Over the Moon (10 page)

The sirens finally found us. He lifted me from his car when
the ambulance arrived. The paramedics were checking Tiffany, Tim,
and Jordan.

"It's Tiana. She needs medical attention, not us," Tiffany
explained, directing their attention to me.

Andrew carried me from his car and put me on the stretcher in
the ambulance.

"Please don't leave me," I begged him, gripping his hand as he
tried to move out of the medical workers' way.

"I won't, love." He tossed his keys to Tim. "Bring my car. I'll ride
with her." He called me love. I loved that! It almost made me forget
the pain in my head.

"All right! You got it!" Tim looked and sounded like this was
the best adventure in dating ever. However, Jordan's face was etched
with fear, and beneath that emotion for a few seconds I thought
I caught a glimpse of anger and loathing that flashed in his narrowed eyes as he watched Andrew climb into the vehicle at my insistence. A flicker of apprehension flashed through my mind. I swiftly
ordered it away and pretended I hadn't seen it. I wanted to be done
with Jordan.

My parents were waiting when we made it to the hospital. The
paramedics wheeled me into the ER. Mom was crying.

"I'm fine, really," I said. I hate it when my mom cries. "Tell them,
Andrew."

"She'll be absolutely fine. I got her out just in time," he
explained

"Just in time?" Dad asked.

"Before Jordan's car blew up!" Tim said, grinning widely as he,
Tiffany, and Jordan joined us. "It was totally awesome! Andrew was
like some kind of superhero."

"The car blew up?" My mom looked terrified.

"She was pinned in the car," Tiffany explained, "after the car
rolled into the ravine. Andrew got her out."

"Stupid deer!" Jordan looked a little green. I was sure he was in
shock.

A nurse moved me into one of the partitioned spaces and pulled
the curtains.

"Only parents are allowed. The rest of you will have to sit in
the lobby," she said with authority. She injected me with some kind
of pain medication, and I fell asleep almost instantaneously. When
I woke up, I was in a real room wearing one of those ugly green
hospital gowns that don't quite cover your butt. I hoped no one had
seen me like this. Mom was asleep in an easy chair. Dad was holding
my hand.

"You're okay," he said. "No broken bones. They're keeping you
overnight for observation. You have a slight concussion and a nasty
bump on your head. I sent your friends home. Andrew wanted to stay, but I insisted. It was very fortunate that he was able to extricate
you from the wreckage before it caught fire."

The next morning, I was released from the hospital. It was difficult to think I'd been in a near-fatal accident and escaped without serious injuries. I had been so sure my leg was broken. The
pain seemed more intense than I should have felt for a few bruises,
bumps, and scrapes.

Mom and Dad made me rest all Sunday, so I missed church.
I tried to do some reading, but my brain kept wandering back to
the accident. It kept replaying the scene over and over. How had
Andrew known where we were? Had he followed us? How did he
get me out so quickly? How did he move the metal door off my leg?
Why wasn't my leg broken?

There was more to Andrew than a handsome face. He was
incredibly strong and impossibly psychic. He knew what I was
thinking. His eyes glowed in the dark, and he had magic hands that
seemed to heal me on contact. Was I completely bonkers or was this
unquestionably unusual. I had always been able to see through illusions. Magicians hated me. (My parents had hired one for my eighth
birthday, and I explained how he did all of his tricks. He left early
and didn't even come back to get paid.) However, I couldn't see how
all this magic could have a logical explanation. It was baffling.

Then there was that exceptional magnetic drawing power he
held over me. I had never felt anything quite so gripping and intense.
I had been attracted to boys before. This was not the same thing. It
was more like he was the sun and his gravity kept pulling my world
closer to him. I hoped I wasn't going to burn up. We seemed to be
linked in some strange and supernatural way. Everything was moving too fast. I couldn't keep up this pace. I was on a collision course.
I had to slow down, or I was going to crash and explode into flames
just like Jordan's totaled car.

Why hadn't he called? Had I acted too needy last night? I would
have to change that.

Mom knocked on my door and entered. "Sorry to disturb you,
but the poor boy has called five times."

"Who is it?"

"It's Prince Charming," she said as she handed me the phone.
She left and closed my door.

"Hello?" I would try not to sound needy.

"Ah, sleeping beauty has regained consciousness. How are you
feeling today?"

"Needy," I blurted out the one feeling I didn't want to admit.
Why couldn't I lie to him just this once? This was extremely mortifying. Where was my pride? Did I even have any?

"Well, that is understandable. You had a near-death experience.
You are really lucky to be alive, and I'm so happy you didn't suffer
any serious injuries in the crash."

"Thanks to you! I owe my life to you. I can't thank you enough."

"Just promise me one thing."

"Anything," I said without thinking.

"Don't go anywhere with Jordan McAllister again."

"I promise I won't." That would be easy to do since I had already
decided I would never get into a car with Jordan again. I would
never go anywhere with him ever again.

"I want to pick you up for school tomorrow, if I may. I don't
think you should be driving just yet." He was giving me butterflies
again, and those butterflies had butterflies.

"Is there room in your car with all your family and friends?"

"They can take Matthew's car. I'll pick you up at seven thirty."

"I need to ask you a question." I was determined to be bold.

"Okay, I'll try to give you an answer." Did he sound worried, or
was that my imagination?

"How did you know where we were and that I needed you?"

"I'm not sure you want that answer."

"Please. I need to know." I had to have some answers that made
sense.

"I'm sorry." The boy had saved my life, and he was apologizing?
"I saw Jordan driving up the hill, and I was afraid he was going to
try something."

"No way! You can't be serious!"

"Let's just say I didn't want you sitting alone in the dark with
Jordan admiring the view from La Verkin Hill!"

"Tim and Tiffany were there," I insisted.

"They might have been distracted, or they could have gone for a
walk in the moonlight and left the two of you alone."

"Nothing would have happened!" I was mad that he thought I
would have allowed it to.

"You don't know that. You don't know what he was thinking
when you left the dance!" He sounded irate now.

"And you do?"

"Yes, I think I do! I'll see you tomorrow." He hung up.

I was incensed. How could he possibly know what Jordan was
thinking? He was very good at reading my mind, but I chalked that
up to my obvious transparency. Was it possible that he really did
know Jordan's intentions?

The phone rang as if on cue. I checked the caller ID. It was
Jordan. I pushed the on button, and then I pushed the off button. I
didn't want to talk to him now or ever. I turned off the ringer and set
the phone outside my door.

"Mom, I'm going to take a nap now. Hold my calls, please!" I
yelled down to her. That would fix Jordan. He'd learn not to think
those things about me. Oops! This was crazy. What was I thinking?
It was preposterous. Of course Andrew couldn't read people's minds.
He couldn't know what everyone was thinking, could he? I decided
to ignore these ridiculous, apprehensive feelings, and I fell into a
dreamless sleep.

I was actually excited to go to school on Monday morning. I knew
the reason for my jubilant mood, and he was picking me up at seven
thirty. I was, by far, the luckiest girl on earth. I'm sure everyone on
the planet feels like this at one time or another, but this was a first
for me.

I took my time dressing. I chose my brown Bermuda shorts and
a peach-colored top adorned with glittery yellow stars. I needed
some bling to draw attention away from all the ugly scrapes and
bruises that covered my arms and legs. I borrowed some concealer
from Mom to cover the black and blue spots on my face. I brushed
my unruly hair, pulled it back in a perky ponytail, and secured it
with a shiny, gold scrunchy. I even threw on some gleaming gold jewelry-hoop earrings and a necklace with amber stones woven
through the delicate chain.

The doorbell rang at exactly seven thirty. I took a deep breath
and steadied myself before I opened the door. He looked very Tommy
Hilfiger today in knee-length, white shorts that celebrated his tanned
and muscular legs. What on earth did this boy see in me?

"Do you know how beautiful you are, Tiana?" His eyes looked
puzzled.

"You can't see the bruises, can you?" I asked quickly to hide my
confusion. How did he know exactly what was inside my mind? This
was getting altogether too spooky for me to ignore.

"What bruises?" He took my backpack, opened the passenger
door for me, and waited patiently while I got in. Then he threw my
stuff in the backseat and ran around to the driver's side. He moved
like an athlete, graceful and confident-two qualities I lacked.

We got to school much too fast. As we approached my locker,
I saw red again. This time the message was written in glowing,
blood-red nail polish: "Die, witch!" Okay, that hurt my feelings. I
had almost died. I guess "almost" wasn't enough for Alexis. Did she
even have a brain in her head? It occurred to me that if she had
been the one to go up to LaVerkin Hill with Jordan, she would be
dead. Andrew wouldn't have followed and rescued her. She should
be thanking me. Instead she was telling me to die?

"Don't worry. I'll take care of it," he said through clenched teeth.
"She's not going to get away with this." He angrily pounded his
fist on my locker door. "Wait here. I'll be right back." He ducked
into the front office, leaving me standing outside the door. When
he returned, he was smiling. He didn't tell me what he had done.
At that moment, I didn't care. I was still stunned by her escalating
hatred for me. I tried to shove it down into the cellar of my subconscious with all the other things I choose to ignore. I just couldn't deal
with it today.

He protectively escorted me through the crowded halls. Everyone was staring at us. I wasn't sure if they were all dumbfounded to
see me with Andrew or if they had all heard about how he had saved my life. Either way, he was the star, the hero, the angel, and I was just
along for the ride. That was okay with me. I didn't expect more than
that. He looked good in the spotlight. I'm not a spotlight kind of a
girl. I'd rather be waiting in the wings or sitting in the audience. I
imagined the girls all wished they could be me today, and that alone
was intensely gratifying.

He stopped me just outside of history. He held me by my shoulders, turning me toward him and staring into my eyes. I thought I
was going to pass out as I felt the full force of his magnetism. This
power was absolutely real. I wasn't making it up. I wondered if he
had any idea of how he affected me.

"Are you feeling all right?" He seemed seriously troubled.

"I'm fine." I wondered what he was thinking. Andrew Martin was
still a complete mystery to me. I hated that I couldn't figure him out.

"Don't you ever think, for even a minute, that anyone is better
than you!" He said it so vehemently I was startled.

"What are you talking about?" I asked as my eyes widened in
surprise.

"You are beautiful, inside and out. I feel like the luckiest guy in
the whole universe when I'm with you."

He let go of me, opened the door, and guided me to my seat. I
was glad to sit down. The room seemed to quake under my feet, and
I was having a hard time standing upright. I closed my eyes and tried
to calm myself and slow down my hyperactive heart.

"Maybe you should have stayed home today. Don't worry about
your locker. Alexis is going to get what she so deserves," he said as
he lightly touched the bruises on my face.

After history, he walked me to Spanish and hurried off to some
advanced placement math class.

I found my seat, and, to my surprise, Skylar came in and sat
directly in front of me. He had apparently transferred from French
or German. It was just my luck that I sat behind the only empty seat
in the class.

"I heard aboutyour narrow escape from Jordan's exploding deathtrap of a car." He smirked at me. "I guess Jordan's history now, huh?
Why'd you go out with that loser anyway? Are you brain-dead?"

"Why do you care?" I grimaced back at him. Why was he being
so darned annoying?