I went straight home after school, because when my mom says Super Grounded, I know she means it.
“I’m here,” I said glumly as I entered the house.
There was a flurry of activity in the kitchen, and I could hear Mom talking on the phone. Dumping my backpack by the driftwood bench in the foyer, I went to investigate.
“Susan, you don’t understand, this is a bad time for me—” she was saying. She caught a glimpse of me, and her lips thinned. Great. I was still in the doghouse. I tiptoed to the fridge, feeling like a thief in my own home.
Susan on the other end of the line seemed adamant though. Mom sighed. “You owe me more than you know. No. No I’ll explain when I get there,” she said, stealing a glance at me. “Yeah. Yeah, fine. See you soon.”
She hung up, and then just stood there for a minute. She tended to do that when she had to do something she really didn’t want to.
“Something up?” I finally asked, mustering my courage.
She looked up at me, and she seemed to soften. “Dad won’t be home until later, but Susan just called—she needs me to do an emergency fill for a lecture tonight.”
“Oh,” I said.
Mom looked me square in the eye. “We still need to talk about this weekend,” she pointed out. “But right now, I need to know that you will do as I say. No going out. No TV. No friends over. I need to trust you this time, Andi.”
Not even an ‘Andromeda,’ but an ‘Andi.’ She was seriously trying to get on my good side.
“Done,” I said. Why even bother explaining to her that I had nowhere to go and no friends left?
“This isn’t over,” she warned.
“I know,” I mumbled.
She eyed me warily, but seemed to feel it would have to do. “Okay then. I have to leave now if I’m going to get there on time,” she said, reaching for her bag and keys. “Dinner’s in the fridge. Do your homework. Dad or I will call to check up on you. Just. Please, Andi,” she begged, and I knew what she was asking.
“I’m sorry, Mom,” I whispered. “I’ll be good, promise.”
“Okay.” She hesitated, but then leaned close and kissed me on the forehead. “Be good,” she repeated.
And then she was off.
The house’s silence instantly seemed to shout at me. It was horrible. I was all alone. I had nowhere to go. Vik hated me now, Bree thought I was crazy and Riley was gone.
Gone… An icy claw squeezed my heart at the thought.
The buzzing of my phone distracted me. I practically leapt upon it, but found it was only a text from Dad explaining how he was at the aquarium for an opening exhibit reception and wouldn’t be back until after midnight. Great. Another nail in my proverbial coffin. I stuffed the phone deep into my backpack. Thanks Dad. Just what I need. I was facing an entire evening of microwaved leftovers and not even the obnoxious parental watchdog eyes to distract me from the growing blackness gnawing away at my soul.
Where was Riley?
Did he go back to his weird house where nothing made sense? Was he even still on this planet? Was he even still in this dimension? The sheer magnitude of how truly far apart I could be from him almost bent me double right there in the hallway. I choked back a dry sob and clenched my teeth.
It’s your own fault, I berated myself. I should have known better. I shouldn’t have let myself get so lost in his perfect features, his perfect body, his perfect everything.
I will do anything—anything—to protect you…
His words slithered through my memory like silk pulled along exquisite marble. Anything… But now that he’d done it, he was gone. Just like that. Of course he was gone. Why on Earth would he stay? For me? Ha! Who was I kidding? I was nothing, an ant. A speck. Utterly insignificant, compared to what mattered in his unfathomable world.
Upstairs, I changed out of my school clothes and pulled on a teal spaghetti-strap tank top and my little blue and green plaid drawstring shorts. If I couldn’t be happy, I could at least be coordinated. I decided to distract myself with one of the less-desirable portions of my hygiene regimen. The weekly epilation ritual. At least it would kill part of the evening. I slipped into my flip flops and trudged to my claustrophobic bathroom at the end of the hall.
I sighed when I saw myself in the mirror. My eyes were so red. I looked like I’d been crying for hours, even though I had yet to shed a tear since I got home. I could feel them, though, tickling the back my throat, threatening to rise again at any moment like rebellious mutineers. Of course Riley would just be done with me after we stopped the cultists. I knew it yesterday, and I’d been right. I hiccupped and my upper lip quivered.
No! No. I would not cry. Not anymore. I was not worthy to cry over him. The mere fact that I dared to even entertain the notion that he might have even considered staying was an insult to him! I would not debase him that way with my stupid tears. I chomped them back as I twisted my hair up into a sloppy bun and plopped down on the cold porcelain edge of the antique tub.
As I smoothed the Nair over my legs, I tried to think of the homework I should have been doing instead. The lab report Ms. Epistola assigned…
My expression clouded as I thought of it. It wasn’t due until Friday, but she’d assigned it a week earlier than Mr. Cho’s syllabus had stated. I don’t know how Vik looked up to her so much. She didn’t know what she was doing at all. Maybe if she spent less time dolling herself up like a trollop, she’d be better prepared for class. Half the time she didn’t even talk about science, and when she did, she clearly got everything she said out of Marine Biology For Dummies. I would know, I’d read it. My parents thought it was a decent intro to their precious field. But decent or not, Ms. Epistola had no place stepping into wise old Mr. Cho’s shoes as often as she did. If she really was an adjunct at the university and so chummy with Vik’s folks, then my parents had to at least know who she was. Maybe they could talk to the school board about her. And while they were at it, talk to Vik’s parents about letting her ‘tutor’ him.
I winced as I thought of Vik… He’d given me the silent treatment for the rest of the day after lunch, but even if he really did hate me now, I still had his best interests at heart. The Scarlett woman had to go. I would definitely have to tell my parents everything about what had been going on with that trashy phony… whenever they got home.
The sudden remembrance that I was alone for the night immediately undid all the good my anti-Epistola internal venting had wrought. I slumped with a deep sigh and dug the heels of my palms into my stinging eyes.
Riley. My Great One.
No. No, no, NO! Don’t degrade his perfect flawless memory with tears. Love him enough to let him go. That’s what my beloved Phantom did for the only one he ever loved. That’s what I would do for Riley. And do it with the dignity Riley deserved from pathetic, immaterial me. It was the greatest thing I had left to offer. It was kind of funny, really. I had dared to dream that I might be Christine in the situation. But if all the sadness of the world was in anyone’s eyes right now, it was in mine.
I cleaned the white goop off my now-smooth legs and wandered out of the bathroom like a blind person.
When I got back to my room, I found Riley sprawled across my bed, using my laptop.
I yelped, practically jumping out of my skin.
He looked up at me with a slow languid movement, and I felt the old familiar fluttering awaken in my chest when our eyes met. My mouth must have been hanging down to my knees.
He rolled over and propped himself up on one elbow, his dark blue t-shirt twisting slightly around his lithe body. I was too shocked that he was there at all to mind the enigmatic smile that tugged at the corners of his lips as he looked me over. It had been less than twenty-four hours since we last parted, but after a day like today, it felt like eons, and I couldn’t get enough of just looking at him.
Riley Bay here. Really here.
Riley Bay on my unmade bed… touching the part of the sheets that touched me when I slept… late afternoon sunlight from the bay window streaming over him. The effect was almost angelic.
My breath escaped me softly. “Oh…”
Riley slid off the bed, but stayed next to it and I noticed that his tousled hair was damp. I didn’t think it was raining outside. Had he just had a shower? I blushed at the place my thoughts started to go and I quickly looked down. The computer on the bed caught my eye and I noticed that he had my AOL account open.
I contained a gasp. “Were you reading my email?” I felt my cheeks begin to grow hot. What did he see in there?
He ran a hand over the top of the screen and just smiled at me.
“That… that… you can’t do that!” I stammered breathlessly.
“Why not?” he asked, cocking his head to one side, a piece of his raven hair falling across his alabaster forehead.
“Because it’s just… that’s not cool. You can’t just read someone’s private email without their permission.” I sucked in a deep breath. “I know you’re technically like a primordial cosmic being or whatever, but here on Earth we… we… well, we have certain rules!”
“This is a law?”
“Well, no…” My cheeks were on fire then, and my heart was beating mile a minute. Had I gotten any instant messages while he was on? Did he see my email to Vik from last week where I expounded at length on what a jerk I thought Riley was? Was he pissed? He didn’t look pissed. He almost looked… amused.
“But it’s a privacy thing, you know?” I bleated in a pathetic attempt to explain.
“But I want to know everything there is to know about you,” he said.
My heart skipped a beat. If my face was red before, it was positively glowing now.
He took a step toward me. I felt my knees go buttery. “Everything,” he repeated, his voice a husky whisper.
Above his chiseled cheekbones, his celestial eyes burned into mine and I realized I’d stopped breathing. I tried to say something, anything, but words were beyond me. I nodded slowly, dumbly. It hit me distantly that this was the first time I’d ever had a boy in my room.
But he wasn’t a boy. He was so much more… The gravitas of it slammed into me like the sky falling. How could this amazing being, who by all rights shouldn’t even notice I existed, care enough to want to find out everything there was to know about me? I could never understand it.
He lifted a finger, a flawless finger, and twirled it into one of the wispy tendrils of hair that hung loose from my bun. The back of his hand almost brushed my cheek. So close… My breath caught.
“I thought you were gone for good,” I barely whispered.
He paused and his mouth opened slightly as if he were at a loss for words. Then he blinked and shook his head, chuckling under his breath. “You truly do not understand, do you?” He smirked as if enjoying a private joke, and gave my hair a gentle tug. If I tilted my face a fraction of an inch, it would be leaning against his hand… but I didn’t dare.
“I like this,” he said, looking at my messy bun.
I blushed. I looked a fright and I knew it. I put a hand to the side of my hair and turned away. For the first time since I came into the room, I remembered I was wearing only the tiny shorts and tank top. Crap, caught indecent again! Oh god, where was my robe?
“But I would like it better wet.”
I froze. Did I hear him right? I turned back to him slowly. “Did you say… wet?”
He grinned, his eyes sparkling, and then he caught me by the hand. “Come,” he said.
I was too distracted by the fact that my entire body had turned into complete jelly to protest as he drew me from the room. He was back! And he was… happy! And he was holding my hand! After the two days of stiff emotions and no physical contact at all, it absolutely undid me. To be smiled upon and touched by Riley, the boy of my very dreams! But oh god, where was he taking me?
“My parents…” I protested lamely as he took me downstairs toward the front door. How does one explain Super Grounded to a multidimensional godlike creature?
If he heard me, he ignored it, and I was thankful I still had my flip flops on as he hustled me outside. I stumbled on the front porch steps though, and immediately forgot about my prison sentence when I saw what was in the driveway. A pristine BMW Roadster, so black and shiny that its sleek paint seemed to absorb all light around it into an unfathomable dimension. The convertible top was down, revealing two blood-red leather seats, and the tires were so clean, it looked as if it had never been off the lot.
“Is… is that your car?” I stammered. If I thought Cleo had been impressive, nothing could have prepared me for this fierce machine.
Riley strode to its side and opened the chiseled-cut passenger door for me. It took me a moment to make my legs work, but he waited without answering, only a patient smile on his face.
What would my parents have thought if they saw this parked so brazenly in our driveway? But something told me that Riley knew they would not be home. Either knew, or did not care. Because no measure of boldness was too much for him when it came to what he wanted.
And what he wanted right now, was me.
My heart skipped too many beats. Oh god, how was I still even alive at this rate?
I hesitated at the door and he laughed, pressing a hand against the small of my back to usher me in. I settled into the seat with chagrin. I felt like I was bringing the Blue Book value down just by touching it.
“Where did you get this?” I asked as he circled the glossy hood to his side.
“I bought it.”
I blinked. When? And how? It looked brand new. But I didn’t ask. Where did he keep it, I wondered. Didn’t he live in that labyrinthine underground lair of his? I didn’t exactly remember a garage down there. And it certainly hadn’t been in Neil’s garage. For that matter, where did Riley get the designer clothes he was always wearing? I never saw him in the same thing twice. As he slipped into the driver’s seat, I admired his slim-fit navy blue Hermès t-shirt and dark Armani jeans. I couldn’t exactly imagine him crawling the Portsmouth Galleria mall with the other teenagers. Maybe he did all his shopping online? But where did he have his packages delivered?
I burned with questions, but was too distracted by the way he ran his long slender fingers back through his still-damp hair to ask. I buckled my seatbelt obediently before he even had to mention it, and watched him flip on a pair of impenetrable sunglasses as he backed us out of my driveway. Oh god, how was it possible that he still looked so alluring even with his astonishing eyes completely covered?
I was grateful I’d had so much time to get used to his driving style over the past two days, as the power of the Beamer’s modern engine let him take his ferocity behind the wheel to the next level. I practiced my Zen breathing and respectfully kept my mouth shut, only lifting a hand to shield my eyes against the myriad light of the setting sun beyond the windshield. It was a wonderfully warm evening, but the strong breeze through the open top as we picked up speed made me shiver.
Riley responded immediately, reaching behind his seat to pull out his slim leather jacket. “Put this on.”
I slid into it gratefully, for both the warmth and the chance to hide the shame of my lack of decent clothing. The buttery material felt so supple wrapped around me, like a second skin. I snuggled into it and inhaled its rich fragrance. Mingled with the leather smells were the fresh scents of the ocean. Of Riley. I would never take it off!
“Where are we going?” I managed to ask as my heartbeat finally began to regain control of itself.
“There is something I want to show you. Something I want to share with you.”
I felt shivers despite the warmth of the jacket. He wanted to share with me! It didn’t matter where we were going. I would follow him anywhere. How could I even begin to tell him of the anguish today had been when I thought he was gone forever? Did I dare even try? As I was contemplating it, I shifted in my seat and my leg bumped into a shopping bag on the floor down by my feet. It felt like there was something hard and heavy inside.
“What’s this?” I asked.
“That is for you,” he said without looking at me. Or maybe he was. It was impossible to see his eyes through the dark shades. The thought that he could be looking at me without me even knowing it sent exciting chills across my flesh.
“For me?” I gasped in amazement.
“For you. A token.” He hesitated and then added in a tone that made him sound almost unsure of himself. “A gift.”
He’d bought me a present? My heart started racing again. “What is it?” I asked, brushing my fingers over the paper handles of the bag.
He chuckled and shook his head, his hands twisting the black leather of the steering wheel. “Foolish little thing.”
I felt my cheeks grow hot. Of course, it was a stupid question. I would find out when I opened it. How he could tolerate me when I said such things, let alone like me enough to bring me a present, I could never understand.
I pulled the bag up into my lap. It was heavier than I expected. I reached inside and drew out a black leather-bound book with gilt edges. “Oh…” I breathed. The texture of it felt so rich, almost like it could be alive. There was nothing written on it, so I turned it over and realized I’d had it backward. The front was embossed in filigreed gold leaf and the flourishing script read Le Fantome de l’Opera, Gaston Leroux.
“Oh Riley!” I exclaimed. “It’s beautiful!” I gingerly cracked open the cover and my eyes skimmed the French text on the first pages. My favorite book in its original language!
“It is not as simple as you might suspect to find a French book in this land of yours. It took me all day.”
I looked up at him, too amazed for words. So was that why he wasn’t in school? Because he was hunting down this book for me? For me… Truly, I did not deserve such thoughtfulness.
“But why?” I asked, cowed. “You didn’t have to do this. It was my fault my old book got ruined…”
“No!” he snapped, the anger in his voice impossible to mistake.
My hands clutched the book and I peeped up at him. His jaw was clenched for a moment and he shook his head sternly. I saw his hands tighten on the wheel, his knuckles paling.
But when he spoke again, his voice was softer, though his tone was grave. “No. It was my fault, little one. I never should have allowed you to place yourself in that situation. I was a fool to think I could stand to see you come to harm. I was near enough to prevent it, but I did not. It was I who failed to protect you from yourself.”
He turned his face to me and swept the sunglasses up over his hair. His eyes were soft, beseeching. A look I’d never seen him give anyone but me. He reached across and laid his fingertips tenderly over mine on the book. “This is the least I could do.”
I exhaled deeply, feeling my heart flutter. “I love it,” I whispered. I looked back down, turning through the pages, admiring an illustration plate of the Phantom and Christine singing Don Juan Triumphant on the Paris Opera stage. I tried to translate the caption at the bottom of the image using my learnings from two years of Monsieur Cousteau’s French classes, but it was hard going. I let out a wistful sigh. “I just wish my French was better, so that I could really read it properly… as it’s meant to be read.”
Riley’s attention was back on the road, but I saw the corners of his lips twitch in smirk. “I could offer you my services as a tutor.”
I felt my face grow hot again. If I blushed anymore today, I was going to start getting light headed from all the blood rushing up and down inside of me! My thoughts immediately drifted off into a fantasyland of after-school hours spent with Riley, alone, learning French from his lips… reading Phantom together. I couldn’t picture anything closer to heaven!
I knew I should answer him somehow, but what does one say in the face of such a dream come true?
“It’s perfect,” I managed. And it was. The perfect gift from the perfect boy.
I hadn’t even realized he’d noticed what book it was that Travis stole before he rescued me. But of course he’d noticed. Riley noticed everything about me. How he could know my very soul so well when we’d only met two weeks ago was a mystery that the selfish, secretly indulgent part of me hoped I could somehow spend the rest of my days figuring out with him.
I was so lost on my dreamcloud of paradise, that I didn’t realize where he’d driven us until we got there.
He had brought me back to the beach.