Malakai stopped scratching and looked up at her, the shadow of a smile on his lips.
“Good,” he answered, taking the seat her uncle had just vacated. “Coach chewed my head off, but overall, it was a good practice…once I got my head back into it.”
Lily smiled. She loved to hear him speak. His voice was low and pleasant, and he spoke softly. If she had to venture a guess, she would think his accent was British.
“You like football a lot, don’t you?”
It was a stupid question, Lily knew, but she was desperate for him to keep on talking. For a reason she could not explain, having him near her muted the feelings of the rest of the hospital.
“Yeah,” he answered with a grin. “I was offered a full ride to the University of South Texas for next year. I accepted it last Friday.”
His last comment was accompanied by a lot of conflicting emotions, which had Lily thoroughly confused. She was curious to know why he was at the same time proud, happy, disappointed, and sad about the offer.
“Congratulations,” she said with a warm smile.
“How is your solo coming?” he asked.
“Good,” she answered, surprised he knew about it. “It’s a lot more complicated than last year, and I still have to perfect it, but I’ll be ready when we present our exhibition shows and competitions. It’s a shame you never get to hear us, really.”
“Yeah. I liked seeing you march last year. Coach made us watch you after the homecoming game.”
Now that he was talking, Lily discovered Malakai had a lot to say, not only about football but also about the Smithsonian, which he read avidly, and cooking. They were still talking so intently an hour later that Lily was startled by her uncle’s return. All she felt was Malakai’s excitement as he spoke, and she never realized her uncle was nearby.
As Malakai took his leave, Lily felt his hesitancy. She didn’t want to see him go either. His presence was comforting, and once he left, she realized the likelihood of talking to him again was pretty slim. After all, she was a band girl and he was a football player and the two just didn’t mix.
But maybe, just maybe…
Her heart pinched as he walked out of her room, and Lily wondered if she would be lucky enough to ever spend time with him again.
Chapter Six
LILY
It was close to nine o’clock when the hospital finally released Lily, and Charlie dropped her off at home.
“I still think you should move in with me,” her uncle repeated as he pulled in front of her house. She opened her mouth to answer him, but he raised his hand to interrupt her. “At least, think about it, okay?”
After a few seconds of hesitation, she nodded. “Thank you for the ride home, Charlie,” she said, opening the car door.
“You’re quite welcome, kiddo.”
Lily closed the passenger door and, waving her hand, watched her uncle drive away. As soon as he was out of sight, Lily lost her smile and sighed. She was tired, and her head was pounding again. All she wanted was to take a hot shower and remove the blood from her hair. To think Malakai had seen her this way…
Overall, she had been lucky in her bad luck. The cut hadn’t been deep, and she hadn’t needed stitches. However, the lump on her head was rather spectacular, and just frowning made her head ache.
She unlocked the front door, hoping her mother wasn’t there, but in the next instant she knew she wouldn’t be so lucky.
Beatrice was everything Lily was not. She was cultured, usually dressed as if she were about to attend the most important meeting in the world, and often wore high heels that Lily would never in her life dare to wear for fear she would break an ankle. Her mother’s makeup was always smartly applied, and her blond hair was always tied in an impeccable ponytail. She was the perfect picture of elegance, and she usually sported an inviting smile, which looked warm and sincere, but in reality, was anything but.
She was a stunning woman, but her beauty didn’t run deep.
Her mother was the reason she had become so good at shielding. Over the years, Beatrice’s feelings toward her had gone from cold and distant to angry and hateful, and Lily had had no other choice but to adapt. Stronger shields were the only way for her to protect herself from all her mother’s madness. Lily had in fact become so good at it that she could pretty much go through her day like a regular high school student, barely feeling people unless she touched them.
Lily opened the door and saw Beatrice standing in the living room next to the white couch, talking with a well-dressed man. They were drinking wine from delicate crystal glasses. Beatrice obviously liked the man, and Lily felt the man’s attraction to her mother in return.
As Lily walked in, their discussion stopped, and they turned to her. Beatrice’s venom at the interruption was so strong it left a bad taste in Lily’s mouth.
“Elizabeth, dear, where have you been?”
No one—no one except Beatrice, that was—called her Elizabeth. Her father had called her Lily since she was a toddler, and she had gone by that name ever since.
“Why do you call me Lily, Daddy?” she had asked when she was five years old.
“Because you’re the most beautiful little girl in the world, and you’re the flower of my life,” he had said.
However, Beatrice, despite multiple requests, insisted on calling her by her full name, which Lily hated. “Elizabeth is a proper name for a young lady. Lily is for a little girl with no manners and no means,” she had said.
Lily was convinced her mother called her Elizabeth just to spite her.
Despite the warm smile Beatrice was now giving her, Lily felt her mother wanted her anywhere but home, and Lily did what she usually did when she was in her mother’s presence: She slammed her shields into place…or tried to. She knew it hadn’t worked when a wave of pure annoyance washed over her, the wave so intense Lily took an involuntary step back.
“Are you well?” Beatrice asked, showing all appearance of concern.
From the man, curiosity.
Lily should not have felt it. Her weakest shield should have stopped it. Like at the hospital earlier, she felt everything.
She heard the blood pound in her ears. What was wrong with her? Then the realization hit her, and Lily’s heart began to race. Her shielding abilities had not come back.
She lightly touched the bump on her head. Again, she tried to slam her shields in place but to no avail. It was simply not working, and she was rapidly getting a headache, which made her stomach queasy.
“Oh, I spent the entire day at the hospital with a head injury,” she answered with a smile of her own, despite her racing heart and pounding head.
Lily had become quite good at showing a facade of pleasantness, even when she didn’t feel it. It was a requirement if one were to survive living with Beatrice. Not only did Beatrice pride herself on appearing cool and composed, she also liked to prey on others and use their weaknesses to her own advantage.
“And how was your day, Beatrice?” Lily continued just as pleasantly.
“Oh, marvelous,” she answered, waving her hand in a dismissing gesture.
The man looked at Beatrice with a raised eyebrow; Lily knew he was seeing her mother for who she really was, and Lily took an instant liking to him. This man was man enough not to be completely bedazzled by Beatrice’s charms.
“Would you care to join us?” Beatrice asked, even if it was the last thing she wanted.
“No, thank you. I have a prior engagement with a hot shower.”
“Oh, shame. Have a good night.”
Beatrice promptly turned around and smiled at the man who was now frowning openly.
“Thank you,” Lily said, losing her smile and turning toward the stairway.
She had reached the top of the stairs and was out of sight when the man spoke.
“Beatrice, she just told you she spent the day in the hospital with a head injury, and you pretended nothing happened.”
Lily had felt his puzzlement
and offense all the way up the stairs.
“Of course she hasn’t. Don’t be fooled by her; she’s a compulsive liar.”
“Oh really? How do you explain the blood in her hair, on the side of her neck, and on the back of her shirt?”
“There was no blood, Robert,” she said, laughing.
When Lily felt his dismay, she thought he was way too decent for Beatrice. She wondered whether he had kids of his own, kids he actually cared about and loved.
“I think I should go,” he said slowly. “I have to work tomorrow.”
With a small smile, Lily walked away. It wouldn’t do for Beatrice to see her if the man put his words into actions. It was a nasty thought, but Lily felt a sense of sweet justice. Beatrice didn’t give a hoot about her, and maybe now she would know how it felt to be given the cold shoulder herself.
Lily had just finished showering and was trying to comb her hair when the doorbell rang. A few moments later, Sandra walked into her room without knocking.
It was not the first time Sandra had shown up at her house right on cue. Sandra, who lived across the street, had confided to Lily a long time ago that she used the lights in Lily’s bedroom and bathroom as an indication Lily was home and available.
“What happened to you?” Sandra asked, sitting on the bed and putting a bundle next to her. “No one would say, and I had your phone.”
How Lily envied her friend’s height. She could easily sit on Lily’s bed while Lily, from her five foot one, had to jump on it.
Lily looked at the bundle and, in addition to her phone, found her clarinet and her music book.
“I was run over by Malakai Thomas,” she answered.
The curiosity pouring from Sandra made Lily want to spill out everything in one winded sentence.
“You’ve got to explain that one to me. Malakai Thomas? The drop-dead-gorgeous-you’ve-had-a-crush-on-since-freshman-year Malakai Thomas?”
“Well, I don’t remember what happened, really,” Lily said lightly. She paused for effect. “Malakai told me when he visited me in the hospital.”
Sandra’s jaw dropped. “Okay! Now I want the full story.”
“There’s nothing to it,” Lily said, grabbing her phone from the bed. She swiped the screen and searched for any missed calls or texts before putting it on the nightstand.
“I’m still waiting for my story,” Sandra said after a few moments of silence, her tone implying she would have tapped her foot if she were standing.
Lily repeated what Malakai had told her about the accident.
“So, what else happened?” Sandra prompted when Lily wouldn’t add more. “I mean, Malakai visited you in the hospital, right? What did you talk about?”
Curiosity was killing her friend, but mentioning the hospital reminded Lily of the precarious situation she now found herself in.
“I…I can’t shield anymore,” she dropped instead of answering. At the thought of it, her heartbeat picked up again.
“That could be a problem. Do you think it’s a result of your head?”
“Maybe. What am I going to do if it doesn’t come back?” Lily had a knot in her stomach just voicing the possibility.
“We’ll figure it out,” Sandra said with a firm nod. “We always do.”
Somehow, Lily wondered if Sandra was right.
“Okay, now do tell me what else,” Sandra said, grinning at her.
“Not a whole lot really.”
She couldn’t get excited about Malakai’s visit anymore. She was too worried about her shields, but she told her friend what they discussed regardless.
“Wow! That’s a lot for you to say ‘not a whole lot really.’ So, did you guys exchange phone numbers or something?”
“No,” Lily said, glancing at her phone on the table next to her.
“Any plans to see each other again?”
“No,” Lily said, wincing. “I may like him and all, but I don’t think he likes me back. I mean, I’m me, clarinetist, band geek, not very interesting and all, and he’s him, star wide receiver, popular, drop-dead gorgeous and all. What would he want with someone like me? Besides, football players aren’t into band girls.”
“You shouldn’t say that,” Sandra sadly said. “You’re more than that. Not all the guys want to date girls like Zoe, you know.”
Lily chuckled. Neither of them liked Zoe St. Claire, who considered band members as second-class citizens. Lily was glad for the cheerleaders that Zoe wasn’t one of them; she would have certainly given them quite a bad name.
“You know what? Maybe we could do a makeover for you, you know, something simple, but something that would make you look really good.”
“Sandra, I don’t know,” Lily said, hesitating.
“Of course you do,” Sandra said, standing up and walking to her. “You want Malakai to notice you, no? Maybe we should try something with your hair. Not something severe like when we have band practice, but something casual you could wear when we’re at school. It would be a nice change from the way you keep it down and about,” she said, grabbing Lily’s chin and moving her head to the right and left. “You know, you have the most gorgeous eyes in the world, them being so gray and all. We should find a way to show them off, too. I’m sure Malakai would find them intriguing.”
Lily sighed. Sandra on a fashion mission was unstoppable.
Chapter Seven
MALAKAI
“What was with you yesterday? Coach was pretty pissed. Then you hauled ass as if your pants were on fire,” Wes said, grabbing a couple of french fries and dropping them in his ketchup.
For his only answer, Malakai shrugged.
It was Friday night, and when Wes had asked him to grab dinner, Malakai agreed. He hadn’t had his friend to himself in so long; he hoped to catch up and finally tell him about his news.
They were now sitting in their usual restaurant, the blue faux leather seat sticking to his jeans, the smell of grease drifting to his nose, and fatty food sitting on the table in front of them.
It was the same old place, a place so familiar Malakai could have navigated it with his eyes closed, but the guy in front of him was different. Wes didn’t talk about football anymore; he didn’t talk about cars and road trips.
“Me and Zoe, we got so wasted at the party last weekend. Dude, it was awesome. You really missed something.”
Malakai doubted it. He couldn’t care less about partying. He didn’t care for the chaos, loud music, drinking, and drama. He liked to spend time with a group of friends in a place where they could all talk without having to shout at one another.
And he cared nothing for Zoe.
While Wes was going on and on about the girl, Malakai ate his burger and let his mind drift to Lily. He had the burning desire to hold her small body against his again, with her conscious and willing.
Malakai had noticed Lily a very long time ago. He hadn’t known her name back then, but he clearly remembered seeing her walk into the huge high school on their first day of freshman year. She had been as lost as he was. She had seemed immensely uncomfortable, her eyes wide, looking around frantically in the overcrowded hallway, holding her books tightly against her chest. He had wanted to go to her and tell her she was not alone, but before he worked up the courage, the crowd separated them. Malakai had been small back then—he still wasn’t very big, really—and the tall crowd had prevented him from finding the petite girl again.
Then he had seen her in the lunch line where she bumped into him. Her touch, however quick, did something to him, sent a shiver up his spine, and when those big gray eyes looked up at him, he had thought she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.
He had hoped to have classes with her and get to know her, but he hadn’t had any until junior year. By then, they were running in different circles, and he never got the chance to talk to her.
Often, he had wondered what it would be like talking to her. When he had visited her the previous day, she had been everything he expected and then some
, and the visit quickly became one of the least complicated moments of his life.
He hadn’t needed to pretend with her and he could actually talk to her. With Andrea, the girl Wes and Zoe were trying to match him with, he barely spoke. Andrea was too light and ditzy to discuss anything serious, and the few times he had tried to talk to her about things that interested him, her eyes glazed over. Malakai thought Andrea didn’t have any interest in hearing about other people if it didn’t directly relate to her. As for Lily, she had listened to whatever he wanted to say, and stayed focus and interested. She hadn’t been fazed by the flashiness that went with being a football player. She gave Malakai the impression she was interested in him, the person, and not his image or what it represented.
It was so refreshing. But he couldn’t say that to Wes.
“I heard about the girl you brought into the locker room yesterday. Who was she?”
Wes’s eyes were glued to his phone, and he was typing furiously. He hadn’t put the thing down since they sat at the table.
“Lily Morgan,” Malakai answered, his eyes fixed on his dinner.
The last thing Malakai needed was for Wes to know he had thought about Lily nonstop since visiting her in the hospital. He wasn’t ready to face the complications that would go with that.
Wes looked up at him, dropped his phone on the table, and laughed as if Malakai had told the funniest joke in the world.
“Lily Morgan? You mean band geek Lily Morgan? Didn’t know you were into geeks. Why help her?”
Malakai looked up from his dinner, frowning. He didn’t like that Wes knew her; he didn’t like it one bit.
“I bumped into her. I couldn’t very well leave her there. You know her?” he asked, grabbing his Coke.
“Yeah, well Zoe knows her,” he answered with a shrug. Wes glanced at his phone again but didn’t pick it up this time.
Malakai liked the idea of Zoe knowing Lily even less, but he kept on eating, pretending he wasn’t bothered by it in the least.
“You like her!” Wes accused, leaning forward.
Crossing the Barrier Page 3