Текст книги "Unspeakable"

Автор книги: Michelle K. Pickett

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Текущая страница: 13 (всего у книги 21 страниц)

We arrived at the football game a half hour before it was set to begin. Jenna and Tim were already there. Their expressions were priceless when they saw Brody and me walk to the bleachers and sit next to them, holding hands.

“Oh shit on a shoe,” Jenna whispered. “Does he know?”

I shook my head. “Have you seen Karen yet?”

“I saw her wandering around,” Tim said. “Hey, can I be there when you tell Jaden?” He bounced in his seat like a little kid.

“Yeah, why not? Everyone here will see it anyway.” I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth.

“Damn, I wish I had a camera.” Tim laughed and fist bumped Brody.

“Yeah, the more witnesses the better,” Jenna muttered, folding her arms in front of herself and rubbing her hands up and down her arms.

Brody squeezed my hand, pulling me closer to him. “I’m going to get us something to drink. Slushie or caffeine?”

“You have to ask? Do you not know me at all?” I rolled my eyes, but smiled.

“Caffeine it is, then.” He started to walk away, and our fingers slipped slowly apart.

“Wait!”

Brody turned toward me. I hurried to catch up to him. “I want to go with you.” I threaded my fingers with his. “I think I’ll need a fix, too,” I said, looking at the cotton candy.

“Cotton candy? Or should we go straight to the hard stuff and get the chocolate bars now?”

“Don’t mock the calming effects of the combination of pure sugar and caffeine. Hmm…” I tapped my finger against my bottom lip, looking from the chocolate to the spun sugar and back again. “I think I’ll get two cotton candy and two chocolate bars, you know, just in case.”

Brody nodded. “Always be prepared.”

“Exactly.” I reached to pay, and Brody shook his head.

“I’ve got it.”

“Thanks,” I said, smiling at him. I couldn’t stop smiling. My cheeks were starting to hurt, but it felt so good. I felt as if a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. Brody made me happy—giddy, even. I never felt that with Jaden, even when we first started dating. I never realized it was missing until I met Brody, and he showed me how it should feel.

Are my feet even touching the ground when I walk? Cuz I feel like one of those little cupids with the wings on their feet… yeah, I’m definitely a lost cause. He’s so gonna break my heart. I’ll think about that later, when he’s not buying me chocolate. Tonight, not even Jaden can kill my buzz.

When we got our order and turned to walk back to the bleachers, I stopped dead. There, not two feet from me, stood Karen. I knew it would happen. It had to happen. But I was hoping she’d just see us and report back to Jaden. I didn’t want to come face-to-face with her.

“Hi, Karen,” I said, shoving a huge piece of medication—cotton candy—into my mouth.

She didn’t answer. Her eyes traveled down and locked on my hand intertwined with Brody’s.

We stood looking at each other for a few seconds. “Well, it’s been nice chatting with you. I gotta get back to my seat. It’s gonna be a great game tonight. We’re playing Stanton. That’s your old school, isn’t, babe?” I looked up at Brody and smiled.

“Yes, it is. I know who I’ll be rooting for.”

“See you later,” I called over my shoulder as Brody and I walked away. “Well, that went much better than I’d expected.” I shoved more cotton candy in my mouth. At the rate I was stuffing it in, I’d deplete my stash before the game started, not to mention have major tooth decay by the time the night was over.

“Babe? Since when do you use pet names other than Ace?”

“Well, Ace didn’t sound very loving so I improvised. But don’t worry. You’ll always be Ace to me.” I bumped my hip into his.

“Good, I kinda like it. How long do you think it’ll take for her to tell Jaden that she saw us?” Brody looked over his shoulder. “She’s already gone.”

“Oh, I’d bet money that she’s already texted him,” I said. More cotton candy went in, and I licked the sticky sugar from my fingers.

Brody put his lips to my ear. “You’re killing me. I don’t know if I can sit next to you and watch you lick your fingers like that. I might have to scoop you up, take you back to the Jeep, and do all kinds of naughty things.”

“Promise?” I peered at him through my lashes.

“Ugh, you’re such a tease.”

“But I wasn’t teasing.”

Brody gazed at me, his eyes darkening.

“Hey guys, come on,” Jenna called. “Did you see Karen? She walked by here, and she didn’t look too happy.”

“Yeah, we saw her,” I answered, my gazed still locked on Brody’s.

“Then Jaden knows. He’s gonna have a fit, and it’s gonna be epic. We’ll be lucky if he doesn’t move the earth off its axis.” Jenna rubbed her hands together and shivered. I think she was more worried about Jaden’s reaction than I was.

When the football players ran through the stupid banner that the cheerleaders held for them, Jaden’s gaze immediately found me on the bleachers and if looks could kill, I would’ve been dead twice over. He wasn’t just mad. He was livid. I expected no less. This was going to be fun. Or not.

I still had no idea how things would go down. No plan on how to tell him. I was secretly hoping that seeing me with Brody would be enough and Jaden would just leave it alone, but I knew that wouldn’t happen. Jaden’s moods were all over the place. I had no idea what type of reaction we’d get. And it scared me. I tried to stay calm in front of Brody. If he knew how scared I was, he’d insist on leaving, and that would only prolong the inevitable. We had to confront Jaden at some point. And like Jenna said, the more witnesses, the better.

We watched the game. Well, I pretended to watch. My mind was reeling with thoughts of what would come after the game ended. My knee bounced up and down with nerves. The closer the game came to an end, the faster my knee bounced. Finally, Brody laid his hand on it and squeezed.

“It’s going to be fine,” he whispered in my ear.

“Sure.” I nodded.

I wish I could believe that. I know he’s going to make a scene. And he’s going to tell. Years of protecting what I know, putting up with Ralph, dealing with Jaden, all to keep her secret—our secret—hidden. I’m throwing it all away. He’ll tell, and everyone will really know what happened that night. But Brody’s worth it. I hope he thinks the same of me when he knows the truth.

“Do you want to leave now? He knows. That was the main point of tonight, right? You got the message out. Everyone here is staring at us. We’re no doubt the topic of most conversations. People are watching us more than the game,” Brody said with a chuckle. “The bad boy steals the good girl from the star football player. Yeah, we’re big news. We don’t need to hang around.”

“I have to face him sooner or later.” I hated how my voice shook. I didn’t want to sound weak, but Jaden was one area in my life that I’d never been able to control. I’d always let him have control. It kept him happy, and he kept his mouth shut. I needed to stand up to him.

As soon as the game was over, one of Jaden’s closest friends and teammates made his way to the bleachers. “You’d better leave now, Willow.”

I looked over his shoulder and saw Jaden plowing his way toward Brody and me. His face was red with rage. A thick vein pulsed in the side of his neck. People got out of his way like he was Moses parting the Red Sea.

Too late.

“Thanks for the heads up.”

“Willow,” Jaden said, looking at Brody’s hand holding mine. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“We’re done, Jaden. Sorry you had to find out like this, but it’s over.”

“No, it’s over when I say it’s over,” Jaden said through clenched teeth. He looked at Brody. “If you want to keep that hand, I suggest you get it off my girl.”

“I don’t believe you can stake claim to her any longer. My hand’s gonna stay right where it is.” Brody narrowed his eyes at Jaden.

Jaden took a step toward Brody. Brody didn’t move.

“How long, Willow? How long have you been sleeping with this piece of shit?” Jaden spat.

“None of your business.”

“You’ve been seeing him while we’ve been together?”

I hesitated for a second. I knew if I answered truthfully, Jaden would destroy my reputation, but if I didn’t tell the truth, I’d risk hurting Brody. “Yes. We’ve been seeing each other.”

“You slut!” His hand darted out so fast that I didn’t have time to react. The pain sizzled across the side of my face, ricocheting through my head. I could feel where his class ring dug into my skin, warm liquid dribbling down my cheek. The impact ripped me away from Brody’s grasp and sent me tumbling across the bleachers, scraping the side of my face where it hit the grooved metal.

Jenna and Tim ran to me, helping me up. I looked up in time to see Brody charge Jaden. He slammed into him, sending them both flying across the bleachers.

“What’s the matter with you, Victor? You’re the one screwing her. If she’s gonna act like a whore, she’s gonna get treated like one,” Jaden shouted, standing up and wiping the dust off his uniform.

“I told you if you ever laid a hand on her, I’d end you,” Brody whispered through clenched teeth, shouldering Jaden.

Jaden barreled toward Brody. A group of his football buddies held him back. “He’s not worth it, man,” one told him.

“She’s definitely not worth it,” another said, looking at me like I wore a scarlet letter across my chest. Maybe I did. Maybe I deserved one.

Brody took a step toward Jaden. “Brody! Brody, stop!” I yelled, trying to get his attention.

He looked at me, and his face softened. “Let’s get you out of here and clean those cuts.” Reaching out, he wiped the blood off my face with the pad of his thumb. He looked over his shoulder at Jaden. “If I ever see you touch her again, I will make sure it’s the last thing you touch. You won’t always have your jughead friends to protect you.”

Well, that actually went better than I thought it would. I’m still alive.

Brody took me to his house to clean my cuts. When we drove up, a strange car was parked in the garage. He pulled next to it, killing the engine.

“Whose car is that?” I looked out of the window at the black sedan parked next to us in the immaculate garage.

“My mom’s.” Brody climbed out of the Jeep and came around to open my door.

I didn’t get out of the SUV. “I don’t think we should be here.”

“Why not?” Brody’s gaze didn’t waver from mine. His brows furrowed over his eyes.

“I don’t really want to meet your mom when I’m sporting a cut-up face.”

“My mom’s not like that. She’s cool. She’ll baby you the whole night.” He paused and lowered his gaze. “And, um, I’ve already told her about you.” His eyes traveled slowly up to meet mine. “Don’t be mad. I just wanted her to know in advance what your situation was if you ever needed a place to go.”

Tears pushed at the back of my eyes. I sniffed and cleared my throat. “And… um, and she was okay with everything?”

“She wasn’t okay that someone was hurting you, but she was very okay with you having a safe place to come if you needed one. Don’t worry, Willow. She’s going to love you.”

Brody lifted my hand and kissed the inside of my wrist, letting his mouth linger. Giant butterflies invaded my stomach. My arm tingled under his lips. They were soft and moist. I wanted them on my mine. My lips parted, and I sighed. Brody looked into my eyes and grinned against my skin.

He placed my hand in my lap and wrapped his hand behind my neck, leaning into me. My breath came in little gasps, and my heart did a free fall to my toes. I ran my tongue over my lips, leaning toward him. He kissed the space behind my earlobe. I sucked in a breath and threaded my hands through his hair, gripping his head to me.

“Mm, I love the way you smell,” he whispered in my ear. “Like raspberries.”

I closed my eyes and let his voice wash over me, concentrating on his mouth on my skin. I think I answered him. I was positive I didn’t use an actual word because at that moment, I couldn’t put two coherent words together. My lips ached for his. I tightened my hold in his hair and pulled his face to mine. His lips skimmed mine when he spoke, just a whisper of a caress, barely a touch at all.

“We need to go inside,” he murmured, reaching up and pulling my hands from his hair.

He pulled me gently from the Jeep and led me to the door. His mother had her back to us when we went inside. She sat on the large couch, watching television. She turned when she heard the door open.

“Brody, you’re home early—” She stopped abruptly when she saw me standing behind him. “Introduce me to your friend.”

She stood and walked toward us. Tall like her son, she shared his thick hair and color. Hers was cut in a short bob that was businesslike and feminine all at once. Slim, but curvy, and dressed in designer jeans and T-shirt, she looked almost like Brody’s older sister, or maybe an aunt, than his mother.

“Mom, this is Willow.”

“Hi, Willow,” she said with a smile.

“It’s nice meet you, Ms. Victor,” I said, trying to cover the gash on my check with my hair and standing behind Brody’s shoulder.

“Oh, call me Anne. Come on. Let’s get that cleaned up. Do I get to ask what happened? I’ll be honest, as long as I feel you aren’t in immediate danger, I won’t call the police or your parents.”

“My ex-boyfriend didn’t take the news that I was breaking up with him very well,” I said quietly, not meeting her eyes.

“Ah. Well, not to worry. We’ll get this taken care of. Brody, don’t just stand there, get Willow something to drink.”

“Sorry. Do you want a Coke?”

I nodded. “Thank you.”

Ms. Victor was incredibly nice. Brody was right; she did baby me the entire time I was there. She didn’t ask too many questions. Occasionally, she’d slip a question or two in about Brody’s and my relationship. I let Brody handle those. I wasn’t sure how to answer them yet. At least not to his mother. Brody didn’t seem the least bit bothered by them.

“We’re dating. That’s why Willow broke it off with her ex.”

“I see. How long have you been dating?”

“Since tonight. We started out as friends, Mom. Willow broke up with her boyfriend when we decided we were crossing the friendship line. We officially started dating tonight. Right, Willow?” He took a drink of his Coke.

“Right, Ace. I mean, Brody.” I could feel my cheeks warm at my unintentional use of his nickname.

He smiled and threaded my fingers with his.

“Ace, huh? Do I want to know?”

I laughed. “Probably not. Let’s just say we weren’t a match made in heaven when we first met.”

“Brody gets that a lot,” his mother said and waved her hand in the air, dismissing the comment. “He comes off as arrogant.”

“That’s for sure. And judgmental,” I muttered.

“Hey, I’m in the room, you know?”

“Yes, dear, we know. Well,” Anne said with a sigh, gathering her Coke can and the shoes she’d flipped off at some point. “I’m tired. I’m going upstairs to read for a while. It was very nice to meet you, Willow. I hope I’ll be seeing more of you.”

“It was nice meeting you too, Ms. Victor.”

She squeezed my shoulder as she walked by. “Anne, remember?”

I smiled and nodded. Anne climbed the stairs, leaving Brody and me sitting on the couch, alone, in the great room. I suddenly became very nervous.

“So…” Brody let the word trail off and looked at me.

“Yeah.”

“You’ve met my family. My mom and my aunt. When do I meet yours?”

My heart sank. Everything around me slowed. I could hear my heart plodding along in my chest, squeezing blood out like a sponge. The ticking clock slowed. A second felt like a minute. Then, just as fast as time slowed, everything sped up and righted its self.

“My mom and stepdad are Jaden fans. It’s going take them a while to adjust to the break up and accept the fact that there’s a new guy in my life. I think we’re going to have to take it slow if we want them to be okay with us.”

Brody stared at me for what seemed like forever. I fought the urge to squirm under his gaze. “Is that the only reason?” he finally asked.

“What do you mean?” I paused. Then it clicked. “Yes! Do you think I’m embarrassed for you to meet my parents? That’s not even close. I’m not embarrassed by you. I’ll stand on the busiest corner of town and scream that I’m Brody Victor’s girlfriend if you want me to. I’m embarrassed by them. I know them and how they can be, especially Ralph.”

He didn’t say anything, just stared into my eyes, his bright blue ones boring into mine. Finally, a slow grin spread across his face. “You don’t need to scream. You can just wear a sign.”

I laughed. “Yeah, okay, I’ll get right on that.” I sighed and stood. “I need to go. I don’t want to be late for curfew.”

“Okay. How are you going explain your face to your mom?”

My hands stilled for just a moment as I gathered my things. I took a breath to steady myself and looked up at Brody. “It won’t matter. She’s used to it.” I could see his jaw clench. His hands opened and closed in fists. I took one of his hands in mine. “Hey, it’s okay.” I smiled at him.

He nodded once and tried to give me a smile, but it wasn’t one of his easy smiles that made my heart flutter and insides melt. It was forced. I reached up and brushed my hand over his cheek, wanting to wipe away the sadness and anger I saw in his expression. He turned his head and kissed my palm, making my knees feel like jelly and my breath hitch in my throat. Just a simple kiss caused my body to rage with emotions, and I didn’t want it to stop.

I could feel his breath quicken against my skin, and it made my heart beat faster. I took a step closer, nearly touching him. He laid his hand on my hip, gripping the waistband of my jeans in his fist. When he wrapped his other hand around my hair, I gasped at the shocks of electricity that sizzled through my body.

I looked into his eyes and watched them darken, his gaze locked on mine. It felt as if the world had stopped spinning. Everything was still, waiting for what came next. It was all I could do not to grab his shirtfront and yank him to me. My lips tingled with the need to feel his lips on them. My very core needed his closeness. It wasn’t just a kiss. It was so much more. Emotions were both confusing and all encompassing. I needed him, needed that connection, and I could tell by the way his eyes darkened and lips parted that he felt the same.

He lowered his head toward mine. My heart sang in my chest. But he didn’t kiss me. At least, not how I longed for him to. He gently placed an open-mouthed kiss on the curve of my neck, sucking at my skin ever so slightly. I moaned and ran my hand through his silky hair, opening and closing my fingers around the dark strands. He planted soft kisses up the side of my neck until he reached the sensitive area behind my ear. Kissing it gently, he let his tongue touch my skin, pulling another moan from my lips.

“I think I’m falling for you,” he whispered.

He lifted his head and looked into my eyes. I cupped his face with both my hands, rubbing my thumbs over his checks.

“I think we’re free falling together.”

He leaned his forehead against mine before lifting his head and kissing it. “I’d better get you home.” He pulled back slowly.

Oh. Holy. Hell.

I put a hand on my chest, trying to slow my breathing. My heart still fluttered. I took two deep breaths and let them out slowly to calm myself.

Jenna’s right. He’s turning my world upside down, and it feels friggin’ awesome.

Brody pulled up in front of my house, and ran around the Jeep to open the door for me. I still couldn’t get used to that.

He stood in front me, one hand on the side of the Jeep, the other on the door, blocking me in. “Are you free tomorrow?”

I tilted my head as though I was thinking and tsked. “I’ll have to check my schedule, Ace.”

“Oh, you have that many appointments, do you?” He stepped closer to me. His cologne swirled around me, invading my senses.

“I’m in demand, but if the right offer came along, I think I could make an exception.”

“I was thinking maybe we could go out, you know, on a real date. Maybe something boring like dinner and a movie.” His eyes held a question. Would I brave being seen with him after the nasty break up with Jaden and admitting that we’d been seeing each other while I was still dating him—would I go out with Brody when my reputation just got trashed because of our relationship?

“I thought you’d never ask.”

He blew out a breath and smiled. “You pick the movie. I’ll pick you up around four?”

“Okay, but I’m warning you, I’m going to pick a really cheesy chick-flick.”

He grinned. “I’ll watch anything with you as long as you wear one of your famous T-shirts for me.”

“Deal.”

We looked at each a few seconds, minutes, hours, who knew how long?

Just kiss me already! If you don’t kiss me soon, I’m going to spontaneously combust. Kiss me!

Finally, Brody let his arm drop from the Jeep’s door so I could pass. He grabbed my hand as I walked by and brought it to his mouth, kissing the inside of my wrist and sending fingers of longing through my body.

Damn it. Stop doing that and kiss me. Why won’t you kiss me? If you don’t do it soon, I won’t be held responsible for my actions. I’m gonna jump ya, and it’s not gonna be pretty… it’s gonna be pretty awesome.

“See you tomorrow.” My voice came out all breathy and soft.

He smirked. I think he loved torturing me. “I’ll text you later tonight. And probably tomorrow, too.”

“You’d better, Ace.”

I’d only been home an hour. I was locked in my bedroom, wondering if Jaden would call and break the news to my mom and Ralph. It’d be just like him to call, pretend to be upset, and ask to talk to me. When they’d ask him what was wrong—and they surely would because to them, he hung the moon—he’d tell them I’d broken up with him. And with that, world war three would begin.

I had no delusions that my mom and stepdad would ever accept my decision to break up with Jaden and date Brody. They’d never accept Brody. In my family’s mind, Jaden and I were as good as married. The news that our relationship was over was going to go over about as well as a fart in church.

We just had to get to graduation. Then I’d leave Jaden, my mom, and Ralph in Middleton while I went somewhere far, far away to college. There was just one problem. Where did that leave Brody and me?

My phone chimed, and I jumped. I really didn’t want to look at it. It could’ve been anyone texting to find out if the rumors of my break up were true. It could’ve been Jaden. That thought made me cringe. The only reason I looked was because it could’ve been Jenna or Tim. I smiled when I read the name.

Brody: Told you I’d text.

Me: Hey, Ace. Miss me already?

Brody: Always.

Me: I miss you.

Brody: Can’t wait for tomorrow.

Me: Me either.

Brody: Pick a really cheesy one.

Me: No doubt.

Brody: Goodnight, Willow.

Me: Night.

Jeez, I’m smiling like a fool. I’m already in so deep. Please don’t break my heart.

My phone chimed. I was still holding it and pushed the message button without looking to see who it was from.

Jenna: Rockin’ your world yet?

Me: Shut up.

Jenna: I’ll take that as a big yes.

I stood in front of my closet and looked at all my T-shirts. Never in my life had I picked out an outfit the night before, but I wanted to find just the right shirt to wear on my date—yes! A date—with Brody. I flipped through them and found a black one that said, I can’t wait to be ashamed of what I do this weekend. Shazam! That was the one. If that didn’t clue him in to the kissing thing, nothing would.

I laid the T-shirt out with a pair of Khaki skinny jeans and my brown riding boots. Dumping my crap out of my messenger bag, I put what I’d need into a small, brown leather purse that matched my boots.

There. That looks good, right? Maybe. I don’t know. I’ll have to call Jenna. She knows about normal clothes.

I dialed Jenna. When she picked up, I said, “Yes, you were right. There, can we talk about something else now?”

“Yes. As long as you admit I was right, I’m good.” She giggled.

“I need clothes advice.”

“Why?”

“We’re going on a date tomorrow,” I said.

“Okay, first off, no writing across your boobs.”

“He wants me to wear a sarcastic T-shirt. He specifically asked me to,” I said.

“Hmm. Oh, right, I get it,” she said.

“What?”

“It gives him a reason to look at your boobs without looking like a perv.”

I laughed. Hard. When I finally stopped long enough to talk, I told her, “But, I want him to look at my boobs.”

“Slut.”

“Who said I wasn’t? It’s gonna be all over the school by Monday anyway.”

“Yeah, well, you’d be surprised how many people don’t like Jaden and his crap. I wouldn’t worry too much about it, Willow. When it comes down to it, you’re the one people actually like between the two of you. No one could figure out why you stayed with him in the first place.”

“We’ll see.”

“So what are you wearing?” She sighed.

“Okay, I have a black T-shirt and—”

“What’s the stupid T-shirt say?” Jenna interrupted.

“I can’t wait to be ashamed of what I do this weekend.”

“Actually, that isn’t too bad.” She laughed. “It might give Brody a hint.”

“That’s what I’m counting on,” I said.

“You’re bad. What else?”

“Okay. I have Khaki skinny jeans, my brown riding boots, and my brown leather purse. How’s that?”

“Sounds like I’ve created a diva. Finally.” Jenna huffed. “So where are you going?”

“Just dinner and a movie.” I still couldn’t stop smiling.

“It sounds like you’re a smiling fool.”

“You can’t hear a smile,” I said.

“I can hear the smile in your voice. I hope you’re finally happy.”

“Thanks, Jenna.”

“Ugh, too much mush. I gotta go. Call me after your date and tell me everything, and I mean all the gooey details.”

“Okay. ‘Bye.”

I went to bed right after I got off the phone. The sooner I went to sleep, the sooner Saturday would get there.

I’m so totally pathetic.