Tomorrow Land (10 page)

“I never thought I’d see you again, either,” she blurted out, realizing too late how lame that sounded. After all, it’d been her choice. Well, sort of.

He stopped the cart and looked at her. She couldn’t read his expression. “You know, I waited for you,” he said simply.

She hung her head, guilt gnawing at her insides as she pictured the scene. “I didn’t mean… I didn’t mean for you to,” she stammered, not knowing the appropriate response to something like that. She imagined him standing there, out in the rain until the very last second. He would have, too; he wouldn’t have given up on her. That was just him. His loyalty was one of things she loved most about him. If only there had been a way for her to get word to him. To let him know what had happened, why she had been forced to change her plans at the last moment. At least then he could have had some kind of closure.

He stayed still, staring at her so hard she felt naked under his gaze. “What happened?” he asked at last. “Why didn’t you come, Peyton? After all that we talked about, why didn’t you show?”

Gone was all arrogance, the cocky grin. In its place was a naked vulnerability, an old hurt he’d probably tried to bury for years. Anguish flickered across his beautiful face. It made her want to answer. To explain it all away. But she knew that he wouldn’t understand, and her explanation would only hurt him further. What was done was done, and there was no taking it back.

“My father needed me,” she stated. The simplest truth there was.

Chase’s face twisted. “What about me?” he whispered. “
I
needed you, too.”

Her heart wrenched at his words. Words she knew were true. How could she explain why she’d done what she’d done? She didn’t even completely understand it herself. And all he could see was that she’d made a choice. Between her father and him. And she’d chosen her father.

And she was doing it all over again.

She shook her head. “I’m sorry,” she said, sincerely but firmly, realizing it did no good to be ripping open these old wounds. To indulge in the past like this. Not when she was just going to have to leave him all over again. She’d hurt him enough already and this conversation was only going to make things harder in the end. Too many apologies and she’d have him hoping for something more. A way to continue where they’d off. And then, when she left in the morning, he’d hurt all over again. She couldn’t bear to do that to him. To bring even more pain down on him than she already had.

“Maybe it’s best we just concentrate on gathering supplies,” she said at last.

“Yeah,” he agreed in a choked voice. She could practically see him trying to shut off his emotions. Something he’d probably had to do a lot over the last four years. Just like she had.

They walked the aisles silently, each lost in their own thoughts as they gathered the appropriate supplies. When they were done, Chase turned to her, his face all business now. The moment between them was over. Maybe forever. The thought made her sad, even though she knew in her heart it was for the best.

“Okay,” he said, throwing a few last things into the cart. “We’ve got you a backpack, dehydrated food, a water purifier, a solar flashlight, a sleeping bag and a tent. What else do you think you’ll need?”

“How about a mule to carry it?” she groaned, looking at the almost full cart. The realities of the trip were beginning to sink in, and it wasn’t looking pretty.

“Mule, no,” Chase said. “We might be able to score you a horse, though. Ever ridden one?”

She raised an eyebrow, surprised. “Yes,” she said. “I had lessons when I was a kid. Are horses still around? I mean, somewhere we could get one?”

“Sure.” He nodded. “We rounded some up after we came down from the mountains. They’re great for transportation now that cars don’t really work. You must have noticed how the roads are all blocked up. We have like five or six in a makeshift stable. I’ll see if Tank’s okay with you taking one. I doubt it’ll be a problem.”

“Thanks, that’d be great.” She felt an overwhelming relief. Trekking to Disney on horseback would be a heck of a lot easier than on foot or bike. “I owe you big time.”

Chase gave her another look. Then he shook his head. “Before we head back,” he said. “There’s something I want to show you, okay?”

“What?” she asked, wondering what on Earth it could be.

He beckoned for her to follow. “You’ll see.”

Chapter Nine

Chris passed his own house that afternoon, his step light and his mouth involuntarily quirking. He couldn’t help a half grin despite the weightiness of the problem he’d set out to solve. Peyton Anderson had invited him over after school. Sure, it was just to help investigate Mrs. McCormick’s weird disappearance, but he’d take what he could get. He’d been looking for an excuse to talk to her since first grade, when she’d yelled at him for pulling her braids, and not even the solemnity of this occasion could dispel a small thrill of excitement.

He approached her house, his heart pounding in anticipation. Maybe after they’d talked to her dad, she would invite him to dinner. Or maybe they could go out for soda. They’d start talking and she’d see that he was more than just the tech-head she assumed. He knew that just given an opportunity he could be the perfect guy for her. He just
knew
it. All he needed was a chance.

She was turned away from him in her driveway, a basketball in her hands. There was a hoop above her, and she shot at it. He squinted, surprised. She was playing basketball? Real-life basketball? He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen anyone play an actual sport. Then he remembered the rumors he’d heard. Her dad was some kind of crazy conspiracy theorist who wouldn’t even let her own a sim deck. Chris hadn’t believed it, though. I mean, who didn’t have a sim deck in this day and age? And besides, he’d seen her cheering on the virtual sidelines of
Basketball Dayz
plenty of times. So maybe it wasn’t true. Still, there she was, outside and playing real-life basketball, which was weird to say the least.

He stood at the end of the driveway for a moment, mesmerized by her agility and strength. Her arms stretched above her head as she aimed again. There was a tiny flash of flesh between her shirt and her shorts, and it was more desirable than any of the full-frontal nudity sims Tank had shown him. The fabric of her shorts pulled tight across her butt and Chris gulped. As she took her shot, effortlessly hopping on one foot and watching the ball swish through the hoop, he fought the urge to clap. Impressive. He barely managed to score in the sim.

The ball rolled down the driveway and she turned to chase it. Stopped as her eyes fell on him. He grabbed the ball before it could roll into the street.

“What do you want?” Her voice was cold.

He was taken aback. “I thought… you said… we were going to ask your dad…” Had he misheard? Had she changed her mind? Disappointment washed over him. Had he made a bigger fool of himself than ever?

“Oh.” Some flicker of recognition lit her eyes. He squinted at her, noticing for the first time that her cheeks were blotchy. Her eyes were bloodshot. She’d been crying!

How dare someone make his goddess cry? A wave of protectiveness mixed with anger washed over him, and he wished more than anything he could just walk up and hug her, then fix whatever was wrong, no matter what it was. Of course she’d probably rather hug a muddy pig, so he decided against following through.

“That’s right,” she said, rubbing a hand against her cheek. “Sorry. I forgot.”

“What happened?” he asked, walking up and handing her the basketball. He might not be allowed to touch her, but he could still sympathize. “You okay?”

“I’m fine,” she said. The words were too quick to be believable. She grabbed the ball. “Listen, do you think you could come back tomorrow or something? This isn’t a good time for me.”

What was the deal? Had she learned something more about Mrs. McCormick? But no, she barely knew the woman and would simply tell him. It had to be something bigger, something more personal, something that had nothing to do with him. Had someone she knew died? Had she gotten in trouble with her parents? Failed a test in school? What? It was driving him crazy, and she obviously wasn’t going to tell him.

Why
should
she tell you? a voice inside his head jeered. After all, Peyton had no reason to love him like he loved her. He was a loser. A nobody. Hell, he was lucky she’d even let him set foot on her driveway.

Still, now that she had, he wasn’t about to let her off the hook. He took the ball back and dribbled it a few times, prepared for a shot. It felt heavy in his hands, very different than the virtual ball they played with in
Basketball Dayz
. Holding it over his head, he threw it in the direction of the hoop. It hit the backboard and bounced away. “Damn.” He raced after the ball. “I suck as bad in real life as I do in the sim.” Grabbing it and bouncing it back to the center of the driveway, he gave her an apologetic grin.

“Sim basketball’s for tech-heads.” Peyton scoffed, grabbing the ball away and laying it up into the hoop. She was good. And so hot. As the ball bounced back to her, she passed it. Chris caught it and shot again. This time it bounced off the rim.

“Closer,” she said, half-smiling. She caught the ball and bounced it to him. “Try again.”

He caught the ball and looked up at the hoop. Concentrating this time, he aimed first. Pictured the shot going in. Pictured Peyton being impressed.

He shot.

It bounced off his head.

As it rolled down the driveway, he rushed after it, his face burning. He swiped it up with both hands, turned and shot without thinking, wanting to rid himself of the stupid ball for good—

Swish!

“Damn!” he cried. He was so surprised and pleased, excited by his accomplishment that he’d all but forgotten it was a ploy to get her to talk.

Peyton gave him a thumbs-up. “Not bad,” she said approvingly. “Not bad at all when you don’t think so hard.”

“One more,” he told her, feeling all warm inside. “And if I make this one, you have to tell me why you’ve been crying.”

Peyton considered. “Okay,” she said at last. “You’ll never get two in a row anyway.”

Oh, wouldn’t he? They’d see about that. He bounced the ball twice, then caught it. Aimed again, sucking in a breath but also trying not to think…

The shot bounced off the rim.

“Damn,” he said again, but this time with less joy.

Peyton laughed, collecting the rebound. “Ha!” she said. “You lose.” She did a little victory dance.

Chris rolled his eyes. “Oh, come on,” he teased. “You know you want to tell me anyway.”

She stopped her little dance, her expression sober. “Oh fine,” she said at last. “You’re going to probably find out tomorrow in school anyway.” She walked to the stone wall dividing her house from the neighbor’s and sat down on it. Chris joined her, his heart beating as fast as he could ever remember. He was so close he could reach out and touch her. Of course, that would end any chance of her talking to him, so he managed to resist the urge. If only she wasn’t so damn pretty. That gorgeous, long blond hair and those beautiful blue eyes. He could barely stand it.

“It’s Drew,” she explained. “I caught him… He was kissing Brenda Booker.”

Chris made a retching noise before he thought. “Gross!”

Peyton turned, slight amusement coloring the sadness in her eyes. “You don’t approve?”

“Of Brenda Booker? She’s nasty. Didn’t she have her LTF revoked?”

Peyton gave him a half smile. “I don’t know,” she said. “I guess you’ll have to ask Drew.”

“Well, he always was a bit of an idiot.” Chris knew he was being too daring, but he didn’t care. That Drew had hurt Peyton made him furious inside.

She stared down at her feet, looking so sad that Chris once again wanted nothing more than to reach out and hug her and tell her everything would be okay. That she didn’t want to date such a meat boy anyway. But he didn’t know if any words of comfort would help. Also, sadly, he was pretty positive she’d reject any physical comfort.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “He doesn’t deserve someone like you.”

She looked at him quietly for a moment. Then she said, “I punched him in the nose.”

Chris’s eyes widened. He couldn’t imagine punching Drew, because he knew what would happen to him if he did. “Nice,” he said admiringly, wishing he’d been there to see that happen.

“I think I broke it, actually. I’ve been training a ton, and I’m pretty strong.”

Chris couldn’t believe his ears. His day couldn’t have gone better. “I can’t wait to see him in school tomorrow. He’s going to be so embarrassed! To be shown up by a girl! Lawlz!” He caught himself too late. “Um, not that there’s anything inferior about girls.”

For the first time, Peyton laughed. He’d made her laugh! “Yeah, don’t worry. I know what you mean,” she said. “And thanks. For listening and stuff. And for shooting hoops with me. Basketball always makes me feel better.”

His heart was pounding again. “I’ll listen anytime,” he said. “And shooting hoops was fun. I’d love to try it again sometime.”

“It’s a deal,” she said. When she held out her hand, he took it in his and shook, shocked by the tingle of electricity that passed between them. He wondered what it’d be like to hug her. To hold her. To feel her body against his. He’d probably go into cardiac arrest.

She dropped her hand quickly, and he wondered if she’d felt the jolt, too. Her expression was unreadable.

“Anyway,” she said. “Let’s go find my dad.”

Chapter Ten

Peyton followed Chase down the aisles toward the Garden and Patio section. He pushed open a door and led her into a large, colorful greenhouse. The walls of the house were blocked off with metal, but the glass ceiling was still uncovered and let in the last of the evening light. Lush emerald vines loaded with plump ripe tomatoes and shiny yellow peppers climbed brightly painted trellises in the center of the room. Fresh herbs sprouted from small planters lining one wall. Carrot tops poked through the dirt in a trough.

She twirled around, impressed, taking it all in. “This is amazing,” she remarked. “When you said you grew your own food, I figured maybe you had a few raspberry bushes or something.”