Ink (20 page)

“
Because I wasn’t there. I ran into a friend of mine and started talking with him. I swore I was going to get back to you. And then when I finally did, you were nowhere to be found. And I felt really bad.” He flipped his phone over and over in his hands now. “I ran the length of the beach…and then I saw you.” That’s where he stopped explaining. All fell silent.

“
What do you mean you saw me?”

“
You were down by the water, half way in. I swear you should have floated off.” He placed a hand on my knee. I pulled away from his touch. He wasn’t the same.

“
You said you saw Slade,” I pointed out. I knew this wasn’t something he had forgotten.

“
I’m really glad you’re okay, Hope. I know you’re probably angry with me for leaving you that night,” he said, dodging my comment.

“
Slade, you said you saw him. Why would you say that? Do you really hate him that much?” I snapped.

“
You act as if you’re not glad I found you. How about a thank you, or a thanks, Tucker, for saving me from drowning,” he snapped back.

“
I thought you were this nice guy. I really did. But now you seem like a little sad puppy that follows along with everything your dad wants out of you.” I stood. “I know you don’t like Slade. And I also know your dad gave me something to drink that night, and minutes later I’m out of it, stumbling around on the beach. Maybe everyone else is too stupid to figure it out, but I think your dad has something to do with it. And I think you’re covering for him!”

Tucker stood, watching me leave. “That’s a far leap from the truth. Stay away from Slade, Hope. Even if you think I’m some asshole, at least take my words of advice,” he called after me.

I ignored him, going back inside the restaurant.

Once home
I said a quick goodbye to Nona and Claude, running inside. Dad was fast asleep as well as Elliot and Easton. I hurriedly took a shower, threw on a pair of pajama pants and a tank top
and braided my wet hair down my back. I was ready to talk to Slade and get his side of things.

As the clock ticked in my bedroom, a soft silence took over. I laid down on my bed, resting on my side, waiting to hear any sign of Slade at my window. I made sure to put Crawford in the boy’s room that way he didn’t bark and wake the whole house up.

And now I waited.

I waited so long I had almost given up and drifted off to sleep. Minutes later there was a soft tapping on my window. The glass rattled and Slade appeared. I jumped up and quietly made it to the window. He was wearing Dickies and a black hooded sweatshirt.

“
Hey,” I said as the window opened, the fresh air slipping past me. It was quite humid outside.

“
Hey,” Slade whispered back. He waited until I moved out of the way before he took hold of my window sill and climbed right on in.

I shut and locked the window and even closed the curtains. We were alone and I wasn’t at all afraid of him. I took a seat on the floor, resting my body slowly against my bed so it wouldn’t screech.

Slade sat next to me, bringing his hands to his knees like usual. “How you feeling?” he asked first.

I showed him my hands, pulled my shirt down a little to expose the scrapes against my collarbone, as well as the bruises. He placed a hand against the ones on my shoulder, his eyes showing signs of concern.

“
You look awful,” he muttered. I held on to his hand.

“
I feel awful. I don’t want to go back to school. I hate this town,” I admitted. I let out a long sigh.

“
I think I would too.”

“
I’m surprised you don’t. They’re accusing you of attacking me,” I pointed out.

Slade watched me closely, his hand finally released from my grasp. “And yet you agreed to meet up with me.” I nodded. Silly me. “Why did you agree? Anyone else would have been scared to death?” he questioned.

I grabbed his hand back, looking at his scraped knuckles—the kind of knuckles you got when you hit something. Dad had been in a couple fights with the wall back home, I was used to scraped knuckles. I knew what they looked like.

“
Your hand. What happened to your hand, Slade?” I stared at him.

“
Answer me,” he said back, ignoring me.

“
Because you don’t scare me. You’ve been actually really great since I moved here. You’re the one great thing about this place.” I looked away as my cheeks warmed. I had just admitted that he was great.

“
I think you’re great, too,” he confessed.

I looked away, not sure what to do with our admitting that we both were fond of each other. And then I remembered something.
The ink
.

“
You may be great, but you’re also very mysterious. I know I’m not seeing things. The heart went away and there were words.” I touched the heart. “How could that happen? And this time could you give me a real explanation?”

Slade scooped my hand into his. He swirled his thumb against my skin. The heart turned into a beautiful rose, and with another swipe, it was a smile. And with yet another swipe the words,
I’m not what you think I am
appeared. He quickly covered it, my skin growing warm as he wiped away all traces of anything. He let go of my hand, looking into my eyes.

“
Does it really matter?” he asked, coming in for a kiss.

I shut my eyes, letting his words ring true. It didn’t matter. He was intoxicating and anytime he was near me nothing really mattered anymore. We broke apart. Slade ran his hand through my hair.

“
I’m glad you’re not believing their lies. I’m glad you still trust me, because that’s what most important. Trust,” he told me. We held hands, going silent.

“
I liked the heart. I feel kind of naked without it,” I said. I turned my head to him and gave a small smile. Slade smiled back, bringing my hand into his lap. He dropped his leg down.

“
Are you sure you want a heart? I can do just about anything.” His fingers busily rubbed my skin, making delicate circles as he waited for my answer.

“
How about you do whatever you think is fitting,” I suggested. I watched closely as he did his work. He finally stopped, revealing the same black heart.

“
Yay,” I whispered, letting out a laugh.

Slade shook his head, amused by me. He kissed my lips and then stood up. “You should be getting some rest. You got school tomorrow, right?”

I groaned. “I’m not going. As long as my dad doesn’t bother me about it, I’m staying away.”

Slade lifted one of my heart shaped pillows off my bed. He studied it closely. “Maybe I can visit you tomorrow?”

I gave a nod. “And maybe you can share who you are too?”

Slade ran a hand across my cheek. He tucked the pillow behind my head as I climbed into bed. And then he stared down at me.

“
Maybe. But you have to promise you won’t hold it against me.” He bit at his lip ring, studying my expression.

I smiled and nodded. “I can do that.” I grabbed his hand, stopping him before he turned away. “Did you punch Mr. Sinclair, Slade?”

It made a lot of sense, and also answered the question of why Slade was accused. Maybe Slade had actually saved me from Tucker’s father. Maybe he was the one shushing me as I cried and felt ill.

And Tucker was forced to believe or cover for his father. Tucker might have been telling the truth. Maybe he did come running after me, trying to see where I ran off to. I wondered if Tucker caught his father doing something awful and Slade had stopped it. Of course Tucker would side with his father, he hated Slade and he loved his father.

“
Shh,” Slade coaxed, pressing a single finger against my lips. “I’m just glad you’re okay. Goodnight, Hope.”

I
wiped away the condensation on the mirror. Squeezing a glob of toothpaste on my toothbrush and began brushing. I was going to school. And even though it wasn’t the place that I wanted to be, I had no choice. Some things in my life were still more important. And if one day soon I wanted to get out of Cherry, then school took precedence over everything else. My feelings included. I knew there were some things that I couldn’t just run away from.

Wiping at my mouth, I turned the water off and concluded that it was time to head out. I hurriedly slipped into my shorts and tank top, shoved on some white sandals and grabbed my backpack that sat by the door.

Dad was at the kitchen table. He quickly looked up, taking the last bite of his cereal and a long swig of coffee. “Morning.”

I slung my backpack over my shoulder. “Morning. I thought you were supposed to be to work at eight.”

He gave a nod as if I figured him out. “I was thinking about driving you. I know you probably wouldn’t want to ride with Tucker.” He brought his bowl and cup to the sink.

“
Thanks, Dad,” I said, letting out a relieved sigh. I wasn’t sure if I had it in me to avoid Tucker this morning. Knowing Dad had intervened made me feel really good for once. He had my back.

“
I was thinking. I will talk to the office about switching some of your classes. That way this kid can leave you alone.” He pulled the door shut, giving his key a quick turn as I waited for him.

“
I think everything was full. It’s not a big deal. I don’t think Tucker is going to bother me anymore.” I opened up the door to the van, climbing in. It didn’t matter where I went in that school, the kids were going to talk, regardless.

I gave Dad a quick kiss on the cheek. I didn’t care who saw me or called me a pathetic little kid. Dad lifted my backpack off the floor. He ran a hand through my damp hair. “If you need anything, Hope, you can call me. I will leave work and come here as soon as I can. Are you sure you’re going to be alright?” His eyes were full of concern. More concern then I had ever seen from him.

“
Dad, I’m fine. But thanks, that really makes me feel, well… normal.” I smiled, shoving the door open and jumping out. The first bell rang. Several kids took off on a sprint to the doors. The ones that didn’t care they were minutes from being late stared at me as I walked to the entrance of the school. I held tight to my backpack, letting out an inaudible sigh as the doors congested with kids trying to get to their classes.

It took me a couple seconds to make my way to my locker. I dropped my backpack at my feet, and then started working on my combination. There was a loud laugh. I turned my head to find Darby, Lydia and Jesse staring at me a few feet away. I shoved my math book in my locker, swapping it for my biology book, ignoring them.

“
Welcome back, Hope,” Darby said, letting out another laugh. I wondered what was so funny. But I assumed the idea a girl being attacked on a beach was humorous to some. Why, I didn’t know. They were just that sick and twisted.

I gritted my teeth, pushing my book bag into my locker and held tightly to my books, slamming the locker door shut hoping the emphasis of how hard I shoved it would scare Darby away. But she only kept staring at me. Jesse and Lydia seemed a little standoffish, but not her.

“
Thanks, Darby. It’s so nice of you to act like you care,” I said, walking past her. I didn’t bother to see her reaction. I didn’t care.

“
It had to of been hard, trying to keep your hands off such a wealthy man like Everett Sinclair. So hard you had to finger him for attacking you!” she called after me. Several onlookers laughed until the principal scolded Darby for inappropriate attire and shooed her into his office.

So now I knew they chalked it up to me being the lowly tramp. That no one else was to blame but me for what happened that night. I held back my tears quite well. It was easy when I was more angry than sad.

I threw open the door to Mr. Rudner’s class, everyone’s eyes immediately locked onto me. Tucker wasn’t at my table, and this relieved me. I hurried to sit, slamming my book down, warning them all to back off.

“
Let’s all quiet down now,” Mr. Rudner said loudly. He pushed into his chair, standing up. “Pencils out.”

I cringed. I had forgotten my pencil in my locker.

“
Pencils out, Ms. Zigler.” He wrapped his knuckles on my desk.

“
I forgot mine,” I said quickly. The boy in front of me, who I had never laid eyes on before, turned around.

“
Here you go. “ He handed a pencil over. I gave him a small smile, taking the pencil reluctantly. Mr. Rudner handed over the paper, leaving me be finally.

“
Don’t be too nice to her, Daniel, she might accuse you of giving her more than a pencil,” one of the other kids said. The whole class erupted into laughter. I lowered my head, scribbling my name on my paper in misery.

A biology book slammed down beside my elbow. I startled back to reality. It was Tucker and he didn’t look too pleased. Everyone angled in their seats to get a look at him.

“
Get it all in while you can. Anyone have anymore shit to talk?” Tucker asked bitterly.

Mr. Rudner directed his attention to Tucker now. “That’s enough, Mr. Sinclair.” He shot him a warning glare and dropped a paper on Tucker’s desk.

I slowly moved away from him, going to the other end of my seat. It seemed Tucker was as upset and miserable as I was. A group of girls in the front row laughed, which only upset Tucker more.