Under the Overtree

by James A. Moore

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  1

  Mark was having a particularly shitty day. Tyler’s gift for gab had failed him when his parents had seen his face, which bore a strong resemblance to a raccoon’s and they had grounded him for the weekend. Cassie’s Grandmother had died and she had to leave town for at least a week despite confessing when he offered his condolences, that she hardly knew the woman and found it difficult to mourn her. Tony was in Boulder. P.J. was in New York, having finally admitted that he and Ali had become something of an item and to top it off, Mark was now suffering from his first ever case of Writers Block. He’d given up drawing, because it just didn’t do anything for him anymore and the folks were going shopping in the city and then out to dinner with Joe’s boss, Rob. He was, in short, alone and painfully aware of it.

  After mulling over this fact for just a little over an hour, Mark pulled on his jogging shoes and took to the road. A little jogging was good for the soul if not the soles.

  After seven months of steady jogging and swimming, Mark had built up a level of endurance that he would have never dreamt possible before he moved to town. He now used that stamina to his advantage and took the three-mile hike into the town proper.

  He spent most of the afternoon in the town’s only cinema watching the latest in Sci-fi/ monster movies; it was a sequel to an earlier movie starring his all time favorite brick wall, Arnold. The movie was good and full of action, but not quite on par with its predecessor. After the movie, he started wandering around the town and basically enjoying the fairly pleasant weather.

  The day promised nothing but boredom, at least until Tony’s twin sister showed up.

  2

  Lisa had worked hard to locate Mark and finally she had him in her sights. She had spotted him going into the Stardust Theater and had immediately driven home to prepare; a quick shower, some make-up and her tightest jean and tee shirt combination later, she was ready to move in for the kill.

  Lisa had been waiting for quite some time to get him away from the group he hung around with and today looked like a golden opportunity. Tony had been forced to go into Boulder with her father and she’d taken a message meant for him, which she “accidentally” forgot to give him. She was sorry for Cassie, about her Grandmother and all of that, but she was also glad to have her out of town. It would be ever so difficult to get close to Mark if Cassie was draped over his arm.

  She couldn’t even say what exactly made him so attractive to her unless it was the way he had stood up to Tony, something that absolutely no one in the school had ever been willing to do. That and the fact that he had shaped up very nicely after he had lost a little weight. He just seemed like the best the town had to offer, Lord knew she was sick to death of Tommy Blake and his constant attempts to get into her pants; the only other real options, were Jerry Sanders (who was even worse than Tommy, if Sandy could be believed), and Patrick Wilson. Thanks, but no. She’d already dated most of the guys that were worth dating and had found them wanting; she was rapidly running out of options in the crappy little town of Summitville.

  Mind set, she started walking towards him and turned her head so that he couldn’t see past her sunglasses that she was watching him. Mark had his mind elsewhere and wasn’t really paying attention to where he was going. This, she decided, was going all too well. It almost took all of the fun out of it. Almost.

  Having played this game before, she waited for just the right moment, when Mark’s gaze was far away from her and darted into his path. He walked right into her and with a great deal more force than she had intended. He quickly caught her, using both of his muscular arms and set her back on her feet. Just as she was about to give her heartfelt thanks, he turned away from her and slammed his fist into the brick wall beside him.

  His teeth were clamped tightly together and she heard the whispered profanity escape his lips. It was then that she remembered his injured arm. She mentally chalked up her first strike and rested her manicured hands on his back, lightly. “Oh, Mark, I’m so sorry,” she twisted her face into the proper look of concern and batted her dark lashes at him. “I didn’t see you. Gawd, I’m such a clumsy idiot.”

  His look of pain and anger faded and he smiled weakly. “No, I’m sorry. I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going.” Lisa shared three classes with Mark and had always thought the modesty he showed in the classes was for the teachers benefit; the look on his face and the way that he said what he said made her rapidly reevaluate her opinion. He was sweet and as God was her witness, he was shy. “Are you okay?”

  She laughed lightly and decided that she was definitely going to enjoy this. “Shouldn’t I be asking you that?” She looked pointedly at his shoulder and bicep, where the thick gauze of his dressings could still be seen through his shirt. He shrugged, careful to use only his left shoulder and blushed at the attention he was getting. Mind in overdrive, she smiled sweetly, “How can I make it up to you?” Then she smiled a little broader and wrapped her arms around his uninjured bicep Big arms, I wonder if everything else is as big? “I know, let me buy you a late lunch, or an early dinner.” Over Mark’s protests, she dragged him over to Wing Pu’s Chinese Garden and armed with Daddy’s American Express, got to know her latest victim a little better.

  3

  The food had been wonderful and the company even better. It was just what he had needed to get over his little case of the Ho-hums. By the time they had finished eating and left the tiny restaurant, Mark had decided he liked Lisa, a lot. He studied her face and body, as she leaned against her car and offered to give him a ride home. She had full, bow-shaped lips and a delicate aquiline nose, along with dark brown eyes you could lose yourself in; all of that in a heart shaped face surrounded by wave after wave of thick, lightly curled brown hair. Like her brother, she was “built like a Brick Shit-house,” to use Tyler’s favorite term for any person with phenomenal proportions; the difference, of course, was that her body was built phenomenally for a member of the opposite sex, more attuned to thoughts of pleasure than of pain.

  Pulling himself back to reality, he remembered her invitation and realizing that they had somehow managed to spend almost three hours in the restaurant, readily agreed. She flashed him another incredible smile and moved to unlock his door. She dropped the keys and with painstakingly slow moves, bent to retrieve them. This motion caused definite stirrings in Mark and he guiltily thought of Cassie, as he enjoyed the view.

  Her car, like Tony’s, was a Camaro and the latest model no less. It was red inside and out, with crushed velvet seats and a stereo system that was almost worth dying for. She looked at him and flashed a seductive smile in his direction. “Feel like going straight home, or would you like to cruise around for awhile?”

  The question and the look both threw him and he could feel himself flush slightly, before he responded. “Uh, sure, I’m not in any hurry to get anywhere.” His mind was telling him things he should seriously consider and his conscience was trying desperately to remind him of Cassie. His mind was winning the battle, no contest.

  She drove the car around the town a couple of times, pointing out the different sights and giving him the first actual tour of the town that he had ever received. She also gave him a thousand little hints that she might be interested in more than just his friendship. His mind flashed the irritating question to him several times, before he got the courage to mumble it under his breath. “Where the hell were you, eight months ago?” He had mumbled the question and didn’t expect an answer, he suspected that he had gotten one anyway when she pulled the car off of the road, not far from the school.

  Before he knew what the hell was happening, they were walking hand in hand towards the woods.

  4

  This was going even better than she had expected; there was a chemistry between the two of them that she found very exciting. Even when he was looking away from her she could feel his eyes on her and the thought of feeling his hands on her in a short while got her hot. It hadn’t b
een in her plans to go anywhere near this far, but she didn’t mind the idea at all. Lisa was very glad that she’d had the foresight to lift several of Tony’s condoms.

  They trekked through the woods, walking slowly and talking very little, save when he’d point out something that she would never have noticed on her own; certain plants, that bloomed only at night, or the sounds of various animals that roamed only after the sun had set. He showed her a new perspective on the woods that raised not only her appreciation of his intellect, but also her appreciation of the wood’s natural beauty. She was rapidly beginning to understand what it was that Cassie saw in Mark Howell and with that understanding, she realized her main purpose for setting out to break them apart. She had been jealous of their relationship and the fact that none of hers ever seemed to work out, simply emphasized the point. She hoped that things would be as good between Mark and herself. He was an extraordinary person.

  He seemed to know these woods like the back of his hand and knew every spot to step where he would make the least noise. The clouds of the night before had passed away and the moon shone down upon them, illuminating little but highlighting much. She looked over towards him and had the momentary thought, brought on by the gliding and silent steps and the pale silvery moonlight, that she was walking hand in hand with a ghost. He smiled at her and drove the brief flash of fear away. She pulled closer to him and felt the security of his arm wrapping around her.

  He turned suddenly and ushered her through the woods in another direction. Lisa felt the ground start to rise gently and after a while, realized that they were almost all the way to Lake Overtree; she hadn’t realized how deep into the woods they had gone.

  Overtree rose gracefully away from the small place where Summitville rested, locked in place and guarded by the foothills of the Rockies that completely engulfed the town. Overtree also separated the town from the rest of the world, as Interstate Seventy was on the other side of the lake and the only way into Summitville was by following the winding access road that lay hidden between the aspen and oak trees. The only sign that led to the town was completely hidden, overgrown years ago by the trees.

  Most people forgot that the lake was there until somebody brought it up in conversation; the fish that hid within its depths seemed reluctant to be caught, even at the best of times and as a result it had never become popular even within the town itself. Boating was completely out of the question, there were far too many places where the rocks hid mere feet under the murky green waters.

  From where they now stood Lisa could see the moon reflected off of the lake’s water, which ran almost parallel in height to where they were. It was beautiful. Not knowing what to say in light of the panorama, she hugged Mark tightly in lieu of opening her mouth and ruining the majesty of the scene. Mark’s response was to lean over and kiss her lightly on the lips.

  She responded immediately, feeling herself grow excited as he pushed past her lips with his tongue. They locked together running their hands over one another, caressing and fondling. The sound of her tiny groans urged him on and the eager motions he made caused her to moan even louder.

  After several minutes of heavy petting he suddenly pulled away, a pained look on his face. Quietly, he slipped back from her, ignoring her questioning stare. Mark turned his back to her, she covered herself, rubbing her arms over her body to keep her warmth and waited until he finally turned to face her.

  He tried to look stern, resolute and managed only to look sad and wounded. “Lisa, I’m sorry, but I can’t do this. It isn’t right.”

  “Why?” she demanded, half angry, half confused, “what did I do wrong?”

  He shrugged his shoulders, flashed a grimace of pain as he was again reminded of his injury. Sheepishly, he tried to form the words that would make sense of what he was feeling. “It’s not you, dammit, it’s me.” He looked into her eyes with a nearly feverish intensity and explained, “I’m in love with Cassie and I couldn’t live with myself if I hurt her. I’m sorry. I really am, but that’s how I feel and I can’t do this. Not with you. Hell, not with anybody, if it’s not Cassie.”

  Lisa stared at him and understood perfectly what he had said. And decided in that moment that an apology wasn’t anywhere near good enough. She hauled her arm back to Texas and cut loose with a vicious right hook across his face. Tears of hurt and humiliation threatened to erupt, complementing the shame and rage that darkened her beautiful features. She spun away and stomped toward her car.

  She looked back at Mark and saw the look of quiet grief on his own face. At that moment he looked like a girl, the way the darkness hid his body, the way his full lips trembled at the edge of a pout. For some reason, possibly the way he shook his head, almost as if he just knew he was dreaming the whole thing, she walked back to him.

  They stared at each other in silence, each wanting to say something and neither of them knowing how. After a timeless little span of seconds, they hugged lightly. He smiled that wonderful smile of his again and kissed her forehead. “Thanks for understanding.” She smiled briefly and caressed the side of his face.

  They walked hand in hand back to her car and briefly kissed goodbye to what might have been.

  When he finally got home, she called him on the phone and asked if he had Tyler’s phone number. He gave it to her.

  5

  Tommy Blake’s rage went beyond merely monumental, it went all the way to god-like. She’d dumped him and she was making it clear to everyone at the school that he was essentially a prick with hands. This would not do, hell no, not at all. There was, of course, the fact that she was Tony’s sister to take into consideration, so he couldn’t take out the rage on her. But he definitely needed someone to take it out on.

  That was when he saw the bitch standing with Tyler Wilson, of all people. She looked his way and immediately ignored him and whispered something to Tyler that made the little faggot look in his direction and laugh. He felt the urge to break the little shit in half and headed in that direction. Tyler wasn’t laughing anymore, he was looking kind of green and that made the smile come back to Tommy. Like Tony, Tommy had a very nasty smile when he wanted to. Understanding that Tommy was smaller than Tony, one would also do well to understand that Tommy tried all that much harder, as a way of compensating. Tommy was on literally all of the major sports teams in the school and had lettered in most. Tommy had also spent practically all of his summers in Denver, where his cousin and he attended Karate classes together, classes taught by none other than Tommy’s Uncle Bill. Tommy had his black belt and had had it for well over two years. He practiced regularly.

  Tyler knew all about Tommy’s history and knew that he was a dead man, just as soon as Tommy caught up with him. With a dazzling and buck-toothed smile at Lisa and a hearty “Gottta go, love to the kids Marge,” he tucked his books up to his rib cage, pushed his glasses back into place and ran like hell. He amazed himself by reaching all new speed records. Had Coach Malloy seen him just then, he’d have drafted him on the spot. Tyler shot through the crowded hallways, weaving madly between the groups of students ambling slowly towards their classes, or just having conversations with the people in their click. Many of the students and not a few of the teachers took passing interest in the event and most of them wondered idly just who Tyler had pissed off this time.

  No one saw Tommy following him, because Tommy had long ago learned all of Ty’s escape routes and was in the process of heading him off at the proverbial pass. It was just before the start of third period and Tyler had a science class in Mr. Hinkley’s room, all the way on the other side of the school; Tommy was fairly certain he could beat the little prick down there, it was just a matter of speed. Along the way, he gathered Jerry Sanders and the ever unpopular ‘Goose’ Brundvandt. Goose was always eager to help, but was generally unpopular, because he’d never figured out the use of deodorant and had a tendency to save showering for special occasions, like Christmas and maybe his birthday. People had a tendency to think of “Pig Pen�
� from Charles Shultz’s Peanuts comic strip when they first met Goose.

  6

  Tyler was definitely not having a very good Monday. So far, he’d already pissed off two teachers with his mouth, and had, for reasons unknown to him, managed to send Tommy Blake into a frenzy; it wasn’t that he didn’t like sending the ape into an occasional rage, he just liked to understand why.

  Rounding the bend into the west wing of the school, he managed to slam into Sue Talbot and knock her sprawling, a sensation that he honestly wished he’d had time to enjoy—the girl was stacked. Over her extremely loud protests, he called an apology and kept moving. Sunday, now there had been a day to remember. He’d gotten a long list of messages when he finally got home from P.J.’s, a brief guilty flash there but he’d had to lie to Mark, he had to research the damn books with P.J., it was for Mark’s own good and surprise, surprise, they had all been from Lisa Scarrabelli, the hottest little number in the school (with the possible exception of Tracy Steiner, who was known to sleep with any man at the drop of a hat, though Tyler had to admit he’d never had any success and he’d dropped a hell of a load of hats!). Seemed she just wanted to talk and could she come over for a while? Hell yes! Four lovely hours, spent easing her troubled soul and looking at her chest as frequently as possible; and as a reward, he got a hug and a kiss from her, which was, to date, an all time record for physical contact with females other than his mother in the Ty-Man’s life.

  And then, just when it was all going so very nicely today, Tommy—New king of the Asshole Patrol, since Tony had decided to abdicate—takes it into his mind to rearrange Tyler’s body, free of charge but not free of pain. Ain’t life a scream?