Parker's Island (11 page)

The lights from the boats sparkled on the water.  It was very romantic and I felt very comfortable with Brian.  I thought maybe I could be happy with
someone
like him.  He asked me if he could hold my hand as we walked along the beach.  “I don’t want to rush
you
and
its
okay if you don’t want me t
o
.”

He was so nice, exactly the kind of boy my parents would approve of.  He even c
omes
from a “good family
,
” which my mother seemed to think
was an
important aspect for any guy I date
d
.  I looked up at his very tall 6 foot, 3 inch frame and said, “I think I’d like that.”

When he took my hand
, I expected to feel something..
.maybe not the electric shock that Logan
’s touch
sent through me, but something, anything.  But, it was like holding hands with my brother.  He was so nice, and
any other girl would be over
joyed
to be in
my shoes.  But I was fooling myself into thinking that he could be a replacement for Logan.  I wasn’t over
Logan
, and Brian deserved better than someone who was pining away for another guy she couldn’t have.

I looked up at him
sadly
and he said, “He’s crazy
,
you know
?
!”

“Who?”
I asked, confused.

“Logan.  How could he
have
possibly
been able
walk away from you?”

I looked down at my bare feet, trying not to show the hurt in my eyes.

“Delaney, it’s okay.  I understand exactly how you feel.  I’m not asking you for anything.  I hope in time
,
maybe you’ll feel for me what I feel for you.  But I know he’s still on your mind and I can handle that.”

“I’m sorry
,
” I said, still not meeting his eyes.

“For what, being human?”

“No, I’m sorry I don’t feel that way about you.  You’re
a great guy
,
” I said, finally looking up at him.  “What did you mean
when you said you understand exactly how I feel?”

“I meant that while
you were
watching him, I
was
watching you
,
”
h
e sighed.  “Should we head back to the party?”
             

“Sure
,
” I smiled.  “Would you tell me something?”

“
Anything
.”

“
Was
I that transparent to everyone?”

“Only those of us who pay attention
to you
,
which is
pretty much every
guy
at Jamison High.
  You really don’t know how
wonderful and
beautiful you are, do you?
  Delaney, I think everyone knew you had a thing for Logan.
”

I ignored his compliment.  “
I always thought
my feelings for him were my own private secret.  Wow.  So I’m assuming that he
must have
noticed
,
too.”  The thought actually made me blush.

“I don’t know.  I can’t believe that if he knew
how you felt
about him
that he wouldn’t be
the one
here with you now, instead of me.”

“It’s complicated
,
” I said, unwilling to share
anything about
Logan’s
personal
life.

Brian turned toward me, took my hand again and said, “Look Delaney
,
I really like you
,
I guess you know that now.  But I meant what I said about not rushing you into anything.  I won’t stand in your way if he suddenly comes to his senses and comes back for you.  But, you should know that I’m here and I’ll wait as long as you need me to.”

“Brian, I…
”

“Come on, let’s go inside.  You owe me a dance.”

We ran into Molly and Jason then and
we all headed onto the dance floor. 
I did my best to follow Brian’s lead, but managed to walk on his feet more than my own.  We laughed, and then danced through a few more songs.  After the third or fourth dance, we were both tired and thirsty. 

“What would you like to drink, and are you hungry now?”

“I’m not hun…
”  I started to say,
and
then realized he probably wouldn’t eat if I didn’t.  “You know
,
I think I am a little hungry
now
.”

We headed ov
er to the buffet line.  He handed me a plate and then grabbed one for himself.  I wasn’t really hungry, but I put a few pieces of fruit and veggies on my plate.  I noticed he loaded his plate full of everything. 

“I’m sorry I didn’t let you eat earlier.”

“It’s fine.  I wasn’t hungry
un
til now
,
anyway.” 

“Well, why don’t I go get us something to drink and you can finish filling your plate.  What would you like?”

“I’ll go
get the
drinks.
”

“It’s okay.  I’ll go.”

“Oh,
okay,
I’d love a cola of some kind.  Thanks
,
”
h
e said, still intent on the enormous amount of food on the tables.

“I’ll be right back.”

I headed over to the bar, “Hi
.  O
ne
Coke
, and I’ll have
a
Sprite
,
please
.
”
Chad cornered me
while I was waiting for our drinks
.
“So, are you having fun?”
h
e asked, with a smile I found to be unnerving.

“Um, yes.  Thanks.  You did a great job putting all of this together
,
Chad, really
,
” I smiled at him.

“
Just
wait
,
I have something
very
special planned for later
,
”
h
e
grinned and
then reached around me and handed me our drinks.

“Thanks
,
” I said,
still unnerved
by him
.

I walked back over to Brian.  He handed me my plate and I handed him his cola.  “Um, I believe there is a bit more food on my plate now
than when I left
.”

“Oh yeah, sorry, I ran out of room on mine.”

I laughed and said, “I didn’t mean to starve you.  Now you’re going to make yourself sick with all of that.”

“I always eat like this.”

“Oh.”
  I guess it took a lot to fill that huge frame.

We sat down with Molly, Jason, Carrie, Jim, Beth and Ted and before long we were all laughing and carrying on about stupid things w
e’ve all done over the
last four
years, when suddenly I wasn’t feeling very well.  “Are you okay
,
Delaney?” Brian asked me.

“I’m kind of
warm
.  Can we go outside
and get some fresh air
for a few minutes
,
please?”

“I’m a little warm myself
,
”
Brian agreed and escorted me outside.

We stood outside on the back deck, enjoying
a quiet moment
and
the cool air.  “I forgot how pretty it is here
,
” I said
, looking at the lights dancing on the water and listening to the waves crashing on the shore
.

“Not as pretty as you.
  Here,
you should
w
ear
my jacket
.  I
t’s pretty cool out here,
”
Brian said, wrapping
it around my shoulders
once
again.

“
Thank you. 
You are too nice to me.
Whoa, I really don’t feel very well.”  I grabbed on to the railing to steady myself and noticed Brian was looking a little pale himself.  “I wonder if it was something we ate.”

“Well, let’s
focus on
what
you
ate, because
I
ate everything.”

“Oh, yeah,
you know
I really don’t
feel
…
”  The last thing I remember was Brian calling my name and reaching out to catch me.

I woke up alone and
in a room I didn’t recognize.  I looked around, trying to figure out
where I was and
how I got there.  My eyes were really out of focus
and my head ached.  I sat up then,
and was horrified to realize I was naked on a bed.  I reached for the blanket and covered up with it.  I looked over and noticed my dress on the floor, next to a man’s dress jacket.

“That’s Brian’s jacke
t,”
I said to myself, remembering standing on the deck outside the banquet room with him.  “How did I get here?”
I asked
aloud.

Suddenly I was shaking and I was certain that whatever
had
happened
wasn’t good and it had
happened without my consent or knowledge.  I wrapped the blanket around me and got off the bed
.  I
reached down for my
clothes
and
made my way to the bathroom
.
  I
noticed
my dress
was torn in more than one
place
. 
I wasn’t sure if I was in shock or denial, but I put
my
underwear
and dress
back
on as best as I could
, but m
y bra was
torn
in half
.  I
walked back toward the bed and pu
lled
Brian’s jacket back on, grateful that it was so
large and
long.  I saw my shoes and sat down on the edge of the bed to put them back on
.  A
s I bent over
to put my shoes on
, I noticed
s
treaks of
dried blood
that had run
d
own
the inside of
both of
my
thighs
.
             

I closed my eyes and a flash of male laughter
echoed in my head.  I was shaking again as I realized what truly had happened and who was responsible.  I had
only
one memory after Brian reached out to catch me and that memory sent chills down my spine.  I finally understood what Chad said about
having something
special
planned for later
. 
I was the plan.
 
The image of him
leaning
over me was so
vivid
;
it sent me running from the room, terrified.
             
I ran out of the room
and out
of
the hotel.  I didn’t know what time it was or where I was headed
.  A
ll I knew was that I had to run
far
away from
that room.

I was running along the beach again, not sure where I was
heading.
When I couldn’t take
another step
,
I
droppe
d on the side of the road
.  I was
trying to catch my breath so that I could run some more, when a car pulled up beside me.  All I saw were headlights and then I heard a door open.  Suddenly I
panicked, and
I
got up
to
start
running
again when a familiar voice called my name.  I
stopped and turned to find Logan heading toward me.