And Evie knew about the plan. That made it better. Although it didn’t erase the fact that all this never should have happened in the first place.
“It never should’ve escalated to this,” I whispered as my eyes stole a glimpse of the calm water stretching across the horizon. The gentle knocking of a boat tethered to the dock at the edge of the property was dull and rhythmic. It reminded me of a ticking time bomb, ready to explode in my face. “Shane’s uncle knew he had a problem all along, he should’ve done something about it long ago. He never should have needed anyone to clean up for him.”
“It’s going to work out,” Evie leaned over and placed her hand on my arm to reassure me.
“Shane will get help. Then he’ll leave everyone alone and maybe . . .”
“Maybe what?” My voice sounded thick and rough, like it wasn’t my own. Maybe this wasn’t me tonight. Maybe I wasn’t the guy who’d agreed to bring Shane Whitley down, who’d made a drug deal in my aunt’s car, who was at a party surrounded by everyone I’d always tried to steer clear of Monday through Friday.
We stood up, nearly touching. She was so close to me. The rhythm of the boat on the water pounded louder and synchronized with the thudding in my chest, with my heart. It absolutely was a time bomb and I could feel how easy it would be to let it implode inside me, releasing once and for all everything I had ever thought about her, felt about her, and spread throughout me like a sweet poison.
“Shane and I are . . .”
I placed my finger across her lips, quieting them.
“I don’t want to talk about Shane tonight.” I leaned closer, ready to kiss her. If she had been turned off by my scars that night, she didn’t show it. I didn’t repulse her. I didn’t need to feel ashamed. With Evie, I no longer needed to hide—from anyone, or from myself.
She closed her eyes and lifted her chin, making it easy for me, and I felt my eyelids drift shut as I leaned my head to the side. Her face was warm and soft as my hands cupped her jaw, and I felt her arms weave around me, her palms splayed against my lower back near the top of my jeans.
Her eyes flashed up to meet mine.
“It’s just the wire,” I whispered, and felt her hand move higher, avoiding the thin line of communication that held me tied to the other reason I was here tonight.
Her lips opened slightly and . . .
Whiz.
“What the . . .?”
Whiz.
A second marshmallow hurtled past our heads, followed by another, and another. The door to the house slid open and through it, two boys from school bounded with boxer shorts on their heads and marshmallow shooters aimed at one another.
I looked at Evie, dumbfounded and disheartened that our moment had been disrupted by airborne mallows.
“I forgot to tell you. They do this every year.”
“Really?” I looked out across the lawn and watched with amazement as the two boys ran around in the mud, dodging and pelting one other with sticky white blobs from battery operated plastic guns.
“And the boxer shorts are . . .
“Helmets,” she replied with a decisive nod.
I nodded my head in stunned agreement, “Definitely something you don’t see every day.”
She giggled softly. “It’s really the best part of the party.” The moon poked out from behind a swaying tree and the light fell upon her face, illuminating her. “Well, maybe not this time.”
It didn’t take long for everyone to follow Alex and Max onto the lawn for the spectacle; a full-on marshmallow war, complete with boxer short helmets. Beneath the clear night sky, little blobs of white soared and pelted skin and the grass looked as if a storm had just dropped Guinness Book of World Record sized hailstones.
Not caring who noticed, I slipped my hand into hers. It seemed most of the party had migrated outside with us, but the marshmallow war was providing enough of a distraction.
We watched as Jake walked over to a gravel circle just off the deck and began stacking logs.
“Looks like it’s time to put those marshmallows to good use,” he said, and before long, a fire was started, spitting and crackling against the damp bark.
Jake stoked the fire and I watched as embers rose and flames curled. The orange glow mesmerized me. I couldn’t remember the fire from the accident, but this one managed to have a strange effect on me. It didn’t smell the same, lacking the tainted acrid aroma of the gasoline that fueled the fire of my nightmares. This was a pleasant smell.
“Toss that one over here,” a voice came from behind us.
Evie stiffened, her hand suddenly slack in my grasp, and I turned to see Shane, bottle in hand, staring at me with a wicked gleam in his eye.
Chapter Thirty
Evie
“Can we leave?” I asked.
I didn’t like the look in Shane’s eyes. I didn’t like how he paraded in front of us, taking over, taking charge, like usual. Something was going on in that head of his, I knew it, and now was the perfect time to skip out.
Looking up at Chase, I yanked on his hand to get his attention. “We need to go,” I murmured, but it was too late.
Shane turned his back to us and faced the others. “Bet you didn’t know Chase has a history with fire.”
A chuckle came from someone who had no clue where Shane was headed with all this.
“Let me rephrase that. Chase has a history with accidents.”
No. Way.
But yes, Shane was clearly competent and evil enough to hurl Chase down the road of shame in front of everyone. Chase stood calm and still though, despite knowing Shane was about to dig in.
“You finally made it to the party.” Shane laughed, amused with himself. “Almost like we’re eleven again, isn’t it?”
“What does he mean?” I looked up at a very quiet Chase.
“What do I mean? Let me explain it to you, Evie. This is the party Chase missed all those years ago, only his chances went up in flames. Right, Mitman? Remember the party you never got to?”
Shane stood nose to nose with Chase, but neither looked away first.
“So, how does it feel? And how did it feel to earn your ticket here? I’ll bet you think you passed some sort of test with me?” Shane laughed crisply.
Shane turned his attention back to me. “You played a hand in tonight too, Evie. After all, you helped get him here.”
“I . . .” it was hard to find the words while Shane stood in front of us, happy to see it all unravel. Chase could be home right now reading one of those worn chapbooks of his if it weren’t for me. If I hadn’t been so eager to jump on the assignment and ask him to lunch, the attention would never have been drawn toward him. And now, there were two things Shane was waiting for me to confess—that Chase was only here for a grade; a grade I could care less about right now, and that I preferred Chase’s company over his. Either would make me look awful in front of everyone right now. I opened my mouth, but closed it quickly, wishing I could have foreseen this turn of events. All along I had hoped I could spare Chase the misery Shane was capable of inflicting on him, I never realized I too would be targeted.
And the look in Shane’s eyes told me he knew everything. He knew how I felt about Chase, probably for a long time now.
I had Tara to thank for that—which should mortify me. Every part of me that had ever felt Shane’s anger began to twitch. Chase stood silently beside me. I couldn’t read him. Then his eyes flashed to mine, and his fingers gripped mine tighter.
Chapter Thirty-One
Chase
One thing I had come to learn about Shane Whitley was when he stabbed someone in the back it usually wasn’t just that person who felt the knife. He played people, even those who were supposed to mean something to him. I held even tighter onto Evie’s hand, knowing all the attention was no longer just on me.
Shane nodded toward our entwined fingers. “You’re a fool if you think that means anything.
You’re nothing more than Evie’s assignment.”
I stepped a little closer to him, crossing a very deep line. “Are you afraid of what she’ll find out, Shane? Are you wondering if she’ll see she’s more like me than she is you? That maybe this assignment helped her discover the kind of person she’s been dating all along?”
The party came to a screeching halt as all eyes fixated on the two of us, and I kept delivering the blows. “You’re waiting for this to blow up in my face because, according to you, I’m socially beneath her. There’s no way she’ll ever lower herself to my level.”
I watched the indignation in his eyes turn to hatred.
“But what if she’s already lowered herself?” I heard Evie take in a deep breath of shock,
“What if she’s already lowered herself to yours?”
“You think you’ve got this one, don’t you Mitman?” Shane asked me.
“This assignment’s opened a lot of eyes.”
Shane then venomously turned on Evie. “So you’d rather hook up with a freak like him, than someone like me, is that it? Because he is a freak.”
Evie squeezed my hand as Shane’s twisted smile aimed back at me.
“You know, it was all over the paper, freak,” he said coarsely to me.
I know what I am.
“Everyone pitied you.” He was in front of me now.
I see it every day.
“But after the headlines lose their luster, you know what comes next?”
I was a fool to think Evie would want anyone like me, so damaged, inside and out.
He leaned into my face to say it, “The whispers.”
I leaned back. “You think you’re so smart, don’t you Shane?”
“I am smart.”
“You think you know what makes everyone tick.”
Shane glared at me. “I’m pretty sure I know what makes you tick.”
“Do you?” I asked. I didn’t have to look over at Evie to know I was already pushing Shane too far, but I couldn’t stop. This was the moment I’d wanted to taste for myself for so long.
Vaguely, I could tell everyone gathered around the fire was watching and waiting to see who would move first.
“Toss me a marshmallow, Alex.” Shane called out, leaving everyone to wonder what he was up to. Within seconds, the white marshmallow flew through the air, landing with a soft thud in the grass next to Shane’s shoe. “Aim a little better. Toss another one.”
This time Alex took the time to skewer the marshmallow onto a stick, and flung it towards Shane’s open hand. He took the stick and held it in the middle of the fire for a few seconds.
When he pulled it out, the marshmallow was an orange fire ball, its black crust splitting all around. Instead of blowing it out, he waved it in front of my face. The marshmallow was completely black now, its texture lost as it slid down the stick, leaving a gooey white trail. It continued to burn and I felt the heat begin to creep beneath my skin. Shane gave no regard to boundaries. He held the stick as close to my shirt as possible without touching the flame directly to it. I felt myself react, my chest pulling away from flame.
“Shane!” I Evie shrieked.
“Some tests you can pass,” Shane taunted.
I had the sense of another body stepping close to us, but for the life of me, I couldn’t take my eyes off the fireball inches away from my skin.
“This isn’t cool, Shane. Put it down.” It took a few seconds longer than normal to realize it was Jake, trying to put an end to the nonsense.
The stick waved in front of me again, and on instinct, I reached out, grabbed his wrist and gripped it tightly. “I didn’t come here to prove anything to you, and you don’t need to prove anything to them by doing this.” I nodded to the group standing around us.
It was like dead space between us for a fleeting second, and to my surprise, Shane nodded. I heard Evie suck in a breath of relief, and slowly, I found the will to let go of Shane’s wrist, watching as he held his arm out and chucked the stick into the fire.
Then, without warning, he yanked my shirt, and my face planted against the muddy ground.
Feet scampered back, giving us room, and then, I felt the crunching blow of a kick to my stomach. Before I could catch my breath, my shirt was yanked, drawing me back onto my feet and suddenly, the open air feathered against my skin. A unified gasp floated around me as
Shane thrust me towards everyone gathered around the fire.
“I told you he was a freak.”
I raised my arm then let it go, hearing the satisfying crack of my fist against Shane’s jaw, but it was too late. They had seen my scars. I watched as feet began to back away from us. The whispers came next—about the lines on my skin, the way the fire had melted and rippled my flesh. I leaned on my knees to catch my breath, wanting to look up and find Evie, hoping she was still standing there for me, when another round of punches came hurtling into my ribcage.
“What the hell?”
The air moved around me and I felt a tug at the back of my waist. By the time I found myself able to breathe and stand again, Shane was coiling the wire I had been rigged with in his hands.
My lungs burned for air and I felt myself pushed forward, my feet catching on the muddy clumps of grass and marshmallow beneath me.
A door creaked open and I was thrown against something hard. I sat there trying to catch my breath. My heart thudded loudly, knocking against my bruised ribs. By the time my eyes adjusted to the dark, the thudding became more distinguishable, and I heard the sound of a boat knocking against wet wood.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Evie
It was damp and dark in the boat house and I rubbed my arms up and down with my hands to warm myself. I couldn’t see very much around me, but the longer I sat still and tried not to panic, I began to make out thin slivers of orange firelight penetrating the weathered walls of the building.
“Chase? Are you alright?” I whispered shakily into the dark. “Please tell me he didn’t burn you.” Fear rippled through me when he didn’t answer right away. Then, I heard a shuffle a few yards to my left and rose to my knees to work my way over.
“No, sit back down, I’ll come to you,” he finally answered me, and I was flooded with relief that he was still conscious. “I’m okay, but you have to lean against the wall or you’ll fall into the water.”
“How can you see?” I pressed my hands to the damp floorboards beneath me, feeling for where the dock met the wall and scrambled backwards. The orange light from outside was bouncing too much to stay in one place, and as soon as I thought I could make out my surroundings, it would turn black again.
“I guess the angle I’m at. Here . . . reach for my hand.”
I stretched my fingers into the black in front of me. Within seconds, I felt the cool touch of his hand, and allowed him pull himself closer inch by inch.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” I could feel the cool cotton of his shirt hanging between us, but I was afraid to wrap my arms around him. That marshmallow looked awfully close and besides, I saw the blunt kick of Shane’s foot to Chase’s stomach.
“I could be better, but yeah, I’m alright. I guess we have to wait it out in here for a while, huh?”
Chase’s torso shifted and I assumed he was inspecting the wall behind us, maybe looking for a way out. “He took the wire so that should have set off some type of alarm back home.”
Little by little, my eyes adjusted to the dark. I could make out his face inches away from where I sat.
“It’ll take a little while for them to get here,” he continued. “We’re what, about forty-five minutes away?”
“About that.”
Then, I finally felt the comforting weight of his arm rest across my shoulders, and I leaned into his side, careful to press myself against him too hard. We were silent for a few minutes, taking in the mesmerizing rhythm of the water sloshing against the side of the little boat sharing the space with us. It was a good thing he warned me about the water. I was just now able to make out a silvery movement in
front of us and I could have easily fallen in, landing between the boat and the dock. It was best to sit still and wait, avoiding the thick ropes and metal stakes that I could now feel around our legs and feet.
“And we’re in here because?”
I heard Chase sigh, thinking, “To keep an eye on us?”
“Maybe he was hoping we’d fall in.”
Being with Chase was comforting, at least we were together, but the semi darkness played tricks on my mind. It was easy to sit and think too hard, especially after what Shane had just pulled. Was it worse to die by drowning, or by fire? Both were equally horrific in my eyes and I couldn’t help my breath from feeling constricted in my chest.
I pulled myself in tighter and felt for Chase’s hands, trying to talk myself into believing how this could be considered romantic. We were alone in the dark, sitting very, very close to one another. But the whole situation played through my head—Shane holding the fiery stick to Chase. Chase being kicked and dragged into the boathouse. There was nothing romantic about any of that.
“Maybe we can find a loose board, bust it, and sneak out of here?” Chase’s tired voice broke my morbid thoughts. He squeezed my hand, then let go, and I felt him begin to stand next to me. Following his motions, and not wanting to get stepped on, I held onto the rough wall and pulled myself up, feeling the needlelike prick of splinters stab my palms.
“There . . . has . . . to be a loose one here somewhere. It didn’t look very sturdy from the house.” Chase grunted as he leaned his weight here and there along the wall, but nothing budged. We were stuck.
Panic began to settle over me. I never did well with small spaces and my breathing was becoming a little harder to control the longer we stayed in here. Chase reached for me and pulled me in to his chest, “Shhh. It’s okay. We’ll get out.” I knew I was leaning against his scars.
I didn’t have to see them to know they were there. I knew their color and the direction they took as they fanned out across his skin, and I leaned my cheek into them. This was what it meant to be close to someone. Not just physically close, but unconditionally. It didn’t matter how horribly marred his skin could look on the outside. On the inside, Chase was the most beautiful person I had ever met.
Between These Lines (A Young Adult Novel) Page 14