“Just trust me, okay? It’s not as bad as it looks.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“Positive.”
“Are you going to murder me or something? This is starting to look like one of those horror movies.”
“Yes. That was the plan all along,” he said, feigning a serious tone. He rolled his eyes and shook his head as he walked around the truck to open my door. I was still buckled in and hadn’t even moved. He opened my door and looked at me just inches from my face.
“Are you done asking questions yet?”
“No. Where are we?”
“A barn.”
“Well, I’ve figured that much out, genius,” I spewed. “Whose barn is it?”
“It was my grandparents’ before they died. It used to be an actual working farm. Now, obviously, it’s just abandoned. My dad inherited the land but never did anything with it. So, for today,” he said as he unbuckled my seatbelt, “it’s our romantic prom dinner location.” He raised an eyebrow at the word “romantic” in a sad attempt to be sexy. It looked ridiculous enough to make me laugh, if I hadn’t been so peeved about the situation.
“Romantic?” I asked, trying to hold back his hand from my seatbelt in a desperate attempt to remain in the truck.
“Well, if you’d get out, maybe you’d change your mind. Besides, you are completely alone with your awesomely cute boyfriend. What does it matter where we are?” he said, jokingly. He flexed a bicep muscle in a mock attempt to seduce me inside. I rolled my eyes.
“You’re a goof.”
“And you love it,” he said as he grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the truck.
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” he said as I tried to resist getting out.
“What’s the easy way?”
“You cooperate, trust me, and follow me inside before you make hasty judgments.”
“And the hard way?”
“I drag you in kicking and screaming, leading to a potential rip in your dress or misplaced curls. Your choice.”
I sighed, rolled my eyes for the umpteenth time—I was turning into a snotty valley girl—and said, “Fine. I’ll follow you. But if it’s nasty in there, I’m not promising anything.”
“Why would I bring you somewhere nasty for prom? Am I that untrustworthy? Unromantic?”
“You do have me at a barn,” I observed, annoyed. I slouched beside him, truly reluctant to see what awaited me.
“Just come on. You’ll change your mind. You’ll see.”
“What about my dress?” I asked, eyeing the dirty pathway to the barn with disgust.
“Oh! Right! I’ve got it covered. But first, put this on.” He handed me a blindfold.
“Really?”
“Yes. Really. Humor me.”
I groaned, tied the blindfold in place, and crossed my arms. I felt like an idiot.
“Now what?”
He reached over and scooped me up in his arms, carrying me down the pathway. Despite my disdain, I couldn’t hide how good it felt to be in his arms, whatever the circumstances. He set me down inside the barn. He walked away from me for a few minutes. I impatiently tapped my foot.
“Corbin,” I whined. “Can I take this stupid blindfold off yet?”
“One second, almost ready.” I heard rustling as he hustled around the room making his last-second preparations. Soft music resonated into the area.
“Ready?” he inquired as he reached for my blindfold.
“As I’ll ever be,” I said. Curiosity had gotten the best of me. He took off the blindfold, and I was shocked when I looked around.
The barn still was its rustic self, but it had been transformed into a sort of whimsical wonderland. Corbin had hung hundreds of soft, white lights all around the barn. A white runner, like the ones used in weddings, led from the entrance to a large, white carpet placed in the center. A tiny bistro table and chairs sat in the middle with candles softly aglow. A little table was positioned beside it with covered trays of food. A vase of roses also resided in the middle of the table. Rose petals were scattered on the floor of the barn, looking oddly picturesque on the dirt floor. I smiled in sheer delight. It may not have been glamorous, but to me it was oddly romantic, a perfect balance of old and new, of simple and chic. It was simply us.
“This must have taken you forever!” I exclaimed in true excitement and surprise.
“Um, yeah, it did,” he admitted hesitantly. “Was it worth it?” He gave me an uncertain look as if he was finally wondering if he had made a mistake.
“Yes!” I shouted, wrapping my arms around his neck. “It’s the sweetest thing anyone has ever done.”
“I know it’s not very sophisticated. But I wanted to do something different, something special that we would remember.”
“It’s perfect. It’s us.” I smiled, truly meaning the words.
Corbin led me down the “runway” to the table and pulled out my chair.
“The menu is somewhat limited due to cooking dilemmas, as you can imagine,” Corbin said with a grin. He pulled out a tray of sandwiches, which had been crudely cut into the shape of hearts. He also uncovered two bags of chips, two sodas, and a few snack cakes. I smiled at the simplicity of it all.
“I’m starving, let’s eat,” I said with a genuine smile. To me, this was better than any stuffy dinner my friends were attending.
Corbin and I spent the next hour eating our “feast,” talking about families, prom, graduation, and us. After dinner, he moved the table and we danced to songs on the radio, not caring if they were fast or slow, just holding onto each other and softly swaying back and forth. It was undoubtedly the most romantic moment of my life.
“Thank you,” I whispered to him as I looked up into his soft brown eyes.
“You’re so welcome,” he said, pressing his lips to mine softly.
“Not just for this,” I said, looking around. “Thank you for being with me. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“Well, I don’t plan on you having to find out,” he said.
At the time, his words echoed with truth in my soul. We both saw the vastness of the future, the promise of opportunities and time. What we didn’t see, what we couldn’t see, was the darkness, the drop-off that loomed not far ahead.
Chapter Thirteen: Hayloft Harmonies
Emma
Memories
“Emma! You look amazing!” Katie’s voice screeched above the crowd. Her gorgeous blonde hair was perfectly swept up into an elegant French twist, a few golden tendrils falling around her face. In a hot-pink dress that fit her figure snuggly, she shimmered to match her personality.
Although Katie, Hannah, Jenn, and I still talked, it was Katie that I maintained a semblance of a close friendship with. We had all been pulled in different directions by different guys, lessening the time we spent together. Katie, however, always greeted me with a smile, her optimistic attitude allowing her to look past the distance between us.
“Katie! You look amazing, too!” I proclaimed, trying to match her enthusiasm, but ultimately failing. We hugged, and Corbin grabbed my mother’s camera to take a picture.
“Hey, Corbin! Still handling the Pennsylvania weather, I guess?” Katie asked after the picture was snapped.
Corbin wrapped his arms around me, squeezing me to his chest. “I love it. No place I’d rather be.” He smiled at me, and Katie grinned at his words.
“Gee…I wonder why,” she said mischievously, looking from me to Corbin and then back. Katie’s date, Thomas, pulled on her hand then.
“Well, we’re heading to get some drinks. See you around!” she said, stumbling off with a smile still on her face.
I looked around at the paper stars hanging from the ceiling and the glitter covering every inch of the gymnasium. I had to admit that despite the cheesiness of the starry night theme, the place looked pretty good. Or maybe I was just becoming a softy after Corbin’s romantic escapade.
A huge crowd in the middle o
f the dance floor exploded with vivacity as the next song began to blast through the room. The group began to create the necessary formation for the electric slide. It felt like they were living in a ridiculously corny movie. Corbin grabbed my hand and yanked me toward the center of the crowd. “Let’s go!” he said happily. I tried to yank back, but Corbin’s strong physique prevented me from gaining much headway. “Corbin, no way! It’s too crowded. And I can’t dance.”
Corbin disregarded my protests, pulling me closer to the dancing group.
“It’ll be fine, Emma! It’s prom. You have to dance.”
“No, I definitely don’t. I don’t even know the moves.”
“You’re a fast learner. Plus, you have a great teacher,” Corbin said, winking at me. He pulled me into a line beside him. I groaned in defeat.
“Oh, why not,” I relented.
“That’s my girl!” Corbin said. “Now follow me.”
The next three minutes couldn’t pass fast enough. I stumbled and tripped as the rest of my classmates, Corbin included, smoothly transitioned from move to move. I was constantly sashaying in the wrong direction. I tried to exit the dance floor a few times while I still had a crumb of pride left. Corbin grabbed my hand, encouraging me to keep going. When the dance was mercifully over, I said, “That’s it, no more dancing.”
“Oh, come on, Emma, that was just a warm-up. Besides, you can make up your moves to this one.”
“Girl’s Just Wanna Have Fun” resonated through the room. All of the guys in the room grumbled in chorus. I shriveled up my nose with them, annoyed by the squeaky voice singing about boys and who knows what else. Just before we could wiggle free from the crowd, a familiar voice yelled my name.
“Emma! Emma, over here!” Katie jumped up and down, her huge grin iridescent like the thousands of glittery cut-out stars on the walls. “Come on, over here!” Beside her were Hannah and Jenn, swaying enthusiastically to the beat. It was like a reunion in the middle of the dance floor. I turned to Corbin.
“Go ahead! I’m going to make a pit stop, anyway. I’ll stop and get us some drinks on the way back, and I’ll meet you here.” He leaned over to kiss me on the cheek.
I looked from him to the group. I guessed that it would be fun to spend a little time with the girls, considering I hadn’t seen much of them this year.
“You sure you don’t want to come?” I asked.
“As tempting as that may seem, I think I’ll preserve my masculinity and sit this one out. Go, have fun.”
Have fun dancing—right, like that would happen. But I kissed him on the lips and sauntered over to the girls. At least the song was halfway over.
“Hey, guys!” I yelled above the music with a little extra excitement.
“Hey!” they yelled in unison.
“Isn’t this great?” Katie asked.
“Yeah, it is actually,” I said.
“Where are your dates?” I quizzed Jenn and Hannah.
“They went to get drinks. They were worried about losing their masculinity.” Jenn said, shaking her head at the prospect.
We all grinned. Despite the distance that had crept between us lately, it felt easy being there with them. It felt like nothing had changed. I guessed that events like prom did that to people, made them forget grudges and hurt feelings. We danced together, laughing at our clumsiness, joking about the girls who thought they were so “hot” gyrating ridiculously to the beat. I had to admit that I was having more fun on the dance floor than I thought I would.
When the song was over, Hannah said, “Well, guess I better go scrounge up Evan. I have to make sure none of the Miss ‘Thangs’ here stole him from me.” We laughed some more and nodded, saying we were heading to find our dates, too. We went in separate directions as we had been for the past several months.
As I approached the edge of the dance floor, I spotted Corbin in the line for drinks. He glanced my way and waved. I smiled and started heading that way. Suddenly, however, I felt a tug on my arm. Thinking it was one of the girls, I turned around with a smile. It wasn’t Katie, Hannah, or Jenn, though. It was Randy Clark, standing just a little too close to me with a grin on his face.
Randy Clark had lived down the street from me my entire life. I had known him since I was four years old. I remember that at the park in our neighborhood, he had pushed me off the seesaw so he could have a turn. And so our saga began.
As in all small towns, everyone in town knew Randy’s story. Randy’s mom had taken off when he was only two years old, feeling all sorts of urges except the motherly ones. Thus, he was left under the care of his father, Joe Clark. Joe was infamous in our town for working too few hours and drinking too many drinks. As an only child, Randy supposedly spent many days and nights on his own. Although we had no proof or signs that Randy was abused physically, his personality certainly hinted that things were far from perfect under the hand of his drunken father. The town’s hands were, in a way, tied just as Randy was tethered to a life of misery. In school, Randy was the average troublemaker. He picked fights, got suspended several times, harassed the teachers. He had been picked up for several infractions—stealing a candy bar at the local gas station, underage drinking, assault. Randy was about one step away from a juvenile detention center. Most kids and adults alike tried their best to avoid him.
Although I had my share of negative experiences with Randy, a part of me felt sorry for him. I couldn’t imagine having a dad that didn’t support me, let alone one that was downright neglectful. So, while others shunned Randy, I tried to be somewhat kind. I smiled at him in the hallways and talked to him at the bus stop. On several occasions, Corbin had also joined in my charitable cause, “loaning” Randy a few bucks for lunch when he attempted to beat it out of another kid in the lunch line. Randy repaid my kindness by not giving me too much grief—key words being too much. Despite a few nicknames he gave me and the seesaw incident, I got the feeling that Randy sort of liked me. Now, in the middle of the dance floor, I wished this weren’t the case. I could smell alcohol on Randy’s breath. I could also see it in his gleaming, heavy eyes.
His words came out slurred. “You look hot, Emma. Really hot.”
I tried to shake off his grasp on my arm, but it was tight.
“Thanks, Randy. Maybe you should go home. You don’t want to get in trouble. If they know that you’ve been drinking, they’ll…”
Randy found this uproariously funny. He snorted with laughter, finally managing to choke out his words. “Oh, Emma, always worrying about getting in trouble. Ha! You think it matters for someone like me?”
“Randy, let go, okay?”
“Dance with me, Emma.” He put his other hand on my waist, pulling me in too closely. The alcohol was even more pungent now as my face was forced against his chest. I glanced around, hoping to see one of the chaperones rushing to my rescue. With the music blaring and a large group of kids jumping up and down near us, we were probably out of the line of vision of the adults. I was on my own.
“Randy! Let go!” I started kicking and wiggling to get free.
“Emma, just dance with me. You know you want to. You’ve always wanted me. I can tell.”
I continued writhing, trying to break free, afraid of what he might do. He was so drunk and so unconcerned with authority that it was hard to tell. A few kids around us started to look our way, wondering what was happening. Before anyone could go get an adult, though, Randy was ripped off me with such force and quickness that I fell to the ground, stunned by what had happened. People around me stopped in their tracks, gasping at a scuffle that was happening right above my head. I scrambled to my feet, recognizing the other participant.
“Corbin! Stop!” I yelled, trying to reach for his arm.
“Keep your hands off of her or I’ll kill you!” Corbin snarled at Randy, true rage in his eyes and voice. I had never seen this side of him.
Instead of heeding the warning, though, Randy found it hysterical, guffawing crazily. “You’re going to kill me,
asshole? Let’s just see about that,” he taunted. Randy and Corbin danced around the floor in a sloppily choreographed show of strength and speed. Corbin got Randy into a headlock. Teachers started swarming the area, and the deejay had stopped the music. A circle had formed around the boys. Tears rolled down my face, praying that this would all be over soon—and that Corbin would still be in one piece.
Randy was able to escape, despite Corbin’s grasp. Once he was free, he swung and punched toward Corbin’s face, his knuckles awkwardly landing near Corbin’s eye. Corbin’s head snapped backward as he fell to the ground. Blood spewed from Randy’s knuckles and from Corbin’s face. I leaped to his side.
“Corbin!” I screamed. Again, however, I was tossed aside as a teacher grabbed him. Another teacher had a hold of Randy. Corbin groaned, but calmly got back to his feet, holding his face.
“Are you all right?” the teacher asked. Corbin shook his head in a slight “yes” movement. Someone handed him towels to stop the bleeding.
Another teacher brought a pack of ice and handed it to Corbin. “Here, put this on it. Maybe we should call an ambulance.”
Corbin did as he was told, and the teacher began to lead him toward the door. “No, I’m fine. It’s nothing,” he stoically stated.
“You’re going to have to leave,” the teacher said to Corbin, still holding onto his arm. “I’m going to have to call your parents.”
“Really? What the hell? He grabs Emma, he is clearly drunk, and I have to leave?” Corbin shouted, slamming the ice pack to the ground. “If you were doing your job, there wouldn’t have been a fight. If you had kept that dirtball out of here, there wouldn’t have been an issue.” Corbin had wriggled free from the teacher’s grasp and was reaching for me.
“Mr. Jones, that is quite enough. I didn’t see anything going on with Mr. Clark and Miss Groves, but if it was, fighting didn’t solve anything. Now I’m sorry, but you will have to leave. I will be contacting your parents and the principal to see if there will be any disciplinary actions taken on Monday. Mr. Clark will be leaving as well,” the teacher lectured. I wanted to punch him.
Voice of Innocence: A Coming-Of-Age Sweet Romance Page 9