But I cave in right before going to sleep that night. Somehow I just can’t go another night without trying to talk to her. So I send her a quick text good night text while lying in my bed. Then I put the phone down on the nightstand and try to close my eyes and go unconscious.
A buzzing sound startles me.
A response from Natalia.
Hey.
My heart is beating again. I have a huge, ridiculous grin on my face. Thank god nobody I know can see me right now. I type fast.
Ive been thinking.
About?
About me & you.
What about us?
I hesitate. Best to just say it straight.
I like u. A lot.
Don’t say that.
But it’s true.
Still…
Maybe u and me can hang.
What abt Brody? And Raine?
Do u like him?
She better not say yes.
Not the way I like you.
My grin is back, bigger than ever.
Okay. So we need to just let them know.
I’m a little scared.
Don’t be. I’ll take care of it.
Promise?
Promise.
A little while later we say goodnight and I fall into a deep, dreamless sleep.
But reading back the string of texts in the cold light of Monday morning, I start to feel a faint stirring of regret. I said a lot of stuff. Of course I meant it, but those are some mighty big words. Especially about taking care of everything. After all, I can’t really stop Raine from going ballistic nuts when she finds out that I like Natalia more than her.
It could get ugly.
But when I get to our hallway before first period, I see something strange. The Triad is all gathered around Natalia’s locker, and Natalia is talking with them. Laughing.
At first I think I must be seeing things, but no. It’s true. Raine and Natalia are gabbing away like best friends reunited after five years apart. I mean, if I didn’t know better I’d think the Triad was a Quad.
When Natalia sees me, she shoots me a look like, “don’t come over here” and then looks away quickly. What the fuck?
“What’s it feel like to be a total self-centered asshole who drops his friends when he makes the big time?”
I turn around and see Aiden standing there.
“Holy shit!” I say, slapping my forehead. “I totally forgot to pick you up.”
“Oh, I understand. After all, we’ve only done the same thing every day for two straight years. Why would you remember?”
“Dude, I’m sorry. It was totally an accident.”
“Yeah. Sure.” He slaps me on the back. “Hope you had a good weekend, lady killer.”
“Aiden, come on, man.”
As he walks off, Natalia and the Triad are still babbling away at her locker.
This day is like something out of The Twilight Zone, I think, shaking my head at the ridiculousness of it all.
“It’s okay to be confused. Basic math does that to me all the time.” Brody nods at me from his locker across the hall.
I chuckle appreciatively. “It’s not math, just…life.”
“Oh, right. What about life exactly?”
“Aiden’s mad at me.”
Brody’s in a great mood for some reason. Acting like his old self. He comes over and leans against the wall near me.
“Look, I was thinking about this stuff with me and you,” he says. He shifts his books to his other arm. “I want to squash it, bro. It’s stupid. We’ve been friends way too long.”
I hesitate, but not long. “Me too. I’ve got no beef with you.” I think about coming clean now, about telling him about what happened with Natalia. But out of the corner of my eye, I see her heading down the hall with The Triad, and I decide I need to talk to her before I do anything stupid.
“See how easy that was?” Brody says. “I’m so reasonable it’s crazy.”
“If only Aiden will forgive me, we can get back to the way things used to be.”
“He’ll get over it, man. After all, if you and me can get past this shit, I’m sure that dude will forgive you. What’s he got his panties in a bunch about now?”
“I forgot to pick him up for school today.”
Brody laughs. “Are you serious?”
“Yeah.” I hang my head in shame.
“Dude lives two houses down from you!” He cackles even more and it turns into a laugh that builds in intensity. Next thing I know, we’re both laughing so hard we’re almost crying.
“I probably drove right by him while he was standing out there,” I gasp. Just picturing it sends us into a new round of hysterics.
Finally we get a hold of ourselves. Brody grows serious. “Look, dude. I just want you to know. No matter what, you’ll always be my boy.”
“Thanks man.”
We give each other a pound and then head to class.
And honestly, the whole thing’s making me really second-guess any ideas I had about making Natalia and me official. I mean, Brody’s my boy and Natalia just moved here. Not to mention that she’s finally starting to make friends, and now I’m going to screw it all up for her? I need to find a time to talk with her so we can figure all this out.
As cool as she is, as much as I’d like for us to be able to hang, I’m just not sure it’s going to work. Not now. Maybe not ever.
Chapter Seven
Natalia
So when I get to school on Monday, Raine’s waiting for me at my locker. Along with Becca and Teri. So not what I wanted to be dealing with first thing on a Monday morning. Actually, if I’m being honest, so not what I wanted to deal with, like, ever.
Especially after texting with Cam all last night. And especially after kissing him on Saturday. The thought of it makes warmth rush to my lips.
“Hey!” Raine yells, waving me over. “Natalia! Come here!”
I look around for Cam, since he promised he was going to be the one dealing with this, but he’s nowhere to be found. For a moment, I wonder if maybe he’s already told her, if now her and her friends are inviting me over so that they can kick my ass.
But when I get there, they’re still all smiles.
“So Becca was just talking about how we should all go get our hair cut after school,” she says, smiling. “Her aunt owns this, like, amazing spa.”
“Seriously, it’s amazing,” Teri agrees. “And she gives us whatever we want for ridiculously cheap.”
“Wow,” I say slowly, twirling the combination on my locker and trying to stall for time. “That does sound amazing.” It actually kind of doesn’t, since spas kind of intimidate me. Not that I’ve ever been to one. But from what I’ve seen on TV, they seem super ritzy.
“You can come,” Becca says, not really sounding that thrilled about it. Her hands are flying over her phone as she texts someone.
“Well, that’s really nice, you guys,” I say. I’m about to make up some excuse about why I can’t go when I see Cam walking down the hall. Our eyes meet, and sparks fly from mine to his. I know that sounds completely overdramatic, but it’s true. His eyebrows shoot up, questioning, like ‘what the hell are you doing talking to Raine?’ and I give him a look, like ‘no, don’t come over here.’
He needs to talk to Raine in private, and not while she’s standing at my locker.
Who knows what this girl’s going to do? If she decides to go postal, the last thing I want is to be in striking distance.
“So you’ll go then?” Teri asks. I realize I forgot to make up an excuse.
“Um, well… ”
“It’s settled!” Raine says, jumping up and down and clapping her hands. “We’ll meet you after school in front of the gym doors.” She reaches out and picks up a strand of my hair, turning it over in her fingers. She wrinkles her nose. “You are definitely getting highlights.”
And then the three of them are chattering away about the different kinds of highlights you can get, parti
al foil versus full foil, and how the regenerating facial is better than the cleansing one. I turn around to look for Cam, and when I spot him, he’s over on the other side of the junior hall, talking to Brody. Brody? What the fuck? I wonder if he’s telling him about what happened. But as I watch, the two of them are laughing away like old friends, and my heart sinks into my shoes.
“Come on,” Raine says, grabbing my hand. “Walk with us to homeroom.”
And before I can protest, she’s dragging me down the hall behind her.
***
I spend the morning hoping Cam will text me, even though I know it’s probably a ridiculous hope. He’s turning out to be an asshole, just like every other guy I’ve known.
I should have known better than to believe him when he said he would take care of everything. It’s obvious from the way he was acting with Brody that he has no intention of doing that.
At lunch, I fill my tray with salad and an apple from the lunch line, and then look around the cafeteria, having no idea where to sit. I see Raine over in the corner, holding court at her table, but she doesn’t see me. Brody’s not there yet, and neither is Cam, and besides, I really don’t want to be sitting with either one of them.
So when Adrianna yells, “Hey, Natalia! Over here!” I gratefully make my way through the caf and plunk down at the table, across from her and Chelsey.
“What’s up?” Adrianna says, “How was your weekend?”
“It was fine,” I say, opening up my Diet Coke and hoping she doesn’t ask for too many details. I have a feeling she’s not going to think it was the best idea that I was hanging out with Cam and Raine. And honestly, she’s probably right.
“Did you do anything fun?” Chelsey asks.
“Not really.” I shrug.
And then, out of nowhere, Raine stands up and starts screaming my name. Like, seriously screaming it across the cafeteria. “Natalia!” she yells, “Natalia, we’re sitting over here!” Becca and Teri look up from their cell phones, give me half- waves, and then go back to texting.
Adrianna and Chelsey’s mouths drop open in unison.
“Please tell me you didn’t become friends with Raine Marsden,” Adrianna says.
“She’s so super toxic,” Chelsey adds.
“I’m not friends with her,” I say, giving Raine a wave and pretending I can’t hear her, even though she’s screaming her face off. “We just hung out a little bit this weekend.”
“You just hung out a little bit this weekend?” Chelsey says. “You don’t just
‘hang out a little bit’ with Raine Marsden.”
“We did,” I say, shrugging like it was no big deal. “We just, you know, hung out and um, probably we won’t ever talk again.”
“Hi!” Raine says. I turn around and there she is, standing at the head of our table, looking perky. She sits down on the bench next to me, then reaches over and grabs a carrot off of my salad and pops it into her mouth. “How come you’re not sitting with us?”
“Um, I didn’t… I mean, I wasn’t – ”
“Are you avoiding Brody?” she asks. “After he kissed you?” I open my mouth to protest, but she rolls her eyes like there’s no use denying it. “You don’t have to worry.
He left school early today. Something to do with his older sister.”
“His older sister?” I repeat. Across the table, Chelsey and Adrianna’s mouths are practically on the floor.
“Yeah, she’s a total nut job,” Raine says, “Like, always in and out of rehabs and stuff. His parents are completely wrecked about it.” She helps herself to another carrot.
“Anyway, we’re cutting out to go to Taco Bell. You want to go with?”
“Um, no thanks,” I say, and resist the urge to ask her if Cam’s going, too. “I don’t think I should be getting in trouble on my second day of school.”
She shrugs. “Suit yourself. See you after school!” She flounces out, not once acknowledging Adrianna or Chelsey, who exchange a look after she’s gone.
“Okay, look,” Adrianna says carefully, “We hardly know you.”
“And you hardly know us,” Chelsey adds, “But you should know that Raine Marsden – “
“--- is not the kind of girl you want to be hanging out with,” Adrianna finishes.
“You guys,” I say, “Trust me, it’s fine. I’m not going to be hanging out with her.” Especially not after I kissed her boyfriend.
“All right,” Adrianna says skeptically, exchanging another one of those looks with Chelsey, “But don’t say we didn’t warn you.”
***
When the bell rings at the end of the day, I grab the books I need for my homework and think about how I’m going to get out of this whole spa excursion. I decide to just head home, and then text Raine later, claiming I was sick.
I rush outside to the student parking lot and am about to get in my mom’s car --which she let me borrow since she had the day off--when someone comes up to me from behind. Cam.
“Hi,” he says. He has on the same baseball hat from the other night, and his blue eyes look droopy and sexy. His face is a little scruffy, and he’s wearing jeans, a plain long-sleeved gray t-shirt, and scuffed up sneakers. He looks amazing, and I think again about how it felt to kiss him. But I’m pissed. Too pissed to let my hormones take over.
“Leaving,” I say, hitting the button on the key fob to unlock the car doors.
“Hey, wait,” he says, stepping in front of me. “What’s going on? You didn’t text me all day.”
“Ohh, no,” I say, “Don’t put this on me. You didn’t text me all day. And you weren’t in study hall.”
“I had a football meeting,” he says, “And no, I didn’t text you. Not after I saw you talking with Raine this morning.”
“Hmm,” I say, crossing my arms in front of me. “Was that before or after you and Brody become bosom buddies in front of his locker?”
“Did you just say ‘bosom buddies’?” he asks, the side of his lips tugging up into a grin.
“Don’t try to change the subject!” I say.
“Look,” he says, “I thought I’d wait for you to tell me how you wanted to handle things. I saw you with Raine, and then me and Brody made up, and I just thought… I don’t know, that it might not be the best idea for us to tell them.”
I can’t believe he just said that. He wants to have his cake and eat it too! It’s so typical, it’s almost sad. “Again, leaving,” I say, trying to step around him. But then I remember something. “Actually,” I say, “I’m not.”
“You’re not what?” Cam asks, looking confused.
“I’m not leaving. I’m going to the spa with Raine.”
“You’re going where with who?”
“You heard me,” I tell him. Ha! He’s not the only one who can have a bosom buddy. Or whatever they’re calling them these days.
I’m hoping to see his face crumple up with sadness, but instead, he’s looking over my shoulder, alarmed.
“What is it?” I ask him, whirling around. I half expect to see Raine and Brody walking across the parking lot together, maybe followed by Teri and Becca and some guys from the football team, ready to confront me and Cam about our kiss. But it’s not an angry mob I see. It’s just one person. One guy. Derek.
He’s loping across the lot, his long legs covering the distance between my car and his in about ten seconds. There’s nowhere to go. He’s already seen me. Cam steps in front of me, but Derek ignores him, his gaze landing squarely on me.
“Hey, Natalia,” he says, “Can I talk to you?”
Before I can answer, Cam takes a step forward. “No,” he says, and his tone sounds like a warning. “You can’t.”
RUMORED
(The Witches of Santa Anna, Book Three)
by Lauren Barnholdt & Aaron Gorvine
Copyright 2011, Lauren Barnholdt and Aaron Gorvine, all rights reserved This book is a work of fiction, and any resemblance to any persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental
Chapter One
Natalia
Derek looks at Cam like he can’t believe it. Honestly, I can’t really believe it either. I mean, Cam’s acting like I’m his property or something, telling Derek he can’t talk to me. Which is ridiculous given the big fight Cam and I just got into. Well, if you count Cam trying to talk to me and me telling him to leave me alone a big fight, which I do.
“Who says I can’t talk to her?” Derek asks, moving closer to Cam.
“I do,” Cam says. And then he takes another step.
“Relax, dude,” Derek says, holding his hands up in a gesture of surrender. “I just want to have a conversation with her, that’s all.”
“Right,” Cam says sarcastically, “She told me about the shit you did. Now get the fuck out of here.”
“Don’t stick up for me,” I say to Cam. “I don’t need it.” As much as I don’t want to talk to Derek, after what Cam did to me – kissing me on Saturday, then texting me last night and telling me how much he liked me and how he would take care of everything with Brody and Raine, then totally going back on it today – he doesn’t have the right to be sticking up for me. He’s just as bad as Derek.
Cam turns and looks at me, his eyes hurt, but he doesn’t say anything.
“You heard her, man,” Derek says, “She doesn’t need you.”
Cam glances at him, then back at me. He still looks hurt, and for I second, I want him to stick up for me. I want him to pull me close, to usher me into his car, to drive me away and kiss me the way he did on Saturday night.
“Natalia,” he says, “I’m not leaving you alone with this guy.”
My heart feels like it’s being torn in two. As much as I want him to stay, I know that when it comes down to it, thinking I can depend on Cam is just going to hurt more.
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