Inevitable (17 page)

“Oh. Yes.” Great. I was acting weird again.

Aaron shifted his weight. “You want to stand by the fire? It’s a bit warmer.”

“Great idea. Come on.” I hurried toward the music and the fire. I had to lift my arms above my head and thread my way through the jibing, shaking crowd which thickened the closer I got to the fire. “Dana!” This time I succeeded in reaching her. “Dana, have you been drinking?”

“No.” She glanced at the beer that had somehow opened itself and placed itself in her hand. “Oh, Jaynie.” She looked back at me, large eyes pleading. “Just a little. It’s a party, okay? Don’t spazz on me.”

Don’t spazz? My best friend was drinking!

She had already forgotten about me standing there. She wrapped her arms around another dude, not even the same one that had given her the beer. I felt a hard pit in my stomach. What else did she do that I didn’t know about?

“Aaron! Hey!”

A couple of kids I recognized but didn’t know came over to Aaron. It looked like they were trying to do the whole boy-swagger-handshake thing, but Aaron didn’t quite know how. Which made me bite my lip to keep from laughing. These guys were on the football team, and they walked as if each step weighed their shoulders to the ground. Most shouldered their letter jackets next to hair that was either too long and in their eyes, or too short and spiky.

And then there was Aaron, standing straight like a concert pianist, his hair nicely parted and combed to the side. His form-fitting jeans were similar to theirs, but his sweater and white shirt with the top two buttons undone gave him the look of a law student at a frat party.

Fingers closed around my forearm, and I jumped, startled out of my deep study of Aaron. I came face to face with Stephen, a chunk of golden-brown hair falling across his tanned forehead. I resisted the urge to reach up and brush it back.

“Jayne.” He smiled at me, and the faint hint of alcohol that emitted from his breath killed all tender urges I might have for him.

“Stephen.” I sighed and pulled my arm away. Stephen had his father’s tendency when it came to alcohol, and he was always inebriated within ten minutes of arriving at a party. “I should have known you’d be here.”

“The surprising thing is that you are,” he countered. “I never see you anywhere these days.”

I peered over his shoulder. “Where’s your girlfriend?”

He gave a grunt that I recognized as annoyance. “I told you. We broke up.”

I crossed my arms and settled back to stare at him. “So you came alone?”

He wrapped an arm around me and nuzzled my neck, his stubble tickling me. “I’m not alone now.”

“I hope I’m not interrupting.” Aaron’s voice caused me to jerk back. He had a bemused expression on his face while he regarded us.

Stephen peered at him, blinking a few times. “Do we know you?”

“Jayne does.” Aaron looked at me, though he made no motion to approach me.

I swallowed and took a step back from Stephen. “Aaron, this is Stephen. He’s on the lacrosse team. We’re—” I choked and forced the word out, “friends. Stephen, this is Aaron. He’s new, from England.”

“We’re together.” Now Aaron hooked a finger through one of my belt loops and pulled me closer to him. I leaned into him, relief warming my body. He claimed me. We were together. At least for the moment.

Stephen rubbed a fist into his eye and looked at me again. “Wait, I don’t get it. You’re seeing someone, Jayne?”

I stuck the tip of a finger in my mouth, anxiously seeking a fingernail. Finding it already chewed off, I gnawed on the side of my finger instead. What should I say? What did Aaron expect me to say?

“Looks like it,” Aaron replied, and for the first time I heard a note of a challenge in his voice. “Is that a problem?”

“Hell it is!” Stephen’s green eyes flashed and he glared at me. “Did you start seeing him before or after you kissed me?”

I was glad it was dark, because I knew my face was burning crimson. “You kissed me!” Oh heck, why did he bring that up? What would Aaron think of me now? “Stephen, don’t make a scene. We can discuss this later.”

“Right.” Stephen glared at me, his jaw clenching and unclenching. My gut twisted when I saw that he was genuinely distressed. “Whenever you decide it’s worth your time to call me, that is.”

I pushed my guilt aside. He hadn’t been too concerned about my feelings when he cheated on me with Jessica, after all. “I’ll call.” I hoped he would read my eyes. I was begging him to go.

Stephen met my gaze. He knew I hated confrontations. “Whatever, Jayne.” He paused a moment, then shrugged and walked away. Probably to get another beer.

I felt bad for thinking it, but it was true. That’s what he did when he was upset.

The pressure on my jeans relented, and Aaron pulled back. “Is that over?”

“I’m sorry.” I pressed a hand to my head. “Maybe we should just go.”

“If you want. So.” He smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling. “You should have told me you have a boyfriend.”

“Ex. Ex-boyfriend.” Such a shallow way to describe the extent of mine and Stephen’s relationship. I was wrecking this, I could feel it. No wonder Aaron preferred Libby over me. What a mess this night was turning out to be. I gnawed anxiously on my thumb nail, looking anywhere but at Aaron.

He pried my hand from my mouth. “Let’s start over and pretend like we just got here. Look, there’s Dana. Shall we say hello?”

“Yes.” I took a deep breath.

“Come on, then.” Aaron slipped his fingers around mine and pulled me forward. My stomach fluttered at the contact and some of my nerves relaxed. I’d offered Aaron an out, and he hadn’t taken it. For now, at least, he was only interested in me. The question was, should I run while I still could? Or should I take what I could get?

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

W
e neared the group of kids next to Dana. She no longer danced, but lay sideways on the rotting leaves next to the fire, singing to herself. Twigs and dirt clung to her face and hair.

Aaron glanced at me, and I knew what he thought.

“I’ve never seen her like this,” I tried to explain. But it was useless. Dana was making a fool of herself.

“I’m sure it’s not her,” Aaron said. “It’s those blokes she’s with.”

Right. We could blame the stupid college kids. I pulled away from him and marched into the group of boys, ready to tell them off. Just because they were of legal drinking age (and I had my doubts) didn’t mean they could be so irresponsible. I grabbed one by the arm.

“Hey, pretty sister,” he said, hooking me by my jeans. “Wanna play?”

“Let me go!” I yanked backwards, angry words on the tip of my tongue.

“What’s the matter?” He slinked closer, fingers clutching at my pants again. “You grabbed me, remember?”

“Let her go.” Aaron was suddenly there behind me, his jaw tight.

“Hey! She grabbed on to me.”

“Is there a problem here?” A third guy, this one with greasy hair and a gold hoop in his left ear, stepped between us. He was so covered in bonfire smoke that I didn’t realize he was the bearer of the lemon smell until our eyes met.

In an instant, the world around me faded.

The car is careening down an empty street. Laughing, Hank takes another swig from his beer. “Who’s up for dancing? Let’s go Samba!” He shakes the steering wheel to mimic the gesture of hips moving, the car swerving from lane to lane.

“I’m up for it!” Chad, in the backseat, has his arm around Dana, whose face is flushed, eyelids heavy. “I bet you can shake it, huh?”

Dana offers a limp smile, eyes drooping closed for a moment.

Hank checks them out in the rearview mirror. “She’s plastered, man. You gonna get some.”

Sirens start up close by, and he jerks the wheel, nearly taking out a fire hydrant. He swears violently. “Cops! On my tail!”

“Lose ‘em!” Chad looks visibly alarmed, excitement and stupor gone. “Faster!”

Hank speeds up, jumping through the empty street. The police car gains on them, coming close enough to ram the vehicle. He pumps his foot on the gas, willing the stupid car to move.

Around the corner another police car, lights already flashing, enters the intersection and stops in front of Hank’s car. Gasping, he yanks the steering wheel to the side and tries to avoid the roadblock. His reflexes are too slow, though, and his car jumps onto the sidewalk.

For a moment Hank sees everything in slow motion: the police lights, the bumping sidewalk, the approaching light pole. And then his side of the car smashes into the pole. The window shatters on impact and Hank cracks his head on the pole before everything goes black.

I took a step back, sputtering and shaking. Where was I? Nausea curled around my stomach and I swallowed several times. Breathing deeply, my head aching, I bent over, resting my hands on my knees.

Hank laughed, an ugly, nasal sound. “I think it’s time for her to go home. She’s already had too much.”

Strong hands gripped my shoulders and pulled me up. “Jayne?” Aaron said. “Are you all right?”

“Yes.” I straightened, coming back to my senses. “I’m fine.” Lifting my eyes, I saw her, standing on the other side of the bonfire. The flames struck strange shadows across her hollowed cheekbones, the evanescent white gown blowing in a non-existent breeze. I yanked on Aaron’s arm. “Aaron. Look there, through the bonfire.”

He squinted and followed my finger. “Okay?”

“Do you see a woman?”

He glanced at me and turned back to the fire, his brow furrowing. “You mean, like in the flames?”

“No, no. On the other side.”

“No.” He squinted at me. “Did you see someone?”

She still stood there, only now I thought I saw a smile on her lips. I let his arm go, feeling triumphant. I had just proved it. Only I could see her. “No, I didn’t. Just wondering.”

Forget the woman. I had to talk to Dana. My heart raced with anxiety. What happened to her? I hadn’t Seen her future. Did she die in the car accident, like Hank? No matter what happened, I had to keep her out of that car. I spun toward where she lay on the ground, only she wasn’t there anymore. I panicked. Had they left already? “Where’s Dana?”

Aaron pointed a few yards across the sand. Dana leaned into Chad, the dude who had been in the backseat with her, and swayed to music. “Give me a minute.”

Aaron’s eyes were creased with concern. “Can I help?”

With a sinking feeling I realized I wasn’t helping our date much. I kept getting weirder and weirder. Well, it wasn’t in our destiny to be together. Dana, I still had a chance to save. “Not right now.” I steeled myself and walked away from him, approaching my best friend. “Dana.” I touched her arm, annoyed at the uncertainty I felt. “Can I talk to you?”

She turned and regarded me. “Hey, was that you that caused the commotion back there?”

I flushed. “I need to talk to you.”

Dana glanced around and lowered her voice. “Jayne, you’re acting strange. People are noticing. Lighten up, okay? It’s a party.”

Tell me about it. I took a deep breath. “Dana, let’s go. Let’s leave this place.”

“’Scuse us a sec.” Dana flashed a smile at Chad and moved a few steps away. As soon as we were alone, the smile dropped off her face. “What’s your problem?”

“My problem?” I echoed. “Since when do you drink?”

She had the grace to blush. “I don’t usually drink, okay? But these are older kids. They’ll take care of us.”

“We’re leaving.” I took her hand and started to pull.

“Whoa, Nelly!” Dana backed up. “Who
are
you? I don’t think so, girl. I’m having fun. You don’t like it, you go.” She shooed her hands at me.

This was not going the way I wanted it to at all. Why had I thought she would just come with me? She needed more evidence. With a sinking heart, I knew she wouldn’t believe me. I should’ve told her years ago.

But I had to try. “Okay, I’m going to tell you something.” I took a deep breath and blurted, “I can see the future. I know I’ve never told you about it, and I’m sorry. But I saw you getting in the car with that guy,” I inclined my head toward Hank, “and getting in a car wreck. I don’t know if you were hurt or not, but the thing is, Dana, you can’t get in that car with him. You need to leave with me.”