Tear

by Rachel Van Dyken

  I wanted to kill him.

  “Want me to sing to you right now?” he asked, amusement making his eyes twinkle more than usual.

  “No, I kind of want to jump into the ocean and drown myself though.”

  “I’m not worth it, and neither is Justin Bieber. Don’t let me see that crap on your run mix again.” He put his ear buds in.

  I reached for his phone, but he had it in his pocket before I could snatch it. “What do you listen to?”

  “Myself, of course.” He laughed as he set the pace for our run back.

  “Doubt it.”

  “Wanna bet?” He stopped.

  “Yup.” I knew the guy probably had himself on his playlist it only made sense, but I highly doubted he actually listened to himself sing, that would be vain, and he didn’t seem the type. Now, Demetri on the other hand…

  “Fine. I win, you have to go to Evan’s party with me next Friday. You win, I’ll let you drive my car for a week.”

  “What kind of car?” I asked. I was skeptical since I hadn’t since either of their rides over the past week. Then again, I hadn’t exactly stalked them like the rest of the student body.

  “What kind of car do you think I drive?”

  I liked this side of Alec, the playful one. He reminded me of Demetri only more devastating. I’m sure any girl on the opposite end of that smile would willingly throw their V card, no questions asked. “I’m guessing you drive something classy, dark. Hmm, black Mercedes, tinted windows?” As I watched the sweat trickle down his cheek, I could almost pretend like he was a normal person… almost. My comfort level with Alec had definitely changed.

  “Not even close, but it’s nice. I promise.”

  “Fine.” I held out my hand. “Hand it over.”

  He placed the phone in my hands. I gasped. He really was listening to himself, but it didn’t say AD2 it said Alec Daniels.

  “What’s this?”

  He shrugged.

  I unplugged his ear phones and slipped mine in.

  The music wasn’t the usual techno that the guys were famous for. It was… raw. It made me want to cry. My heart lurched when his voice reached the high notes. It was an acoustic track, and then the music stopped and he was talking about changing the verse. The music started again and his voice reached the same painful heights that made me tremble.

  Shaking, I handed the phone back. “Is that going on your next album?”

  “Nope.” He laughed bitterly. “That will never see the light of day. Not if my brother has anything to do with it.”

  “Why?” I blurted.

  He shrugged. Should have known he wouldn’t give me any details. “So this party…” He placed his phone back in his pocket. “I’ll pick you up at seven.”

  I rolled my eyes. “A bet’s a bet.”

  “Yes it is.” Alec said, starting to run again. I followed him. We ended the run in silence. He waved as he ran inside. I might be late for my school meeting, but it was all worth it.

  Mom had yet again fallen asleep in her office.

  I yelled goodbye.

  Silence greeted me.

  I hated being ignored so much, but the only other option would be to charge into her room and share my feelings. I’d rather be ignored than be a client.

  Irritated, I jumped into my truck. But for the first time in years I was excited for school.

  I just hated that it was Alec’s face that came into my head, Not Demetri’s. I turned on the radio to distract me, and rolled my eyes as one of AD2’s infamous songs began to play. Alec’s voice was first. I only knew that because I’d seen the music video. I hated that while Demetri was the one irritating the crap out of me, Alec was the one I was curious about. It had to be the whole hard-to-get thing, not to mention he was brooding. Girls liked brooding. I got to school and tried to push the thoughts of the guys out of my head. Math. I needed to focus on math.

  Chapter Seven

  By the next Friday the news had been announced that the band AD2 was taking a much needed hiatus from touring, claiming the brothers were exhausted and spending time at their cottage in Oregon and attending school in order to bring some normalcy back into their lives.

  It sounded super believable. I would have probably thought the story was legit. But Demetri made me doubt it. But what other purpose could there be behind them being here?

  My mom was as reclusive as ever, and I was actually looking forward to going to Evan’s party with Alec.

  We ran together every morning. Demetri never said anything about it, but I wondered if it upset him.

  Demetri followed me everywhere at school like a puppy dog. If he was trying to annoy me, it was working. Though it was more flattering than annoying. I got more glares from girls in those few days put together than I had in my entire life. Alec ignored me completely as if he was embarrassed to be seen in public with me. He was always glaring at people and hardly ever said two words unless spoken to.

  The one time I approached him, he gave me a small smile and brushed me off. I wish I could say that I stopped running with him, but I couldn’t help it. I was drawn to him. It seemed like the mornings were ours. We talked about music and his family. Never about his brother and never about school.

  After a few weeks I was able to be seen in public with either guy and not freak out, meaning I could walk in a straight line and chew gum without choking. Demetri had warned me that his brother was different, that I needed to keep my distance, but I figured that was just jealousy talking. Not that I was anything to be jealous over. I mean, Demetri had kissed me. But he hadn’t made a move since then. He joked around with me, carried my books everywhere, but that was the extent of it. Maybe he found me interesting, like some sort of pet he could watch and spend time with. Oh, my gosh! Was that what I was? A fish? Some sort of entertainment because he was curious about high school life and the real world?

  I had two hours until the party and still hadn’t decided what to wear.

  My cell sang the familiar AD2 ringtone. Demetri had successfully hacked into my phone and changed all my ringtones to their band. I was too impressed to be upset.

  “What’s up, Alesha?”

  “You’re going tonight, right?” she asked excitedly.

  “Um, yeah, I told you this morning.”

  “Oh.” Long silence. “I forgot. Anyway, wanna get ready together?”

  “Yeah, but Alesha, I don’t really have anything here to wear—”

  The line went dead. Well, that was Alesha for you.

  Within minutes she was hauling a pile of clothes and a makeup tote through the door.

  “Are we moving into Evan’s?” I choked.

  “No, silly, but it is a sleepover, so pack some cute lingerie.” She swatted me with her free hand after she put down the duffel. “You’re already with Demetri, not that I can blame you. He’s staked his claim repeatedly. First by kissing you on the cheek in the hallway and then again when he told every guy in the locker room that if they looked at you he’d castrate them. I swear, if peeing on you would mark his territory more, he’d do it.”

  I didn’t know he’d been talking about me. I shifted uncomfortably. I hadn’t ever really talked to Alesha about Demetri. It didn’t feel right. Just because she thought we were an item didn’t make it true. He hadn’t made one move since the beach.

  “Anyway…” She flicked a piece of hair away from her face. “Since he’s taken, I’m going to go for the angry one.”

  “Alec.” I clarified.

  “Duh!” She pulled out a tight black dress. “Here you go!”

  “Please tell me that is my pajamas.” I grasped the small piece of fabric, already feeling my face flush with embarrassment.

  “Nope, that’s your dress.” She moved behind me and tsked. “We should probably fix your hair too.”

  I lifted my hand to my hair. “What’s wrong with it?”

  “Way too flat.” She grabbed a piece and grimaced as if I was somehow unclean, “We’ll rat it, no bi
ggie.”

  And just like that, I was turned from slave into Cinderella. That is, if Cinderella suddenly decided to become a prostitute.

  “Absolutely not,” I said, looking at my figure in the mirror. I didn’t necessarily look bad, just cheap, and not at all like myself.

  “Trust me, Demetri will die!” She clapped behind me. Alesha had low slung jeans and a short white off-the-shoulder shirt that barely covered half her chest.

  “Not sure I wanna kill him, Alesha.” I hadn’t the heart to tell her I was actually going with Alec. She’d find out soon enough I guess.

  “Crap!” She looked at her phone and hurriedly grabbed the rest of her clothes. “I gotta go, Evan forgot to get ice. I swear if that boy graduates high school I’m giving him a medal.” She ran to the door then stopped and turned around. “And don’t forget to pack your PJ’s. Evan doesn’t want anyone driving.”

  Great, add alcohol to another lists of firsts. I gave her a thumbs-up, but felt sick to my stomach with dread. I had always avoided Evan’s parties like the plague. I’d seen first hand what those type of parties did to people, mainly what they did to Evan, since he always had the weekend shift and ended up showing up to work looking like he wanted to die a thousand deaths.

  I looked at the shoes she left me. They were tall, intimidating, and pointy. I put them on and hobbled around the room as I tried to get my bearings. Finally, I looked at the finished product in the mirror. I guess it wasn’t that bad. What at first looked like dark makeup, really only brought out my features more. She used soft shadows to make the color in my otherwise plain brown eyes pop. And she straightened my hair. It looked really shiny and bright, not dull like normal.

  I added the lip-gloss she left me just in time for the doorbell to ring.

  After two failed attempts to run down the stairs I quickly threw off the shoes and opened the door.

  Alec was leaning against the frame, all six-foot-four of him. He wore a tight muscle-tee and a leather jacket like they were made for him. Add that to his jeans ripped in all the right places, and suddenly I was thankful Alesha put me in the dress.

  His eyes widened for a brief second before he aggressively shrugged out of his jacket and draped it over my shoulders. “Wow.”

  “What?” Did I have lipstick on my teeth? Crap. I knew this was a bad idea.

  Alec hung his head. “The jacket’s just making it worse. How is adding more clothes making it worse?” He cursed again and looked away.

  “I can change.”

  “No!” His hands shot out to grasp my arms, the jacket slipped off and suddenly I was in his embrace.

  His heavily lidded eyes gazed at my lips. With a sigh, he pulled his arms away and took a step back. “You ready to go?”

  Shaken from our encounter, I could only nod and grab the shoes I had tossed at the foot of the stairs.

  I grabbed my overnight bag and followed him to his SUV.

  By now I knew he drove a brand new Lexus LS 570. The car smelled like expensive leather, and although I was happy to be going with him to Evan’s party, I was still envious I wouldn’t be able to drive the car.

  “Stop lusting over my car, Nat.” The darkness only aided in making Alec look more dangerous and handsome. Black wavy hair fell over his forehead. I wanted to brush it out of his eyes, but we didn’t have that type of friendship where we were comfortable with touching each other in any capacity. Every time he accidently brushed my hand, or even my arm, he would jerk back as if I burned him or something. I wasn’t sure if it meant that he was repulsed by me or felt the exact same electricity I did.

  In fact, he was the perfect gentleman, which he proved again upon arrival at the party when he ran to my side and opened the car door.

  “Are you for real?” I blurted.

  “What?” He looked genuinely confused.

  “You opened my door,” I said dumbly.

  Alec’s eyebrows drew together as if he was trying to figure out why I was so amazed. “How else were you supposed to get out of the car?”

  Well, when he put it that way.

  “Nevermind,” I muttered semi-irritated that he was being so nice to me. Why couldn’t he be this nice at school? Why did he always keep his distance? It would be so much easier to forget about him if he would just be distant all the time. But no, he went around opening doors for girls and asked if they needed ice after a run, and even tied their shoes for them. Okay, so really, he just did those things for me, but still! Who did that to a complete stranger? A normal, boring, girl who lived in Seaside, Oregon?

  Crap. I wanted to yell. Instead I gritted my teeth and followed Alec inside. The party was already crowded. Kids I hadn’t seen in years suddenly came out of the woodwork. You know the type. The ones you could have sworn transferred or dropped out, and suddenly they’re running around and talking to you like you’re best friends.

  Alec grasped my arm. His touch shocked me, and unfortunately caused me to trip right into his arms.

  “You okay?” He righted me and grasped my shoulders looking intently into my eyes.

  “Yeah, um…” His eyes were so green. For a minute I forgot to breathe, or at least it felt like it. His gaze never wavered as he waited for me to answer, I just wasn’t sure I would be able to. Weren’t high school boys supposed to be jerks? Players? Horny? Alec was none of those things. Indifferent, yes. But… “Just not used to heels, I guess,” I finally managed.

  “You made it!” Demetri came up behind me and squeezed my side, his hand dangerously close to my butt as he pulled me into a side hug and kissed my neck. What had once given me chills now left me a little irritated. Couldn’t he see Alec and I were having a moment? Well, I was having a moment. Alec was probably waiting for me to stop having a seizure.

  “Damn, you look sexy!” Demetri’s nose went instantly into my hair as he again nipped my neck. “Please tell me you’re staying with me tonight.”

  I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. Not with Alec’s gaze boring into mine the way it was. Helpless, I looked at Demetri. His blonde hair was sticking up all over the place, his blue eyes alive with amusement and excitement, but slightly glazed over.

  “How much have you had to drink?” I asked.

  “Enough to feel good, but not so much that I can’t please you later, Babe.” His mouth sloppily met mine. I fought the urge to push him back, but every time I was in his arms I felt wanted. I hated that I liked that feeling, but Demetri could have anyone, and for some reason he wanted me. He chose me.

  When he stumbled back I glanced behind him and noticed that Alec had wandered off.

  “Parties aren’t really his scene,” Demetri explained grabbing my hand. “He’d rather read a book, or go to a poetry slam, or whatever gay guys do.”

  My head jerked so fast I nearly fell over. “Gay?”

  “Well, I have my suspicions,” Demetri admitted, pulling me onto the dance floor. “Now come on, I’ve been waiting for you all night. Let’s see those moves.”

  He twirled me a few times. I laughed because I couldn’t help it. I liked it when Demetri was happy, and I had to admit I loved that girls were looking at me as if they wanted to stab me and steal my boyfriend.

  Was he my boyfriend?

  We danced for a while. Sweat formed at the base of my neck. I was so thirsty.

  “Drinks?” Demetri nodded and grasped my hand.

  He went to the punch bowl and filled our red cups to the rim. “Cheers.”

  “What are we celebrating?” I leaned in so he could hear me.

  He took a big gulp of his drink. “I thought you knew?”

  “Knew?”

  Demetri placed the cup on the counter next to us and pulled me into his arms. Usually my head only met his shoulders, but with my heels I was eye-to-eye with his chin, big improvement.

  “I want you to be my girlfriend.”

  And this is the part where any sane girl would look around the room for a hidden camera.

  “Excuse me?” I said weakly.r />
  “You. I want you.” His lips found mine. My world tilted as he pushed me against the counter, his tongue licking the corner of my mouth before he slowly took a step back and gazed into my eyes. His look was predatory, hungry, as he swooped down and kissed me again. His hands slid beneath the straps of my dress and tugged down towards my bra. It was so sudden I could only respond with a moan. His control was gone. Never had he been so flippant with me, so aggressive. Panicking just slightly, I tried to push him away, get him to cool off. I still wasn’t used to that type of attention and part of me still doubted what he said. After all, he looked somewhat wasted, and I could have sworn I saw him swallow some sort of pill with his beer earlier when we were dancing.

  “Are you sure?” His large arms braced my body as he lifted me off the ground, his kiss sending an alarming if not, lustful thrill through my body.

  “I’m sure,” he whispered, pulling away and winking.

  For some reason the satisfaction that was supposed to come at a time like this was absent. Instead, I felt… kind of sick. Maybe it was because I was dehydrated. I took a sip of the red cup and nearly spit the contents onto the floor.

  “What is this?”

  “Rum Punch.” Demetri shrugged. “And I think a couple other things. Don’t tell me you’ve never been to a party before, Nat.”

  “Fine, I won’t tell you.” I put the cup on the counter.

  “What’s with the crabby attitude?” He held me against his chest and kissed my neck. “Why don’t we go outside and get some fresh air?”

  I nodded. That was exactly what I needed. Fresh air. It was freakishly hot in Evan’s house. Speaking of Evan. “Have you seen Evan?”

  Demetri laughed. “Um yeah, he’s currently wrapped up in Alesha’s arms. Pretty sure he’s going to swallow her lungs any time now.” He pointed to the corner where Alesha was mauling one of my best friends.

  “Right.” I swallowed the panic I felt at not having anyone near me that I could really trust. I mean, how much did I really know Demetri? Enough to know that I was attracted to him despite warning bells chiming in my head every time he was near.