“You are a grade A asshole,” I whispered.
“Better me than him. His plan would have the whole school thinking he was the bastard. It’s better this way.”
Well, that answered something. This hadn’t been Luke’s idea. Still, that thought scared me more. Had he believed? This was all so messed up. His pain looked so real.
“Let me go,” I wriggled until Flynn freed me then stormed towards Maggie. She stood as stunned as everyone else until she broke into action.
“Hey people, this isn’t reality TV, mind your business.” She’d let go of Brent and met me halfway. “I’m so sorry Eme,” she crooned in my ear taking me into her embrace. “You’ll work this out. I’m not sure how. But Luke loves you. He will forgive you… eventually.”
It had looked convincing, then. I wanted to tell her the truth, but we had to make sure Nina bought the lies before I did. Maggie’s reactions needed to be realistic. “No, he won’t,” I whispered.
Pulling back, she tucked her arm around mine and walked over to pick up her backpack. Brent and Tom both eyed me suspiciously until I saw them look over my shoulder. Flynn was coming, I could feel it. “Let’s go, Maggie,” I said rushing her. I wasn’t ready for this next part.
Chapter Fifty Seven
Walking in through the heavy doors felt like a corked had just popped. Ahead was Luke, my boyfriend, my husband. In front of him with a comforting hand on his shoulder, gazing dreamily up into his eyes, was Nina.
“Let’s keep going,” Maggie murmured.
My feet had become tree trunks rooted to the ground. As fate would have it, Nina turned and looked at me. The hallway seemed to part so that her view of my pain was unimpeded. Then Luke looked at me with no emotion in his eyes. His features were hard and I wanted to tell him I knew I couldn’t do this when a hand snaked around my waist.
I saw Luke’s eyes narrow at the person at my side. Turning away, he stalked off with Nina in tow. This was the plan, I told myself a million times as I crumbled inside. Sweeping hair off my shoulder, the kiss that was planted there uprooted my feet.
Yanking Maggie forward, I stormed off while Flynn laughed and everyone watched.
“Eme, you have a lot of explaining to do,” Maggie warned. “This better be good. And where is Sara anyway?” She asked while we made our way through the halls. What were they friends now? Or was she asking because she expected her to be the one comforting Luke rather than Nina.
“She won’t be back.” I felt dead inside. It might have been better if Sara had succeeded.
Maggie nodded. She knew when to press and when to wait for privacy to ask the questions she had about anything supernatural. However, she had that determined glint in her eye.
Bells rang out gifting me my freedom from explanation. I couldn’t do this now. I had to pull myself together if I was going to pull off this farce.
Maggie’s emerald eyes drilled through me. She pointed a finger at my nose. “We will talk.” And she headed off to class. Hers was much farther than mine. She would need to hurry if she wanted to beat the late bell.
The halls thinned but I remained at my locker, phone in hand. My fingers trembled and incorrect autocorrect caused too me to take too much time for me to type my text to Luke. If I didn’t hurry, he’d be tucked in class. Then it would be an entire period before I possibly got a response.
ME: That wasn’t what it looked like.
I counted the seconds like a drowning woman. I didn’t exhale until I receive a response.
HIM: I know. I’ll call you tonight. <3
I couldn’t have been more excited to see a less than symbol paired with the number 3 in my entire life. I almost pooled to the floor in relief.
ME: I love you
I didn’t bother with shortening the words. They were eight letters too precious to be chopped into text speech.
The bell rang and I walked to class on cloud nine. It was okay. It was all part of the plan. I could do this.
That was until lunchtime. Funny how everything miserable happened during lunch period. Smiling as I stood in line, I stood looking at my ring when someone deliberately brushed against me.
“Flynn could have done better.” I looked up to see Nina eying my ring. Little did she know. I caught the jealous look in her eye. I balled my fist waiting for what she’d say next. “I just want you to know that Luke doesn’t want you sitting at our table. I think it would be a bit awkward.” Cocking her head to the side, she added, “Don’t you?”
I hadn’t planned on sitting there. However, her saying so infuriated me because now she thought I was properly cowed. Yet, I had no choice. Getting fries and a Hawaiian Punch, I headed to my table. Maggie was already sitting there, thrumming her fingers on the table with a lifted brow.
“Spill,” she warned.
It was easier to stick to the truth. In hushed tones, I started with Flynn and what happened the full moon night. Her eyes become miniature full moons eclipsed by her green irises. I explained the bond. Then I moved on to Sara and who she was to Sebastian. I explained how she’d been draining Flynn and that he was dying, slowly starving to death. Saying it only reminded me again that I could stop it. I pleaded with her to understand that Luke’s father didn’t want us together and how he threatened my mom. “Luke is better off without me, Maggs.”
She licked her lips. Her eyes traveled the space to the elite table. Flynn sat there with Brent. Luke sat near Paul, which I found ironic. Luke and Flynn weren’t speaking from what I glimpsed before turning away. I told her just about all of it except the actual plan formed at Dewey, my marriage and night with Luke. I hated to lie to her. Giving her most of the truth made it easier to swallow.
“You know, I’m not going to be mad that you didn’t tell me about you and Flynn because I can see you’re hurting right now.”
I gave her a nod. “You have to know this is all really unbelievable. This sounds like something they’d make up for movies.” She tapped her fingers. “So it’s do or die, huh?”
That was a simplistic way of looking at it. “Yeah, I guess.”
“I can’t say that being with Flynn is going to be some kind of hardship. “ Her eyes drifted back over to him. “He is some piece of eye candy.”
“It is when you’re hurting the person you love,” I said, softly.
She looked at me and squinted a bit. “But you love Flynn too, Eme. Isn’t that how the bond works?”
In my explanation, I’d over simplified things to her. I didn’t have time to give her every detail. Just when I was about to tell her how I thought this had something to do with me being different, a shadow fell over our table.
“Red,” a familiar voice snapped. “Come on doll, we need to talk.”
Maggie’s face turned to a smirk. I looked up at Flynn and noticed for the first time that he wore a pink shirt. He’d had a black jacket on this morning. Being pressed to him like glue hadn’t afforded me a view of what lay underneath it.
But there it was a bubble gum pink shirt that fit his chiseled body as if destined to do so. The words written on it however made me sneer. It read, Don’t Laugh At My Pink Shirt; It’s Your Girlfriend’s. I sprung up like a jack in the box, I took my tray and stormed out of the room. I didn’t go outside because, like everyone else, the sky was raining on my parade.
Flynn took his time but found me fuming not too far outside the door. I wasn’t going to do this here. After he spotted me, I took a couple of turns and ended up at the far end of the building tucked into an alcove famous for make-out scenes. Why I’d chosen that spot, staring at him now, I wasn’t sure.
“We may have to pretend to like each other, but just remember it’s pretend,” I scoffed.
Caging me in as he liked to do so often, I tried not to be affected by his close proximity. “No one likes this situation. Who wants to be with a girl who hates your guts? But if you are going to save my soul, and you’re not going to have sex with me—” He paused.
“Damn right,”
I vowed.
“Says the girl who jumped me when she had the chance in a dream.” He smirked.
“I thought you were Luke,” I spat.
For a second he looked properly chastised. “Like I said. To save my sorry ass, you’ll have to kiss me and kiss me often. And doing it that way will take longer for me to get better. We might as well start now.”
Head dipping, his lips were hesitant on mine. It was different then all the other times he’d kissed me. It had always been rushed, feverish, manic even. This time, he was hovering as if waiting for invitation. Two weeks to save Flynn’s life. I’d kissed him before to save his life. My lips parted and he took his time.
I chanted Luke’s name in my head, trying my hardest not to feel anything. His hand found my hip and glided up to my waist. Then it headed for the hills and stopped just shy of the base of them. In that time, my internal temperature began to rise. I could feel him taking my essence from me. I also felt the wall I’d erected around my heart begin to crumble. I am married, I told myself to fortify the stone he’d so easily broken through. I pitied the other girls that came before me. Flynn turned out to be a master at making a girl feel wanted.
His lips left mine and traveled to my ear. “There is an easier way and we don’t have to do this so often.”
I closed my eye recalling the dream and his touch. It had only been a dream, but I remembered. It was nothing like my night with Luke, still Flynn’s image burned inside me and I hated myself for it.
“No,” I said making the mistake of touching him. My palm met the hard plains of his chest and the feeling seared into me. Wild eyed I looked up at him wondering if he was manipulating me in any way.
He must have felt my change in emotion because he stepped back, his face shut down. “I’ll see you after school then… babe.” And he walked away. Spoken in a harsh tone, Babe wasn’t a term of endearment. It sounded more like a curse. I was undone. I had no clue how I was going to handle this. I loved Luke yet there was no denying the connection between Flynn and me any longer.
Chapter Fifty Eight
Days passed and nothing had transpired between Flynn and me, not that he hadn’t tried. This deception wasn’t easy for me to do. Luke had left the country again in pursuit of information and we video chatted nightly.
“Flynn tells me you aren’t playing the game.” He sounded like a parent scolding a child.
Biting my lip, I looked away from my surfer boy. “I’m not sure I can do this. And anyway, why is Flynn tattling on me like some kid?”
“He didn’t. I asked,” he said. “Mercy, the sooner you play the sooner this is over.”
Looking back up, I missed him so. His bright blue eyes didn’t look the same on my tiny screen. “When will you be back?”
“I’m not sure,” he said. It was his turn to look away from me.
“What aren’t you telling me?” I asked because he couldn’t meet my eye.
He looked up and into the camera directly at me. “I might be gone longer that I expected.”
“How long?” I asked panic rising in my throat.
“I promise to be back by Prom.” What did Prom matter if he was in some kind of danger? Conversation dwindled after that. He appeared to have a lot on his mind. Half the time he sounded more distant than he was in reality, even as he’d said the words. Yet something was missing. Defeat was written on his face. Did he think I would leave him for Flynn in the end?
My resolve to ignore Flynn only hardened until the next day at school. My story became different when I saw his haunted eyes in the hall. Flynn was still dying. I felt like I’d said that a million times and it hadn’t changed the truth of it. It was written on his face like black smears.
I still hadn’t gone back to the elite table even with Luke gone. I was trying to keep my distance. Truthfully, I didn’t want to spoil the memory of what we had in everybody’s eyes by flying into Flynn’s arms so easily. Plus, I was avoiding the farce as long as I could as if it would just go away somehow. Maggie and Brent were laughing at something Tom said. They’d had taken to sitting with me the last few days. But there was a pause.
“What’s that in his pocket?” I heard Maggie say.
“Mercy,” Flynn called out in a not so subtle voice.
Turning, I took him in with a black t-shirt that read FBI in bold white letters. On closer inspection as he drew nearer, it read Female Body Inspector underneath. I rolled my eyes and turned back to my friends. Strong hands turned me in my seat. My chair made nails on the chalk board kind of squeak.
When he bent on one knee, I thought my heart dropped in my stomach. My first thought was Luke and of our wedding day. My second was, Damn Flynn.
“Luke left. I’m here. I never thought I be that guy. But you’re that girl and none of the rules seem to apply.” Pulling out something pink from behind his back was reminder of Maggie’s words. Holding up a t-shirt in front of me, it read in black letters, Be Mine, surround by a heart.
I couldn’t stop the giggle. It was just too cheesy even for him. “Oh. MY. God.” I heard Maggie say in a voice that made it seem like it was the most romantic thing ever.
He stared up at me as I plucked the shirt from his hand to take if off display. He said, “You know I’m not a hearts and flowers kind of guy.”
Smirking, I retorted, “No you are a one liner and cheesy T-shirts kind of guy.”
“A step up from edible body lotion and lost panties.” He grinned and I tried to scowl. But the smile that failed to leave my face made me not look very convincing.
“What do you want from me Flynn?” I asked. I knew the plan. But damn it, he wasn’t playing fair. Either he was a damn good actor or he was sincere. The latter I couldn’t handle.
“Give me a chance,” he begged.
All around everyone starting chanting “KISS.” I leaned in and I said, “If this is artifice on your part, I will castrate you.”
I sat straight. “There’s my Webster,” he said before he kissed me for the whole lunch room to witness.
“Mr. McAllister,” a stern voice said the same time the cafeteria quieted down. “I hope that you are helping Miss Moore get something out of her eye.”
Flynn pulled back and got to his feet. “Absolutely. I blew dust out of her eye.”
“Through her mouth,” the principal said straight-faced, quirking a brow.
“Yeah, whatever.” He waved a dismissive hand.
“I see. Well, school rules don’t allow…” The principal grasped for words. “What do you teenagers call it?”
Maggie, being entirely too helpful, said, “P.D.A.”
I glanced over my shoulder to give her the stink eye. “Yes, P.D.A. That’s not allowed in school. So I suggest you go about your business.”
Flynn gave her a playful smile and wink. “Sure thing.”
She actually walked away. No detention, nothing, I sat in shock. Only Flynn would get away with blatantly breaking school rules.
Taking the shirt from my hand, he pulled it over my head and helped me shrug into it. I’d been wearing a light blue shirt. This pink one would surely clash with it. Out of nowhere, he pulled out a sharpie. Turning me sideways in my chair, he pulled my hair away from my shoulder, exposing my back. Then he began to write. When he was done, he kissed my cheek before looking up to see if he’d been caught again. Since he was behind me I hadn’t realize his intentions until it was too late. Whispering in my ear, he said “Come over later.”
“No,” I said. No way, that was a trap.
“Fine,” he said hauling me to my feet. “You want this the hard way.”
Dragged along, he had me in the hall by my locker when the bell rang. He kissed me like there was no tomorrow and today didn’t exist. It was just the two of us. It took a while for me to hear the clapping in the halls. When he strode away, I watched and tried to remember my name. He’d taken enough life essence that I was a bit lightheaded.
It took Maggie waving her hand in front of my face to bri
ng me back to my senses. “Earth to Mercy.”
“What?” I said and moved around to dial up my combination to my locker hoping to calm my raving heart. I needed to get a book for my next class.
I wasn’t looking at her.
“I can’t believe you are acting as if this isn’t monumental. Flynn, on his knees, basically begging you to be his girlfriend. Come on. That just doesn’t happen. Everyone is talking about it.”
Looking at every book and folder in my locker one by one, I studiously avoided Maggie’s face. It had been over the top. Flynn made it impossible for me to say no. Maggie was on a roll. “And he wrote Mine in sharpie on your back.”
So that’s what it said. I pushed my hair off my shoulder and let it spill over hopefully covering the evidence of my betrayal. Luke may have sanctioned it. But my beating heart was judge and jury. I didn’t want to feel this way about anyone else. I wanted Luke to come back and stop this charade before it got out of hand.
Maggie stopped talking. I closed my locker ready for her scorn but Flynn had come back. “What do you want?” I said watching Maggie walk away giving me knowing looks with her hand in Brent’s being led away.
He held out a hand. I narrowed my eyes at it. Snagging mine, he said, “I’m doing the boyfriend thing.” My narrowed eyes met his. “I’m walking my girlfriend to class.” And in front of my classroom, Flynn gave me another kiss that would be talked about for days.
I was in so much trouble.
Chapter Fifty Nine
After school, I dug for my keys in my bag next to my car when Paul walked up. I’d been the target of several death stares, cat calls and other such ridicule on the way out of school. The girls of course had nothing good to say, which I expected even though Flynn’s past girlfriends had never been treated this way. It was almost like I was special in a new and frustrating way. And the boys thought I was Flynn’s new slut. If Luke only knew that dating Flynn wasn’t anything good for my reputation.
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