The Seven Devils (YA "New Adult" Romance) (13 page)

“Yes?” Neil asked with a grin.

“How in the world are you going to convince my mom to let me go away with you? She’ll never say yes; not in a million years,” I said.

“Don’t worry about that,” Neil said, laughing. “I’m sure I can convince her.”

“Do you really think you can?” I said, a little doubtfully.

“Do you really think you can what?” my mother asked, walking into the room.

I was absolutely startled at her voice and nearly jumped out of my skin. How do parents do that? It’s almost like they have special radar to know when they’re not welcome.

Neil seemed unfazed and said, “We were just talking about you, actually, ma’am. I told Ellen that a big group of us kids are heading up to the lake this weekend for some hiking, swimming, and camping and she didn’t know if you’d be okay with her going or not. I was just telling Ellen that I could talk to you about it if she would like.”

“Camping? Hiking? Are you interested in this Ellen?” my mom asked. I could see the hope in her eyes. Neil was a genius. My parents always had a thing with “the great outdoors’”, and she would certainly be happy if she thought I was going with a huge group of friends. She wasn’t happy at all that morning when I told her I dumped Derrick and got back together with Neil.

“Yeah, definitely mom. I’ve never gone camping before… it sounds like a lot of fun! Some of the girls were saying they’d bring things for ‘smores and everything,” I said with childlike enthusiasm.

“Will your parents be there, Neil?” my mom asked.

Neil smiled. “My parents will be staying at the cabin on the property. They won’t necessarily be with us 24/7, but they’ll be right there.”

“Well that sounds nice,” my mom said happily. “Of course you can go Ellen.”

I could have danced I was so excited. “Thanks mom!” I cried.

“It’s about time for me to get home,” Neil said. “I had better go.”

“I’ll walk you out,” I replied.

Neil and I walked out into the front yard and I whispered to him, “You’re amazing! You knew just what to say!”

Neil grinned and said, “We’ll leave Friday after school and come home Sunday afternoon. How does that sound?”

I was almost shaking with excitement. “I can’t wait!” I said and wrapped my arms around him.

We kissed and he left, saying he was going to go make sure everything would be perfect for next weekend.

***

When Austin came home later that evening I heard my mom mention my upcoming camping trip to him. I was terrified that he would tell her I didn’t really have a group of friends and that the trip was a lie, but to my surprise he said nothing.

He stopped in my doorway on the way to his bedroom and said, “You know, Derrick would beat the shit out of me if he knew I could have stopped whatever you and Neil are planning this weekend and didn’t.”

“So why didn’t you?” I asked, sitting up and putting down my book.

“Neil’s father is the head anchor of the Lima news station and his mother is the biggest name in real estate in this area. You actually did well, hard to believe as it is. I expect you to put in a good word for me. “

I shook my head in disbelief. “How do you know these things? That’s more than I knew!”

Austin looked smug and said, “You just don’t ask the right questions,” he said, walking out.

I couldn’t believe it. The trip was really going to happen. Until that moment I still had some lingering doubts. I jumped off my bed and put a duffel bag on the bed. What in the world would I wear? What is the appropriate thing to wear to sleep in when your boyfriend will see? Will we be sleeping in the same room? The same bed? My heart went wild and I couldn’t be sure whether it was more from excitement or apprehension.

Chapter 15

Neil and I walked hand in hand to school Monday morning and I felt an overwhelming sense of relief. Everything seemed to be back the way it ought to be. Neil was by my side constantly. We had spent all weekend at my house cuddling on the couch and watching movies, and now back at school he walked with me between every class and was always right outside my classroom door waiting for me when the bell rang.

“I think people are laughing at me,” I said to him softly right before our lunch break.

Neil nodded. “Derrick told them all he dumped you because you don’t shave your legs or armpits and he found you disgusting.”

My jaw dropped. “He… why he… I should… God!” I turned and faced the hallway wall and tried to get a grip on myself. So what if everyone in the school thought I was hairy and disgusting? I can deal with that, right?

“I hate liars,” I said bitterly. “And I hate him.” Neil rubbed my hand softly and we turned to walk towards the cafeteria. I caught a glance of Derrick standing by the entrance and stopped dead in my tracks. His face had several large purple and yellowish bruises and there was a bandage over his nose.

“What did he tell everyone?” I asked Neil in a whisper.

“A group of guys from New Bremen jumped him Thursday night, the day before their big game. The team was so pissed when they saw him that they actually slaughtered the team on the field that night, but that wasn’t enough. He’s getting all his friends together to go pick a fight with them later this week to get them back for what they supposedly did,” he replied. I shook my head. How many people would he hurt?

“El, if you don’t mind, I think it would be a good idea for you to eat in the bathroom with Hannah today. I know she’s dying to talk to you,” Neil said, stroking my hair.

“Hannah! I didn’t know you knew we were friends,” I said excitedly.

“Just because you didn’t see me around much during the last couple of months doesn’t mean I wasn’t keeping an eye on you,” he replied with a chuckle. “Besides, Hannah sent me a strongly worded e-mail last week and demanded I give you another chance. She’s a good friend for you,” Neil replied.

“She’s afraid of you,” I said, poking him in the side.

Neil shook his head softly. “I’ve always liked her; I just never had any reason to speak to her before now. Maybe you should set up a little double date for us sometime,” Neil suggested.

I grinned. “Neil, you’re the best!” I leaned up and kissed his cheek and then hurried off to the restroom to see Hannah.

She leapt up from the floor the moment I walked through the door. “Ellen! There are all sorts of crazy rumors going around. You have to tell me what really happened!” I grinned and sat down across from her and told her a PG version of the story.

“Why didn’t you call the cops??” Hannah demanded as soon as I finished telling her about my date with Derrick. All I told her was that he pushed me to the ground and called me a cunt and Neil swooped in to save me. She didn’t even know the half of it.

“They wouldn’t have believed me. I’m new in town and there were no witnesses. How would my story stick up next to Derrick’s? Everyone thinks he’s some sort of golden child,” I explained.

Hannah didn’t look appeased. “Hey, cheer up. Neil and I made up! That’s all I could ever ask for,” I said. “Plus he wants to go on a double date with you and Garret!”

That got Hannah going. “Really?? There’s a new coffee shop opening in town on Thursday night and Garret was going to take me there. It’s a school night, so I can’t stay out too late, but we could at least all get together and meet!”

“That sounds wonderful,” I replied. “I’ll check with Neil to make sure he’s not busy. This is going to be great!”

***

The whole week went surprisingly well. The laughing and teasing about the body hair rumor died down, partially because I made sure to wear a tank top and shorts during gym all week, and by Thursday I was so busy thinking about leaving for the lake the next day that I barely noticed any of the jokes made at my expense.

I begged Neil at lunch to tell me all about the cabin we would be staying in, but he would just grin and say I’d have to wait and see. He clearly loved the fact that I was so excited. I asked him if there was anything I could do or bring, but he maintained that he would have everything ready and that I didn’t need to worry about a thing.

The truth was that I worried about everything. It seemed pretty clear to me that things could get really serious really fast in a situation like this. Not that I wasn’t 100% serious about Neil… I just wasn’t sure how far I should go with him. Honestly, the thought of sex terrified me. What if I wasn’t any good? What if it hurt? What if my mom found out? What if I got pregnant? There was no end to my worrying.

Another nice thing about Thursday was our double date with Hannah and Garret. Hannah and I discussed what we would be wearing and how we thought Garret and Neil would get along, but we mostly talked about the fact I was going away with him for the weekend and how nervous and excited I was. It felt so nice to have a real friend in town.

Neil picked me up at 7:00 and we met Hannah and Garret at Grounds for Thought. The place doubled as a coffee shop and used bookstore and I liked it immediately. We ordered our drinks and found a nice quiet booth towards the back of the building. Neil, who had been in a great mood all day, suddenly seemed distant. I squeezed his hand under the table and he gave me a reassuring smile.

“So how is that boy you dumped last week? Still running around with his tail between his legs?”

Garret asked me. A quick glance at Hannah told me she hadn’t told Garret the whole story.

“I wouldn’t know, really,” I replied. “I haven’t seen him at school almost all week.”

“He’s been out sick since Tuesday,” Hannah replied. “Hopefully he caught the plague,” she joked.

Garret cracked a few more jokes, but it felt like there was some sort of cloud over the evening. Hannah and I tried to start several conversations, but they just didn’t seem to go anywhere. Neil had said barely two words and then stood suddenly. “I’m sorry to cut the evening so short,” he said, “but we really must be going,” he said curtly. I could have sworn I saw him give Garret a dirty look.

Hannah said, “Oh but you just got here! It’s not even 7:30!”

Neil nodded and said, “I apologize. We’ll see you in school tomorrow.” I stood hesitantly and shrugged at Hannah as I followed Neil out the door.

As soon as we got into Neil’s car he put his head against the steering wheel and took several deep breaths. I ran my fingers through his hair and said, “Are you okay?”

Neil nodded slowly. “Is it a headache?” I asked. He was silent for a moment and then nodded again.

“I’m sorry for ruining your evening,” he said softly, turning towards me.

I smiled. “No evening is ruined as long as I am with you.”

***

In the end I packed enough clothes for a week for my two nights away with Neil. I had no idea what to expect, so I tried to be ready for just about anything. I was a nervous wreck at school all day. To make things worse, Derrick was back. I was staring out the classroom door in the middle of an Chemistry lecture when I saw him pass by. He had glanced into the room as he walked by and I felt sure that he had been looking for me. I shivered slightly when I thought about what that could mean. Neil had not given up his routine of walking me to and from class, however, so there was really nothing to worry about.

The conversations around school that day were all about the Minster/New Bremen fight. Apparently a group from each school, made up mostly of the football players, met in a field between the two towns the night before and there was quite a fight. The cops showed up, but the only person they caught was a New Bremen boy who had a dislocated shoulder. No one knew for sure who had been there, but the police were supposedly investigating. Hopefully Derrick would be lying low and trying not to get into any more trouble.

Right before class ended, the school secretary came on over the loudspeaker and announced, “Neil Reynolds, you are to report to the principal’s office immediately.”

My hands began to sweat. It was just a coincidence that Derrick would walk by and Neil would be called into the office. It was no big deal. I tried to tell myself to stop being paranoid, but when the bell rang to switch classes I nearly jumped out of my skin.

I began to walk quickly down the hall when I felt a hand on my back. I turned, expecting to see Neil, but saw Derrick instead. I couldn’t help but gasp. His face was still deeply bruised and the look in his eyes was murderous. “I was thinking about you last night, lying in bed. Did you think of me?” he asked with a sneer.

“I have to get to class,” I said, moving away.

“Ellen,” he said harshly, grabbing my arm. “Don’t think that I will forget about what happened last weekend. I plan on making sure your face looks worse than mine before this is all over.”

I looked back at him. “I’m not afraid of you,” I said, though my voice sounded so faint I didn’t even convince myself. The halls were nearly empty.

Derrick grinned and backed me into the wall and then slammed his hands against the lockers on either side of me. I tried to be calm, but I knew I was shaking. The second bell rang and I found myself alone with him. Derrick stared into my eyes and said, “Alone at last.” He leaned down to kiss me and I turned my head away. He made a noise that sounded somewhat like a growl.

“Fighting it will only make me try harder,” he said. His hand went up under my shirt and he grabbed at my breasts. “You’ve got the most amazing tits,” he murmured into my ear.

I finally realized that screaming would bring teachers into the hall and took a deep breath. I got out “He-“ before he slammed a hand over my mouth. He then grabbed me by the shoulders and slammed me against the lockers. My head rang and I moaned, tears streaming from my eyes.

“Are you afraid of me now?” he asked menacingly. His ice blue eyes pierced into mine and I couldn’t help but nod slightly.

“You should be,” he hissed. “Your little boyfriend won’t save you this time. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was being expelled right now.”

I gasped. “What did you do?”

“Just let it slip that he was the ringleader at the fight. They can’t have a dangerous kid like that here at school. You and I will be here all alone for a good eight hours a day from now on. And as for after school, don’t forget both your mom and brother would let me in, no questions asked. Hell. Maybe Austin can invite me to stay over some weekend.” he said with a wicked smile.

“You can’t hide from me,” he hissed. “Wherever you are, I’ll be there waiting for you.”

I knew he was right; there was no escaping him. Sooner or later he’d do whatever it was he wanted in order to get back at me. As the realization set in, my knees felt weak and I sank to the floor and put my head in my hands.

The sudden movement and the squeak of shoes on tile at the end of the hall drew both of our attention. It was Neil. The second Derrick saw Neil coming toward us he backed away. Derrick held up his hands as if in retreat and then walked off.

Neil tore after him. “Neil,” I whispered. He immediately stopped, looked to me, and then back down the hall to where Derrick was just turning a corner. Neil let out a frustrated sound and slammed his fist into a locker, leaving quite a dent.

“I can’t just let him get away with this,” Neil said, shaking with anger. “He can’t keep doing this to you.” I stayed silent with my arms wrapped around myself, rocking slightly. I didn’t see how more violence could help anything. Neil looked away and took several deep breaths. He then sat on the floor beside me and put an arm around my waist.

“Can you get me out of here?” I asked.

“Of course,” he said. “Let’s head to your house, pick up your bags and head to the lake.”

I nodded and we stood and headed for the door.

“Were you expelled?” I asked.

Neil shook his head and put his arm around my shoulders. “All just a misunderstanding.”