| |
Martin was in Ophelia’s next class, Life Skills. She couldn’t avoid him there or at lunch.
Adrian exited the library beyond the crowd.
She ached to be with him again, having him warble in her ear, preen around her neck, and draw a new picture.
Out in the open without any kind of threat.
You need to be free to live. Ophelia spotted her sister.
Bianca negotiated the crowds while yapping with her friends like the fate of the universe depended solely on the next issue of Teen Vogue.
Ophelia squeezed behind a couple kissing against a locker, crossed the crowded hall, and latched onto Bianca’s elbow. “Do I look all right?”
“Oh, my dog, you’re asking?” Bianca squealed and dragged her toward the restroom, already digging a hand into purse for mascara or something.
Ophelia pulled her to the wall instead, underneath a poster of Sleeping Lady Mountain. “Wait, there isn’t time.”
“Oh, good grief, none of the teachers will mark you down as tardy. They still think you’re Martin Brynner’s girlfriend.”
“Except Mrs. Cox and Mrs. Langdon.” Ophelia let go a tortured breath. “I guess they’d let us off.”
“You ripped your sleeve.” Bianca dug back into her purse. “I can fix that.” She pulled out her cell phone. “Here, you fix this.”
“Did you drop it again? You really need to keep it in a holster, not crammed in your purse with all your other junk.” Ophelia turned the cell over and popped open the back.
“Holsters are for geeks. Now, hold still.” Bianca pulled out a sewing kit.
“Give me the seam ripper.” Ophelia took the little hooked knife-like tool out of her sister’s kit and tinkered with the cell-phone. She grinned, ears hot. “I found out who my secret admirer is.”
“Adrian Grayer.”
“You figured it out already?”
Bianca went to work on the ripped sleeve. “I popped into the art classroom first thing this morning and found one of his drawings on the wall that’s similar to the ones he’s given you. So, did you get together with him?”
Ophelia’s grin grew into a smile, despite best efforts to stop it. “The stairwell...”
“Oh, my dog, I love the stairwell.”
“And we just had library study hall together.”
Bianca danced a little, still sewing. “Ooh, I got my first hickie in the reference aisle.”
Ophelia curled a nostril in memory and handed back the phone. “Martin gave me my first and only hickie, and he broke the skin, totally creeped me out. Do you think he’s figured out Adrian?”
Bianca tied off the thread. “Nah. Hold still. I need to snip the ends.” She dug out her mini-scissors. “Martin still thinks Trevor’s the threat.”
“You have to swear not to tell anyone about Adrian.” Ophelia observed her sister snipping off the thread ends.
“Everyone knows anyway, except Martin, of course.”
“Yeah, but they’re all going to ask you for the gory details.”
Bianca stepped back and clasped hands to heart, looking her up and down. “I do such beautiful work, oh, yes, I do.”
“Come on, tardy bell’s about to ring.” Ophelia held up her pinky finger.
“That is so juvenile. Fine.” Her sister grasped pinky fingers and shook.
Ophelia handed over the cell phone. “That should last you until Grandma sends the new one for our birthday. Try to keep it off the floor.”
“Leave me alone, geek,” Bianca snarled.
“Do you think my shearling coat is pretty?”
Bianca’s face lit up at the prospect of an intimate adventure and she clasped hands for a little dance. “Are you going to meet Adrian somewhere? Oh, my dog, where? Where?”
Ophelia wrested her hands free. “The Old Mine. Is my coat pretty or not?”
“I stayed up all night to win ‘em off eBay.” Bianca threw arms around Ophelia and hugged her tight. “Of course, it’s pretty with all that red embroidery down the front of the golden tan suede but snag the off-white gloves out of my locker. They match the collar and cuffs.”
“Okay, thanks.” Ophelia hugged her back and rushed away.
Martin looked up from their table when she arrived in the cooking classroom. Their table was in the furthest corner with all the newest appliances. “Where were you?”
Ophelia had no choice but to take her assigned seat next to him. “I ripped my sleeve. Bianca fixed it.”
Wrapping an arm around her waist, Martin sniffed her neck. “Soon, I’ll give you pretty clothes and you’ll never have to rely on that bitch again.”
Ophelia glared sideways, head down. “My sister is a little rambunctious, but she is not a bitch.”
“She’s radically co-dependent. She can hardly pee by herself.”
The teacher started talking about specialized diets, a topic Ophelia was too familiar with and loathed.
Ophelia shrugged off her purse, opened up her notebook, and took out a pen. She was an expert at appearing to be attentive. Her mind wandered back to a time when sitting next to him had been an unequaled thrill.
“What’s wrong?” Martin’s whisper brought her back to the grim present.
She teared up. “I was just remembering when we first started going out.”
“Yeah, our first kiss was really hot.” Martin wiped the moisture on her cheek away with his thumb. “So, why the tears?”
“Because you’ve changed so much and...” Deep breath, exhale.
Martin covered her hand with his on the table. “I’ve been under a lot of stress lately. It’s made me a little cranky.”
“Cranky?” Ophelia raised both brows and thought of Trevor pinned to the locker, eyelids peeled back in terror.
He lifted her fingers to kiss, tongue lingering over the one she usually pricked to test her blood sugar. “Very soon, everything will be as it should, and we’ll have everything we’ve ever wanted.”
“You haven’t cared about what I want since our third date.” She swallowed hard and tried to pull her fingers free.
“Of course, I care. You’re my Sweet.” Martin tightened his grip and brought her hand back to his mouth. “I worship you.”
That’s it. I’m sneaking out of this hell-hole now. I can’t face the cafeteria with him. How she’d manage it, Ophelia did not know. She’d never committed such an infraction before. I’ll ask Bianca. She gets away with it all the time.
She tried to pull her fingers out of Martin’s mouth. “Stop it.”
He let go and kissed her cheek.
Ophelia pretended to be intensely interested in her notebook and wrote out some Calculus equations as a ruse. Running away is easier when you have a place to go. She thought of a way on her own.
Being known as quiet and studious, most teachers ignored her, including the Life Skills one. Ophelia eyed the restroom passes on the teacher’s desk. I can excuse myself to the restroom. She’ll never notice.
Martin would notice.
Ophelia peered at him bragging to his friends about his stupid truck again. I’ll have to risk it. He won’t let me out of his sight once this period ends. Ophelia studied the big black numbers on the clock. I’ll call Mom on the way home and say I’m sick. Bianca will cover for me.
Once the teacher finished her lecture, she instructed them to choose a specialty recipe and start cooking.
Ophelia went to the teacher’s desk for a restroom pass.
The teacher didn’t even look up.
Ophelia stopped at her locker, shoved in her books and yanked out her coat. She hurried down to Bianca’s locker.
Mrs. Brynner strode up the breezeway.
Ophelia grabbed her gloves and fled in the opposite direction, pulse throbbing. Now what? She ducked into the restroom. I have zero experience with being a badass-chick and no chance to consult with Bianca.
Taking a deep breath, she eyed the heating unit where she typically set her purse when testing her blood sugar. She thought of Mrs. Brynner coming.
Ophelia pushed up the window and climbed out. Before she had time to think about it, she stood on the ledge against the gray cinderblock wall outside the window, the cold biting her face. She peered down at her boots on the icy ledge and the ground below. Okay, so maybe this wasn’t such a hot idea after all. Terror just about knocked her feet right out from under her.
The restroom door opened, and someone walked in, sniffing.
Ophelia was sure her breath, white in the cold before her, would give her away. She directed her gaze back to the ground and then to her left for a means of escape.
Adrian stood, one hand in his jacket pocket, a finger to his lips. He offered his hand. His gaze remained steady on hers and she knew it would be all right.
The terror in her heart evaporated.
Ophelia grasped his hand and turned, inching her way along the ledge behind him until they stepped onto the roof over the library. It was flat enough to require periodic shoveling.
He sat cross-legged and whispered, “It’s okay. You’re safe. She can’t hear you and the cold makes smelling you difficult.”
“How’d you know I’d be here?” She glanced down at the snow-covered ground. It no longer pulled at her nerves.
“I figured you’d try something, so I kept an eye on you.”
She sat down beside him, hand still in his, and let go a breath. “I think Mrs. Brynner followed me into the restroom.”
Adrian released her hand and wrapped an arm around her. “She did. Tell me, why you started going out with Martin in the first place?”
“I’m not stupid about guys.”
“I didn’t say you were.” He found her hand with his own again.
“Just inexperienced.”
“Everyone starts out like that.”
Ophelia took a deep breath and let it go. “I know it’s hard to tell now, but Martin used to be nice. The Brynners moved here when I was nine.”
“Right after you were diagnosed.” It was a statement. Not a question. There seemed to be very little Adrian did not know. He took her hand and rubbed it.
“Anyway, his parents were always a little...weird...but he was nice. We used to play together all the time and I guess, well, he is really cute, you know? I had a wicked crush on him, but he thought of me as just a friend.”
“One day, all of sudden, he was wild with passion for you.” Adrian harrumphed and rolled his eyes.
“Yeah, and he turned into a jerk. I’ve been trying to get away from him ever since.” Ophelia laced her fingers together with his.
Adrian kissed her hand. “Nothing that happened was your fault. You stumbled into a nightmare beyond anything you’d ever known, beyond anything you could’ve imagined.”
“I don’t want to talk about him anymore.” Ophelia whined.
Adrian pushed her hair from her face and ran his hand back into it. “I’ve been dreaming about getting tangled in your hair for four months.” He smiled, holding up his fingers with her auburn hair wound around them.
“Well, we’re together now, Adrian.”
He untangled his fingers and came in for a kiss.
Ophelia held his chin to make sure he couldn’t get away and muffled his laugh with her lips. Now, she was in charge and it rushed warm feelings all over her.
Adrian stood and pulled her up after him. “You need to leave school alone, so we’re not seen together. I’ll keep watch and meet you at the Old Mine.”
“I’ve never been a juvenile delinquent before. How are we getting down?” Ophelia spotted her little white car in the student parking lot.
“Fire escape ladder.” Adrian nodded in the direction and led her by the hand.
“I should be terrified out of my mind, but I’m not.” She climbed down the ladder after him.
He chuckled.
“What?”
“Just enjoying the view.”
“Hey.” She glanced down at his face just inches from her butt.
At last, they reached the bottom, conveniently behind a pine tree, and he caught her coming down.
He grasped her from behind and rested his chin on her shoulder.
Ophelia looked back at him and he kissed her. “We sure are kissing a lot.”
“Making up for lost time.” Adrian let her go. “Walk slowly to your car, like you’re sick, head down, miserable.”
“Okay.” It was all Ophelia could do to keep from running to her car, twirling and dancing. It was even harder to keep from looking back and giving her previous position away, which would endanger Adrian. She left school so fast she completely forgot about calling her mother until she drove past her house and saw the medical clinic lit up.
One quick call to her mother and she was free to think only of Adrian. It was all she wanted to do. “I’m bad, I’m bad, I am so very bad.” She gripped the steering wheel. “And, ooh, it feels so good.”