Tainted (21 page)

“Yes, I think I am cold in answer to your earlier question, but better now.  Returning to the southern states air is not doing me justice.”  I looked at my friends feeling sad.  “I will miss you guys terribly.  Ian wrote my address for you and mailed you both letters from our new home.”  I was forced to pretend to be living with Ian as roommates.  This was news to my parents early this morning and not by my tongue.

Both girls had given me a
yeah right
on the three way call when I was forced to tell them on the phone early this morning right after Ian dropped that bomb on my parents.  Explaining the no cell phones at our new school didn’t gel with them, but they couldn’t do anything about it.

Pam raised her eyebrows giving me a silent reprimand as we stared at each other.  I didn’t want to warrant any discussion on the matter.  “The letters tell you everything I’ve been up to.  We have to be on our way.  Our flight leaves in a little over three hours.”  
I want more time with them.

Caylie pouted.  “Girl, you two come back for one day and you think you can just whiz out of here without any gossip.  Puhlease.”

I looked to Ian and pleaded with my eyes, my hands flying to his arm with ease. 

“You two are so cozy.  Good to know you two came out of the closet and finally spinning that bottle.”

He ignored Caylie and her well-spun tales. “I will push the flight back a couple of hours.  We can all meet at the Burger Giant and be on our way at six instead.”  His anger appears to have dissipated.  I feared it would return in private matters later. 

I smiled graciously and turned to my parents to hug them goodbye.  Ian saw it before I did and stopped me with a pull of his possessive arm around my hip.  “We must go if we are to lollygag.” 

Meany!
  “Bye mother, father.  I love you.”  My father reached for me and Ian shook his hand instead putting himself in front of me.  Surely my father had to wonder.

I watched them the whole time as they drove off away from me in my old car.  Ian leaned in, “They will be fine.  Quit worrying.”

I turned my face a little to his.  He was being kind despite my earlier actions so I kissed him quickly.  “Thank you.  Saving me as always.”  Although I don’t think I needed to be saved from the most evil Kin, not so evil anymore. 

Caylie and Pam were making smacking noises behind us. 

“With pleasure.  Shall we be off?”  I inadvertently looked around for Pike’s bike.  Kin’s exciting exit sent me back in time for a brief second.  When we left the parking lot each day after school, it always seemed to follow around the same pattern.  I always walked to my car.  Ian either rode with me on rainy days or his bike otherwise.  He followed me to school most days instead of riding with me.  Pike would leave about the same time after school on his bike.  And Kin and his other bike boy cronies would follow me out.  It was a shock one day in sophomore year when I stayed late with Caylie to finish the science lab experiment and they were all still there somehow at five o’clock in the afternoon.  They claimed to be hanging out.  Yeah, right.  I knew now they were all waiting on me and watching each other to keep each other’s hands off me.  Ha!

I excused myself ten feet away from Ian and Pike to talk to Danella disguised in a pretty green dress as Miss Dan.  Both boys gave me such grief going
that far
but let if fly because it was Danella.  I told Danella what I wanted her to go get and then meet us at the restaurant.  She laughed at me, but said she would honor my request.

We hopped into Pike’s supposed car that seemed to just appear and followed Caylie and Pam to the restaurant.  When we were inside the guys sandwiched me into the booth across from the girls.  My super suspicious friends looked questioningly at my seating arrangements.  I positioned my hands so that my bracelets hung down away from my skin intending to claim to be examining our security if asked, but really I wanted the girls take on what they were seeing.  Their perspective inside their heads was very different now that I could hear them.   I’d already figured out that the human voices were in my head here and there because I had to block them out back at the graduation.  It was kind of like one big blur of sound humming instead of one voice.  I had to concentrate on my two prince protector voices and even still it was difficult.

I concentrated hard on the graduation and the events in order as I listened to their idle chitchat rehashing the day, no mention of Kin.  Ian greeted them both as I did.  Pike nodded and I introduced them to the boy they’d grown up with but had never spoken to before.  He didn’t look the least bit uncomfortable.  In fact, he was up against me and a little more than comfortably touching me.  I inched closer to Ian wondering if he sensed my discomfort.

Man, she gets all the luck.  She has two hot guys chasing her and she seems so calm.
  Caylie was smiling at me and telling the waitress to bring her a soda.  We all ordered burgers.  I couldn’t wait.  Oh, I never thought I would ever get to eat one again.

“So, girlfriend.  You two are going to college together in Washington,” Pam asked as she thought at the same time no doubt
cozy in the cottage
.

“Yes.  And Christian too,” I answered anxious to change the subject.

“What’s your major?” Pam asked me but her inside thoughts said something different again. 
Kissing all kinds of hot sounds like a great major to me.

“IDK Pam.  Do you?”  Oh, I miss my girls. Didn’t appreciate them then like I do now!

Pam shrugged.
              “So, you two shacking up?  All three?  What, scoop it?”  Caylie asked without any tactfulness.  That’s Caylie.

Of course, that was right about the time I took a drink of my ever so yummy soda so it ended up all over Pike at the comment.  Pike jumped up enough it only hit his arm and he wiped it off with my napkin. 

Not how I intended to swap spit, Beautiful.

I popped his arm good.
I’m not swapping anything with you.
The girls saw.

“No, we are not
all
shacking up.  Christian is our friend and free at the time,” I smiled sweetly at Pike who sneered at me.  “And Ian and I finally were able to be together.  I mean...are together.”

Caylie batted her lashes at Pike and bent towards me to whisper, “HPO—"

I thought fast interrupting her side ploy assessment to thinking the boys didn’t understand her text language attempt at secretly discussing Pike's hot body.   “No, Caylie.  No.  Just no.  I was just joking.  And they understand our texting, so watch the out loud code talk.  They know more than they let on.  Besides, he’s wrapped up in his new found love,” I thought fast, “um...criminal justice.  He’s very good at being a spy.  Doesn’t have time for girls.”  Oh, I loved my wit.  Even not very carefully thought out wit!  Ha on you, Pike! 

Hearing his super deep voice for the first time, the girls locked on to Pike when he said, “Grace, the librarian here, loves to be spied on.”

Enough Pike.

When you do.

I was pulled from my glaring contest with Pike when Ian soothed me with his super power hand trick to calm me. 

“Oh, you’ll have to tell me how you and Ian hooked up.  I’ve just got to know,” Caylie would not be put out.  A letter would have to do, but it excited me to be able to put some of the details on paper.  That would be fun.

I only had a second of warning.  One loud footstep announced their presence, two steps.  Here comes my third big bad prince. Of course!  And Coach Stanton was here with him.  I don’t remember ever seeing the teachers here before.  Course, my parents had never made an appearance before either.

Just then, coach turned back from passing us, looked my way, and spoke directly to me, “Are you guys excited to be done with this stage in your human life?”

Did he just say
human
?  My eyes narrowed suspiciously answering for everyone, “Ah, yes Coach Stanton.” My legs on either side were now numb from the squeeze both boys had on my thighs.  I found it odd that I had my charms far from my skin and yet the sound waves were clear of conversation.  They weren’t cussing each other out like I assumed they always were.  Of course, they could block me out better than I could them.

“Why are you here coach?  You left back when they did,” Caylie waved at us as a group meaning Kin also since he was standing beside the table and staring at coach with an air of Frankenstein blow-your-top vehemence.  Caylie saw this too and backed up in her seat nearly squishing Pam to a squeal.  I was forced to lean in too close not meaning to confirm what I could smell so strongly on my scent sensor, but to keep from being a squashed bug. 

Coach didn’t break a sweat nor answer her question.  With his face unchanging, “I am glad you returned today to see this chapter close in your life.  I myself wanted to see it also.  I feel it is good to close one’s passages in life with claiming the inevitable.”

Whatever that means?  He was an odd man.  And I have a taste in my mouth that feels vaguely familiar to rubber and leather.  I surveyed the room checking for where Kin went since he went missing.   Coach was
with
Kin when he arrived. I couldn’t ask now either way so I shrugged in a teenagery kind of way and turned back to my friends telling him, “Thanks coach.”  I didn’t think back on it again.

The conversation turned back to me.  And coach left us.  Pike kept his eye on Kin and Ian on coach.  The girls had no idea what we were dealing with.  All they saw was an annoying coach oddly tagging along with his team at the teenage hangout.

She is shacking up with both of them.  I know it
.  Pam was so perverted and too easily distracted.

“Girls, so…what have I missed?”  Let’s change this mind subject matter.  I knew the boys listened to this outlandish talk too.

Caylie offered, “Oh you don’t know about David.”  I shook my head.  “He was that hot college guy that Pam dated.  He disappeared the night you and Ian did.”   Her eyes darted to Pike.   “And you too Christian.  At least, I remember the school was buzzing the next week that you were in jail or something.” I didn’t believe any of what they say.  Something’s up.

Uh oh!  “No, Christian was there the night Ian and I were running away.  He tried to stop us.  That’s why he’s here now.  He feels very protective about our honor.  He wasn’t in jail at all.  In fact, he’s going into the ministry.  He’s here to make sure we do this the right way.”  My devil Grace grabbed angel Grace by the neck and laughed heartily.  Gotcha!  Pike was so
going to get me later. 

Pike and Ian both kicked me under the table
.
  I kicked the tar out of both of them, BACK! 

Caylie laughed saying but thinking differently, “Yeah right.  Criminal justice and minister.  That fits!”  Caylie’s mind went off too. She went on and on about how the church
needs
something to ogle at that looks that good.  That it gives those single women something to charge their minds about wondering if he’s celibate or not. 

Pam was a wayward follower. 
Um, can I join the ministry?  I’ll be good.

I smiled at their total human girlness.  “I’ve missed you guys.  There are not many women where I live now.  I miss it terribly.”   This warranted another Ian look from the side.  I didn’t dare look at Pike for fear that the girls might revert back to the prior thinking. 

“Are you lacking something with only my company?”

“And Pike’s,” I added.

He frowned.  “Danella is not enough?”

“No, Ian.  I miss my friends.”  It was the truth.

Nothing else was said on the matter.

When everyone had their fill, we shoved all of the trash in the bin by the door.  While I waited for Caylie and Pam to get refills on soda, I glanced back at the table where Coach sat.  He wasn’t alone.  Kin and several other soccer players were all yapping it up together like supposed old times. Maybe they were just hanging out, but why was Kin here?  Just to watch me?

Both of their heads shot my direction at the mention of Kin’s name.  Whoa!  Coach is one of them.  Us!  I knew it.

I raced out the door to catch up with everyone saying their goodbyes. 

Bet she’s pregnant in no time.

Caylie had no tact what so ever, even in her mind.  “I will miss you.  Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” Caylie eyed me with a look only a girl gave to another girl.  Total warning bells were going off since I would most likely never do anything like what Caylie might want to do.  I wanted to say it to her too.

“Or you either,” I challenged her.

“Oh no.  Wouldn’t dare.  Much more careful with my crazy life and being labeled a bore. Of course, running away with a guy and shacking up with him and the monk.  That’s daring.  I think you’ve outdone my crazy meter or smarter than every girl on the planet meter.”

I kept from hugging her but sent her two French style fake kisses to both her cheeks in the air.  She would have gone on if I let her.  “Love you, Caylie.  Take care and write me back.”

“You too Pam,” I faked kissed her in the air.

I waved them goodbye and turned to the car we came in only to see Pike had hands pointed to both his cheeks hinting at wanting the same.  I glared at Mr. Macho at Ian yanked my waist away and into him.  I stood there too long watching the girls drive away.