Duality: Vol 1, Melancholia (A New Adult Paranormal Romance) (13 page)

Kootch changed the pitch of his voice to match Rae’s.  “Yeah, Malcolm.  Stay.  We’ll just die of broken hearts if your handsome face isn’t there to drooool over.”  He sighed in an exaggerated style and batted his eyelashes a bunch.

I punched him in the leg.  “Dick.”  I looked out the window, trying to think of one good reason to say yes. 
Rae
.  “Fine.  I’ll go.  A shake and that’s it.  If you don’t take me home after I’ll walk.”

“Jesus, you are such a chick sometimes,” said Kootch, back to smiling and using his regular voice.

“I take exception to that comment, Kootch,” said Jasmine.

“You would,” he responded, snorting laughter at his own come-back.

“Where’s MickeyD’s?” asked Rae.  She leaned her head in between the seats and looked at me.

I could smell her hair.  It reminded me of flowers and sunshine.

“Just a few blocks up,” answered Kootch.  “They like to take advantage of all the student wallets around here.”

He tried to shift gears, and the car bucked a bunch of times, throwing Rae forward more.  Her hair swung up and hit me in the face.

Flowers.  Sunshine.  Heat.  Girl.  Sexy
.

I turned my head and looked out the side window, moving away from her to the far edge of the seat as inconspicuously as possible.

“Whoa, bucking bronco,” Rae said, sliding back into her seat.

“Geneva gets a little sensitive in her gears sometimes.  Just like
all
girls.”

He jammed the stick shift a few times and some horrible clanking sounds came from the car’s engine somewhere.

“Yo, grind some for me while you’re down there,” said Jasmine.  “And since when did you become such an expert on women?”

Kootch was growling at the car and trying to coax the shifter into position.  “Shut up … Butts!  I just … gotta … get it … there we go.”

The car took off, surging forward a few yards before Kootch got it under control again.  He turned to grin at us.  “See?  Runs like a dream, purrs like a kitten.”

I waited for Jasmine’s response, but none came.  She probably had too much whiplash to speak, or maybe she knew she’d reached the limit where Kootch would go from good natured to angry at her.

I frowned as I thought about how happy he’d been recently.  It was so unlike a Miserable to go from wanting to wallow in darkness to being like Kootch had been all day today.  Maybe his crush on Rae was temporarily cheering him up.  I’d never seen that happen before, but that didn’t mean it was impossible.  Maybe love does conquer all.

The idea of Kootch actually loving Rae someday made me a little sick to my stomach.  My reaction made me mad at myself.  Kootch had every right to feel that way about her, and I didn’t.  But that didn’t make it any easier; I still didn’t like it for some reason.

We drove along listening to the music coming out of Kootch’s pretty decent stereo, and Jasmine and Rae sang along to a Rhianna song.  Kootch tried to join in, but it didn’t work out so well.  Jasmine reached up to the front and patted him on the shoulder.  “That’s cute.  But better stop before you attract a female turkey vulture.”

Kootch was about to turn around and let her have it, but the entrance to the restaurant was coming up and he had to wrestle the gears again to pull into the parking lot.

Just as we were slowing down to go in, a bright yellow sportscar zoomed past the Gremlin and cut us off.  Kootch had to slam on his brakes to avoid hitting the other car, and the girls screamed.  My hand flew to the dashboard and a weird non-word came flying out of my mouth.  “Gaaaarbdah!”

The car lurched to a stop in the street and for about two seconds it was dead silent in the car.  Then Kootch spoke.

“Garbdah?  We’re about to die, and the best you can come up with is
Garbdah? 
What does that even mean?”

The girls giggled.

My face heated up.  “I think it means I’m about to piss my pants, but I’m not sure.”

Kootch laughed along with the girls, and I couldn’t help but smile too.

“That asshole’s gonna pay,” said Kootch, sounding very determined as he shoved the stick into first.  “Fucking Brody buttdart.”  He drove into the parking lot and purposely took the space next to the canary yellow Porche whose doors were opening.  He barely missed hitting the driver’s side door, forcing Brody to yank the door back just in time.  I stared through the window at Brody’s angry expression.

Kootch laid on the horn, yelling, “Geneva’s in da houuussse!”  The horn wasn’t any better than the rest of the car.  It sounded like a dying duck or something.

“Hey, dick!” yelled Brody through the crack in his door, over the sound of the weak-ass horn.  “Do you mind?  I’m trying to get out here!”

Kootch yanked up the parking brake, turned off the engine, and scrambled out of the car to stand just at his door and look over the hood at Brody.  “Yeah, I mind, you crazy
fuck!
  You almost hit my car back there!  What’s your friggin’ hurry?  Steriods got you in a munchie mood or what?”

I looked through the passenger door window at Brody pointing his finger over at Kootch.  “Better watch your mouth before I come over there and teach you some manners.”

I opened my door and got out, hoping to get between them if Kootch decided to get stupid.  Brody had to close his door again to keep from hitting my door.  I pretended not to notice I’d blocked him in.

I looked down at the girls, worried they were going to get involved.  Rae reached through the space next to the front seat and put her hand on Kootch’s arm.

“Don’t,” she said simply.

Kootch had just opened his mouth and was about to shout something back at Brody, but then he just stopped.  A range of emotions traveled across his expression; anger changed to confusion and then resignation.

“Yeah, whatever,” he said in a defeated voice.  “Come on Rae.  Butts.  Let’s go get a shake.”

Rae withdrew her hand and grabbed onto the seat in front of her to gain the leverage needed to get out of the car.

“Oh, hey, Rae,” said Brody, squeezing out of his half-open door.  “Didn’t see you in there.  Can I buy you a burger?”  He walked around to join the rest of us at the back of the Gremlin.

“No, thanks,” she said, sounding none too happy to see him.  “I’m just going to get a shake.”

My heart swelled with pride for her.  She wasn’t fooled by his good-looking face and football player reputation.  She was sticking by her new friends, which said a lot about her.  She was looking less and less like a Miserable with every hour that went by.

“My treat, then,” he said, standing right in front of her.  His buddy Derek was coming up to join him at his left.

Kootch stood off to the side.  He seemed to be wrestling with something, as if forcing himself to stay quiet.  I decided to stay away; my presence would only heat the situation up, not help it.

“No, thanks.  Really,” said Rae, “I like to pay my own way.”

“Yeah, she pays her own way, Brody.  Do you mind?”  Kootch lifted his chin at Jasmine.  “Come on, Jasmine … Rae.  Let’s get that shake.”

Jasmine didn’t say a word.  She just rolled her eyes at Brody as she walked by.

“Yo, Butts,” said Derek.

“Yo yourself, Derek.  Jerk move in the parking lot.”  Jasmine looked over her shoulder and frowned at him.

He shrugged.  “I wasn’t driving.  Blame the driver, not me.”

“That POS you’re driving shouldn’t even be allowed on the road,” said Brody, walking into the restaurant behind Kootch.

I followed all of them, keeping some distance between us.

“Brody, why don’t you just shut it?”  Jasmine had turned around and was facing off against him.

He laughed in surprise.  “What are you gonna do, Butts?  Fight for your man?”  He puffed out his chest a little, emphasizing the difference in size between them.

Her face turned beet red.  “No.  I’m just going to kick you in the beanbags because you’re such a hose and walk away.”

“Wow, you play dirty.”  He didn’t sound all that unhappy about the idea.

“Yes, I do.  Don’t forget it.”  She turned around and pushed through the doors, two steps behind Rae and Kootch.

I waited until they were all in before I entered, just behind Derek.  “Grab me a shake,” I said to Kootch as he walked up to join the end of the long line, handing him a five dollar bill.  “Get whatever you want.”

Kootch looked down at the five.  “I guess we’re talking Happy Meal here.”

I grabbed the five and slapped a ten in his palm.  “Here.”

Kootch smiled.  “Sweet.  Gas money, get in my belly.”  He turned around to look up at the menu above the workers’ heads.

I left him to go to the bathroom.  I felt partially responsible for the mood that had darkened the parking lot and wanted to put some space between them and me.  Part of me wanted to just walk out and go home on foot, but a bigger part of me wanted to stay and sit at a table with Rae and watch her laugh with Kootch and Jasmine.  This was like a dream moment, and I wanted to capture it and enjoy it before it disappeared.  Because it would for sure disappear as our time together slowly pushed the misery into their hearts and made them want to leave this world.

Chapter Fourteen: Rae

BRODY HAD SEEMED SO NICE before, but he was quickly becoming more obnoxious than anything else.  I didn’t want to be rude to him, but neither did I want to encourage him.  He’s big, and I could only imagine what it would be like trying to get away from him if he decided to get persistent.

His friend Derek seemed much more relaxed.  He looked uncomfortable sometimes and rolled his eyes when Brody was puffing out his chest like a rooster.  I took that as a good sign but wondered why he’d hang out with someone who annoyed him.

Malcolm disappeared into the bathroom without saying anything.  I was standing in line next to Jasmine considering the milkshake flavor choices when Kootch started joking about it, distracting me from my evaluation of Brody and Derek’s friendship.

“I think he has a bladder problem or something.  I swear he spends half his life in the bathrooms at school.”

“You counting how many times Malcolm uses the bathroom?” I asked, teasing him a little.  Kootch did seem particularly desperate to be Malcolm’s friend, but I guess I couldn’t fault him for that.  I was feeling a little that way myself, but I was pretty sure it was for different reasons.  Flashes of Malcolm’s almost tortured brown eyes staring me down in detention flitted across my memory and made me blush.

“I don’t have to count.  There’s a normal amount and a
not
normal amount, and he goes a not normal amount.”  He looked up at the menu.  “Should I Super Size my shit or what?”

“Please don’t,” said Jasmine, not even looking at him.

I laughed.  They were so funny together.  I swear Jasmine knew exactly what buttons to push with him to make him crazy, and she definitely liked watching him go crazy.  I couldn’t blame her for pushing them though; I kind of enjoyed it too.

“Listen up, Butts.  You could find yourself riding home with Brody if you’re not careful.”

“Still talking about me?” asked Brody from behind us.

“Please.  I wouldn’t waste my breath,” said Kootch, not even looking at him.

I turned around to diffuse the situation.  Derek nudged Brody in the arm and Brody smiled at me.  “Want a lift home?”

“No, thanks.  I’m getting a ride with Kootch.”

“Ever been in a Porsche before?  I’ll let you drive.”

Kootch turned around.  “You’d let her drive?  Man, you’re brave.”

“He’s not brave.  He’s just deluded about how much girls care about cars,” said Jasmine, facing the menu again.

“I’ll bet Rae likes fast cars.”

I was about to answer that I really couldn’t care less about fast cars when someone bumped into me from behind.  I looked around and found myself staring at Malcolm.  He was watching me closely

“Sorry,” he said after a few seconds.   “You order yet?”

“No, we were just getting ready to.”

I looked back at Brody.  “Thanks for the offer.  Maybe another time.”

“What kinda shake you want?” asked Kootch, looking at Malcolm.

“Chocolate.  I’ll go get a booth.  Unless we’re not staying.”

“No food in Geneva.  We eat here,” answered Kootch, still under the delusion that his car wasn’t a Gremlin.

“You wouldn’t want to spoil her upholstery,” said Jasmine, trying not to laugh.

“No, I wouldn’t.  Thank you for understanding that, Butts.”  Kootch didn’t look at her; he just walked up to the counter and placed his and Malcolm’s order.

Jasmine stepped over to the register that came open next to Kootch’s and ordered us both a shake.

I handed a five to the cashier.  “My treat,” I said as Jasmine reached into her purse.

“I’ll get you next time,” she said, giving me a flash of a smile before dropping back into her regular morose look.  She pulled out a white and red box from her purse.  “I’m going to go have a smoke before we eat.  Be right back.”  She left the line and went outside, lighting her cigarette when she was standing next to the butt can by the door.  I watched her take a drag and let out a big stream of smoke.

I moved away from the cash register after I had my change in hand.

“You don’t smoke, do you, Rae?” asked Kootch, standing off to the side with me as we waited for our orders.

“No.  It makes me sick to my stomach.”

“I don’t like it either.  Nasty habit.  Butts needs to stop.”

“Better not tell her that.”  I could just picture her reaction to Kootch bossing her around.  A rock would probably fly over the fence between their houses in the other direction.

“Oh, believe me, I do.  Every chance I get.  Last week I emailed her a picture of a black lung.  At this point I think she might be smoking just to spite me.”

I laughed at how put-out he sounded.  “I doubt that.”

“No, seriously.  I know this for a fact:  she wakes up every day, stands in front of the mirror, and says to herself: Hello, Jasmine.  What are we going to do today to piss Kootch off?”