Fractured ( Fractured #1) (7 page)

Chapter
Ten

I stared at him as he scooped the
water in his hands and dribbled it over his arms, wondering why he wanted me there with him. He turned and looked out onto the ocean. The horizon was two shades of blue, separated by a thin, almost invisible line.

It seemed like an eternity before he spoke. “I like the water. It’
s very soothing. When I’m in it, I feel protected from the other elements.” Thoughts of his parents unable to escape the fire entered my head. I could see why he liked the water. Water would have saved them.

“I never thought of it that way.” I turned toward him, mostly because I preferred to look at him than the vastness of the ocean. He continued to stare at
the sky, as if it had the answers to his unasked questions.

He pointed
with his free hand. “Doesn’t that cloud look like a whale?” He sounded so innocent and young.

I looked up to where his finger pointed. “It does.”

“And that one looks like a heart,” he said.

I looked in the new direction. “You have a nice imagination,” I said. Then I wished I hadn’t.
I sounded stupid. But, I couldn’t take it back.
Shut up, Mandy
. I pursed my lips together so that nothing else could sabotage the moment.

My mind wandered. A film played in my head. In it, Rob
faced me, and his eyes connected with mine. Gentle hands caressed my shoulders and then pulled me close to him. Lost in his warmth, I didn’t resist. My eyes closed and waited for his lips.

“Are you cold?” His voice shook me back to reality.

“What?”

“You have goose bumps.”

I looked down. The skin on my arms was pimpled.

“I’m sorry,
” he said. “C’mon. I think we’re cooled off. Now you can show me your drawing.”

We
walked back to my chair. Rob picked up my towel and draped it around my shoulders. I stared at him in wonder. Then he lowered himself onto the sand, crossed his legs, and waited like a child ready for story time. “Do you want me to close my eyes?”

I smiled. He was so sweet. “If you want to.” His dark lashes were very long.
His eyes were gorgeous, even when they were closed. My fingers ached to reach out and touch him.

“Tell me when I can open them,” he said. I shook my head to clear away the enticing images
that were quickly piling up in my head. I must have done something very good in a past life, like save a deity or something.

Scanning my drawing for imperfections, I decided there were none, not as long as he was the subject. I was pleased with my work. It was a good likeness of him. I turned it to
ward him. “Now before you open your eyes,” I warned, “remember I’m not that good.”

He nodded. “I promise not to be too harsh with my critique.” His smile grew wider and the dimple appeared. My
insides did flip-flops.

“Okay, you can open them.”

His eyelids fluttered open, and I felt the power of his glance take over me. Like helium swelling in a balloon, my spirit lifted. My lungs burned until I remembered to exhale. As he studied every line, every shadow, every mark I made on the paper, I sat motionless, waiting for him to speak. But it wasn’t his anticipated comments that had a hold on me. It was him.

Without a word,
his eyes scanned over every stroke I’d made. After several long minutes, he looked up at me. “This is incredible.” Reaching for the pad, he took it from my hands and studied it more closely. From his expression, I knew he was pleased. “You’re very talented.”

I
wasn’t ready for his praise. I felt awkward and looked at the sand below my feet instead of at him. I’ve never been good with compliments, mostly because I rarely received them, and now, I was getting praised from the hottest guy I had ever seen. “Thank you,” I whispered.

“No, really. This is very good.”

The sun sat low in the sky, turning the water a deep teal color. He smiled at me. It was mesmerizing. I couldn’t look away. Please don’t let this moment end. But when Rob looked at the sky, the spell was broken.

“
It’s getting late. I’d better take you home. I don’t want your parents to think something bad happened to you since your brother left you with a stranger.”

It was true;
we were strangers, although I didn’t want him to be. I wanted to know everything about him, including how it felt to have his lips pressed against mine. A million thoughts bounced around in my mind. What if he was dangerous? I had been reeled in by his charm and good looks, but what did I know about him? Nothing. I looked into his eyes. His smile never disappeared. At that moment, I didn’t care if he was dangerous or not, I just knew that I wanted him.

Rob folded my chair and grabbed the umbrella as I shoved my things into my bag. I made sure to carry the seashell he’d given me in my hand.

In the parking lot, he held open the passenger door to his shiny, black BMW.

“
This is yours
?”
I asked, trying not to sound shocked and envious.

“My dad bought
it two months before… before the fire.” Pride morphed into sadness. “My Uncle Rick said I could keep it, as long as I could make the payments. That’s why I switched my hours at the grocery store. Night shift pays more.”

After making sure I was securely buckled in, he placed my things in the trunk and slid into the driver’s seat. The engine of the BMW roared to life,
and then quieted to a low purr. The interior smelled like new leather. I wondered how someone so young could keep up the payments of something so expensive, no matter how much the night shift paid.

“It’s a very nice car,” I said. And it was. I may not have been athletic or a stellar conversationalist, but with a mechanic for a father,
and a brother obsessed with automobiles, I had a keen knowledge of cars. Other than his family, my father’s greatest love was cars. I guess that’s why he bought an automotive repair shop, so he could be around them all the time. “My dad would kill for a car like this.”

“Me, too, but my unfortunate circumstances caused me to be in a situation where I didn’t have to wait until I was a hundred before I could get one. The life insurance policies my parents had paid off all their debts upon their deaths.
Being an only child, I inherited all of their assets, including this car. Their insurance is paying for the restoration of the house, which I get when I turn eighteen in October. I’m sure they paid hefty premiums. I just have to keep up with the insurance payments, maintenance, and putting gas in it.” He looked at the steering wheel, as if he were embarrassed that he had benefited from a terrible loss. “My parents had a trust fund set up in my name. Monthly dividend payments are transferred to my account. I didn’t know anything about insurance policies or trust funds before it happened; but I thought it would be smart to pay as much attention as I could when the lawyers were explaining everything to me, my aunt, and uncle. I don’t have to worry about money.”

There was nothing
I could say to ease the pain he must have been feeling, so I stayed quiet.

He continued talking as if he owed me an explanation about his financial status. “My dad was a
research scientist. He discovered certain chemical combinations that help combat specific diseases. Some people paid big money for that research. My parents paid off the house, and the land it’s on, with the check from one of the formulas my father sold the patent for.” He alternated his eyes between the dashboard and me.

Again, I didn’t know what to say, but I felt I should say something. “So
you’ll move back into the house? “

“I haven’t decided if I want to keep it or sell it, but because I’m still only seventeen, I don’t have to do anything, yet. I could live there forever, without worrying about paying for anything, or I can sell it and buy something that won’t remind me of
what I lost. It’s a hard decision, but I’m trying not to think about that right now. I’m only staying with my aunt and uncle because I’m still a minor, and I have to make it through high school. Plus, parts of the house are uninhabitable right now. The construction company has been working on it for over two months.”

“Oh.”
That was a stupid response, but what could I say? So many questions ricocheted in my head, but I didn’t think it was my place to ask. Plus, I didn’t want to say the wrong thing and ruin such a perfect day. Straining my brain, I tried to come up with a more pleasant topic, but I could only think of how fascinating he was.

“I’m sorry. You don’t need to hear about that,” he said, shifting the car into drive.
As we pulled out of the parking lot, I caught a glimpse of Jimmy standing outside the concession. There was no hot girl with him. He was alone. It was odd. I wondered if he would tell my father. I turned my attention back to Rob.

“
You don’t owe me any explanation. I didn’t want to pry.”

He eyes locked with mine
for a second. I forgot everything except him.

“Where do you live?” he asked.

He followed my directions, and within minutes, he pulled up to the curb in front of my house. It would have taken me an hour to walk from the beach. Instead, I was home in fifteen minutes.

Rob came around to my side and offered his hand to help me out of the car. Then he pulled all of my things from the trunk
and put them on my porch.

“I’m sorry if there’s sand in your car.” I felt awful about
the mess that must be in the trunk. “I could vacuum it if you’d like.” I was careful to brush myself off before getting in, and kept my towel around my waist so that I wouldn’t get any on the seat.

“Don’t be silly. It would have sand in it anyway,” he said. “I’ll take care of it when I get home.” Again
, he looked at me, and my worries melted away.

“Thank you for the ride,” I said, not wanting to sound ungrateful.

“I had a very nice day, Mandy.” He looked at me, and I was swimming in his gaze.

“I did, too. I never thought I’d like the beach so much.” I stroked the seashell with my thumb.

His smile morphed into a wince. “You got sunburned. That’s my fault.” Why didn’t he notice sooner?

“That’s okay. I’ll put a little white vinegar and aloe
vera on it later; it helps take the sting out.”

Another smile, with the dimple this time.
“I’ll have to remember that. A cold shower would help to lower your body temperature, too.”

I felt the burn from inside.

If Dillon hadn’t run out from the house, I would have stood there all day. “Manny, Manny.” He ran right into my arms as if he hadn’t seen me in years.

I gave him a big
hug, despite the pain from my scorched skin. “I missed you, Dill.”

Dillon’s only response was to squeeze my waist tighter. When he was finished hugging me, he stood back and looked at Rob. “Rob,” he said in a flat tone.

“Hey, buddy. How was your day?” Rob made sure to look into Dillon’s eyes.

“Planes.”

“Oh, our dad took him to the airport to watch the planes take off and land. Dillon loves planes.”

Dillon reiterated. “Planes.”

“Wow, that’s great,” Rob said. “Maybe we could go together one day to watch the planes. Would you like that, Dillon?”

“Planes.”

“Okay, Dillon, go in the house. I’ll be right there.” And with that, he ran back from where he came. A glimpse of the quivering living room curtains told me that my father was hiding behind them, watching my interaction with the stranger who drove his daughter home in an incredible car; one he was probably drooling over. I turned toward Rob. “Thank you again for the ride and the nice day.” I was glad I had sunburn because I knew, without a doubt, it was masking my blushing cheeks.

“
Mandy… I’d like see you again,” he said.

My heart leapt at the suggestion.
Just name the time and date and I am so there. I felt like saying, “I don’t ever have to leave if you don’t want me to.” Instead, I said, “I’d like that.”

“Maybe you could show me that creek you were headed to the other day; the one in your drawings.”

“Sure,” I replied without hesitation. I’d never taken anyone there before, not even Dillon.

Good-bye was awkward. I would have welcomed a kiss, but I knew my father was
spying on me, and I really didn’t know Rob well enough yet. But, I wanted him to kiss me in the worst way.

“Have a good night,” he said
, as he stroked my arm. Every hair stood up straight and danced. He walked around to the driver’s side of the car, but didn’t get in. Instead, he waited until I walked through my front door.

Not wanting to close the door for fear that he would disappear forever and I’d never see him again, I shut it slowly until it clicked in the doorframe. Then I ran to the window and stood next
to my father. Both of us peered out from behind the curtains and watched as Rob drove away. We were both sad: me because Rob was leaving, and Dad because he was taking the BMW with him.