by GG Shalton
But Ariel was nothing like them. The more I was around her, the more I found I wanted to keep her all to myself. “I don’t like taking that way,” she finally blurted out. “Too many people stop me.”
I nodded knowingly. She looked away as her face turned pink, so I said, “Then you better walk faster.”
“Thanks, smarty pants.” Shaking her head, she laughed. I loved the sound of her laugh and wished I could hear it all the time.
“You could learn a thing or two from me.” I leaned closer, taking in her smell of flowers mixed with sweet spice. “Any time you want a lesson.”
“Jax!” I looked up to see Bryce sliding into his seat. “We need to talk.”
Ariel smiled at Bryce. “How are you, Bryce?”
“Good, sweetheart. I need to borrow Jax for a minute.” Bryce leaned over and whispered in my ear. “Larry sold some bad stuff to Rachel Travis. She’s in the hospital.”
I lowered my brow. “Where did he get it?”
“Simmons.”
“Crap. I saw him the other day and he was looking for a hookup. I ignored him. You know I can’t get involved in it.”
Bryce looked back at Ariel, trying to hide our conversation. I glanced over and I saw that she was writing in her notebook. I hoped she wasn’t listening.
“Are you going to see her in the hospital?” Bryce whispered. I knew he’d dated Rachel’s sister last year, but last I heard, they weren’t hooking up anymore. Not really my business. Bryce and I didn’t talk about it.
I shook my head. “I can’t. You know I ended things with her. I told her to stay away from Larry. Her sister hates me, so I don’t think I would be welcome.”
“I hear you. Just thought you should know. She was your girlfriend at one time.”
I shrugged. A worksheet was passed around the class, and I quickly filled in the answers, trying not to think about my ex-girlfriend. A title that didn’t really describe the relationship we’d had. We were never in love, just hung out and only for a short period of time. I knew she liked me, but she got more into drugs. When I went to jail, I thought it was best to stay away from her. Her sister told Bryce that I’d used Rachel and broken her heart. I’d never made her any promises, but I didn’t want her to end up in the hospital. I made a mental note to text Bryce later and check on her.
Bryce took his worksheet and went up to the teacher. He grabbed the bathroom pass, and I knew he wouldn’t be coming back. I passed my worksheet up front with the rest of the class and looked at Ariel who seemed occupied with writing in her notebook.
After the teacher had collected them all, he cleared his throat. “You can use the last few minutes of class to get with your project partners.”
I turned around, seeing Ariel look up at me with those beautiful eyes. “Hey, partner.”
She smiled a little shyly. “I don’t think we have much more to do on the project.”
“I know. But maybe we can talk about other things.”
She twisted her hair with her finger, and my eyes were focused on her lips. The girl was driving me crazy and was occupying all my thoughts.
“Is Bryce okay?” she asked.
I hesitated, trying not to give away my uneasiness. He wasn’t what I wanted to talk about. But I knew she’d heard part of our conversation. I was just hoping she hadn’t heard all of it. I took a deep breath. “A friend of ours is in the hospital.”
“A girlfriend?” Apparently, she had heard our conversation.
“An ex-girlfriend.” I looked away, making sure no one was listening. “But we were never really close. More of a friend. Bryce used to date her sister. She did some bad drugs and ended up in the hospital.”
She bit her bottom lip. “That’s horrible.”
“Yeah, that is
one of the reasons we don’t talk anymore.”
“Do you have a girlfriend now?” Her coy expression as she tried to find out if I had flirted with her in vain was touching.
I couldn’t help but smile as I tilted my head. “Many.”
She brought her brows together. “Oh.”
I laughed and touched her arm. “I’m teasing. I don’t have a girlfriend.”
She shrugged. “I just see you around different girls.”
“Really?” I tilted my head back. “You been watching me?”
Her eyes slightly widened. “No… I ... um.” It was cute how she stuttered and acted a little off balance.
I grinned and put her out of her misery. “Ariel, I am just teasing you. I have a lot of female friends from Northside. But no one special.”
She looked down shyly as the bell rang. Taking her notebook, she looked up and smiled. “See you tomorrow.”
“Looking forward to it.” I winked and walked her out of the classroom.
Chapter 20
Ariel
I glanced in my backseat with a little guilt as I sat in the parking lot across the street from the high school. A huge bag full of camping supplies lay there, the stickers still on them. Such a waste of money. My car was carefully hidden by a few SUVs as I watched my friends laughing and carrying their supplies to the bus. Earlier, I’d made sure that I tactically backed into the parking spot to wait until I could decide what I wanted to do. A few minutes to clear my head was what I needed.
I took in the chaos across the street as students were dropped off or parked by the two buses the school had chartered for the field trip. Trace was easy to spot with his size and group of friends. They wore their jerseys, which was a surprise since they had a bye week. I rolled my eyes as I realized they would probably take over the trip and if you didn’t play football, you would be pushed to the side. No wonder Northside students didn’t want to participate. The cheerleaders wore matching school T-shirts advertising the cheer squad—as if no one would know who they were if they didn’t wear the shirt. Where did that catty thought come from? Weren’t they my friends? I had avoided their texts after school on Friday and all this morning. I noticed Paisley looking around the parking lot. She said something to Trace as he searched as well. Some of the group was jumping, and I heard music blaring from a few of the cars. Yet I stayed still, battling if I would go or not.
Sighing loudly, I thought about my morning. My original plan of saying I wasn’t feeling well hadn’t worked, because my father had practically pushed me out the door. I ended up leaving early but couldn’t bring myself to pull into the school parking lot. I just needed some distance while I gathered my bearings. Did I really want to go? Spending the day with the group was one thing but staying overnight when they planned to switch tents wasn’t my idea of a good time.
I thanked God that I didn’t live in the nineteenth century when they had arranged marriages. My father would have already signed the wedding contract and I would be forced to live my life with Trace. I need to stop reading historical romances!
I slid down my seat as I saw Trace’s eyes look my way. Could he see me? I couldn’t tell from this far away. I knew it was close to time to leave and I had to make a move. I quickly wrote a text to the group and included Trace.
Me: Hey! Sorry, cannot make it something unexpected came up. I will talk to you when you get back.
I pushed Send quickly. I’d thought about writing more but didn’t want to get caught in a huge lie. Short and simple was the best way. I noticed Paisley taking out her phone, then talking with her hands as Gretchen shook her head. A scowl crossed Trace’s features.
I waited a few minutes and saw them get on the bus. No one wrote me back, and I was grateful when I saw the buses pull away. Finally, I started my car and took off.
After a few minutes, I realized I had nowhere to go. I couldn’t go home. In fact, I had nowhere to stay the night. I really hadn’t thought this through. I briefly thought about going back home and saying I’d missed the bus, but they may find a way to get me there.
>
I drove aimlessly on the highway away from Matter Point. I kept going until I reached Creston Mall. It wasn’t open yet, so I grabbed a coffee at Starbucks and sat inside the shop with a magazine. When the mall opened, I left to go shopping. Not knowing what else to do, I tried on a bunch of clothes to kill time but found myself bored after a while. I thought about calling Jaxon but didn’t want to bother him. I knew he was working, and how would I explain to him that I didn’t go camping?
I walked by the movie theatre and decided to see one by myself. It was the first time I had ever done that, but it wasn’t bad. It was a Saturday, so the seats were full, and I ended up sitting next to some little kids. They were nice and shared their candy.
After the movie, I left the mall and headed to a hotel. I had to find somewhere to stay the night. Going back home would only make my dad angrier. Every girl I knew was on the camping trip, so I couldn’t ask to stay over at someone’s house.
I drove along the lake shore looking for a place to stay, but most hotels said no vacancy. I had to go farther into Creston, in a seedy area, before I finally found one that was called Sunny Motel, although I didn’t see anything sunny about it. A few of the windows on the end were cracked, and the lime green color was a little faded and sported chipped paint throughout the one-story structure. But it had a vacancy light blinking, so I thought I would stop and get a room for the night.
Walking inside, I smelled an odd scent, kind of like wax and musk but not too terrible. My shoes made a squeaky noise on the tile. I looked down and noticed a sticky substance on the floor, but I ignored it and decided it was better than sleeping in my car. Besides, I was exhausted and just wanted to veg out. I didn’t see anyone at the counter, so I rang the bell and waited.
“Yes?” A heavyset woman walked out from the back room. Her brown hair was pulled back in a band, and she wore pointed glasses. She was chewing gum and seemed put out that I was there.
“I need a room please.” I placed my bag on the counter, taking out my wallet.
“I need to see some ID,” she said as she eyed me curiously. I handed it to her, and she shook her head. “You’re seventeen.”
“Yes.” At least she could do the math from my date of birth.
“You have to be eighteen to rent a room.” She handed me back my ID and looked away as though I was a piece of gum on her shoe.
“Oh?” I leaned over the counter and whispered, “Can you make an exception? I can pay extra for a deposit if needed.”
“Nope,” she said sharply and sat on the chair behind the counter.
“But I’ll be eighteen soon.”
She grinned. “Come back when you’re eighteen.”
I stared at her, realizing any further protest would be pointless. She had no interest in helping me. Feeling defeated, I put my ID back in my wallet, got in my car, and just sat there for a minute. Maybe I should have just gone with the group. There was no way I could go back home and try to explain this to my father. I would have to sleep in my car.
Taking out my phone, I noticed it was getting late and I should go eat some dinner at least before I ended up driving around most the night. After pulling into the pizza place Jaxon had taken me, I got out and waited at the counter. I recognized some kids from school, who looked at me as if I was lost. I turned away, not wanting to bring attention to the fact that I was alone. How pathetic am I? Pretending to look through my phone, I tried not to feel their stare. The cashier finally asked me for my order, and I ordered a small pepperoni pizza with pineapple and took a seat on the bench by the door.
Looking through my phone, I saw pictures posted of the camping trip. They looked as though they were having fun, yet pictures could be deceiving. In one of the pictures, Trace had his arm around Stephanie. Guess he doesn’t miss me that much. She looked all too cozy. Paisley was on top of a big rock, flexing her arms as if she was celebrating climbing up there. A few more of the guys were swinging on some kind of vine from the trees.
After a few more minutes, the guy called my number, and I took my pizza and went out to my car. No way was I sitting in the pizza place while they stared at me as I ate by myself. I drove around until I found an empty parking lot, then I texted Isabel as I enjoyed my pizza.
Me: I miss you bestie!
Isabel: Hey You. Sorry we haven’t spoken for a while. Had a fight with my parents and they took my phone. It’s late here and heading to bed. I will text you tomorrow.
My chest hurt missing her. I stared at the phone, re reading her text, until I saw another text come through.
Jaxon: Having fun?
A smile crept across my face.
Me: Not really.
Jaxon: Have you seen any bears?
Me: I didn’t go.
Jaxon: ??????
Me: Decided pizza sounded better.
Jaxon: Where are you?
Me: Creston
Jaxon: Are you being serious?
Me: I am eating in my car at Nellies.
Jaxon: On my way….
Oh crap!
Chapter 21
Ariel
He got out of his car and took a deep breath. Opening my passenger side door, he shook his head with amusement in his eyes then sat down and looked at me. “Not many people surprise me. But I must confess that I’m shocked you’re here and not on the camping trip. Now tell me what happened.”
“I couldn’t do it.” I looked at my hands on the steering wheel as my face warmed with embarrassment.
“I don’t understand?”
I met his stare. “I watched from across the street and I was, like, paralyzed. I waited until the buses left before coming out of my hiding spot.” I shook my head. “My father is going to kill me.”
“Don’t tell him.” He said it as if it was no big deal. Jaxon clearly didn’t know my father.
“I don’t plan to. Well at least not today. But he has a way of finding things out.” I pointed at the backseat. “Amanda will probably be upset too after she bought all of these supplies.”
He turned around, his eyes widening. “You weren’t joking. You have enough camping supplies for weeks.”
“Yeah.” I snorted. “I may have to use them tonight. I was turned down at the motel because I’m not eighteen yet. They wouldn’t let me rent a room.”
“When will you be eighteen?”
“In a few months.”
Turning his body toward me, he took a deep breath. “Look, I just got off work and need to go take a shower. I came as soon as I got your text. Why don’t you come to my house? You can stay over if you need to.”
My ears rang slightly as my voice cracked. “You want me to stay at your place?”
He lifted the corner of his mouth into a cocky grin. “Am I that bad?”
I shook my head. “No. It’s just that—”
He held up his hand. “Ariel, it’ll be fine. Really, it’s no big deal. You can stay in my room. We only have two bedrooms and the sofa in the living room, but that’s usually taken by friends of my brother, so you’d have to sleep in my room. I can take the floor and you can have my bed.”
I hesitated to try to make sense of his invitation. “I couldn’t take your bed.”
“It’s clean and free.” He winked at me. “You don’t have to be eighteen.”
“What would your brother say?”
“Nothing. He doesn’t care. My mother won’t be stopping by until next week. Don’t worry about it.” Jaxon opened the door. “Follow me.”
He had to be crazy—there was no way I could stay at his house. I would just go over there for a while until I could figure out where I was going to stay.
I put the car in gear and followed him down the highway onto some rural roads. We turned a few times and I tried to remember where we were going. After a while, I recognized a few buildings from when he had taken
me to fix my tire. He parked in the back of the mechanic’s shop and left a space for me to park. I noticed a few people hanging out outside and drinking. Music was blaring.
Jaxon took my hand and pulled me closer to him. “My brother has some friends over. I didn’t realize they would already be starting. Just ignore them if they make any crude comments.”
I wrinkled my nose, a little unsure of what he meant. He guided me around the shop, and I noticed some of the people staring at us. Not wanting to make eye contact, I tried hard not to meet their eyes. Jaxon gently pushed me in front of him to go up the stairs. I knew he told me he lived above the shop, but I hadn’t been inside. I heard a few of the people joking with him but couldn’t understand what they were saying.
The door at the top of the stairs was open and I walked inside. The front room was bigger than I’d expected, and I noticed a big round table and a bunch of people playing cards. There were a few girls on the sofa and another couple making out on a chair. A few people were in the kitchen area that I could see from across the room, arguing about a sports team.
A guy who had the same eyes as Jaxon approached us. A woman behind him was staring at me intensely as I tried not to look at her.
“What’s up, Jax? Who’s this?” His smile was the same as well.
Jaxon did not let go of my hand and looked at me. “This is Ariel. She’s a friend from school. We’re going to hang out in my room.”
“Hey, Ariel. I’m Jake—Jaxon’s much better-looking older brother.” Jake looked older, and he had a goatee. Same features as Jaxon, but a little gruffer.
Some people at the table behind him laughed.