Waken (The Woods of Everod Book 1) (9 page)

“I did play football for a couple years.”

“No wonder I fell asleep. Football works like magic at getting me to nod off.”

“I’ll have to remember that. It could come in handy.” He threw me a wicked grin, wriggling his eyebrows.

We stood at the door, silence surrounding us. I bit my lip nervously. Earlier, I thought he was about to kiss me. Would he try again? I felt myself leaning towards him. Then a pair of bright lights spotlighted us. As perfect as his timing was earlier, Justin’s timing was crap now. Tristan backed up a step and I almost groaned in frustration. Justin bounded up the steps.

“Hey, man,” Justin said and stopped behind me.

“Justin.” Tristan nodded.

There was an awkward moment when it became apparent that Justin wasn’t going to leave us alone.

“I’ll catch you later, Janie,” Tristan said.

I watched him walk to his car and finally drive away. The second he turned the corner and his tail lights disappeared into the blackness, I turned on Justin. One fist lashed out and punched his arm.

“Hey! What was that for?” His act of innocence perfected from years of practice.

I rolled my eyes and left him standing on the porch rubbing his arm.

Chapter 8

He didn’t call. He never said he would, but I woke up Monday hoping. I waited all morning, but the phone sat quiet on its base. It hadn’t been a real date, just a ride to a group campfire. He’d seemed interested, but maybe I was wrong.

Even a trip to Telluride with Justin wasn’t enough to keep my mind off Tristan. When we got home, I checked for messages and then waited until finally the growing darkness outside dimmed all hope. When the sun filtered through my curtains the next morning, I squelched the feelings of stupidity. That’s what hurt. The hope that a person would do what you wanted, what you needed.

Twenty minutes later, I stepped from the shower and realized she was there again. The same old Janie. My fingers tightened around my towel. Was it that easy to bring her back? One phone call not made and I was willing to let her control me again?

The twisting of my stomach drew me to the mirror, searching for something different. I stared into my eyes and found it. The ring of burnt orange around my pupil. It was brighter. Alive. I’d felt it during the campfire. Life. It didn’t matter if Tristan never called. I liked the sensation of actually living.

“Janie?” Tim’s voice came through the bathroom door.

“I’ll be out in a minute,” I called back and quickly finished drying off before dressing.

The kitchen was quiet as I poured a bowl of cereal. I sat at the table munching the sweet granola, trying to piece together the new Janie.

“Hey, sweetheart,” Tim said, rubbing his hand briskly across the top of my head. I shifted out from under his hand and smoothed down my hair. “Heading for the library today?”

How predictable was I? “Umm, no. I think I might try something new.”

“Really? Like what?” There went his eyebrow, soaring almost to the missing hairline on his baldhead.

“Oh, I don’t know...” I tried to think of what there was to do in Everod. Apart from the library, the diner, and hiking I didn’t know what else there was. It was too easy to slip backward. “Maybe I’ll go to the gym with Justin.”

“Wow!” His other eyebrow shot up. “You know...you could come with me down to Durango. I’m meeting with a biologist to take a tour of the Lake Nighthorse area.”

“No, thanks.” Spending the day with Tim on a shoot was even less appealing than going to the gym.

I changed again, this time into jogging shorts and a t-shirt. Justin drove to the gym and the skeptical stares he kept throwing my way eventually drove me crazy.

“What’s wrong?” I asked as he pulled into a parking space.

“You seriously going in there?”

“Yeah. Is that going to be a problem?”

“No, it’s just...have you ever been to a gym before?”

I rolled my eyes. “They did have some equipment for girls at the high school back in Dallas.”

“All right,” he said.

The inside of the gym was smaller than I’d anticipated. In the center was a caged off boxing ring. Off to one side were floor mats and the other sides of the cage were edged with racks of free weights. In the far back corner stood two lone treadmills. The place was empty except for the smiling girl behind the counter.

“Hey, J! What’s up, boy?”

“Lee-sa!” Justin and the girl gave each other some strange version of a homeboy handshake. I watched the exchange in fascination. She was definitely not Justin’s type. Yeah, she was tall and reed thin, but that’s where similarities to his usual type ended. Her hair, cut short in the back, was long in the front and her vibrant pink bangs swept across her left eye. The one visible eye was adorned by an eyebrow ring, which matched the one piercing her nose.

“Boy, are you stepping out on me?”

“Not a chance, baby.” He laughed and gave her a playful kiss. “Lisa, this is my sister Janie. Janie, this is Lisa. She runs the place.”

“Sister? Justin, the two of you look nothing alike. If I didn’t know any better I’d say she was Kyle’s sister.” Her eyes narrowed as she studied me.

“Stepsister,” he clarified.

“Ah, well, come on girl, let me show you around.”

The tour only took a couple of minutes and ended with the women’s locker room. I stowed my bag in one of the lockers and then headed for the treadmill. I’d only been on a few minutes when guys began pouring through the door. Various ages, they gathered around the cage, their voices blending. I pulled my iPod from my pocket and increased the volume.

After a few laps around my imaginary track, I looked back up at the ring to see Kyle step into the cage, his fists wrapped with tape. Across from him was Tristan. My heart skipped a beat. The two began circling each other. Tristan’s fist jabbed out, barely missing Kyle’s face as he bounced out of the way. That opened up a barrage of punches that they threw at each other. Tristan landed a few, but he was taking the brunt of them. Kyle was obviously more skilled.

Music blocked out any sound of impact, but through the way he winced and hunched to the left, protecting his ribs, I could feel the pain of each hit. The space between them closed, until they pushed away from each other. Both of them were bobbing and weaving on their feet. Suddenly Kyle’s foot swung up, smashing into the side of Tristan’s head. My eyes locked on his face as he fell to the floor of the cage.

He rolled backward and onto his feet. He circled the cage, dragging in deep breaths, letting his mouth guard pop out the slightest bit so he could breathe easier. Suddenly he lunged forward and grabbed Kyle, throwing him over his shoulder. Kyle landed on his back, but just as quickly, he was up and wrapped around Tristan’s back, his arm locked about Tristan’s throat in a type of chokehold. Tristan fell backward to the floor, landing on Kyle, but it did nothing to ease the hold Kyle had on him. Seconds later, he tapped his hand on Kyle’s arm and it was over.

I heaved a sigh of relief that they were done, but grimaced as I took in the damage they’d done to each other. Both of them were covered in blood, red swelling already visible across their faces and chests. They disappeared into the men’s locker room and I slowed the treadmill to a walk. I wanted to leave before Tristan saw me. I didn’t want him to think I was stalking him. Taking me to the campfire had been sweet of him, but I couldn’t let myself believe it meant anything and I refused to let him think I did.

After a short shower, I told Justin I’d meet him at the library. Moving toward the exit, I spotted Tristan standing around the ring watching another couple of guys fighting, their speed rivaling Tristan and Kyle. He glanced over at me and our eyes met. My skin broke out in bumps and my pulse quickened. He smiled slightly and took a step toward me before giving me a wave and turning back to the ring.

So much for facing my fears, I thought as I walked from the gym to the library. I should have at least gone over and said hi. It wouldn’t have been that hard. I’d done it before.

I stared at the library doors. However, what had once been my sanctuary now seemed boring and lifeless. The large wooden building didn’t hold what I wanted - Tristan. I forced myself forward, telling myself you can’t always get what you want. What I found just inside the door was definitely not what I wanted.

Rachel.

She stood with her back to me, talking adamantly with Ms. Markov. Maybe there was some way to salvage the friendship we’d started. I’d actually been looking forward to having a girl friend.

“Rach,” I cleared my throat and waited until she looked at me. “Can I talk to you? After you’re done, I mean?”

She didn’t answer right away, glancing first at Ms. Markov’s impassive face, then said, “By the study tables.”

I nodded and went through the revolving metal entry. I sat at the table watching Rachel and the librarian as their conversation grew heated. Finally, Rachel stomped towards me, disregarding the quiet policy of the building.

She slumped into the seat across from me, hostility darkening her eyes.

“What do you want, Janie?”

“I...I just wanted to know if you were okay.”

“Okay? No, I’m not okay. You think you can just slide in here and take him from me. Well, that’s not the way things work around here. You have no clue what this town is about.” She pointed her finger in my face. “Tristan is mine, so I suggest you keep to your plan and leave at the end of summer. There’s nothing here for you.”

“I’m not trying to take him from you! He just gave me a ride. That’s it. We’re not dating or anything.”

Her eyes called me a liar and my heart echoed it. If he asked, I would date him, regardless of Rachel’s feelings.

“Get out of Everod. We don’t need you destroying our town.”

“What are you talking about?” My voice rose matching hers in frustration. I’d expected some anger from her, but this was a little much. Why would she even think I would or could destroy Everod?

“Your parents left for a reason, Janie. They didn’t want you in Everod. They didn’t want you at all.” She smiled viciously as the blood drained from my face. “I can’t believe I even tried to be friends with you. Your own father couldn’t stand the sight of you.”

The hate-filled words poured so easily from her lips that I sat in shock. I couldn’t speak. That she would throw them in my face went far below where I thought a person could sink. My fingers gripped the edge of the table, digging my nails into the wood surface painfully. She stood up, giving me one last glance, her eyes filled with something other than the hatred of her words. I didn’t want to know what it was.

She walked away then. Just turned her back on me and I was alone again. Worse than that, I was alone and it wasn’t because I chose to be. I truly did want to be friends. For five days, I had thought I could be normal. Humiliation and bile scorched my throat.

The air in the library was stagnant, thick with dust, adding to my nausea. I barely made it to the restroom before what little food I’d eaten came back up. I rinsed my mouth and stared at the reflection in the mirror.

The girl looking back was the old Janie. Not so old. I didn’t want to be her. She was pale and frightened of what was outside that door, what was in the world beyond her hiding spot.

I slammed open the restroom door and went straight for the stairs and down to the media room. A light layer of dust dulled the lines I had traced on the piano a week ago. I sat on the bench and raised the lid. My hands clenched. Anger, frustration, hurt, all boiled inside me. Raising my fists, I smashed them down on the keys. The horrible discord echoed through the room. I lifted my fists and hit the keys again. Resting my head on the top of the piano, I wished I could release the emotions raging in me as easily as I could render the notes.

I wouldn’t play. I couldn’t. It would only be a representation of them, or me being a victim. Closing the lid on the keys, my hands smoothed along the surface erasing any last trace of dust. I wouldn’t let that be me.

Later that night, I curled up on the porch swing, enjoying the gentle warmth of the early evening. The sun began to fade behind the mountains, painting the sky in brilliant hues of purple and blue. With Tim out of the house, I hadn’t been forced to exile myself in town for the rest of the day and Justin was at a basketball game with some of the guys, leaving me with only the silence of the empty house.

I leaned back and stared up at the turbulent clouds. It looked like we’d be getting a storm tonight. A perfect match for my mood. The confrontation with Rachel still had me upset.

She knew how to fight dirty. Her words had been such a jumble of vicious facts and veiled threats. The comments about my parents had been designed to hurt, but what she’d said about the town was just confusing. As for Tristan being hers, well, if she was going to start that war, then I wasn’t going to lie down and let her walk over me to get him.

My skin tingled and I shivered. The crunching of gravel brought my eyes down from the clouds above. Tristan walked up the drive, as if conjured by my thoughts.

I straightened on the seat and ran my hand through my hair. He stopped at the base of the steps, smiling broadly.