Jolted (Conflicted Encounters #1) (9 page)

I eventually settled on the couch and turned on the TV. I spotted a cartoon and started laughing hysterically at the talking dog. He was arguing with a talking baby with a British accent; it was the funniest thing I had ever seen. My sides hurt from laughing so hard that when the show finally ended, I was almost relieved. To my delight, another episode was on next. I kicked off my shoes, pulled my feet up on the couch, and sat back to continuing enjoying the show.

Halfway through the episode, I jumped up when I heard the door open and Ryder came in. I waved enthusiastically at him and went back to my show. After another laughing fit, I noticed Ryder watching me with a curious look.

"What?" I asked defensively.

"Are you watching Family Guy?" he asked me, coming in to look at the TV.

"I don't know what this is, but it's super," I laughed.

"You’ve never watched this before?" he asked incredulously.

"Nope," I said, popping the “p” sound a little too much.
 

He shook his head and walked back into the kitchen. He picked up the brown paper bag and empty coffee cup and examined them. Hearing the rustling of the paper bag perked my interest.

"Oh! I forgot about that. I'm starving," I said, getting up and rushing him for the bag.

"Where did you get it?" he asked, holding the bag up over his head and out of my reach.

"It's mine," I whined, hopping up and down, trying to reach the treat.

"Who gave it you?"
 

"That boy at the coffee place," I huffed and pouted like a child. "Can I have it now? Please?"

Ryder looked down into my eyes and sighed. He reluctantly handed me back the bag, and I quickly pulled out my precious brownie.

"Why did you ask for one of those?" he asked, watching me break it into little bit-sized pieces.
 

"He gave them to me for free," I exclaimed with a full mouth. I offered him a piece, but he shook his head and mumbled something under his breath. His eyebrows came together and I wanted to reach up and smooth out the lines on his forehead. A laugh bubbling up from deep inside me was all that stopped me from touching his face. When Ryder glared at me, I only laughed harder.

"You're so mad," I giggled and pointed at his scowl.

"And you're high," he pointed out. I stopped laughing.

"No, I'm not," I told him, confused.

"Yes, you are. It's in the brownies, sweetheart. They're called
special
brownies," he said with sly smile, placing emphasis on the word
special
.

"Huh," I said, going to the fridge.

"What are you doing? And that's all you have to say to that?" he asked, sounding almost angry.

"I'm extremely thirsty. And I am being very rude just helping myself to your stuff." I realized it was and quickly closed the fridge door. After a moment, I changed my mind. "But I've never been rude before. So, here I go," I sang out and rummaged through the fridge.

"Here," Ryder said, gently pulling me out of the way and reaching behind all the beer to grab a can of soda.
 

"Thanks," I said before opening the can and quickly chugging some. "Why am I still hungry?"

He laughed at me. "It's called the munchies. You’ve never smoked before, have you?"

"No, never," I admitted, shaking my head back and forth quickly. "Am I going to die?" I whispered, wide-eyed.

Now it was his turn to laugh. "No, you'll be fine. Don't worry so much," he said, plopping down on the couch. "I won't let anything happen to you."

Embarrassed, I followed him to the living room. I had no idea what I was thinking. I was a smart girl, and I knew I wouldn't die from ingesting a laced brownie. It wasn't scientifically probable. I sighed and laid down on the floor, stretching my arms and legs out.

"This isn't so bad," I thought out loud.

"No?" Ryder asked, eyeing me curiously.

"Not really. I stopped thinking."

"What do you not want to think about?" he prodded.
 

"Everything and nothing," I said, closing my eyes.

"Cryptic," he laughed.

"My parents would kill me if they could see me right now," I mused. "Here's a photo for the community newspaper. Kallie Adams. Stoned!"

"Want me to send them a photo?" Ryder joked, pointing his phone at me.

"You should," I giggled. "I don't want to be her anymore. I just want to be someone else. Anyone else."

The door opened and stopped me from any more mouth diarrhea. I smiled at Scarlett as she came in the room and stared at the two of us.

"What's going on?" she asked her brother.

"She had some of Scott's brownies," he told her while I nodded along with his explanation.

"Uh oh," she said coming over to me. "How you feeling?"
 

"Fine. Don't baby me. I'm cool," I said, acting tough.

"Right," she said as she stood. "You let her?"

"No. She was like this when I found her," he told her, raising his hands in defense.

"Can I get a tattoo?" I interrupted the two.

"No," they both said without even looking at me. They seemed to be having their own argument without words.
 

I struggled to pull myself up and glared back and forth at the two. Ryder finally saw me and tried to hide a laugh. Scarlett just looked concerned when she finally looked at me.
 

"To be honest, I don't really need permission," I said, completely serious.

"I know, babe. I just think we should hangout at home tonight," Scarlett said. "You know, get some movies and pizza and just chill out."

Pizza sounded amazing. I pretended to be considering her offer for a few seconds so I didn't look like I was a pushover.
 

"Fine. But I really do want a tattoo," I said, leaning back and putting my feet up on the couch. "And piercings. Oh! And we should dye my hair black or purple," I said, getting excited.

"One step at a time," Scarlett laughed as she browsed through the movies on a shelf near the TV.

"What’s with the sudden bucket list?" Ryder asked, leaning down to look at me. He was suddenly the only thing I saw.

"I don't want to be me any more. I can't be that girl. I want to forget that girl," I said. Tears blurred my vision and broke the spell he had on me. I quickly sat up and drank my pop. Ryder took the hint that the conversation was over.
 

I had to be careful; I was letting my guard down. The second I told them the truth, what I was going through, they would look at me the same way everyone else did. I couldn't handle that. I couldn't look at another face full of pity and not think of how I lost Carter. I didn’t want to be the girl who lost Carter; I wasn’t her anymore.
 

Scarlett called off movie names, but I barely listened. My mind couldn’t focus on anything. When it seemed like they finally settled on a movie, she put it in the player and went to the kitchen to call for pizza. I crawled up the couch next to Ryder and waited for someone to push play. When the previews started, I realized we were watching a scary movie.
 

I never really could stomach gore and never could make it through a scary movie without hiding under the covers. I usually stuck to safe chick flicks and comedies. The new Kallie would embrace the terror and horror. I bounced up and down, excited for my new adventure. Scarlett sat on the other side of me and tossed me a light blanket. I pulled my knees up to my chest and held my breath during the opening scenes.

A girl was running from an old farmhouse and through the woods, covered in dirt and bloody cuts. My heart raced in my chest. Her breathing was hard and she kept looking behind her as she ran. The screen finally showed a large man with a disfigured face stalking behind her. I jumped and grasped the blanket in my hands. I heard the two giggling, but I couldn't seem to laugh back.

I watched, wide-eyed and on edge, while the young girl ran away from the monster. Her clothes were torn from the branches and she was screaming for help. I clenched the blanket, waiting for her to reach help. Just when I thought she would burst through the darkness, a large blade came through her chest, making blood squirt everywhere.

I screamed and pulled the covers over my eyes. Scarlett and Ryder laughed at me while I peeked over the blankets and watched her body get dragged away. Words flashed across the screen, and suddenly, kids were roaming around a college campus. I let out a sigh of relief and lowered my shield. I glanced at Scarlett and she was texting on her phone. I glanced over to Ryder and he was watching me with a smirk.

I glared back at him for finding my terror funny. His hand came over and rested on mine as he leaned close to me. He squeezed and massaged my hand, loosening my grip on the blanket. "Your knuckles are white," he whispered in my ear. His breath tickled me. All my senses were on edge already.

When my grip let go, my hands ached. I didn't realize how hard I was holding on. I wiped my sweaty palms on the couch and watched the screen. The movie didn't seem scary at the moment, so I let my breathing and heart rate return to normal. Finally, we heard a knock on the door. Scarlett hopped up to grab the door and Ryder grabbed the remote to hit pause.

Scarlett took the recliner and I took her spot on the couch, while Ryder sat at the very opposite end. After we were all settled with plates of pizza and wings, the movie started again. I shoved food in my mouth like I hadn't eaten in days. I licked my fingers clean of the wing sauce and chugged almost a whole two-liter of Coke. I sat down my plate when the six college kids showed up at the farmhouse from the beginning.
 

I leaned back against the arm of the couch and fought the urge to yell at the screen, telling them to run away. They were walking into trap and would all be killed. With my nervous energy as the idiots explored the house, I stretched my legs out on the couch, making sure to leave Ryder plenty of room. I grabbed my invincible blanket and got prepared.
 

I waited on edge for the deformed maniac to pop out and scare the crap out of me. I kept telling myself not to scream when it happened. A firm squeeze on my foot caused me to jump. I looked down and Ryder was holding one of my feet still, while the other shook with nervousness. I shrugged and gave him a sheepish smile. I hadn't meant to disturb him.

I clenched the blanket harder and pulled it closer to my face. His hand didn't let go of me and I tried to keep the other foot still. One of the more slutty girls was running through the basement, that she should have never gone into, and my foot shook faster. Ryder grabbed the free one and held it still as well. I pulled the covers over my eyes when the killer came closer, peeking just over the edge.

Ryder's hands started to rub my feet. It was so gentle at first that I barely noticed. His fingers made circles on my heels and my muscles started to relax. The killer got the slutty one in the basement and I covered my face as he slashed her up. I glared over at Scarlett when I heard her laugh at me.
 

Ryder's fingers moved to my ankles and slipped my socks off. I didn't dare to look down at him. I didn't know what to say to him if he looked back at me. I didn't want to tell him to stop, although I should. His rough, calloused hands massaged my ankles and moved up higher on my leg. My eyes stayed on the screen, while my mind stayed on his hands.

His touch tickled, but was rough at the same time. I concentrated on the sensation of his touch. My skin flamed and sizzled where his fingers rubbed and grazed. His hands rubbed and burned from my ankles and higher up my legs. Carter held my hand during movies, but he didn't sensually touch and massage me. My breath quickened and my heart raced, only I didn't think it was from the movie.
 

I was only mildly terrified as I watched the deformed man chase down and kill the rest of the group. Most of the time my mind was thinking about how good his touch felt. When the credits finally ran, I let out a breath of relief. Ryder's hands slowly drifted back down my legs and disappeared.
 

"Did you shred my favorite quilt?" Scarlett teased as she carried the plates to the kitchen.

"No. This thing is made of steel, didn't you know?" I called back to her.

"You feeling better?" she asked me.

"Yes, actually. Not so fuzzy," I told her.

"Good. I'm heading to bed. I got work tomorrow. Good night, babe," she said, leaning in to give me hug.

I hugged her back and squeezed tightly. "Thank you," I whispered in her ear. She nodded and let go of me.

I smiled at her back while she headed to her room. I had no idea why she decided to help me, but I was glad she did. I would have no where to go but home. She took in a stranger, and I couldn't say I would have done the same thing in her position. That made her a better person than me. It didn't matter who had more money, or a better job, or good grades. My parents, money, and looks didn't give me a bigger heart than Scarlett's.
 

"Well, I guess I'm hitting it, too," Ryder said, standing up.
 

"Oh. Okay," I said, trying not to sound disappointed. "Good night."

He looked down at me for a second before responding, "Good night."

He turned and headed back to his room. I wished I remembered sleeping in that bed with him. Even if I would never do it again and it turned out to be the worse decision of my life, I wanted the memory. I wanted to know what something different was like. He turned off the lights before going into his room.

"Wait," I called out. "Can you leave them on?" I asked when he poked his head back out.

"Really?" he asked me, shocked.

"Yeah. Don't make fun of me," I scolded.

He gave me a gentle smile and turned the light back on. Before closing the French doors to his room, he called out, "Don't go in the basement."

I jumped up, locked the front door, and ran back to the couch. I grabbed my protective blanket and crawled underneath. My exhaustion quickly caught up with me and I drifted to sleep, wondering what Ryder's hands felt like on the night I can't remember.