Destiny Binds (8 page)

Alexʼs hand was perfect. His skin was soft and warm. He held onto me gently, but with confidence. My own hand felt small and delicate wrapped around his.

I was, at that moment, in possession of the worldʼs happiest hand.

I was also in possession of the worldʼs reddest cheeks. I could hear my heart pounding in my ears; the air I drew into my lungs sounded shaky. I couldnʼt tear my eyes away from his.

“Hi,” he whispered.

“Hey,” I squeaked out, slightly louder than I intended. I had yet to fully regain control of my oxygen supply.

Talley jabbed me in the ribs and shushed me under her breath. I dragged my eyes away from Alex and tried to focus on what was happening on stage. While my eyes resolutely stayed trained on the play, my mind remained transfixed on Alex, who held my hand until the house lights came back up.

“Dear, sweet Jesus, that was awful,” Talley said, hefting herself out of the tiny theater seat.

“Did they totally skip the fourth act?” I asked. I couldnʼt remember Tranio tricking Hortensio into no longer courting Bianca.

“The fourth act in which Lucentioʼs accent changed at least twelve times? The fourth act in which Kate actually tripped over Petruccioʼs foot and fell onto the stage? The fourth act which drug on
forever
? That fourth act?”

“Ummm...I must have fallen asleep or something,” I lied weakly. Alex choked out a laugh behind me, causing my cheeks to go up in flames again. I playfully elbowed him in the stomach, enjoying the tingling sensation that raced up my arm when I made contact.

Talley indulgently nodded her head in agreement. “Iʼm sure that was it. You were
asleep
.”

“Shut up.” I pushed Talley towards the door, blissfully aware of Alex behind me.

The first thing I noticed as we exited the theater was how much colder it was than when we arrived. The second thing I noticed was how slick the sidewalk was. I didnʼt notice that it was snowing until I was sprawled on the pavement.

“Scout! Are you okay?” Alexʼs face loomed above me.

“I think I broke my butt.”

“Impressive ninja moves,” Alex chuckled as he reached down to help me to my feet. I was about halfway up when he lost his footing, and we both tumbled back onto the ground.

“Yep, my butt is definitely broken,” I said through gritted teeth. Judging by the way Alex was doubled over with laughter, he managed to escape without any serious injuries.#

By this time the entire class had gathered around to watch as Alex and I clumsily helped each other up. Once we managed to have our feet planted somewhat firmly on the ground, Alex wrapped his arm around my waist. “We donʼt want you doing any permanent damage to that butt,” he informed me.

I wasnʼt so sure I hadnʼt already. Falling onto concrete, tailbone first, cannot be good for you. It helped that Alexʼs proximity was having an anesthetic-like effect on me. I could feel the heat of his body, despite the fact that we were both wearing thick coats.

Ms. Ryder walked gingerly up to the spot where we had congregated. “Okay, guys, as Abbot and Costello have so nicely demonstrated, itʼs slick out here. Mr. Donovan has informed me that there have been several wrecks in the past hour and most of I-24 is closed.” She took a deep breath before continuing, as though she was less than excited about whatever it was she was about to tell us. “He believes that for our safety we need to stay the night in Nashville and drive home tomorrow, after the temperature rises again. The school has already made reservations for us at a hotel about three miles from here, so please call your parents and let them know that you will not be home until tomorrow afternoon.” A dozen voices started speaking at once. The class seemed evenly divided. One half was thrilled to be spending an extra day in the city and out of school, while the other half had other places to be and things to do.

As for me, my spirits were somewhere beyond the stratosphere. Beautiful, fat flakes filled the air, I had been granted a two day reprieve from Mr. Beck, and I now had an entire afternoon and evening to spend with Alex and his perfect hands. Could life get any better?

“Ms. Ryder, I have to go home now,” Alex said. He sounded even more upset than Ashley, who was terrified she would have to spend the night at a Motel 6.

Okay, maybe it would work out a little better if Mr. Perfect actually wanted to spend the day with me too.

“Iʼm sorry, Alex. Thereʼs really no way that I can get you home safely in these conditions.” Ms. Ryder emphasized her point by taking two steps before falling into James Kiplinger, who managed to accidentally feel her up as he caught her. Given Jamesʼs propensity to spend the majority of his time playing
Magic: The Gathering
instead of bathing, I felt fairly certain he had just experienced his first contact with boobs ever. The painfully humiliated, yet somewhat ecstatic, look on his face helped confirm my suspicions.

I was so busy watching James and Ms. Ryder (and feeling somewhat embarrassed for the both of them), I hadnʼt noticed Talley slide up beside Alex.

“I canʼt stay here,” Alex said to her as she gripped onto his elbow for support.

“I think you have to,” she said slowly. Apparently she could feel the tension in his body as well as I did. Whatever it was he needed to get home to, it was important to him. I took comfort in the fact Ashley was with us. At least I could rest assured that he wasnʼt running off to go out on a hot date with her.

“Iʼll call Liam. Heʼll come and get me,” Alex said, already retrieving his phone from the pocket of his coat.

Talleyʼs eyes grew wide and her grip on his arm visibly tightened. “No, you canʼt do that. Itʼll be okay. Promise. But you have to stay here. Please donʼt call your brother.” I mentally seconded Talleyʼs assertion. I planned on living the rest of my life without seeing Liam Cole again.

Alex was reluctant, but eventually agreed it wouldnʼt be wise to have his brother drive in bad weather. I carefully made my way back to the van while Alex helped Talley, whose attempt at walking on her own reminded me of Bambi crossing the frozen pond. Occasionally, the wind would sweep fragments of their conversation up to me. It sounded like Talley was still reassuring Alex that the world was most certainly not going to fall apart just because he had to stay overnight in Nashville.

I tried not to take his desire to flee personally.#

The streets of Nashville were like an ice skating rink and the huge flakes were falling so quickly that there was near zero visibility. It took us over an hour to drive the three miles to the hotel were Dad had made reservations. To Ashleyʼs horror, it was indeed a Motel 6.

Ms. Ryderʼs nerves were so shot by the time we checked in she didnʼt really care what we did with the rest of our day. In fact, she disappeared into her room shortly after our arrival, and didnʼt emerge until the next morning.

After a brutal snowball war, I ended up hanging out in a room where a group was watching a
Harry Potter
marathon. I realized that I didnʼt find Daniel Radcliff quite as attractive with Alexʼs hand once again intertwined with mine.

Alex was uncharacteristically taciturn all evening. He obsessively checked the time every few minutes. Despite my repeated attempts to figure out why he so desperately needed to get home, I was still in the dark.

We were about halfway through
The Goblet of Fire
when I became aware something was wrong. Alexʼs hand was sweltering in mine and his breathing didnʼt sound quite right.

“Are you feeling okay?” I asked as two girls sitting on the other bed had a very heated discussion as to the exact hotness level of Rob Pattinson.

“Ummm...sure. Yeah. Iʼm fine.” Alex seemed to be having trouble focusing on anything going on in the room around him.

“You look awful,” Talley pipped up from beside me. “Maybe now would be a good time for you to go to bed.”

Alex looked again at the clock sitting on the bedside table. It was 5:00, the sun was just starting to set. Normally I would think that it was way too early for someone to call it a night, but Alex was obviously sick.

“Iʼm fine.”

“No, youʼre not. You need to go to bed, and you need to go to bed
now
.” Talley was being unusually assertive, sounding shockingly like her mother.

“Youʼre right. I could use some sleep.” As Alex got up to leave a shiver went through his entire body.

“Are you sure youʼre going to be okay? Maybe we should get Ms. Ryder or a doctor.” Every muscle in Alexʼs body seemed to be twitching.

“Iʼll be fine once I get some sleep. Donʼt worry about me.” Alex stood in front of me awkwardly for a moment, running his fingers through his hair. “Thanks for today, Scout. Itʼs been really great.”

I could feel everyone in the room watching our little exchange. The embarrassment killed a bit of my buzz, but not much.

The evening drug on after he left. Harry couldnʼt hold my interest, even when he drug poor Cedricʼs dead body back to Hogwarts, which normally made me shed at least a tear or two.

Eventually we all grew tired of vending machine food and walked a block down the street to Taco Bell. I paused outside Alexʼs door on our way back.

“Do you think heʼs hungry? Should I ask him if he wants me to go get him something?” I asked Talley.

“I think he needs to sleep. Cʼmon, Scout. Youʼll survive not seeing him until tomorrow.” I looked around to make sure no one else was in earshot. “I really like him,” I confessed.

Talleyʼs superior expression was mildly annoying. “I know. I have been trying to tell you that for months.”

She was turning into such a know-it-all.

“Do you think that he might like me too?” I was unable to meet her eyes.

“I
know
he does.”

I wished that I could be that confident. I leaned against the wall by the door to our room and watched the flurries dance in the glow of the street light as Talley dug for the room key.

“Jase hates him, you know.”

“I know.”

“Do you know why?”

After four attempts at swiping the room key, Talley finally got the door open. Stale cigarette smoke and bleach burned my lungs.

Instead of answering my question, Talley began the long, complicated process of extracting herself from the rain-suit. By the time she managed to free one of her legs from the ridiculously cheerful yellow vinyl, my patience was running thin.

“You know, donʼt you?”

“Know what?” she grunted out. She was struggling as she tried to force the garment to release its death grip on her thigh.

“You know whatʼs going on with Jase and Alex. Tell me.” Talley stretched out on the bed, having finally defeated the rain-suit. “Do you honestly think Jase would tell me and not you?”

Yes.

Well, maybe.

Okay, probably not.

“What am I supposed to do, Tal?” I looped my arm through hers and leaned my head on her shoulder. Her hair smelled of the same baby shampoo that she had been using since we were kids.

“I donʼt know,” she said, kissing the top of my head. “Weʼll figure it out, though. I promise to make everything okay.”

I flipped open my phone to set the alarm, and realized I had missed a handful of messages from Charlie.

“How do you feel about hippos?”

“Large animal. Likes water.”

“Let me know asap.”

I was slightly confused, but texted back that I held the majestic beast in high regard. I really didnʼt have an opinion on hippos, but it seemed like the right thing to say.

“Who was that?” Talley asked. “Did Jase text to check up on us?”

“No, it was Charlie.” I crawled into the bed and pulled the covers up over my head. I was suddenly not feeling so well. Maybe I was coming down with whatever Alex had. Or maybe it was the Mexican food.

“So, what does it feel like to be in love with two guys at the same time?” I flipped the covers down so that Talley could see my face as I responded. “I am not
in love
with anyone. I have a crush on Alex and Charlie is... Charlie is Charlie.” Talleyʼs expression was pretty easy to read. It said “BULL CRAP” in big, capital letters.

“I am not in love with anyone,” I repeated.

“Be sure and let me know when you realize that youʼre wrong about that, okay?” Talley said as she reached over to turn out the light. “I would hate to miss another opportunity to say ʻI told you soʼ.”

I spent the next few hours tossing and turning, despite the nighttime pain reliever Talley had given me for my sore butt. I have never slept well in a bed other than my own without Guido, and all the inner-turmoil certainly was not helping the situation.

I dozed off for a short time and awoke feeling deeply unsettled. Snippets of a dream floated just outside my consciousness. All I could remember clearly was Alex, Charlie, ice cream, and the sensation of being ripped in two.

The thin sheets scratched my arms and legs as I listened to the heaterʼs choleric rumble and Talleyʼs deafening snore. When the walls began to close in on me I realized I could not stay in that room one moment longer. I got up, putting on my coat and shoes as quietly as possible before slipping out the door.

The night was silent and beautiful. The snow storm had ended, leaving the sky clear enough to see hundreds of glittering stars and the bright, full moon that reflected on the pristine newly fallen snow.

I spotted the electric glow of a gas station and developed an intense craving for stale snack cakes and super-sweet hot chocolate. If I followed the sidewalk to get there I would have to pass in front of Hankʼs Hangout, a bar whose chipped pink paint job was certain to attract only the most reputable clients. Instead, I opted to cut through the wooded area behind the motel.

Thanks to my NyQuil induced brain fog and the shadows provided by the trees, it wasnʼt until I was a few feet away that I noticed a man standing at the bottom of the hill. I froze as I recognized the telltale signs of a street person - multiple layers of dirty clothes, unkempt hair, unwashed skin, and the unmistakable air of desperation.

He had picked something up off the ground and was examining it. It was just a plain black coat, but something about it bothered me.