Waiting for Mercy (Cambions) (47 page)

Flushing, I gave a little smile.  Her eyes narrowed. “Mercy,” she said.  It wasn’t often she called me by my given name, so I paused.  I think she thought Luke and I had taken the next step in our relationship.

Thankfully, Amber had perfect timing.  She caught up with us.  “Where are you guys going to sit?”  Maggie placed her tongue in her cheek. “Have you told her yet?” Amber inquired.

Maggie at last moved her burning gaze from me. “No, not yet.”  She looked back at me with wide eyes and in a quiet tone said, “Amber’s not pregnant.”

Exhaling, relief washed over me, but I recovered enough to say to Amber, “Are you ok?”

Giving me a tense smile, she nodded.  “Have you told Paul?” I asked.  She shook her head no.  Puzzled, I was about to ask why but Maggie spoke first. 

“Alright, everyone is looking.  Let’s go sit down.”  It felt so strange to be back for good at the elite table.  Brent was at the table, but it didn’t seem to phase Maggie.   Before sitting, I glanced back to my old table making sure Sebastian wasn’t waiting for me.  But he wasn’t there.  The brief sunshine I’d felt began to cloud over.  After sitting next to Luke, I pulled my phone out.  I didn’t have any messages from him.  Where was he?

Luke leaned over and kissed my cheek, “Cinderella.”  My cheeks warmed and a feel good smile covered my face. Maggie sat next to me and pointedly ignored Brent.

“Mercy, I don’t think we’ve met,” the voice was from my latest nemesis, Kristen. 

Looking at her across the table, I shifted my gaze.  Flynn was sitting next to her.  His face held no expression.  “I don’t think we have,” I said, leaving it at that.  Okay, so maybe that was mean, but she and I both knew she wanted my boyfriend.  And I wasn’t in the mood to play nice.

She laughed off my non-pleasantries. “Luke, you’re back.”

Taking Luke’s hand in mine, I just looked at her. Luke said, “I am.”  Although, I didn’t see it, I could hear the smile on his face in only those two words.  That and the way he tightened his hand in mine.

Kristen’s eye’s looked down at our intertwined fingers.  Her face contorted in a grimace.

Maggie, my biggest champion spat, “Jealous much.”

Kristen’s perfectly snarky expression darkened. “Not of you.” Kristen replied.  Her hateful look took in both of us.  She acted like we were beneath her. Things got ugly pretty quickly.

My little fire dragon, Maggie, was not one to back down. “I hope Flynn chews you up and spits you out like the rest of the members of his fan club.”  Her words gave me pause.  Was there really something going on between Kristen and Flynn?

Cringing, I looked first at Flynn who looked ready to intervene.  Then I checked the table, but conversation hadn’t yet stopped.  Amanda didn’t hear that remark.

Going toe to toe, Kristen fired back. “If I wanted to be with somebody, I could have been with your boyfriend last night.”

Maggie turned to Brent as we all did.  Red was now a popular color because like me he sported bright red cheeks.  The flame in my face was dwindling as the heat was no longer on me.

My best friend stood in a huff and exited the table. Brent stood but I moved and reached over the table where he sat next to Flynn and placed my hand on his.  “Let her go.” It was now my turn to defend.

But Brent did something stupid.  He growled at me.  I mean literally growled at me. Luke was standing then shifting to get in Brent’s face. “Don’t do something stupid.”

Flynn was on his feet and the cafeteria was now silent.  With all the testosterone flaring, you could hear a pin drop.  Tom leapt to his feet and made his way over to our end of the table.  I had a moment to wonder who he’d been sitting next to.

Brent snatched his hand away from mine. “I didn’t mean anything by it,” he said looking from me to Luke. 

Luke snarled back, “Don’t ever do it again.”

Flynn had his hand up to brace Luke from climbing over the table.  Tom had Brent away and moving out of the lunch room before we all sat. 

Turning to Luke, I said, “I should go find Maggie.”

He nodded before pulling me over for a quick kiss.  Flushing, I left my lunch hoping I might come back and started heading to go find Maggie.

“Really, I didn’t mean anything by it.” I heard the Kristen girl say to someone.  Wanting to pummel her, I quickened my steps towards Maggie’s exit.  She was more important.  I would deal with Kristen later, I promised myself.

I found Maggie in the far bathroom not used very often by students. It’s a favorite place to go for anyone looking for privacy and the first place I checked.  She was looking in the mirror adjusting her make-up as if nothing happened.

“Maggs, are you okay?” I asked.

Turning to me in the middle of putting on eyeliner, she said, “Why wouldn’t I be?”

Hanging my head a little, I said, “I almost lost my virginity last night with Luke.  And if Kristen had suggested to me that she and almost slept together, I would be devastated.”

She looked excited and sad at the same time.  But the excited face won. “Eme, wow, almost?”

It wasn’t exactly what I expected her to say, but given the circumstances I couldn’t ask for more.  She hugged me.  Squeezing me tight she said, “You would have made a good choice.”  But her voice broke then and I found myself holding her.  She cried and I let her.  She was going through so much.  Tom and I were most likely her only outlets.

“Maggs, I don’t think for a minute Brent did anything with that girl.  She’s a just a total bitch,” I promised.

Choking back a sob, Maggie said, “Bitch huh, it’s almost funny to hear you curse.”

Half laughing trying to lighten the mood, I said, “You know I’m here for you.  Why don’t we skip softball practice and just hang out?”

She nodded, and when the lunch bell rang, I said nothing and let her have her tears.  What was one more missed class?  Soon, I was going to have to determine the path that I was on.  However, what I really wanted was to settle an outstanding debt with Kristen.

selcouth
(adj.)
strange; uncommon

When the final school bell rang, I rushed through the exit near the cafeteria. I hurried through the quad doors to take a short cut to the field.  I hadn’t had a chance to tell Luke I was going to hang out with Maggie after school.  I tried texting him, but he hadn’t replied.  Assuming, he was already headed to baseball practice, I moved in that direction.

Beginning my mad dash to the field, a hand caught mine.  Yanking me to a stop, I spun to look into Flynn’s eyes.  “Hey, I’ve been looking for you.”

A little too quickly and sharply, I said, “Why?”

Cascading emotions colored his face.  Hurt and anger being the two I recognized easily.  A small piece of me felt bad but he’d started this.

“I’m worried about Luke.  He doesn’t seem like himself,” he admitted.

Hadn’t I felt the same way?  But admitting it would mean acknowledging my guilt. “Yes, he seems a little different.”

Trying to walk away, I was reminded that he still held my hand.  It was disturbing that holding his hand was so natural that I’d missed he hadn’t let go.

“Mercy,” he protested. “We need to do something.”

“We,” I replied. “We have nothing to do with each other according to you.  You said we can’t be friends.  You’re hot and cold is going to have me catching pneumonia.”

His anger flared I could see it written across his brow. “Hot and cold? Me? You were the one at the lake house saying ‘
Flynn, why don’t you find me pretty?  Why don’t you like me? Why won’t you kiss me
?’” he retorted in what I considered a bad impression of me.  “I tell you how I feel and you go all postal on me.  He is my best friend and I shouldn’t have feelings for his girlfriend.  What the hell do you expect from me?”

Yanking my hand free, I balled them into fists at my side.  “I don’t expect anything anymore.  Whatever is going on between us can’t be.” I used my fingers to point at him them me as I spoke.

“And what is between us?” he interjected, waving his hands wide.

Grinding my teeth, I said and maybe shouted, “Biology, according to Sebastian.  Just that.  We are two of kind.  That’s it, nothing more.”

He nodded in acceptance. “So you talk to Sebastian about you and me.”

“Yeah, he is the only one giving me answers,” I spat.

“Did you give him that wide eyed innocent look of yours to get what you wanted?” he asked, with a look of disgust on his face.

I gave him a knowing look before I said, “Well, you don’t have to worry about my innocence anymore.”

So maybe suggesting to Flynn that I’d lost my virginity wasn’t a good idea.  I could see that I’d cut him deep.  His anger faltered.  My mean streak was accomplished.  Really though, I did it for me.  “You want to know what’s wrong with Luke.  It’s me.  I damned him.  His soul is forever tainted.  I can’t and I won’t be the cause of any more hurt to him.” My lip quivered as my voice broke. 

With that, I left him in stunned silence.  Even though I put distance between us, I heard him mutter a curse.

Rushing up to the baseball diamond, Luke was there in sweats and a long sleeved tee, ball in hand.  He jogged over to me.  Putting his hand in my hair, caressing my cheek, I could almost forget what Flynn said about him being different. “Hey you,” he said with a grin.

Finding a smile, I gave it to him.  “I’m not going to practice,” I said.  “Maggie and I are going to hang out.”

“Do you want me to pick you up at her house?” he asked.

Nodding I said, “But call me first and make sure that’s where we ended up.”

Tugging me to him, he kissed me in an unforgettable way. His kiss wasn’t the tentative thing it used to be.  It was more.  The need behind it couldn’t be mistaken.  I had a feeling that Luke wouldn’t be the one to stop us from taking bigger steps in our relationship anymore. Things had definitely changed.

A sound that was obviously someone clearing their throat pulled us apart.  I expected to see Flynn or the coach but it was Kristen.  She was gazing at him.  Giving him a guiltless look I knew to be false. Pulling me to his side with his arm around my waist, I flashed her a satisfactory smile.

“What’s up?” Luke asked pleasantly.

“Um, like I said before, I have your assignments.  I thought maybe you could come over and pick them up,” she asked, not really acknowledging my presence.

Luke smoothly said, “You can give them to Flynn and he’ll get them to me.”  He was on to her game.  Flynn and he weren’t on the best terms, yet he suggested him as a go between.

She smoothed her straight black hair, sweeping it behind her shoulder. “Well, there are some instructions that may be better if I explained them directly to you.”

“Okay,” he said.  My smile dipped.  There was no way he was falling for her crap.

Her grin widened and I wanted to shove my fist in it. “I can text you my address,” she added.

He looked at me, then turned back to her. “I have to get back to practice.  Why don’t you give Mercy your address because I’ll stop by after picking her up?”  He missed her frown because he dipped to whisper in my ear. “You’re so cute when you’re jealous.”  Then he kissed me again before heading back to practice.

It used to be I wouldn’t have faced this girl.  That part of me was long gone.  “I don’t know what your game is. But Luke isn’t buying it and neither am I.  And Flynn isn’t that gullible either, so you must be
very good
for him to put up with you.”

“Unlike you, I don’t know what Flynn is like in that manner. My virginity is clear.  I’m not a tramp whore like you being passed around friends.”  A flicker of recognition sparked in me at her words.  Was she the one who had put the note in my locker?  I wouldn’t put it past her.  And she’d seemed all to calm with the supernatural stuff. 

This wasn’t my best moment. The flash of anger Luke felt must be contagious, because my fist was out and planted in her mouth before I even thought about it.  So many times, I’d dreamed of doing this to Nina, somehow I resisted.  But this girl bugged me.