Rising Tide: Dark Innocence (The Maura DeLuca Trilogy Book 1) (3 page)

I took a whiff.  A cook Caelyn
was not…that was another reason I took on kitchen duty, but they smelled
mouthwatering.  “Mmmmm,” I surprised myself by scooping a wad of them up
with my fingers, not bothering to grab a fork.  I wolfed half the plateful
down in this manner before I noticed my mother staring at me open-mouthed. 

I laughed nervously, blushing
profusely.  “Hey!  You’re right, protein is good.”  I didn’t
want to, but forced myself to take the time to fetch silverware and went to sit
at the dining room table.

Caelyn forcibly calmed herself and
snapped right back into an air of normalcy.  “I’m a better cook than you
give me credit for,” she even smirked for good measure.  She glanced up at
the clock, as if on cue, “I gotta run, Mink!  I can’t be late
today.”  That was funny.  She couldn’t be late any day. 
Punctuality was a
huge
deal to my mother. 

“Good luck!” I called to her as she
rushed past me, patting my head once more, and grabbing her bag from the hook
beside the entranceway.  “Thanks for the eggs, Mom!” I added at the last
second.

“Welcome.  See you tonight,
and have a good day at school.”  I heard the door to the garage open, then
close in a flash. 

Caelyn was head designer for a very
prestigious interior design firm in Pittsburgh.  Today they were having
some big-shot, millionaire client, who wanted to redecorate his summer home,
come in for Caelyn to charm.  Because not only did Caelyn possess
unparalleled finesse when it came to transforming the inside of any dwelling,
but she drew people to her, as well.  Male clients were astonished by her
startling beauty, but she also had a way of making them feel at ease, like they
were right at home with her.  If she’d been able to dispel that sadness of
hers, Caelyn’s social calendar would have been full every single night of her
life. 

I’d had the chance to see her in
action once.  We were going out to dinner for my birthday, so Caelyn had
one of her coworkers pick me up and take me to the office, as she was busy with
a client too significant—and rich—to be rescheduled. 

“Ahhh, here she is!”  My
mother was obviously uncomfortable, as she was overly exuberant at my
arrival.  “Anthony, this is my daughter, Maura.”

“Well, you, my dear, are just as
beautiful as your mother!”  The man was tall, with deeply tanned skin and
jet black hair.  Disturbingly, his eyes were a brilliant blue…colored
contacts, obviously.

“Ummm, thanks.”  I squirmed
internally when he picked my hand up to kiss the back of it.  His lips
parted to show teeth I was pretty sure were veneered.  There was no doubt
he was handsome, but his smile was a cocky kind of smile, one that made me wish
my mother and I were already having dinner…somewhere very far from this man.

Mom was packing up swatches of
royally colored fabric, samples in purples, golds and reds.  I felt a
sense of relief at this signal that we would soon be leaving her office. 
Spacious as it was, it didn’t feel big enough to escape the aura of the man
occupying space with us.  His attention was turned back to my mother, and
I found that the way he was smiling at her made me start to feel angry.

“Are you ready to go, Honey?” 
Caelyn strode over and ran her hair over my hair.  “It’s her birthday,
Sweet Sixteen!”  She beamed at me and her smile became more genuine.
 “You can pick any place you like.”

My stomach had rumbled,
embarrassingly, at the mention of food, and I’d gotten a sudden craving for the
Cookie Fudge Fantasy at Eat’nPark.

“Eat’nPark!”  Ice cream and
chocolate chip cookies, what a perfectly delicious combination.

A knowing look spread across my
mother’s face, “Sure, but you’re not having Cookie Fudge Fantasy for
dinner.  You have to eat real food before dessert.”

Unbelievingly, Mr.
I-Think-I’m-Awesome, invited himself along.  “Hey, how about I buy dinner
for the birthday girl and her stunning mother?”  He flashed a daring smile
full of perfect white at my mom.

I could tell how much this upset Caelyn. 
But only I caught the very slight stiffening of her body, the more rigid clench
of her hands, which were nestled into the small of her back.  As far as
her client was concerned, she’d had no reaction at all.  She even gave the
same smile back to him that he was offering to her, without a trace of fake
sentiment.  Caelyn was good.  Not good enough to fool the daughter
who knew her best—I could see just how incensed she was.

“Oh, Anthony!  What a generous
offer!  You are so kind.”  My mother said to him and for a minute I
was afraid we were going to have to ruin the rare intimacy my birthday
brought.  It was one of the few days of the year I had Caelyn’s undivided
attention.  On this day she wouldn’t even bring one iota of work home. 
I began to formulate multiple excuses in my head to explain why Anthony
couldn’t join us.  Then, I noticed my mother’s very deliberate
pause.  I wondered what she was waiting for.  I didn’t have to wait
long to find out.

“Now, Maura, you don’t want to go
to Eat’nPark do you?”  He strode over to me and bent to look in my eyes,
speaking to me in a tone generally reserved for five-year-olds.  “I mean
that’s practically like McDonalds!  You are sixteen today and so should
start developing more refined tastes.  How about we find a more suitable
place to have your birthday dinner?  How would you like to try some caviar
and foie gras?”  He smiled like he was exceedingly proud of himself.

I tried to be very polite, like my
mother had taught me to be, and also to remember that this was a very important
client of hers when I answered through clenched teeth, “No thank you.  I
want Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese for my birthday dinner.”  My tone was
stone cold and rung with finality.

“Well there you have it!”  My
mother laughed a strange, tinkling laugh she didn’t emit while in my
company.  “I don’t think Maura is quite ready for the world of fine
dining!”  She turned and winked at me.  “I’m not so eager for her to
grow up yet, either, so Buffalo Mac and Cheese sounds good to me!”

Anthony looked a bit confused,
which made me sure he was quite used to getting his way.  Caelyn crossed
the room and took another velvet encased swipe at his ego.  “I know this
isn’t your kind of fare, Anthony, dear!  I’m so sorry and wouldn’t dream
of making you suffer through an evening with us that is so out of your
element.”  She’d put an arm around his shoulder and was escorting him out
of the room.  “I’m sure you understand why I must cater to Maura’s tastes
tonight.  But you have to promise me a rain check!”  This last part
she said with a push of bright cheeriness and a dazzling smile.  I looked
on in mute shock.

She’d managed to get him across the
threshold of the room.  Her charm and promise of a future dinner
together—poor Mom!--made poor Anthony look a bit like someone had cracked him
over the head with a hard, blunt object.  “Absolutely, Caelyn.  I
look forward to it!  But tonight…”

“Tonight, you have some homework to
do!  You simply must make up your mind on the color choices.  And,
I’ll see you in the morning to go over the bathroom tile samples.”  She
gave him that smile that made the edges of her eyes crinkle.  She looked
so genuinely happy, it nearly fooled me.  He was putty in her hands. 
I bet he’d even forgotten suggesting he go to dinner with us. 
“Goodnight,” she’d said softly and started to close the door.

“Goodnight,” he answered agreeably,
with no further argument.  I’d felt like I should applaud this performance
of pure genius.

I snapped out of the memory,
realizing I was about to be late for school.  I rinsed my egg plate in the
sink and ran out the door, determination in my soul.  Today I was on a
mission.

Trent was gulping down an enormous
piece of pizza.  In two bites half the slice disappeared.  I chewed
quietly at my own, savoring the flavor of the cheese as I worked my nerve up to
ask my favor. 

“Ummm, Trent?”

“Yea, Maura?”  The words were
all garbled around the food he still had stuffed in his mouth.  His appeal
grew thinner every day.  I supposed that was why he had such good
looks.  Fate had to give him something.

“Are you driving us home today?” I
asked timidly, everyone in our little lunch clique seemed suddenly interested,
looking up from their food and turning away from previous conversations.

“Aw sorry, Maur,” he’d taken to
shortening my name like that lately, and I found it far less than
endearing.  “I have football practice.”

As usual, Wendy—ever the
instigator—read more into my request than simply a ride home.  Her eyes, a
lighter, less attractive green than my mother’s, flashed as she asked me,
“Oh…was there somewhere you were going to ask Trent to go?”

I blushed immediately, not helping
any denial I might try to offer.  I decided the truth might be the best
way out of what Wendy was trying to insinuate.

“Well,” I began, “I wanted to get a
present for my mother, but I’d have to go to the other side of town, near the
mall.”

“You could take the bus,” Katie
offered, a big, helpful smile spreading across her face.

I’d thought about that
already.  “I don’t really have time.  I have to be back to make
dinner.”  Transit would mean the time for the trip would be doubled and I
wanted to surprise Caelyn on Saturday morning.  Her suspicious nature was
easily provoked, and it was next to impossible—most of the time—to pull the
wool over my mother’s eyes.  She would know something was up if she walked
in the door and dinner wasn’t on the table.  That had never happened
before.  She would probably push until she got it out of me, which also
gave her plenty of time to talk herself out of my present.

Of course my worries brought on a
new torrent of laughter from Wendy, and several other girls, at the
table.  Once again, as she’d done several times already, Katie shot them a
look that silenced the sound almost immediately.  Wendy was so evil, I
wondered if it was really worth being around her to hang out with Katie and
Trent.  I was sure Wendy loved having me around though, as I seemed to be
a constant source of amusement for her.  She thought nearly everything I
did or said was comical in some way.  I would be sure to keep as far away
from her as possible on Saturday.

“Sorry, Maura,” Trent said right in
the middle of taking another bite, “maybe Katie can ditch cheerleading and take
you?  I guess I’d let her borrow, the stang.”

“No, that’s okay,” I didn’t want to
be a bother to anyone.  “I can go some other time, really.”

“Hey, we could take you tomorrow,
right Trent?” Katie grinned at me.

“Yea sure.”  Trent’s attention
was mostly focused on nabbing the pizza from one of the other football player’s
plate.

“Hey!” the other guy, half Trent’s
size, shouted in protest, trying to grab his lunch back with no success. 
Trent already had half of it in his mouth, chewing with a wide, amused grin on
his face.

“That would be great,” I said,
without much excitement, to Katie.  Oh well, it couldn’t be helped, and I
should be grateful someone would even drive me.  I put more effort into
smiling back at her. 

The bell rang, and we all moved to
take our trays to the dishwasher.  I was trying to imagine whether Caelyn
would be happy or not about my intended gift, so I really wasn’t paying much
attention to where I was walking, my eyes focused on the half brownie I’d left
uneaten in the corner of the tray.  I jerked my head up as I crashed into
the back of the boy in front of me.  I watched in horror as my opened, but
untouched, milk carton tipped over to soak the back of his dark, blue shirt,
from the middle of his back to his waist.  It would be my luck that Wendy
was right across from me in the second line.  She doubled over with
laughter, dropping her own tray to the ground with a resounding clatter. 
Every head in the lunchroom turned in our direction. 

My face was so hot I felt like my
head might explode.  I wanted to run away…desperately.  But my feet
remained frozen to the floor, my face a mask of horror, waiting for the wrath
of the human in front of me to rain down on my head.  He turned around
slowly, his large, brown eyes full of shock.  I’d seen him around the
school.  A senior.  My heart bounced out palpitations of fear.

Despite that, I couldn’t help but
notice how beautiful he was.

“Wow…that is cold!”  Not
exactly what I was expecting, but he could have said way worse.

“I-I-Oh my god, I’m so sorry,” I
stammered.

He smiled…
smiled
…at me
then.  It was one of those smiles that you know the person is putting
their whole heart into.  His brown hair fell over his forehead, to one
side, in careless bangs, the rest was long, tied into a ponytail that fell
halfway down his back.  Before he’d turned around I hadn’t missed that the
ends of it were also milksoaked, like his poor shirt.  He had full lips
that were the perfect shade of pink, like the inside of a seashell.  They
were spread wide in that cherubic smile of his.  Despite my terror, I was
instantly smitten.

I’d never been close enough to him
before to really
see
him.

“Hey, aren’t you Maura?”

*Huh?*  How did he know who the
heck a nobody junior like me was?  Or did my freak status make me far more
noticeable than I realized.  I started to feel sick to my stomach.  I
realized I was staring at him dumbfounded, mouth hanging open.

“How do you know my name?”  I
asked weakly.

He actually blushed and brought a
hand up to nervously brush the soft wisps out of his eyes.  “Oh, I’ve just
seen you around.  You really made a mess of me didn’t you?”  He
laughed and it was the warmest sound.

I opened my mouth wider,
horrified.  “I wasn’t watching where I was going.  I’m really sorry
about your shirt!”

He put his hand on my shoulder,
“Don’t worry, it’s just a shirt.  No harm, no foul.  I can just get
my t-shirt out of my gym locker and put it on.”  He winked at me
then.  “I’ll forgive you, but only if you promise not to give it another
thought, okay?”

“Okay,” I promised.  His smile
and that light in his earthy eyes were leaving me completely shell-shocked.

Much to my surprise, he turned his
head to look at Wendy, who was still barking loudly with amusement.  He
rolled his eyes and picked up the bit of brownie on my tray and quickly whipped
it at her.  The chocolate collided with her straight brunette hair, then
fell to the floor in pieces.  “I can’t stand that girl,” he muttered.

It was my turn to laugh.  She
looked so startled I really couldn’t help it.  Wendy was now picking out
crumbs and glaring at both of us.  “Ronnie Stine, I swear I’ll get you
back for this!”

He was obviously unconcerned by
this, ignoring her threat and turning his back to her.  He was just a few
inches taller than me, but enough I had to glance up a bit to find those
glorious eyes of his.  He must have been about six feet to my five foot nine.

“Will you walk down to the gym with
me?”

I was afraid I’d be late for Latin,
but it was the least I could do.  “Sure.”  I probably would have
skipped the rest of afternoon classes just to see that smile of his for a bit
longer.  Instead I expressed worry for him, “Won’t you be late for class?”

“Well, I might ditch and go to the
mall.  I have a birthday present to pick up.”

What a coincidence.  The
thought I’d just had about cutting class was closer to becoming truth.  I
tried to work up the nerve to ask if I could ride along with him, while also
nursing a small worry in the back of my mind that somehow Caelyn would find out
I’d left school before I should have…and been alone in a car with a boy. 
I was definitely doing things more and more out of character these days. 

He spoke before I could form the
words.  “You know, I was sitting at the table behind you and heard you say
you needed to go across town to get something yourself.  Would you like to
come along?” 

Wow, he sure made that easy. 
“You must be a mind reader,” I murmured.

“No, I’m just an excellent
eavesdropper,” he grinned mischievously.   We were already at the gym
doors, though I couldn’t really remember walking all the way there. 

I’ll be right back.”  I
watched him walk through the doors, then shook my head.  I must be
crazy.  No boy had ever gotten my attention before.  I simply wasn’t
interested in any romantic involvement, especially not with someone who would
soon be almost 3000 miles away from me.  Not to mention that Caelyn would
be less than happy.  She was dead set against my making the same choices
she had.  She might not talk about my dad often, but I’d heard over and
over how childishly stupid teenage romances were.  She’d even convinced me
of my inability, at my age, to know if I truly loved someone or not.  No,
I decided right there, I simply would not put myself through a heartbreakingly
short romance that would haunt me when I started my new life in
Vancouver. 

When he came back I made a real
effort of trying not to be enchanted by this boy who’d appeared out of the
blue, at the wrong time, in my life.  His shirt was now plain white, but
even the simple cotton fabric looked stunning against his olive toned
skin.  I reshaped my thoughts to concentrate on Caelyn’s gift. 

We managed to sneak out to his car
undetected.  He led the way to an older, but immaculately kept, white
Trans Am.  I climbed in after he opened the door for me.  Hmmm, a
gentleman, too.

Neither of us spoke on the way to
the mall.  He flipped through the songs on the cd in the stereo until he
found one he was satisfied with.  He sang along as he drove. 
Figured, even his voice was nice—well way better than nice.  He had an
easy, casual air about him that was so much more pleasant, and effortless, to
be around than my recent choice of company. 

When we got out of the car,
however, he brought up a difficult subject. 

“So I hear you’re moving all the
way to Vancouver after school is over.”

“
You
know we’re moving
too?!” I asked, incredulous.  Had Katie told the entire student
body? 

“Yep, I heard Wendy telling a girl
in Chemistry class.”

“Oh.”  Katie, Wendy,
whoever.  I was positive now that the whole school did know.

“You know what?  Those girls,
well that whole group they hang out with, their biggest problem is that their
lives are so boring, they have to keep tabs on everybody else.”  We both
laughed at that. 

We were walking through the double
doors now.  “So are you going to have to live in an igloo up in Canada?”

“I hope you know how silly you’re
being.”  I smiled up at him.  “Actually, it’s pretty much supposed to
rain all the time in Vancouver.  And my mom assures me that she’s rented a
very comfortable apartment for us to live in.  There was no mention of
Eskimo neighbors or roaming polar bears either.” 

He laughed again, as he stepped
into the edge of the jewelry store at the corner.  It was a really fancy
place, but appealed to me with the Gund plushies displayed in one of the glass
cases.  I didn’t usually go for fancy stuff, but something about these
lavish stuffed animals always captivated me when I walked past this
store.  He noted the stray of my eyes toward them.

“Those are pretty cute, huh?”

“Pretty expensive,” I added. I’d
never had the heart to ask Caelyn for one.  It felt too selfish to want
her to spend so much on a bit of fluff. 

“I could see you all curled up with
one of those.”  He smiled that magic smile once more. 

I blushed in response, speechless.

“Hey, I need to go in here
ok?  Do you want to go pick up whatever it was you came to get?”  It
was clear I wasn’t invited into the store while he ran
his
errand. 
Maybe the birthday present was for a girlfriend I hadn’t considered might exist
before this moment.  I suddenly felt so stupid, being all worked up about
liking him when there probably was nothing to worry about at all.  Why
would someone so amazing be single?  Beyond that, why should he like
someone like me?  I was far too different to be able to be with him, most
likely. 

I could feel myself flush a bit
deeper, embarrassed by all the thoughts running through my head, and happy he
had no way of hearing them.

“Sure.”  I couldn’t seem to
help the coldness that crept into my tone, “I’ll meet you back here?”

I didn’t wait for him to answer but
turned and walked swiftly away, deeper into the hallway lined with store after
store.  I thought I heard him say my name as I’d brusquely walked away,
but I couldn’t be sure.  It was an illogical response I’d had to things
that were only imagined.  But every failed attempt I’d ever made at trying
to get close to other people had served to make me angrier at myself for even
bothering to try. I was probably feeling the frustration I kept bottling up
every time I’d made a bit of progress with Trent and Katie, only to have Wendy
scathingly unravel it.  It was getting hard to live on the edge like
that.  Wanting to believe I could find acceptance, while maintaining the
caution that helped ease the inevitable rejection.

I sighed, my agitation and quick
temper dissipating as they always did after the quick, violent flare.  It
seemed to be even more volatile these days…like my emotions were all over the
place.  Part of being a teenager, I guessed. 

I’d reached the doors at the
entrance on the other side and walked out into the dizzying sunlight. 
What I was after was actually in a strip mall down the hill from the Indiana
Mall.  The harshness tortured my eyes until I finally reached the shadow
at the storefronts.  I realized I was panting.