mouthful of coffee. Some of it gets spit out all over the floor. The greater portion goes down the wrong way, and the battle for air that ensues distracts me from Tini fleeing the room.

Rob sits back in his chair at the table, arms crossed over his broad chest. A smug smile graces his face. “Now that’s what I call payback.”

“Hey! You don’t get to do shit like that to my sister. I’m the only one allowed to torture her.” I have no intention of even addressing the other elephant in the room. If he thinks some fake compliment is going to let him off the hook for sticking his nose in my business, he’s sadly mistaken. Although, he did manage to distract me from my fears. An impressive feat.