Chapter Twelve
I stood on the front porch and watched the empty curve of our driveway. It would be just my luck to be stood up. Especially since I only offered up a date in the first place because of my nagging conscience. My family might actually be onto something when it came to getting rid of the good angel on your shoulder.
My parents left the house that morning and Marco was safely ensconced in the guesthouse, drinking the blood of blessed virgins or whatever it was that he did in his spare time. I could feel the window to sneak away unnoticed quickly closing.
Zach spent the last week treating me like we hadn't ever met. He never stayed to chat after History and moved his chair to the front row in band class, ostensibly to better hear the lectures Ms. Tripoli never gave.
To my surprise, he approached me after class on Friday and asked if he could still cash in my offer of a free outing. We agreed that he'd pick me up at noon on Saturday. It was now twelve-thirty and I started to suspect this was just his roundabout way of exacting a little payback.
I heard the purr of a 400cc engine before the Indian wound its way up the driveway. I sighed in appreciation. When the gods invented boys, they should have used horsepower and classic American engineering.
Zach groped at his side to unhook the spare helmet before sliding gracelessly off the motorcycle. His bootstrap caught on the seat when he swung one leg over to dismount, almost bringing the bike down. Recovering his balance, Zach offered me the helmet with an embarrassed smile. "Hey."
It was cute watching him fumble around, like an eager puppy. I grabbed for the helmet before the realization of how attractive I found him settled in completely. "Let's go."
"In a hurry or something?" He swung back onto the bike as I slid into place behind him. "You're not even trying to drive."
I wrapped my arms around his middle instead of answering.
All the breath escaped me when we rounded the corner and my parents' house was out of sight. Zach shouted something but it was lost in the heavy wind that whipped through my hair. I missed riding, even when I wasn't the one actually in control.
I tightened my hold on Zach. My hands rested lightly above his belt and I could feel his abs contract and relax as he maneuvered us through LA traffic. My front pressed tightly against his back as we leaned into a tight turn. I could suddenly smell him—the musky and surprisingly sweet scent of apple and pine needles.
The ride was over too quickly and we slowed down to turn into the entrance of Brentwood Park. Zach slid past the full parking lot and pushed the bike up onto the grass, parking it next to a tree. I handed him the spare helmet, smoothing the messy curls that were squashed underneath it with my other hand. Somehow, my hair managed to feel both flat and poufy at the same time.
Abandoning all hope of looking even reasonably presentable, I surveyed the parking lot. The concrete expanse was overflowing with a few hundred cars. Most of them were beaten-up, bumpers covered in colorful stickers.
"What's going on here?" I could hear screaming voices and a heavy drumbeat coming from the direction of the park grounds.
Zach glanced up from stuffing his helmets into the bike's sidebag. "Music Festival. I thought you might be into it."
I looked back at him. "You think you know me that well?"
"I'm into it." He shrugged. "So at least one of us will have a good time."
I resisted the urge to smile. "Nice."
We picked our way down the hill towards the center of the park. The music grew louder as we drew closer. The stand of trees gave way to a large crowd. Someone handed out glow-stick necklaces and I grabbed one, wrapping it loosely around my head.
Zach leaned forward and adjusted it slightly so the plastic fell over my eyes. "Trippy."
The crowd of people grew denser. Cooked food smells wafted from stands scattered around the park's edge. The stage rose proudly above the throng and I squinted at it into the sun.
"Who's playing?" I tried to make out the words scrawled across the drumkit on stage.
"Can't see from here." He grabbed my arm and pushed through the crowd.
We walked closer into the center where people moved with the beat. Zach swayed in time to the music and bobbed his head up and down, hands in his pockets.
I couldn't move to a rhythm. My body just wasn't capable of what my mind told it to do. I glanced at Zach out of the corner of my eye but his gaze was focused on the stage. Maybe he didn't notice I was the only still body in a crowd of swaying, jostling hipsters.
I sighed and looked around. The music was good and the atmosphere festive but I felt hyper alert. The sort of skin-tingling, hair-raising feeling that made me stare hard into dark corners and jump at shadows.
Today the sun shone bright and in the wide open spaces of the park there was nowhere to hide. Even surrounded by so many people, I was still tense.
Zach shouted something but we stood too close to the speakers for me to make anything out. Smiling quickly, I turned back to the stage. High decibel sound definitely made dating easier. It would be hard to put my foot in my mouth if Zach couldn't hear a word I said.
A skinny girl, with long hair and over-sized sunglasses, slammed into me from behind, spilling beer down the back of my t-shirt. The wet cold hit me like a brick and I spun around angrily. She had already moved on, bouncing her whole body to the music, too drunk off the vibe to notice the stain on the back of my jeans that looked like a preschool toilet-training accident.
Cursing under my breath, I waved away Zach's concerned glance and pushed my way out of the crowd surrounding the stage. Port-a-johns dotted the park and I gave a disgusted shiver at the thought. Seemed like a good way to make a bad situation worse.
I waddled to an isolated drinking fountain next to a stand of trees, trying to keep the wet denim from rubbing against the tender skin on the backs of my thighs.
I balanced on the edge of the fountain and splashed water down my back. Making myself wetter seemed a bit counterintuitive but it might at least take care of the reek of crappy domestic beer. I didn't fancy smelling like the wrong end of a weeklong bender.
"Such a graceful child."
My arm came down hard on the spigot, shooting a spray of water into my face, drenching my hair and the front of my shirt. I spun around quickly, my vision red.
Darius' form coalesced from the shade under the trees. In less than a moment, he was suddenly as real as if he'd always been standing there. He'd managed to find the only bit of darkness under the full sun.
Blinking water out of my eyes, I glared at him. I was too angry for fear or caution. "What the hell do you want?"
"It's nice to see you too, my dear." Darius straightened the cuff of his suit jacket with manicured fingers. In a sea of high-top sneakers and skinny jeans, his three-piece suit should have stood out, but Darius melted into the shadows. Unless you looked closely, he wasn't there at all.
I turned my back on him and began wringing my shirt out over the water fountain. Adding wrinkled to smelly and stained made the day seem that much brighter.
Before my senses could comprehend the movement, Darius was at my back, the line of his body pressed against me. His hand wrapped around my neck and squeezed tightly enough that stars danced in front of my eyes.
"Never turn your back on me, girl." Darius leaned in close and his lips brushed the shell of my ear as he whispered. "I am the darkness that eats the light."
Storm clouds moved in from the horizon, as Darius bent nature to his whim. Rolling shadows and a strong wind blew through the park, stinging my skin. I heard screams as a loud crack of lightening shot across the sky, directly overhead.
Cold air hit my lungs and my body seized. I struggled to breathe through the storm. Chunks of ice lodged in my throat and I couldn't choke any air past them. My vision blurred as the world slipped away.
I was beyond intimidation. All of the fear and tension of the past few weeks coalesced inside of me into cold intent. I touched the hand at my throat with gentle fin
gertips and breathed in deeply. I imagined as I inhaled that I could swallow his darkness.
Warmth touched my skin as my eyes slowly opened. Sunlight shone bright between the trees underneath a clear blue sky. The wind was refreshing and cool. A light breeze blew softly through the leaves.
Darius backed away from me and I turned to face him. "Don't threaten me," I whispered.
He gave me a small nod. "Impressive."
I eyed him warily. It was a small victory and just one more step down a dangerous path. "What do you want from me, Darius?"
"End-of-Winter is coming." He touched a finger to the nearest tree. New leaves withered and fell from its branches, floated limply to the ground. "Are you ready?"
"Ready," I repeated the word slowly. "To do your dirty work for you, you mean."
"We have a deal."
"I haven't forgotten," I snapped. "My life for his, yadda yadda." I heard my name floating on the breeze. Zach appeared on the top of the hill, his eyes scanning the park. He couldn't see us in the shadow of the trees.
Darius glanced back at me with a smile. I didn't like the look in his eyes. "Friend of yours?" he asked, slyly.
"Go away, Darius." We were still out of sight of Zach, but not for long. "End-of-Winter is in one week. I don't want to see you until then."
Instead of responding, Darius sketched a low bow with a mocking smile. As I watched, he melted into the shadows. His body faded into the shade until he was gone.
I pasted a smile on my face as Zach caught sight of me. He waved and jogged to meet me as I started back up the hill.
"Everything cool?" He asked, a hitch in his breath. "I've been looking everywhere for you."
I opened my mouth to tell him all about the rude girl, her liquid missile attack and my subsequent fountain bath, but the words died on my tongue. The realization that I hadn't waddled up the hill washed over me. I patted the back of my jeans and smiled, surprised. I was completely dry.
He raised an eyebrow at me. I realized I may have looked a little odd standing there with my hands covering my butt. I hastily stuffed them in my pockets. "I'm good. You're missing the show."
Zach followed me as I trudged up the hill toward the stage. My foot caught on a root and I stumbled. He grabbed my elbow.
My breath caught at his touch. His hand was warm and his grip firm as he guided me upright. An easy smile touched his lips. I turned away before he caught me staring.
I walked faster to put some distance between us. Zach was mundane. Nothing there but humanity and weakness. I didn't need another distraction in my life and Zach distracted me more than anything else.
He caught up with me and I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. He wore a black, zippered hoodie that fit tightly on top of faded jeans. His sneakers were covered in multi-colored doodles, probably made with permanent marker during class.
"Why are you staring at me?" he asked, startling me.
I looked away. "I'm not."
"Not now, but you were." He grinned and a dimple I never noticed before appeared in his cheek. "Do you think I'm gorgeous?"
Heat burned my cheeks. "Yeah, right." So much for the witty comeback.
Zach laughed and grabbed my hand. "Are you hungry?"
I wanted to pull away as he guided me towards the concession stands, but couldn't quite bring myself to do it. My hand in his felt right, normal. For a minute, I could almost pretend that I was a regular high school girl out for a date with a cute guy.
Darkness edged in and I couldn't stop it. There was no normal life for me.
The smell of circus-quality hotdogs assaulted my nostrils as we approached a group of food stands. I made of show of peering intently at the offerings and pulled my hand away from his.
Zach glanced back with a quizzical expression. "You okay?"
"I'm good." I gestured to the man behind the counter of the hot dog tent. "I think I want a foot-long."
We found an empty spot that still had a decent view of the stage. Zach made himself comfortable on the grass. I sank down next to him and he handed me a hot dog. We ate as the music beat cheerfully against the air.
"What made you change your mind about hanging out?" I took a small sip of my soda. As much as I hated to admit it, his perpetual avoidance had bothered me.
"I guess I felt a little bad." He balled up a napkin and batted it around on the grass. "I shouldn't have compared you to Cynthie and her friends. You're nothing like them."
"Is that a good thing?"
"Definitely." He frowned and leaned back on his elbows. "The other guys don't see it, but there's something seriously off with those girls. Something evil."
My heart stuttered to a stop before resuming its beat. "Evil, huh?"
"Okay, maybe not evil," he said with a laugh. "Definitely not good, though. You're better off staying away from them."
"Way ahead of you," I murmured.
Zach sat close enough to me that the side of my leg gently touched his. Would he get offended if I moved away? Was it flirting if I didn't? All of those elementary courtship rituals were completely beyond my scope of understanding. I took a big bite of my hotdog and casually crossed my legs, putting some space between us.
He lounged back in the grass and pressed his arm against mine. I froze in confusion. Was he touching me on purpose? If I moved away now, he'd definitely notice.
I shot up with the speed of a slingshot and Zach stared up at me in surprised confusion. "I'll take your trash." I grabbed the empty hot dog wrappers and half-ran to the bank of garbage cans.
When I came back, Zach was standing. He grabbed my hand and spun me in a circle. I was very aware of my arms and legs as we moved to the music.
Dancing brought our bodies close and I looked up at his face. His eyes seemed very bright against the backdrop of a clear sky.
Zach grinned and then he was kissing me.
The kiss was simple and sweet. His lips tasted like peppermint gum with a hint of mustard and it was nice like twinkling lights and sunshine. I didn't realize my eyes had closed until Zach pulled away. The lids parted and my vision filled with his shy smile.
"Should I apologize?" he asked softly.
"No," I paused and forced myself to back up a step. "But, you probably shouldn't do that again."
His face fell. "No good, huh?"
It was wonderful, but I couldn't tell him that. Getting close to me would only get him hurt.
I gave him a casual punch on the shoulder. "We're friends, right?"
"Of course." His voice was mellow. "You want me to take you home?"
"Sure." I wondered if he could see the regret in my smile.