Use Somebody (17 page)

With a mocking laugh, the boy leisurely strolled away. But the damage was done.

Slowly, I let go of Gabriel’s glorious form and stood down. One strong arm reached out to grab the building just behind me, effectively preventing me from going anywhere.

I could sense his gaze on me. “Why did you stop me?” His voice was flat, though I could still detect his animosity.

I shrugged. “No need to spill blood over a little teasing.”

“How very magnanimous of you. Perhaps he should’ve considered that before he shot his gobby little mouth off.”

“Hey. I’m fine. He didn’t hurt me,” I reasoned, trying to calm him. It was easy to smile just by listening to the way he spoke. Coming from his mouth, even insults sounded charming. “See? You’ve scared them all off.”

“As it should be.” He sighed deeply. “Be that as it may, I don’t trust those wankers. Should they continue to hassle you, I aim to make good on my promises.”

“I trust you, Gabriel,” I said gently. “And I appreciate it. But please let this go… So long as they don’t touch me, I don’t care what they say. And everyone deserves forgiveness. Even wankers.”

At my words his intense gaze cut to me. His eyes softened a bit, but only for a second. “How could he have possibly known about that?” he questioned, curious.

Of course he hadn’t missed that part.

It took everything in me to stand in one place. If I hadn’t been put in the friend zone already, I was surely there now. Dating in college as a virgin was hard enough without being thrown under the bus by bullies.

I fiddled with my hands, unable to even look at him. “It’s a Modern Human Sexuality class. We have to talk about our personal experiences.”

“Ah-ha. Professor Queen.”

I peeked up to find him with an amused smile. “You’ve had her?”

He nodded. “Last semester, when I transferred to this uni. I’m a psychology major here. I haven’t had the privilege of taking this course as of yet but it sounds fascinating.”

At least his sense of humor was still intact. Just the sound of his gentle laugh got my blood pumping. Dark hair showcased his sparking blue eyes and perfect teeth… How could I be anything but jubilant when looking upon his face? And he was still here, so apparently the mention of my innocence hadn’t freaked him out like I feared.

At last a smile pushed its way through my rosy cheeks. “Psychology makes perfect sense for you, I think.” I moved my thoughts away from the other boy and back onto Gabriel. He had come to meet me, after all. “So… you’re here to escort me safely to my next class?”

“I wanted to meet Lexi. Was that her that left straight away?”

“Lexi?” And just like that my face wilted, and my heart deflated like a balloon with a slow leak. Of course Lexi had captured his interest. She was every college guy’s dream come to life.

“Aye,” he confirmed, confused. “Why didn’t she wait for you?”

I bit my lip and looked away from his brilliant blue eyes. If Gabriel was only interested in being my friend, I could deal with that. I could harbor my feelings and just enjoy being around him for as long as it lasted. But I couldn’t handle being his matchmaker. I didn’t want to be the one to introduce them. And I couldn’t tell him why.

“Now what’s that look for?”he said, tucking a blond curl behind my ear.

He touched me so tenderly, my heart melted to a puddle. Did he not realize how much he affected me? This man had done so much for me. He had been kind to me when I was in need. There was nothing I wouldn’t do for him. I would agree to wash his feet if only he gave me these little moments. So how could I refuse him this one request?

I stared into those blue, blue depths, uncontrollably drawn like a moth to a flame. He really wasn’t playing fair, with those persuasive eyes of his. He was pulling me in, pleading with me, and I was merely human.

“Okay,” I tentatively acquiesced. It was clear he wasn’t interested in me beyond our polite encounter, and this time I was determined to remember that. “If that’s what you want… I’ll introduce you to Lexi.”

“Brilliant,” he grinned. “Let’s hope I make a good impression.” The sight of his obvious delight was so beautiful, I would have done anything to keep it on his face… even pierce my own heart.

“She’ll love you,” I assured him. I knew she would. Of course, the only thing she’d notice would be his devastatingly good looks. She wouldn’t care about his gentleness or his intellect or his compassion. She would use him for a week then trade him in. Or worse, she would realize there was no upgrade from Gabriel. And they would stay together, long after a week. I would be destined to watch him kiss her lips, hear him call her love, and feel the bed shake as they laid together on the bottom bunk.

Everything in me wanted to stop him. To tell him he should be with a girl who would love every last piece of his heart. To ask him to choose me.

But if this is what he wanted, who was I to deny him?

* * *

[Present]

A few nights later, my family sat around the formal dining table over a home cooked meal. My mama was an excellent cook, of course. Beef brisket was my father’s favorite. So when I smelled it cooking all day, I sensed a family announcement coming on. It immediately had me on edge.

Good food wasn’t the reason I dreaded family dinners. When the four of us were together, tempers ran high, and silence was the best case scenario.

“How’s your car running, Scarlett?” my father asked me.

“Great, thank you.”

“And the manual shift? You’re getting used to it?”

“Yes. I rarely stall at all anymore.”

“Very good.”

In truth, he did help me learn some of the basics, but it was Vance that helped me perfect the skill. Several nights after work he had taken me out for a spin. We drove around in circles, up and down hills, starting and stopping until I got the hang of it. My father had sighed every time I stalled out, but Vance just laughed and made me try again. He was a very patient teacher, and by the end I felt confident.

I was going to miss nights like that. I was going to miss having a friend and somewhat of a social life. Now I’d just be going to work and coming straight home.

“Scarlett, we have some exciting news to share with you,” mama said as she carefully dabbed her lips with a napkin, bringing me out of my own head. “Your brother will be starting boot camp this month. He has decided to serve our country in the military.”

The military… So that’s what they’d been fighting about most recently.

I had to admit, this news was quite unexpected. Never thought I’d see the day where James would be following in our father’s footsteps.

I had my doubts with this. James was not exactly built for the military. Physically he was on the thin side. He’d have to remove his facial piercings. But worst of all, he had a bad attitude, a feeble work ethic, and no respect for authority. The military was going to eat him alive.

I kept my face blank as I glanced at my mama, my father, James, then my plate. I didn’t know what else to say except, “That’s nice.”

“Shut up, you little brat.”

My father shouted admonishments and curses. My mama just stared at her lap.

“I don’t give a shit what any of you think. It’s my life and I’ll do what I want. And I want to be a warrior.”

A
warrior?
I knew it. Clinically batshit crazy. All that internet gaming had gone straight to his head. I couldn’t help the tiny scoff that escaped.

He narrowed his eyes at me with a fiery hate and pushed away from the table violently. “Fuck all of you.”

At his words, my father slammed his fist on the dinner table with such force that every dish and utensil rattled. The sound was so harsh that no noise dared to follow it.

For once in his life, James kept his mouth shut and just up and left, right out the front door, slamming it behind him.

My father shook his head. “Such disrespect.”

The three of us continued eating our meal in awkward silence, like one of us hadn’t just cursed his family and stormed out in the middle of dinner. Sad to say, it was par for the course around here.

I actually felt bad for my mama. Despite her best efforts, even a delicious beef brisket was incapable of fixing our family.

“Really, Scarlett. Is that any way to speak to your brother?”

I laughed to myself at her audacity. She was going to put this on me? What did she honestly expect? “Congratulations”? “I’ll miss you”?
Yeah… not gonna happen.

“James has made it pretty clear over the past nineteen years that he doesn’t care what I think.”

“Obviously he does. And mind your expressions, will you? Or you’ll get wrinkles.”

“You do know he reacts that way no matter what we say, right?”

She sighed, clearly exhausted of the contention and this same old argument. “He’s family. Can’t you just make a bigger effort to get along?”

“So it’s my responsibility to coddle my twenty-two-year-old brother so he doesn’t throw temper tantrums?”

“Don’t you talk back to your mother, young lady,” my father raised his voice, patience gone. “I’m getting sick and tired of this new attitude. This has gone on long enough. It’s time to grow up. Clean yourself up, you look ridiculous. Stop moping around your bedroom all day and get a real damn job.”

After that outburst, it was quiet around the dinner table once again. My mama gave me a pleading look. I had a feeling it was more for James than it was for me. I understood that she was his mother, and she couldn’t give up on him. I even hoped deep down that the military would be good for him. But I couldn’t keep holding out for miracles. I wasn’t a glutton for disappointment.

“Let’s wait five more minutes.”

It was a pleasant afternoon in late September, sunny and clear with just a slight breeze. In an effort to get out of the house more, I invited the Mooshi crew to go mountain biking in the canyon. We decided to meet at my house since there was an entrance to the paths at the end of our cul-de-sac. But so far only Vance had shown up.

He cleaned his Wayfarers with the hem of his shirt and took the opportunity to give me a no-nonsense look. “Rosie. They’re forty-five minutes late and no one is picking up their phone. They’re not coming.”

“Thanks a lot, guys,” I muttered to myself. I couldn’t believe they would agree to come and then ditch us. One minute Summer was giving me the stink eye for finding out about our late night pancakes, but when I created the opportunity for us all hang out together, she bailed. “So what should we do now?”

“I want to ride,” Vance answered, slipping on his shades.

Not the answer I was hoping for.

I stared off into the trees, nervous about spending the afternoon alone with Vance. It’s not like we’d never hung out one-on-one before. We’d worked together late at night for months, rode around in his truck, and shared a booth in Honey’s countless nights. But everything felt different in the light of day.

A seed of doubt had been planted, and it began to take root. Ever since I found out that his relationship was maybe not as solid as I always thought, I’d tried to recreate some distance. This felt like a step in the wrong direction.

“Maybe we should reschedule so everyone else can make it?”

“No. They flaked; they miss out.”

“But we all planned to go together.”

“Then we’ll go again. But I wanna ride today. You coming or not?”

Without waiting for an answer, he took off towards the canyon trail. I hesitated for only a moment before swinging a leg over my own bike and following.

The canyon was absolutely beautiful in the late afternoon. A little slice of nature in my own backyard, bursting with green and with life. Stray branches and leaves reached out to grab at us as we rode along. The canopy of trees above grew so abundantly thick, we were almost entirely shaded along the manmade path. It followed the creek through twists and turns, dips and hills for endless miles.

Vance led with a good pace, but I kept up. We passed hikers, other bikers, and even a couple of horse riders.

We traveled several miles out before Vance slowed to a stop. I recognized this spot. There was a steep twenty-foot drop down to the creek, and hooked around a nearby tree was the notorious rope.

“You’ve ridden the rope swing before, right?”

I’d been hiking in these canyons since I was a young teen, and I’d been to this very spot a hundred times before with my old clique. It always looked like a blast, but I never had enough courage to actually ride the rope swing myself.

“Actually,” I said, setting the kickstand on my bike, “I have not.”

“Too afraid?” he asked with a smirk.

I grinned and untied the thick rope from the tree. “Not today.”

We stepped right up to the cliff and stood together overlooking the creek. The rocks and bushes at the bottom looked pretty far away. Twenty feet… that distance still terrified me, but I wouldn’t let it stop me this time.

“Any last advice?” I asked, peering over the edge.

“Keep your eyes open.”

With a nod, I hooked my foot in the loop, took a deep breath, and stepped out into empty air.

Taking Vance’s advice, I kept my eyes open and held tight to the rope as I went into freefall for two stories before the rope fully held my weight. There was no solid ground beneath me as I flew inches above the shallow creek. The wind whipped wildly through my curls until I swung all the way to the other side. My speed slowed, then the rope swung me all the way back, like a life-sized pendulum.

A cloud of dust kicked up as I landed right where I started, breathing hard.
Another fear conquered.
My dimples popped with the huge smile I sported.

I did it.

My heart was pounding against my ribcage as Vance helped me down from the rope. My wide smile proved to be infectious when he grinned back at me. “How was it?”

“Exhilarating!” I breathed.

Vance went next with a running start and daring leap, building enough momentum to swing back and forth more than once. At one point he leaned all the way back and skimmed his hand through the water as he went by. Another time, he kicked off the ledge and swung in a wide circle instead of a straight line.

“Are you afraid of
anything?
” I shouted, hands on my hips.

“Of course I am!” he yelled back as he flew through the air like Tarzan. But he didn’t elaborate.

We took turns on the rope swing, each ride even more adventurous and freeing than the last. By the end I was leaping off the cliff and twisting myself around the rope just like Vance had. And I kept my eyes open each and every time.

When we finally mounted our bikes and headed home, I felt on top of the world. Fearless. Untouchable.

That was, until my tire hit an underhanded root.

The next thing I saw was the sky flipping over my feet.

“Eep!” I squealed, tumbling over my handle bars. The world was a blur of brown and green, hard surfaces and speed as I somersaulted multiple times before coming to a rough landing.

I inhaled sharply, the wind knocked out of me.

“You with me, Rosie?” Vance shouted. His voice echoed from far away.

I groaned and tried to sit up. Disoriented, swaying, I struggled to find my balance. A sharp pain emanated from one or more of my limbs. The trees and bushes swirled around me in a dizzying blur.

Tires skidded to a stop a few feet away, followed by hurried footsteps. Then Vance’s face was all I saw.

“Look at me,” he said, concern etched in his features as all four of his green eyes examined me. “You okay?”

Soreness slowly crawled into different spots on my body. I lifted my hands to survey the damage. “Damn it!” I whispered. My left hand and forearm were covered in cuts and scratches, gravel and blood embedded in the flesh. I’d hardly be able to grip the handle bar like this. How was I going to ride all the way back? We were in the middle of nowhere.

He took my hand ever so gently in his and inspected the injury. A frown formed between his brows. “We need to get this cleaned up. Can you stand?”

I rolled my eyes. I wasn’t totally incompetent.

Putting my weight on my good hand, I pushed myself up. Before I was able to fully straighten, pain shot up my legs and my knees gave out. Vance caught me as I fell forward and crashed right into him.

This could not be happening!

My eyes squeezed shut in humiliation. I could hardly stand on my own two feet, let alone push myself away from the contact. Surpassing the physical pain, I downright hated feeling powerless.

Vance smirked, taking advantage of the situation. “Was this some scheme to wind up in my arms?”

“Shut up,” I said through clenched teeth. He deserved a shove for that comment. I’d have to deliver it later.

My legs couldn’t even support my own weight. Rather than hold me up, he bent his knees and lowered us both to the ground.

“What hurts?” he asked, hovering over me.

“What are you, a doctor?” I demanded.

“No, Rosie, but I am an Eagle Scout.”

I gaped at him with anxious eyes.
“Are you kidding me?”

“You can trust me. I know what I’m doing.”

I groaned.

He would be an effing Eagle Scout.

Vance Holloway was officially the golden boy.

“What hurts?” he repeated.

“My pride.”

“Did you hit your head?”

“I don’t think so.”

His hands carefully inspected me. I winced when he touched my left ankle, pain shooting under the surface of my skin. Very gently, he rolled up my pant leg, removed my shoe and sock. It was already beginning to swell.

“I don’t think it’s broken,” he said, “but you might’ve sprained it. Think you can sit up on the bike? I’ll push you home.”

I nodded my head. I wasn’t sure if I was capable of it, but I’d give it a try.

He got my bike and pushed it towards me, but it appeared to be stuck. He bent down to inspect the chains and the wheel spokes. His thumb pressed down on the rubber of the tire. Flat.

“Front wheel’s busted. Looks like the frame is bent.”

“Perfect,” I grumbled.

“It’s an easy fix, but not without a new wheel and tools. I’ll carry it back.”

“You’re going to carry my bike, and push me on yours?” I asked, doubtful.

“Well, yeah. Come on.” He came back to help me onto his bike, hoisting my arm over his shoulders to help me stand. As soon as I was upright, things started to spin again. I hobbled over to his bike and sat, hoping it would cure the dizziness. But my balance was topsy turvy. My ankle was seriously starting to hurt now that I was upright. I clenched my teeth. Pain throbbed from multiple spots.

He pulled out his phone and quietly sighed. “No service.” He looked around and seemed to be racking his brain until he finally looked back at me. “Um… I’m going to have to carry you.”

No. Effing. Way.

“Just… gimmie a minute,” I winced, hoping the pain would subside.

“It’s a twisted ankle… it’s not gonna heal in a
minute
.”

“I would rather walk the five miles back home on a broken leg than have you carry me!” I said.

His forehead creased, his eyes sweeping over me once more. “You’re going to have to suck it up, Rosie.” In one fluid motion, he swooped underneath my knees and back. Despite my protests, I was in his arms.

“Vance!” I huffed. But he had already started walking with me cradled to him like a helpless baby. “What about the bikes?”

“Don’t worry about the bikes. I’ll come back for them later. I know these canyons like my own backyard. I’ll find them.”

I squirmed against him. “I don’t like this.”

He chuckled. “Aw come on. It’s like something out of Charlotte’s sexy Wolfgang fantasy. Just try to enjoy it.”

“I bet your girlfriend will love hearing about this,” I taunted back.

“Oh. Right.” He looked away, dropping his playfulness. “It’s probably best if she doesn’t find out about this part.”

Nuh-uh. There was no way I wanted him to keep another secret from his girlfriend because of me. My stubbornness was one thing, I was willing to put aside my aversion to contact if this was my only option. But if he thought his girlfriend would be upset to find out what we had done, there was no way I could make him go through with it.

“I don’t want to cause problems,” I said.

“Let me worry about that.”

“Put me down. We’ll figure something else out.”

He stopped, looking right into my eyes. “We’re not doing anything wrong, Rosie. You’re hurt and I need to get you back before it gets dark. Evelyn… she just gets jealous, okay? And I’m not gonna rub this in her face. But I’m not just going to leave you here, either.”

The creek trickled by and leaves danced in the breeze as he waited for me to decide. We’d lost track of time on that rope swing. The air grew chilly as evening approached. It had been a long while since we’d seen anybody and soon it would be getting dark. What choice did we have? If I could walk out of here on my own, I would. But I couldn’t. It wasn’t worth an argument when there were no alternatives. After I capitulated with a nod, he started walking again.

Karma. That’s what this was. We shouldn’t have gone riding together alone. We should have bowed out when everyone else did. Now I was putting him in a difficult position. Because of me, he was going to have to lie to his girlfriend. Again.

“Quit it,” he said, reading my thoughts.

“What are you, a mind reader?” I said, snarky.

“No. You’re just predictable.”

I let out an exasperated sigh. I couldn’t relax in his arms, and my ankle hurt like a bitch. I could only pray that Vance could walk quickly.

No such luck. The hike back took a lifetime and a half. When Vance slowed down, I begged him to go faster. The quicker his pace, the more he jostled me. My ankle was in excruciating pain, not to mention my arm. I tried to hide it, but a couple whimpers managed to escape, which made him slow down again. As much as I was aching, by the look on his face, I wasn’t sure who had it worse.

We had to take a break several times. Surprisingly I seemed to need it more than him. When he offered me the tube to his camel pack, I shot him a look which roughly translated to “hell no.”

“Drink the water, Rosie,” he instructed in a stern voice that offered no argument.

Bossy.

I sighed dramatically.
Of course
it had to be a camel pack, and not a water bottle where I could’ve just poured it straight into my mouth.