Secret Catch (17 page)

“Wow, that’s a lot.” Her grip tightens. “And just so you know, if you do leave… I’ll kick your ass.”

“I don’t doubt it.”

She pulls me back to the blankets, and I trace patterns across her stomach till she starts to doze. I know I’ll never leave her, but I can’t help but feel that something bad is about to happen, too… and there won’t be anything we can do to stop it.

“Uhnnn,” Paige moans from my bed as I shove her over to crawl under the sheets. We cuddle close since I’m only in a twin, but I’m freezing so I’m not sleeping on my floor.

“What time is it?” she mumbles. I tuck my shaking, blue fingers between my knees and sigh at the warmth.

“Like five,” I answer. “You can go back to sleep.”

“Five? In the morning?”

I laugh at the barely awake state she’s in. Honestly, I would’ve stayed out all night in Tyler’s arms if I wasn’t freezing to the point of hypothermia. By three o’clock we were both shivering so hard under the blankets even being naked together wasn’t helping.

A jolt goes through my stomach, and a beat drums between my legs. I’m fidgety and bouncing, and it has nothing to do with the cold.

“Are you okay?” Paige laughs as I toss and turn.

“Mmmhmm.”

She looks over her shoulder, narrowing her eyes. A slow smile forms on her lips when she notices my blissed out expression.

“How was your date?” she asks in a sing-song voice.

If possible, my smile widens and I let out a tiny squeal.

She sleepily chuckles, then turns in the bed to face me. “I take it, it went good.”

“It was
better
than good.” My sentence leaves on a sigh, and Paige laughs again.

“Details, please.”

I stare at the ceiling, still on a high from the night, and my mouth runs off with Tyler this and Tyler that—his words, the way they made me feel, and my stomach flips and somersaults again just retelling it. Paige is on my pillow because she’s leaning so far into me to soak in every word.

“Tyler and I just work,” I say on another sigh. “It was perfect. I wouldn’t have wanted my first time with anyone else or in any other way.”

“First time?” She shoots upright. “Did you have sex with him?” she whisper/yells.

Warmth runs through my cheeks, and that’s all the answer she needs before she smacks my arm.

“You’ve been home for ten minutes, and you’re just
now
telling me? How was it?”

I sit up in the sheets, keeping the comforter around me, mind reeling, body buzzing, and stomach still flipping all over the place. There is not a single word in the English language that could describe how it was. But I go with the first one that comes to mind, even if it falls short.

“
Amazing
.”

“Really?”

“He was so worried about me. He has got to be the sweetest guy I know.”

“Does he have a brother?”

We both laugh. “Yeah, he does. Like fifty of them. All older.” I start picking at the bedspread, smile still etched on my face. “After Dad died, I didn’t think I’d ever be happy again. I think this is the happiest I’ve been in a long time.”

“I’m so happy for you.” She reaches over and gives me a hug.

I back away just enough to see her face, the smile I’ve been donning starts to fade—just a little. “I’m just scared that something’s going to happen. That something’s going to ruin it. And then where will I be? I don’t know what I’d do without him, Paige. That’s the scary part. Knowing he has the ability to affect my life so much. When Dad died I didn’t get a chance to mourn. I can kind of understand Mom now, but I made a promise that I would never be in the position to be hurt like that.”

“I know, but you can’t stay away from love just because there’s a potential to get hurt. The benefits are so worth the risk. Even though your mom’s a hot mess I bet if you asked her if she would erase the years with your dad to not have to deal with the pain of losing him, I’m sure she wouldn’t. Because every memory and every smile and every tummy flip is worth something.”

I know what she’s saying. And I’m not saying that I wish I
didn’t
fall in love with Tyler, I’m glad I did. He’s brought a light to not only my life, but Josh’s too. And that’s worth the risk. But…

“I have a bad feeling.”

“I’m sure it’s nothing.” She gives me a feigned smile and rubs her hand down my arm. “Probably just nerves ’cause you’re so happy.”

“Yeah maybe.” I let out a sigh. “Okay, I’m sleeping now.”

“I don’t know how I’m going to sleep after that,” she says with a laugh. We tug the blankets up to our chins, and even though I’m so tired, I can’t stop thinking and thinking. One end of the spectrum is elated and soaring through the sky with just how much happened tonight, and the other is in the deepest, darkest pit, worrying over something I can’t yet put my finger on.

A loud
click
breaks through my thoughts, and I shoot up. I must’ve dozed off at some point because Paige is out, and the sun is just barely sneaking over the horizon and streaming through my window. Something shuffles downstairs, and I carefully crawl out of bed and grab my signed Ravens football helmet and one of my dad’s old golf clubs I keep in my closet.

Watch it be Mom. Josh wouldn’t open the door that goes to the garage—which is definitely the click and creak I heard, and Brad usually doesn’t come around till after dinner.

The tile in the kitchen bites at my feet with how cold it is, and I suck in a breath, tip-toe over to the garage door, and kick it open with a
hiyah!

A bolting laugh comes from behind me, and I turn, narrowing my eyes at my cousin who is leaning on the archway we have that separates the kitchen from the living room.

“Seriously, call before you barge in and steal our food,” I say, relief tumbling in my chest. Brad takes the last bite of his banana while I wiggle the helmet off my unruly, red curls.

“I did call. You didn’t answer.”

“When?”

“Last night. Your mom let me crash.” A side grin quirks in the corner of his mouth, and a dumping sensation happens near my gut. He gives me an expectant look, and I have to force my voice to sound normal.

“What?” I say, avoiding eye contact and opting to get milk from the fridge.

“You know what.” He steps into the kitchen and tosses his banana peel on the counter. “Paige was here… but where was Sammy?”

He taps his chin playfully, gazing at the ceiling. I roll my eyes at him and get a glass from the cupboard.

“I don’t know why you insist on calling me that.”

He ignores me. “What if I told you I knew exactly where you were?”

The milk carton drops from my hand and spills all over my bare feet. I make no move to clean it, or pick it up, or even look at Brad right now.

“I wasn’t… anywhere,” I lie, mind racing where I could’ve slipped up. I wore the wig until we were out of Skyhawk and Trojan territory. No one followed us. Tyler even dropped me off around the corner.

Brad sidles up, bends over and grabs the milk carton, then settles it on the counter. When I finally look at him, his brow is furrowed, eyes masked in confusion, and it hits me that he was just teasing. He had no clue where I was, but my freak reaction basically tells him that I’m definitely hiding something.

“Where were you?” he asks again, this time quieter.

“I was…” I can’t think of anything. My alibi has gone down the poop chute. I can’t say I was with anyone on the team or even another friend at school because what sense would that make? And Brad is way more connected than I am. He’d see right through it.

So instead of coming up with something that I’d have to scramble out of, I let out the most juvenile answer possible. “It’s none of your business, Brad.”

His brow doesn’t relax as he watches me clean up the milk spill and get myself my own breakfast. I ignore his stare sitting on the couch, clicking mindlessly through Saturday morning infomercials. I almost ask why he’s here, why he needed to spend the night, but I think I already know, and getting him to talk about his dad won’t help him cheer up or forget about last night. So I chew my cereal and sit in silence till the rest of the family and Paige get up.

Josh is down first, sitting between us and grabbing the remote control. It doesn’t even dawn on me what he’s wearing until the golden sleeve hits my arm.

“Why you wearing…
that
, little man?” Brad asks, half amused, half disgusted as he gestures to Tyler’s hoodie. My eyes bulge out, staring at my little brother and praying he doesn’t say Tyler’s name.

“It’s leverage,” is all Josh says. Then he hops up and goes into the kitchen.

Brad looks at me with that same expression of confusion, but I can see it slowly getting brighter and brighter behind his eyes, so before he can grill me and I slip, I hop off the couch too and help Josh with breakfast.

I stop in the archway to the kitchen, gazing at my brother, number eighty-eight printed on the back of the hood. And I can’t even hide it before I hear the front screen door slam, Brad’s retreating figure the last thing I see before running upstairs to text Tyler.

I think he knows…

***

I take a deep breath. Finally starting to relax. I’m wrapped in Tyler’s arms, in the back of his truck at the airport, and that’s all that matters.

He picked me up right after I texted, and we’ve spent all day together in neutral zones. We ended up at the airport around seven, and he packed bundles of blankets and pillows, and I made sure to bring a nice heavy coat so I could stay out longer. He reassured me everything would be okay and we’d be careful. At first I was skeptical, but as the day played out, I’ve started to relax.

“Have I told you today how much I love you?” Tyler’s on his side propped up on one arm, the other hand drawing circles on my stomach.

“Yeah.” I smile up at him. “But you can never tell me too much.”

“I.” He reaches down and gives me a kiss. “Love.” Another kiss. “You.”

His tongue runs along my bottom lip, sending shivers everywhere. And then he’s kissing me. Soft and sweet. His thumb caresses my cheek. His kisses set my body on fire.

And then a hand wraps around my ankle and a blast of cold air hits me as I’m yanked from the blanket and Tyler’s arms.

“What the—” Tyler yells from somewhere next to me, but I can barely see in the dark.

“Well, what do we have here?” Brad says from behind me. His fingers are handcuffs, my arms bent behind my back.

“What are you doing? Let me go!” I struggle to free myself, but he squeezes tighter…to the point of pain.
Pain
. Brad is hurting me. Suddenly my heart is crashing in my chest, fear locked around my throat.

“Light ’em up boys.” A truck on either side of us flips on their headlights, drenching us with light.

It takes a minute before my eyes adjust and I search for Tyler. My crashing heart drops into my stomach. His arms are held out on either side by Skyhawk defensive ends, looking like if they’re bent back any farther they’ll pop out of their sockets.

“Let him go!” I struggle to get to him, but Brad has my wrists in a vise lock. A cold sweat breaks out on me.

Tyler can’t say anything because they’ve gagged him with some cloth. But he’s sure trying. His eyes are wide open in a panic, burning into me, and I know he’s trying to tell me to calm down, but I can’t. I want to kick. I want to punch. I want to scream and yell and cry. Man do I want to cry, but none of that will happen. The sickening grip on my wrists freezes me to the spot.

Brad whips me around to face him and then slams me against the tailgate of Tyler’s truck. More pain vibrates through the middle of my back, and all the air is forced from my lungs. Is this happening?
Really
happening? A sore cry rips from my scratchy throat, and Brad leans in close.

Tyler makes a muffled noise, and it sounds like a struggle, but I can’t see him. All I see is Brad, his twisted features, more anger than I’ve ever seen. My arms are pinned at my sides and the harder I try to get away, the more painful his grasp becomes. The front of his shoes pin my feet to the ground and any attempt to bring my leg up results in increased pressure on my toes.

“Brad, stop,” I manage to squeak out. “This isn’t you.”

He shakes his head, breathing hard in my face. And then I smell it.

Alcohol.

“Brad,” I gasp, still struggling in his hold. “You’re… you’re drunk.”