Insidious(18)

I’d always loved the way he smelled.

Snap out of it, I ordered myself, climbing back up to my feet.

His gaze softened all the more as I met his height, or at least as close as I could get to it. He was just shy of six feet, so he still had almost nine inches on me.

“I never had a chance to ask you, how’re you doing?” He quickly diverted his eyes at my failure to reply. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to put you on the spot like that.”

My mouth managed to open, but I couldn’t force the words out. I’d been telling everyone all day long that I was “okay,” but Adam was different. He knew better than anyone when I was lying, and it seemed pointless to try.

“I tried calling you after…” He cleared his throat. “But you didn’t get back to me, so…”

He’d done more than that, and I knew neither he nor my mom would admit it (though for very different reasons). Mom was never particularly fond of him, even before she knew about his flakiness. The woman tried living her high school glory days again vicariously through me, and a ruffian such as Adam didn’t fit the profile. She wanted me to find someone like my dad. The Golden Boy. That guy who reeked of sophistication and charm. A yuppie-in-training if you will. Not a grease monkey who looked like he’d just rolled out from under a car. She wanted me to be with someone like…Blaine.

“Hey, you ready to hit the gym?” announced Carly, suddenly appearing at my side. She eyed Adam like he was Satan’s Spawn, hooking her arm around mine and pulling me away.

“Thank you,” I managed to say, holding up the protein bar in appreciation to Adam before she gave me a good yank. “Oww.”

“What’re you doing?” she groaned.

“Besides having my best friend rip my arm out of its socket?” I jabbed, knowing full-well of her condemnation. “Lighten up, okay? He was just being polite.”

“And you were totally falling for it.”

“Was not.”

“Oh please, every time he gives you his Puss in Boots eyes, you’re on your ass.”

“Well, then be thankful I’m not you. Otherwise, I’d be on his mattress,” I laughed.



***



“There’s this thing you may have heard of called chewing,” remarked Carly, seeing me practically inhale my protein bar as we exited the locker room.

The gnawing pains in my stomach grew fiercer, and I prayed it wouldn’t take too long for the small serving to curb my aching appetite. I headed over to the bleachers and lay flat across the unoccupied first bench.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but you kinda look like crap,” said Carly, brushing my unruly strands of hair out of my face as she took a seat beside me. Her hand rested on my forehead, and she hummed.

“What’s your diagnosis, doc? Do I have the plague?”

“You’re not hot.”

I half laughed. “Well, that’s not very nice.”

“You’re really pale though.”

“Tell me something I don’t already know.” I’d noticed it the first time I’d faced a mirror after the accident. The rich tan I’d inherited from all those long summer days was now nonexistent, replaced by an alabaster so light that it rivaled Snow White’s complexion. Hating my new Casper the Friendly Ghost look, I tried concealing it under some bronzer and blush, but the makeup didn’t seem to be holding up.

“You have any chills? Sore throat? Aches?”

I shook my head. “I just feel like my blood sugar has crashed, like I haven’t eaten.”

“Were you prescribed pain meds or something? Last year, after I broke my arm, my doctor put me on some stuff that completely messed up my stomach.”

“No.” I’d been given a couple different prescriptions at the hospital, but I hadn’t taken any of it. The masochist in me wanted to feel the pain. What right did I have to numb myself after what happened? Someone had died, and all I had were some bruises and a few minor scratches.

“Look alive,” announced Coach Gleeson, and we all straightened at the command. The man was ex-military and about the last person you wanted to piss off. While other schools treated gym class like freaking recess, Coach ran P.E. like it was Army Basic Training. “The radar is showing us that the rain will be taking a short break before the new system rolls in. And on a day as oddly warm as today, it would be a shame to let such fine temperatures go to waste. If you all hurry, we may just get back inside in time before we get drenched.”

“What are we gonna do outside? The grass is sopping wet,” challenged Carly. “You want us to play in the puddles?”