Waiting for Perfect (37 page)

NICK

I
spin Candace around and catch her by the waist.
 
She’s grinning and laughing.
 
Then she grabs my hand and spins me in a circle.
 
I didn’t think I would enjoy this
night, but it’s not turning out half bad.

The
song ends, and an old rock ballad starts playing.
 
“I love this song!” she says.
 
She puts her hands behind my neck, and we sway to the beat.

I
haven’t stepped on her feet or anything yet, so I guess I’m doing an okay job
dancing.
 
She seems to be
happy.
 
She stands a little closer
to me and then suddenly she’s got her head resting on my chest.
 
I’m not quite sure what to do.
 
She feels amazing in my arms, and we’re
having so much fun together.

But
this is Candace.

She
has been there for me through this whole mess with Kendra.
 
She’s been a great friend.
 
I don’t know if she’s just resting her
head on my chest or if this gesture is supposed to mean something.

If
I had any question about her feelings, I don’t once she looks into my
eyes.
 
It’s all there.
 
Gone is the feisty, smart-mouthed,
horrible driver.
 
This Candace is
different.
 
This girl is filled
with want.
 
I can see it clear on
her face, and it scares the hell out of me.
 
I feel like she wants me to kiss her, but I can’t.
 
This is Candace.
 
I love the weird, quirky friendship we
have.
 
I don’t want to ruin that.

I
realize we’ve totally stopped moving and are just standing there looking at
each other.
 
Her eyes start to
close.

Shit!
 
What the hell do I do?

“Nick!”

Candace’s
eyes snap open, and there’s a split second where I can see the disappointment
on her face, but then it’s gone.

I
look over to where my name is being called.
 
Sebastian comes running onto the dance floor up to Candace
and me.
 
He is out of breath.
 
He looks scared.

“What
is it?” I ask carefully, sensing something isn’t right.

“It’s
Kendra.
 
Have you seen Kendra?”

Candace
steps in front of me and looks at Sebastian.
 
“Don’t you think you’ve hurt your cousin enough by showing
up with her tonight?
 
Are you
trying
to rub it in his face?”

And
Candace Schratter is back.

I
put my hand on her shoulder.
 
I can
tell he’s not trying to rub it in.
 
He’s really freaked out.

“Candace,
it’s okay.”
 
I turn to face my
cousin.
 
“What happened?”

“She
was in the bathroom, so I went to look for her.
 
Then Megan came out and kissed me, and Kendra saw us and ran
off.
 
Megan set the whole thing
up.
 
She’s crazy.
 
Now I can’t find Kendra anywhere.”

My
lips tighten.
 
I knew he’d mess
this up with Kendra.
 
She is
probably crushed.
 
I knew this
would happen!
 
Part of me is
rejoicing that I will finally be able to be there for her and that she has
witnessed by cousin’s true colors.
 
The other part of me is looking at Sebastian and seeing the look of
panic on his face.
 
That part, deep
in my gut, knows that he’s telling me the truth.

I’m
staring at him, judging whether or not to help him find his girl, my girl.

“And
I can’t find Morgan.”

That’s
all he needed to say.
 
I turn
toward Candace.
 
I can see the hurt
in her eyes, and it kills me.
 
Putting a hand on each of her shoulders, I look her in the eye.
 
“I have to find her.
 
You know I have to find her.”

She
nods.
 
“I know.
 
Go.
 
I’ll be fine.”

I
smile and pull her into a quick hug.
 
Then, Sebastian and I are running off the dance floor.
 
We stop at his table, where Jeff, his
date Heather, Troy, and Lexi are all sitting, laughing about something.
 
When they see us, they look up.
 
Their smiles drop as they see the worry
on our faces.

Jeff
stands.
 
“What happened?”

Sebastian
speaks up.
 
“It’s Kendra.
 
We can’t find her.
 
And we can’t find Morgan either.”

Lexi
gasps, “Oh my God.
 
Not again.”

“Listen,”
Sebastian says.
 
“We are going to
find her.
 
We need to split
up.
 
Troy, you and Lexi go out front
and see if she’s there.”

They
start moving.
 
Sebastian stops
Lexi, saying, “We got into a fight.
 
She was upset.
 
She might
have gotten a ride home already.
 
Keep calling her until she answers.”

Lexi
nods, and she and Troy start toward the front entrance.

Sebastian
turns to Jeff.
 
“Jeff, can you and
Heather get Vice Principal Chadwick.
 
Tell him Kendra might be in trouble.
 
Tell him what Ryan did to her at your party.”

I
break in.
 
“Sebastian, are you
sure?
 
She hasn’t told anyone.
 
I’m not sure she wants anyone to know.”

He
looks at me like I’m crazy.
 
“He
could be attacking her right now, Nick!
 
I don’t care what she wants.
 
I just want her to be safe!”

I
nod.
 
“Me too.”

Jeff
and Heather take off to get Mr. Chadwick.
 
Sebastian looks at me, and I can see every one of my fears reflected in
his eyes.

I
put a hand on his shoulder.
 
“We’re
going to find her.”

He
nods, but he doesn’t look very sure.
 
He takes a deep breath, trying to steady himself.
 
“I’m sorry, Nick.
 
This is my fault.
 
If anything happens to her…”

“Nothing
is going to happen,” I assure him.
 
“We’re going to find her.
 
Where did you last see her?”

“At
the bathrooms.
 
We were at the
bathrooms.”
 
His voice is shaking.
 
I’ve never seen him like this.
 
He cares for her more than I thought.

“Then
let’s go there.”
 
I start walking
toward the bathrooms with Sebastian at my side.

We
scan the gym in all directions trying to spot her.
 
When we get to the bathrooms, we look up and down the hall,
but don’t see anything.

“In
here,” Sebastian says, moving toward the door to the classrooms.
 
“I thought she went in here, but I couldn’t
find her.
 
Maybe I missed her
before.”

I
try the door.
 
“I don’t think so,
man.
 
It’s locked.”

He
rattles the door handle.
 
“It was
open before.
 
I walked right
in.”
 
He leans against the door,
trying to force it.
 
Then his eyes
dart to mine.
 
They’re wide open
and filled with dread.
 
“Nick, it
was open before!”

“Shit!
 
Morgan!” We’re both trying to force the
door open, but it won’t budge.
 
I
pound on it with my fists.
 
“Kendra!
 
Are you in there?”
 
I put my ear to the door, but it’s
impossible to hear anything with the dance music playing.
 
I pound the door again.

“Kendra!”

Sebastian
is running into the door, trying to break it down.
 
“Shit, Nick!
 
We’ve got to get in there!”

“I
know!
 
I know!”

We’re
drawing a crowd, but I don’t give a damn.
 
“Go get Mr. Chadwick!” I yell to someone.
 
A couple of people leave.

Sebastian
and I are pounding on the door, trying to force our way through.
 
“It’s no use, Sebastian.
 
Dammit!
 
Where’s Chadwick?”

I
look around to see if anyone’s coming.
 
There’s a huge group of kids surrounding us to see what’s going on.
 
I hear them talking to each other.

One
of them says, “I think something happened to Kendra Voss.”

“She’s
stuck in there with Ryan Morgan,” another says.

I
look over the crowd and see Jeff and Heather walking our way with Mr.
Chadwick.
 
He’s looking at his key
ring, shuffling through them one by one.

“Move
it.
 
Move it,” he says, pushing his
way through the growing crowd.
 
He
reaches the door.
 
“What’s going
on?
 
Who is in there?”

Sebastian
turns to him, frantic.
 
“It’s
Kendra Voss.
 
She’s in there with
Ryan Morgan.”

I
blurt out, “Morgan might be attacking her.
 
He’s already attacked her once.
 
We have to get in there now!”

The
surrounding crowd starts whispering things to each other, and I hope this time
they’ll believe me.
 
I hope they
stop gossiping about her and calling her names and being mean to her.
 
I hope she can get her life back…if we
get to her in time.

Mr.
Chadwick finally finds the right key and inserts it into the lock.
 
He turns it, and once we hear the door
click, Sebastian and I burst through.
 
It’s completely dark in the hallway.
 
We’re screaming at the top of our lungs.
 
“Kendra!
 
Kendra, where are you?”

Somebody
flips on the lights, and they flicker on overhead.
 
We’re about midway down the hall when we see him.
 
He’s got his hands around her neck, and
she’s lying lifelessly underneath him.
 
Her dress is hiked up around her waist, and he’s pressed between her
legs.
 
I almost vomit with the
sight.

Students
spill into the hallway after us.
 
I
can hear them enter behind me, but I keep running.

Sebastian
reaches Ryan first and brings his leg back to kick him straight in the
face.
 
Ryan falls back, and I’m
here just in time to hit him with a right cross and tackle him to the
ground.
 
Sebastian pulls Kendra
away.

I’m
on top of Ryan, smashing his face over and over.
 
I know Mr. Chadwick is right behind me, and I want to get in
as many shots as I can before I get pulled off of him.
 
Seconds later, there are hands all over
me, pulling me away.

Ryan
tilts his head up, and there is blood running down his face and into his
eye.
 
His face is frozen as he
looks at the crowd surrounding him, the full weight of his actions witnessed by
half the school.
 
Students start
screaming, and some of the girls are crying.

I
blink a few times to clear my head.
 
Then I look for Sebastian.
 
My whole body collapses when I spot him.
 
He’s sitting against one of the classroom doors with
Kendra’s head in his lap.
 
He’s
crying.
 
I’ve never seen him
cry.
 
He’s sweeping the hair from
her face and using his dress shirt to wipe the blood from her nose and
mouth.
 
He’s pushed her dress down,
so it covers her hips.

I
rush over to him.

“Nick…I
don’t know if she’s…”
 
He shakes
his head, and I know it’s bad.

“What?
 
What Sebastian?
 
Tell me!”

He
remains silent, tears rolling down both cheeks.

I
hover over her to get a clear view.
 
Her eyes are closed.
 
There’s blood on her mouth and down her neck.
 
She doesn’t look like she’s breathing.