BLIND: A Mastermind Novel (6 page)

Asher spent the night staring at the Wonder Woman poster above his bunk bed and fantasizing about Scarlet, her pretty eyes and long fiery hair. The following morning he picked some flowers from his mom’s garden and left them at her locker only a short distance from his.

He skulked around, fumbling with books until she arrived. Watching through the slits of the opened metal door of his locker, he sucked in a deep breath and held it as she picked up the blooms and looked around. A stunning smile took over her face. In the days that followed he’d made her a mix tape, wrote her several poems, and slowly built up the guts to ask her to the dance.

She was so pretty it sometimes hurt to look at her. A few days before the dance, a game was scheduled. Scarlet was cheering again, but not going at it as hard as she usually did on account of her ankle. Asher waited for her by the bleachers until the crowd thinned.

He made his move. “Hi, Scarlet—”

“Yo, Lettie! Come on, we’re all heading over to Nina’s. Her brother got a keg.”

Scarlet’s attention was stolen along with her presence as the rest of the cheer team followed the jocks to the parking lot. Asher’s shoulders hunched as his opportunity vanished.

The following morning there was a note wedged in his locker. His fingers trembled as he unfolded it.

Hey cutie,

I’m still looking forward to dancing with you this Friday. What do you say you meet me at my house a half hour before the dance?

Hugs and Kisses,

Lettie

Still not fully trusting the note in his hand, he waited until chemistry class to confront her, but his nerves got the best of him. He decided to write her a note back.

Dear Scarlet,

I would like nothing more than to take you to the dance. Let me know your address and what your favorite flower is and I’ll be there. Really looking forward to that dance.

Love,

Asher

Once he had the note folded, he volunteered to solve the problem on the board. As he walked down the aisle, Scarlet was digging in her bag on the floor. He dropped the note on her desk, heart racing, and met the teacher in the front of the class. When the bell rang, she was gone, but at the end of the day her reply was in his locker.

Sweet Asher,

My favorite flowers are lilies.

Kisses,

Lettie

Her address was scribbled at the bottom.

That evening he’d shocked his parents by announcing he would be going to a dance. His dad dusted off his old suit and his mom ordered the nicest lily corsage she could find on short notice. It took a lot to convince them not to embarrass him by taking pictures, but eventually they conceded.

On Friday he took a cold shower and applied extra deodorant. Holding the plastic case with Scarlet’s lily, he drove his mom’s station wagon to her house. Parking just before her property, hiding the wood paneled eyesore behind some tall hedges, he took a deep breath and stepped around the corner—coming up short at the sight of half the football team taking pictures with the cheer squad on her lawn.

These were his adversaries, but her friends. He’d do anything for her, so he drew back his shoulders and stepped forward.

Bobby Westerman’s arm possessively wrapped around Scarlet’s freckled shoulders as he pressed his face into her neck. She was exquisite. Her dress was purple and puffy and—why wasn’t she pushing Bobby off?

Asher took another step forward and a roar of laughter came from the guys. The girls turned and Scarlet’s head tipped curiously. Her ruby curls were pinned high on her head like a princess. His shaky hand extended as he held out the box with her lily, trying not to let the others detect how intimidating he found their presence.

“You got company, Red,
”
Bobby said, giving her a nudge forward.

Scarlet glared at Bobby then stared at Asher as though it took her a minute to place him. “Asher Roan? What are you doing here?”

His blood went cold, every fear hurdling through his nervous system. “I…I’m here to take you to homecoming.”

The girls
’
chortles joined the uproarious laughter pouring from the jocks.

Scarlet’s face turned deep crimson. “What?”

He lowered the hand holding the corsage. His voice, barely a whisper, explained, “The
…
flowers, the poems, the letters…
”
His words fell away as he painfully accepted the guys were right and it was all one big prank.

His pride stung as the laughter continued. A nervous giggle came from Scarlet and Bobby roared, “Why don’t you come give Lettie a kiss, Roan? Or do you only kiss little boys?”

After years of being persecuted when he’d never been anything but nice, he’d had enough. He’d had his face shoved uncountable times into his lunch, been forced into trashcans, lockers, the girls
’
bathroom. But this—
this—
was an all time low.

Mortification swelled, morphing into a dark seething hate, and he snapped. Screeching like a locomotive, he dropped the lily and charged. When he plowed into Bobby’s broad chest it was like barreling head first into a brick wall. Asher’s ass landed on the lawn with a thud and Bobby was cocking back to hit him. Asher winced and turned his face—

“Hey!
”
Scarlet yelled.

He squinted his eyes as an enormous shadow fell over him. Bobby scowled down at him, his thick neck flushing red. Scarlet reached for Asher and he took her hand, a thousand volts of energy sparking through his arm. Her skin was so soft.

Clambering to his knees, it suddenly occurred to him that this was his chance. Shifting, he pulled her hand forward, placing a kiss on the back of her fingers like a true knight.

The girls laughed and she snatched her hand away, her face flushing a deeper shade of ruby and transforming her soft features into a scowl. “What are you doing?”

He rose to his feet and retrieved the corsage from the grass. Opening the plastic package he held it out to her. “I may not be good at sports or know how to dance very well, but I promise I’ll be a better date than any one of these jerks.”

“Watch it, dickweed, or I’ll make that suit even uglier when it’s covered in your blood.”

“Shut up, Bobby,
”
she snapped and turned to Asher. “Um, that’s really cute, but I already have a date.”

Cute? He winced. “But…they’re all jerks.”

Her brow pinched defensively. “They’re my friends.”

He shook his head. Didn’t she see? Those guys walked around like a bunch of Neanderthals. They didn’t respect her.

Asher didn’t have a lot of experience with girls, but he wasn’t stupid. Looking up at her, he whispered, “He’s using you.”

Apparently that was the wrong thing to say. She blinked, her eyes flashing with resentment. Her flushed breasts rose in time with her labored breathing, pressing tight against the plum fabric of her dress. “I don’t know who you think you are, but I want you to leave.”

He hadn’t meant to insult her, only to protect her from these animals. “You deserve someone that respects you, Scarlet. He does
n’
t respect you—”

“Get out of here! You think you have the right to come to my house and embarrass me? You? Some little nerd wearing wingtips that reek of mothballs, who barely reaches my shoulders!”

“And in that suit!
”
one of the girls chimed in.

Asher’s throat burned as he stood there wishing the earth would open up and swallow him whole. “I didn’t mean to insult you.
I’
m trying to protect you.”

“Well, then I guess all geeks aren’t as smart as I thought.I do
n’
t need your protection. Leave me alone and go away, you little stalker!
”

His heart cracked. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. He wished he were like Jet, fearless when it came to girls. Scarlet was just like everyone else, incapable of seeing past his appearance or giving him a chance to prove himself. Bobby Westerman was an asshole and she could do way better than that, but maybe that was exactly what she deserved.

Breathing hard, he stared at the group of well-dressed seniors laughing at his expense, mocking him, calling him
freak show
and
loser
. He was so tired of being the butt of every popular kid’s joke. They were no better than he was.

Rage boiled inside of him as he tried to find some shred of dignity. They’d made a fool of him in front of her.

He met her cold gaze and, in his sternest voice, promised, “One day you’ll know exactly who I am and see that I’m better than everyone here. Even you.
”

Chin trembling, she shrieked. “Get away from me, you loser!”

The blood rushed from his face as his heart pounded erratically in his chest. The look of repugnance in her eyes would haunt him forever.

“You better run, asswipe,
”
Bobby said, stripping off his jacket.

Stepping back, Asher did a quick search of the scowling faces glaring at him and decided that was wise advice. He ran. Fingers trembling, he ripped open the dented door of the station wagon and dove onto the well-worn bench seat, slamming down the lock.

Jamming the key in the ignition, he cranked the gearshift and backed away from the curb. Throwing it into drive, the old wagon backfired and jerked forward, drowning out the others
’
laughter.

When he reached his house he didn’t pull in the driveway. His parents thought he was at the dance and he couldn’t face more humiliation that would come with confessing it was all a joke at his expense. No parent deserved to witness his or her misfit kid’s shame. It would only crush him more to see them scramble to his aide, their attempts to soothe his pride intensifying his sense of inadequacy.

Jet was at the dance waiting for him and Scarlet to show. He’d promised to save them a seat. They’d all eventually know what happened. Driving aimlessly through the neighborhood, he found himself parking outside of Elliot’s.

When he rang the bell Mrs. Garnet opened the door and let him in. He found Hunter and Elliot playing Nintendo on the floor of his friend’s room. The moment they saw him they knew, but there was nothing anyone could do to ease his pain and humiliation.

The remainder of his senior year passed much the same as his earlier education, but now with a sting of regret and additional humiliation as word spread. Every day, he’d gone to school with one motivation. Her. He’d fabricated some twisted fantasy in his mind over the years and now he actually called himself stupid.

Scarlet Farrow wasn’t the sweet girl he’d assumed. She was a viper, no better than the rest of the jocks and popular kids. From that day on, she knew who he was.