She sat up and squinted. Mia could have sworn she saw someone or something back there between the trees. Watching her. A gasp escaped her lips when she saw a person-sized shadow shift and disappear into the woods. Someone really had been watching her. Her mouth went dry. She grabbed her things and hurried back inside, locking the door behind her.
She peaked out the back window and thought she saw the shadow return but when she blinked it was gone.
Chapter Thirteen
The next few days passed by in a blur. Angie never showed up. Every morning at school Mia looked for her. Every evening she got home and glanced at her driveway to find it still empty. Kai sat with her behind the school for lunch. By the time the weekend rolled around though, Kai had already gotten several sessions of detention spanning two weeks for a string of ridiculous pranks. They ranged from putting shaving cream on the principle’s chair to sticking seaweed (Mia had asked where he’d gotten seaweed and he’d just given her a secretive smile) in a guy’s locker who had been hassling one of his friends. He also apparently disrupted his classes enough times that his teacher kicked him out.
Mia asked him why he felt the need to do all these things, why did he want to get detention. Kai had shrugged and said he couldn’t help it. Which made no sense to her. Everyone can help it. He just chose not to.
Though she disliked herself for it, Mia also looked forward to algebra class every morning when Rhett inevitably sat behind her. A few times he didn’t “psst” in her ear but every time he always scooted his desk up against the back of her chair as if he wanted to be as close to her as possible… and Mia wasn’t exactly opposed to that.
On Friday Mia kept her head down, doodling in her notebook even as she heard and felt Rhett enter the classroom and take a seat behind her. Like every day the whole class quieted when he entered and anyone who had been sitting in the seats next to Mia moved. She planned to ask Rhett at some point why everyone hated him so much. Besides the obvious reasons.
“Psst,” he whispered in her ear, his breath tickling her neck.
Mia’s heart skipped a beat, but she forced herself to put an annoyed smile on her lips as she turned slowly to face him. “Yes?”
His leafy green eyes twinkled with amusement. “I hear your hanging out with Kai this weekend.”
Mia’s eyes narrowed. “How did you hear that?” And why did it matter to him?
“Word gets around. So, are you?” The question was innocent enough, but Mia could have sworn she saw a flicker of jealousy in his eyes. Her heartbeat sped up a little at the thought of him being jealous for her. Was it bad that she liked that he cared if she hung out with someone else?
She shrugged, enjoying seeing the sharp twist of his lips and the amusement in his eyes shift to envy. “Maybe.”
Rhett let out an annoyed sigh. “Is that a yes or a no?”
“Why do you care?”
A guarded look crossed his face. “I don’t,” he hedged.
“I think you do.”
A sharp smirk touched his lips. “Yeah? Do you want me to care?”
Mia glared at him to hide the fact that she did. “No.”
“Said a little too quickly.”
“Whatever,” she snapped, turning back around in her seat. Without turning around, she added, “Yes, Kai and I are hanging out this weekend. He’s a good friend.”
“If you say so.”
What was wrong with him? Why did he have something against literally everyone in this town? Unable to help herself, Mia turned back around one more time. “Maybe if you were nicer to people and didn’t act like everyone was below you then they wouldn’t go out of their way to avoid you,” she snapped.
Rhett gave her a nasty smile. “Maybe I don’t want them to like me.”
“I doubt that,” Mia whispered. There was just something about him… the way he acted so defensive all the time, so guarded that made it obvious to her that he did care. He did want to be accepted, and it hurt him more than he let on that everyone despised him so much.
“You don’t know me.”
Mia scowled. “And who’s fault is that?” Before he could answer, she turned back around, and their teacher entered.
The rest of the day either Rhett avoided her, or it was by some miracle they didn’t run into each other. Either way Mia was OK with it… She shouldn’t have asked that last question. “And who’s fault is that?” It made it blaringly obvious that she did want to get to know him. Mia just hoped Rhett didn’t pick up on that.
On Saturday, Angie still hadn’t returned home so Kai met Mia at the Connie’s Corner Diner that he insisted was all the rave in town. It was… quaint to Mia who was used to the more upscale city restaurants. This one was on one of the corners of the town (obviously) with glass windows and distressed brick walls set with a few abstract paintings. Kai led her to one of the seats in the corner, saying that was his usual spot. They ordered milkshakes and fries. Their shakes and fries were the best Mia had ever had. If she didn’t know any better, she would have thought they imbued the stuff with magic. Every slurp and bite left her with the most satisfied feeling. She could eat pounds of these fries and about a hundred glasses of their shakes.
Kai laughed when she had nearly finished devouring her thing of fries. “Whoa slow down there. You’re eating like you’ve never had fries before.”
Mia grinned, shoving another one in her mouth. “These are the best things I’ve ever tasted in my entire life.”
“Well I’m sure Connie will appreciate the compliment. She’s the owner,” Kai explained. “But I also don’t think she would appreciate if you ate her out of her fries.”
Mia shrugged. “So, what else is there to do around here? I mean, not that I’m a super social person. Back home… or in the city, I guess it’s not really my home anymore, I didn’t usually do much after school. But at least there was the option of doing stuff.”
Kai smirked, wagging a fry at her. “Sheesh, so judgmental toward us small town folks. There’s plenty to do. Hiking, bowling, eating here… playing pranks and messing with people and… well, that’s pretty much it. I guess compared to the city life this place is pretty boring.”
“Well… yeah kind of,” Mia grinned when Kai shot her a fake-hurt expression. “But it’s not too bad. You guys have some neat places around here. Like the Strange and Unusual shop. You know, the one Cillian owns?”
And just like that Kai’s eyes narrowed and his ever-present smile disappeared. Mia frowned. What had happened there? “How do you know Cillian?”
“Angie was taking me shopping the second day I got here, and I wandered into his store. He gave me this,” she said, holding up the crystal around her neck. “His store seemed pretty cool, though. Ever been?”
“Once or twice,” Kai hedged, glancing around. There were two teenage girls studying at another table and an elderly man having coffee and reading the newspaper. Kai acted like they might jump up and beat him up or something for admitting he went into Cillian’s shop.
“Is there something wrong with it?” Mia coaxed.
Kai frowned and leaned forward, his arms folded around his milkshake, the straw sticking against his lips. “Nothing’s wrong with it per say… it’s just… Cillian has a knack for making deals. He probably gave that to you as a welcome to town present or whatever.” Mia nodded in confirmation. Kai’s lips quirked in a humorless smile. “He’s real generous like that. But every other time you have to pay.”
“I kind of figured… that’s what you do at a store. You buy stuff,” Mia said slowly, trying to understand why he thought the need to point this out.
Kai scowled. “No, I mean, Cillian doesn’t bargain in money. He makes deals. Half the town owes him favors or have given up odds and ends to him for something of his. Next time you go in there,” he pointed a finger at her and leaned back in his chair, “be careful. Pay attention to his wording and never make a deal with him unless you’re desperate.”
Mia frowned, eyes narrowed. The
way he talked about Cillian almost sounded like something out of a storybook. Like that one fairytale character, Rumpelstiltskin, who made deals with parents to take their children. But surely Cillian wasn’t that nasty? He seemed like a nice enough guy and he had been nothing but polite and kind to her. Except for charming her mother. That, Mia wasn’t one hundred percent OK with. To ease the worry lines forming on Kai’s forehead though, Mia offered a smile. “I’ll be careful. Promise.”
That seemed to appease him. He relaxed, and his easy smile returned. “Good. Now on to more civilized conversation.”
Mia laughed just as the bell above the door rang and Kai’s eyes flickered past her. Whoever it was, made his smile slip once more into a frown and his eyes narrow. Before Mia could turn around to see who it was, someone leaned down and whispered in her ear, “Psst.”
Dread and something like excitement flipped her stomach as Mia jerked around. She came face to face with two startling green eyes and a taunting smirk. Mia fixed a scowl on her lips. “What are you doing here?”
“Am I not allowed to eat here? Connie’s is all the rage in town you know,” Rhett said, shoving his hands into his pockets.
Mia didn’t believe that for a second. Well, she did believe Connie’s was all the rage in town, but she didn’t believe he was there because he was hungry. He was there because he’d somehow found out she and Kai would be hanging out there. “You can go order your food then. Kai and I were just leaving.”
“Oh, but I wanted to catch up. How’ve you been Kai?” Rhett asked, slipping into the seat on the end of their small square shaped table. Boxing the two of them in.
Kai gave him a cool smile. “Been good.”
“Heard about the prank you pulled on Drake the other day. Clever.”
“Thanks. I try.”
“So how long have you known Mia?” Rhett asked, casually leaning back in his seat with one arm draped over the back of it. This was not catching up. This was an interrogation.
Kai swallowed and for the first time since Mia met him, he actually looked nervous. “Just the other day. We bumped into each other on the first day of school.”
Rhett nodded. “Hmm… I hear you have a family thing tonight?”
Kai’s face paled. All Mia could do was sit back and watch in dumbfounded silence as Rhett slowly unraveled any confidence her friend had had. “Um, yeah, we do.”
“It’s soon isn’t it? I know how your family gets when one of their own is late.” He turned his head to Mia, a casual smile on his lips that she didn’t quite understand. “Kai comes from a very tight knit family. They’re all very close.”
“Oh… I didn’t know that…” Mia muttered, not really sure what else to say.
“Yep. And like I said, they get real upset when someone’s late. Their family meetings are super important, right Kai?” Rhett turned his piercing gaze back to the poor boy sitting in front of her.
Kai swallowed and nodded. “Yeah… they do. Sorry Mia, I totally forgot about it until now,” he said, offering her an apologetic smile. “I hate to say it, but I’m actually kind of glad Rhett reminded me. My family can get… unhappy if one of us isn’t at one of the meetings. They’re big deals and no one would have texted me because they all assume that we’ll remember that it’s tonight.” He rolled his eyes, some of his earlier confidence returning. Kai checked his phone and made a face. “Actually, I should go. I don’t want to be late.”
Wait a second, was he actually going to leave her there alone with Rhett? Was he going to abandon her? Kai got to his feet and ignoring Rhett, gave her another apologetic smile. “Sorry Mia. Really, if I could skip I would.”
“But… but…” Mia sputtered, getting to her feet now too. This was so… stupid and strange on so many levels. “Are you leaving because Rhett’s scared you off or would your family really freak out if you didn’t show up?”
Kai shot Rhett a distrusting look, who only smiled back at him as innocent as a saint before glancing back at her. “Rhett couldn’t scare me away, I promise Mia. My family really would have my head if I didn’t show up tonight. They don’t mind me having friends and stuff but… they wouldn’t appreciate you very much if me hanging out with you stopped me from coming home in time. And I know I’m totally abandoning you here and I’m sorry, especially for leaving you with him,” he jerked his head at Rhett, “but for real I need to go.”
Mia had never seen Kai so serious about something. He seemed legitimately afraid about the consequences of missing a family meeting. What kind of family did he come from?
“Um… Ok,” Mia said. She didn’t want to make him feel bad for something he couldn’t control. Obviously, his family was pretty strict. That wasn’t his fault. “It’s fine. I drove here, so it’s no big deal.”
Kai made a face. “Really I’m sorry Mia. I’ll see you on Monday? And I’ll text you tomorrow.”
“Ok… talk to you later…” Mia trailed off as she watched him hurry out the door and toward his car. She didn’t move until she saw his car pull out and disappear down the road.
Rhett had shown up and ruined her perfectly normal hang out time with a friend. And if he hadn’t come and reminded Kai of his family whatever, then Kai would have gotten to hang out with her. Not that Mia was self-absorbed, or anything, but it was obvious he would have rather stuck around with her then go home.
Annoyance at her sudden change of afternoon plans hit her, and she flashed a glare at Rhett. “Nice. You just ruined my friend time.”
Rhett raised his eyebrows, stretching his arms high above his head. His shirt road up, exposing a touch of skin that made Mia quickly focus on his face. He folded his hands behind his head. “You think I did this on purpose? I was hungry, so I came here to eat, and I did Kai a favor reminding him. You don’t know his family.” A shadow crossed over his face. “He wouldn’t have wanted to miss the meeting.”
“Why?” Mia said, her voice rising a little too high. The teen girls and older man glanced up in annoyance at her. Mia’s face warmed. “What’s wrong with them?”
Rhett’s eyes narrowed, and his smile disappeared. “There’s nothing wrong with them. It’s just how they are. Not every family is just like yours, Mia.”
Mia’s face warmed even more at how careless she sounded. Every family was different. She knew that. But seriously, the way Kai had looked, like if he missed this meeting there would be hell to pay, wasn’t natural.
“That’s not what I meant, and you know it,” she said. She took a sip of her milkshake, letting the sugar ease her frustration.
Rhett shrugged, the corners of his lips twitching up. “Like I said, Kai comes from a very close-knit family. And a very big one. I’m pretty sure half the people in Wetlands Neighborhood are related to that guy in some way.”
Mia frowned. “They all live in the same neighborhood?”
Rhett nodded.
“Am I allowed to say that’s kind of weird?”
Rhett chuckled. “Yes, you are. Even I think it’s a bit stifling. I feel bad for the younger ones sometimes. They never get a break. But anyways, everyone knows everyone’s business in that family and the last thing you want to do is get on their bad side. That’s part of the reason why Kai probably left. If they found out he hung out with you instead of going to one of their get-together’s they would not look on you fondly.”
Mia shrugged defiantly, slumping in her seat. “Maybe I don’t care if his family likes me or not.”
A dangerous smile touched Rhett’s lips, the kind that guaranteed he was right. “I can promise you, you do not want to get on their bad side.”
“What are they? The mob of St. Croix Falls?”
Rhett snorted. “Might as well be.”
Mia did a double take, waiting for him to laugh and tell her he was joking. His eyes remained dead serious. “Wait, you’re not kidding?”
“Nope. That’s what I’m saying. Be careful with Kai. Don’t get between him and his family. Ever.”
Mia cupped he
r hands around her milkshake, taking a minute to digest what she had just learned. “Alright then. I’ll keep that in mind.”
An odd look crossed Rhett’s face. She couldn’t quite place the way he watched her, eyebrows furrowed. “You’re still going to hang out with him, aren’t you?”
Mia frowned. “Of course I am. I’m not going to let his family scare me away. Seems like he could use some friends.”
“I’ve never met anyone willing to stick around like that…” Rhett trailed off, that undecipherable look still on his face.
Mia grinned ruefully. “That’s because you’ve never met anyone like me.”
“No,” he murmured, his voice soft. “I haven’t.”
Mia didn’t know what to say to that. She made the mistake of meeting his gaze and found his eyes smoldering and intense. For a second the world fell away, and it was just the two of them. Again, Mia got this feeling that she’d met him before. Not after getting here but even before arriving in town. Something about him was so familiar. Something about him made her feel safe… like deep down she knew he would never let anything bad happen to her.
She opened her mouth and was about to say just that, when the teenage girls got up from their table in the corner and made their way to the door. They made no effort to hide their hostility toward Rhett as they passed the two of them. Mia frowned as they glared and wrinkled their noses at him. Rhett didn’t seem to notice and if he did, he played it pretty cool.
Once they had left, Mia turned back to him. “What’s that all about? Why doesn’t anyone in this town seem to like you?”
“I thought it was obvious,” Rhett said, grinning. “I’m not very likeable.”
Wayward: St. Croix Falls Book 1 Page 9