Chapter Twenty Two
Ronnie hid in her bedroom the rest of the day, refusing even to talk to Andi when she called multiple times. She couldn’t believe everything that had happened. She and Shawn had barely begun to have a relationship before she ruined it—and she hadn’t even done anything wrong! She hoped Shawn would let her explain what really happened, though she knew that day wasn’t going to come any time soon. Shawn needed to calm down first.
She lay on her bed to go to sleep that night and frowned when she felt something under the blankets. She reached underneath and pulled out the black device Gavin used to talk to his mom and sister. It must have fallen out of his pocket after he fell asleep. She sighed as she set it on her nightstand, hoping she would see him tomorrow to return it. She wanted to change the way things ended with them this morning. She wanted to be wrong about losing him.
Ronnie slept until she absolutely had to get out of bed the next morning. Then, she turned off her alarm and went down to the bathroom for a quick shower. She hadn’t slept well. She dreamed about Shawn all night and woke up several times with tears on her pillow and cheeks. The fact that her pillow still smelled like Gavin only made her feel worse and she wondered what she could do to rectify the situation. She knew Gavin blamed himself for everything that happened yesterday morning.
Ronnie wore a pair of grey sweatpants and a bland grey t-shirt to school that day with white flip-flops on her feet. She didn’t have anyone to impress anymore so she didn’t even want to try. Andi took one look at her and asked what happened to her best friend. It was then that Ronnie remembered she hadn’t talked to Andi yesterday. Her chest began to hurt as she tried to get into Andi’s car but Andi grabbed her arm and wouldn’t let her go.
“What happened to you, Ronnie? You never wear sweats in public,” Andi reminded her, her voice higher pitched than usual. Ronnie shook her head as tears flooded her eyes. She swiped at them but they slid down her cheeks anyway. Andi immediately pulled Ronnie into her arms.
“What’s going on, honey?” Andi asked gently.
“Shawn broke up with me,” Ronnie sobbed.
“What?” Andi exclaimed stepping back to look at her. “What did you do?”
“Why does it have to be something I did? God, nothing even happened.” Ronnie wiped her eyes again, anger helping to stop her tears.
“What do you mean ‘nothing even happened’?”
Ronnie took a deep breath and slowly let it out. “Gavin showed up after Shawn left me Saturday night,” she explained. “We were talking in my room and we fell asleep together. My mom found us yesterday morning when they got back from Chicago.”
“Gavin spent the night in your bed? And nothing happened?” Andi’s eyes were so wide it would have been comical in any other situation. Ronnie nodded.
“I swear we only slept next to each other.” The image of Gavin almost kissing her came to mind again and she immediately shooed it away; now was definitely not the time to think about that.
“But he’s gorgeous and he can be sweet and he has those eyes,” Andi gushed. Ronnie nodded again and bit her lower lip, which she knew was a sure sign she was hiding something. She didn’t want to talk about it. She didn’t even want to think about Saturday night. How could something so wonderful end so badly? Andi’s expression cleared and she frowned as she studied Ronnie.
“What are you hiding?” Andi asked with a hand on her hip. Ronnie’s cheeks warmed.
“Nothing,” she lied.
“Try again. What really happened when you were with Gavin?”
“Yeah, I’d like to know that, too,” Shawn spoke up. Ronnie’s eyes widened. She hadn’t expected to see him so soon. Her heart fluttered in her chest as she looked at him and took in his perfect blond waves, his beautiful face, his gorgeous body. The only thing ruining the image was the coldness in his blue eyes. Ronnie ran a hand over her hair, exasperated with both of them.
“Oh my god, we talked and we fell asleep. Nothing. Happened,” she insisted. She wished Gavin was here, he would back her up.
“Yeah right,” Shawn muttered and turned towards Andi. “Come on, Andi, let’s go to school.”
Ronnie watched as Shawn draped an arm over Andi’s shoulders and her two best friends climbed into Andi’s car without her. Her heart twisted in her chest and she blinked away more tears as she watched them drive away. With the pain from yesterday returning to her chest, Ronnie got into her car and followed after her friends. Her only happy thought was that Gavin would be in first period and she could return his phone to him.
Ronnie’s mood only sunk further when she walked into first period and saw Gavin’s seat empty. She wondered if he was avoiding her as she walked to homeroom almost an hour later and he wasn’t there either. In fact, he didn’t show up all morning. Between missing him and the glares Shawn shot her way every chance he got, she was so distraught that she decided to do something she had never done before. Instead of going to the cafeteria for lunch, she shoved everything in her locker, grabbed her purse and headed out the first door she saw. The midday sun blinded her and she wished she had her sunglasses.
She climbed into her car and drove down the street without purpose, aimlessly wandering through town. She let the light traffic take her wherever it would and she wasn’t surprised to end up in front of The Reading Corner fifteen minutes later. She parked at the curb and climbed out of her car. Of course she would come here; up until a week ago it had been her sanctuary. She took a fortifying breath and pulled open the door, entering the store before she could remember why she stopped going there. Just inside the door she paused and took another deep breath, a deep sense of homecoming overriding every other emotion whirling inside of her. She let out the breath and headed back to her favorite section. It had been way too long since she had been here.
She pulled several books off the shelves and sat in the middle of the aisle to read the back covers. She couldn’t decide between another new teen vampire/werewolf novel or if she wanted to branch out into something without all the supernatural stuff. With so much supernatural stuff now in her life, maybe reading something normal was what she needed. She read the backs of a few Sarah Dessen novels and finally decided on Someone Like You and That Summer, the author’s first two novels. She loved the movie How to Deal starring Mandy Moore and had read somewhere that the movie was partially based on these books.
“Enjoying yourself?” a familiar voice spoke up. Ronnie gasped as she looked up, her heart sliding towards her toes as she tried to keep her reaction under control. Rick, or Commander Ulrich Goodyear as she tried to think of him now, smiled down at her. He wore black cargo pants (that must be a Defender requirement) and a maroon polo shirt. His golden hair gleamed in the light and his smile just as bright. Ronnie shrugged one shoulder as she looked down at the books in her hands.
“I’ve missed seeing you,” he added when she didn’t say anything.
“I’ve been busy,” she replied still not looking at him.
“Busy avoiding me,” he corrected and her cheeks flushed. She realized she was acting like a weak little girl and she was so tired of it that she lifted her head and met his gaze. He looked so normal, it was shocking. She would’ve never known what was hidden underneath if she hadn’t seen it firsthand. A tremble started in her stomach at the memory and she clenched her jaw, glaring at Rick.
“You have no reason to be mad at me, dear girl,” he stated silkily.
“I have every reason,” she hissed at him, trying to keep her voice down so they wouldn’t draw the attention of nearby shoppers. “I don’t know what you are, but I know who you are and I know what you’re doing.”
He didn’t seem fazed by her announcement, he just kept smiling peacefully. “And what do you think it is I am trying to do?”
The trembling in her stomach increased. “I don’t know, but I know you want to use me,” she whispered, all of her bravado gone.
“So, wanting to get to know a beautiful young girl equates
to using you? If you know who I am, then you know that I know you’ve been chosen to be recruited. I’m simply trying to get a feel for you, to decide whether you’ll be worthy of the title Spiral Defender once you earn it.”
“Well, you have a funny way of showing it. What was that when you walked me home? Your face changed and all the shadows swarmed to you.” Her phone chimed in her purse and she didn’t have to look to know who the message was from. She realized that was why she started this conversation.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Rick declared precisely, though his teal eyes were as hard as ice as he glared down at her. Ronnie tried not to visibly shake. Her phone chimed again.
“You might want to answer that. Your boyfriend might be jealous,” Rick added and stalked out of the aisle. Ronnie watched him go with wide eyes. Did he know who the messages were from? Ronnie stood on shaky legs and took her books to the cashier. Once they were paid for, she left the store. She started down the street towards her car and yelped when she was suddenly pulled into an alley next to the store. She swung out with her books as she was pushed against the brick wall and a hand covered her mouth. Her eyes widened even more when she saw who captured her.
“What the hell were you doing?” Gavin seethed as he removed his hand from her mouth.
“It got you here, didn’t it?” she pointed out breathlessly, her heart pounding so hard her chest hurt.
“He could have hurt you,” he continued, his body and one hand still holding her against the wall.
“He wouldn’t have. He only wanted to scare me again. He says he wants to be my friend.”
Gavin snorted as he turned away from her, letting her go so abruptly she stumbled forward. “He doesn’t have friends. He has people he controls,” Gavin sneered. Ronnie leaned against the wall again, feeling foolish for what she had done. Worry for Gavin wasn’t a good enough reason to put herself in a potentially dangerous situation.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, choking on the words, and he turned back to her. She looked at him as he closed the distance between them, his anger slowly replaced by concern. He pulled her into his arms and her hands clung to his black t-shirt as tears flowed down her cheeks. She wondered if she would ever stop crying, if her heart would ever stop hurting. Gavin stroked her hair and let her cry. After a few minutes, she stopped crying and smoothed his shirt as she looked up at him.
“I think we both need a break,” he said quietly. She nodded.
“That would be great,” she agreed.
“And I know just the place to go.” A smile pulled at the corners of his lips as he stepped back but kept her hand. “Do you trust me?”
“Yes,” she stated without hesitation. His smile became genuine and Ronnie couldn’t help smiling in return.
“Then come with me,” he said and turned her towards a black swirling portal that suddenly appeared behind them. Ronnie took a deep breath and then walked through.