The Defender (The Carrier Series Book 2) (10 page)

This was the second time he acted weird when he was dropping me
off at home. Not that much about tonight was actually normal, but I expected
him to act differently somehow.

“Here,” he said finally, “let me look at the back of your head.”

I turned and looked out of the passenger side window. Adam
carefully moved my hair, inspecting my head. He ran his gentle fingers over the
base of my skull and felt down my jawline and then around my neck. “How do you
feel?”

“My head aches horribly.”

I turned back toward him and he suddenly had a tiny flashlight
out, shining it into my eyes and then peering strangely into them for what felt
like a little too long.

“You’re not bleeding and you don’t have a concussion. But I’m sure
you’ll have a headache for a while. Go inside and place a cold washcloth on
your head. A good night’s sleep should help.”

“Okay. Thanks for dinner and everything.” I opened the door to
leave, but just as I was about to get out, he grabbed my left hand, holding it
with both of his. His warm touch and soft skin took me by surprise. I felt my
heart accelerating.

I turned my shoulders around and he looked me right in the eyes.
“Ava. I had a wonderful time with you tonight.” Then he smiled an odd,
inauthentic smile. “And I’m sorry about your head.” He released my arm and I
said good-bye.

I shut the car door and walked across the lawn, confused over my
cracked-up life. Good thing what just happened would be covered in the news.
Otherwise my friends would never believe what happened to me on my non-date.

The news was calling it “Disaster at the Riverfront.” Several
people were critically injured from flying debris and fire, and the whole south
side of the band shell was ruined. A police investigation confirmed it was a
car bomb, but could not find conclusive evidence as to whom was responsible.

Adam called the next morning to make sure my head was feeling okay
and to let me know he had to work at the radio station a few nights and had
some fraternity event he was chairperson for on another night, so he probably
wouldn’t see me for most of the week. Although I knew I’d miss hanging out with
him, I welcomed the chance to focus on my schoolwork and be alone with my
thoughts. There was something magical about Adam, but I still had some strong
feeling inside me telling me not to give my heart to him.

The beginning of the week flew by as I kept busy with classes and
homework. I studied hard and got an A on my Math Methods quiz, and my
Children’s Lit professor told me I had the best project for the unit. I felt
like calling Adam immediately to celebrate, but resisted the urge, considering
he said he’d be busy all week.

I continued tutoring Mrs. Stewart’s second grade students almost
every afternoon to get some more experience in the classroom. The kids were so
amazing, and the whole experience reminded me that teaching came naturally to
me. I would work as hard as I could to become a teacher and someday have a
class of my own.

On Wednesday I had an appointment with my advisor again. I climbed
the stairs to the second floor of the College of Professional Studies building,
wondering why my advisor requested to see me only a few weeks after our last
meeting. I knew I hadn’t failed any recent tests or quizzes, in fact I thought
I had been doing well in all my classes.

It was quiet in the lobby. I sat down and read a chapter of my
history textbook while waiting to be called into Mr. Weigel’s office.

The phone on the receptionist’s desk rang out into the silence,
and then she sent me back into the office.

“Well, Miss Gardner,” Mr. Weigel greeted me. “Do you have any idea
why I made this appointment with you today?”

I wiped the palms of my hands on my pants, and then interlaced my
fingers and placed them on my lap.

“Not exactly, sir.”

Mr. Weigel clicked the keys on his laptop computer for a few
seconds. “I have your current grades here in front of me.”

I wiped my hands again and took a deep breath. He did not look
happy.

My advisor took his reading glasses off and glanced away from his
computer screen to me. “I am here to report to you, Miss Gardner, that your
current GPA has risen considerably.”

“It has?” The corners of my mouth started to turn up.

“There are several weeks left in the semester, Miss Gardner, but
you should be proud of yourself. You’ve made some drastic improvements in only
a few weeks.”

I couldn’t hide my smile, now. “Thank you so much, Mr. Weigel.
I’ve been working really hard.”

“I can tell. Keep up the good work.” He shuffled some papers on
his desk, placing them in a neat pile in the middle. “But don’t get too
excited, yet. Getting into the School of Education will still take an
incredible amount of dedication.”

My smile faded slightly. This battle had not been won yet. “I
understand. I will try my hardest.”

Mr. Weigel looked over at me with his kind eyes. “I’m pulling for
you, Miss Gardner. There’s something special about you, I can tell.”

I smiled again, straight from the heart. “Thanks, Mr. Weigel. I
appreciate it.”

Riding high on the compliments I’d received, I stopped by the
cafeteria to pick up a sandwich for lunch and read a little for my Children’s
Lit class. I picked a small round table by itself off in the corner so I
wouldn’t be bothered by anyone. I had barely eaten any breakfast that morning
and was so hungry I couldn’t get the wrapper off the sandwich fast enough.
Trying to juggle holding the paperback novel open with one hand and taking a
bite of the overstuffed sandwich with the other hand proved to be difficult, as
mayo and vegetables spilled out of the sandwich and all over the table. I would
have been embarrassed if there was someone dining with me, but there wasn’t, so
I picked the vegetables off the wrapper and shoved them back in the ol’ hatch.

An unattractive glob of mayo was dripping out of my mouth when I
happened to look up and see a very skinny and extraordinarily beautiful blond
storming my way. I quickly wiped my mouth. Was she going to sit at a table near
me?

The lady stranger wore a tight-fitting orange sweater and trendy
jeans with high-heeled leather boots going all the way up to her knees. Miss
Stylish was headed straight for me, but I was the only person at the table and
I was sure I had no idea who she was.

She must think I’m someone else.

I tried to ignore her and read my book, expecting her to turn
around when she realized I wasn’t who she thought I was.
But she kept barreling toward me.

Just when I thought she was going to crash through the table, she
stopped right at the edge and stared at me.

“Ava, is it?” She had an annoying voice that was just a bit too
nasally and high pitched. She tossed her beautiful blond curls off her shoulder
as her right hand found a resting place on her popped hip.

“Um, yeah?” I checked over her pretty face again, but was sure I’d
never seen her before.

“You stay away from my boyfriend!” Her bitchy voice was so loud it
about blew me right into the wall.

Huh?

“Excuse me?”

She stared at me. “You know exactly what I’m talking about.”

I had no idea what she was talking about.

She shifted her weight to the other hip and snapped her gum. It
was like something out of a bad teen movie.

“Sorry. I think you have me mistaken for someone else.” I turned
back to try to read a few words, but she smacked the book right out of my hand
and it hit my sandwich, throwing them both off the table and onto the floor.

What. The. Hell.

I stood up from my chair, the back of my legs pushing it backward,
causing a loud scraping noise on the floor. I had never been in a fight before,
but you just don’t throw someone’s sandwich on the damn floor!

“I can’t believe this is happening,” she whined like she was the
victim
.
All of the sudden her pointer finger was flying through the air,
getting dangerously close to my face. “I don’t know exactly
who
you are
or
what
you think you are doing, but you better stay the
hell
away from Adam. That boy is mine.”

Did she say “Adam”? Adam had a girlfriend? No. Couldn’t be.

Suddenly all I could hear was my heartbeat in my ears. Crazy Blond
was still ranting in my face, but it was like I had pressed mute on the movie—I
couldn’t hear a word she was saying. My mind was running through all the time I
had spent with Adam.

Was he running off to her after spending time with me?

I suddenly started to feel furious.
What a jackass!
I knew
I should have never trusted a frat boy. I had been played. How could I have
been so stupid?

Tears welled up in my eyes, but I squeezed them back because I
knew I had to save face while Crazy Blond was still peering over me.

“Bitch!” she yelled and then gave me one last evil look, turned on
her heel, and stomped out of the cafeteria. I hoped she went right over to
Adam’s house and slapped him firmly right in the face. He deserved it.

Now that she had left, the tears came uninvited, so I quickly
packed up my things and stormed out the other way, feeling like I could throw
up the half sandwich I ate right there on the stairs.

I wandered around campus, my body full of anger and my eyes on
fire. I tried not to be a blubbering idiot in case someone was alarmed and
called campus police on me, but I couldn’t hold back several tears.

Why was I reacting this way?

I had spent so much time trying to decide if I even liked Adam
romantically, and now that I found out he was being unfaithful, I was upset
over not having him anymore.

This was ridiculous!

Although I was still incredibly hurt, after about ten minutes of
walking aimlessly around campus, I turned around. If I kept walking this way
I’d be out wandering down the side of the interstate before I knew it. I needed
some good friends who loved me and would never treat me like Adam had, so I
headed for home and decided to not waste another tear on Adam.

My phone rang as I rounded the corner by the Student Catholics
building and cut through the parking lot over to College Avenue. I took it out
of my backpack and looked at the screen. It was Adam. Did he know what just
happened with Crazy Blond or was he calling just to say hi? Either way, he was
the last person I wanted to talk to. Actually I wasn’t sure I ever wanted to
talk to him again.

He called twice more before I made it back to my apartment, but I
couldn’t get myself to answer. I stared at the phone in my hands.

No. You’re done with him. He only means heartache.

Then my phone sang out its text message ring—
New Text Message
from Adam
. With shaking fingers I swiped the screen.

Ava, please answer
my calls.

I need to speak
with you straight away.

I wasn’t ready to face him. If I saw him right now this hurt would
be ten times worse. The rest of the walk home was filled with four more text
message alerts. I took my phone out, turned it off, and shoved it back into my
backpack.

I finally arrived home and collapsed on the couch between Elaina
and Kasie. I allowed my friends to comfort me as I gushed about what a jerk
Adam was.

“Oh, honey. You don’t need him,” Elaina said. “Just erase that man
from your mind.”

“If only it were that easy,” I whined. “I think I just need to
take a nap. My head is pounding.” I shuffled down the hall to my bedroom and
slithered in between the sheets. It felt so good to rest my head on the pillow
and cuddle up under the blankets. But quiet rest time made me think too much,
and I was suddenly faced with the mess I called life. Feelings of frustration
and confusion filled my mind, bringing forth the realization that I still
couldn’t remember anything about last summer and the weird visions and
headaches were still present. My life felt like everything was in the wrong
place, or like something was missing, but no matter how hard I tried, I
couldn’t figure out what it was. Normally I would lean on my parents to help me
solve problems like this that felt insurmountably large, but they weren’t
around to hear my concern, and I was left feeling alone and miserable.
 

I must have fallen asleep momentarily because I was jerked awake
when I heard a loud pounding on the front door. My heart rate sped up.

Was it him?

I could hear faint talking in the living room, so I sat up and
strained my ears to hear. There was definitely a male voice mixed in with my
roommates’. I couldn’t quite make out what they were saying, though. Then the
talking got louder, like they were walking down the hallway.

“She doesn’t want to see you,” Sharon claimed.

“Adam, get your cheating ass outta here!” Elaina was yelling right
outside my door now.

Way to go, Elaina! Give him hell!

“I already told you, I didn’t cheat. It was all a setup.”  

My aching heart climbed up my throat. A setup? What did that mean?

It was Kasie who spoke in a much calmer, but still forceful voice.
“Listen, that may be true, but I am not about to let you walk in there and hurt
my friend anymore. She’s cried enough tears for you today.”

There was a long pause when no one said anything, and then a
gentle knock broke the silence.

“Ava. I really need to talk to you.” Adam’s voice had a tiny hint
of terror hiding behind his voice box. His head was right up against the door,
his voice flowing through the wood and into my heart like the ghost of any
relationship we were developing. “Please…Ava, please.”

I wanted to let him in. I wanted him to climb into bed with me and
snuggle up close to my body. To passionately confirm his feelings and to
fervently apologize for hurting me. But when I opened up my mouth to allow him
in, my voice was gone. I was afraid let him through my door or into my heart.

A single tear rolled out of my eye and down my cheek.

He spoke again, his voice soft and full of sorrow. “Ava Gardner.
You are the last person in this entire world that I’d want to hurt. You are the
only person in my heart.” He was desperate now, that much was obvious in his
voice. “You have to believe me.”

I still couldn’t say a word. I needed more time to think about it.

He was basically whining, clawing at my door. “Please. Don’t push
me out of your heart.”