Destiny Binds(9)

“Because my first day of school sucked.”

“You shouldnʼt say ʻsuckedʼ. Itʼs a bad word.”

“Iʼm seventeen. I will say ʻsuckedʼ if I want to.”

“Iʼm gonna tell Mom.”

“Go ahead. See if I care.” These little talks with my sister always brought out the best in me. We could have gone on for hours, but Jase came into the room with a plate of Oreos and a glass of milk.

“Good work, Munchkin,” he said, handing the snack over to Angel. “Hereʼs your reward.

Now, why donʼt you go eat it in your room?”

She looked like she was going to protest, but saw something on Jaseʼs face that made her comply. Maybe it was the dried blood.

“What happened to you?” Charlie asked, surveying the damage. Jaseʼs face was starting to swell around his nose, and the area around his eyes was turning purple.

“Wasnʼt paying attention in gym. A football hit me in the face.”

“Thatʼs pretty good. Excellent delivery. Your parents are sure to buy it. Now, tell me what really happened.”

“Scoutʼs new boyfriend punched me.”

All of the zen-like calm Charlieʼs presence had created immediately vanished. “Heʼs not my boyfriend, and you swung first.”

It was the ultimate in high school drama. When Alex and I got outside, I had tried to shrug him off.

“Well, Jase is parked over by the gym, so Iʼll see you later.” It was stupid of me to think he would let me off that easy. The boy couldnʼt seem to take a hint.

“Thatʼs where Iʼm parked too,” he had said with his ever-present smile before walking with me towards Jase, who was leaned against our little Mazda, engaging in some slightly embarrassing PDA with Nikki Anderson. We were still about three cars away when Jase pulled back from Nikki.

“What are you doing here?” Jase asked Alex as rudely as possible.

“Well, I was walking to my car.” Alex motioned towards an old red Toyota in the next row.

“I meant here at this school, in this town.”

In retrospect, Alex must have been purposefully trying to provoke Jase. Maybe he was more like his brother than I thought.

“We thought it would be a nice place to settle down.” One corner of Alexʼs mouth pulled up as his eyes locked with mine. “I had no idea it would be this nice.” The next series of events went so quickly I canʼt be exactly sure what happened. Jase took a swing at Alex, but it didnʼt connect. I donʼt know if Alex managed to duck out of the way, or if Jaseʼs aim was just really off. I do know he meant business because it really hurt when my shoulder accidentally got in the way and I fell to the ground.

The next thing I knew, Tyler Burkeen and Seth Roberts were holding Alexʼs arms, and Jaseʼs nose was dripping blood.

“Stay the hell away from my sister,” Jase spat out, red droplets flying from his lips.

Alex ignored him to look down to where I was frozen on the ground. “Scout, are you okay?”

“Iʼm fine.” Sure, I was going to have a bruise on my shoulder, and there were a few scrapes on my palms, but I could hardly complain with Jase spouting blood.

“Donʼt talk to her!” Jase looked ready to get even. I found myself worrying about Alex.

Obviously, he could throw a good punch when he wanted to, but Jase was strong. And surrounded by friends. And seriously pissed off.

“Go home, Alex,” I said, picking myself up off the ground.

“Scout--”

I was curious as to what sort of explanation he could have given for the fisticuffs, but I refused to let him finish that thought. “Please, just go home. Youʼve done enough.” I pulled some tissues out of my purse and attempted to wipe some of the blood from Jaseʼs face.

After one final look in my direction, he walked away. Jase and I rode home in complete silence.

“That was incredibly stupid,” Charlie said, bringing my thoughts back to the present. “Do you have any idea what could have happened? What could still happen?” The room was still and silent as an unspoken exchange occurred between them. Despite my feelings about my brotherʼs behavior, I automatically defended him.



“Itʼs no big deal. There were no teachers around, and no one is going to rat out Mr.

Basketball himself. Thereʼs no way this will affect his position on the team or scholarships. Itʼs all good.”

“Good to know I donʼt have to worry then,” Charlie said, never relaxing or taking his eyes off of Jase. For the first time it occurred to me that Charlie may have been in on whatever scheme Toby had conned Jase into.

Charlie repositioned himself so that he was turned towards me. My shoulders felt naked without his arm covering them.

“So, whatʼs the deal with you and this new guy? Do you like him?” Like the typical teenager I am, I rolled my eyes. “No, I donʼt like him. Good grief. Heʼs on the newspaper staff, and we have a couple of other classes together. We were just talking.