Inevitable (30 page)

I expected Aaron to try to talk to me, to act casual and cool. But he didn’t. I watched him talk to Poppy. She giggled loudly, glancing back to gauge my reaction throughout the class. I had none. Ms. Siegfried had given us a day to work on our essays, and that’s exactly what I did.

When the bell rang, I took my time gathering up my things, but I needn’t have bothered. Aaron’s phone chirped and he answered it while he walked out, not even looking over his shoulder at me.

I got a sick pit in my stomach. It really was over. He had no interest in me at all.

Dana poked her head into the classroom. “Um, hello, Jayne? Gonna eat lunch today?”

I glanced around and realized I was the only one left. I shouldered my backpack with a sigh and stood up. “Not really hungry, Dana.” I wrinkled my nose.

“Oh, Jayne.” Dana joined me at my desk and gave me a hug. “Tough year, huh? Maybe Aaron’s the one you should practice your powers on.”

“Dana.” I gave her an annoyed look. “Not now, okay?”

“But Jayne, I’ve been thinking about this. What if it happened because you
made
it happen?”

I rolled my eyes.

“No, serious, Jayne. Think this through with me. You see a vision of Aaron and his ex-girlfriend living unhappily ever after. So as soon as he comes along, you start pushing him away—pushing him back to her. You were
making
it come true.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but then stopped. What had Aaron said? That I never noticed him? Was it possible that I made him feel like I didn’t care?

“Yeah,” Dana said, nodding. “You’re with me. So, imagine what would’ve happened if you hadn’t seen the future.”

“I would’ve acted like an idiot, falling for him and thinking we were going to last forever.” I lifted my chin. “At least I avoided getting my heart broken.”

“Right. Looks like your heart’s intact.”

Tears welled up in my eyes. “I wish I’d never met him.”

“You can’t live trying to avoid the inevitable, Jayne. Forget what you saw. Just embrace life. And try to get Aaron back, before it’s too late.”

“It’s too late, Dana,” I said softly. “I just want to move on.”



The rest of the day went by in a blur. I could hardly wait for it to be over. Dana promised to meet me at the game, and I hurried away from the classrooms. Tonight should be a big game. Last one of the tournament, which we were doing so well in. Yet not even the thought of a championship title cheered me up.

I started up my car and headed home. I needed something dismal to match my mood. I didn’t really have a good selection of depressing music, but
The Fray
could be rather melancholy. It would have to do for today.

I pulled into the driveway at home and sighed. First one home. I didn’t really feel like going into an empty house right now, even though nothing spooky had happened in a few days. I opened my cell phone and sifted through contacts, wondering who I could go visit for a bit.

My thumb paused on “Laima.” I had an actual number for her. Would it work? I texted out a quick message.

I need to talk to you. When you have a moment, would you mind appearing? Thx.

I read it over and laughed. This was stupid. Still, it didn’t hurt anything except maybe my pride. I hit send and closed my phone.

I didn’t feel like visiting anyone in my contact list. I wanted to visit Aaron.

The idea was even stupider than sending a text message to a Latvian goddess. But it fueled me, emboldened me. “I’ve changed my mind, Dana,” I said out loud, even though she wasn’t with me. “I’m going to get Aaron back.” Now if I could just figure out how to change the future....

After I made myself irresistible, of course.

I ran through the scenario in my head. Put on a dress, go to Aaron’s house. Make out. Or rather, make up.

One good thing about cheerleading practice after school: at least I didn’t have to fight Beth for the bathroom.

I paused at the thought of my sister, wondering if Dana’s philosophies applied to Beth, as well. Should I just ignore the future and treasure the time I had with her?

Half an hour later, I was in my car again. I’d done my hair, leaving it down but with more defined curls instead of just massive waves. I rolled the windows up and cranked on the A/C, willing it to cool me off enough to keep me from sweating. I had my map with me that I’d printed from the internet address search.

As for where I got Aaron’s address?well, I was a journalist, after all. Now that I had his phone number again, it wasn’t too hard to find.

I wasn’t at all surprised when I pulled up to a large white-washed mansion, looking every bit like an English manor dropped on American soil. At least the guard had waved me through at the gate. Guess I didn’t look very suspicious.

A seed of uncertainty buried itself in my heart as I stared at the house. Why had I done my hair and put on this dress? He was going to think I was silly.

You came all the way here, Jayne. Just do it.
I turned my car off and started up the drive, trying to appear confident and poised even while my heart beat like a rabid drummer in my chest.

The doorbell chimed when I touched it. It didn’t ring, it chimed. Who would answer, the butler?

The door opened, and Aaron stood there. The smell of musky leather permeated the air around him, and I instinctively averted my eyes.
You can look up
, I told myself, but I couldn’t bring myself to meet his light blue eyes. Instead I stared at the forest green t-shirt that stretched across his shoulders.

“Jayne,” he said, surprise evident in his voice. “What are you doing here?” His voice lilted upward, stressing the words musically.

No warm welcome yet. I could feel my courage slipping away. My gaze dropped to his cowhide slippers, a heat creeping up my cheeks. Chalk another one up to a stupid idea. “I just wanted to talk.”

His feet squirmed. “Now’s not the best time, Jayne,” he all but whispered. “I’ll call you tonight.”

Uh-uh. I wasn’t letting him dismiss me like that.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

I
lifted my head, meeting Aaron's eyes with what I hoped was a forceful, inviting stare. “The game's in two hours, and I'm going to the pre-game set up. I thought maybe we could go together. We can talk. And I can explain. I'm sorry, Aaron.”

He pressed his lips together and swallowed. “Don’t, Jayne,” he murmured. “Not now.”

“Don’t what?” I furrowed my brow. Was that sweat beading on his hairline?

“Who is it, Aaron?”

My head jerked up at the sound of a female voice. I narrowed my eyes as Libby slid into view. She wore a long lavender dress with a deep v-neck. It clung to her slender body and suddenly my short, cutesy dress looked horribly cheesy.

Libby glanced from Aaron to me, and then her voice frosted over. “Well? Were you going to invite her in?”

“Uh, no.” This time it was Aaron avoiding my eyes. “Jayne just came by to... to....”

“Borrow a book for English,” I finished.

“And I just told her I’ll call her tonight because now’s not a good time.” Aaron turned to face Libby, peering into her light brown eyes.

“Good bye, then, Jayne,” Libby said, not even looking at me as she closed the door.

I felt like throwing myself in front of a car.

My phone rang three times on the way home, all from Dana. I ignored them. I couldn’t talk to anyone right now. She called two more times before I turned the phone to silent, ignoring the urge to hurl it across the street.

Arriving home, I pulled the shades and threw myself on my bed, burying myself beneath my blankets. I just wanted to sleep and forget everything else. Forget the game. Forget my phone. Forget Aaron and the images of him in my mind.



“Jayne?”

I lifted my head groggily from my pillow, damp from my own drool. It took me a few seconds to realize my mom was at my door, knocking. The hazy sub-light of dusk filled my room, making me want to roll over and go back to sleep.

“Yeah?” I croaked from the bed.

My mom took that as an invite and popped the door open. “Jayne, are you sick?”

Yes
, I wanted to say.
I’m dying.
“I’m okay.”

“You’re not going to the game tonight?”

I sat up and looked at my watch. Five-fifty. Dang it! The game started in ten minutes! So much for getting to the pregame. “Yes, I’m going!” I jumped up, smoothing my dress and throwing my over-done hair into a ponytail. I kicked off my heels and slipped on a pair of flats. “Bye, Mom. See you later.” I hurried out the door.

I hoped we creamed the other team. That was just what I needed to vent my feelings of failure.

Dana was waiting for me in our usual spot, to the left of the baseball diamond. I slid in ten minutes after six and jerked out my tape recorder.

“Where’ve you been?” she hissed, her eyes scanning me from head to toe and taking in my appearance. “I’ve been calling for hours!”

“Which should let you know I didn’t feel like talking, or I would’ve answered,” I snapped.

She pulled her head back and blinked. “Sorry. Guess I didn’t get the hint.” Turning, she gave the players all of her attention.

“Dana.”

She held up a hand. “Shh. I’m concentrating.”

Just what I needed, for my best friend to be mad at me too. I jerked open my notepad and began jotting sentences, pressing so hard I thought the pen would break.

My phone emitted an unfamiliar ringtone, and I looked toward my bag. Curiosity got the better of me. Pulling it out, I saw that it was a calendar event. I frowned. I didn’t have anything scheduled for today. Did I?

I flipped it open and groaned.
Police 6:30.
How on earth had I forgotten that I was meeting with Lieutenant Bailey tonight? I was so screwed. I’d never make it across town in half an hour. I turned to Dana. “Danes, I have to go. Can you record the game for me?”

“Uh-uh,” she replied, never looking away from the field. “I don’t want to miss anything. If you get my meaning.”

I rolled my eyes. “Fine. I got the hint.” I snatched up my bag and huffed away.

People were still arriving, and the dirt parking lot was pretty full. I had to wait a few minutes for cars to clear out of my path, but finally I peeled out of the lot, heading west.

A quick glance at my clock showed that it was twenty after six. I pressed my foot down on the gas pedal, going slightly past the maximum speed limit. I gritted my teeth, hoping I wouldn’t get a ticket on my way to meet with Lieutenant Bailey. That wouldn’t improve my credibility.

There weren’t likely to be cops out here, though. Mostly the only nuisance on this two-lane highway would be an old grandpa who couldn’t find the gas pedal.

The speed limit was fifty-five, but I was pushing sixty when all of the sudden, a loud bang sounded from outside. My car jerked sideways and then wobbled forward, a heavy thumping sound coming from my left tire.

“No!” I cried. “Not now!”

I pulled the car over to the side of the road and climbed out. My front tire had blown. Like, blown up. I winced as I examined the rim. I might have injured it slightly, as well.

“Not now!” I kicked the stupid tire as hard as I could, then cried out and grabbed my foot. “Great! I’m not at the game and I won’t make it to the police department, either!” I got back in and turned on my emergency lights. The sun dipped lower in the sky, spreading purple and orange fingers across the horizon. I should still have an hour before daylight disappeared, at least. I tried to wave down a car as it sped by on my right, but it ignored me.

“Jerk!” I shouted. I grabbed my cell phone and bit my lower lip, debating whether to call the police first or my emergency assistance number. I couldn’t believe this was happening. What more could go wrong?

I scrolled through my contacts and found Lieutenant Bailey’s number. I sighed. He was not going to believe me. My finger hovered over the send button. I willed myself to press it.

“Jayne! You all right?”

I gasped and dropped my phone. I’d been so intent on my call that I hadn’t even noticed the car pull around behind me. My face reddened when I saw Aaron. “What are you doing here?” I sputtered, my eyes darting to the paved road. “How did you find me?”