Chapter Seven
School began normally. Everyone ignored me as they always did. The teachers droned in their enthusiastic ways, and I got an A on my English test.
Then, around the middle of the day, the balance was drastically tipped.
I should have seen it coming. I mean, with my luck, why didn’t I? But of course I didn’t, and I went to my tree at lunch as I always did.
Before I opened my book, I casually glanced around, looking at everyone and hoping that someone would approach and ask me to join them in some alien burst of pity.
I noticed straightaway that Vick wasn’t in his usual spot. Weird. He hadn’t missed a day of school yet.
Everyone else was in their spots, and no one seemed to have any intentions of approaching me. Mentally shrugging, I opened Great Expectations by Charles Dickens.
Mere seconds had ticked by before a shadow towered over me. It blocked my sun and I instantly felt a chill. Annoyed, I looked up.
“So this weekend, huh?”
My mind went blank as Vick Dawson grinned down at me. I didn’t hear his words as I stared at him. Hell. The kid had two dimples. My stomach clenched in remembrance, though this boy didn’t look anything like the man I had left behind in a New York prison.
“I’ll never let you go, Rebecca Chapman.”
I shivered.
“Oh, sorry. Blocking the sun, aren’t I?” Vick moved aside, and actually plopped down next to me. I caught the other kids staring, and I edged away, uncomfortable being so near someone. Was this kid mental?
“So it’s been a rough start for you here, huh?” he asked me. I frowned in response, uneasy. Was this some kind of trick? Did he think that I was some kind of slut or something?
“Can you talk?” Vick pressed when I didn’t answer.
I glared at him, suddenly infuriated for no real reason. “Yes, I can talk.”
“Great,” he chirped. “So I hear we’re hanging out this weekend.”
My cheeks burned as I realized what he was talking about. “I don’t know what you mean.”
The kid shoved some hair out of his eyes, at the same time toying with his lip ring with his tongue. “One of those trails, you know? My dad went for coffee this morning, started talking to your mom, your mom found out he’s a Dawson and mentioned that her daughter and Vick Dawson were going to spend some time together over the weekend. So my dad went and told my mom, and my mom called me on my cell. Whoa!” He grinned.
“Pretty short trail if you ask me,” I mumbled, utterly humiliated.
Vick shrugged. “Anything is a trail in this town.”
I had to agree. “Sorry about the weekend thing,” I felt like I owed him to say. “My mom has been bugging me about making friends”—I felt so stupid saying that—“and I guess you were the first name that came to mind. I just wanted her off my back, so I made something up.”
Vick tipped his head back to lean it against the bark of the tree, and I scooted even farther away. “Hey, don’t feel bad,” he said, not seeming to notice the distance I was putting between us. “I know where you’re coming from. When I first moved here, my mom gave me the same shit.”
I couldn’t believe he was sitting there so casually, just talking to me as if he’d known me for years. Say something, a tiny inner voice urged. Before he leaves. “When did you move here?” I asked awkwardly.
He closed his eyes. “About two years ago, now. Pleasant View sure is hell on earth, huh? Satan uses boredom as a torture here.”
I couldn’t help but smile. “You have the right idea.”
He opened his eyes and looked at me. I couldn’t help but notice those eyes were the warmest brown. Not ice blue, like his…
“It doesn’t have to be a lie, you know,” Vick said.
“What?”
“Hanging out this weekend,” he said impatiently. “I have no plans, and you seem cool.”
I seemed cool? Did this kid know about my past? He had to; everyone else did. Someone would have told him. So why would he even want to even be near me?
“Look, I’m not looking for a pity invite,” I snapped, though moments ago I had. Vick didn’t need to know that, and I needed to maintain some pride. “I have plenty of things I can do this weekend.”
He didn’t snap back, as I expected. No, this guy just snickered in amusement. “In this town? You have things to do? Really?”
I pursed my lips, not wanting to see the humor in it. I hadn’t laughed about anything or anyone since that horrible, amazing, terrifying, thrilling night had happened.
“No one will ever keep us apart.”
It was my turn to close my eyes. “No,” I whispered.
“Look, it’s not a pity invite,” Vick said, startling me out of my reverie. “I’ve actually been meaning to talk to you. I just never got around to it.” He grinned cheekily.
Part of me wanted to accept the invitation. I hadn’t spent time with people other than my mom and dad for a long time. But what if he caught a glimpse of the real me? What if I said something that gave it all away?
“I’m not normal,” I suddenly blurted. As soon as I did so, I blushed again.
Surprisingly, Vick didn’t laugh. Instead, he met my eyes with a gaze so serious and compelling that I almost wanted to look away. Something stopped me, though.
“I know,” Vick murmured. “But who really is in this big, freaky, wonderful world?”
I held his gaze. “But I don’t think—”
“Don’t think,” he interrupted. “Just say what first pops into your head.”
I broke the solemn moment when a wry smile curved my lips. “Is that the philosophy you live by all the time?”
“Always.”
My smile grew. It had to; it was like I had no choice talking to him. “The first thing that popped into my head was ‘okay’.”
That contagious grin appeared again. “Great. You may learn yet. But you’ll need a final evaluation. How about Saturday, around seven at my place?”
My smile died. This sounded like a date. I wasn’t ready for that kind of thing. What if he expected something from me? What if he came back and saw the two of us? What kind of danger would that put Vick in?
As if he could read my thoughts, Vick put his hands up in a sign of surrender. “Hey, don’t get me wrong. I wouldn’t mind if things were that way, but believe it or not, my head is actually working. And it’s telling me you don’t want that kind of thing between us, am I right?”
I hesitated for an instant, and nodded silently.
He shrugged easily. “That’s cool. I could always use a friend.”
Uncertain, I didn’t say anything.
Vick groaned. “Aw, come on. I had you all loosened up. Don’t go all stiff on me.”
My mouth smiled again against my will, and the boy sitting next to me jumped up when he saw it. “Cool,” he said. “So I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I nodded again. He grinned at me, his lip ring shining in the sunlight, and he turned and strode off. I noticed his lope was confident and slow, just like the kid himself. As I watched Vick walk away, I thought about my mom’s reaction when I told her that I really did have plans Saturday night.
She was going to freak.
.
