Unbreakable (Accidental Crush #3) (11 page)

I check my phone—Ten twenty-two. Then I quickly glance around, but I don’t see Todd’s car.
Phew
.

After hurried small talk with my mom about the dance, I rush upstairs so I can check my phone for a text. Then I check the clock, ten twenty-eight. Phone, nothing. Well, except a text from Sid, but we’ll count that as nothing for now. Window, nothing.

I repeat these steps several times to more nothing. Then my phone finally buzzes.

Look outside.

And that is when my heart drops into my stomach. There is Todd, in his suit and tie, holding a corsage. I close my eyes and say a silent thank you to whoever is listening. What did I ever do to deserve him?

I pull open my window and start to climb out. My heart is pounding in my ears, partly because I am deathly afraid of heights—and from up here, two stories seems like I’m on top of a sky scraper—and partly because I know, if I get caught, we are both dead. But mostly, it’s because I am so in love my heart can’t handle it.

When I jump down from the bottom branch of the tree, Todd steps back and smiles, it’s a smile that is so deep it melts whatever was left of my heart.

“You look beautiful.”

“So do you.” I haven’t seen him since the fight. His eye is pretty bad; definitely not something he could hide from his dad. The skin underneath is a deep blue, and he has a big gash across his eyebrow. I run my fingers over it, as if my touch could heal it. “Black eye and all.”

His smile gets even deeper, if that’s possible.

“This is for you.” He slips the lily corsage on my wrist.

The corsage is incredible; I know I’m turning bright red because my cheeks feel like they are on fire. I run my fingers across the soft petals of the flower, keeping my eyes on the lily because, if I make eye contact, he will see just how red I am.

“Thank you. It’s beautiful,” I whisper more to the flower than him.

He lifts my chin up so my eyes meet his. “I’m sorry I missed the dance, but I’m glad I got to see you in your dress.” He runs his hand down my back, feeling the yellow, silky material.

“Thanks for wearing your suit.” I slide his lapel through my thumb and forefinger.

Todd glances back up to my window, as if he just remembered where we are. “Let’s go,” he says as his fingers intertwine with mine.

***

When we pull into the parking lot of our field, it’s empty, but it’s flooded with light from the street lamps overhead. Todd rolls down the windows and opens his sunroof. Then he plugs his iPhone into his car radio and clicks on a playlist titled “homecoming,” one of my favorite slow songs starts to play.

He jumps out of the car and runs around to my side to open my door where he holds out his hand. “May I have this dance?”

I nod my head, and before I know it, we have an entire asphalt dance floor to ourselves. He wraps his arms around me, and I fall into his chest. I changed into my Converse to climb down the tree, so my head is even lower on his chest than when we’ve danced before, I can barely wrap my arms around his neck. I will just have to settle for grabbing onto his broad shoulders while I feel his heart beating against my cheek.
Oh, darn.

Right now, right here, I don’t think I could love him any more than I do.

“I love this song,” I say softly.

He leans down and says just as softly in my ear, “I know.” I smile at the feeling of his warm breath as it brushes across my earlobe. “I picked all of your favorite slow songs. Why waste our time with anything else?” He smiles down at me, the light streaking across his face perfectly highlighting just how crystal blue his eyes are.

“This is so much better than the actual dance. I think I’ll thank your dad next time I see him.”

He laughs deeply. “You might want to keep this one between us.”

We are interrupted by a loud clap of thunder, and we both jump. I didn’t notice at first, but the air is humid and warm for October. The sky that is usually dotted with stars whenever we are here is covered by deep gray clouds, there isn’t a star in sight.

Todd runs his hands down my arms as another one of my favorite songs starts to play. “Damn, it looks like it’s going to rain.”

“So?”

His eyes connect with mine as his smile deepens. “You sure?”

I feel a few light drops on my arm. “Positive.” I return his smile as we continue to sway to the music. I will never get over how perfect he is, inside and out.

On those words, the drops get bigger, yet they are still sporadic. I feel my blown out hair start to get weighed down by the moisture, and I know it’s frizzing. Normally, I would despise this feeling, but I don’t even care right now.

I push back all of the instinctive, responsible feelings telling me to get in the car; instead, I stay here, in this moment, in the rain.

It’s coming down at a pretty steady pace now, and Todd’s suit is absorbing it quickly. I feel my dress start to cling to me. I’m pretty sure silk isn’t supposed to get wet, but I don’t care.

Despite being soaked, we don’t skip a beat in our dance. His fingers slide across my drenched skin as he tries to keep me warm and dry. We both press farther into one another, as if we are one against nature. With loud claps of thunder booming and lightning streaking across the sky, we are in awe of the light show above us.

Todd rakes his fingers over my hair. It is curling from the rain by the second. So much for the hour it took to blow it out. Then he leans down and presses his soft lips into mine, and I hungrily press my lips back into his. There is something about being here in the rain, just the two of us. I can’t get enough of him. There is always a spark of energy whenever he touches me, but in this moment, it’s stronger than ever. I need him. I want him.

Each kiss is deeper than the one before it as he picks me up and I wrap my legs around him. I don’t even hear the music anymore. I only feel his strong body embracing mine. I always feel safe with him, but this is to a new level.

I press my body into his, his strong arms around me, holding me into him. There isn’t a part of me that is dry.

He then places me on the hood of his car, the heat from the roaring engine beneath me. I could stay here forever. I don’t feel the rain. I don’t hear the music. I only see, feel, and smell him. I love it.

“You’re a little wet,” he says with a smile through his kiss. “I mean, from the rain,” he quickly clarifies. I can’t help laughing.

His hair is soaked and hanging down in his eyes, and I feel it brush against my forehead.

“I think we should do this more often.” I smile as I continue to kiss him.

“Which part, the dancing or the kissing?”

“Both.”

“Are you cold?” He presses farther into me. “You have goose bumps everywhere.”

“Nope, not cold,” I say somewhat convincingly, I think.

“Yeah, right. Let’s get in the car.” He turns to open the passenger door for me, and since my legs are still wrapped around him, I move with him. “I have to put you down now.” He gives me his crooked smile, as if asking for permission, which I am not giving, but maybe it would be good to get out of the rain for a second.

Once I nod my head, he gently places me down and opens the door, but before I get in, I turn to face him. I need to have this memory ingrained in my brain forever. He is truly soaked. His hair is hanging down, and his eye lashes are the perfect, thick frame for his Caribbean-blue eyes. His suit is sticking to him since it’s so wet, outlining his tall, lean, muscular body.

I run my finger over his soaked lips as water drips down his face. I want to outline every detail of him, but he just raises his eyebrows as if to ask, are you getting in?

As soon as we are both in the car, he leans over while the music continues to play. “Okay, where were we?”

His wet lips then press into mine for only a moment before he leans away again. “Man, it’s not much drier in here.” We both start to laugh, realizing we left the sunroof and all of the windows open, so the car is just as wet as we are.

At that moment, we hear both of our phones buzz with texts from the center console. We look at each other because we know it’s late, and it’s odd that we would both get texts. Then we reach for our phones at the same time.

“I have fifteen texts from Ryan.”

“I have twenty,” Todd says, looking at me with fear etched across his face. I haven’t seen this look in his eyes since Brian and Gretch’s accident.

We both quickly start to go through them. The first one says,
Dad knows.

If it’s even possible, my heart sinks and pounds at the same time while I quickly thumb through them.

Where are you?

I don’t want to call because they will hear me. Come home now.

Ashley???

They are waiting up.

There are more of the same, and they started thirty minutes ago.

“My parents know,” I tell Todd with my eyes locked on my phone, my voice sounding weak and strangled. It’s incredible the range of emotions I have gone through in the last five minutes.

“I know,” Todd says, still thumbing through his texts from Ry. “I’m sure that means mine will if they don’t already. Shit. I don’t know what to do.” He says that last part more to himself.

His eyes lock with mine as he runs his thumb over my wet cheek then he leans in and kisses me so deeply it takes me off guard. I wrap my arms around him and kiss him back just as deeply. A million thoughts are flying through my head, but I only care about one—Todd.

He pulls back and shakes his head. “I guess we need to go back.”

I shake my head and lean in to him. “Not yet,” I say, pressing my lips into his as I push his tie out of the way and run my hands down his soaked dress shirt.

He returns my kisses, running his hands over my hair and down my back, pressing the wet material into my skin, which gives me the chills. Then he pulls back and shakes his head again.

“I don’t know what this means, Ash. I’m already in so much trouble.”

I sink back into my seat. “I know.”

He slams his hand down on his steering wheel as the reality of the situation sinks in, and I start to play with the hem of my dress as we sit in silence.

He looks back at me. “What do we do? We’re soaked. We can’t hide that.” He reaches into his back seat and pulls out his EHS football sweatshirt. “Here, put this on.”

“Like they won’t notice this. It’s clearly yours.”

“I know, but at least you’ll be warm and sort of dry.” He gives me that crooked smile that captured my heart from the very beginning. “We’re doing this together. I’m going in with you.”

“Do you really think that’s a good idea?” I give him a nervous smile. I honestly have no idea what the right answer is.

He shakes his head as he runs his hands through his wet hair. “It’s done. I’m doing it. I need to face your parents at some point.”

Chapter 10: Meet the Parents

ASHLEY

My heart is slamming against my rib cage as we turn onto my street. I text Ryan, whose texts are still pouring in, to say we are on our way.

It’s bad, Ash. Dad is really pissed. Tell Todd not to come in.

My heart sinks. I know he won’t listen, but I have to try.

“You know what? Let me take the heat for this. You’re already in so much trouble with your parents. I can take this one.”

His eyes stay on the road as he shakes his head. “No way.”

“Please, Todd. Ryan says it’s not good, and you shouldn’t come in. I’ve never done anything like this before”—I smile to myself—“not that they know about at least. Let me take this one alone.”

“Not going to happen.” He emphasizes each word as he pulls up to my house where it’s even worse than we imagined
—
Mr. Hamilton’s car is in our driveway.

“Well, I guess my parents know, too,” he says nonchalantly, as if he’s talking about the weather. Meanwhile, I can barely hear him over the pounding in my ears.

“What do we do? We can’t go in there,” I say, one sentence flowing right into the next.

Todd gently grabs my face with both hands then locks our eyes. “Ashley, we have to. We’ll be fine because we’ll face them together.” The smile he gives me is so genuine, so relaxed, so sure. It gives me enough to hold on to, at least to get out of the car.

I turn to open the door, but Todd pulls me back.

“Wait one second.” He leans in and gives me the best kiss of my life. Our tongues dance around each other, and it makes me forget everything: the fact that we are soaked, that both of our parents are waiting for us inside, that I’m about to get into the biggest trouble I have ever been in. It all floats away.

I pull away just enough to ask, “What if they’re watching us?”

“I hope they are,” he says with a smile. I feel like I’m floating on a cloud. We are here, together, and that is all that matters.

After a few minutes of bliss, he finally pulls away.

“Okay, you ready?” He smiles.

“Um, I think I will be after one more kiss.”

His smile melts me, literally melts me.

“Let’s do this,” he says, intertwining his fingers with mine.

“What if I sneak back into my window and walk down the stairs as if I’ve been in my room this entire time and make them think they’ve all lost their minds?” I glance back at my front door and notice the curtains moving on the window that lines the door. They were watching. My pounding heart is back.

“Too late. Not to mention, how would you explain being wet and yet still in your dress?” Todd asks as he helps me out of the car.

My head is spinning. I see his lips moving, but I have no idea what he is saying. Feeling very lightheaded, I try to focus, but I can’t. Then his fingers squeeze mine, and it gives me a small bit of strength.

Before I know it, my dad is opening the front door.

I squeeze my eyes shut. God, I wish this was a dream—well, a nightmare. Either way, I would take it if it meant I could wake up and none of this was really happening.

“Good evening, kids.” My dad seems calm and collected.

The rain stopped or maybe it never rained here, because I see my dad’s eyes get wider as we step into the light, and he realizes we are soaking wet.

As we step farther into the house, I see my Mom and Todd’s dad sitting on the couches. Ryan is at the bottom of the stairs, a little winded, as if he just ran down them when he heard us coming in. He mouths, “Sorry. I didn’t know,” as he eyes Todd’s dad with the same horrified look we had when we realized he was here.

Todd raises his eyebrows to Ryan, as if he’s shrugging with just his eyes. They’re having an unspoken conversation from across the room. Then Todd turns to my dad.

“Mr. Taylor, we’re very sorry.” I feel Todd’s body brush against my elbow, making it clear he’s right behind me both physically and emotionally.

I notice the look on my dad’s face change the second he notices Todd’s black eye. I think he missed it initially because he was taken aback by the fact that we are dripping wet, especially Todd. At least I have his sweatshirt on.

“What happened to your eye, son?” My dad seems to have lost his original train of thought. He’s sidetracked, but in a bad way.

“It was a small misunderstanding, sir,” Todd answers.

“There seem to be a lot of misunderstandings lately.” My dad eyes me with a questioning look then turns and lifts his chin to Ryan. “Did you have anything to do with this ‘misunderstanding’?” He mock quotes the word, his calm façade starting to crack.

Ryan smiles and shakes his head. “Me? No. Well, maybe.”

Todd’s dad clears his throat as he stands up to join my dad.

“This is what I was talking about, Frank.” His eyes scan Todd with disgust. “This among other things.” Then he turns his full attention to Todd. “This is exactly why you weren’t supposed to be out tonight, but you couldn’t listen, not for one night.” Mr. H. is turning bright red. I have never seen him lose his composure like this.

I give Todd a nervous glance, which I hope he reads as “don’t say anything,” but he doesn’t.

“One night that happens to be my senior homecoming dance.” Todd raises his voice to match his dad’s.

I grab his hand and squeeze it.

“You should have thought about that last night.” The look his dad gives him completes the rest of his sentence.

Todd looks down at our hands locked together, his still bruised from the fight, and he takes a deep breath to calm down.

“I’m sorry, Dad. I know it was wrong. All of it,” he says more to the ground.

My dad reenters the conversation, this one directed at me. “Do you know what time it is?”

“Late,” I answer, digging my fingernails into Todd’s hand.

“Well, you can say that again, considering I picked you up at school at ten o’clock and thought you were in your room. To find out not only were you not in your room, you were not in this house … I had no idea where you were. Do you know how scary that was for me and your mom?” He looks over at my mom who won’t even make eye contact with me.

“No,” I say to the ground.

“You’re damn right you don’t!” he screams, losing all form of control.

With no idea what to say, I say nothing.

“This is my fault, sir. I’m sorry. Please don’t blame Ashley. This is all my fault, not hers.”

“Oh, I know,” my dad says with venom. “Ashley’s been making a lot of bad decisions lately, and there is one person to blame.” My dad doesn’t need to say who it is; his glare says it all.

“Dad,” Ry and I both cut in at the same time.

When Ryan eyes me, I make it clear I have this one as I step forward.

“Dad,” I repeat, “that’s not true. I made the choice to go. This is not Todd’s fault. It’s mine. Mr. H., Todd is an amazing person, and I know you know that. He was sticking up for me, and that’s why he got into a fight last night. So, if it’s anyone’s fault, it’s mine.
Mine
,” I repeat, staring down my dad.

Todd’s dad gives me a small smile, but it’s filled with sorrow. He seems to be hiding something. Then Dad and Mr. H. exchange glances while my mom grabs the sleeve of my dad’s sweater, as if she needs it for support to stand.

“No.” My dad shakes his head. “It’s been decided. It’s done.” He looks back and forth at both of us, and then his gaze locks with mine. “It’s over. You two are good kids who make bad decisions together.”

I squeeze Todd’s hand so tightly I must be drawing blood with my nails, while I feel him stiffen next to me. I look at Ryan whose face must mirror mine, because it’s draped with shock. I need his help, someone’s help.

“This is crazy.” Todd is the first one to speak up. “You can’t make us break up.” He looks at me, his expression filled with disbelief, and then he quickly goes back to our parents. “We love each other.”

“That is precisely the problem,” my dad says as he clears his throat then looks to Todd’s dad for reassurance. Mr. H. nods his head, but there is some reservation. Maybe this is more my parents than his.

“What does that mean?” I finally find my voice. “It’s a problem that we love each other?” I look up at Todd. “He is the best thing that’s ever happened to me. He protects me; he saved my life at the pool; he was the one person who helped me through Brian and Gretchen’s accident; and he got into a fight to defend me.”

Ryan is motioning for me to stop from behind my parents. “
You are not helping
,” he mouths to me.

With that, I lose whatever strength I have, and I feel my tears start to well up. Todd pulls me in closer to both comfort me and give our parents a sign that we are unbreakable. Then I feel his hand slide down my arm, and my dad’s eyes zero in on that action.

“Maybe we were unclear the first time. This is not a question; this is a command,” my dad says through gritted teeth.

“Dad, don’t you think you’re being unreasonable?” Ryan speaks up, and in this moment, I couldn’t love him more.
Please, listen to Ryan.

Dad slowly turns to face Ryan. “Excuse me? This does not concern you, Ryan.”

“It does, Dad. She’s my sister, and he’s my best friend. I know she broke curfew and rules tonight, and I know Todd shouldn’t have gotten into a fight with Casey last night.”

At that name, Mr. H. stiffens, and my mom gasps. She loves Casey.

“You didn’t tell me that’s who it was. Have you lost your mind? You know what his family tried to do the last time.”

My mom and dad glance at each other with questioning looks. They don’t know much about the Casey situation. To them, he’s the boy who got me to swim again, and that’s it.

Todd notices my parents’ reaction and immediately shuts down the conversation. It took him forever to tell me the whole story; therefore, I know he doesn’t want to get into it with my parents, especially since they are currently not his biggest fans.

“Not now, Dad. It doesn’t matter. It’s not important.”

Mr. H. reads his son perfectly and stops the questioning, for which I am grateful.

“My point is,” Ryan jumps back in, “I hated the idea of them together, but they are good together. Great even. They are better together. And trust me; it pains me to say this.” He smiles.

I quickly try to wipe my tears away while all eyes are on Ryan.

“They are teenagers; they are going to make ‘bad decisions’,” Ryan quotes our parents, “but they protect each other and love each other, and that’s hard to find”—his smile deepens—“especially in high school.” I can tell he’s proud of himself. I half expect him to jump up on our coffee table to add extra emphasis to his speech.

I give him a head nod and a smile.

“Thank you for that, but…” my dad says, and the parents all glance at each other. Todd’s dad shrugs and nods, my mom turns away, and my dad turns his full attention back to us. “…that doesn’t change our decision. I’m sorry, but it’s over. Todd needs to concentrate on colleges and scholarships, and you need to concentrate on school and swimming. Ashley, you are too young for this relationship, to be this serious with a boy. It’s done.”

I feel my heart literally break. My chest feels like it’s caving in. Todd’s hand skims my arm, and then he pulls it away without saying anything. He doesn’t look at me, his dad, my parents, or even Ryan. He only turns and walks away, pushing through my front door and slamming it harder than I think anyone ever has, rattling all the pictures on the wall.

I can’t make eye contact with anyone. My eyes are so filled with tears I can barely see through them. I don’t know what to say, what to do. I want to run after Todd, but I know that won’t solve anything; just get us in more trouble.

I push past my parents, and I’m almost to the stairs when Ryan grabs my arm.

“Ashley …”

I pull away. “Don’t!” I scream at him for no reason other than he’s the only person in the room I actually can scream at.

I hate everyone.

I hear Ryan shout at my parents, “What do you think I was doing when I was fifteen? This is crazy!” Then the front door slams again.

TODD

I’m so mad I can’t see straight. I feel blindsided. Sure, I knew I would get in trouble, maybe grounded, but to force us to break up? That thought never even crossed my mind.

I’m in my car, unaware of how I got here. I can’t look at my father without punching or screaming at him, so my car is probably the safest place right now.

I slam my fist into the steering wheel since I can’t slam it into my dad’s face, but I instantly regret it as searing pain slices through my hand. It’s still bruised and scabbed from last night, and I’m pretty sure I just re-opened the wounds. I see my blood, but it doesn’t register; I don’t feel it. I can’t feel anything. I vowed I would never hurt Ashley again, would never leave her, and now I’m being forced to do just that. It doesn’t make sense. Nothing makes sense.

Every time I close my eyes, I see Ashley’s face and the tears in her eyes. I knew I had to get out of there, or I was going to lose it. I wish I held her, kissed her, did something to prove they can’t separate us. They won’t separate us, no matter what stupid rules they put in place.