My Wish for You

by Destiny Webb

  We trudged up the stairs and I followed Sarah to our room. Three beds were placed in one large room with a door leading to a bathroom. The bed sitting next to the bathroom, the only one not right next to an exit, had Cassie’s things placed on it.

  I asked Sarah which bed she wanted and she picked the one closest to the door. I went over my bed, which was right under a window, and put my bags on it. Each bed was on a platform that had six drawers, and each had a nightstand with a lamp. I sat down on the floor and pulled my duffel bag to me. I sorted my clothes out and put them into the different drawers and put the books I had brought into one drawer of the nightstand.

  It was a tedious task and felt like it took a lot longer than it actually did. I was feeling nauseous again when Mom called everyone down for lunch. Grudgingly, I followed Sarah down to the big, open kitchen. Everyone was standing around. I saw the food and my stomach lurched.

  “Help yourselves, everyone,” Mom invited. No one needed further coercion than that. At her words, everyone grabbed a plate and piled on food. Mom stood back waiting for everyone to get theirs first. Seizing the opportunity to sneak off and get some more sleep, I stepped next to Mom.

  “Mom? I still feel sick. Would it be alright if I went and took a nap?” I asked pitifully.

  She looked worried as she put her hand on my forehead.

  “You’ve got a bit of a fever. Get some rest. I’ll save you something for later if you want.”

  “Thanks,” I smiled softly and she kissed my forehead.

  I was already groggy by the time I dragged my feet up the stairs and into the room. I crawled underneath the comforter and fell asleep quickly.

  ***

  There were whispers in the room as I pulled the covers off of my head.

  “Is she alright? She’s been asleep for over four hours.”

  “I’m not sure. Do you think we should wake her up?” Sarah quietly asked Brian. I groaned and they stopped talking.

  “I’m awake,” I mumbled, sitting up. I felt groggy and my head hurt a little, but other than that I felt better.

  “How are you feeling?” Sarah asked tentatively.

  “Fine…hungry.” My stomach grumbled. They both looked at me skeptically. “Seriously. I feel better. I want something to eat,” I reassured them.

  I got up and walked down the stairs. Brian started coughing and couldn’t seem to stop.

  “Are you okay?” I asked him loudly.

  “Yeah, yeah I’m alright.”

  When I got into the kitchen entryway, I saw someone slip out the back door. Instinct told me it was Sean.

  I washed my hands before piling some fruit and lunchmeat on a paper plate. Cautiously, they watched me as I ate, looking for some sign that I was going to get sick again, which, incidentally, I didn’t think was going to happen.

  “I’m not going to get sick again. Okay? So, stop looking at me like that.”

  Something in my face must have startled them, because they started talking animatedly about what I had missed while I was asleep. They were mostly filler stories, just something to talk about…none of it was really important. I let my mind drift into a dream-like state, a serene blankness. I was eating my last piece of watermelon when my attention was caught.

  “—driving me crazy. He wouldn’t stop asking us about you.”

  “What? Who?” I choked as I tried to swallow the piece whole.

  “Sean. Weren’t you listening? He kept ‘running into us’ and asking us if you were still asleep,” Sarah informed me.

  “Yeah, we finally had to tell him to back off and leave you alone,” Brian chuckled.

  I told myself that he was just being a friend and caring about my health. Yet, that small— well, large—defiant part of my brain kept reminding me that he wanted to talk to me badly. Sean must’ve been leaving the kitchen because he heard Brian coughing. I racked my brain for a way to avoid his fixation on talking things out.

  “Well, I’m off,” Brian announced, standing up.

  “Where to?” I asked.

  “Alisha’s.” Alisha was Cara’s little sister, a year younger than us, and Brian’s girlfriend of almost two years.

  “Can I get a ride?”

  “Why?”

  “To talk to Cara.”

  “Why?”

  “Girl stuff,” I snapped in a tone that made him realize that I wasn’t going to say anything more.

  “I guess,” he sighed.

  “Just let me go change,” I said, heading out of the kitchen.

  “Hurry up!” he called behind me.

  Quickly, I climbed the stairs and clambered into the room. I pulled out a pair of blue skinny jeans and changed into them, then picked up my purse and sent Cara a short message telling her that I’d be at her place soon. Rushed, I stumbled down the stairs and said goodbye to Sarah.

  Brian was waiting for me on the quad outside. I climbed on behind him and grabbed his sides. He wiggled out of my grip and laughed. I chuckled to myself. I’d forgotten that he was really ticklish. I placed my hands on his shoulders instead and he drove off. We swerved through the trees in silence. When we got there, I got off the quad and thanked Brian. He looked over at Cara expectantly.

  “She’s down by the back side of the lake…waiting for you, of course.” She pointed around to the back side of her cabin.

  “Thanks.” Brian drove off.

  “So…what happened?” she asked, her voice full of curiosity.

  “Sean kissed me,” I paused. My voice was controlled and calm. “And…I kissed him back.”

  “Ohmigod! This is amazing!”

  “It would be if he was planning on leaving her, which he is definitely not.”

  “Whoa, back up. Start from the beginning. Tell me everything.”

  So, I began to tell her everything. Every now and then she’d have a question, but for the most part she stayed quiet.

  “And then he stops me on the highway, after I puked my guts out, and he wants to talk about it…right then and there. He couldn’t wait until we got to the cabin. No, it had to be then. So, I just came out and asked if he’s gonna leave her. You know what he said?” I paused to swallow back tears that were surprising me. “No. He’s not leaving that lying, conniving, evil orca.”

  “I always thought she was really skinny.”

  “Cara, that’s not the point.”

  “Oh, yeah…sorry.”

  “It’s okay. I think I’m just gonna go home and crawl into a corner and sleep.”

  “How do you plan on doing that?”

  “Um…closing my eyes?”

  “Let me rephrase. How do you plan on getting back home?”

  I looked around, finding empty land except for Cara’s Jeep.

  “You’ll never find my keys.” Where was a magic carpet when you needed one?

  “Well, what do you suggest I do?” I questioned.

  “Well, I just happen to have a sexy little number that I found that would fit you perfectly.”

  “Cara. We’re not the same size.”

  “That’s not the point, Samantha.”

  “Then what is the point, Carolina?”

  “The point is that Sean will be here tonight,” she said mischievously.

  “Yeah, like I’d really stay here for him.”

  “You know you would,” she accused, and we laughed. “The task is to make him jealous.”

  “Like that’s possible,” I snorted. “You know as well as I do that Sean doesn’t get jealous.”

  “Most of the time.” She stared at me expectantly.

  “And even if he did, which could be pretty helpful, with whom would I make him jealous?”

  “There’s a certain person that I can think of that Tasha may or may not have slept with…a certain person that he may or may not like at all.”

  Then, it clicked. A certain gorgeous, blonde, always tan, Greek god popped into my head, and I thought I was going to be sick for, like, the billionth time.

  Chapter Six<
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  Blake Reade, all-star varsity quarterback. The kind of guy that was absolutely gorgeous, yet, the second he opened his mouth was an ugly, sort of repulsive ogre. The kind that manipulated young, naïve girls into going on dates with them before he zeroed in on them like they were his prey. Blake Reade was a class A jerk.

  I had been standing there talking, well more like flirting, for the longest hour of my life. He was already so drunk that all I had to do was stand there, look interested, and giggle. Of course, the shirt that Cara had gotten imported from France certainly helped. It was a silky, red something I would never be seen in normally, which gave me cleavage that normally wasn’t so developed. If Cara was good at one thing, it was fashion. She could find a piece of red silk that fit me perfectly and was a figure forming top that was clingy but flowy all at the same time.

  As he rambled on about Hollister and his favorite type of gum, his eyes kept flickering to my newly formed chest. He either wasn’t trying to hide the stares or he was just really bad at it. Why on Earth would Tasha ever fool around with him when she had Sean? At least Sean had an IQ higher than his age.

  “I’m headed for another. You want one?” he asked…again. He’d been consistently trying to get me drunk. I was about two sips into my first drink and startled at the change of conversation. My first instinct, which I sadly followed, was to giggle.

  Hoping it would buy me more time, I said yes. He didn’t even notice my cup was full. As he turned around and started to walk towards the kitchen, I turned to go look for Cara.

  I dumped my drink in a potted plant when I found her dancing with a guy that went to our school. I walked up and got in between them. He seemed to think that I wanted to dance until I pushed him away and tugged Cara away into a coat closet.

  “What?” she asked, astonished.

  “Do you realize what I’ve been through in the last hour?”

  “Has it really already been that—”

  “Not the point. We’ve spent an hour talking about Hollister and gum.”

  “That’s fascinating,” she said, preoccupied. She went to grab the door handle to leave.

  “Cara, I am going insane. If he says one more word about how Stride really is the longest lasting gum, I’ll strangle him. Plus, he’s so drunk. It’s disgusting.” I shuddered.

  “Oh Sam, it can’t be that awful. And even if it is, look at the bright side…Sean hasn’t looked at anyone else except you all night. He hasn’t even talked to anyone else.”

  “Yeah. Right,” I scoffed.

  “No, really…look!” She cracked open the door and I peeked out. Sean was glaring at Blake.

  “He’s been doing that all night?” I asked.

  “Yes, all night. Now, get out there and dance with Blake or something before it’s too late. You don’t have to say a word to him. Just go!”

  “Alright,” I said, stepping out of the door, laughing. “Wish me luck.”

  “Good luck,” she laughed and hit my arm playfully.

  We got out of the closet without being noticed by anyone except Sean, who looked straight at us as we laughed. I made my way back toward Blake and his friends. They were talking to a boy who didn’t go to our school. When I reached them I walked up behind Blake and put my hands around his waist. I tilted my head up and whispered into his ear.

  “Come dance with me,” I purred. He turned to look at me, shock in his eyes. Quite frankly, I was shocked too. I had never heard myself like that before. Pushing that thought from my mind, I pulled his hand and he followed me to the living room where everyone was dancing. The beat was hypnotic as it thumped through the speakers, into the ground, and up my legs.

  Slowly, I turned around to face Blake. He slid his arms around my waist and pulled me in. As he pulled me in even closer, I slipped my hands around his neck. Trying to avoid a potential kiss, I turned my face away from his and Sean came into view. His face screwed up with different emotions: disgust, loathing, longing, and pity were just a few of the ones I could pick out. Disgusted with myself, I pulled away from Blake.

  “Um…excuse me. I need to—I’m getting claustrophobic. I’ll be a minute.”

  I turned away from his confused face and walked down the hallway, looking for an empty room. To my dismay, I opened the first door only to find it occupied by a frisky couple fooling around. The next room was occupied by a fighting couple. Sighing, I hoped that the third time was a charm, and opened the last door.

  It was empty, thank goodness. Quickly, I walked inside and went to shut the door, but before I could get it closed all the way, it was pushed open. I turned around to find Blake standing in the doorway. He walked in and closed the door behind him, locking it. My heart started to race as I took a step back and he took one towards me.

  “Blake, what are you—?” He grabbed me roughly and bent down to kiss me. I put my hand up in time to intercept it.

  “You got the wrong message, Blake. I don’t want you like that.” I struggled against his hold on me to free myself, but failed.

  “Mm…you’re just playing hard to get. I know how you roll, remember?”

  “You do not know how I roll, jackass. Now. Let. Me. Go.” I growled through gritted teeth, tugging my arm again.

  He laughed.

  “You know what? I don’t think I will.” He grabbed my wrists and pinned them against the wall, forcing his mouth onto mine. The smell of alcohol was less faint than I thought it would be. I turned my head away and thrashed against him. He put my hands together in one hand and grabbed my face. Reproachfully, I stared at him for a short minute before I spit into his face.

  “Oh, I see. You like it rough.” He took his hand off my face and picked me up with it. He carried me over to the bed, his face buried in my neck. When I tried to scream, he covered my mouth yet again with his and thrust his tongue into it.

  I thrashed and kicked when he stopped at the edge of the bed. He threw me onto the bed and I tried to crawl away, screaming for help.

  “Oh, no, you don’t,” he chuckled, pulling me back towards him. He climbed onto the bed and then on top of me. His weight was too much for me to handle. I couldn’t move underneath him. He held my hands above my head as he undid my pants. I dug my nails into his hand in an attempt to distract him. When it didn’t work, I bit down onto his lip so hard I made him bleed.

  He swore and pulled his head away from mine. I stared at him, eyes full of hatred. He smiled and bent his head to me once again, gripping my hands even tighter. Once he had successfully gotten my jeans almost off, he started to work on getting my shirt off.

  Tears started to threaten as he squeezed my chest. I was struggling to get breath. My hope was dwindling. No one would be able to hear me scream over the bass of the music.

  I didn’t have enough strength to fight him off. He felt me stop fighting him and decided it was safe to move his mouth and explore.

  “That’s right. Just stay q—” He began to murmur into my collarbone. I screamed as loud as I could and prayed that someone would hear me. Blake quickly moved his free hand and covered my mouth and nose, suffocating me.

  “Gonna stay quiet this time?” he asked, contracting his hand. I nodded my head slowly. He took his hand off my nose, but left it on my mouth. He lowered his head to my ear and roughly whispered, “Well, since you don’t wanna play games, we might as well get on with it.”

  He removed his hand from my mouth and replaced it with his own mouth. His hand slid between us to the top of his pants, which he quickly undid. Two silent tears slipped down my cheeks and I tried to think of something else.

  The door slammed open and Blake looked up, startled. I seized the opportunity and shoved him off of me and onto the ground. He got up quickly and stormed out of the room. I pulled my pants up and looked to see who my savior was. My gratitude was quickly accompanied by an underlying anger.

  Chapter Seven

  “Excuse me. Think you were interrupting? I don’t recall an invitation being handed out.” Trying to sound
as pissed as I could, I could already feel myself regretting this conversation. Truthfully, I was incredibly grateful that Sean was there. I was scared to think of what might have happened if he hadn’t been.

  “From the way it sounded, I didn’t think an invitation was necessary.” His voice was hard and bitter.

  I laughed. “Oh great. On top of everything, I now have a stalker. Is this some kind of sick and twisted birthday present that I should get used to?”

  He looked at me for a moment as if he could kill me. Then, his expression changed into a smug and comfortable look that I didn’t like. It made him look like the pompous jerks that went to our school. Worse yet, it made him look like Blake.

  “Didn’t seem like you would’ve minded me stalking you last night.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I plastered on the best snob face I could fake. Years of drama class and watching the girls at school finally seemed to pay off. The malice rang crystal clear in my voice.

  “Don’t think I don’t know that you’re using him to get to me. Not that it bothers me; it makes you look a little more pathetic though.”

  “It’s amazing. I still don’t know what you’re talking about,” I lied through my gritted teeth. Anger pulsed through my veins strong and hot. I wanted to throw anything that was in arm’s length at him. I clenched my hands into fists to control myself.

  He took a step towards me and I moved backwards, bumping into the wall. He put his arm up on the wall, leaning against it. He leaned in as if he were going to kiss me. “Should I refresh your memory, or will you go running away like a little girl again?”

  I put my hand on his chest to put distance between us…nothing like the previous night. I wouldn’t let that happen again. “I’ll tell you what, I’m feeling generous. So, let’s not, but I’ll let you tell everyone that we did so they won’t feel so bad for you about the fact that you’re staying with a girl that cheats on you, all the time. Then you’d both be lying, spineless cheaters.”

  As soon as the words were out, I regretted them.

  “Sammy, is this how you want this to be?” Sean said, softer than before, looking to the floor and back up at me. He tried to hide his hurt behind a mask of bitterness.