by Kimbra Swain
“Do you have any other questions?” my phone asked.
“No, thanks,” I replied.
“You are very welcome,” it replied.
Isaac waved at me from the table where several of my friends had gathered. It wasn’t our normal table. Isaac Denton had joined our group this semester. We met him here at trivia night. He played baseball for the Stonehill Demons. We didn’t expect him to be here next year. He already had offers at the bigger colleges. He barely passed his classes, but he was a trivia master.
“Hiya, Lacey,” he said, as I took off my jacket. “You look great.”
I looked down at my outfit. For some reason, I had the urge to dress it up a little tonight. Tight jeggings and a lace shirt with a white tank underneath. It was a deviation from my normal jean casual.
“She looks hot!” Grant Camden said behind me.
“That’s disrespectful,” Zuri Roberts informed him. I had seen them arrive together before, but I wondered if they had done the same today. Maybe there was something going on there.
“Oh, shit,” Isaac muttered.
“What is it?” I asked.
He jerked me toward him and kissed me on the cheek. I turned five hundred shades of red. “Isaac,” I hissed pushing away from him.
“Whitney Reeves just saw me from across the room. I can’t deal with her tonight,” he said, leaning into my ear like he was whispering something important.
“Oh, so I’m the replacement?” I asked.
“Please, play along, Lacey. Please, please!” he begged. It was cute.
I rolled my eyes and agreed. “Alright, but damn, tell the girl to go away.”
“I have. I think I need a restraining order,” he said, pulling out the chair next to him. “It won’t be so bad to have me as a boyfriend for the night, will it?”
“Whatever. Just don’t get handsy with me. We have trivia to win,” I said.
“I love you, Lacey Ashcraft,” he exclaimed louder than he needed.
“Isaac,” I growled. He laughed at my discomfort. Then, slipped his arm around me. I looked up from my predicament to see that our normal table had two familiar faces. Braxton and Shawnna sat with a group of her sorority sisters. “They took our table.”
“Yeah, wenches,” Grant said.
“Disrespectful,” Zuri said.
“Can I not say anything negative about women?” he asked her.
“Why would you want to?” she replied.
I giggled at their conversation. They were definitely sleeping together. I could see it now. Isaac leaned into my ear.
“How long have they been together?” he asked.
I turned my head from them and replied, “I’m not sure, but it’s obvious now.”
“Isn’t that against group rules?” he asked.
“We are dating,” I said with a smile. “Even if it’s just one night.”
“I think we’d get a pass,” he said.
“So, we give them one too. I think it’s unusual that more of us haven’t experimented,” I mused.
“Really? Who are you thinking about experimenting with? Me? Please say me,” he joked.
“No one. I just imagined it would have happened before now,” I replied.
The announcer said that it was almost time to get started. Marley came rushing in, taking the seat between me and Zuri.
“Sorry! Hot date!” she said.
“Culpepper?” I asked.
“No, his student assistant, Blake,” she replied. “Culpepper cancelled on me.”
“What’s his last name?” I asked.
“Who? Blake? I dunno. It was a one-time thing. I don’t need to know details,” she replied with a satisfied grin.
“I hope you were safe,” I muttered.
“Yes, Mom, we used protection,” she said. “What’s with you and Denton?” She nodded to his arm which was still behind my shoulders.
“Whitney, the stalker, is here. I’m the deterrent,” I replied.
“Nice. You could kiss him to really emphasize it,” Marley suggested.
“Yes! I think that’s a great idea,” Isaac said. I elbowed him. “Ow!”
“No,” I said simply. The announcer repeated the rules that we had heard every week since we started playing trivia at the pub. “Where is Dakota? Did he get a new job? He looked tired today.”
“I dunno. I haven’t talked to him,” Zuri said.
“He called me and said he wasn’t coming,” Grant informed us.
“Did he say why?” I asked.
“No, and I didn’t pry,” Grant said.
I remembered the red eyes from this morning and wondered how much he was pushing himself. Tomorrow, I had Geology with him. I’d talk to him there and see if he needed any help. I hated to see him so run down. Of all the group, I had three classes with Dakota, and zero with any of the others.
“What about Harper?” Isaac asked.
“She was studying tonight,” Marley replied.
“I’d like to get under her panties,” Isaac said. I elbowed him again. Zuri scowled.
“One of these days I’m going to find a mature man who doesn’t make such sexist statements,” Zuri said.
Isaac and Grant said in unison, “Good luck!”
Marley and I had to laugh because I had to admit of the guys I had known, the ones in our group were pretty good guys comparatively. Isaac scooted closer to me, and his fingers flexed around my shoulder.
“I think that’s enough,” I said.
“Not nearly,” he said nodding across the room. Brax leered at us with hatred. Crap. He didn’t know it was a joke.
“He’s going to be pissed,” I said.
“We will explain it later,” Isaac said. “Let him think what he wants for now. Besides he has Shawnna.”
Shawnna. The woman he didn’t love and didn’t want to marry. From the looks of it, he had made his decision. Brax was going to marry her anyway to keep his father’s fortune. I felt bad for him, but it didn’t explain the leer he was giving me. I shifted in my seat uncomfortably.
“I’m going to the ladies’ room before it starts,” I said.
“You better hurry. We need you to win!” Grant exclaimed.
“I’ll be back,” I replied.
I hurried to the bathroom to take a breath from Brax’s stare. But of course, there was a line to get into the bathroom. Brax stomped around the corner and drew the attention of every woman in line. Except mine, I tried to turn my back on him.
“Lacey, come here,” he hissed.
One of the women spoke up. “Hey, you brute. Say please,” she suggested.
“Lacey, please, may I talk to you?” he requested. I rolled my eyes, moving out of the line to speak to him.
He grabbed my arm and guided me around the corner. “Let me go!” I said, jerking away from him. “What is your deal?”
“My deal is you hooking up with Isaac. You could have told me that this afternoon!” he said.
“I thought you didn’t love her, but here you are with her,” I replied.
“I don’t love her. She dragged me down here. We didn’t have a chance to talk. There is no way in hell there is enough money on this earth for me to marry that woman,” he explained.
“Oh,” I said. “Well, Whitney, Isaac’s stalker, is here. I’m the pretend girlfriend to keep her away from him.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah, so.”
“I’m sorry. I’m just miserable with her. I can’t believe she took our table. I met her here and they were already at the table. Please tell everyone that I’m sorry. It won’t happen again because we are going to break up,” Brax assured me.
“Are you sure that is what you want?” I asked.
“I’m positive,” he replied.
“I swear there is nothing going on with me and Isaac, but I think that Grant and Zuri are hitting it,” I said.
“I suspected they were. I saw them last week at The Grind together. In a booth. In the same side!”
“Well, t
hat secures it,” I teased.
“Stop, Lacey,” he blushed. How adorable. I don’t think I’d ever seen him blush. He was vulnerable right now, and I needed to be aware of that. I didn’t want this friendship to get out of hand. I didn’t want to be a rebound girl either. “If Isaac gets drunk, be careful.”
“I’ve seen him drunk. It’s no big deal. Hey, have you talked to Dakota?” I asked.
“No, but I noticed he wasn’t here.”
“I’ll check on him in Geology tomorrow.”
“Alright. I am really sorry, Lacey.”
“We are good, Brax,” I assured him.
After five minutes of waiting for my turn in the restroom, I returned to the table with my fake boyfriend and everyone else. I watched as Brax returned to Shawnna who pawed him like he was a scratching post. He sat rigidly as she touched him with her sparkling nails. I’d never hated Shawnna. She was what she was. But as I watched her torture him, my dislike of her grew exponentially.
“No arguing. It’s the least I can do,” Isaac said. “See you guys later.” He waved at Grant and Zuri who were taking Marley home.
“I can just ride the bus. I don’t know what the big deal is everyone trying to chauffeur me around,” I huffed.
“Who else is driving you home? I’ll kick his ass,” Isaac said with a laugh.
“No one,” I said, as he opened the door to his white Toyota 4Runner. I climbed inside as he shut the door for me.
When he got inside, the light hit the edges of his face, and I remembered the first time I ever saw him in Cheater’s bar. It was a pool hall, and he was leaning over a table about to make a shot on the eight ball. He missed, and his cheeks lit up like a Christmas tree. When he saw me with Zuri, he put down his stick and waltzed right up to us. We could immediately tell he was a flirt. I went home alone that night, but Zuri didn’t.
“Seriously, who has been driving you around?” he asked.
“Just Brax this afternoon. We met for coffee,” I replied.
“Brax. Like might as well be married, Brax?”
“Yes. We are friends. In fact, out of all of you, I met him first,” I said.
“How did that go down?” he asked.
“He didn’t go home with my friend,” I shot back. Suddenly, I was in a foul mood.
“If it makes you feel any better, I chose poorly,” he said, mocking the knight from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
“I’m not jealous, Isaac,” I said.
“No? Sounded like it.”
“I’m just tired, I suppose,” I replied.
He drove for a while without saying a word. Several times he opened his mouth to speak, but he closed it without saying a word. When we pulled into the driveway at my Aunt’s old Victorian, he finally let out a long sigh.
“This was fun,” he said flippantly.
“Yeah,” I replied.
“No, you are supposed to say, ‘why don’t we do it again sometime’.”
“Heh. I will gladly pose as your fake girlfriend anytime.”
He sighed again. “Yeah, sure. I’ll give you a call. Want me to walk you to the door?”
“No, you have been more than chivalrous by driving me home. Thanks, Isaac,” I said.
“Sure thing. Anytime.”
I climbed out of the SUV and made my way to the door of the house. When I looked back, he waved. I gave him a little wave before slipping inside.
“What kind of young man doesn’t walk a young woman to the door?” my aunt asked, startling me.
“Aunt Clara! I didn’t know you were there,” I said, holding my hand over my pounding heart.
“Sorry. Which one is he?” she asked.
“Isaac is the baseball player.” I’d given my friends names based on who they were. Aunt Clara remembered them better by what defined them.
“Ah, baseball uniforms are so sexy,” she said.
“Aunt Clara!” I exclaimed.
“What? I’m old. Not blind! Well, mostly not blind,” she said with a laugh.
Outside the screeching of tires and the loud honking of a horn caught our attention. Then, an ominous crunching sound.
“Oh, no!” I said, running to the door. Swinging it open so hard that it almost flew off the hinges, the old door groaned in disapproval of my swift actions. “Isaac!”
As I looked down the road, I could see his white 4 Runner on its side. Another car sat nearby with a smashed hood. My Aunt moved up behind me.
“Oh, my stars! I’ll call an ambulance,” she told me.
I rushed out of the door toward his overturned vehicle. Skidding to a halt, I noticed that the windshield was busted out of the SUV and Isaac was still inside. I rushed up to the vehicle, reaching through the windshield to feel for a pulse.
“Isaac, you ass, wake up!” I said, giving him a little shake. He didn’t have any visible injuries, but his pulse was faint. Then I realized he wasn’t breathing. “No, no. Isaac!”
I yanked on his seatbelt, and it loosened so that I could drag him out of the car which probably wasn’t the best idea. Laying him flat on the ground, I still felt no breath. Something inside of me called forth the wind spell. I shoved that thought down. It wasn’t the time to try some frivolous magic to save his life. Ajax’s warning echoed in my ears.
“Isaac, please don’t die,” I begged. “That’s not going to help.” Great. Now I was talking to myself out loud.
Quickly, I looked around me. The other car sat against the curb with a smoking front end. No one was inside. I searched around but couldn’t find anyone.
Giving in to the voice inside of me, I opened my hand. “Circulus elementum.” The swirling purple circle appeared above my palm. I focused on the wind symbol. I paused as I thought about Ajax’s symbol, but I doubted he would help save my friend. I could only think about muggles and not using magic around humans. This wasn’t Harry Potter though.
The wind symbol pulsed, and I imagined it with the puff of wind spell I’d used on Shawnna. Wind flowed from the swirling circle without me commanding it. I felt like the magic was showing me what to do.
“What in the world?” I mumbled as the wind rune settled over Isaac’s chest which began to slowly rise and fall. “Isaac, can you hear me?” My voice had turned to a whimper.
When his eyes fluttered, the circle and symbol faded. “Lacey?” he questioned.
“Shh! Don’t move. An ambulance is coming,” I said.
“I didn’t see the car until it was too late,” he muttered.
“Everything is going to be fine.” I tried to reassure him even though my hands were shaking with fear and adrenaline. He groaned and held his side.
“You won’t leave me. Please, don’t leave, Lacey,” he begged.
I brushed his dark hair on his forehead with my fingertips. “I promise. I’ll stay with you.”
The EMTs arrived and after some coaxing by Isaac, they allowed me to ride with him to the hospital. I grabbed my cell phone from my Aunt’s house and told her I was going with him. She insisted that I should, which surprised me.
When we got to the hospital, they refused to let me in to see him as the doctors checked his injuries. Standing in the middle of a virus infested emergency waiting room wasn’t my idea of a good time. Isaac had better be alright. But it wasn’t long before a nurse appeared.
“Excuse me. Are you Isaac Denton’s fiancé?” she asked.
“Um, well,” I stuttered.
“He told me that you haven’t announced it to anyone yet. I promise not to tell. Do you want to go back and see him?” she asked.
I nodded dumbfoundedly. She hooked a plastic card to my shirt that said, “Family Member,” then dragged me through two double doors leading into the main nursing area. She ushered me past the chatty nurses, then around a corner to a curtain which was pulled back for privacy.
“Go ahead. He’s behind there,” she said, pushing me toward the curtain.
Slowly, I pulled back the curtain to see Isaac leaning back in the b
ed. His handsome face was covered in tiny cuts and had purpling bruising down the right side.
“Hey, beautiful,” he said, reaching for me.
“Isaac, are you okay?” I asked, taking his hand.
“I told them we were engaged. I didn’t want to be alone,” he replied. “I know I’m a big baby, but I’m a long way from home. You’ve always been like family to me.”
“I’ll play along for now, because I was worried,” I said. “What did the doctors say?”
“Looks like some bruised ribs, and of course, my perfectly chiseled face is damaged, but I’ll survive,” he said with a devilish grin. “One of the EMTs said you pulled me out of the truck.”
“I did, but maybe that was the wrong thing to do,” I muttered.
“Why? He said you did CPR because I wasn’t breathing.”
“Um, yeah.”
“So, your lips were on mine and I was unconscious?” His face twisted with disappointment.
“Isaac, be serious,” I scolded him.
“I am, actually. Thank you, Lacey.”
“I was scared I’d make it worse by pulling you out,” I conceded.
“No. I’m convinced you are my guardian angel.”
Feeling uncomfortable about the lie I’d just told, I decided to switch the subject. “Is there anyone you want me to call?”
“You haven’t called any of our friends?” he asked.
“No. Should I? I just didn’t know who all you would want to tell.”
“I need to call my coach. Where is my phone?”
“I dunno. I didn’t see it,” I replied.
“Crap. It must be in my vehicle which they tell me is trashed.”
“Pretty much. I can call your coach. I’ll figure out the number.” The fact was that I had Coach Sanford’s number. He’d given it to me once at a bar after flirting with me all night. He hadn’t told me he was the coach. Thankfully, Marley bailed me out of that one before I made a mistake.
“Um, okay. Maybe call Marley. She will tell everyone else,” he said. “But I don’t want them up here. As long as my tests come back clear, they will let me go.”
“Alright. How about I just text her?” I asked, knowing that Marley had probably found someone to share her bed with for the night.