Fourteen (9 page)

“What do you say to dinner or something?” he asked after a while.

I turned my head and his hand fell out of my hair and away from me. I looked over at him through blurry eyes.

“Is this guilt?” I asked, my voice shaking.

“Part of it,” he said. “I said I wouldn’t let this happen, and it did.”

“What’s the other part?”

“The other part is that my new friend needs a friend and I’m . . .” He exhaled, placed his hand on my back. “I’m here for you.”

“This isn’t just another way to humiliate me somehow?”

“No.”

I stared at him, and he caressed my back.

“I’m not really hungry.”

“How about we go see a movie then?”

“It’s a Friday night. Don’t you have plans?”

“I did, but I don’t anymore.”

“With Brittany?”

“Yeah.”

“Evan—”

“A few days ago I wouldn’t have thought anything about this,” he admitted, still scratching my back. “I probably would’ve laughed, said you deserved it, and never would’ve given it another thought.”

I gasped and buried my face back into my pillow.

“A few days ago, I wouldn’t have thought about how this would have made you feel because it didn’t matter to me. A few days ago, I didn’t
know
you.”

“You don’t know me now,” I said.

“I’m trying to. And I was hoping that you were trying to know me, too.”

Looking over at him, I flicked on the lamp on my bedside table, hissing when the sudden invasion of light hit my eyes. He grunted and rubbed his eyes as I propped myself up on my elbows and stared at my headboard.

“Can I ask you a question?” I glanced at him.

“Yeah.”

“You . . . hated me a few days ago. How did that change so quickly?”

“I never really hated you, Anna. I just didn’t think about anyone’s life but my own. I never gave much thought to anyone that wasn’t in my circle, and I didn’t think about what happened once everyone went home for the day. It’s like I . . . I separated it, I guess. My home life is different from my school life, and I just thought that everyone else did the same thing.”

He stared at me with something very close to a pout on his face.

“Words are powerful weapons, Evan.”

He looked away and reached up again, sliding his hand underneath my pillow. He grabbed my hand, pulling it out into the light and turning my wrist to look at the yellowish bruises that were still on my skin.

“I know that now.” He shifted, rising up and gently covering my wrist with his other hand. “I’m trying to make it right.”

“I’m really trying to believe you.” I looked down at our hands. “But it’s going to take more than a few days for me to trust you when I’ve got years of hurt piled up.”

“I know that,” he said. “I’m just asking for that chance, Anna. You said that I had it.”

“You do.”

“So come out with me tonight. We can go see a movie, and if you’re hungry after that, we’ll go out to dinner. It’s a start, right? We need a start.”

I stared down at him. He squeezed my hand, stood up, and then helped me off my bed. Then, without warning, he wrapped me in his arms and buried his nose in my neck. I stood stiffly against him, staring over his shoulder at my wall in shock.

“I really don’t deserve it. Thank you.”

“S-sure.” I stepped away from him.

“Will your father mind?”

“I didn’t even know that he was home before you told me he let you in.”

“I’ll take that as a no.”

I pulled on the hem of my sweater, nervously looking around my bedroom, and for the first time, I realized that Evan Drake was
in my bedroom
. The clutter and the drawings I’d had taped to the walls since I was little were out in the open, and he could now finally see it all.

Looking at it now, I really needed to redecorate. This room belonged to someone that was maybe entering high school, not getting ready to graduate and go off to college.

“I just need to use the bathroom,” I said. “You can . . . uh, you can wait up here or downstairs if you want.”

“I’ll wait in the hallway.”

I followed behind him as he walked out, detouring into the bathroom and closing the door behind me. Then I leaned against it and closed my eyes tightly.

I could do this.

My face fell as we pulled into the parking lot of the movie theater, and I heard Evan curse under his breath as he turned off the car.

“Did you plan this?” I asked, staring at Steve, Brittany, Grace and Adam as they stood at the entrance to the theater.

“What? No! I had no idea they’d be here, Anna.”

I looked over and stared at him for a few moments. Deciding I could trust him, I looked out the windshield and said, “Can we go somewhere else?”

He chewed on his bottom lip thoughtfully, looking at his friends and then back at me.

“No. Come on.”

“Evan, I don’t want to deal with them.”

“I have an idea.”

“What is it?”

“Just get out of the car, okay? Trust me.”

I stared at him in disbelief as he got out of the car. I threw my hands in the air and then pushed open the door and got out.

The day really couldn’t get much worse at this point, so I might as well let him do whatever it was that he was so intent on doing.

He rounded the front of the car and stood in front of me, making sure to lock eyes with me as he reached out and grabbed my hand. I raised an eyebrow at him as he linked our fingers together and wondered if he could hear the stampede in my chest right where my heart was.

“What are you doing?” I asked, stretching out the words.

“We’re going to see a movie,” he said with a shrug.

“You’re . . . we’re . . . they’ll think we’re on a date.”

“So then I guess we’re on a date, aren’t we?”

I gaped at him.

What?

“Run that by me one more time,” I managed to say, circling my finger in the air and blinking at him.

“Then I guess we’re on a date,” he said.

“To them, right? That’s just what we’ll say to . . . to them, right?” I stuttered, looking away from him and over to the group.

Huh. I didn’t know Grace smoked.

I closed my eyes, and placed my hand on my forehead. There were more important things going on right now, and I was wondering about Grace’s smoking habits? Evan Drake was either taking me on a date or getting me all worked up just to humiliate me. Both of these scenarios made me nervous as hell, and after the day I’d had, right about now I wished I were back in my bed.

“Well . . . no.”

I snapped my head in his direction and dropped my hand to my side.

“Are you serious right now?”

“Yeah.” He looked down at his feet and tapped his toes against the pavement.

“You’re not feeling right, are you?” I asked.

“I’m feeling just fine, Anna.”

“This is insane. You’ve lost your mind.”

“Or I found it.”

“You’re like Jekyll and Hyde!” I exclaimed.

“Keeping you on your toes, though, right?” He gently swayed our still joined hands and laughed nervously.

“Oh, I’m on something, all right. Am I awake? Am I even really awake?”

“Yes, you’re awake.” He stepped in front of me. “Give in a little, Anna, please,” he whispered.

I closed my eyes and acquiesced.

He was trying, and now I needed to as well. Friendship—or whatever we were doing right now—was a two-person effort, and I needed to give in.

Opening my eyes, I said, “This isn’t a joke to you.”

“I’m being dead serious right now.”

“You’re really taking me out on a date.”

“I’m really taking you out on a date,” he said, grinning down at me.

Yes. My heart had officially stopped.

“Okay,” I said with a shaky voice.

“Okay?”

“Okay.”

“Okay.” He grinned, backing away and pulling on my hand as he walked to the entrance of the theater. “Ignore them, all right?”

“Yeah, sure. Ignore them. Right.”

“Hey.” He stopped us before we’d taken more than three steps, and I swallowed hard. “Just relax.”

“I don’t know how,” I admitted sheepishly. “Not around you, not around them. I just . . . I don’t know how to.”

He sighed, and I half expected him to call off the whole thing. I was very much ready to walk back to the car until he spoke.

“And that’s my fault.” I stared at him. “I’m so sorry, Anna.”

I shrugged, looking away from him and over to the entrance. His friends were openly gaping.

“We’ve been spotted,” I stage whispered.

He looked over his shoulder and then back at me, squeezing my hand.

“Ready to start our date?”

“It’s gonna take a minute to get used to that.”

He laughed, once again leading me toward the entrance. I squared my shoulders as we approached them, my heart beating rapidly, and I wondered briefly if all this activity was going to give me a heart attack. I did my best to ignore the group.

“You ditched me for
her
?” Brittany sneered.

“Yeah,” Evan said simply. “I did.”

“Are you going blind, dude?” Adam asked, stealing the cigarette from Grace.

“Nope. In fact, I’m pretty sure my eyes are wide open.”

“This has gotta be some kind of charity thing, right?” Steve asked, stepping in front of Evan. “Dude, we’ve never gone down this road. There are plenty of other girls—”

“Yes, there are. I wanted to be with Anna tonight.” He shrugged, and I did my best to ignore them. Easier said than done, but at least Evan wasn’t agreeing with them this time. “See you all Monday morning.”

“I’m calling you tomorrow. I wanna know what the fuck you’re on tonight,” Steve taunted, tapping Evan’s shoulder before moving out of the way.

“My answers won’t change, Steve.”

“You have,” Grace scoffed.

“Maybe so,” he said, and we started toward the doors again as he yelled over his shoulder, “Maybe I don’t wanna be an asshole anymore.”

With that, he pulled me into the theater after him, and we stood in line for tickets. I didn’t know what to say, so I kept my eyes focused on the brightly lit board with all the movies listed. He was still gripping my hand, and I jerked when he flexed his fingers. I let go of his hand and took a step to the side.

“Hey,” he said, reaching out for me again. “You were just crushing my hand there.”

“I was?”

He took a step toward me again, sliding his arm around my shoulders and pulling me back to him. I leaned against him, not having any idea what to do with my hands or how to act or what I was even supposed to say. He made me so nervous that not all the dating rules I’d learned in the past, applied here.

Now I was in an alternate universe because that would make more sense than this crazy night I was having. Nothing like this had ever happened to me. Guys like Evan Drake did not hold my hand or put their arm around me, and they definitely didn’t take me out on dates.

“You’re stronger than you appear to be,” he continued, moving up when the line did.

“Have to be. Sorry.”

“Me too. What do you want to see?”

“Comedy,” I said. “Definitely comedy.”

“You read my mind. Comedy it is.”

He paid for my ticket,
he
bought me a box of snowcaps and a drink,
he
was the one to hold my hand all night, and
he
was the one that kept an arm around my shoulders as we walked out when the movie was over.

“Are you hungry yet?” he asked as we walked outside.

As I looked at his hand dangling off my shoulder, I summoned up all my courage and laced our fingers together, my heart fluttering when he immediately squeezed my hand. I looked up at him, surprised, and he just smiled back.