Shift (The Neturu Chronicles) (6 page)

               
Totally dumbfounded, Kayla says, “You don’t have to run away.  I'm not
that revolting.”

               
“I didn’t say you were.  I just need to go.”

               
“Whatever.”

               
Jackson snags a piece of paper off the table.  He scribbles something down
and then hands it to her.  “Here's my number if you need a ride in the
morning.”

               
“Thanks.  That’s kind of you.”

               
“True,” Jackson says.  He snatches the paper back.

               
Kayla lunges toward him, steals the paper, and secures it against her chest.
“Really?  You strive so hard to be an ass!”

               
“I know,” he quips back with a smile.  Grabbing his keys out of his
pocket, he twirls them around his finger.  “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

               
Hesitant, Kayla asks, “Do you want my number?”

               
“Ummm, not really, I’m not the one who needs a ride.”

               
She clenches her fists and closes her eyes.  “I don’t need you to pick me
up in the morning.  I’d rather walk.”

               
“Now, that’s a lie.”  He sighs and shakes his head.  “Fine, give me
your number.”

               
With a glare, Kayla says, “No.”

               
“What are you, two?”

               
“You’re so frustrating.  I can’t follow your personality.  Generous,
yet spiteful.”

               
“I know.” Walking forward, Jackson takes out his cell phone.  “What’s your
number?”

               
Still glaring at him, Kayla says, “1-800-screw you.”

               
“Nah, I think I’ll pass.”

               
“Get out of my house!” she snaps, pointing to her door.

               
He laughs and walks away.  “See you in the morning.” 

Kayla watches him leave and
then exhales sharply.  She takes the piece of paper, crumples it, and
throws it across the room.

               
A little while later, the buzzer goes off for the pizza.  Still mad, Kayla
yanks the oven door open and the whole thing falls off.  “What in the
hell?” she yells.  “My parents are going to kill me!”

               
As if glutton for punishment, the front door opens.  “Kayla!  We’re
home!”

               
“Mom!  Mom, I swear I didn’t do it.  I don’t know what happened!”

               
Her mom comes around the corner and stares at the stove.  “What in the
world did you do?”

               
“I didn’t do anything!  I was kind of mad and yanked the door open, but it
sure wasn’t hard enough to tear it off the hinges!”

               
Her dad comes around the corner and his eyebrows arch.  “From now on, be
careful what you do when you’re mad.”

               
“What is that supposed to mean?” Kayla snaps.

               
“Just listen to me…if you’re mad, be cautious of your actions.”

               
Kayla throws her hands up. “Why?”

               
“You’d be surprised what you can do when you get angry.  Now, turn the
oven off.”

               
She spins around and obeys.  Her parents tell her to leave the kitchen so
they can clean up.  Kayla groans and grabs her stuff.  She goes up to
her room, growling the whole way.  Slamming her door, Kayla grumbles, “Why
do I let Jackson get to me?”

               
 The ringtone on her cell phone goes off.  She picks it up and says,
“Hello?”

               
“Dude, I’m dying,” Tracy coughs out.

               
“I doubt that.  What’s wrong?”

               
Tracy groans.  “I have the flu, I think.  Anyway, can you do me a
favor?”

               
“Yeah, of course, what do you need?”

               
“Sometime tonight, can you go to the library and check out a book for me? 
I don’t think I’m going to school tomorrow.”

               
“Sure, what’s it called?”

               
“
The Roads of India
,” Tracy mumbles.  “It’s nonfiction.”

               
Kayla writes the title down.  “All right, I’ll go after dinner.  Do
you need anything else?”

               
“A new body.”

               
Laughing, Kayla says, “I don’t think they sell those at the store.”

               
“Mmm, whatever.  Call me when you leave the library.”

               
“Okay, feel better.”  All she hears is a grumble before Tracy hangs up the
phone.  Kayla shakes her head.  Sitting down, she grabs her calculus
book and starts her homework.

               
When dinner is finally done, and she leaves the house, the sky is already
darkening.  Kayla skips down the steps to her dad’s car.  After
getting in, she plugs in her iPod and presses play. The band that Jackson
played earlier comes on.  Not needing the reminder, Kayla presses the skip
button multiple times.

               
The library parking lot is nearly deserted when she gets there.  She grabs
her purse and heads in.  It takes her a while, but she finally finds the
book for Tracy.  Deciding to get herself something, Kayla walks over to
the fiction area.  While she searches the shelves, she begins to feel like
someone is watching her. Kayla whirls around.  There’s no one there, but
it doesn’t make her uneasiness pass.  She tucks her book under Tracy’s and
heads to the check-out desk.

               
Pushing the front door open, Kayla quickly texts Tracy that she’s on her
way.  Kayla walks toward her car, not really paying attention to her
surroundings.  From behind her, she hears, “Ugh, I thought I wouldn’t have
to look at your face anymore today.”

               
Kayla turns around and sees Jude.  She rolls her eyes.  “I was hoping
for the same thing.”

               
“Where’s your boyfriend?  Did he dump you already?”

               
“Jackson is not my boyfriend.  I have better taste than that.”

               
Jude takes a few steps forward.  Instinctively, she backs away from
him.  “What book do you have, a stupid romance novel?”

               
“Um, no, it’s a mystery.”

               
“Of course, what was I thinking?” Jude sighs.  “You would have to actually
be interested in sex to read romance.”

               
Glaring at him, Kayla says, “Piss off, Jude, you’re just annoyed that I don’t
like you.”

               
“Kayla,” Jude retorts, stepping closer to her.  “You’re going to have to
settle for some loser because no guy is ever going to want you.”

               
“Shut up,” Kayla yells.  “Just because I find you revolting, doesn’t mean
I’m unattractive to other guys.”

               
Losing all humor, Jude says, “I rejected you.  Don’t get those facts mixed
up.”

               
“That’s not how it happened, and you know it.”

               
Jude steps forward and grabs her arm.  “It would be wise to keep that to
yourself.”

               
“Let go of me!  It would be wise to keep your hands off of me before I
knock you on your ass.”

               
“You start spreading rumors about me, and I will be your worst nightmare.”

               
“Let go of me, Jude!” Kayla cries, trying to twist out of his grip.

               
Jude opens his mouth to say something when they both hear a deep growl. 
They slowly turn to see a huge, brown dog stalk around the front of Kayla’s
car.  Its hackles are raised up high. Jude lets go of her and steps
back.  Kayla’s heart nearly pounds out of her chest.  The dog looks
at her, and then turns its gaze to Jude.  Kayla backs up, pressing her
body against the car.  The dog walks in front of her, continuing to growl
at Jude.  Jude pales.

               
“Jude,” Kayla whispers. “Don’t move.”

               
“Shut up, Kayla,” Jude hisses.  “Don’t say anything, you may startle it.”

               
The dog lunges at Jude.  He immediately turns and darts across the parking
lot.  Kayla drops her books and races to the library.  Her heart
beats rapidly.  When she gets to the doors, she yanks on the handle. 
They don’t move.  It dawns on her that the library just closed, leaving
her stranded outside with the killer dog.  She starts banging on the door
and yelling.

               
Something touches her arm and she spins, screaming. 

“Kayla!  Stop! 
Calm down!”

               
Her knees weaken as she looks at Jackson and clutches his arms.  “There’s
a dog, a huge dog.  He went after Jude.  We need to get help!”

               
“No, I just saw Jude fall.  The dog ran past him.  He’s fine. 
You need to calm down,” Jackson says.  Kayla crumbles to the ground,
crying.  Jackson squats down next to her.  “Kayla, breathe. 
Calm down.”

               
She puts her hand to her chest and starts to choke on her breath.  “I was
so scared.”

               
“You’re fine now.  The dog is gone.  Relax.”

               
Kayla starts to take deep breaths.  After a few minutes, her heart finally
stops pounding. “Okay. I’m okay.”

               
“Good,” Jackson replies.  “Come on, stand up.”  He grabs her and
lifts her with ease.

               
Looking at him, Kayla whispers, “Wow, you’re strong.”

               
“Umm, thanks, let me get you to your car.”  He gently puts his arm around
her back and ushers her forward.

               
“The dog was huge!  Did you see that thing?”

               
Jackson laughs. “It was a bullmastiff.”

               
“It’s not funny,
”
she
says, smacking him on the arm.
“
And
how in the world could you tell what kind of dog it was?”

               
“Actually, it is kind of funny.
”
The smile fades from his face as he continues. 
“
I saw Jude grab you.  The dog did
what I wanted to do.”

               
Thinking about it, Kayla exhales. “It was almost perfect timing.  I never
thought Jude would be aggressive.”

               
“Remember, scrape the inside of your foot down his shin.  It really does
hurt.”

               
Kayla nods. “What are you doing here, anyway?”

               
A weird look passes over Jackson’s face.  “What do you think I was doing
at the library?”

               
“Stalking me.” Kayla giggles.  “I’m only joking.”

               
“Yeah, I had nothing better to do, so I thought I would follow you.”

               
They walk quietly to Kayla’s car.  Jackson bends down and picks up her
books.  He hands them to her. “Thanks,” she says.

               
“Jude and I are going to have a long conversation tomorrow,” Jackson says.

               
“Jackson, leave it be.  He’s an idiot.”

               
Narrowing his eyes, Jackson snarls, “He put his hand on you.  Now he’s
going to lose it.”

               
“I didn’t think you would defend a girl you hated so much.”

               
“I-I don’t hate you,” Jackson stutters.  “Why do you think I hate you?”

               
Pulling her books close, Kayla replies, “Okay, you don’t hate me, but you
aren’t a huge fan of me either.  I think you tolerate me.”

               
“Well, that’s true.”

               
Kayla rolls her eyes.  “Whatever, Jackson, next time just leave me alone.”

               
“Relax, I don’t hate you, and I do more than tolerate you.”

               
“No, you kiss me and then feel the need to bolt.  That pretty much defines
repulsion.”

               
With a frown, Jackson says, “I didn’t bolt.”

               
“Um, yeah you did, but whatever.  Like I said, we’re oil and water.”

               
“No,
we
are both oil, and the rest of the world is water.  You’ll
learn that one of these days.”

               
Confused, Kayla says, “What in the world is that supposed to mean?”

               
“You and I are more alike than you could ever imagine,” Jackson mumbles.

               
“I see.  Well, thanks for being so nice.  I know it must be hard for
you.”

               
Jackson looks at her.  “There are reasons why I behave the way I do.”

               
“Yeah, so that I don’t like you.”

               
“There are reasons for that too, but I won’t get into them.”

               
Crossing her arms, Kayla declares, “Fine, I promise not to get attached, just
stop being mean to me.”