Solo (31 page)

"Oh," was all he said.

"My mom wanted to surprise me with a trip to the coast this weekend. We'll be gone until Monday. Please don't be bummed. I promise if we get back early, I'll come over."

"I'm not bummed." He rubbed the top of my hand.

"You're a bad liar."

Casey stood at the curb waiting for us when we pulled into the parking lot. She wanted to help me with my books. I reminded myself to be thankful that I would only have to deal with this for less than two weeks.

"Eliana, how are you feeling?" She eyeballed my arm.

"I'm really okay. This is only precautionary."

I caught Lucas rolling his eyes.

"Well, I need to prepare you. The rumors are swirling." She frowned. "Evan is suspended for a week, and Sasha is
livid."

"He deserves it, and that's nothing new with Sasha."

"I don't think anyone expected to see damage," she grimaced.

I looked at both of them. "This didn't happen during the fight—got it? If anyone asks, I tripped on the dance floor. I'm not going to make this worse for anyone else."

Lucas reached over and grabbed my hand.

"Whatever you say," Casey shrugged.

The day was chaotic. I had to explain a million times that my arm wasn't broke in a fight. Thankfully, Jack sat between Sasha and me during Chemistry. He blocked her glares. I wasn't worried about her anymore; more like annoyed.

Toward the end of third period, the office called over the speaker, "Eliana Davis is needed in the office."

I glanced at Casey while she helped me collect my things. She raised her eyebrows and looked a little worried.

"I'll see you at lunch," I whispered, heading down the aisle.

The office was busy. Well, busier than normal. The secretary looked like she had been pulling her hair out all morning.

"Hello, I'm Eliana Davis. I was called to the office." I raised my voice trying to get her attention.

"Yes, dear. Please take a seat. Vice Principal Watkins will be right with you."

"All right." This had to be about my arm. I'd have to continue damage control. I hoped he believed me.

"Eliana, you can go in now," said the secretary.

"Thanks." I followed her to Mr. Watkins' office and she held the door open. He was sitting at his desk flipping through paperwork. If he wanted to intimidate me, he did.

"Miss Davis, please have a seat." He gestured toward the chair in front of his desk. His gaze slid to my arm and his eyes narrowed. "It has come to my attention that your arm was injured at the school event Saturday evening. Is this correct?"

"Yes, Sir." I tried to sound and look confident.

"Mr. Richards has been reprimanded for the incident. For liability purposes, the school board would like to speak with you and your parents."

"Sir, that incident doesn't involve me," I interrupted.

"Miss Davis, I don't think you understand the severity of Mr. Richards's actions. We need to know if you are planning to press charges."

"Press charges? Why?" I tried to stay composed. "Are you talking about my arm? This didn't happen because of Evan. I tripped and fell earlier in the evening."

He pursed his lips. He wasn't buying my story.

I lifted my arm in the sling and waved it. "I have no intention of pressing charges. See, it's not broke. I have to wear this for precautionary measures."

"In any case, for our records we still need this paperwork filled out by your parents and physician. But, just so I understand, you're saying that your injury was not the result of an altercation at prom?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Please bring back the signed forms as soon as possible." He handed me the documents. "You may go to your next class."

"All right. Thank you."

I couldn't get out of his office fast enough. I wanted to read through the paperwork to make sure there wasn't anything about the fight. Luckily, they were blank forms that needed completion. Basically, they were no-fault accident forms and a release from my doctor to be at school.

As soon as I got to the courtyard, Lucas and Casey bombarded me with questions. I told them the details. Everyone was shocked that I wasn't planning to press charges. As nice as it would have been to stick it to Evan, I knew he hadn't expected me to get hurt. Besides, everyone thought I'd tripped. I wasn't about to come clean, especially with my mom.

At the end of the day, Lucas helped me to Casey's car before heading off to his last baseball practice.

Casey carried my bag into the house when she dropped me off. I could have done it on my own, but she insisted. I was learning not to argue with her because she'd get you one way or another.

When she was out of sight, I hurried to my room to change. I had to get to my meadow to hash out my new routine before Lucas finished practice. If he showed up and saw me tumbling across the field, he'd stop everything. It might be my only chance. I wasn't sure if he would be babysitting me all week, trying to keep me from attempting anything dangerous—well, dangerous in his eyes.

Mom was waiting for me in the kitchen. She was nervous about me going out, so I lied. Yep, I was getting good at lying. I told her what she wanted to hear; that I was working on a few eight counts to replace the tumbling. I don't think she quite bought it.

During the jog to the meadow, I kept thinking about three sequences I wanted to try. The more I could work it out in my head, the quicker I could get started. I only had an hour before Lucas would show up.

I'd never tumbled with an injury. I was nervous. The first sequence was the easiest, so I figured I'd start there. I inhaled and took off running as fast as I could. At the last second, I hesitated. I walked back to the starting point, frustrated with myself.
You can do this.
Inhaling again, I took off running—and froze up
again.

"Jeez, what's wrong with me?" I said to the trees.

I decided to take the sling off and walked back to my starting point. One deep breath and off I went. It felt more natural being able to swing my arm. There was no hesitation this time and the aerial sequence seemed effortless, almost too easy. I moved on to option two. It was good, but my landing wasn't on point. I would work on that—after I attempted option three. Now, that was the scary one, it involved two difficult mid-air twists.

I looked at my clock. Lucas would be here anytime. I scanned the woods before trying option three. In mid air it was seamless. The landing wasn't so kind; my butt hit the grass before my legs. At the rate I was going I would need an ice pack before the end of the night. I didn't have time to stop. I hopped up and ran back to the starting point. I almost had it the second time around, but I landed a little short and, once again, ended up on my butt.

I liked both option two and three. I decided to work on both. If I could perfect the landing on number three, it would be the winner. Two would be my backup. I ran through option three a few more times before Lucas came through the trees.

"How's it going?" he asked.

"I think I've figured out how to change my routine to make it work with my obstacle." I raised my arm.

"Where's your sling?"

"Calm down. It's right over there. I took it off to run through my routine."

He shook his head.

"Lucas, if your not here to support me, I think you should leave. In fact, you might not like the changes and I don't have time to argue with you."

"I won't say a word. If I don't like what I see, I'll leave."

"Fine with me." I shrugged and went to my starting point. I figured I would run through option one. I knew I wasn't planning on using it, but it was easy. If Lucas couldn't handle that, then he definitely wouldn't be able to handle two or three.

I took off running, gained momentum, and executed the sequence. Once again, I landed on point. Pleased with myself, I turned to see Lucas' reaction. He was gone. It was probably better this way. I didn't need any distractions. My goal was option three, and I was determined to perfect it.

* * *

The next day Lucas started back with the silent treatment. He picked me up every morning and dropped me off every afternoon. When he said he wouldn't say a word, he meant it. I didn't have the time or patience to deal with his attitude. I understood his point of view. If tables were turned; I would be upset, too. The difference was I knew what I was capable of.

My persistence was starting to pay off. Option three was starting to look flawless. I only had one day to put it all together before I was off on my trip to the coast. If I could run through the routine at least five times without error, I could relax at the beach.

I'd just finished my second run through, when I noticed Lucas sitting at the edge of the field. I took a break and walked over to him.

"Are you done with your silly silent treatment?"

"Maybe," he muttered.

"Well, I don't want you around if you're still in your funky mood."

I went back to my starting point and looked to see if he was still there. To my delight, he was sitting on the ground. I ran through the whole routine three times with the mixed track. I couldn't believe I had it down.

Lucas was still there holding my sling when I finished. He almost quirked a smile when I did my happy dance.

"That looks really good.

"Thanks, I've literally, been busting my butt all week." I reached for my sling.

Lucas stood and helped me put it on.

"So you're leaving for the beach in the morning?"

"Yeah. I'll call you when I get back on Monday."

"Do you have plans for tonight?"

"I still have to pack. Do you want to come over?"

"Well, you've seen my room. It's only fair that I get to see yours."

"If you think my car is a matchbox, wait until you see my room. It's nothing compared to yours."

"It can't be that bad."

"What time do want to come over?"

"Whenever you want me to; I don't have anything planned."

"If you want to come over now, you can. I'm sure my mom won't care."

"Great. I'll take you home. My truck is at the overlook."

We stepped out of the trees and headed up the road. The fact that Lucas and I were talking again made everything better. I'd missed holding his hand and, well, everything about him.

My mom was in the living room watching TV with Gramps when we came through the front door.

"Lucas is here. He's going to hang out while I pack." I said before we went upstairs.

"Okay. I picked up pizza again. It's in the fridge if you two want some."

"Thanks." I turned to Lucas. "Are you hungry?"

"No, I'm good."

"Okay, follow me. Remember this isn't my room; it's the room that was assigned to me."

"Got it," he grinned.

 I opened the door and stood back while he entered. "It's bigger than your car."

I laughed. "Thanks." I motioned to the bed. "Have a seat." I started going through my closet and drawers collecting what I wanted to take. He looked at the pictures on my wall while I threw things on the bed.

"You've always been gorgeous, huh?" He smiled. "I just said that out loud, didn't I?"

"Funny. There you go mocking me again."

"Just stating the facts." He sprawled across the bed next to the pile of clothes. "Are you going to be gone a month?"

I chuckled. "No, I'm going to narrow my selection down." I threw a few swimsuits onto the pile and started digging for my flip flops.

"You wear this." Lucas sounded shocked.

I turned to see him touching my bikini. "Um, yeah." I snatched it out of his hands.

"It's kind of revealing, don't you think?"

"Don't tell me you're one of
those
guys," I groaned.

"No, actually, I'm more of the 'if you got it, flaunt it' kind of guy. I'm just disappointed that I won't be there to see you in it."

"Oh, I'm sure you'll see me in it at some point this summer." I dug my duffle bag from under the bed and shoved half of the pile in before zipping it. "There, I'm done for now. I can finish the rest later."

He patted the bed. "Come here."

I sat next to him. He gently pushed me backwards and practically rolled on top of me, being extra careful not to touch my arm. "Lucas, my door doesn't have a lock, and I have no privacy with my grandmother in this house."

"We're not doing anything wrong," he whispered as his lips touched mine. "I've missed being close to you."

"Well, it's your fault. The silent treatment gets you nowhere. But seriously, someone could walk in and get the wrong idea."

"Okay," he sighed, and sat up, glancing around the room again. "What's with the dolls?"

"They're protesting the Pepto-Bismol walls."

"Okay, whatever you say," he chuckled. He looked at his phone. "I should be getting home soon."