Protect My Heart

by Judy Corry

  “Here we are.” I pulled to the side of the road. We’d driven about ten miles out of town to where the grass grew tall and the leafy trees climbed their way up the mountain. “This is the path to the famous bridge our town was named after.”

  We all climbed out, and I reached in the bed of the truck for the picnic basket that Maya had packed for us.

  “Here, let me carry that for you,” Arie offered.

  “Thank you.” I handed the basket to him, our fingers brushing in the exchange.

  As Maya led the way into the woods, she explained, “I know you’re probably thinking there’s some awesome story with the bridge up ahead since our town was named after it and all”—she glanced back at Arie, who was a few steps behind her—“but I’m sorry to say that we don’t even know if there’s a story behind this place. We just think it’s a great site to see.”

  “Yeah,” I said, coming up beside Arie. “I guess we probably should have looked it up online or something before giving you this tour.” I frowned as I set my hands on my hips. “The trees around here must be maple trees. I’m not really sure.” Now that I thought about it, it was kind of embarrassing how unprepared we were for this excursion. Hopefully, Arie didn’t mind being taken on a tour by the least knowledgeable tour guides ever.

  Arie chuckled. “I can’t wait to see this famous landmark of yours that needs no special story to make it awesome.”

  We continued walking the dirt path a few more minutes until we came to the bridge. It wasn’t very big, just wide enough for two people to walk across together. The wood had grayed over the years, but it was still beautiful. Today, everything was covered in yellow and brown leaves. The river below shimmered in the afternoon sunlight peeking through the trees.

  Arie set the picnic basket on a rock nearby. “This is a beautiful area.” He stood with his hands in his pockets, pivoting around to fully take in the view.

  “It is,” I mused as I soaked in the sun. “I love coming out here when I need to get away from the noise in town.”

  “It is peaceful. I can see why you guys like it so much.” He looked sideways at me.

  “Come on, guys, let’s eat.” Maya was already across the bridge, motioning for us to join her in a spot shaded by trees. We all sat down in a circle on the tablecloth Maya had packed, and Arie placed the picnic basket in the center.

  “I hope you guys like peanut butter and jelly,” Maya said as she handed us our sandwiches. “We also have string cheese, chips, cookies, and apples—delicacies at my house.” She took the food out and spread it on the tablecloth. “Oh, and don’t forget the juice boxes.”

  I leaned over and mock-whispered to Arie, “Would you guess that Maya’s mom is a preschool teacher?”

  “That makes sense,” Arie said. “I do love juice boxes and string cheese.” He winked at us as he took two of each from the pile.

  “So Arie, what brings you to Maplebridge anyway? Have you always lived with your aunt and uncle?” Maya asked.

  Arie swallowed and took a sip from his juice box. “Actually, my mom sorta sent me here as a last resort.”

  My eyebrows arched. “A last resort?”

  “Yeah, after my dad died, I started hanging out with a rough crowd.” He shrugged. “After a couple of years of trying everything she could, my mom decided the best thing for me was to live with my aunt and uncle.”

  What? Arie was a troubled teen? “I never would have guessed that was your story in a million years,” I said, not knowing what else to say.

  “Well, I did take out my piercings and had my tattoos covered when I first got here.” He winked at me as he unwrapped a string cheese. “I try to make a good first impression.”

  Did he just wink at me? I quickly busied myself with putting the straw in my juice box, hoping he wouldn’t notice the blush rising to my cheeks.

  “Did you really have earrings?” Maya asked, leaning closer to get a better look at him. “It doesn’t look like you have holes in your ears.”

  “No, of course not.” He smiled, obviously enjoying teasing us. “You two are so gullible.”

  That was definitely true in my case. I was too trusting of people and had been burned by that fault too many times in the past.

  I wanted to ask him more about how his dad had died but decided against it since the conversation had already veered away from the subject. Plus, I probably didn’t know him well enough for him to divulge those kinds of details. I tried to imagine how I would feel if my dad died right now but shook the thought away. I didn’t even want to think about something so horrible.

  Once we finished our picnic, we walked back to the truck so we could get to our next destination before the sun went down. In the parking lot, we found a dark-blue sedan parked right next to my truck. It was so close I couldn’t open the driver’s-side door wide enough to climb in.

  “Nice parking job,” Maya said sarcastically.

  “For real.” I looked around to see who would be rude enough to park that close when there were about ten other parking spots free.

  “I guess we’ll all be climbing in through the passenger door this time,” I said as I tramped over to the other side of my truck. Once we were all in, I carefully backed out, half tempted to accidentally scratch along the side of the blue car. My conscience won out, though, and I made it out without damaging the vehicle. We pulled out of the parking lot and drove a little farther down the highway, taking a turn off the main road to go up the mountain.

  “Where are you taking me now?” Arie asked. “We’re not going to a secret hideout in the woods where you tie me up and leave, are we?”

  “Wow, it’s like you have ESP or something,” I said. “That’s exactly what we planned.”

  “Don’t worry, you won’t be tied up there for long. There are all kinds of bears and mountain lions in the area that come out at night to hunt their prey,” Maya added.

  “At least I got to see the famous bridge before I die,” Arie shrugged, resigning his fate to us.

  Maya scooted a little closer to Arie and placed her hand on his knee in a flirtatious manner. “Actually, we’re going to Duncan Hill—AKA Make-Out Point.”

  Arie’s eyes widened. “Are you serious?”

  “Dead serious,” I said. It was the truth.

  “Don’t you think it’s a little soon for that?” He leaned away from Maya. “I mean, you two are gorgeous, but we just met.”

  “You don’t have a girlfriend back home, do you?” Maya looked up at him with her big brown eyes.

  “Um, no.” He was backed up against the door now.

  “Then what’s holding you back?” Maya scooted even closer to him.

  From the look on Arie’s face, he was about to jump out of the truck.

  “Okay, Maya, I think that’s enough.” I laughed. “We’ve had our fun, and he passed the test.”

  Maya nudged Arie in the side and slid back to the center of the bench seat. “Sorry if I made you nervous. We like to make sure guys aren’t just with us because of our unearthly beauty.” She flipped her hair.

  I nodded. “We just wanted to take you up here to see the awesome view of the city before the sun sets.”

  Arie breathed a deep sigh of relief, and his shoulders relaxed. “You had me going there for a second.”

  We reached the scenic overlook a few minutes later and walked toward the cliff edge. I was afraid of heights, so I gripped the guardrail tightly.

  “This is it,” Maya said, gesturing to the view of our town below.

  “I can see why it’s called Make-Out Point.” He raised his eyebrows at us and smiled.

  I shrugged. “I imagine most people who come to make out don’t appreciate the view like we’re doing tonight.”

  “You’re right, Emma. The view isn’t nearly as fascinating in the dark.” Maya winked at me.

  Arie chuckled. “You sound as though you’ve been here before, Maya.”

  Maya smiled broadly up at Arie and batted her eyelashes. “Maybe, b
ut then again, maybe not. I’m not the type of girl who kisses and tells.”

  Arie turned to me. “What about you, Emma? Do you come here often?”

  “I, uh . . .” I hesitated, trying to find a way to be honest without sounding pathetic.

  “No, her standards are too high to come up here,” Maya answered for me. “She prefers more refined places like Ferris wheels and porch swings.” Maya pointed a finger at Arie. “So don’t press your luck. Many guys have tried, but not even Nick was able to get Emma to break her rule.”

  “Oh, um, uh . . .” Arie dug his hands into his pockets.

  I felt the color drain from my face and glared at Maya. Had she really said all that? She’d just made me sound like a total goody-goody. It wasn’t that I was averse to kissing. I enjoyed it as much as any other girl. I just knew making out in the backseat of a car often led to other things, and I didn’t want to give a guy the wrong idea.

  Maya’s cell phone rang.

  She pulled her phone from her back pocket and glanced at the screen. “It’s my mom. She’s probably freaking out over the date auction again.” She strode away with her phone to her ear, her feet crunching on the gravel as she went.

  “Sorry about that.” I fiddled with my bracelet while looking at Arie’s shoulder. “Maya says whatever comes to her mind.”

  “That’s okay.” Arie tilted his head to the side. “I can see it’s the way Maya is. She reminds me a lot of my sister.”

  “Really?” I said. “How old is your sister?”

  “She just turned nineteen.”

  “Oh, so you’re the baby of the family?” I asked. “So am I.”

  A confused look crossed his face. “No . . .” Then his expression changed. “I mean, yeah, I guess that would make me the baby of the family.”

  It was weird how he said that. Maybe being as close in age as they were, he’d seen himself as being the same age?

  Arie coughed, then pointed ahead of us. “That’s quite some sunset, isn’t it?” He scooted closer and leaned into the railing. The sun was falling behind the horizon now, turning the sky shades of orange, pink, and purple. Arie and I stood in silence for a moment, looking at the scene unraveling before us.

  It felt oddly intimate to be alone with him, watching the sun sink behind the mountains across the valley from us. I still didn’t know him well, so I wondered what he was thinking about—what he thought about Maya and whether he was starting to like her like she hoped. But then he’d said the whole thing about Maya reminding him of his sister, so that probably wasn’t a good sign for her.

  “Who’s Nick?” Arie turned toward me, his eyes squinting in the sunlight.

  I blew out a breath. “My ex. You know, the guy I was hiding from in the store.”

  “Ah. That guy.” He strummed his fingers on the guardrail for a moment. “Did you guys break up recently, then?”

  “I caught him and his now-girlfriend kissing a few months ago.”

  “Dang. That’s rough.”

  I turned away from the sunset and leaned back with my elbows on the railing. “I was headed to his house to surprise him after getting back from vacation. When I found him in the backseat of his car, all he could say was, ‘I thought you were supposed to get back tomorrow.’” I shook my head, remembering the moment and how betrayed I’d felt, how angry and hurt I’d been. “Even though Maya can sometimes get carried away with whatever comes out of her mouth, I’ve never been more thankful to have her with me than I was that night. She’d come to help me decorate his room as part of the surprise. Instead of leaving his carpet scattered with heart-shaped confetti, Maya left him with a good scolding, which I’m surprised didn’t make his ears bleed. Then I poured what was left of my soda all over him and his car . . . not my finest moment, really.”

  Arie smiled. “I hope his car upholstery was stained after that.”

  “It was.” I returned his smile, happy he saw my side of things. “I saw his car parked downtown a few weeks later, and there was still a red stain on the backseat. I figure it’s something he can remember me by.”

  It was then I noticed a dark-blue car driving slowly past the parking lot and down the road. It was going at the slow pace you’d expect a car to drive when the driver is lost or uncertain of where they’re going.

  Arie stiffened beside me.

  “Does that look like the same car we saw at the bridge?” I asked Arie. It was hard to tell in the dimming light, but it looked very similar.

  “I was wondering the same thing.” Arie scooted closer to me. I could have been imagining it, but there was almost something protective about the way he stood so close.

  We stayed silent for a moment as we watched the car make a U-turn on the road. When it turned into the parking lot, I couldn’t shake the feeling someone had followed us.

  CHAPTER NINE

  EMMA

  AS SOON AS the car pulled into the parking lot, Arie grabbed my arm with a firm hand. “Hurry, hide.” He pulled me away from the railing. We ran in a crouched position to hide in front of my truck, my heart racing.

  “What’s wrong? Why do we need to hide?”

  He didn’t seem to hear my question. My eyes searched his face, but all I saw was intense concentration as he peeked over the hood to watch the approaching vehicle.

  When the car pulled up next to the passenger side, Arie grabbed my arm again and pulled me onto the other side of the truck. We stood there, listening. I heard a car door open and then the crunching of feet on gravel as the footsteps approached. Then they stopped. I didn’t know what to do. Was something going on? Arie certainly seemed to think we could be in some sort of danger.

  I crept up to check whether I could see whoever it was through the window.

  I sighed and rolled my eyes.

  “It’s just Brian.” He was looking through the window, probably checking to see whether anyone was making out in there. He’d probably recognized my truck since it had my dad’s company’s name on it. Which meant he was checking to see whether I was making out in there. Gross. “He’s a kid from school.”

  Arie’s eyebrows squished together. “Brian? Have you known him long?”

  “He moved here about a year ago, I think. He’s a junior.”

  For some reason, that helped Arie relax a little. But why had he gotten so anxious in the first place? He’d said earlier that he’d hung out with a rough crowd back in New York. Maybe he had a lot of experience running from cops or other people, so hiding was a reflex?

  “Hey, Brian, what are you doing here?” I heard Maya’s footsteps on the gravel as she approached from the opposite side of the parking lot. “Have you seen Emma and Arie?”

  That was my cue to come out of hiding. I stood up the rest of the way and walked around the vehicle. Arie followed.

  “We’re here,” I called. “I dropped my bracelet earlier, and Arie was helping me find it.” I might as well help Arie save face for acting so weird a minute ago.

  “Sure you were.” Maya winked at me. Obviously implying we’d been more romantically occupied.

  I cringed inwardly, wanting to tell her she was totally wrong, but decided to shake it off. Maybe it would be good for Brian to think I was doing that. I turned to Brian. “So what are you doing up here? And why were you peeking in my truck?”

  Brian stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked down. “I was out for a drive, looking for something to do. I noticed the sunset and thought to stop here to get a better view of it.”

  Sure you were. But whatever, I wouldn’t call him out on it.

  Maya looked at the sky behind us and frowned. “It looks like we both missed the sunset, Brian.” She turned back to us and shrugged. “Would you like to join us at Kiki’s for ice cream?”

  “That would be great,” Brian said. He looked at me and smiled. “Their cookie-dough shakes are the best!” He cleared his throat. “Would one of you like to join me?” He glanced toward my truck, then back. “It looks like you’ve been pretty crowde
d in there.”

  I held up the keys. “I’m the one driving.” Thankfully.

  “I’ll stick with Emma, if you don’t mind,” Arie interjected. “I’ve already been informed about the mountain lions that come out to hunt their prey. It’s probably best they have one of us tough guys around to protect them.” His lips quirked up into a lopsided grin, showing off that dimple again.

  Brian seemed disappointed I wouldn’t be driving with him, but at Arie’s mention of him being tough he stood a little taller and puffed up his chest. “I think I heard about an attack last month. You better come with me, Maya.”

  Maya mouthed “help” to me. But I simply shrugged and smiled back. She was the one who invited Brian in the first place. She might as well be the one to keep him company while she was feeling generous.

  Maybe I was a mean friend, but since Arie didn’t want to drive down with Brian, there really was nothing I could do.

  During lunch on Monday, I couldn’t help but notice that Kathryn was glowing. She’d had her date with Conner Saturday night, and I really hoped she’d had a better time than I’d had that same evening. Getting ice cream with Brian had almost turned into a weird double date. Once we went into Kiki’s, Maya all but clung to Arie’s side, which left me to entertain Brian. It hadn’t been horrible, except Brian might have gotten the wrong impression. Because I sat and talked to him, he might think it’s okay to ask me out on a real date next time. And that was scary because he was sixteen now.

  “How was your date with Conner?” I asked Kathryn.

  “Ooh, yes! We need details!” Maya chimed in.

  A big smile swept across Kathryn’s face. “It was amazing!” she said. “We doubled with Troy, of course, and went up the mountain to watch a movie. They had a couch set up out there and everything.”

  I raised my eyebrows, impressed. “Wow! How did he work that?”

  “He hooked his laptop to a projector. I never would have even thought to do something like that. It was so fun!”

  Maya leaned forward over her lunch tray. “Did he kiss you?”