Fated (14 page)

'I'm going to wear it tonight,' she said, retrieving the book and taking the dress from her mum.

'Why? What's tonight?' her mother asked.

'There's a party on at the swimming hole, the one down by Jay's Creek.'

Evie left it at that but she could see two pink spots of pleasure start to glow on her mother's cheeks.

This would be her first social foray in six months and she could see the effort it was taking for her mother to hold back from hugging her and telling her how glad she was to see her finally making an effort. At what? Evie thought - normality? That would be a wasted effort. There was no more normality.

She backed away, heading for the door before her mother could say something embarrassing in front of a stranger. Too late. Her mother opened her mouth and Evie prepared herself for the fact that yet another person would soon know the intimacies of her life and the reasons for her lack of social life, but actually what her mother said was even worse than she had anticipated.

'Why don't you take Lucas with you?' she asked.

Evie had been caught off-guard and so had no lie prepared as to why she couldn't take him. And Lucas had been looking at her, suddenly alert, almost daring her, a smile on that overly perfect mouth of his which rendered her momentarily speechless. Her mother had taken her open-mouthed muteness for agreement and switched her attention to Lucas, telling him he had to go and what a wonderful opportunity it would be for him to make new friends, and then shot a conspiratorial glance over his shoulder at Evie - why hadn't she just winked while she was at it?

Evie felt her face getting hotter and hotter and her anger starting to bubble up, because she didn't want Lucas coming along. She had enough to deal with navigating what would be the most awkward social scene of her life - friends she'd basically ignored for six months, acquaintances who only knew her as the dead girl's friend and an ex-boyfriend who the whole world knew had cheated on her, but from whom
she
needed to beg forgiveness.

And here she was tapping her foot at the top of the stairs, waiting for Lucas to appear. Because what she really needed on top of having to do all of the above was to have to babysit too.

'Are you waiting for me?'

She looked around. She hadn't heard him. He had appeared out of nowhere, freshly showered, wearing a white shirt open at the neck, rolled up sleeves and clean blue jeans. She surveyed him with what she hoped was impassivity though her insides were definitely reacting actively. He was just too good-looking, goddamn it. Without a word, she headed down the stairs.

He stepped aside to let her pass. Was that a frown she saw?

She led him through the kitchen out onto the back porch. They headed across the orchard, Lucas following silently behind. All the time she was aware of him there, out of sight, stepping silently in her footsteps, eyes burning into her back.

Once they reached the river and the path beaten through the grass alongside it, she stepped out of the way and let him go first. She felt uncomfortable letting him have the advantage. Was that another little frown she saw when he passed her?

'It's about half a mile upriver from here,' she said to him. But being behind him only made her even more uncomfortable. He moved so swiftly and so silently she could barely keep up, and she couldn't stop staring at his back, at the ridge of muscle running along his shoulders, the tan line on the back of his neck - but mainly, it had to be said, at his butt.

At one point Lucas stood back to hold a branch out of the way for her and their eyes caught. He seemed to jerk back from her, looking away quickly. There was something about his expression . . . she couldn't work it out. She remembered what her father had once told her about peat fires, about the heat gathering underground and rippling out, the flames hidden from view. That's what Lucas made her think of. He seemed so aloof but there was something going on underneath it all, something burning under all that cool.

Damn it, she thought, swiping at some long grass, why did she even care? She was over boys. Done with them entirely. And besides, she had a million things to deal with right now. If she even tried to list them she'd be here all night. Off the top of her head she was worried about her mother and she was distinctly worried about training tomorrow. And she was angry, too, she knew that. The numbness had melted completely away in the last day and a half. Now she was angry again. She was angry at Victor for destroying her reality and she was angry that she was the one expected to protect a world she actually hated. Did no one get the irony? Did they not see that maybe she didn't care what happened to the world? Except she did care what happened to her mother.

And there Lucas was again, holding back another branch, doing it almost absently, not to charm her with chivalry.

'I've got it,' she said, pushing past him once more. Better his eyes on her back than the other way around because he was a distraction and that, she realised, was
really
why she was so angry at him. It wasn't because she was suspicious of him, because there was no way he was an Unhuman. It was that he was too big a distraction, and she didn't need or want one of those right now. As far as she could tell nothing good ever came of falling for a boy.

It was twilight by the time they made it to the spot by the swimming hole. The party was barely a gathering. There were less than a dozen people, nearly all of them from the year below her at school. Evie sighed inwardly and hovered on the edge of the pool for a moment, tempted to drop into the water and sink like a stone. She used to come here with Tom a lot last summer and that's exactly what they would do, strip off to their underwear and dive in, their hands finding each other in the murky depths.

She looked up, spotting Tom immediately He was staring at her from across the water and she knew he was thinking the same thing she was, remembering old times. But he didn't return the smile she offered him. She tried to make it placatory, an olive branch, but he just stared stonily at her and then turned back to the group of people he was with and threw his arm around someone. Kaitlin Rivers, to be precise.

Of course. That's why Kaitlin had invited her tonight. To her and Tom's old hang-out spot. It was a
Look, he's mine
statement of where things stood now. Why didn't she just tattoo his name on her face? Evie really felt like turning around and walking back the way she'd come but she could sense Lucas behind her, waiting patiently for her to get it together, and there was no way she was giving Kaitlin the pleasure of seeing her upset. And besides, she needed to speak to Tom whether she wanted to or not. She owed him that much.

She looked over her shoulder, found Lucas standing still as a rock, observing the little party, and said, 'Coming?'

He nodded and started following. He didn't look any happier at the prospect of making new friends than she did at renewing old ones. They strolled around the pond and Evie suddenly became aware of the hush that had descended. The girls sitting at the edge of the pond, with their legs dangling in the water, were watching her. She was used to being stared at, so she just pressed on, trying to force a smile onto her lips. And then she stopped short, realising they weren't actually staring at her. They were staring at Lucas and every single one of them was open-mouthed. Then they pulled themselves together and she watched one toss her hair behind her shoulders, saw a second - Josey Grunsmith with the oversized chest - giggle and nudge the girl next to her and Vicki Handsworth clutch the hand of the girl sitting beside her.

Evie felt her jaw set. She was drawing level with Tom and he was staring over her shoulder at Lucas, and she caught the scowl he gave him before he remembered he was supposed to be looking stony-faced.

How dare he be annoyed at whatever conclusion he'd jumped to? Evie thought. He was the one standing here with his arm around Kaitlin Rivers. Though now she saw his arm had actually dropped away and Kaitlin was anxiously trying to press into him. Why didn't she just lift a leg and spray him? Evie wondered.

'Tom, can we talk?' Evie finally managed to say.

'What about?' Tom asked.

Evie glanced at the silent group of listeners around them. 'Anna,' she said.

That stilled them, made them glance hurriedly away. Two people took the hint and backed off. Evie looked pointedly at Kaitlin.

'Kaitlin,' Evie said, when the girl showed no sign of peeling herself off Tom, 'this is Lucas. Lucas, this is Kaitlin.'

Lucas hesitated a beat and then stepped forward, holding out his hand. Kaitlin looked like no one had ever offered her a hand to shake before and giggled before taking it.

'Pleased to meet you,' Lucas said, his voice so low and sure and seductive Evie was certain she saw Kaitlin's whole body quiver in response.

She took the opportunity while Kaitlin turned to putty to indicate to Tom a space just a few metres away. It was the start of a path that if you followed it for twenty seconds, opened into a little area between the trees where in the daytime the sunlight sloped through. You could dry off there in-between swims. Tom followed her, knowing exactly where they were going. She remembered the last time she had come here with him. How they'd walked through the long grass arm in arm.

A screechy laugh broke through the trees behind them as they walked. She recognised it as Kaitlin's and froze, wanting to turn around and demand to know what was so funny - what Lucas had possibly said to make her laugh like that - but then she forced herself to keep walking. What Lucas was saying or doing was none of her concern. He could be skinny-dipping with every girl at the party for all she cared.

More laughter. Followed by a splashing sound and a few screams.

Evie turned her attention to Tom, who'd stopped on the path, as though unwilling to enter the old space of their shared memories. His arms were crossed stubbornly over his chest. 'What do you want?'

She frowned at him. Why the sudden change? Their roles had switched and she didn't like it. Was this how it had felt for him the whole time he'd been trying to convince her it was an accident?

'Tom,' she said, her voice faltering. 'I'm sorry.'

He looked taken aback. She saw the flash of pain or hurt, or maybe just surprise, in his eyes before the cold expression descended once more.

'I was too hasty blaming you for the accident,' she blurted.

His eyes widened. 'Oh, so now you
do
think it was an accident?'

'Yes.'

'Why the sudden change of mind?'

'Um, well, I . . .' She couldn't find the words, stammered to a standstill.

'Well, when you figure it out, let me know,' Tom said, turning away.

She grabbed for his arm, her voice breaking. 'Tom, don't be like this. Please. I've said I'm sorry and anyway it still doesn't excuse the fact she was in your car in the first place.'

He turned to face her. 'Why? Would you rather it had been you?'

Her hand dropped from his arm. He saw she wasn't going to answer and started walking away.

'Yes, sometimes I do,' she whispered to the ground.

He whipped around. 'Well, it wasn't. So stop acting like the victim in all this, Evie. It didn't happen to you. It happened to Anna and to me.
You
don't have to live with it.'

He was shouting into her face and she was stunned. And then she had the weirdest sensation, like the world was shrinking around her and all the sounds in the universe had reduced to just the hush of her breathing and the noise of a leaf cracking in the undergrowth. The air around her seemed to be buzzing with static and she was back in the moment except she was sitting on the ground with her legs collapsed under her. And it wasn't Tom's face in front of her. It wasn't his hands wrapped around hers. It was Lucas who was crouching down in front of her, his eyes dark and fearful, his lips just inches from her own, asking her if she was OK.

She stared vacantly into his eyes, which were now darting over her shoulder into the woods behind, wondering how he'd gotten there because a second ago she'd been alone here with Tom - hadn't she? And she could see the concern on his face and she thought it was a little odd. But what was she doing on the ground?

'What the hell are you doing?' Tom was shouting.

Lucas ignored him. 'Are you OK?' he asked again, his eyes back on her now, his voice so soothing she wanted to reach out a hand and stroke his lips and make him keep talking.

'I'm fine,' she whispered. But was she? What had just happened? She stared to her left, into the wide circle of trees that marked the edge of the clearing, and couldn't shake the sense of something or somebody watching her.

'Leave her alone. Who said you could touch her?'

Her attention was drawn back to Tom. He had put a hand on Lucas's shoulder. Lucas looked up at him through his thick lashes. Then he stood slowly. Tom's hand dropped to his side. They were both tall, though Tom had a couple of inches on Lucas. But he was less muscled, and the way Lucas seemed to handle himself, with such confidence, the way he moved without almost seeming to be moving, was making Tom uncertain.

'I think it would be better if you went back to the party,' Lucas said calmly.

Tom raised his eyebrows. 'Oh you do, do you?'

Lucas cast his eyes around the clearing then looked back at Tom. 'Yes.'

Tom's eyes widened and he let out an incredulous laugh.

Evie could see suddenly exactly where this was going and staggered dizzily to her feet.

'Tom,' she said, putting a hand on his arm. 'Drop it. I'm going.
Were
going,' she said, nodding her head at Lucas.

Tom frowned at her. Then with a final glare at Lucas he stomped off back down the path. She felt a warmth in the small of her back, heat flowing through her dress, and realised that it was Lucas's hand, pressing her forwards, down the path after Tom. They walked silently past the others. She noticed Kaitlin and another girl glaring evils at her as they passed. The laughter had ceased and the woods were only punctuated with the sound of muttered whispers. Evie heard the words
Lucas
and
boyfriend
and
fight
and wished she'd never come.