by Komal Kant
“See this bridge we’re about to drive over?” Hadie asked, slowing down as we drove over a rickety wooden bridge that looked as though it might collapse at any given second. “Just a five minute walk through those trees is where the field party is on this weekend.”
I looked out the window to where Hadie was gesturing towards a bunch of trees just past the bridge. “There’s a field in the forest?” The geography of Statlen was making no sense to me.
“It’s not really a field; we just call it that,” Hadie said, speeding up as she continued down the road. “There was a fire a few years ago which burnt down a lot of trees. The ones closest to the road grew back, but the ones in the center of the forest never did.”
“Don’t you get caught by the police when you throw the parties?” I asked as Hadie pulled over on the side of the road. “I mean, it’s pretty close to the road.”
“Sometimes you do, but mostly you get away with them. The parties are usually a hit and miss.” Hadie turned her chestnut brown eyes onto me. “So, you up for a hike?”
I frowned as she started to get out of the car. With all honesty, I wasn’t sure if I was. I’d gotten pretty out of shape ever since I’d dropped out of the football team in sophomore year. My body had remained the same because I’d continued training a couple days a week, but I was no longer in top physical form.
“Where are we going?” I asked, following her through the trees.
“Somewhere nice.” She glanced over her shoulder with promise in her eyes.
Chapter Eleven
Hadie
I had no intention of telling Lincoln where we were going. I wanted to surprise him because where I was taking him was a pretty special place. I wasn’t the only one who knew about this haven, but when your town was only populated by fifteen thousand people, you didn’t have to worry about sharing with a lot of people.
Besides, I was struggling to find something to say that didn’t make me sound like a complete dork. After the moment we’d just shared, singing without inhibitions, it was hard to think of something to say. No one had ever made me feel like that or been able to make me come out of my shell so fast.
Honestly, being stupid in that moment with Lincoln had made me forget about the jerk that’d broken my heart. I’d actually been happy. I don’t know what it was about Lincoln, but he wasn’t what I’d expected. He’d spent the entire week alone on the field and despite several attempts made by the “popular kids”, he still hadn’t joined their group.
He was a complete mystery and he had me completely intrigued.
There was a well-trodden path that led to where we were going, but even without it, I’d still know my way. I’d been here too many times, spent too many summers sitting beneath the trees with a book in my hand and getting lost within the pages.
As I paused to brush aside a low-hanging branch, I heard Lincoln huffing from behind me. It was surprising that a guy like him couldn’t keep up with me—I was definitely not the athletic type—but I guess that city lifestyle had pampered him too much. Only the wealthy residents of Jackson Heights were used to that sort of living. The rest of us were usually lost in our simple existences.
“You’re not taking me out here to murder me, are you?” Lincoln asked, sounding out of breath.
I stopped. We had reached the edge of the forest on this side. I turned to grin at him. “Well, you might think that you died and went to Heaven.”
I stepped through the last few trees and broke into the small clearing of the lake. The light was still streaming through the opening in the canopy as though the Heavens had opened up and were shining through. In fall, the forest transformed into an otherworldly beauty; the shrubs and plants changed to vivid reds, yellows, and oranges. This entire area was on a slope and we were standing on the higher bank of the lake. Tall reeds grew unevenly around the edge, and the large Basswood trees, with their yellow fall leaves, enclosed the area. A silence hung in the air; the kind of silence that inspired you because it was so peaceful and soothing.
“This is incredible,” Lincoln breathed from beside me.
“I know. I always come here to get away from everything.”
With a wistful glance at the shining lake, I walked over to where a large flat rock lay on the ground. I sat down and Lincoln joined me, stretching his long legs out in front of him.
We sat in a comfortable silence as I watched Lincoln’s eyes dart around the lake, absorbing every little thing. I imagined it was a huge shock for him to be in such a natural, undisturbed environment. Honestly, I would have this any day over living in a big city where it was probably so noisy that I wouldn’t be able to hear myself think.
I lay back on the rock, stretching my body out and letting my muscles relax as I closed my eyes and listened to the sounds around me. A few seconds later, Lincoln shifted around and I turned my head to see that he had reclined beside me.
“I bet you don’t have anything like this in New York, huh?” I finally asked.
“Unless you count the fountain in Central Park then, no, we have nothing like it. This was what I left New York for,” he murmured, eyes half-closed. “This was what I was looking for.”
“You…left? I thought you said something about your dad…”
His azure eyes locked with mine and I couldn’t help admiring the perfection of his face. His features were in absolute symmetry and his piercing eyes just added to his clean-cut looks.
“I lied. We came here because of me; because I wanted to. I had to get away from New York, Hadie. I couldn’t stay there anymore.”
His admission surprised me. What could be bad enough for a seventeen-year-old to convince his family to just up and leave to a new state, a new town, a new life? Was he into drugs? Did he get into some kind of trouble? Had he hung out with the wrong crowd?
“Why did you have to leave?” I propped myself up on an elbow, grazing my skin against the rock, so I could get a better look at him.
Lincoln gave me a twisted smile and I could tell that whatever it was was tormenting him. “Let’s just say it’s something bad enough for me to tell you to stay away from me. I’m no good for you, Hadie. I’m only going to screw up your life. I mean, damn, I shouldn’t even be out here with you. I’m supposed to be staying away from people. If my parents knew, they’d kill me…”
His words annoyed me. “Let me decide for myself if you’re any good for me. And please don’t give me this whole “I’m no good for you crap”. What are you, a vampire or something? I’ll make up my own mind about who I want to spend my time with.”
Lincoln’s smile became teasing and his features softened. “Hadie Swinton, did you just admit that you want to spend time with me? Don’t say it too loud, someone might hear you.”
I laughed and punched him on the arm. “It’s still a work-in-progress. I might want to strangle you tomorrow.”
“What?” Lincoln caught my hand, his face turning serious. “What did you just say to me?”
My insides clenched up at his tone and my heartbeat accelerated. I was out here all by myself with a boy I barely knew. A boy who’d told me himself that I should stay away from him. My parents would be so proud. Obviously I had totally missed that lecture when they’d warned me never to get into cars with strangers.
Oh my God. What if he was a serial rapist or worse? What was worse than a rapist? Well, whatever it was, I didn’t want to stick around to find out.
He didn’t know this area the way I did. Actually, he didn’t know it at all. Maybe if I could just make it to the safety of the trees, I could lose him in the forest. Then I could backtrack to my car and…
Cue rambling as a tool of distraction. “Uh…this is a nice place, isn’t it? I really like the grass and this rock is pretty neat too. Those trees are a good color, aren’t they? Yellow. It’s so mellow. Yes, what a great color for a tree to be…”
Lincoln’s eyebrows rose. “Hadie, you’re doing that thing again where you go on and on about irrelevant topics. T
hat annoys me, and do you know what I do to people who annoy me?”
Sever them from limb to limb and then scatter their body parts around the country? Scar and disfigure their face until they became unrecognizable? The possibilities were endless.
This was it. He was going to make me disappear off the face of the planet. I was a goner. I was done for. I couldn’t let him win without a fight. I had to protect myself somehow.
As I glanced around for something to defend myself with, Lincoln stood up and pulled me to my feet. I screamed as he grabbed me around the waist and dragged me towards the lake, my feet digging into the ground as I tried to free myself.
His hold on me was vice-like, and I tried to tear myself away by hitting him repeatedly on the arm with my free hand in hopes that he would let me go.
Fat chance. I was a petite 5’0 and Lincoln was taller, bigger and stronger than I was. And he was laughing. Wow, he really was psychotic and deranged. The laugh was probably a maniacal one.
Except…it didn’t sound very maniacal. It actually made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Oh, lord. I was about to die and I was feeling warm and fuzzy. Seriously, was I a normal person in any aspect?
“Hadie, you’re only making it worse,” he said, picking me up in his arms.
Fear raced through me as we made eye contact, and then the fear faded quickly. The look in Lincoln’s eyes was bright and sincere. All of a sudden I felt like a first-class moron. He was going to throw me in the lake, not kill me!
Wait…what! No! I didn’t want to go in the lake either!
“Lincoln, stop!” was all I managed to shout before my body hit the water. The impact sent a shock through my entire body.
The water seeped into my clothes, my shoes and my nose. And it was cold. Swimming in the lake on a cool day was not ideal. I fought to regain my composure amongst the dark water swirling around me, and a plan formulated in my mind.
Lincoln Bracks was going to get played big time.
I propelled myself upwards with a few kicks and my head broke the surface of the lake. Lincoln was standing by the edge laughing at me. Well, he wouldn’t be laughing for much longer.
I gasped for air and began flailing around wildly, letting my arms hit the water at weird angles. “Lincoln, help! I-I don’t know how to swim!” I ducked my head below the water and waved my arms around again.
When I came up for air, the laughter had subsided and all I heard was a loud splash as Lincoln dove into the water.
Ha! Sucker!
I’d learnt how to swim in the first place by being thrown into a lake. It was how everyone learnt to swim around here. City boy was in for a big surprise.
I watched as Lincoln cut through the water towards me. He wasn’t the best swimmer—he was a little slow—and his strokes were weak, but it was sweet that he was coming to save me. Even though he was the one who’d thrown me in in the first place.
When he reached me, I pretended to splutter and choke. “Save me,” I said in a weak voice, trying my hardest not to smile at the worried look on his face.
“Dammit, Hadie, I’m so sorry!” He sounded panicked as he reached for me. “Hold onto my arm and I’ll take you back.”
Still spluttering, I grabbed his arm and allowed him to swim awkwardly back to shore. The process was long and tiresome, but we finally made it. Lincoln grabbed me around the waist again and pushed me onto the bank and then started climbing out after me.
When I turned around, I saw that he looked tired and was out of breath again. I grabbed ahold of both his arms. “Do you want to know what I do to people who annoy me?”
The moment he glanced up, I shoved him right back into the water. He hadn’t expected it at all and he hit the water heavily, waves erupting around him as he fell back.
When his head broke the surface of the water, I doubled over in laughter at the look on his face. He looked like he wanted to kill me, but also like he was trying not to laugh himself. Finally, he settled on an annoyed smile.
“You don’t know how to swim, huh?”
He started to get out again so I took a few steps back just in case he decided to throw me in again. “You should’ve seen the look on your face! Priceless!”
Then I froze as my eyes landed on Lincoln’s upper body. His shirt was wet and clung to his muscles like a second skin. The white fabric was practically see-through now, and what I saw made my body flush hot and cold.
The taut muscles on his stomach pushed through the material, each ripple outlined through the wet material. The sleeves of his shirt hugged onto the large muscles on his arms, and as he moved towards me, they flexed and tightened with each movement.
Holy hell.
My parents had warned me about the dangers of strangers, but not at all about how dangerous hot boys could be. Because there was a feeling erupting in the pit of my stomach, and I wasn’t too sure if it was something I wanted to feel so soon after my disastrous relationship with Bennett.
Thankfully, Lincoln shook himself just then and sent droplets of water flying everywhere, including on me. “Oh, yeah? And what about you? When I picked you up, you looked like you were about to have a heart attack! What did you think I was going to do? Dismember you or something?”
“Of course not!” I lied, pointedly looking at his face and not his upper body. Never mind that he was spot on about my former thoughts, but he didn’t need to know about my over-active imagination. How mortifying would that be?
“And why did you throw me in anyway?” I tried to look mad, but I knew I was failing from the way Lincoln was grinning at me.
“Because you need to loosen up, Hadie. You take things way too seriously.”
Mariah and Lana were always accusing me of being a royal bore and were always telling me to loosen up, but I’d always thought they were exaggerating. Maybe I really was boring and uptight.
“I can be loose if I want to be,” I said adamantly.
Oh. No. That had come out sounding completely wrong.
My face heated up as Lincoln laughed. “Wow, I never thought I’d hear those words coming out of your mouth. Maybe I misjudged you after all.”
Oh, shame. Double shame.
I really needed to learn how to speak like a normal person when I was around Lincoln.
We were both shivering from the cold, so we headed back into the woods and to my car, neither of us saying anything. This time, though, I didn’t lead the way; we walked side by side.
When I dared to sneak a peek at him, there was a twinkle in his eyes that made me smile. He’d been alone all week, avoiding contact with everyone, that it was finally nice to see the real Lincoln.
What was even better was that I was the one who’d gotten a chance to see the real Lincoln.
Chapter Twelve
Lincoln
“So, Hades, where are we going this afternoon?”
Hadie turned her head, eyes wide and face flushed when she caught sight of me. She looked so darn cute that I wanted to…wait, I shouldn’t want to do anything to her. Hadie was strictly off bounds.
“W-what?” she asked, pointedly avoiding the looks that her friends were giving her.
It was lunch, and after tossing up whether or not to go over and talk to Hadie, I’d finally given in and walked over to where she always sat with her friends. The four of them were stretched out on the grass, deep in conversation, and hadn’t noticed me approaching from the side.
It’d been a little over a week since I’d spent the afternoon at the lake with Hadie, and since then I’d kept my distance from her. We’d gotten too close that day, and I’d needed some time away from her to remind myself the reason why I was here. I felt better in control of myself, so I figured spending a couple of hours with her couldn’t hurt.
I was pretty sure Hadie thought I was a psycho from the way I’d avoided her, but she’d kept her distance too and hadn’t thrown herself at me or tried to get me to hang out with her again. I could tell she was holding back, just like I was.
“Um...” Hadie spluttered and stared at me open-mouthed. “Maybe we could get something to eat?”
For some reason, her answer made my insides smile too. For a second, I’d been afraid she’d turn me down, but I was glad she’d taken up the offer. I wasn’t going to lie and say that I didn’t want to spend time with her. I did, really, but I knew it was something I shouldn’t be doing. I’d told myself that I wouldn’t get close to anyone, yet here I was wanting to spend more time with Hadie.
What the hell was wrong with me?
Despite all the thoughts running through my mind, I found myself nodding. “Meet you out front after school?”
“Sure,” Hadie said, and flashed me a smile that had me quickly walking off in the opposite direction.
If she found my sudden departure rude it was probably for the best. I didn’t like these feelings that stirred within me whenever I was around her, yet I wanted to get closer to her. She was so different from the girls I’d known in New York, from any girl I’d ever known.
I wasn’t going to lie to myself; I had never felt this way about a girl before. Ever. And that scared me more than I cared to admit.
The rest of the day dragged by slowly, and I kept checking my phone to see if time had made any progress. Why was it that when you were looking forward to something, it seemed to take forever to happen, but when you wanted a moment to last forever it flew by?
When the bell finally rang at 3:30, I bolted out of my American History class like death was after me. By the time I got to the front gate, Hadie was already there. I couldn’t help but stop and admire her. She always dressed plain and simple—today it was a pair of jeans and a dark blue sweater that hung loose around her small frame.
I knew it was cold, but it just seemed like she was trying to hide herself beneath baggy clothes. Still, I liked how she didn’t go out of her way to impress anyone. She was just herself—she was real.