Natural Selection (9 page)

When we got out of the car, I helped
Sariah put on the wings of her Tinkerbell costume. I think it was
pretty damn authentic, down to the hemline that almost showed her
hiney and the white puff balls on her shoes. I couldn’t help but
notice how scantily clad all the teenage girls wandering into the
gym were. When did Halloween become an excuse for a girl to dress
like a tramp in a socially acceptable manner? Guys didn’t have to
take their shirts off and show us how chiseled their abs weren’t,
so why did all the girls have to be bouncy bosoms and bare
backsides?

As we were walking toward the
entrance, I saw Nate and Xander coming across the parking lot and
had to laugh. Nate was wearing a black suit with the tie untied and
a tight superman shirt—complete with six pack abs I could only
wonder if he really possessed or if they were foam—showing under
the unbuttoned shirt. I could only assume the person with him was
Xander since all I saw were feet, but I recognized those gray
Chucks sticking out of the great white shark’s mouth. The shark
must have been about seven feet long and appeared to have swallowed
my brother from the knees up. I would have laughed, if I could have
taken my eyes off Nate. He even had his hair in the slicked back
with a side part with a spit curl in his forehead and let me tell
you it was H-O-T! And I’m pretty certain those abs were his, not a
foam costume piece. They walked up to us, and he offered Sariah an
arm, giving me a look I almost thought was longing. As she took it
and they headed inside, Xander offered me a fin, and I took it with
a laugh.

The big gymnasium was decorated with
the typical crepe paper and cardboard cutouts, but somehow the
cheesiness worked. Purple and black streamers hung from the ceiling
and colored films gave the usually harsh lights a muted glow. There
were different stations set up with stuff to do for the younger
kids, lots of food and a huge open space for dancing. Black
streamers draped the entrance to the locker room, where they would
have cleared out the benches and built the haunted house. Loud
music was playing as we wandered along the wall, heading for the
haunted house. As we came out, Sariah wandered off, in search of a
new boy-toy, no doubt. Xander danced with me a few times, before
heading off and leaving me to entertain myself.

I searched around for Evelyn but
didn’t see her. I wandered to the food table and made a small
plate, then started mingling. I had never really cared for parties
before, but tonight I felt different somehow. I don’t know where
the confidence came from, but I found myself almost craving human
contact. I flirted and danced and laughed, losing myself in the
moment. I was having so much fun I completely forgot about my
assets hanging out.

I had too much food and punch until I
thought I could burst. I went through the haunted house about three
more times and danced with half the town’s population, I think. The
music called to me, and I found myself answering with whoever
happened to be nearby or by myself if no one was willing. I was
gyrating with a junior I didn’t know in a way that should have
embarrassed me when a hand clamped solidly on my elbow. I was drug
out of the room by the firm grip. As suddenly as it came, the
strange high was gone. The room spun for a minute, and I looked up
into very angry, very familiar eyes.

“
What the hell, Nate?” I
asked, trying to yank my arm away. He held tight and all I
succeeded in doing was almost popping out of my top—which is a feat
since there isn’t much to pop. His eyes studied me intensely for a
long moment, but he didn’t say anything. It was almost like he was
looking for something, and I wondered if he was finding it. I felt
dizzy and swayed against him. “I… I think I should sit down.” I
leaned into his chest, unable to stand on my own, almost too ill to
notice those abs were indeed his.

He got me to a chair and things got a
little fuzzy for a short time. I put my head between my knees and
tried to breathe through my mouth rather than hurl right there. I
wasn’t quite sure what was wrong, but I was starting to suspect the
punch. I tried to sit up but just kind of flopped around, my arms
and neck feeling boneless. I wanted to tell him I thought the punch
was spiked but couldn’t make my tongue work. I felt myself being
lifted and swept into someone’s arms. I knew it was Nate because I
could hear the rumble of his voice nearby, but the world was kind
of vague. I felt hot, like I was wearing too much clothing, and
knew there was something wrong with that idea. I buried my nose in
the crook in Nate’s chest and inhaled his masculine scent. Despite
the fog in my brain, I noticed the earthiness of his scent. I
wondered if that was something specific to Gaia or if that was all
Nate. Maybe that was what made him appeal to me? That was at least
what I was going to tell myself.

I heard him tell somebody to get a
ride with someone else then I heard him open the doors. My head
cleared a little once we were outside in the cool night. I looked
up and tried to get him to put me down, but he held firm. By the
time we got to Nate’s Pontiac G8, I was back in complete control of
myself. He opened the door and went to set me in the seat, but I
stopped him and made him let me go. I ran into the grass in front
of his car and proceeded to empty my stomach.

I’d never been so embarrassed in my
life. He was the only guy I’d ever had the hots for now here he was
smoothing my hair as I heaved what felt like everything I’d ever
eaten. He whispered soothing things as I prayed to die on the spot.
I finally stopped heaving, and he fetched me a bottle of water from
the vending machine in front of the building. I wiped my mouth with
the back of my hand and took a long drink before I could bring
myself to look him in the eye.

He looked so worried my heart skipped
a beat. I felt that strange connection between us, so strong now it
took my breath away. Without thinking, I reached out to touch his
cheek with my hand. A second before I made contact he pulled back.
I couldn’t keep the hurt from showing on my face, despite the
reluctance I saw in his eyes. I dropped my hand and we looked at
each other for a long moment.

He cleared his throat and started
moving towards the car, calling over his shoulder that he should
take me home. I was once again heading down Wyatt in awkward
silence. I didn’t know what I’d done wrong, or why his rejection
hurt so damn much. If anyone had the right to be leery, it was me!
I could still remember the poignant fear as I lay in the dirt
outside the gym at school. Though I wasn’t as afraid now that I
understood what had happened, I was still afraid of him losing
control again. I tried to say something, but my voice faltered and
before I knew it we were pulling into my driveway. Instead of
getting out of the car, I turned to him.

“
The first day of school,
Nate…”

He held up a hand and gave me a hard
look that told me he wasn’t ready to have this discussion with me.
I started to argue, to try to get some sort of emotional response
from him, but he got out, walked around the car, and opened my door
for me. “Goodnight, Amelia,” he said in a very tight
voice.

I felt tears, and I tried
to blink them back. I avoided his eyes as I climbed out of the car.
Watching him drive away as I stood on my porch, my mind was a
tangled knot of hurt and confusion. Unable to process what
happened, I sighed and opened the door. The walk to my room seemed
endless, but I made it without anyone spotting me or the tears
still threatening to spill. I couldn’t stand the offensive costume
a second longer. Tearing it off my body, I threw it across my room
in an untidy pile of ruffles and bows. Climbing into my familiar
pajamas had never felt so heavenly. Miserably, I collapsed on my
bed and grabbed my latest book, the first in a trilogy
called
Secrets
. I
tried to losemyself in Olivia and Juliet’s problems, so I didn’t
have to worry about my own.

I SLEPT FITFULLY, tossing and turning
and frequently waking. I felt flushed and feverish. Every time I
tried to stand up, I got dizzy and would wobble. In the wee hours
of the morning, I shuffled to the bathroom and splashed some water
on my face. Seeing the thermometer on the shelf above the sink, I
decided to check, but I thought there must have been something
wrong with it. It said my temperature was a hundred and six. Maybe
Gaia ran a little hotter than humans, but I would have noticed it a
time or two if I was more than a few degrees warmer than my peers.
Feeling too ill to care, I stumbled back to my bedroom and crawled
back into my bed.

I woke far too early the
next morning, my head feeling stuffed with cotton. Note to self:
Never drink again.
Ever
! Staggering to the bathroom, I washed my face and gazed in
the mirror expecting to see bloodshot eyes and dark puffy circles.
Instead, my own face scowled back at me with perhaps some
imperceptible differences. I drained three glasses of water from
the toothpaste tumbler then climbed into the shower. The steam
helped my head a little, and I decided to check the fridge to see
if we had Gatorade or anything like that. My head was still
pounding, and I got nauseous if I moved too quickly. Luckily, no
one was up yet to see my crawl of shame into the
kitchen.

“
Rough night?” Sariah asked
from behind me, causing me to jump which in turn caused pain to
flare behind my eyes. I put my arms on the counter and dropped my
head onto them with a groan, and my evil sister just chuckled. I
heard her open the fridge and pour something. I felt her nudge a
glass over to me. I picked up the red liquid and eyed it
suspiciously. She wouldn’t deliberately poison me or anything like
that, but I wouldn’t put it past her to try and convince me pickle
juice was a miracle cure. Of course pickle juice isn’t red, so that
logic didn’t really follow. She laughed and gave me a knowing
smile. “Relax, it’s just Pedialyte. Best thing you can do for a
hangover.”

I gave her a grateful smile and drank
the sweet liquid. It was almost syrupy, designed for kids and all,
but not entirely unpleasant. I slid the empty glass back to Sariah,
and she refilled it. I drained it again. She wasn’t kidding. I
couldn’t believe how fast my headache seemed to fade away. I felt
much better.

“
So what happened last
night?” Sariah asked. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not one to judge,
but I really didn’t peg you as a sneak-a-flask kind of
girl.”

“
I’m not. I think somebody
spiked the punch. I had a lot of it. And I just started feeling so
good, so alive” I shrugged, unsure how to describe the sensation of
need I felt last night. She cocked her head for a moment, deciding
if she believed me. She must have because she helped me dodge my
parents through breakfast. I managed to slip out of the house after
only a vague “It was fun” for my folks some kicks aimed at Xander
under the table for almost saying something to contradict me. As I
excused myself from the table, Sariah shot me a meaningful look
that told me Xander was going to get an earful. I hopped on my
ten-speed and started to head out, but I wasn’t sure where I was
really going. Evelyn and I still weren’t really talking, and I
didn’t have many other friends anymore. Definitely none that I
could randomly drop in on a Saturday morning. It wasn’t until I
crossed Union Street that I realized where I was going and almost
smacked myself in the forehead for not realizing sooner. My old
babysitter, Crystal McEntire, lived a couple of blocks from here.
Whenever I was troubled and it was something I couldn’t go to my
parents with, I’d always gone to Crystal. I’d never understood the
deep bond she and I always shared, but even after I was too old for
a babysitter, I still visited her fairly frequently. I swallowed
guilt over the fact I hadn’t even thought of her, let alone seen
her, since school started.

I arrived at the blue house and
dropped my bike carelessly in the yard. As I walked up to the
porch, I knew something was wrong right away. All the glass in the
windows lay on the ground on the outside of the house. From my
years of obsession with detective shows, I knew that meant some
force on the inside had shattered them. I was suddenly afraid, but
I knew if Crystal was in there I had to go in and help. I grabbed
the broom leaning against the side of the house and held it to my
shoulder like a bat as I slowly turned the door handle. Everything
I’d ever seen told me not to, but I had to know if Crystal was ok.
It opened easily, and I stared down the murky hall. My heart was
pounding, and my sweaty palms twisted on the broom handle. It was
always dim inside her house, but it never seemed spooky before
today. I inched my way down the hall, expecting some psycho to jump
out at me at any second. I inched nearer the living room door. The
room was empty, though in shambles. Her sofa seemed to have
exploded and stuffing fluttered about the room, caught in the
breeze coming through the broken picture window. I continued down
the hall to the kitchen. As I got closer, I could see the sole of
one of the white canvas sneakers that Crystal always wore. I
stopped as my heart suddenly lodged in my throat. I listened for
any sounds in the house, terrified that whoever had done all this
damage might still be here. I heard nothing and took another step
forward until I saw Crystal’s ankle and foot lying still on the
kitchen floor. Fear forgotten, I barreled down the hall only to
screech to a halt when I reached the doorway.