6. Harley
HARLEY
I didn’t want to be here, but Slade had offered, and I was starving. It had been almost a month of lunches in the courtyard with him trying to pry every single detail of my life out of me, but I’d barely given him anything.
At least he left me alone in the halls. Not that it was helping with the females at San Sebastian High. They still hated me, but I didn’t care as long as they left me alone.
I only had one more month of this hell hole and then I was out of here.
But only if I didn’t starve to death first. Which wasn’t going to happen because Slade bought me my lunch every day, but this week was spring break.
Meaning no school and no lunches. I wasn’t even sure if he was home.
I hadn’t been on a run in three days trying to conserve my energy.
My mom and Trent were away on a business trip and hadn’t bothered to leave me any money or even hit the grocery store before they left.
My shaky finger lifted and pressed the doorbell.
I stood anxiously waiting to see if anyone would answer the door.
After a long agonizing moment, the door swung open to reveal a beautiful girl with golden skin, brown hair and green eyes.
She was without a doubt the most striking girl I’d ever encountered.
Of course, Slade would have a girlfriend and she’d be a knockout.
Why did it bother me so much that he’d never mentioned her or the fact that he had a girlfriend? He shouldn’t be spending time with me if he’s got her.
What was I thinking coming over here?
A big bright smile spread across her face. “Hi, can I help you?”
“Yeah, no,” I shook my head. “I’m sorry to bother you. I… I thought I forgot something, and Slade might know where it is, but then I just remembered where it is. I’m sorry to bother you.”
“Who is it?” Slade called out from somewhere in the house.
“A girl?” She shouted back with a question.
I saw his dark head coming my way before I could duck out of the way and run for it.
“What are you doing here, Harley?”
“I was just coming over to ask if… I forgot something, but then I remembered. I’m sorry to bother you. I’ll let you get back to your girlfriend.”
Both their eyes went wide and then they started fake gagging while laughing. What the hell was going on her?
Once he got control over himself, Slade pushed her out of the way with a not so gentle nudge. “That’s my sister, Payton. I don’t have a girlfriend.”
“Oh,” I drew the word out. “I’m sorry. I forgot you told me you have a sister. Well, you have a good night. I’ll see you at school on Monday.”
His hand clamped around my wrist. “Where are you going?” He pulled me closer, and spoke quietly enough for only me to hear. “You haven’t been running.”
“You seriously need to stop stalking me.” I tried to laugh, but stopped short when my stomach let out the loudest and most embarrassing growl known to man.
Slade’s eyes went round as he pulled me into his house. “We were just about to have dinner. It’s nothing fancy. Just pizza, but one of them is only cheese. You can eat that, right?”
It was sweet that he worried what I could and couldn’t eat even when still didn’t understand why I didn’t eat meat.
“I don’t want to impose.” I tried to pull my arm free even though I had come over in the hopes of being invited for dinner. But I’d never expected to embarrass myself right out of the gate.
“Nonsense. You can be the tiebreaker on what movie we watch. We can’t decide whether to watch the latest Spiderman movie or the new Batman.”
“Spiderman all the way. I can’t imagine Edward Cullen as Batman. It’s just… wrong.”
“Yes,” Payton cheered.
Slade rolled his eyes good naturedly and chuckled. “Girls.”
“I like her already,” Payton chimed in.
I liked her too. I could see us becoming friends if I wasn’t planning on leaving.
The buzzer of the oven went off and both Slade and his sister jumped to their feet. “We’ll be right back,” he said, throwing down the remote on the couch beside me.
Did he think I had any idea how to work his TV? I wasn’t exactly technology savvy. I could work my phone and do simple things on my computer like write a paper and watch YouTube, but if it took more than that I had no idea.
I could smell it the second the pizzas were out of the oven. The aroma hit me straight in the stomach and it protested at not having food for the last three days.
“I wasn’t sure what you wanted to drink. Hopefully Dr. Pepper is okay with you.”
“It’s perfect.” I took the drink and sat it between my legs. I was sure I’d crash once my belly was full. I just needed to make sure I made it home before that happened.
Slade handed me a plate with three slices of cheese pizza on it with a smile. For some reason he liked feeding me. Or maybe he liked that I finally gave in and came over. I took one bite and my whole body hummed with the melted cheese goodness.
“Thank you.” I kept my gaze fixed on the TV.
“You’re welcome, Harley. I told you to come by anytime.” His voice was soft. Too soft. It felt like he knew my struggles when in reality I knew he didn’t.
“I know. Thank you all the same.”
“I thought you were gone for Spring Break.” He took a giant bite of pizza and chewed; eyes trained on me instead of the movie.
“And I thought the same about you. I guess we were both wrong.”
Why did he keep looking at me? Was there sauce on my cheek or something?
I swiped at my face self-consciously and came up with nothing.
“Why are you looking at me?”
His response was only the shake of his head before he finally turned to the movie.
We sat in silence eating and watching Tom Holland be the best damn Spiderman there ever was.
Every so often Payton would sigh. I had a feeling she had a crush on him.
Not that I blamed her. He was fine and hid a fantastic body underneath his suit.
But I couldn’t help but compare him to the man on my right. Where Tom was slim with more of a swimmer’s body, Slade was bigger in every way, and all to my liking.
I knew I shouldn’t be feeling that way about my neighbor, but I couldn’t help it. Especially after he fed me some of the best pizza I’d ever had. Was it because I was starving or simply that good of a pizza, I couldn’t tell?
Payton threw a blanket over out laps. I sank deeper into the couch enjoying the warmth and the company on both of my sides.
The next thing I knew I was blinking my eyes open to a dark, unfamiliar room with the heavy weight of an arm pinning me to the couch.
Instantly, I knew it was Slade. I wasn’t sure if it was because I’d had that same arm around me in the water or if it was because I was becoming attuned to his presence.
The need to get out of there erupted in my veins. I couldn’t stay here any longer. I needed out and away. Sliding out from under his arm, I took a look at the two of them both passed out with dreamy smiles on their faces before I tip-toed out of the room and out of the house.
The craving to run overwhelmed me. My feet were accustomed to hitting the pavement daily and with three days of laying around they were itching to put a few miles underneath them.
Not bothering to change, I started to jog down the dark and desolate street.
There was something about running at night that called to me.
I liked that the world was silent around me.
It was the only time I felt at peace with the world.
It didn’t take me long before I was at the beach.
This time I kicked off my shoes and socks, and let my toes curl into the cool sand.
Sitting down, I stared out into the dark night and listened as the waves crashed against the shore, and watched as the stars twinkled above me.
While I didn’t like living in San Sebastian, I did love the beach here.
“I thought I’d find you here,” Slade’s deep voice sounded from behind me.
I didn’t bother to turn around as I spoke. “You are a true stalker, you know that?”
“Seeing as you come here every night, it wasn’t hard to deduce where you might be.” He sat down beside me, and I could feel a hum coming of him even with several inches between us.
“Just say whatever it is that is bubbling up inside of you.” I knew whatever it was I wasn’t going to like it.
“You didn’t run the last couple of days.”
“You’re still showing me those stalker tendencies.
And how do you know? Are you sitting up in your room every minute of every day watching for me?
” I kept looking out at the water wishing it warm.
What I wouldn’t give to be floating while looking at the stars while pretending I was swimming in them.
“Because you only run at night, and mostly once it’s dark. What I’m not going to tell you is how I know when you leave. Are you going to tell me why you haven’t been running?”
“Why would I when you won’t tell me how you know when I leave? Did you put a tracker in my shoes?”
He laughed deep and hard. Laying back in the sand. “Not even remotely.” We were silent for a long moment before he sat up and scooted closer. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“Talk about what? I’m fine. I just didn’t feel like running.”
“But you did after waking up at my house in the middle of the night?”
“So what? There’s no law saying I can’t run at three in the morning. I felt like running so I did. If I knew you would magically wake up and join me, I would have just gone home.”
“That’s not what I’m saying, and you know it. You could have stayed.”
“I already imposed enough. Your sister would get the wrong idea about us if I stayed.”
He jerked back before he leaned forward and wrapped his arms around his bended knees. “Payton liked you. She told me so in the kitchen when we were getting the food. But make no mistake it was me who found you first.”
“Oh, I won’t forget. It wasn’t your sister who stalked me down to the beach,” I sighed and turned to look at him for the first time since he arrived.
“You don’t have to keep following me. I promised I wouldn’t go back into the water, and I meant it.
Even though I hate my life, I’m not suicidal.
” I traced shapes in the sand with my finger.
“You should have stayed all nice and warm inside your house.”
“I can’t do that,” was his simple reply.
“Why not?”
Turning away from me, Slade looked out at the water and shook his head. “I haven’t figured it out yet, and I’m not sure I’ll tell you once I figure it out.”
“Why not?” I repeated my question.
“Because you’ll probably run away, and I won’t be able to catch you.”