by Kate Morris
She opened it with her hand behind her back. He figured the pistol was there. Her eyes darted around nervously.
“What are you doing here? I told you I can’t be around you anymore, Elijah.”
He smiled like an idiot. He couldn’t help it. She looked so pretty today, other than the obvious bruising. The black gunk was gone from her eyes, and Wren was wearing black skinny jeans and a matching sweater. She wore a lot of dark and usually baggy clothing. It didn’t matter. If she was trying to blend in, it wasn’t going to work. She stood out even in a crowd of a thousand teenage girls. He even liked her freckles.
“You did? I didn’t get that text,” he said, to which she frowned with confusion. Then she realized he was messing with her and frowned harder. “Listen for a minute. Hear me out.”
“Fine, come in,” she said. “You’re letting all the cold air in.”
“Cold?” he asked with a smirk. “It’s only around forty-five today. Just wait till it drops below zero.”
“I won’t be here when it does. Thank God.”
This made him scowl. “Are you still leaving?”
“Not yet. With the stuff that’s been going on, it’s been delayed until further notice.”
“Notice from your uncle?”
She sent him a glare for prodding.
“Okay, I can take a hint,” he said, holding up a hand in surrender.
“Can you? I don’t really think you can, Elijah.”
He stepped closer, which made Wren back up and bump the kitchen table.
“I’ve got a plan. Or part of one.”
Her left eyebrow shot up, “Plan for what?”
“I went for a run earlier…”
She asked with a cute expression, “You did? Geesh. I feel like a bum. I just got up.”
She did look a little like that, too. Her hair was tangled and messy and very sexy. He wouldn’t mention that part.
“Good, you needed to sleep,” he said and touched the outside of her arm. “Anyway, I noticed on my run- which ended up being more of a walk because of these damn stitches- that some of the businesses in town were boarded up. Others closed due to illness. I think people are figuring out that this isn’t just gonna go away.”
“Finally.”
“Yeah,” he agreed. “I started buying up some extra groceries the other day, dried goods, canned goods, that sort of thing. But if we end up having to ride this out for a while, then we’re gonna need a lot more.”
“We?” she asked, plunking her hand onto her hip and tipping her head to the side.
“Yes,” he confirmed, not backing down. “I want you to go with me. I could use the help.”
“No!” she protested immediately. “I can’t. My uncle could come home anytime.”
“Tell him what you’re going to be doing. Tell him you’re with me.”
She snorted, “That’s really not going to help at all.”
He nodded with a grin, “I thought he might’ve told you that he approved of me and thought I was a great guy or something last night after I left.”
“Not exactly, Elijah. He basically forbade me from seeing you again.”
“Ouch. That’s kind of harsh. No worries. I got the same lecture from my brother. I don’t care, though, Wren. I’m not getting thrown out of your life because the people in charge of us don’t want this to be.”
“I don’t want this to be.”
He immediately corrected her, “That’s not true. I know it’s not. I think we both know that’s not true.”
She took a deep breath and exhaled with obvious impatience and irritability.
“Look, I’m just as confused by all this as you…”
Wren interrupted him and said, “I’m not confused. I don’t want to be around you anymore.”
“I don’t believe you,” he said what he knew was true. She knew it, too, even if she was throwing daggers at him with those eyes of hers. “Come with me,” he pleaded. “Wren, come with me. Break the rules for once in your life.”
He could read the indecision on her face, so he pulled out the items he had stuffed into the pockets of his jacket.
“Besides, I can’t wear two of these super sexy protection face masks at once.”
She smiled. Then she hooked her thumb toward the counter where her pistol laid. “I’ve got the more important protection.”
He laughed. “See? I can’t go without you! I need my personal bodyguard, my sidekick, my ninja girl, my…”
She groaned with irritation. “You don’t need me, quarterback.”
“Sure I do,” he affirmed.
“They were just saying on the news that there’s gonna be some sort of big press conference tonight talking about it.”
Elijah considered this for a moment before saying, “If they announce something really bad, we might wish we’d taken five or six trips to stock up on stuff.”
“And if they say they’ve got a vaccine, then we’re gonna look pretty stupid and I’ll have gotten in trouble with my uncle for nothing and we’ll be eating boxed mac and cheese for six months.”
“Then I’ll eat your portion,” he teased.
She snorted and crossed her arms defensively, “Clearly. What don’t you eat?”
He chuckled, “I’ll cover for you with him if he finds out. I’ll think of something. I’ll take the heat. Don’t worry. And besides, if they do have a cure, then you won’t have to buy groceries for a while.”
Her lower jaw jutted out stubbornly. “I can’t.”
“Do you ever break his rules?” She shook her head. “Don’t you want to just be a dumb, reckless, irresponsible teenager for a day, Foster?”
This got her attention. Elijah could tell she was considering it. Her eyes flashed.
“Did he go to work?” he asked about her uncle, to which she nodded. “Good, let’s go.”
“Fine,” she said with exasperation. “But we need to get back before ten. He said he probably wouldn’t be home until then.”
“Aye-aye, captain,” he teased, as she pulled on a short, black leather jacket that looked way cooler than his, a blue, nondescript ballcap, and black ankle boots.
“You sure do like black,” he commented. Elijah didn’t really mind her attire. He did prefer her in his shirt, or even better, his jersey because it was a little shorter than the tee she’d worn that night. She had great legs.
“I don’t like standing out in crowds,” she remarked.
“I know,” he admitted and waited for her to lock the door.
She groaned when she turned around.
“What’s wrong?”
“It looks like it’s gonna snow again. Does the sun ever come out in Ohio?”
He chuckled and led her to Alex’s truck. “Yes, it’ll be back in May. Sorry, you’ll have to sit in the middle. Alex has crap all over the passenger side.” He opened the driver’s door and allowed her to get in first. Probably he should’ve taken his brother’s tool belts and toolboxes out of the truck before he took it. There was even a box of stuff on the passenger side floor. However, having her sit next to him was kind of nice, too. Friendzone was getting harder to maintain.
“I would’ve suggested taking my car, but it looks like a burnt piece of toast.”
He laughed and felt the urge to hold her hand. “It’s okay. We’ll be able to haul more with this.”
“Good idea.”
He smiled under her uncommon praise. “Can I ask you a question?”
Elijah maneuvered out of town and went north where he could connect with the road that would take them to “The Strip.” It was a shopping district in Jackson. There were two different wholesale clubs up there, which the team kept open accounts at in case the guys needed stuff like bulk protein shake mix, sports drinks, vitamins, or workout gear.
“Is it going to be about where I’m from again?” she asked warily.
“No,” he said.
“Then, yes. Go ahead.”
He took note of a few of the propertie
s, which were much more spaced out in this area of the county and saw that some of the homes were boarded up. Most were situated on five or more acres, many of which contained horses, which he suspected were for 4-H projects. These were extremely expensive properties.
“Did you have a boyfriend where you used to live?”
She quickly looked at him and looked away even faster. “Which place?”
“Um, I don’t know. Any, I guess.”
“We move a lot, Elijah,” she said. “I’m not allowed friends and…all that.”
“Why not?”
She swallowed, and Elijah looked back at the road.
“You must get lonely.”
Wren shrugged. “It’s fine. I’ve got Jamie.”
He frowned. “That’s not the same as having friends to hang out with. No offense, but your uncle doesn’t really seem like a ball of laughs.”
She smirked. “He can be fun. It’s just…we’re under a lot of stress right now.”
“Is he really your uncle? He doesn’t look anything like you.”
“He’s my uncle. He has dark hair like me. Lots of aunts and uncles don’t look anything like their nieces or nephews. I think we look a little bit alike. Maybe our noses, too. And he was my dad’s brother anyway. I look like my mom.”
She was explaining that a little too much. It made him suspicious.
“We need to talk later,” he said with finality, trying hard not to get testy with her. It apparently didn’t work. She looked distressed, so he decided to change the subject. “Feeling any better today?”
“Sure,” she returned.
He glanced at her face and saw that the scrapes and swelling on her cheek and along her jawline weren’t as bad as they were last night. Her uncle must’ve made her ice them again. The bruises were more obvious, though. She looked like the victim of domestic violence. People were probably going to speculate about them out in public today. Their relationship status was technically zero, but this made it look like he was an abusive boyfriend. As if he’d ever treat a girl like that.
“You look really good today,” he flattered the obvious. Then he felt stupid. Of course, she looked pretty. She always looked pretty. For a friend.
She snorted, though, which was strange to Elijah.
“Yeah, right, Brannon,” she remarked as if he’d irritated her.
“What do you mean?”
She hit him with a direct stare before looking away, “Come on. Seriously?”
“Seriously what?”
“Brannon, I’m not gonna sleep with you. Last night when I hugged you was a mistake, a big one. I was just…I don’t know. Feeling vulnerable or something.”
He turned right and drove toward the shopping district. “Hey, I didn’t say you had to sleep with me. I never said I expect that. You’re wrong about me, Foster. I’m not interested in you like that anyway.” Lie.
“I doubt that.”
“Don’t pre-judge me,” he said, feeling his temper rise. “You may think I’m some dumb jock with no feelings and who likes sleeping around, but I’m not. I think you’d be surprised to know I don’t actually have that big of a list of ex-girlfriends in my past.”
“Yeah, well, you’ve probably slept around.”
“I haven’t done as much of that as you might think, either. My football career has always had to come first. Or, at least, once it took off. I haven’t got as many notches on my bedpost as you obviously assume.”
She mumbled, “More than me.”
“That’s okay, too,” he said and took her hand. She was cold to the touch. “I don’t mind. I’m not looking for just sex with you. I can get sex if I want it. Trust me. The jersey chasers are always waiting in the wings. I don’t care about them, though. I like you. Just you. I’m also breaking rules here. But, we’re never going to be more than friends, okay?” He actually hoped this one was a lie.
She gave a nervous shrug with one shoulder and ducked her head so he couldn’t see her face. Then she slid her hand free and pulled her balled fists into the cuffs of her jacket.
“Hey, this looks really congested,” he said, noticing the heavy traffic. “You’d think it was the week before Christmas or something.”
“Yeah, what’s the deal?” she asked, sitting a little straighter.
Elijah found them a parking place at the wholesale club near the back and parked the truck. When they got out, he hit the locks on the remote.
“Stay close, Wren,” he said as a helicopter, military-style, flew overhead, a lot lower than seemed normal. “This doesn’t seem right.”
Her eyes were wide. “I think everyone’s got the same idea as you.”
“Yeah, that’s what I’m afraid of,” he remarked.
A woman’s scream instantly halted them. Then gunfire erupted. It sounded like it was coming from the store. Then people flooded out of it in hoards.
“Back!” he yelled and spun with her. They ran to the truck, and Elijah hit the locks, letting her get in first. Police cars came flying into the parking lot with their lights and sirens going as Elijah hit the gas and sped out of it. He looked in the rearview mirror and watched as a police car was shot at by a group of young men causing it to wreck into a parked car. “Jesus! What the hell?”
She screamed, causing Elijah to look forward. A person just barely missed their truck as they swerved away from another vehicle in the intersection.
“Watch out!” she yelled at him in a reprimanding tone.
“I’ve got it,” he said and had to curb the truck to get away from another near accident.
“We need to get out of here,” she said, already dialing someone on her phone.
“Who are you calling?”
She didn’t answer him but began speaking to her uncle on the phone.
“Jamie, we need to make a few calls. This is bad. Yes, I know. No, I’m not home right now. Elijah and I went…”
She swore under her breath and smacked her phone against her thigh. He must’ve hung up on her.
“Take me home, Elijah,” she said. “Jamie will be there when we get there.”
“Oh, great,” he said, not really wanting to deal with her uncle. He almost just got his niece killed. Two days in a row with near-death experiences was probably not going to win him any points with the man.
Chapter Twenty-two
The second they arrived at her house, Uncle Jamie flew out the side door under the carport.
“What the hell did I tell you last night, Wren?”
“I’m sorry, sir,” Elijah apologized. “It was my fault. I asked Wren to go with me to get supplies in case things got worse. Blame me. Don’t blame her. Please.”
He surprised her. He said he’d take the heat, but Wren didn’t actually think he would. But she couldn’t let him. She stepped forward between him and her uncle.
“No, it’s my fault. Don’t be mad at Elijah. He was only trying to help.”
“Help?” Jamie asked irritably. “Helping would be staying away. I told you last night, young lady, that this is over!” He wagged his finger between her and Elijah.
“Jamie, please, let me explain,” she pleaded, never having had to do so before. They’d never actually had an argument.
“They warned me you’d get this way when you became a teenager,” he said menacingly.
“Who warned you?” Elijah asked. “And who’s ‘they’?”
“Stay out of it, Brannon,” Jamie cautioned.
“Jamie, stop,” she ordered more firmly. “It’s not like I’m being some angsty teen. I know the dangers of this. It’s not like that at all. Something is going on…”
“You think I don’t know that?” he asked. “I just came home from D.C.”
“I thought you went to work,” she questioned.
“No, I got called out,” he answered.
“Wait, you flew to D.C. and back just today?” Elijah asked.
“The power of air flight, Mr. Brannon,” he said rudely. That wasn’t fair to Elijah.
He didn’t understand any of this. His next words made her even angrier, “You need to leave.”
“No!” she blurted loudly, fed up that Jamie was being so nasty to Elijah. She was sick of her life all of a sudden. Sick of being told what to do, who she could talk to- which was nobody- where to go and when, where she would live from one day to the next. She never made any of her own decisions. That was the reason she left with Elijah earlier. She just wanted a tiny bit of control over her life.
“What did you say?” Jamie asked as if he had a sudden hearing problem.
“I said no, and I mean it.”
“Go inside this instant, young lady,” Jamie told her.
Wren raised her chin and slowly and calmly said in her most forceful tone, “No.”
“Wren, don’t…”
“C’mon, Elijah,” she said and spun on the ball of her foot. “Let’s go.”
“Wren!” Jamie called after her as she bolted for Elijah’s truck.
“Sorry, I’ll talk to her, sir,” Elijah apologized and followed after her.
Once they were back in his brother’s truck, Elijah started to say something, but she cut him off, “Drive. I don’t care where. Just go before I lose my nerve.”
“Yes,” he agreed and pulled away.
Wren blew out a long-held breath. “I’ve never…I’ve never done that before.”
“Defy him?”
“Yes,” she answered honestly.
He drove them toward town as she tried to process what she’d just done. He gave her space. Then his phone buzzed.
“Can you look at that for me?”
She plucked his phone from the slot below the radio and swiped the screen. “Here.”
“No, just tell me what it is. I trust you. I don’t have any secrets from you.”
That was something. She didn’t know anyone who trusted someone reading their messages without them reading it first. Nobody sent her texts. Just Uncle Jamie. Now Elijah. Wow, that hit like a bomb. She was so pathetic.
“It’s from your friend Jeremy,” she told him. “He says school is canceled the rest of the week. No game Friday, either,” she said, deciphering his coded text full of emojis. “He said they don’t know about homecoming yet.”