My Night Breeze (The Breeze Series) (20 page)

A ban
g on the door sent Audra down to the dining room for family dinner. A new addition sat beside Jim—Tobias. Whether it was Jim’s idea or her mom’s, it was clear that Dad wasn’t on board. He didn’t bother to make polite conversation and only gruffed out a few syllables to mom. Audra didn’t mind the silence as it was better than being chided, but she took the time to look at her dad.

The thin lips of his mouth turned down at the corners
. She took in his facial features including light brown eyes and matching hair with a receding hairline. Doing her best to ignore the way he chewed his food with such force, it seemed that almost every part of him had been running away. Even his personality had been a faded memory lost long ago. What happened to him?

The sound of
Mom clearing her throat caught Audra’s attention. The following look was easily readable; it’s impolite to stare. Audra sighed, picking at her plate, doing her best to hold in the sheer curiosity sitting at the table. Tobias, being an unusual guest for dinner, only heightened the intensity of pretending to be normal. He was more than aware of how the family worked, but a front was always trying to be upheld.

Dinner passed by slowly
, but eventually it was acceptable to clean up. Mom refused to accept help, sending them all into the living room to watch TV. Audra sat on the couch while Jim flipped through channels. Tobias kept silent, but his eyes were sweeping in her direction every time he glanced at Jim. It wouldn’t be so noticeable if she weren’t feeling so hyper-aware. It might be the fact that her dad was sitting in the overstuffed arm chair only a few feet away.

Between her
discomfort level and the awkward silence echoing around the room, the urge to flee was almost overflowing. Audra finally made her move, leaving the living room and heading up the stairs to the safety of her room. The click of the door shutting sent relief throughout her chest. Something about being in such close proximity to all of them seemed to be putting her off. Even looks from Tobias felt like a huge neon sign blinking, ‘Awkward.’

No wonder she was such a mess if she could
n’t bear to be together with her family for longer than an hour. It was remarkable that she was able to find some sort of connection to Stephen, let alone Mateo. The only difference was that Mateo was so far from normal that it might be the exact reason why she opened up to him. Regardless of his attempts to fit in, he had the option of just leaving whenever he wanted. The option she lacked completely.

*****

“I still can’t believe you’re here.”

“Yeah
, well, even I have some surprises left,” she said dryly.

“You’re not the only one.”

“Has Chris still not come around yet?” she asked.

“I just don’t get it. I know I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Then maybe it would be best if you moved on? If he won’t even talk to you then there is no point, right?” she continued.

“
Yeah…you’re right…but I don’t want to give up on him. I really like him.”

Audra shrugged
her shoulders, unable to truly comfort her friend like she wanted. Relationships could be so complicated, but for some reason, his always seemed to be far more drama-filled than most. Stephen had a big heart and seemed to love quickly…something that she hadn’t been able to do. Maybe that was the problem; she should be trying to be more like Stephen than hiding away. It’d be a first.

“If you believe he is worth fighting for then do it.”

“I think he is,” Stephen said.

“Then call him right now. I have to head back
, but get him to listen.”

“I’ll try. Thanks
,” he said hopefully.

Stephen hugged
her briefly before walking her out the door. Audra made her path down the sidewalk towards her house, thinking all the while. Relationships were based on communication, whether those relationships were friendship, family or a boyfriend. She hadn’t been open with the people who were supposed to be the closest to her. They may know what she was only just starting to fully understand about her past, but they didn’t know the person she was today.

The only person to change that wa
s her.

*****

She shut her locker as a warm breeze blew against the side of her face. The feeling caused her to close her eyes, enjoying the pleasantness of the feeling. Audra took a slow, deep breath before turning to find Mateo leaning against his locker, his eyes trained on her. As she slowly advanced in his direction, his eyes slowly took her in from bottom to top. Instant butterflies formed in her stomach, but she refused to let it get the best of her.

Just as she began
to pass through an opening between peers, a set of hands grabbed her shoulders, forcing her back towards her original side. Confusion wrapped up with irritation began to form for only a millisecond before Stephen grabbed her attention fully. His hair appeared shaggy, and although a few runs of his hand were normal for a change up, looking closer she could tell he had been tugging at it all morning. Even his chocolate eyes resembled whipped mousse.

“What’s wrong?”

“Too much for a Monday morning but listen…” Stephen looked around quickly. “Val and her pack of idiots are on a war path.”

“There is no reason to believe she’d start up again towards me. I’ve done nothing.”

“You did nothing in the first place!”

“True.”

“Come on,” Stephen said.

They walk
ed down the hall back to the corner, reaching the doorway of the homeroom. Only when she placed her hand on the doorknob did she realize that it’d been locked. The room appeared empty and dark which was unusual. She tugged one more time but it was hopeless—there was no way inside.

Audra glanced
back to Stephen to convey the obvious when movement just behind him caught her eye. Strawberry blonde hair bounced closer, determination clear on her flawless face. Fear started to creep closer with every step the girl and her friends took. Trying to hide behind Stephen would be pointless. She’d rather not appear as afraid as she felt; however, she also didn’t want to leave Stephen to fight her battles for her. She made a point of leaning against the door, averting her attention away from the hall.

“W
hat’s that smell?” one girl asked.

“It’s ran
k like a skunk,” another girl replied.

“Oh
, hey, Audra. Didn’t think to shower today?” Valerie laughed.

A
udra made a point of digging her feet in and holding onto the reserve of silence. Responding only made it worse, but it seemed harder for her to bite her own tongue. She kept her eyes on Stephen. If she didn’t look at the group, maybe they would get bored and quickly move on. She mentally crossed her fingers.

“Got nothin’ to say?”
one asked.

“Maybe all that whoring has clo
gged her throat,” another stated.

“You’re such a slut. Though I don’t know anyone who would
want to touch you,” Valerie sneered.

It was clear that students we
re starting to hang around the sides of the hall to watch the scene playing out. Audra made the mental note to keep looking at Stephen but couldn’t stop her eyes from skimming towards Valerie, noticing Mateo and Ryan staring in apparent shock. Anxiety flourished like a raging typhoon from her stomach all the way up to her eyes, demolishing everything in its path before sweeping it all away leaving nothing but a memory of what used to be her cool.

“
I can barely stand the sight of you. Dirty whore,” Valerie spat.

“
I'm pure. The first guy I'm with will know I've been nowhere else. Unfortunately, the next guy you’re with will be like a tennis ball bouncing around a hallway,” Audra said crisply.

“
You’re a nasty piece of work, Valerie,” Stephen commented.

Audra’s
response stilled Valerie as well as the rest of the group who clearly didn’t expect her to respond—and certainly not like that. The silence lasted only a moment before giggles, chuckles and then outright laughter echoed off the walls. Valerie tried to speak over the noise, but it was a lost cause. The clear frustration on her face didn’t send fear through Audra.

Mr. Donohoe made
his way gruffly through the crowd. “Hey, guys. Get to class. You’re clogging up the hallways.”

His approach
dispersed the onlookers, but Valerie looked to be ready to attack. Mr. Donohoe reached the doorway as Audra moved over, allowing him to unlock it; however, he didn’t go inside. He turned towards her and Stephen and waved them in. She shrugged her shoulders to her friend following instructions and went right to her seat. Only once she tossed her backpack beside her desk did the teacher wave her to continue to the desk.

Nervous
ness started to settle in; she’d never been scolded by a teacher before. Just like anyone else, she did the best she could to avoid any type of reprimand when it came to teachers. She wrapped her arms around her waist as she arrived at his desk while he put his shoulder bag down. He wouldn’t look up at her until he sat down.

“What was all that about?”

“She doesn’t like me,” Audra admitted honestly.

“I can see that
, and by the face you’re making, it’s clear you’re not too fond of her either.”

Audra shook
her head in response.

“Just know that you can always find a teacher if need be. Or just go to the
principal’s office.”

“I know
,” she said.

“Al
l right.”

The dismissal wa
s clear in the tone of his voice, and she didn’t hesitate to escape back to the security of her desk. Stephen raised his eyebrow in question, but she shook her head, not wanting to get into it. So much for her plans for the morning. She couldn’t even bring herself to look back towards Mateo. It was clear that he saw what happened and worse, what she had said in response. Like she needed another reason to despise Mondays.

The feeling of two angry snakes hissing, attacking and rattling their tai
ls inside Audra’s stomach left her unsociable. Just trying to keep her mind off of the pain was almost impossible. The few pills she had taken hadn’t kicked in yet, and the mere fact that her next class was gym was reason enough to have a short temper.

“You look awful
. What happened?” Stephen inquired.

“Thanks a lot.”

“Sorry, did this just happen all of a sudden?” he asked.

“Yeah, I mean
, the only thing I ate was that muffin you shared with me.”

“Yeah
, but you look…not good,” he said.

“I’m sitting out today.”

Stephen walked her to class but headed into the locker room. Audra went over to the small office at the end of the gym. The sound of Mr. Adams on the phone was loud enough that she decided to wait for him to finish. After a few minutes, the coach hung up only to appear with a scowl upon his face. Audra advised of her stomach issue but Coach made a strange face holding up his hands.

“I don’t need nor want to know. Go sit on the bleachers.”

Audra, bewildered, did just that. Only after thinking for a few minutes had she realized that he construed her stomach pains for menstrual cramps. It would be comical if she weren’t in actual pain. Sitting at the top of the bleachers, she watched Coach give directions to the fellow students but halfway through the class the pain ratcheted up into nausea.

She clamped
her hand over her mouth, rushing down the bleacher steps and into the female locker room. She ran into a stall in the small bathroom as a neon yellow fluid poured out of her mouth. A strange, deep moaning erupted from her throat as she continued to get the last of it out.

Us
ing some toilet paper, she wiped her mouth, but before she tossed it into the toilet she noticed something peculiar. The contents of her stomach seemed to be floating on the surface of the water while the yellow fluid had sunk down to the base of the bowl. Even in the tiny, confined area it looked to be swirling around, looking for a way out. The idea grossed her out even more and she flushed it, completely weirded out.

Audra went
to the sink to wash her hands, rinse out her mouth and wipe down her face. Only then did she notice how oddly pale her skin appeared. Stephen wasn’t kidding when he said she looked awful. In fact, he was being generous if she were truly honest with herself. The bags under her eyes appeared darker than usual, enough to make her look like she belonged in ICU at a hospital.

She made
her way out of the locker room just as the whistle was blown. Stephen looked towards the bleachers just as she sat down. He came over to check on her, but his expression did little to ease her concerns. She just hoped that she wasn’t contagious. No one should have to relive what she just went through.

“How you doin’?”

“I got sick in the bathroom. My stomach doesn’t hurt anymore, but I still feel bad,” she said.

“I love you
, but I’m not sharing my baked goods with you anymore. Chris made it for me with an apology.”

“Y
ou guys worked it out?” she asked.

“Yeah, we had a good long talk. Things are getting better.”

“Don’t tell him I ate half of his apology,” Audra said.

“Well
, duh. I don’t need him to be mad at me. Or worse, have him feel bad that it made you ill.”

Stephen thumbed
towards the locker room and she agreed, understanding he had to change. Audra collected her backpack before going to the gym doors to wait for the bell. Obviously, it wasn’t the muffin that made her sick because it would have done the same to Stephen. Maybe she caught something somewhere else? The idea of going to the nurse might be a good one.

The locker room door opened
, allowing a group of guys out, but the sight of Mateo made her swallow hard. She hadn’t spoken to him for days, something she was willing to continue at the moment. The memory of his expression after her confrontation with Valerie was only too fresh in her mind. He probably thought her a terrible person for saying what she said; even she couldn’t believe the words passed through her mouth.

She turned
her back on him just as the bell began to ring. Waiting on Stephen was no longer an option. She went out into the hallway, keeping her head down. A mixture of shame and guilt joined together, mixing with her awful feelings. The journey to her next class was short, and she refused to hang around in the hall.

*****

“Have some.”

“I don’t drink, you know that,” Audra complained.

“Trust me, this will cure anything you’ve got.”

“I won’t do it,” she said.

“Then here.”

Audra accepted the cup of soda, pleased with her stance against Tobias’s attempts. No matter how many quotes he threw at her or strange facts he brought up, her decision was the same. She didn’t want to drink alcohol. She sipped her soda a few times before getting settled into the couch.

He brought
his bottle of beer with him to join her on the couch. They flicked through channels on the TV, but nothing seemed to hold her attention. The warmth began to settle into her stomach again. She looked into the glass but didn’t notice anything more than the soda. For once, she felt unsure about spending so much time with her friend.

Tobias had
been there for her for years, but lately there had been this tension that she couldn’t explain. Her feelings towards him hadn’t changed, but she couldn’t figure out what had. It could be his awkward offer a few days ago or maybe the after effect of her interaction with Mateo, but either way the change was clear. She was at his house on a school night, watching TV and hanging out with him on her own. Friends did this all the time. Why was it making her feel strange?

It would be an understatement of the year not to acknowledge the changes going on in her life
, but could that be it? Her memory attacks were hard enough to deal with on their own, but adding in the Mateo aspect had triggered something. Emotions she hadn’t felt before, thoughts she didn’t think were in her future for a long time. Adding Tobias to the growing list wasn’t something she cared for, especially since he was the only one close enough to her who had the knowledge of her past.

Aft
er two cups of soda, she decided to call it a night. Tobias offered to bring her home, but she said she’d rather walk. The tension only seemed to heighten with time, something she wanted to avoid at this point. She began to walk down the street enjoying the streetlights and quiet surroundings. The cooler temperature caught her attention while only a block away from Tobias’s house, but she refused to walk back to his house.

Audra crossed
the street, making the trip to her home quickly while speed walking. Going up the path to the house, voices could be heard through the door. It was more than clear that Dad and Jim were having a disagreement; something else she’d rather avoid tonight. She ducked around the side of the house towards her tree. She hadn’t locked the latch on her window, making the decision easy.

She secured
her backpack before reaching up to the tree limb. The climb seemed to be getting easier with every attempt, and it made her smile. She never would have had the courage to do anything like this if it hadn’t been for Mateo. Thoughts of his tiny smirk teasing her caused her own smile to widen. He was the only one who seemed to cause so much drama in the smallest ways possible. Even that hadn’t deterred her from his friendship.

Maybe if she got off of her high hor
se and talked to him about what was going on, things would be less weird. All she seemed to do when around him was pump him for answers about things he didn’t seem to want to share. Maybe he’d be more willing if she was more open and honest instead of being so afraid. Stephen wasn’t afraid to give of himself or fight for what he wanted; it was something that she desired to be able to do.

Reaching up for the next limb see
med only a bit farther than she realized. She tried to balance her weight safely before extending her arm up. Gripping the branch, she began to tug herself upwards while placing her foot on another branch only to lose her grip. In a rush, she tried to grip the branches around her but she was unable. In a rough huff, she hit the ground.

*****

Slipping her backpack on her right shoulder, she kicked her locker shut. The welcoming silence in homeroom assisted in easing her worries. She dropped her backpack down at her seat but went over to the windows of the room. A few buses were lined up outside with open doors, allowing the students to pile out.

“I’ve been waiting.”

“For?” she asked.

“For you to come to me.”

“I don’t understand,” she said.

“When things get rough…I guess I
kind of disappear,” Mateo admitted. “But I eventually come back.”

“As far as I know I haven’t left.”

He scanned her, searching for something that she couldn’t understand. Out of force of habit, she wrapped her arms around her waist only to wince from her protesting elbow. She tried to rub it lightly, but it did nothing other than cause the pain to last longer. She made her point by continuing to stare out of the window.

“Should I even ask?”

“No,” she responded.

The sound of approaching f
ootsteps caught her attention enough to look to the left. Audra took in the sight of Stephen’s impending arrival, but trying to ignore Mateo was like asking the sun not to shine. Eye contact alone was causing her pulse to pick up speed; nonetheless, she forced herself to stare down to the floor.

“
You’re both coming to study group right?” Stephen asked when he joined the pair.

“Yeah
,” Audra replied.

“Do you
mind if Ryan comes?” Mateo asked.

“The more the merrier
. Chris is hyped for some reason.”

“A
t least he is happy,” Audra said.

Stephen chuckled
in response and nudged her side. Audra noticeably gritted her teeth while stepping back from him. Stephen tilted his head in question, but she declined to respond. However, that hadn’t deterred him.

“Don’t tell me you had another accident.”

“I fell. No big deal,” she said.

“Down the
stairs again?” Stephen persisted.

As she started
to shake her head, Stephen’s eyes widened. “Out of the tree?”

“Are you al
l right? Why didn’t you tell me?” Mateo chimed in.

“I’m fine
. Seriously. You guys don’t need to worry about me.”

“Where were you
sneaking off to?” Stephen asked.

Audra ignored
the question, walking to her desk and sitting down. She pulled out her notes for the next class as a distraction. Her struggles through science hadn’t lessened, but her level of caring about the subject had. It wasn’t like everyone was supposed to understand all the subjects easily; this was her personal problem to work out. And should she fail…

“Audra, where were you going last night?”

“I wasn’t going anywhere.”

Stephen furrowed
his brow in response. “What? So then how…?”

“I was hanging out with Tobias.
When I got home, Dad and Jim were getting into it. I tried to climb up to my room. Epic fail.”

“Oh. So you and To
bias are getting closer?” he asked.

“No, not more than usual. Why?”

He smirked in response but didn’t answer the question. She looked at him, trying to encourage him to answer. Stephen glanced around making sure no one could overhear, which made Audra shudder. This couldn’t be good.

Stephen leaned
in to whisper in her ear. “Because, silly, you seem to be the last one to know that he is crushing on you.”

“What? No way. You’ve lost your mind
!”

“Then explain to me why he has been all over you lately.”

“He hasn’t…”

Audra thought
back over the years of friendship, but Tobias had always been around. Spending time with Jim had always been part of the deal. Since the breakup, he had been spending more time around her, but he also knew her secret. He cared about her, wanted to make sure that she was safe and supported her. It must seem otherwise to Stephen since he didn’t know the full story.

“Will he be coming to study group now
, too?”

“What’s the matter with you? Tobias is my friend. And if he want
ed to come, he would.” she stated, annoyed.

The anthem and announcements came over the intercom
, but it seemed far away. He had been touching her more lately; whether it was a hug or sitting close enough to touch. Hanging out at her locker in the morning was new, but if something were up, Jim would easily stop that. There was no way Jim would allow anyone to get close enough to date, especially his best friend. Stephen seemed to be on the love quest again.