Safe and Sound (10 page)

 
A cool, light touch on her right eye had her stiffening.
Lola opened her eyes to see the tightening around Jack’s, the way his full lips pressed into a thin line.
Their eyes met
for one charged moment
and h
is hand dropped
.
             

 
“What a pair we make, huh?” he said, turning away.

 
“What happened?” she got out in a voice that sounded rough and unused.

 
Jack hopped onto the rock like an agile mountain lion. He crouched there, looking straight ahead.
The muscles in his arms and legs were taut and Lola’s body responded
, perplexing her
.

 
She wasn’t attracted to him.
Or at least, she didn’t think she was. She
shouldn’t
be.
Not that he wasn’t handsome
; he was.
But h
is features were hard, cynical, angular
,
cold
.
Jack Forrester did
not
have a sunny disposition.
He was nothing
Lola had ever thought she’d be attracted to.

 
“What’s your favorite kind of food?”

 
Lola blinked
and looked away from his sinewy form
.
“I don’t know.”

 
“Come on. Everyone’s got one favorite meal. If you had to pick one thing to eat every meal, every day, for the rest of your life, what would it be?”

 
What a silly question.

 
She didn’t eat much
because of her stomach always being upset
. Lola used to enjoy food.
Maybe a little too much.
Chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, chocolate chip cookies, French fries, hamburgers, pizza; her mouth watered.

 
“Pizza,” she answered definitively.

 
Jack shot her a look.
“Pizza?”

 
“
Yes.
Pizza.
You get all your food groups too.
Cheese, meat, veggies, fruit, grain.”
She shrugged. “Whatever.”

 
“
That’s w
eak
, Lola,
weak
.”

 
“What’s your favorite? Something
manly like steak
and potatoes?”

 
Jack cocked his head, appearing to give the question a lot of thought. His lips twitched as he answered, “Actually, I like pizza too.
But it has to be all meat. Vegetables aren’t allowed on my pizza.
”

 
They shar
ed a smile. Lola’s stomach flip-
flopped. She
leaned against the rock so
her gaze wouldn’t keep going to him.

 
“How come you weren’t in school
today
?
Because of your face?
”

 
“How come you skipped out?” he tossed back.
Jack jumped to the ground beside her, startling her. “Come on. Let’s go for a walk.”

 
She stared at his
offered
long-fingered hand. Lola didn’t understand how she could breathe easier just
by
being near Jack.

 
Maybe it was because there
was no fear of judgment,
of seeing pity and horror in his eyes. Maybe it was because they were going throug
h the same thing; he understood
Lola
. He didn’t need her to talk about it. In fact, Jack seemed to want the exact opposite; to pretend there wasn’t any terrible thing to talk about.

 
Lola grabbed his hand and held it tight.
Did she imagine he lightly squeezed her hand
before releasing it
?
             

 
They didn’t look at each other as they walked.
Over fallen limbs and loose rocks; brittle twigs snapping under their shoes.
The sun filtered through the many high
branche
s, a kaleidoscope of heat and light flickering over them.
It was silent except for the chatter of small animals and
the
chirp
ing
of
birds.

 
“Favorite band?”

 
Lola started at the sound of his deep voice. “Uh…Pink?”

 
“Are you asking or telling?”

 
“
Pink,
”
she said firmly.

 
“Why Pink?”

 
“Because she’s strong, mentally and physically.
She’s tough and she doesn’t take crap from anyone. Her
music can be light
or it can be deep. There’s the pop side to her and the one that makes you feel something when you listen to her music.
It’s like there are two sides to her, just like everyone. She’s complicated and diverse and phenomenal. Plus s
he’s a great dancer.”

 
Jack was staring at her. “What?”
Lola demanded.

 
“Nothing.
Just…that’s a really in depth description.
”

 
“Sorry.”
Lola felt her skin heat up.

 
“No. It’s…I like it.”

 
Her eyes flew to his. She caught his smile, was warmed by it.
“How about you?”

 
“
That’s easy.
Muse.”

 
“Why?”

 
“They’re kick ass.”

 
After her lengthy
narrative
, Jack’s three words made her laugh. He laughed too and her flesh tingled at the too often absent sound.

 
“How’s Granger’s?”

 
Lola glanced at him, surprised he knew she worked there. “It’s a job. I’m saving up to get a car.” She shrugged. “Do you work anywhere?”

 
“Yeah.”
One corner of his mouth lifted in a cynical smirk. “I
help
out
on
Jared Summers
’ farm
. Know him?” Lola shook her head. “
He
lives down the road from us.
He’s
a quiet guy;
decent
.”

 
“Have you
worked there
long?”

 
He gave a short back of laughter.
“Yeah.
Since I was twelve.
At least, that’s when I started hanging out there, pestering him.
Every day I walked over to his farm, asking for
something to do
, practically begging
to be put to
work.
I did what I could, but I think I got in his way more than anything.

 
“
Jared didn’t have the heart to tell me to go home. He acts tough, but he’s really not. I think he knew I needed to be there, needed somewhere to go. When I got old enough, he put me to work.
”

 
“Do you like it?” Lola didn’t know anything about farming, nor did she particularly want to.

 
It was Jack’s turn to shrug. “Helps buy groceries.”

 
Lola’s brows furrowed. Jack made her reevaluate her situation fast. People had it worse than her; Jack was one of those people.
She knew he would hate her pity; as she would hate his, but she felt so bad for him, for his life that wasn’t really a life.

 
They were silent after that.

 
Jack
was so much taller than she
; her head
was
barely at level with his shoulder. The side
s
of
their bodies grazed one another as they made their way through the woods.
Lola couldn’t believe how comfortable she felt around a boy she barely knew. It was like they were kindred spirits
in misfortune
. No words were necessary.

 
Twigs snapped under the weight of their shoes. Squirrels scampered around them, keeping their distance. And the birds sang
breathtakingly
beautiful songs.
It was exactly what Lola needed.

 
“What do you want to do after school
’s finished
?”
His quiet voice broke the stillness
.

 
Live
,
was the first thought that popped into her
head.
Lola stopped walking. She
frow
ned at the truth of it.
“I don’t know,” was all she said.

 
“Liar,” Jack said softly.

 
Lola’s face heated. She didn’t consider herself a liar; there were simply some things she didn’t want to tell people, and so she evaded the question.

 
“I want to go to college.”

 
“For?”

 
Lola reached down and
picked up
a twig. She snapped it into little pieces. “I don’t know for sure, something with writing.” The br
oken pieces fell from her hands.
Lola wiped her hands on her jeans
.

 
“I’m going to stay around, probably work at
Green Factory
operating machinery
like my old man. At least
until Isabelle finishes school
.
Then, who knows?”

 
Lola blinked her eyes, but tears began to fall from them anyway.
What she wouldn’t give to have someone look out for her
, someone who cared enough to keep her safe
. Wa
sn’t that what a parent was supposed to do
? Neither she nor Jack had a parent, not really.

 
She wondered if
it worse to have one and then suddenly not or to never have one at all?

 
“Hey.” Jack moved closer, tipped her chin
up
. He looked down at her, a wry grin on his lips. “What’s wrong with you?” he asked quietly. “Your eyes are leaking.”

 
A shaky laugh left her.
Lola tried to pull away, but his grip tightened. One hand came around her back, pressing her against him.
She couldn’t suc
k enough air into her lungs
.

 
There was something in
his eyes that held her in place; some indescribable emotion tha
t was like a punch
to her chest.
Whatever was in his eyes was
deep
, earthshattering, and something Lola didn’t understand.

 
Jack’s head lowered
until they were at eyelevel
. His
pulled
her even closer, until there was nothing between them but their clothes.
Lola’s arms moved
,
her fingers threaded through his silky hair.

 
H
e leaned down
and pressed a
lingering
kiss to her forehead.
She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply.
Lola’s arms slid around his waist. Her head rested against his thundering
heart. Lola breathed in his scent.

 
She was safe in Jack’s arms. She was at peace. Nothing else mattered, nothing else existed.
The world
disappeared
.

*
**

 
The lights were dimmed, the volume low on the television.
Through the window
Lola could make out his shape in the recliner, the outline of a beer bot
tle in his hand. Up and down it
went, to his lips and back to his lap.

 
She slowly closed the door, heart racing.
T
he
room smelled like
beer
, like he’d dumped bottles of the alcohol on the carpet. Maybe he had.
Something for Lola to clean up.