First and Goal (Moving the Chains #1) (28 page)

“Enough!” Everyone, the girls ahead of me included, freezes. We all turn to eye an angry Rob with wide eyes. “I’m going to help the girls. You little shits keep away from Evie. End of story.”

Rob stalks ahead to the gaggle of girls working in front of me, leaving a trail of disoriented younger boys behind. Feminine giggling and quiet murmurs of appreciation are the next prominent sounds of our little crew. Caught between the two groups, I glance back to find Brian eyeing me with clear intent which I pretend not to notice. Ahead of me, Rob is chest deep in a sea of enthralled, star-struck young ladies. I can’t help but crack up when he raises his eyes to the sky, shaking his head before he turns around to make his way back to me in the middle.

He drops his sweaty forehead onto my shoulder, moaning. “I swear to God; I can’t catch a fucking break.”

“Aww, poor baby.” In an effort to dissuade Brian from making good on his intentions, I rub the back of Rob’s head in a soothing motion, fixating on the grossness of his sweat-soaked hair rather than how silky it feels even wet.

I’m curious about what Trent Barnes might know about some conference last year. Why am I supposedly off limits to the guys in the senior class? And why would that be important enough information to share with his little brother? Thinking carefully, a pattern emerges about the solicitations I’ve received since the rumors began last year. The Barnes kid has a valid point. None of the requests for sex have come from senior jocks. I always assumed that was a combination of Mike warding them off privately, and Rob’s threats against the assholes in the hallways. Now I have my doubts.

Before I can open my mouth to give voice to the questions rising in my brain, the diesel engine of Eddie’s truck announces his approach. Rob gently pushes me back toward the weeds, stepping forward to throw our last bags into the bed of the pickup.

Eddie rolls down his passenger window and leers at me. “Hey sweet thang, you look all hot and sweaty. Want a ride back to your car in my air conditioning? I’m sure you miss being in here with me.”

My entire body freezes though I don’t want to react to him at all. Especially in front of these younger kids. This is the first time he’s tried to speak to me since last winter. He’s been running his mouth in every direction except toward me. For that at least, I’ve been grateful. I don’t know what to say or do. I can’t let all these sophomores see me being weak when faced with the guy who single handedly ruined my reputation last year. That will only give credence to his lies.

Rob sidles up to the passenger door, resting his arms on the open window. I can’t hear what’s said because his voice is so low, and my pulse pounds in my ears. Whatever Rob says makes Eddie throw back his head in laughter. Rob steps back from the truck just as Eddie hits the gas and goes flying down the road without another word or look back.

Rob turns to our group of kids with his hands on his hips and a neutral expression on his face. “All right youngins, time to hike back to the cars.”

They all let out a collective moan, but start moving. Some awkwardly hold hands as they go. The others push, shove, and laugh their way toward the cars.

When I look up, Rob is next to me with a frown. “You all right?”

I let out the breath I didn’t realize I was holding. The rush of oxygen to my brain makes me dizzy, and I sway a bit on my feet.

“I guess that answers my question. Okay, I know you hate when I’m sweaty, but climb on.” He squats down and holds his hand out. “
I
can definitely give you a ride back to your car.”

This doesn’t seem like a good idea. I give him a skeptical look before pointedly gazing at our group of sophomores. They already have the wrong idea about us.

“Come on, Evie. I won’t hurt you.” He uses the same soft voice and blue gaze that I vividly remember from all those years ago.

He already has hurt me. He just doesn’t know it.

Not wanting to argue or think about the past too much, my resolve crumbles. I climb onto his strong back, wrapping my arms around his broad shoulders. We make our way down the side of the road, keeping an eye on our group in front of us.

I’m so furious I don’t even know what to think. I bury my face into Rob’s neck in an effort to fight back the building wail of frustration in my throat. The idea of setting even an inch of my skin inside that truck ever again is enough to send me into a tail spin. And I hate it. Sweat, dust, and exhaustion blanket my skin. My heart flutters rapidly in my chest, making it difficult to take a full breath. The only thing grounding me to Earth is the feel of Rob’s solid body against me. I want to claw and clutch for purchase at the muscles flexing beneath my hands. Thankfully, some small part of my brain intercedes to inhibit my crazy urges.

“Evie honey, it’s okay. I’ve got you. I’m not gonna let that asshole near you ever again.” The low, velvety softness of his voice further assaults my raging psyche.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper, the war against my burning tears lost.

“Sorry for what?”

Oh, if only he knew all I’m sorry for.

“You should be with the girl you’re after, not carrying my dumb ass down the side of the road.” I’ve gotta focus on something else. Anything else.

“Look at it this way, I’m getting in some extra conditioning before the game Friday. I should actually be thanking you. Besides, you’re light as a feather. Pretty sure I could carry you at least five miles.”

“You’re a masochist.” So am I.

He laughs dryly. “You have no idea.”

“I’m still sorry about your mystery girl.”

“And I’m sorry I’m covered in sweat. I know how you hate my smell.”

I know he’s trying to avoid the topic and be a good friend to me. I don’t bother replying, instead taking deep breaths against the damp, salty tang of his skin. His smell doesn’t seem all that bad just now.

“Hey,” he jostles me a bit to get my attention. “If you
ever
need me, Evie…you just say so, and I’ll be here. Understand?”

I nod my head against him. “Thank you, Rob.”

It doesn’t escape me that the position I’m in is just as dangerous as ever.

A
fter helping throw the garbage bags in the dumpsters, a bunch of us guys store away all the clean-up equipment until the spring. I stroll over to where Evie sits in the grass, waiting for all the underclassmen to catch their rides home. I tried to make sure she was never too far away from me after the incident with Eddie on the roadside. I plop down beside her, throwing my backpack on top of hers. The urge to close my eyes and just pass out overwhelms me. The only thing stopping me is how fucking hungry I am. Wonder if I can convince Evie to go to the diner with me again? Wonder if I can convince her to quit asking me who the mystery girl is? Somehow I doubt it. But she did actually say my name today and let me give her a piggy-back ride, so I guess anything’s possible.

“Whatcha doin’, Evie?” I affect my most annoying voice; irritating her is sure to wake me up and put her in a better mood.

She sighs, then flops back onto the grass beside me. “Waiting. I guess that’s a good thing. I’m afraid to get in my car.”

“You might fall asleep at the wheel too?”

She laughs. “No. I’m afraid I won’t be able to get the smell out. I stink.”

“Yeah…” I sigh. “I think we might have picked up some roadkill back there that I thought was garbage.”

She turns her head to fix me with a deadpan stare.

I wince, remembering Gatoula. I turn to meet her eyes, but she looks less angry and more amused. “Sorry.”

“I think you did too. It smelled strangely like possum.”

We both laugh. She looks skyward again, and so do I.

“Did I ever tell you about my traumatic possum experience?” I watch her face as she studies the air in front of her, brow furrowed, trying to remember.

“No. I don’t think so. What was your TPE?”

“TPE?”

“Traumatic possum experience.”

She’s such a smartass.

“I went to bring in our garbage cans one morning from the curb, and the garbage men hadn’t put the lids back on. When I grabbed the handle of the one can and started rolling it up the driveway, it felt like there was still a garbage bag in it. So I stop, look inside, and this damn possum screeches at me. I freaking scream like a little girl and go running up the driveway at full speed. I come back after a few minutes ‘cause I know I have to get it out somehow, and it just smells so bad. It must have been trapped in there all night. There was like an inch of piss in the bottom of the can that this thing is just bathing in. Every time I come anywhere near it, it just hisses and screeches.” I shudder as Evie rolls with laughter.

“So I tip the can over, and it comes tumbling out. I jump out of the way ‘cause I don’t want it to come anywhere near me. Then I dump like a whole gallon of bleach into the can to get the smell out, hose it down, whatever. And this was all before school one morning!”

I fix my gaze on her. She’s laughing so hard that tears leak out of her eyes just like before Eddie turned her afternoon to shit. After a few minutes of catching her breath, she asks me, “When was this?”

“Last week.”

We both crack up. It feels so good to be with her this way that I never want it to end. But this is all a set up. She just doesn’t know it yet.

“I’m terrified of possums now,” I admit, taking a deep breath and finding her hand with my own. I interlace our fingers and wait as she meets my eyes with a confused expression.

“Tell me what happened with Eddie,” I ask in an oh-so-soft voice that I hope conveys to her not judgment, but concern and caring. Because I definitely do care. Even if she only wants to be friends and thinks I’m head over heels for some other girl. I squeeze her hand in mine reassuringly as she studies me. She’s denied that he raped her, but her reactions to certain things completely negate her words. Any doubts in my mind about Eddie assaulting her in some way have been erased after today. He’s a dead man walking.

“You’re not going to let this go, are you?” She whispers. “Mike was right about you; you’re one of the good guys. You’ve been able to see through me from the start.”

“Mike knows what happened, doesn’t he?”

She furrows her brow at me, but doesn’t let go of my hand. “What makes you think Mike knows?”

I shrug. “He mentioned it once. Said it was a long story or something like that. He wouldn’t say anything else about it though.”

“Why were you and Mike talking about me?”

“I don’t even remember how it came up,” I lie. “How does Mike know?”

“He picked me up that night.”

“Picked you up?”

She nods her head, silent.

“Evie…I never believed the rumors that went around about you for a second. I’ve always known that Eddie is a special kind of asshole. I know you said he didn’t rape you, but there’s no other reason for you to be so frightened of me and to have changed so much since last year. I want to be your friend; I
want
to help you. But I can’t protect you if I don’t know what I’m protecting you from.”

She squeezes my hand, then lets go and turns her gaze back to the sky. I’m just grateful she isn’t cowering from me.