Existing (41 page)

I shrug. “Maybe he met a girl there? One that
doesn’t have a complicated life and isn’t a weirdo.”

Charlotte rolls her eyes. “I have no idea why you’re so insecure sometimes. Even with Hallie and your Mother ghost
, you are still fun and quirky and so sexy that even I’m jealous!”

I laugh.
“Whatever, I don’t believe you. But I’m cold now, so can we go in please?”

She rubs her hands together and nods.

When we re-enter the building, Cabe is standing in our direct line of view with three girls circling around him. Each of them are laughing and poking him. As we near them, I hear Charlotte growling at the side of me. “What are they doing?”

“I don’t know,” I sigh, “let’s just go the other way to class.”

“No way,” she says, striding forward.

As we get closer,
I hear Cabe asking them to leave him alone. He says he’s tired. One of the girls, I think her name is Amelia, laughs and tells him that she has a bed he can stay in. Cabe politely declines. Gabriella steps up then and lifts his coat up on his back, revealing half of his tanned, muscular back.

“I’m going to murder
that bitch,” snarls Charlotte.

I glance down as we near them. “Let’s just leave it. Please.”

“No,” she says. “I’m not leaving anything.”

“Hey
!” she shouts.

I cringe and veer off toward my locker. I open it and hide behind the door.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Gabriella giggles. “I was trying
to get a look at his white ass.”

I sneak a peek from behind my door and watch as Charlotte sticks a hand on her hip. “For once
, I wasn’t talking to you.”

Charlotte pokes Cabe in his chest making him jump back
. “I was talking to you!”

“
Me? Why?” he asks defensively.

“What on e
arth are you doing messing around with these skanks? Have you forgotten the last few weeks?”

Cabe shrugs Gabriella off when she touches his
shoulder. “I wasn’t messing around with anyone, and of course I haven’t forgotten the last few weeks.”

I shut my lock
er and walk through the hallway toward Anatomy. I don’t want to hear any more. I don’t want to be even more embarrassed than I already am.

“Don’t fuck around
, Cabe, or so help me…” Charlotte’s threat sends shivers down my spine, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

“Cabe Evans
, let me go!”

I shake my head at whatever it is that Charlotte and Cabe are doing and walk into Anatomy to find
Mr. Parker sitting at his desk, sipping his morning coffee. “Sorry I’m early.”

He blinks up and smiles. “Welcome back
, Rose. How are you feeling?”

I shrug and slide into my chair. “I was getting a bit bored at home
, to be honest, so I’m glad to be back.”

He laughs and places his mug down heavily on his desk. “Good to hear it.” He stands up and comes to sit on the seat
next to me. “Did Charlotte give you the work that I’d prepared for you?”

I nod and pull the sheets from out of my bag.
“Yeah. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be.”

He smiles and takes them from me. “Unfortunately
, we have a test today. I know that’s a bit of bad luck with you being off for four weeks, but it might be a chance for me to see where you are and if we need to do any additional lessons.”

I nod and stare into his bright blue eyes.

“I’m sorry about your accident,” he says gently. “I hope your injuries aren’t going to prevent you from swimming. I hear you’re very good.”

I feel myself blushing and smile. “Yeah, I don’t mind swimming actually, but I don’t think I’ll be able to do it any time soon. My ribs still feel sore.”

“Ah,” he says with a smile, “ribs can be a pain, that’s for sure. Did you break or fracture them?”

I roll my eyes. “Both.”

He nods. “Usually it takes about six weeks to recover from that, since they can’t put it in plaster or anything. Just don’t overdo it and you’ll be fine.”

“What did you
do there?” His fingertips softly skim over the scar on my wrist where Hallie once put a hot poker on me. The feel of the heat from his fingers on that cold patch of skin makes my whole arm tingle.

I look up and see him smiling
gently at me, just as two people barge into the room. Cabe and Charlotte seem to skid to a stop and eye Mr. Parker and I up and down. Charlotte pushes past Cabe, looking at the two of us. “What’s going on?”

Mr
. Parker looks at me and smiles. “I was just asking Rose if she felt better, and if she’d done the homework that I’d given her.”

Charlotte chews the ins
ide of her mouth. “Oh yeah?”

My thumb absently skims
over the scar, but as I look up at her, I let my arm drop onto my lap. I don’t miss Cabe’s eyes falling onto me at that moment. “Yeah,” I say, wondering what it was that they think was happening instead.

Mr
. Parker stands up and holds his arm out. “Your seat, Charlotte?

She nods and eyes him carefully as
she walks past him. She plops herself down and crosses her arms over her chest. After he walks away she hisses, “It looked like he was about to kiss you right then.”

I snap my head around. “Don’t be so stupid. We were talking about homework and my ribs.”

Cabe remains in the doorway and scratches his head. “I’m going to go.”

I glance up at him and then at Charlotte
, who refuses to look at him.

“Where are you going
, Mr. Evans?”

“Home,” he says.
“My plane landed two hours ago and I’m really tired.”

“Then why are you here?”

He nods in my direction. “I brought Rose to school.”

Mr
. Parker turns to me and then nods. “You can go.”

Cabe and I lock eyes
, and in that moment I want to get up and run to him and ask him what the hell is going on, but my body doesn’t move. He nods in my direction and then scowls at Charlotte as he leaves.

She shuffles down in her seat and rolls her eyes. “He told me to tell you that he’ll see you later and that he’ll text you.”

I nod. “So he still wants to see me then?”

She nods and says, “
Looks like it.”

“What did he say
to you just then in the hallway?”

“Nothing,” she says quickly.

I can feel myself frowning, but Charlotte doesn’t say anything more about Cabe. In fact, she doesn’t really say anything more to me for the rest of the class.

She tells
me goodbye when the bell rings and heads off to her Biology lesson. I meander through the hallways, wondering what it is that I’ve done to piss everyone off, when Ashley calls out to me from across the hall.

“Hey
, Sunshine!”

I smile at him and link my arm through his.
“Hello, you.”

“How’s
the first day back after nearly dying going?”

I roll my eyes.
“Pretty crappy, actually.”

“Oh no,” he says, “
do you want me to spice things up a bit?”

I laugh. “I remember the last time you said that to me, so if it’s alright with you
, I think I’ll pass.”

“That’s a shame,” he says with a smile. “
I was planning on stripping and telling the whole school that I’m gay.”

“Oh really?
Well, then on second thought, I think I do want my day spiced up.”

He pats my arm. “Sorry honey
, the moment’s gone now.”

“Shame.”

“So, what’s happening with lover boy?”

I sigh.
“Nothing much, to be honest.”

“Oh?” he says
, raising his eyebrows at me.

“I’ll tell you at lunch.”

“Ooooh, I hope it’s something naughty.”

“Naughty?”

He nods. “Did you have sex with him?”

“U
gh, why does everyone keep asking me that?”

“Because,” he laughs, “that’
s what everyone our age does, Rose.”

“Even you?”

He nods. “Girl, you don’t know a thing.”

I roll my eyes. “So enlighten me. I need something else to think about.”

He brings my hand up to his mouth and kisses it. “Lunch time, baby girl.”

And then he’s gone
, and just like the others, I’m left watching him walk away from me. Just as he disappears out of view, my phone vibrates. I pull it out of my pocket and stare with even more confusion when I read the message.

Sorry about this morning. I’m going to sleep now. I’ll see you and Ava later. Cabe x

Ava and I stand at the cream-colored door waiting for someone to answer it and I shiver. I’ve been here before. I remember being soaking wet and hurting, and I remember watching the door open and expecting to see Cabe. Instead, a kind-looking, middle-aged woman was there and she was smiling at me before she noticed my appearance. I remember apologizing to her and thinking I’d made a huge mistake. I also remember the look on her face when I walked away from her. Just as the memory begins to fade, the door swings open.

Cabe stands
bare-chested in the doorway, wearing a pair of black sweatpants that hang just a fraction too low on his hips and a sleepy smile. I know I’ve seen him in a pair of swimming shorts before, but that seems like years ago now. I can’t stop myself from gawking at the lean muscles that stretch and ripple across his chest and over his stomach. When my eyes eventually move back up to his face, I can’t stop myself from smiling at his messy bed hair.

“Sorry,” he yawns, “I guess I was more tired than I thought.”

I smile, even though I feel uneasy after this morning, and watch him as he bends down and high-fives Ava.

“Hey
, you,” he says softly. “I’ve missed you. How’ve you been?”

“Hi
, Cabe,” she says with a smile. “I’ve been good, thanks. Rose was the one that got run over.”

Cabe rolls his eyes
and smiles. “Oh yeah, silly me.”

He stands back up and moves aside so we can enter. The house is just as I expected it to be. Expensive drapes and cushions, smooth, clean walls
, and lots of glass. We walk over a wooden-floored hallway with sand-blasted, cream-colored walls, and into a large open floor plan kitchen. The smell of meat cooking in the oven fills my nostrils. My eyes fall onto a perfectly laid-out large, oval table on the far end of the room, and then I see his Aunty and remember everything he told me about her.

“Hello
, Rose,” she says, smiling as she walks toward us. “I know you still can’t remember much of that morning, but we have met before.”

I nod and smile. “Yeah, I’m sorry about that. I don’t know what I was doing.”

Her eyes crease up like Cabe’s when she smiles, making her seem kind and gentle. “It doesn’t matter, sweetheart. What matters is that you’re alright now.”

I nod and feel
Ava tap my hip. I look down and see her little face looking up at me in expectation. “I’m so sorry, I’ve forgotten my manners. This is Ava, my half-sister.”

Cabe’s Aunty bends down and grins at
Ava. “Well hello, Ava. Isn’t that a pretty name?”

Ava
smiles, trying to pretend she’s shy and nods.

“I’m Katherine, by the way.”

Ava stares at her for a few seconds and then smiles at her. “Hello, Katherine. Are you Sebastian’s Mommy?”

Katherine Evans stands up slowly
, nodding her head.

“Can I go play with Seb now
, please?” Ava asks.

Katherine nods. “Of course you can. I think he’s playing
video games. He’s in his room.”

Ava
turns to me, waiting for my approval. I nod. “Take your shoes off first, please.”

She removes her shoes and then lines them up against the wall near the door.

“I’ll take her up,” says Cabe. “I need to jump in the shower anyway.” He turns to look at me. “Is that okay?”

“Of course,” I say
, smiling.

“Will y
ou be okay here?” His eyes dart to his Aunty, who sighs.

“She’ll be fine
, Cabe. I don’t bite.”

He glances at each of us before shrugging his shoulders and holding his hand out to
Ava. I can hear Ava chattering to him as they walk up the stairs. When I turn back to face Katherine, she has taken her apron off and moved toward the fridge.