Lost in the Moment (A Savioe Family Novel)

by Ginny Atkinson

  I bit my lip hard to keep myself from sighing in appreciation. I had to leave, like now, before I gave into my growing need. My feet just wouldn’t cooperate with me though. Instead of opening the door and walking out it, they had me inching closer to his bed. My father’s bedroom door closing snapped me out of the trance his sleeping form had cast over me. I dropped my water bottle, grabbed the sheet and tossed it back over him before fleeing from the room, my bottle of water long forgotten by the side of his bed.

  *****

  The next few days were the same yet very different. Drez no longer whispered wicked promises in my ear or kissed me into oblivion. He’d barely even said a few things to me at home. It looked like Beau was getting his way… as always. Not to mention the twins had been in prime form all week. When one would distract me, the other would run off and set a trap. We found out Tuesday when Remi snuck off Monday night he smeared Vaseline on all the toilet seats. On Wednesday, we found coffee grounds in all of our backpacks. Thursday they had switched our toothpaste with some Fixodent that Grand-mère had left over the summer. That’s not counting all the hiding, jumping out from behind walls scaring people and just out right evilness. When Friday morning rolled around we were all on edge, me especially.

  The morning began normal. I woke up before everyone else, grabbed a quick shower made sure my legs were smooth and went to my room to get dressed. My plan for the day was get Drez’s attention by any means necessary. I was tired of letting my brother get his way and dammit, I got used to Drez’s attention. I spent all night talking to Jess after I put the monsters to bed planning it out. I was to wear the shortest skirt I had with those grey heels, a silky blouse that amplified what little breasts I had and I was to wear the skimpiest underwear I had with it. My makeup had to be the perfect mix of rocker chic with just a hint of sweetness.

  With my bathrobe still on, I sat down at my vanity and grabbed my hairdryer. As soon as I turned it on a cloud of white dust surrounded me in one big eruption. I coughed and waved it away from my face as I turned to the mirror. I grimaced and choked on the small amount that had managed its way into my mouth. Baby powder, they had put baby powder in my hairdryer! I slowly opened my eyes and regarded myself.

  I looked like a horror movie reject. My wet hair clumped as the powder soaked in the moisture. My face was covered as well as my bathrobe. I screeched slamming the hair dryer down on the floor and ran to my door. As I jerked it open, I yelled. “Dat’s it. I have had it!”

  *****

  Chapter Eight

  Drez

  This had been the roughest week I think I have had in a long time. I would rather go back to being beat then have to deal with those two small demons. At least then, I knew when that would happen and how to prevent it. With these two, they were ninja-like in their ability to hide and strike when you least suspected it. I’m just thankful that they have left my keys and Grace alone.

  Marie was another one that had driven me close to my breaking point. Not that she was doing anything mean or spiteful; no, it was the complete opposite. She was helpful to the point of absurdness, more compassionate than anyone I had ever met, sweeter than the richest chocolates and beautiful. Dammit, she seemed to get more beautiful each day. It was getting more difficult to try to ignore the spell she had woven on me.

  After the confrontation with Beau, I intentionally backed off trying to pursue Marie to save what was left of my friendship with him. I even tried to convince myself that I did not actually want her and that it was just a severe case of blue balls. That she was nothing to me, nothing at all and all I needed was to get laid. But who was I kidding, all she had to do was get within a foot of me and I’d become a simpering fool.

  The sound of her high pitch screech shook me out of my stupor. I jumped out of the shower, quickly dried off and pulled on my clothes. I was yanking my shirt down when I opened the door and saw a blur of white running down the steps.

  “Where are dey! Where in da hell are dose little monsters?” She barked when she got to the bottom of the steps before heading into the kitchen. A trail of fine white powder followed her.

  I raised my eyebrow at the path and hesitantly went down stairs. She stood in the entranceway of the kitchen, her shoulders heaving in her anger. Her hair was a matted mess of white paste and she smelled like a baby. I wonder what those two did to her.

  Luke stood next to her and patted her on the shoulder causing a puff of white mist to flow from her bathrobe. He tried to hold in his snicker as he asked. “Baby powder in the hairdryer?”

  “Wha’ da hell do ya think?” She hissed shoving him away from her.

  Charles turned around took one look at her and busted out laughing. “Holy sh…. That’s hilarious.”

  She growled deep in her throat before she lunged at him punching him in the jaw before they landed in a heap on the floor. He covered his head still laughing as she wailed on him with a series of punches landing on his forearm, shoulder and chest. Eva and Beau rushed into the room took one look at the scene and immediately broke them up.

  I looked around the room and saw the two pranksters in question hiding under the table by the window. Dev had his hand over his mouth trying to keep from laughing and Remi sat there with a smug grin. I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned against the wall. Beau grappled with Marie as he yanked her off Charles. The belt on her bathrobe had loosened during her scuffle and now dangled from the fabric loop at her side. I caught a glance of smooth toned skin and small scraps of pink and black lace before her mother retied it for her.

  Holy shit! I squeezed my eyes shut and tilted my head to the ceiling. I was never going to be able to get that sight out of my head. I needed to think of something gross or sad. Nuns, dead animals, war, my family. Shit, nothing was working. I shoved my hands in my jean pockets to try to keep my aroused state hidden from everyone in the room.

  “Momma, I swear I’m gonna kill ‘em. Dis is da last straw. I can deal with da other stuff dey’ve done all week, but dis. Looka me Momma!” Marie held out her hair and whimpered. “Dis is gonna take forever ta get out and I can’t be late today. I have a test in my first block class.”

  “Wait, what other stuff have they done?” Eva brushed some of Marie’s hair away from her face.

  Luke took a step forward. “Vaseline on the toilet seats, coffee grounds in our backpacks, switching our toothpaste with Grand-mère’s denture stuff she left, tying our shoelaces together at dinner, jumping out of cabinets, out from under the beds. Am I missing anything?”

  Beau, Charles and I looked at each other and shook our heads no.

  Eva pinched her nose and whispered something to Marie before she ushered her out of the room. “Devereau Oliver and Remi Aldric…. Get out from under that table and come here. Now!”

  I heard one of them gulp before crawling out from under the table. They somberly shuffled over to their mother with their heads ducked. “You four boys head on to school. I’ll drop Marie off when we are finished here.” We glanced at each other and headed out of the door before the shit hit the fan.

  *****

  I fought the urge to text Marie during first block to see if everything was all right. If I showed any concern now, I’d get sucked back into that delicious downward spiral and create a severely hostile living environment. I quickly suppressed any and all memory of her and tried to concentrate on my classwork.

  “Mr. Dresden, would you care to tell the class what the first printed book was?” The teacher asked leaning against her podium with a superior expression on her haggard face.

  I sighed looking up at the ceiling twirling my pencil between my fingers. “The earliest printed and dated book is a copy of the Diamond Sutra or Vajracchedika-prajnaparamita-sutra. It was printed from carved wooden blocks in China and is dated May 11, 868. It is now safely ensconced in the British Library. Unless you were referring to the Gutenberg Bible in the 1450’s which was the first book printed with movable type in the West.”

  She sputt
ered looking down at her podium before glaring at me. “Mr. Dresden, we do not discuss such books in a learning environment.”

  I cocked my eyebrow at her. “What are you talking about?”

  “Books about s-e-x.” She whispered.

  My head tilted back as I laughed at her. “Ms. Price, the Diamond Sutra is a sacred Buddhist text. The Buddha himself named it, saying it should be called ‘The Diamond of Transcendent Wisdom’ because ‘its teaching will cut like a diamond blade through worldly illusion to illuminate what is real and everlasting.’ Just what exactly did you think I was referring to… the Kama Sutra?”

  The class laughed with me until she slapped the podium with a ruler. “That is enough! You, Mr. Smarty Pants just earned yourself detention.”

  “What else is new?” I mumbled under my breath as I sat forward in my desk. I should have just given her the answer she was looking for. I glanced over to the clock just as the bell rang. Thank God! There was no way I could deal with her for a moment longer and not ‘earn myself’ another detention because she didn’t like my answers. I scooped up my things and headed for my locker.

  *****

  I stopped by the restrooms after second block to take a waz in the stall and send a text to Eva to let her know I would be late coming home. As I placed the phone back in my pocket, I heard the doors open.

  “We heading to Frank’s?” Hunter asked his compatriot.

  The sink turned on. “Yeah, brother, unless you want to stay here and deal with Bus.” Scott grumbled. “I swear he is losing it. Did you see him last night at practice? A fucking baby could’ve caught that pass.”

  “I know! I heard the coach tell him that if he didn’t straighten up he’s going back to second string. Plus, I heard from Payne that he is failing a few classes.”

  Scott laughed. “Damn. Second string, huh? Well, at least it’s not special teams.”

  “I know right? Those guys are fucked in the head.” Hunter chuckled. “So, do you know if she’s really going to your party tonight?”

  “Who?” The water turned off followed by the sound of the paper towel machine spitting out a few pieces.

  “Marie Savioe.” I could just picture his grin as he slyly oozed out her name. My fist clenched by my side as I tried to keep from ripping open the door.

  “I invited her Monday. Told her to bring Beau and them.” Scott must have tossed the paper towels in the trashcan because the sound of the lid flipping over echoed in the room.

  “Hope she shows up alone. I’d really like to be able to talk to her without interruptions. Did you see them this week? It looks like there might be some trouble brewing between the two.”

  “What… between her and Drez? Naw, brother, they seem to care about each other.”

  “But they haven’t been as close as they were. You know maybe if she knows that there is someone out there for her she’ll hurry up and end it with that punk.”

  Scott stayed quiet for a moment before he whispered. “Is this about the book? Is that why you are going after her?” He then snarled at his friend. “If that is the case then I will not hesitate to kick your ass right here and now. We promised after that night, no more sisters were to be put in that thing. Hell, we owe it to Beau to keep her out of it.”

  “You and Payne might owe him but I don’t. I showed up after that shit with Lacy went down. None of you filled me in with what exactly happened either. No! No, I don’t want to know. If it was enough to make Beau quit the team then I’d rather stay in the dark. And this has nothing to do with the book. I’m done with that shit. Bus has fucking taken it way beyond what Beau started it as.” Hunter spewed back.

  “Good. Just want to make sure we are clear that she stays out of it.”

  Hunter asked. “Why are you against the idea of me and her? Do you have a thing for her?”

  Scott laughed as one of them opened the door. “Naw, brother, she’s not my type. Way too scrawny. Maybe if she gained some weight then yeah I’d hit it.”

  “Aw, hell I forgot you like those thick bitches.”

  “Thick? No, man, I like them fat. Give me a girl with an extra seventy pounds or more and I’ll be a happy, happy man.”

  “That’s sick.” Hunter balked.

  “What? Fat girls need love too. If you assholes are dumb enough to go for the bone that just means there is more meat out there for me.”

  The door slammed shut as they left the bathroom. Beau started the book. What the fuck? No wonder he knows so much about it. I opened the stall door and turned on the water to wash my hands. So Marie was invited to a party. I splashed some water on my face then stared into the mirror. Why hadn’t she mentioned it?

  *****

  Marie

  This day has been hell. I should’ve just stayed in bed. After the mess with the twins, I was no longer in the mood to flaunt myself. So I just settled on jeans, a white tank top and the red leather jacket Sophie sent me last year with the matching heeled red boots. I didn’t have time to straighten my hair so it flowed around my shoulders in its naturally curly state. I had managed to get my make-up done though.

  When I arrived at school a whole thirty minutes late, I barely had enough time to finish my test. I know for sure that I missed way more of the questions then I normally would have. The entire time I was taking it, I could still smell baby powder. When I sneezed as I was handing it in I could have sworn a small cloud of white came from my mouth.

  Then on my way to French class, some douche bumped into me causing me to drop my books. I say it was a douche because he had the typical overpowering smell of too much scented body wash clinging to him. After I picked everything up, I retrieved my phone from my locker. No one had checked on me. No one. I would have thought at least Luke would have sent a ‘you okay’ or Drez would have said something.

  When I entered French class, Angie and her friends waved at me. I still hadn’t really talked to them much since I left that party. I could tell from how they were acting they thought they could get some juicy gossip from me today. I suppressed a sigh and headed to my seat.

  “Hey, girl! Are you going to Scott’s party tonight?” Angie purred at me flipping her hair over her shoulder.

  “I’d thought about it. After the morning I’ve had I am in serious need of fun.” I admitted sliding behind the desk.

  “Really? What happened?” She leaned closer.

  “My younger brothers booby-trapped my hairdryer this morning with baby powder. So I ended up being late for my test today, possibly failed it and some idiot in the hall just knocked my things out of my hand. I can only hope it gets better from here out.”

  Keegan turned around and whispered. “Is everything going okay with you and Drez?”

  And there it was. The question that I knew would be asked today. I nodded my head. “Yeah, we’re fine actually. Just trying to keep the PDAs down so my brothers don’t feel the need to try to kick his ass.”

  The teacher cleared her throat to get our attention. “Ms. Savioe, s’il vous plaît parler Français en classe.”

  I sat back in my seat picking up my pencil and started drumming it on the table. “Pardonnez-moi. J’ai oublié.”

  She glared at my hand with the pencil. I stopped, placing the pencil flat on the desk and chewed on my bottom lip. She turned around to the board and began the lesson.

  Angie whispered to me. “So are you going tonight with Drez or are you showing up solo?”

  Hmm, I still had yet to mention it to him. Maybe tonight things could go back to how they were if we went. I whispered back. “I think we are going to go.”

  “Ms. Savioe! Me voir après la classe.”

  Shit that’s all I need. I sat back and waited the ninety minutes until class was over. When the lunch bell rang, I grabbed my things and headed up to her.

  She waited until everyone was out of the room before addressing me. “Marie, you are one of my brightest students. You are always on time. Your work is immaculate. But ever since this change.…”
She waved her hand at my clothing. “You are becoming a distraction in class. It pains me to do this, but I’m going to have to give you detention for the disruption today.”

  I nodded my head in acceptance. “I understand.”

  She handed me a white slip of paper with a slight frown. “Try to ignore those three girls the rest of the semester. They are nothing but trouble.”

  I nodded at her and left the room. Damn, how was I going to tell momma. I went straight to my locker, placed my books inside and grabbed my purse. Please let lunch be better.

  “Mar-ie!” I stifled a groan as I turned around and saw Hunter and Scott coming out of the bathroom. Hunter was already on his way over to me with his arms out indicating he wanted a hug. I shook my head at him and ducked closer to Scott.

  “Hey. What’s up?” I brushed a mass of hair away from my face.

  “You heading to Frank’s today?” Hunter leaned against the locker closest to me trying to play with the sleeve of my jacket.

  “We normally do.” I grumbled out moving further away from him.

  “Are you coming tonight?” Scott asked drawing my attention away from Hunter.

  I turned to look at him and spotted Drez walking out of the bathroom. His expression was grim when he recognized who I was with. I gave him a weak smile before he turned to get Roxy. He just ignored me. Completely ignored me. I swallowed hard and tried to play it off. Scott noticed the slight. “What was that about?”

  “What?” I asked over the lump that had formed in my throat.

  “You two were all over each other….”

  I quickly interrupted using the same excuse I gave Angie and them. “It’s for Beau’s sake. Neither of us wanted him to have an aneurism over it so we decided to chill it on the PDAs.”

  “Oh, makes sense.” He muttered rubbing his stubbly head.