The Appeal of Evil (The Road to Salvation) (2 page)

Katie glanced over her shoulder. Wes had placed his hands on his hips but hadn’t moved forward. She looked back at Josh.

“If you ask me, it doesn’t look like she wants to talk to you at all.” He balled his hands into fists at his sides, a gesture that didn’t go unnoticed by Wes.

“Oh, really? What are you going to do about it, Josh?” Wes spit the name out before taking a step forward.

Josh also took a step, and worry coursed through Katie’s body. The tension in the air was palpable. She didn’t want them fighting on her account. Although, in the back of her mind, the action flattered her. Especially coming from Josh. He had just transferred to their school at the beginning of the semester. As the captain of the baseball team, he was the desire of every girl in the school and the envy of the boys. Katie hadn’t thought he knew she existed. Yet, there he was coming to her rescue and calling her by name. It was enough to make her swoon. And she would have if the situation had been different. As it was, she needed to stay alert. A teacher could come by at any moment. She didn’t want them getting in trouble for her. She had no idea what she would say, but she could probably come up with something if she really needed to.

Not that she had anything to worry about from Wes. He’d never do anything to hurt her. He wasn’t lying when he said she used to have a crush on him. She’d liked him since they were in kindergarten. At times, Wes even made it seem he liked her back. Then, at other times, he made it perfectly clear he didn’t reciprocate her feelings. Those moments crushed her, sent her home crying on more than one occasion. But those moments of tenderness, the ones that made her believe he liked her, sustained her, kept her hoping that maybe someday something would happen between them. He had toyed with her emotions for their entire school career.

By her senior year in high school, she’d had enough. She couldn’t take the roller coaster of emotion, didn’t want to feel like she was being strung along. She resolved to stay away from Wes, convincing herself she could do it. Only one more year, then she’d leave for college, and she’d never have to see him again. But he showed up her in homeroom, then in her gym class. She wanted to burst into tears when he took the desk next to her. Why was he making this so difficult? Still, she wasn’t going to let her resolve fail. She would ignore him, pretend he didn’t exist.

When Josh showed up, he made pretending Wes wasn’t there so much easier. On top of that, he was standing up for her honor, defending her against a rival. As he stood in front of her, so close to her body she felt the heat radiating from him, thoughts of wrapping her arms around his waist and kissing him ran through her mind. She imagined how firm his muscles would feel under her hands, how soft his lips would be. She inhaled deeply and the spicy tang of aftershave caressed her nostrils. It took every ounce of self-control to keep from molesting him.

Josh took another step closer to Wes. Without thinking, she placed her hands on Josh’s stomach to stay him. As she suspected, the muscles were hard under her fingers. The seriousness of the situation flooded back into her mind. If she didn’t say something, a fight could ensue and someone might get hurt.

“Josh, no, please. He’s not worth it.” She glanced over her shoulder and stared at Wes with narrowed eyes.

Wes held his hands out to his sides. Hurt crossed his face.

Without saying another word, Josh wrapped his arm around Katie’s shoulders and escorted her into the gym away from Wes.

***

Katie sat in her next class replaying the scenario in her mind. Her body still shook slightly from…what? Excitement? Fear? Disbelief? She wasn’t sure. Maybe a combination of all of them. Josh Evers had come to her defense. Josh freaking Evers! The coolest and hottest boy in the entire school. It was more than she could have ever dreamed of. She wasn’t exactly a nobody at school; she was on the varsity volleyball team, but she wasn’t as popular as Deb Lander, President of Student Council and Head Cheerleader, who also happened to be her very best friend. She couldn’t wait to tell Deb what happened. Deb was going to freak! Giddiness coursed through Katie and she couldn’t stop the smile. Another thought occurred to her, one that made the smile falter slightly. Maybe Josh didn’t do it because of who she was. Maybe he only did it because he saw someone in trouble and wanted to help out. Yeah, that was it. He was just helping out someone in need. It could have been anyone. That’s just the type of guy he was. Still, he knew her name. That had to mean something, right? Would he have helped her if Wes hadn’t done what he had done?

Wes. Even in her mind she said his name with disdain. What had he been thinking? He was always doing stuff like that to her. She never used to mind. Like the one time in third grade when he kissed her under the slide. His lips were so soft, and his breath smelled like chocolate chip cookies. Her stomach tingled at the time, causing her to giggle. They kissed a few more times before the ball rang. Katie didn’t want to go in. She wanted to stay with him. To make her feel better, and to get her to go back to class, he told her he’d meet her after school and they would ride bikes. That satisfied her enough to make it through the rest of the day.

There was also that other time in junior high when she had gotten a bad grade on a test. At lunch, he pulled her into an alcove and gave her a hug, allowing her to cry into his shoulder.  Again, she wanted to remain in his arms and skip the rest of her classes. His promise that he’d come over to her house and hold her hand while she broke the news to her mom got her to go back to class and made her feel like she could face anything.

The moments had been tender and wonderful. They made her believe he actually cared, that maybe they could be boyfriend and girlfriend. But then he never showed up to ride bikes, and he wasn’t at the bus stop. She had to face her mom alone. For every tender action, he always followed it up with abandonment.

Even in last period when he pulled her into the storage area and wrapped his arm around her, she felt the heat of his body on her back, the caress of his breath on her ear and neck. She felt close to him, not only physically, but emotionally. There had been many instances where she told him her secrets, her fears. Always it was Katie telling Wes hers. He usually sat quietly and listened, a look of sympathy on his face. At times, she thought he wanted to tell her something too, but he never did. He always listened. Occasionally, he offered bits of profound advice. Those were the things that ran through her mind as he pulled her close, the things that made the anger boil up inside her. She wouldn’t get sucked back in. She couldn’t. She was grateful Josh showed up when he did. Maybe he could make her forget completely about Wes. She sighed. That would be so nice. But it was probably a fluke. Again, Josh probably wasn’t interested in her; he was just helping out. Still, a girl could have her dreams.

The bell rang, pulling Katie out of her trance. She looked around the room and at the clock. Had she really spent the entire period not paying attention? Her cheeks flushed. She’d have to get the notes from someone else. Grabbing her notebooks, she hugged them against her body and ducked her head low. She tried to make herself smaller, hoping that Mr. Graham wouldn’t notice her as she walked out. Mr. Graham didn’t make a habit of having her stay behind, but it was possible he noticed she wasn’t paying attention. She didn’t want to have to explain to him what was going on. Even worse, if he asked what they had talked about during class, she wouldn’t know how to answer.

Katie headed for her locker, feeling thankful she only had one more class. She wished it was Friday so she could spend the weekend getting her head on straight, but it was only Tuesday. She’d have to wait. Katie’s eyes were glued to the floor as she walked down the hall. She glanced up just before reaching for her combination. Her hand stopped in midair, her eyes flicked upward. Josh stood in front of her locker. Her breath caught in her throat. He knew where her locker was. He smiled, and Katie’s knees weakened.

“You doing all right?” His voice had lost the edge it had when they were in the gym, replaced with a velvet smoothness.

Katie’s jaw fell open slightly, her head jerked up and down mechanically, indicating a yes.

Concern crossed Josh’s face. “You sure you’re all right? You don’t seem able to speak.”

Katie’s face turned red, and she averted her gaze back to the floor. “I’m…fine,” she stammered out. “Just a little surprised to see you here.”

He placed his hand on her shoulder. Her skin tingled, her stomach fluttered. She thought for a moment she’d melt under his touch. Her eyes traveled back up to his face, but he wasn’t looking at her, he was looking over her. Her gaze followed his. Wes stood in the hallway, staring at the two of them. Immediately, Katie set her jaw, the fluttering in her stomach turned to stone. What was he doing over here? She narrowed her eyes. Why was he trying so hard to ruin her life? Wes lowered his head and turned away. Katie watched until he was out of sight, then she turned around, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. That guy was so irritating.

“What’s his problem?” Josh’s voice was quiet and laced with concern.

Katie opened her eyes. “I don’t know. I guess he enjoys tormenting me.”

Josh put his other hand on her shoulder. “Well, as long as I’m around, you don’t have to worry about him bothering you. Get your books. I’ll walk you to class.” He squeezed her shoulders gently before stepping out of the way.

She couldn’t contain her smile and pressed a bit deeper into her locker. She didn’t want him thinking she was an idiot. Before closing the locker door, she cleared her throat and bit the inside of her bottom lip to get the giddiness under control.

“Ready.” She wrapped her arms around her books, hugging them close to her body. 

The two of them proceeded down the hall. Katie felt like she was floating. If it weren’t for her books weighing her down, she surely would have drifted toward the ceiling. What was this feeling? Lust? Love? Enamoration? Whatever it was, Katie liked it. For too long she had only felt anger and irritation or heartache because of a boy. She’d forgotten there could be an upside to relationships, a reason to care. She didn’t want the feeling to end.

“Does he bother you often?”

She shrugged her shoulder. “Depends. Sometimes he does, but most times he leaves me alone.”

“Did you use to date him or something?”

“No! I used to have a crush on him, but he’s never felt the same way.”

Oh, crap!  Why did I just tell him that? Josh didn’t need to know about her feelings for another boy. She lifted her books toward her face, hoping to hide behind them.

Josh looked at her, confused. “So you don’t have a crush on him anymore?”

Katie suddenly felt very uncomfortable talking to Josh about her feelings for Wes. She wanted the guy to like her, not think she was pining for someone else, but at the same time, she didn’t want anything bad to happen to Wes. She didn’t think Josh would beat him up or anything, but she couldn’t be sure. She didn’t know Josh well. Besides, she saw the look on Wes’s face when he stared at them from across the hall; he genuinely looked hurt. Sad, even. It made her feel bad for him. She shook her head. That was exactly the type of thinking that kept sucking her back into his game. It was a good thing he was sad. Maybe that meant she was actually getting to him. A little heartache would do him some good.

“It’s a little more complicated than that.”

Did she really just say that out loud? Why didn’t she tell him no? She didn’t have a crush on Wes anymore; he was ancient history. The words were there, they just wouldn’t come out.

“Well, maybe you can tell me about it later. Here’s your class.”

The two of them stopped in front of the door. Katie stared into the classroom and then back at Josh.

“Yeah, sure. I guess.”

He smiled that melt-you-in-your-shoes smile. “I’ll be here after class. Then, I’ll give you a ride home. If you don’t mind. I want to make sure you’re going to be all right.”

Katie’s stomach flip flopped. “That would be great.” The words squeaked out of her mouth.

Josh squeezed her arm before leaving to go to his class. Katie floated to her seat. She wasn’t going to be able to pay attention in this class, either.

Just as he promised, Josh waited for Katie after class. Her face flushed and her ears got hot when her gaze fell on him in the hall. She couldn’t look him in the eye. This much attention from a guy was new territory for her. He walked close to her, his arm occasionally brushing against her shoulder. Her grin spread from ear to ear. A giggle threatened to escape her lips, but she kept it in. As they approached her locker, the smile vanished. The giggle turned into a growl.  Wes stood in front of the door. What did he want now? Couldn’t he get the hint? Didn’t Katie make it clear she wanted to be left alone? Didn’t both Katie and Josh together make that perfectly clear?

Still, she couldn’t just turn off the feelings she had for Wes, especially since she’d had them for so long. That irritated her. Why was Wes so hard to get out of her system? If she was honest with herself, she’d admit having two boys vying for her attention made her feel special and wanted, even if one of them was Wes. But she knew how the story with Wes would end. With heartache and disappointment. There was no contest who the winner of that battle would be. Josh hadn’t done anything to make her not trust him. Yet. Her stomach tightened with fear.  Would Josh do something to make her question his feelings? What if he turned out to be just like Wes? It was possible. Although Katie thought it highly unlikely. So far, he’d fulfilled every promise he’d made to her. It may have only been two, but that was two more than Wes had fulfilled.

Wes hadn’t noticed them. His gaze focused on something down the hall. Katie slowed her approach. She really didn’t want the two to get into another argument. It was possible it could escalate into a fistfight, and she didn’t want either one of them getting suspended or injured. Well, she kind of wanted Wes to get suspended; then she wouldn’t have to deal with him. But she knew both of them would get in trouble. Josh placed a hand on her arm, stopping her in the middle of the hall. “Wait here. I’ll take care of this.”