“I hope so. I love having you here.”
“Me too.”
He took a bite of his eggs while I went back in the kitchen for mine.
I was heading back when he blocked me, coming out of the bedroom. “Let’s eat out on the deck.”
I followed him outside and sat down at the patio table. I munched on my food while I watched the water. I had to admit my cooking wasn’t as bad as I thought, although it might have had something to do with the atmosphere. Anything would taste good sitting outside in paradise, alone with the mysterious hottie.
It was a little brisk sitting next to the lake. The wind that was coming off of the water was chilly and I was still only wearing Nate’s T-shirt. My legs were covered in goose bumps.
“Are you coming to Riley House with me today?”
“Yep. I have hours to fill.”
“You know the judge dropped all the charges and wiped your record when the guys confessed. That means you don’t have to fill the hours.”
I nodded, swallowing the eggs in my mouth. “I know, but I want to help whenever I can. I might not be there as much as you, but maybe weekends and a couple of nights?”
“Sounds good.” He took a bite of his toast. “I might cut back my hours if I can, so we can spend time alone together. Maybe I could take you out to dinner sometime?”
“I like the sound of that.”
When I finished eating, I decided to change. The oversized T-shirt he gave me fell just a little below my butt. Feeling self-conscious, I held the bottom of the shirt as I walked into the house. I heard a soft chuckle behind me.
I changed back into my clothes in the bathroom and brushed my hair. I’d have to make him take me home so I could shower, change and put some makeup on. And a toothbrush would be nice.
He came up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist, while I was trying to brush my teeth with my finger. “I do have extra toothbrushes, if you’d like.” His voice was soft in my ear. His breath sent a chill through my body.
I spun around. “Now you tell me. Where are they?” I opened the medicine cabinet but didn’t see what I was looking for. He pointed to a drawer under the sink. I reached in and found one in the back.
After we finished getting ready we hopped back on the boat. Driving in the daylight was completely different. Everything was bright and shiny. The sun glimmered off of the water, creating a glare. I dug inside my bag for my sunglasses, which also helped block the water from spraying in my eyes. When we made it to the marina, we hopped into Nate’s car before heading to my house.
I left him in the car in my driveway while I had a shower and changed.
As I was putting makeup on in my en-suite bathroom, Mona came in with a smirk on her face.
“Nothing happened,” I mumbled, not looking away from the mirror.
“Oh really. You just got in and nothing happened?” She wiggled her eyebrows, suggesting that I was holding something back.
“No, don’t worry. You can trust me. Did my parents even notice?”
Her smile disappeared as she looked down at her feet, avoiding my eyes. It was always hard for her when my parents neglected me. “I didn’t see them. They got home late and they haven’t woken up yet.”
“Oh well, I probably won’t be home tonight either.” I zipped up my makeup bag and tossed it onto the pile of clothes I had gathered to take to Nate’s. After I had everything I wanted, I shoved it into my overnight bag, gave Mona a quick kiss on the cheek and headed out to meet Nate in the car.
“I don’t want anyone at school to know we’re together.” Nate’s voice was a whisper; and it was filled with remorse. We were lying in bed that night, after we left the shelter. We had come back to his house and watched another movie, which I got to pick this time. He fell asleep halfway through and I dragged him to bed. I had thought he was sleeping, but apparently not.
I flipped onto my back, staring up at the ceiling, tired of this argument. I thought we were done with this after I kissed him. “Why?” I asked with a sigh.
“I can’t tell you. Can you just trust me?”
My brain screamed for me to say yes, of course I trust you but my stubbornness refused to do it. “After everything we’ve been through to get together, you’re still going to pull away, aren’t you?” My words were dry. The fear of rejection was there, but I held it back.
He tightened his arm, which was resting on my stomach, around me. “No, of course not. I couldn’t pull away from you even if I wanted to, not after this wonderful weekend. But I just need you to trust me. It’s bad enough we’re seen around town the odd time, but in a school filled with hundreds of teen gossips...I would just rather they didn’t know.”
I sighed again. Making the right decisions was hard when I didn’t know all the facts. We only had a few weeks of school left anyway, so what did it matter? I couldn’t help but feel that he was ashamed of me and didn’t want me to be seen with him. But I quickly dismissed the thought. At the shelter he was very open with our relationship. He touched or kissed me every time I walked by him. And it was the shelter where he was the most happy. No, I just had to trust him like he said.
“Fine, I won’t say anything and I’ll eat with Lauren at lunch, but only if you promise that you’ll eventually tell me why.”
He leaned up above me and smiled. His bright blue eyes were almost black in the moonlight. “I promise.”
One Wednesday night, two weeks later, I was lying on my lounge chair out on the patio. I was eating grapes and listening to my iPod with my eyes closed. Nate had dropped me off, saying that he had some things to take care off. When I asked what they were, he mumbled something unintelligible and drove off. This seemed really strange, especially since between after school and the shelter, we’d been together every day since I kissed him two weeks ago. But tonight he blew me off without an explanation.
Now, alone on the patio, a feeling of being watched crept over me, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. I opened my eyes and saw the yellow eyes in the bushes again. The wolf was back and this time I was sure it was there. It sat in front of the bush and just stared, making no move to hurt me.
Although the fear was still there, it wasn’t as strong as the last time. I wasn’t paralyzed with it. “Ah…hi. Where did you come from?” My voice was barely audible, afraid to scare it into attacking. Of course there was no answer. The thought of a wolf sitting ten feet away from me, while I talked to it, just made me think I was going crazy. “Are you hungry? Is that why you’re here? Sorry, all I have are grapes.” I threw one at him; it fell into his open mouth. He looked at me and I swear he smiled. “I’m going to go inside now, because I think I’m losing my mind.”
I started getting up very slowly, making no sudden movements. “Bye now. I need to go before you start talking back to me. Then I’ll know I’m crazy.”
That night I dreamed I was talking to my old dog Charlie. He was a large Golden Labrador Retriever, who died four years ago. In the dream I was lying on my bed while he was sprawled out beside me, taking up the entire length of my queen-size bed. My head nestled beside his as I rubbed his blond fur, his leg shaking with each stroke of my hand. I could feel his hot breath on my hair as he panted and a bit of drool fell out of his mouth.
But the problem wasn’t that he was supposed to be dead, even though he lay beside me while I told him all about my troubles. The problem was that he was talking back.
Chapter Sixteen
The Orchid
I concentrated hard on the empty salt shaker that sat in front of me on the table. It was ridiculous to put so much effort into such a mundane chore. But I wanted to prove to Nate that I wasn’t that stuck-up girl who didn’t know anything about household tasks. My hand was steady as the salt flowed into the shaker. Not one morsel strayed from the stream I poured.
The sound of voices disturbed me and my hand shook slightly, dividing the stream in two, half in the shaker and half on the table. Darn it, I couldn’t eve
n pour salt properly. Who was I kidding? I wasn’t the Suzy Homemaker I was pretending to be. I wasn’t a rich snob who frowned at people who were either. I didn’t know who I was. After everything I’d been through over the last month, I still didn’t know where I fit in.
“I told you, I can’t. I have to wait for a delivery. You do it.”
Nate and Julia were standing a few tables away from me, arguing. I had been filling salt and pepper shakers in the dining room before they rudely interrupted me.
“Julia, I told you. I have to make lunch and train a new volunteer. I can’t get groceries now.”
“Well, we need food for dinner, unless you plan to serve everyone franks and beans out of a can.”
Nate was about to say something else, but I stood up and walked toward them. “I’ll go, what do you need?”
They both stopped talking and stared at me in surprise. “Um…no, that’s okay, I can go,” Nate stammered. “It will just have to wait until everything settles down after lunch, but you can come with me.”
Could he be any more condescending? All that was missing was the pat on the head. It was obvious that he didn’t think I could handle a simple task like shopping. I wasn’t sure I could either, but he didn’t have to know that. I narrowed my eyes at him. “I have been very helpful here. You can’t call me a princess that doesn’t know how to do anything. Not anymore.” I leaned back against the table and folded my arms in front of me. “Who makes you breakfast in the morning, huh?”
Nate blushed and Julia grinned. “Oh, let her go. What’s the worst she can do?” Julia said, handing me the list and the credit card.
“Alright, but if you need me, I’m just a phone call away.” He leaned down to give me a quick kiss.
“Oh my God, Nate, have a little faith. It’s just shopping.” I slapped him gently on the shoulder.
“You never know, anything could happen.”
I rolled my eyes and held my hand out in front of him.
“What?” His face was filled with confusion.
“Car keys. I drove with you.”
A look of horror washed over his features and he made no move for the keys.
I narrowed my eyes again, adding a scowl. “Nate. Give. Me. The. Car. Keys.” I emphasized each word.
When he continued to stand motionless with fear in his eyes, Julia raised her arms and said, “You’re on your own with this one.” I heard her laughing softly as she headed back to her desk.
I tapped my foot, still holding my hand out. I wasn’t going to give up.
He sighed, rolling his eyes as he reached into his pockets. “Fine, but don’t scratch it.” He pulled the keys out and dropped them into the palm of my hand. They jingled as they fell.
I closed my fist and smiled. “We’ll see.” I strolled out of the dining room, leaving him frozen where he stood.
The closest grocery store was only a few blocks away and the lot was pretty busy when I pulled in. The amount of cars made me a bit nervous. I had never done this before and a crowded store might make me more confused than I knew I would be. But how hard could it be? Put food in cart, pay at checkout. There couldn’t be more to it than that.
As I entered the building, I was a little worried. There were so many choices and lots of people pushing carts. The smells of baked goods and deli meats floated all around, reminding me I hadn’t eaten yet.
I pulled out a cart and began to wander aimlessly through the store, listening to the classical music playing over the speakers. At first, I was overwhelmed by all the boxes, cans and bags. Who knew there were so many ways to package food?
I finally decided to focus, taking out the list and studying it. The first item was flour. My instinct was to panic. How was I supposed to find flour in this huge store, among so many items? Instead, I took a deep breath, glanced around and found signs above the aisles that listed the food stacked on the shelves.
I was almost finished when I got to the produce section. The list said four turnips and I didn’t see a sign for turnips. Sure, I’d eaten them, but I didn’t know what one looked like on the outside.
I paced back and forth, reading every name of vegetable with no luck. It wasn’t there. I was about to give up when a man approached me. “Do you need some help? You seem a little lost.” He looked about twenty, not much taller than me, with a stocky build. He was wearing a black leather jacket, which was odd, considering it was the end of May and it was warm outside.
“Yes I do, but I’m embarrassed to ask. You’re going to think I’m dumb, but I’m not used to shopping and it says on the list turnips, but I don’t see a sign.”
He laughed. “You’re not dumb. A lot of grocery stores don’t carry them, but you can just get one of these, they taste the same.” He pointed to a sign that said rutabagas.
I picked up a round waxy, purpley-brown vegetable. “This?”
He nodded with a smile, walking away with his empty cart, heading toward the wine section. I waved as my face heated, probably turning as bright red as the tomatoes in my cart.
There were only a few more minor dilemmas. Did they want light salad dressing or regular? And what kind of laundry soap did they prefer? I finally decided not to stress over what brands to get. It was just shopping. It wasn’t like they were asking me to do brain surgery. What did it matter if I picked up a different kind of rice than they usually used? It was rice, who cared? If it wasn’t what they wanted they could come back themselves.
The problem with that was that I really wanted to get everything right. If not to impress Nate, then to make him eat his words.
I stood in line at the checkout, browsing through the magazines while the cashier rang up my order. Just as they finished up, I noticed a shocking headline on one of the papers. Two people were killed by animal attacks. What a horrible way to die, I thought, just as the cashier informed me of the total.
I paid with the credit card and after she bagged everything up, I was on my way. I smiled as I exited the store, feeling proud of myself for coming away without any problems.
I decided I needed to reward myself with a soda. When I spotted a drink machine, I plunked change into the slot; my diet soda fell down with a thump. I stuck it in my purse for the drive home.
Pushing the heavy cart was a little hard and one of the wheels got stuck in a pothole and I couldn’t get it out. “Son of—”
“Do you need help?” the man in the leather jacket asked, appearing next to me, placing his hands on the handle of the cart.
“Oh, not you again. You’re going to think I’m useless.” A burst of wind blew my hair in my face. I pushed it back as I heard him laugh.
“I don’t think that.” He lifted the corner of the cart where the wheel was jammed, pushing it back onto smooth ground.
“Well, my boyfriend does and I was trying to prove him wrong.”
“I’m sure he doesn’t think that.” His smile faded a little.
“He does, but that’s fine. Thanks again…I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name.”
“Conner,” he stated, extending his hand.
“I’m Megan.” After we shook hands, I started to push the cart towards Nate’s car.
“Do you want help loading your groceries?” he asked, following behind me carrying one lonely plastic bag.
“Oh, no, thank you, you’ve done enough.”
“I don’t mind, really.” Once I unlocked the trunk, he lifted a few bags and loaded them inside. After he dropped in the last bag, I shut the trunk door with a thud.
“Thanks again. And it was nice to meet you.” I waved at him as I slid into the car.
“Hey, how did it go?” Nate met me at the back door of the shelter just as I opened the car door and climbed out. “What’s that?” he asked, pointing to my soda that sat in the cup holder.
“It’s a soda, why?”
“Did you spill any?”
I narrowed my eyes. “Are you always so picky about your car?”
“I’m sorry. I overreacted
. How did it go?” he asked again.
“Fine, it’s not that big a deal. Do you have to treat me like an imbecile?” My voice sounded a little cold, but it wasn’t my intention.
“No, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it. I don’t think you’re an imbecile.” He stepped up to me, framing my face with his hands and gave me a gentle kiss. I forgave him instantly. “Here, let me help you carry these in.”
I opened the trunk and together we hauled the bags inside.
He dropped his packages onto the counter. As he leaned over me to take the bags out of my hands, his nostrils flared and he sniffed hard. He spun around, sniffed again. Then shaking his head, he put my bags on the counter.
“What was that? Do I smell?” I lifted my arm and sniffed, but only smelled the floral scent of my perfume and the laundry soap coming from my black silk blouse.
“No, I just thought I smelled something,” he said with his brow creased.
“So, what are we doing tonight?”
“I thought we could take the boat out again.”
Just the thought of going out on the boat again made me glow with happiness. “Sounds perfect.”
After we finished putting the groceries away, Julia sent us home, saying that Nate deserved some free time. He dropped me off at home, promising to pick me up in an hour. He was finally taking me to dinner.
I pulled my hair up in a twist, applied my makeup and then slipped on my black-and-white-striped jersey dress with a short-sleeve cut-off jacket. I turned around in front of my full-length mirror and smiled. I looked good enough to be out with the mysteriously hot Nate Green.
“Hey, Meg, I’m glad you’re home. Which one?” Mona asked, holding up two dresses—a red strapless and a boring navy blue one with cap sleeves. Mona was thin and very pretty for her age. Not the shockingly gorgeous pretty like my mom, but understated and classy. Her dark brown hair was always worn back away from her face. She usually dressed in casual dress pants and a blouse. But tonight, apparently, she was going to go wild. Her hair was down in a messy bob and her makeup looked great. And now she was thinking of ruining the look with the blue dress.
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