Rise (2 page)

“Tess swoons over just about anything male. She’d probably hyperventilate,” Tammy said as she flipped over as well.

“That’s for sure,” Anne agreed. “Now thanks to you two, I probably can’t ever see him in concert again. You’ve ruined it for me.”

“Oh, don’t you worry; it won’t be the last thing we ruin for you. We’re a terrible influence on you.”

“Trust me, Tammy, I already know that.”

“You should probably limit the time you spend with us.”

“Are you kidding? And miss out on all the fun? No way.”

“Well then, you’d better get yourself all prayed up so you can resist our evil ways. Or at least mine away.”

Anne laughed. “Oh, Tammy. Your bark is bigger than your bite. It’s not like you’re a big heathen or anything.”

“Well, don’t tell anyone else that. I’ve got a reputation to uphold, you know.”

“Whatever.”

I listened to the girls banter back and forth until I began to drift off to sleep. For the first time in a year, I was finally sleeping in peace, and it was safe to nap without fear of having a nightmare.

Just as I lost consciousness, I heard a whipping noise, followed by icy cold water drops spreading across my body. I opened my eyes to find a mop of wet, brown hair shaking over me.

“Good grief, Riley Bennett!”

chapter 2

By the time we got home from our fish wrangling expedition, my skin was on fire. Ignoring pleas from Riley, I’d refused to put on sunscreen and was now paying the price. Knowing that he would never let me hear the end of it, I secretly slathered my body in aloe and then joined him in the hallway by plopping down into my beanbag chair. As soon as my skin made contact with the pleather, the back of my legs felt like thousands of tiny needles pricked into them. I hid my anguish behind a pretend sigh.

“Worried about tomorrow?” he asked as I placed the heel of my foot onto his knee.

“Pretty much.”

In reality I felt like a prisoner making her way to the guillotine. Everyone knew that Tiffany was already busy trying to stir up trouble and that I was left to walk into a wasps’ nest. My only hope was that she didn’t have as much influence over the students as Tammy and Anne seemed to think.

Holding a small brush in his hands, he carefully painted crimson polish onto my toenails. “You’ll cause a stir for the first few days … ” He softly blew on my big toe. “But you’ll become old news pretty fast.”

“I sure hope so.”

“Plus, you’ll be so busy you won’t even have time to think about it, what with school, cheering, and classes at UCO.” He jammed the brush back into the bottle and looked up at me with a scowl. “How are you gonna fit everything in?”

“I only have classes a couple of nights a week. Really, it’s not a big deal.”

“It just doesn’t seem like you’ll have much time for yourself.”

“Or for you?”

“I guess.”

“Don’t worry, Riley; I’ll make time.”

“You better.” He started painting again. “How else are you gonna find time to get your toenails painted?”

I held my foot up in the air and inspected his paint job. “Gosh, you’re pretty good at that.”

“What do you expect? I’m an artist.”

“Lucky for me, I have a professional doing the job. I don’t even think you got any on my skin. When I do it I have to go back with a Q-tip and clean up around the nail.”

“Since I don’t need to protect you at night anymore, I’ve got to find something to make myself useful.”

“There are other things you can do to make yourself useful.”

His eyebrows arched over blazing green eyes. “Not inside this house, there aren’t. We’ve gotta be outside these walls for that—assuming you’re talking about my incredible kissing skills.”

“Yes, those would be the skills I was referring to.”

I heard Pops’s footsteps, signaling he was making his way up the stairs. Due to his size, he couldn’t have snuck up on us if he’d wanted to.

“Attiline, you ready for school tomorrow?”

“I think so.”

He leaned against the doorframe going into Riley’s room, and I thought back to our conversation about how he came up with the nickname Attiline. It still surprised me that we’d been such a large part of each other’s lives for so long. It also reminded me that I needed to download Sweet Caroline from iTunes and give it a listen. “Nervous?” he asked.

“Yes. What if the mean kids pick on me?”

“If the mean kids pick on you, I’ll turn my head the other way while Riley kicks the crap out of them. Nobody’s gonna pick on our girl, are they, Riley?”

“Not if I can help it.”

Pops looked at the nail polish in Riley’s hand. “You thinking of going to cosmetology school, son?”

“Maybe. What of it?”

“I just never know what I’m gonna get with you, do I?”

“I don’t wanna make this parenting gig too easy on you.”

Pops laughed. “Easy on me? I’m having to police two lovebirds that are living in my upstairs. That’s enough to make my hair go gray.”

Riley ran his fingers through his own head of thick hair. “Well, I hate to tell you this, but your hair was already going gray.”

Pops looked over at me and smirked. “I guess the beautician would know.”

“Don’t look at me. This is a no-win situation. I’m keeping my mouth shut.”

Riley tossed me the nail polish. “You’re supposed to take my side, Charlie. We’re a team, remember?”

“And risk getting kicked out of the house? No thank you.”

“No, Attiline, I already told Riley he’d be the one to go if one of you had to move out. We like you much more than we do him.”

“Who can blame you? In that case … ” I threw the polish back to Riley. “Get busy, cosmetology boy. You still have the other foot to do.”

The evening hours rushed by, and I was sure that it was only because I was dreading the next day so much. If I’d actually been looking forward to the next twenty-four hours, time would’ve practically stood still. At least that’s the way it worked for me, anyway.

I tossed and turned in bed for most of the night before I finally gave up on falling asleep and tiptoed to Riley’s bedroom door.

“Riley? Psst, Riley.”

He didn’t budge, so I ran back to my closet, grabbed a flip-flop, ran back, and threw it toward his bed. I ended up hitting him in the face by accident.

“What the … ?” He sat up and looked around the room in a panic before setting his eyes on me. “What was that?”

“A flip-flop.”

“You threw a shoe at me?”

“I called your name several times. You wouldn’t wake up.”

He looked over at his clock as he scratched his head. “Charlie, it’s three o’clock in the morning.”

“I realize that. I couldn’t sleep.”

“And if you can’t sleep, I’m not supposed to sleep either?”

“Isn’t that how we work?”

He scratched his head again before swinging his legs over the side of the bed. “That’s how you work, anyway.”

I dropped my head and slowly turned to go to my room. “You don’t have to come out here if you don’t want to. I was just wanting to spend some more time with you, that’s all.”

It was an act, of course.

“I’m coming. Just give me a sec to wake up, for cryin’ out loud. I was in the middle of a REM cycle.”

I turned back to him. “Well, you don’t have to get testy with me.”

Riley looked at me with a crooked grin. He wouldn’t ever turn down spending time with me, no matter what time it was.

“I’ll wait out here.”

Slumping into the beanbag chair, I waited for my knight in shining armor to keep me company. Within a matter of moments, he drifted out of his room, pulled his beanbag chair next to mine, and plunged in.

He moaned. “Happy now?”

“Yes. I feel much better.”

“So was it a bad dream or nerves?”

“Nerves.”

“That’s an improvement.”

“I’m really bothered by the fact that your dad didn’t put us in any classes together. What was he thinking?”

“He was thinking, How on earth am I gonna keep these two away from each other for the majority of the day?”

“Now that you say that, I can totally hear him thinking that.”

“That very question has probly been haunting his mind for weeks.”

“I’m sure it has.”

“But you’re gonna be fine. You’ve got the girls in some of your classes—at least he gave you that. And we do have the same lunch hour.”

“Yes, there is that.”

He turned on his side and laid his head on the back of the bag. “Did you know that we might actually be able to exist without seeing each other sixteen hours a day?”

I turned to face him. “You don’t say?”

“That’s what I hear, anyway. I’ve heard that spending time apart makes the heart grow fonder.”

“I don’t think my heart can get any fonder.”

He looked surprised. “Well, that was adorable.”

“It was also true.”

He shook his shaggy head as if he were trying to escape a daze. “I totally lost my train of thought. What were we talking about?”

“School.”

“Oh yeah. Maybe we can catch a peek at each other as we mosey down the hallway. Maybe I’ll wink at you.”

“That would be nice. I might actually wink back … and maybe throw in a flirty wave.”

“Now that would make my day for sure, the flirty wave and all.”

“Do you think we should act normal or be coy?”

“I say we leave everybody guessing. They’ve all heard rumors; what’s wrong with confusing them a bit? Play a few mind games maybe?”

“I’m in.”

“So we act like we know each other—obviously.”

“Obviously.”

“But we don’t act like we actually love each other. No holding hands or anything. It’s strictly business,” he said.

“Cool.”

“It’ll drive everybody crazy.”

“Good. It is my goal in life to make sure everyone’s as wacked out as I am.”

“This could very well do it.”

“I love it when you act all devious. It’s really sexy.”

He laughed loudly before burying his head in the beanbag chair so his parents wouldn’t hear and then looked back over at me. “I think my heart just exploded when you said that. You’re on a roll, and it’s only three o’clock in the morning.”

“I’m most creative in the wee hours.”

He leaned toward me, and his fiery eyes caused my heart rate to increase. “Maybe you should start waking me up more often.”

“Do I note wishful thinking in your voice?”

“Yep. I kinda miss the ol’ days of sleeping next to you on the floor.”

I placed my hand on his head and pushed him back into the chair. “Oh, Riley, you really are cute.”

We sat and talked about school until sleepiness finally took hold and my yawning increased as my eyelids grew heavy.

“I’m tired now. I’m going to sleep.” I stood to make my way to my welcoming bed as he reached out and clutched on to my arm.

“Wait just a minute! I’m wide awake.”

“I’m going to bed.”

“That’s just wrong, Atticus Elizabeth Reed.” His arms folded across his chest, and a scowl perched on his face. “Completely and utterly wrong.”

“Fine.” I plopped back into the beanbag chair.

“Thank you.”

“Uh-huh.”

Another large yawn escaped my throat, and seeing my sleepiness caused him to feel a little bit sorry for me.

“Okay, if you can answer one question right, I’ll let you go to sleep.”

“Do I have to? I’m tired.”

“You gotta.”

“What is it?”

“Name the schools of the Big Twelve Conference.”

“Riley!”

He wagged his finger at me. “You have to name them if you wanna go to sleep.”

“Fine.”

“I’ll count.”

“Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Iowa State, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Baylor, Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas, Kansas State … ”

Riley kept count on his fingers as I listed them.

“Missouri … ”

“Can she do it? One more … can she do it?”

“Oh, and what’s that other orange team I hate? Oh yeah, Texas.” I stood and started making my way toward my bed.

“See, this is why I love you. You really are a dream girl.”

“Goodnight.”

“She even knows the schools of the Big Twelve … ” I listened to him talk to himself as he walked back into his room. “She’s my dream girl, darned right. I sure can pick ‘em.”

I turned and stuck my head out my door. “Them? You can pick them?”

He peeked around the doorframe. “You, I meant. I sure can pick—you.”

“Nice try.”

“You’re the only one for me, Charlie.”

“Go to sleep, Riley.”

chapter 3

I lay in bed dreading the day a little too long, and by the time I dragged myself out of the comfy covers and toward the shower, everyone else was gone. Boomer and Baby were the only ones left, and they both sat on the landing staring at the front door in hopes that someone would come back home.

“Baby, do you realize I’m the one that cared for you and helped restore your health?”

She glanced back at me for a moment but went right back to watching the door. Riley had quickly become the center of her world, and nobody else would do. Who could really blame her?

“Fine, see if I give you a snack when I get home, you ungrateful dog.”

Walking into the bathroom, I spotted a new drawing. Riley must have drawn it and then taped it to the mirror after I went back to bed. It was a replica of a photo Tammy had taken of him and me together. I was proudly holding my catfish, and he was pointing at it and smiling.

My collection of Riley artwork was growing larger and larger by the day, and I constantly wondered what he was going to draw next. It was one of the highlights of each and every day, and I’d started storing them in a shoebox. It was the shoebox from the first pair of shoes that Marme bought me after I arrived.

I went through my normal routine of getting ready for the day and didn’t bother to put on any more makeup than I normally would. I didn’t really like to wear makeup, and Riley wouldn’t have liked it even if I did. He liked me “au naturel,” or so he said.

Finally picking up some steam, I rushed through a bowl of cereal, tossed some dry food into the dog dishes, and ran out the door. When I jumped into the car, there was a sticky note attached to the steering wheel.

I filled your gas tank, so you should be set for the week.

Have a great first day of school. Don’t worry; you’ll do great!

Love you! Pops

The note from Pops was a big clue of where Riley got his love of giving notes and pictures. I guessed he’d been getting them from his dad for years and wondered if Riley kept them for safekeeping.

As it was, I had nothing with my mother’s handwriting on it. There might have been some items back at the house in Ithaca, but my dad hadn’t sent me any of her things. I hoped that in the boxes he’d probably packed away, there was a note of some kind from my mother to me, and I wondered if our handwriting looked similar.

Removing the note, I opened up the visor and stuck it on the mirror for safekeeping before finally putting the car in drive and making the ten-minute drive to my new prison.

“She’s arrived!” Tammy danced in circles as I approached what would be my new school building. “Look at her in all her new girl glory.”

I walked toward the entrance and my ridiculous best friend. “How on God’s green earth are you of all people so peppy this early in the morning? And on the first day of school, no less?”

“Aw, I knew you’d be tortured all day today. I thought it might be fun to witness.”

“I appreciate your loyalty and support.”

As soon as we made it through the doors, the noise was deafening. I stopped and peered into the office just to my right. I hoped to see Pops, but there were so many parents and students standing at the desk that if he were inside, my view of him was obscured.

The library sat right in front of us, and the cafeteria was snuggled between it and the office I’d just passed. Turning left, Tammy and I walked down the small hallway lined with a single row of blue lockers. I held my breath as I watched students pack the hall, laughing, talking, and slamming locker doors. It felt odd to see everyone dressed in casual clothes. I was accustomed to a strict dress code that composed of a school uniform and no additional items. Everyone standing in front of me looked so casual and so … foreign.

The more steps we took, the farther away Pops was and the more I felt like I was making my way down a gauntlet.

Once we’d finally made our way down the first hallway, Tammy wrapped her arm around mine, and I watched the locker numbers as she led me through the crowd.

“Where are the girls?”

“Are you kidding me? Tess and Anne wouldn’t be late for class if their lives depended on it, and Jen’s chasing after some guy on the golf team. That’ll keep her occupied for a while.”

“Golf team, huh? Does she even like golf?”

“Does anyone?”

“I doubt it.”

“She likes the guy, so she’ll pretend to like the sport. That’s how we do things around here.”

“You live a lie?”

“Yep.”

“Hmm.”

“Don’t judge, Attie. We’ve all got our issues. Some of us more than others.”

“I’m not judging; I’m just worried she’s going to want us to fake it too. I don’t think I could make it through an entire golf match.”

“I think it’s actually a tournament.”

“Whatever. Hey, here’s my locker.”

My backpack fell to the floor as I dialed the combination. Of course it didn’t work. With my luck the way it is, why on earth would I have thought it would work on the first try? Having good luck would have been completely uncharacteristic of me.

I kicked the metal contraption twice before giving the combination another try. “Twenty-seven, nine, seventeen. Abra cadabra.” This time the locker door opened easily.

“Nice magic.”

“I’ve got skills.”

“Speaking of skills, where’s Riley?”

“Watch it. I don’t employ any ‘skills’ when it comes to Riley Bennett, thank you very much.”

“I’m not accusing you of anything inappropriate; I’m just saying you’ve got him under your spell, that’s all.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Anyhoo, I thought the two of you would come together.”

I threw the backpack into the locker and shoved it in with my foot. “We’re not together.”

She grabbed me by the arm. “You broke up?”

“Shh!” I looked around to make sure nobody was listening. “We were never together.”

“Huh?”

“It’s a little game we’re playing, messing with people’s minds.”

She maniacally rubbed her hands together and gave an evil laugh before speaking in her best Wicked Witch of the West voice. “Oh, how I enjoy messing with people’s minds.”

“That was creepy.”

She shrugged. “I try.”

“Anyway, you’re going to love it. Riley and I are going to ignore each other.”

“That should be interesting to watch. You haven’t been able to keep away from each other for months.”

“Shh!”

“Quit telling me to shush; nobody’s paying us any mind.” She looked around the crowded hallway before dramatically rolling her eyes. “Well, actually, everyone’s staring at you.”

I pretended to dig in my locker. “Please tell me you’re joking.”

“Wish I could, but people are all up in your business right now.”

I kicked my backpack again.

“Turn around,” she whispered.

“No.”

“It’s your man candy.”

“My what?”

“Turn around, turn around, turn around, turn around … hey, Riley.”

I spun around and practically ran right into him. He smelled amazing, and his tan skin looked like syrup against his butter-yellow golf shirt.

“Hey, Attie.” He was going all out, even calling me Attie. He’d probably been practicing all morning, seeing as how he hadn’t directly called me “Attie” since we were in the second grade.

I gave a small nod and felt my face and neck begin to flush. “Riley.”

The throng of students immediately surrounding us became noticeably quieter. I imagined their ears perking up, much like Baby’s did when we called her for dinner. Our fellow students wanted the scoop, and they wanted it now.

“How’s your morning?” he asked.

Refusing to make eye contact, I nibbled on my thumbnail. “It’s all right. Tammy’s showing me around. How about yours?” I finally peeked up at him. He was wearing an adorable smirk.

“Okay. I’m a little tired though. I didn’t get much sleep last night. Something kept me up.”

My stomach flipped. He was secretly flirting with me right there in front of everyone, and I stood stunned while he smiled proudly at me as he waited for a response.

Quickly, the shyness and nerves fled my body, and I felt my shoulders rise and my chest puff a bit. Two could play his game, and there was no way I was going to let him win.

I returned his smugness with a sly smile of my own. “I’m so sorry to hear that. I hope it wasn’t anything serious that kept you up.”

“Oh … ” He nodded. “It was very serious.”

“Really?”

“Uh-huh. It’s affected me … four months or so? Yeah, about four months.”

“Has it always been so serious?”

“Pretty much from day one.”

“Day one?”

“It’s sorta like it showed up on my doorstep and never left. I’ve had trouble getting a good night’s sleep ever since.”

“Really, it’s that serious?”

“Yep.”

“Maybe you should have yourself checked out, let someone have a really good look at you. You know, someone who really knows your inner workings.”

“And outer,” Tammy added.

“Yes, Tammy.” I threw her a nod. “Definitely his outer workings.”

His eyes widened and then narrowed. I was sure his mind was racing.

“Riley?”

He shook his head, which caused a clump of dark hair to fall across his right eye. “What?”

“Maybe you should have yourself checked out.”

He gave a knowing nod. “I plan on it.”

I desperately wanted to laugh but somehow managed to maintain my cool. “Is that why your eyes are so red? A lack of sleep?”

“No, that would be allergies.”

“Allergies?” I asked.

“Yeah, I’ve been spending a lotta time outside.” He bit his top lip, but a small laugh still escaped.

“Really, a lot of time outside?”

“More than usual.”

“Doing what, exactly?”

“A little of this. A little of that.” He shrugged.

“Nothing too strenuous?”

“Never.” My toes went numb as his searing eyes burned right through. “I really try to place limits on myself.”

“Limited but enjoyable just the same?”

“Extremely enjoyable.” He crossed his arms in front of his chest and grinned his movie-star grin, leaving me completely weak in the knees but still determined to win our war of flirty words.

I glanced at Tammy. Her mouth hung open as she watched our interaction. “Did you hear that, Tammy? Riley’s been spending a lot of extra time outside.”

She looked over at me. “I hear it’s good to spend time outside with all that fresh air and physical activity and stuff. It does the body good.”

“And the psyche,” Riley added, barely able to hide his amusement.

“Definitely the psyche,” I confirmed.

Tammy looked at Riley. “Plan on spending any time outside this afternoon?”

“Quite a bit, actually. Maybe even into the evening.”

She gave him a pat on the arm. “Good for you. Have a good time.”

“I plan on it.” His eyes locked on mine. “So … ”

“So,” I repeated.

He dropped his gaze, rummaged through his backpack, and pulled out a bagged lunch. “Mom was afraid you’d forget your lunch, so she had me bring it.”

I grabbed for it, but he reached across me and put it on the shelf in my locker. The reach brought his face and the scent of his fresh-smelling cologne inches from me.

“You’re killin’ me,” he groaned.

“You started it.” I pulled out my schedule and placed it on my binder. “Will you look at this with me?” I spoke loud enough for everyone crowding around us to hear.

Pretending to look at the paper, he leaned into me until his chest rested against my shoulder. “I may have started it, but you kicked it up a notch,” he whispered, pointing to the schedule. “You’re smoldering right now, do you realize that?”

I lowered my head and pretended to examine the paper more closely. “Evidently you didn’t know whom you were dealing with.”

A small moan escaped his throat. “Seriously, you need to stop right now, or everyone in this hallway’s gonna get a show.”

My stomach fluttered at the idea that I could make him nervous so easily. It was cute. I looked up at him out of the corner of my eye. “And what type of show would you be referring to?”

“Let’s put it this way: there won’t be any doubt how I feel about you.”

“And how is that?”

He smiled. “So that’s how you wanna play?”

“Uh-huh.”

“You’re so not fair.”

“How much more can you take, Riley?”

“Uh … ” He looked back down at the schedule. “Not much more, I can tell you that.”

“Do you want to admit defeat now?”

He smiled down at me again. “How about we call it even and continue this later on tonight?”

“Only if you say it.”

“Say what?”

“Attie holds all the power,” I whispered.

His eyes practically sparkled. “Attie Reed most definitely holds all the power—I gladly gave it over.”

I grabbed the schedule and jammed it into my notebook as I raised my voice again. “That’s exactly what I needed to know. Thanks so much, Riley.”

“You’re welcome, Char—Attie.”

“I’ll be sure to tell your dad how nice you were to help me out. You know, going out of your way to find me and point me in the right direction. I know you have a lot of better things to do. Probably a girl or two waiting around for you somewhere.”

“Anytime. Well … try to have a good day.”

“I’ll do that.”

“Maybe we’ll see each other at lunch or something?” he said. “Yeah, it’d be best if I found you at lunch. That way I can see if you need anything or have any questions or anything.”

“You’re so darned sweet, Riley. I’m sure you’ll make a girl very happy one day.”

A full-blown chuckle escaped before he could stop himself, so he turned it into a fake cough. “Gotta go.”

“Toodles.”

I turned toward my locker as he bolted down the hallway.

“Jaws are dropped all around.” Much like a ventriloquist, Tammy talked through nonmoving lips. “You both deserve an Oscar, and I think I need a cold shower. That was hot. “

“It was fun.”

“How on earth did you control yourself? If I were dating him, I’d be kissing him ten times a day and sixty times on Sunday.”

“Shame on you. Don’t you know Sundays are a day of rest?” I exploded into a fit of giggles and dragged her through the hall. “Come on, get me to my first class.”