by Erin Danzer
Chapter Fourteen
Ronnie took a shower once she calmed down enough to move away from the front door. By the time her parents got home she was considerably calmer—though she had no clue how she was going to fall asleep that night. Her mom asked about her book club meeting and she said it had gone fine. She couldn’t talk about anymore than that and went upstairs to attempt to sleep. As she lay in bed with her eyes closed, she prayed to have another dream like last night’s. Even if having Gavin here had only been part of the dream, at least she felt safe with him.
Her eyes felt like sandpaper from lack of sleep when Ronnie woke up the next morning. She tossed and turned all night and when she did manage to have a few minutes of sleep, she had nightmares of Rick’s garish face. She never wanted to see him again. She knew it hadn’t been a trick of the light. Something was wrong with him, and the worse part about it was not having someone to talk to. It wasn’t like she could ask Rick about it and anyone else she tried to talk to would think she was crazy.
She washed her face with cold water and got dressed automatically, not realizing she put on two different socks until she slid her feet into a new pair of black clogs. She left her hair free, barely running a brush through it, and stumbled downstairs to get something to eat before walking to school.
She wasn’t really surprised to find Shawn standing by the back door, obviously waiting for her. His eyes scanned her face as she entered the kitchen, concern etched in his features, but he didn’t say anything in front of her parents. She tried for a smile and was relieved when he visibly relaxed.
“Your boyfriend couldn’t wait to see you at school,” her dad teased as Ronnie sat down at the table. Ronnie’s smile widened as she looked up at Shawn.
“Good because I couldn’t wait to see him either,” she replied, making her dad chuckle. It excited her that her dad was teasing her; it meant he really liked Shawn and was okay with them dating. She glanced at her mom, hoping she would feel the same way. But her mom looked concerned as she glanced between the two of them.
“Something wrong, Mom?” Ronnie asked as she buttered half a toasted bagel. Her mom shook her head, though her eyes didn’t leave Shawn.
“No, nothing. Don’t be late for school,” her mom replied and got up from the table. Ronnie glanced at Shawn and shrugged a shoulder at his curious expression. She didn’t know what was going on.
Ronnie ate, brushed her teeth, and grabbed her bag and purse from her room before walking out the door with Shawn. They got into her car, Shawn in the front seat, and buckled in before Ronnie backed out of the driveway and headed for Andi’s house. Shawn reached for her hand as she drove down the street but didn’t say anything about last night. She pulled up in front of Andi’s house and was surprised to see Gavin waiting with her best friend. Had he spent the night? She felt her eyes go wide as the two of them climbed into the backseat. Shawn sighed and shifted in his seat so he faced Ronnie better.
“So, what happened last night, Ronnie?” Shawn asked after they greeted the other two. She squirmed as three pairs of eyes looked at her, two in the rearview mirror. Thankfully, she had a good lie for this one because the real explanation would send her to the loony bin.
“A—A dog got loose and chased me down the street,” she told Shawn and glanced at Gavin in the mirror, wondering if he understood what she wasn’t saying. His expression was concerned though his eyes showed he knew she was hiding something. She looked back at Shawn. “It was big and black and freaked me out. I’m sorry I lost it like that last night.”
“Oh my god, are you all right?” Andi exclaimed. Ronnie stopped at a red light and twisted to look over her shoulder into the backseat. Her eyes collided with Gavin’s. His expression hardened but he didn’t say anything. Her stomach twisted into a thousand knots. She faced forward as the light turned green.
“I’m fine, Andi,” she reassured her best friend, even though at the moment she felt anything but. She bit her lower lip the rest of the way to school, worried what would happen once they arrived.
They walked into the school and everyone walked with Ronnie to her locker, obviously still concerned even though she wished they wouldn’t be.
“That’s it, you’re never walking home alone again,” Andi declared as Ronnie spun the dial on her locker. Her fingers slipped on the dial and she clenched her hand a moment before trying again. She managed to get the locker open and was getting out her books when she spoke again, unable to look at the three around her.
“I wasn’t walking alone,” she admitted quietly and looked down as she stuffed her books into her bag.
“What do you mean you weren’t walking alone?” Shawn asked, his voice sharp. Ronnie cringed. She was afraid of this. She couldn’t even look at Gavin; he was about to find out she lied to him, too.
“Who were you with?” Andi asked as Ronnie turned around to face them. It was time to get it over with.
“Rick,” she admitted only looking at Andi. Andi’s eyes widened and she glanced at Shawn, whose expression darkened.
“Why were you with Rick?” Andi questioned.
“He was at The Reading Corner last night and we were talking and he started walking me home, so I let him.” The truth felt lame coming from her lips. She took a deep breath and finally looked up at Shawn to see if he believed her. His expression was murderous and Ronnie fought not to cower before him.
“Who’s Rick?” he demanded tightly, his voice shaking with barely suppressed jealousy. Ronnie began to tremble.
“He’s – a – guy I met last weekend. He was at a poetry reading Sunday night,” Ronnie explained and swallowed hard. The darker Shawn’s expression got, the more shattered she felt inside. She could see her dreams of their first date going up in smoke as he continued to glare at her.
“Why didn’t you tell me? Is he what scared you? Did he do something to you?” Shawn spit out the last question, anger flashing brightly in his blue eyes. Ronnie flattened herself against her closed locker as Shawn hit his own locker. “Answer me, Ronnie. What did that guy do to you?” he shouted. Gavin stepped forward and took Shawn’s arm, pulling him away from Ronnie as he stepped between the two of them.
“Shawn, you need to calm down,” Gavin told him. “Ronnie’s okay. Nothing happened except that she got a little spooked last night.”
Shawn turned his murderous glare on Gavin. “How do you know that? She’s not telling us anything.”
Gavin shook his head. “And she’s not going to tell us anything with you acting all crazy. You need to chill out. Go take a walk or lift some weights, just get out of here because you’re scaring Ronnie more than she probably was last night.”
Shawn glanced at Ronnie and some of the anger left his face when he saw her cowered against her locker, trembling behind Gavin. Gavin nodded at Andi and she stepped forward to take Shawn’s other arm and lead him away. Shawn left grudgingly and Ronnie sighed as she watched them walk away. Her relief lasted until Gavin turned around. His eyes blazed angrily as he glared at her.
“Is Rick the same guy who wrote the book?” he asked, his quiet voice scaring her more than Shawn shouting at her. She wished Gavin would shout and carry on; his barely controlled anger was almost too much to handle. She swallowed and nodded.
“How many times have you seen him?” he continued.
“The last two nights,” she whispered, her voice shaking, and swallowed again. Gavin reached up to place one hand against the locker next to her head and leaned against it as he pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Dammit, Ronnie,” he swore. Her fear turned to wonder. That was the third time he said her actual name instead of calling her Princess. She liked hearing her name on his lips. The realization shooed away more of her fright, bringing a small smile to her face. She took a deep breath as he opened his eyes and looked at her. Some of his anger had dissipated as well.
“What?” he asked, seeing her expression. She blushed.
“You called me Ronnie,” she replied. He
nodded, not understanding the significance.
“Yeah, that’s your name, or what you prefer to be called anyway.”
She shook her head. “No, you always call me Princess, but you called me Ronnie just now.”
A slow smile spread across his face as he understood. “Well, I couldn’t exactly call you Princess in front of your boyfriend; he probably would have pulverized me.”
She giggled at the mental image and the tension broke between them. Ronnie relaxed as Gavin straightened up, taking a step back. She picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder as they turned away from her locker. She was still giggling when Gavin glanced at her again.
“What, you don’t think I could take him?” he asked, correctly guessing her reason for giggling. She shook her head.
“It’s not that; I’m more afraid of what you would do to him,” she replied. He chuckled as he draped an arm over her shoulders.
“Well, Princess, I don’t think that’s something you have to worry about.”
“It is if he sees you with your arms all over me.”
He gave her a cocky grin. “It’s only one arm and I’ll let him take the first swing, but that’s all I’m promising. He hits me again and I’ll be forced to defend myself.”
Ronnie rolled her eyes as she pushed him away, effectively removing his arm from her shoulders. She didn’t need Shawn to be any angrier than he already was. Already, she didn’t know what she was going to do to calm him down and prove to him Rick wasn’t a threat to their relationship. She hoped Andi could talk some sense into him. Thinking about Andi reminded her of seeing Andi and Gavin together this morning and she decided to ask what happened. She took a deep breath and he glanced at her.
“Uh oh, I think I know what that expression means,” he said.
“Oh yeah, what does it mean?”
“You have something you want to ask but you’re not sure if you want the answer.”
Damn, he was good. She shrugged one shoulder, trying for nonchalance though she was sure she failed. “I just wanted to know how things went yesterday when you hung out with Andi.”
“In other words, did we hook up?” He grinned as her cheeks warmed. “It’s real cute that you’re concerned, Princess, but I had to let her down easy. I’ve got my eyes set on someone else.”
The look he gave her made Ronnie squirm as she walked next to him; it was obvious he meant her. He chuckled as her cheeks burned and she looked away.
“Don’t worry, Princess, it’s not what you’re thinking,” he added as he draped his arm over her shoulders again. She didn’t push him away this time as she looked at him, confused by his statement. If it wasn’t what she was thinking, then what was it?
“What are you talking about?” she asked as the five-minute warning bell rang. For once they weren’t going to be late for class. He grinned and wiggled his eyebrows as they headed up the stairs. Ronnie rolled her eyes.
“You’re weird,” she declared as they reached their classroom.
“If only you knew how true that is,” he muttered. Ronnie glanced at him as she sat down and he continued on to his seat. She wanted to ask what he meant but he didn’t look back. The teacher walked in and told them to get out their books. Ronnie sighed. She would have to grill him about it later.