Blood Like Poison (9 page)

“I went there to see one person,” he said.

When my eyes darted up to his, I found that they were as velvety and absorbing as his voice.  They made me feel so many things, all at once, that I was overwhelmed by sensation.

“You don’t love him, do you?”

Bo didn’t need to include any names in his question.  I knew exactly who he was talking about, and without hesitation, I shook my head in answer.

“Good,” he said, bending his head to mine.

When he kissed me this time, it was with passion.  His mouth devoured mine and I thought there was probably nothing more I wanted in the whole world than to be consumed by him.  I gave myself up to it.  I’d wanted this since the first time I’d laid eyes on him.  I wanted his lips on mine, his hands in my hair, his focus on me and nothing else.

My fingers were fisted in his shirt, hanging on for dear life when Bo lifted his head with a quick jerk.  Out of the blue, he whispered, “We’ll talk tomorrow.” 

And then he was gone.  I didn’t even see him go, something I attributed to my spinning head and clouded senses.  I just looked around and he was nowhere.  Just gone.

A fraction of a second later, I heard my dad’s stern voice at the door.  “Ridley, get in the house.” 

The brisk winds of reality quickly blew the fog right out of my mind.  If it hadn’t been for the cool moisture on my lips from his kiss, I might’ve wondered if Bo had been a figment of my imagination.  But when I touched my fingers to my mouth, I could still feel him there. 

With a smile of satisfaction in place, I made my way inside and back to my room where I laid down and fell immediately into a sleep that was filled with dreams of Bo and his breathtaking kisses.

********

The next morning, we went to church, making our weekly foray into the spiritual realm.  What used to be a family that enjoyed a close relationship with God was now one that observed nothing more than the appearance of clinging to religion.  All three of us were about as hollow, as wounded and as far from God as we’d ever been.

Church was always a tense experience, tense and draining.  The effects of it were emotionally staggering.  Afterward, as I did every Sunday, I spent the rest of the day in a delicate tap dance of evasion, determined to avoid another energy-sapping family performance.  I stayed in my room the entire afternoon, coming out only for food and drink. 

It affected Mom and Dad, too.  They pretended to be engrossed in any number of consuming projects, anything to avoid…life. 

There was only one problem with staying in my room:  it brought other unsavory issues to the forefront.  My phone rang way too much to allow for a peaceful day.  Drew called several times, as did Trinity, neither of whom I was particularly anxious to talk to.  I got calls from numerous other people, none of which I answered, all wanting to talk about what happened at Caster’s. 

The only person that I really wanted to hear from was the one person that had yet to make an appearance, physical or electronic, and it wasn’t doing good things for my mood.

By the time darkness had fallen, I was as prickly as I could ever remember being and I was suffering from a severe case of cabin fever.  Cutting off my light, I yanked up my blinds and threw open the window then pulled a chair up in front of it and made myself comfortable. 

I loved the night—the peacefulness of it, the smell of it, the sounds.  It was about as close to being alone in the world as I ever felt.  Not that I really strived for solitude.  It was more that I was always in the company of some person or persons that drained me in some way or another, like they were sucking the life from me.  Sometimes I just wanted to be
left alone;
sometimes, I needed time to heal.

Movement in the side yard caused my heart to leap in my chest.  My first alarming thought was that someone was trying to break into the house.  I was literally unfolding my legs, preparing to get Dad or get a gun or get
something,
when a familiar pale face materialized in front of the window.

“You scared me half to death,” I scolded, my fingers still fisted over my runaway heart. 

“Sorry,” Bo said casually, coming over to lean up against the side of the house right next to my window.

“What are you doing here?” My tone was much more reasonable once my initial fear had given way to the pleasure of Bo’s presence.

“I’m part of the neighborhood watch and I thought I saw some suspicious activity around your yard,” he claimed.

“Do what?”  I moved to stand against the window as well, choosing the side opposite Bo so I could face him.  Through the window, I could smell him and I wanted to take a deep breath and hold that scent inside.

Bo’s face was serious for another few seconds before it melted into a heart stopping smile.

“Are you really that gullible?”

I felt a little dazed by that smile and it took me a minute to recover enough to answer.

“Oh.  Yeah, pretty much,” I admitted with a self-deprecating smirk.

“That should be fun,” he teased, his smile fading into a lopsided grin.

“Taking advantage of my infirmities and/or weaknesses is strictly off limits,” I warned lightly.

 “Really,” he said, leaning in to my side of the window.  “What other weaknesses do you have?”

At that moment, I could only think of one and it was less than a half a foot from me, standing on the other side of a brick wall.

“Too many to name,” I finally managed, shrugging offhandedly.

“Mmm,” he said, and then he straightened.  “Hey, can I see your phone?”

I’m sure I frowned a little at the odd request, but I agreed, seeing no reason not to let him have it. 

I walked back into my room to grab my phone off the dresser.  When I turned around, I barely managed to smother a gasp when I ran right into Bo’s chest.  I don’t know how he got through the window so quickly or so quietly, but there he was, standing in my room, big as life.

He was looking down at me with those fathomless eyes and I found it suddenly hard to breathe.  All the skin that my short shorts and tiny tank top left exposed felt ultra sensitive, like my pores were opening up to him somehow, craving his closeness—flower petals spread wide to receive the wet kisses of the rain.

I swallowed when Bo reached toward me, but he only took the phone from my fingers.  He fiddled with it for a few seconds, punching in numbers and making selections. 

The bright screen illuminated his face and I was content to watch him.  I didn’t care what he did to my phone as long as he didn’t stop biting his lip in concentration.  I was sure I’d never seen anything sexier.

When he handed me my phone, I took it, albeit reluctantly.  I could still feel the cool imprint of his fingers on the cover.

“Now, you have me on speed dial.  Call me any time,” he said, reaching up to push a stray hair from my face where it tangled in my eyelashes.  “Day or night,” he finished softly.

I was totally prepared for him to kiss me, wanted it more than anything, wanted
him
more than anything, but a dark spot on his white t-shirt collar caught my eye.

“You’ve got blood on your shirt,” I blurted.

It was obvious by his expression that my question not only took him off guard, but that it ruined the moment.  I could’ve kicked myself for my impulsiveness.

Had I not been so aggravated with myself, the shocked look on his face might’ve been comical.  It was gone in a flash, though, quickly replaced by a frown. 

“Where?”

“Right there,” I said, indicating the spot with my fingertip.

Bo tugged his shirt down until he could see the spot to which I was referring.  His frown eased and he shrugged nonchalantly.  “Oh, that.  Cut myself shaving.  Must’ve been worse than I thought.”

When he turned away from me and walked back to the window, I knew the moment wouldn’t be recovered tonight.  I followed him over and stood behind him while he crawled through.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said from outside, just before he turned to leave.

I felt bereft for some reason.  I wanted to ask him to wait or to stay or to do anything except leave, but I didn’t.  Instead, I stood quietly by and watched him walk away. 

He hadn’t taken more than six or seven steps, however, when he quickly turned on his heel and came back to the window.

He leaned his head through the opening and crooked his finger at me.  When I leaned down to him, thinking he was going to tell me something, he pulled me in for a quick kiss.  He left again after that and I smiled as I watched him go, feeling much more satisfied with his exit. 

My smile widened when I heard a faint whistling drift through the window on the gentle night breeze.  I felt like whistling, too.  Or singing.  Or flying.

********

 Monday’s post-weekend conversation still revolved around Trinity’s brutal rejection of Savannah Grant at Caster’s party.  I thought it was telling that no one seemed to want to rehash Savannah’s brave rebuttal, only Trinity’s vicious attack. 

As I looked at the faces of the brainwashed followers that hung on Trinity’s every word, I saw, probably for the first time, the true weight of what I’d done by turning a blind eye to her antics all these years.

There was no one to defend the people that Trinity walked all over, no one to call her out about her cruelty and nastiness.  There was no one to stand up to her, no one willing to risk the distasteful consequences.

A bold voice sounded in my head, telling me that I should’ve done something, that someone had to.  But then another voice spoke up, this one whiny and selfish, reminding me that few others had their entire future riding on it like I did either.  I
needed
to be a part of the squad.  I
needed
cheerleading.  I
couldn’t be
the one who stood up to her.

Ignoring both voices, I headed for class. 

“T, wait up!”

“Ugh,” I murmured under my breath. 

Drew.  I’d forgotten all about him.

I turned and saw him jogging to catch up to me.  When he reached me, I plastered a smile on my face, as natural a smile as I could muster. 

“Hey.”

“Where were you all weekend?  I tried to call you,” he said, frowning.  “Did you get my messages?”

“Sorry, I haven’t even had a chance to check them yet,” I confessed, which was partially true.  More to the point, I hadn’t
taken
the time to check them.  I’d wanted to put it off as long as possible.  “Dad was home.  You know how that goes,” I said, rolling my eyes dramatically.

“Oh, yeah,” Drew said, curling his lip sympathetically.  “So, what are you doing tonight after practice?”

Bo’s face flashed through my head.  I was hoping to hear from him, but even as the thought ran through my mind, I felt guilty, like I was betraying Drew.  Even though I knew in my head and in my heart that it was over, I’d been remiss in not letting Drew in on that little fact.  I’d been so consumed with Bo, Drew just hadn’t crossed my mind, and that wasn’t right.  He deserved better than that.

I didn’t want to make up an excuse.  He might see right through that.  But I also didn’t want to keep going on as if nothing was wrong.  Thankfully, the bell rang, saving me from having to make any kind of decision until later.