Crossings: A Sovereign Guardians Novel (13 page)

As I walked up to her vehicle, I saw the passenger seat had been left empty. I climbed in and was immediately introduced to the two girls in the back.

Marilyn Taylor and Summer Vaughn had been friends of Faith's since they were four, so apparently we had all started school together. I didn't remember them, and I didn't have that preschool picture Faith had. As far as pictures went, if it weren't for the few pictures my grandmother had taken over the years, there wouldn't be any of me as a child. Since my father hadn't exactly wanted me around, he hadn't been concerned about preserving my precious childhood moments, especially buying or keeping things like school photos.

As I climbed into Faith's car, I realized with just one look that the two girls could have been sisters, they looked so much alike. Both Marilyn and Summer had straight blonde hair and brown eyes. The main difference between the two was the way their hair was styled. Marilyn's was cut into a short angled bob that looked great on her and made me reach back and feel the length of my pony tail and think seriously about cutting off my own hair.

Summer wore her hair long and straight, and her style made me wish my curly hair could be replaced.

Great. Not only did I have trouble making friends, but apparently I also had hair envy issues.

Both girls smiled and immediately put me at ease. Before long we had established that we all loved Mexican food, black and white movies, much of the same music, and we even agreed country music was cool but that living near Nashville, people shouldn't automatically assume it was all we ever wanted to hear.

Conversation was easy with so many girls. We talked nonstop on the drive to town. The trip sped by and before I knew it, Faith was skillfully pulling her car into a parallel parking spot that I knew I could have never maneuvered into. The thought had me thanking Faith again for driving. Marilyn and Summer echoed the sentiment.

"I'm just glad y'all could come with me," Faith said and then turned around to glance at the other girls. "Now, we'll have to see if we can get into this club even though we aren't twenty-one. According to their website, they let high school students in as long as they don't try to order any alcoholic drinks. If we can't get in for dancing, then I guess we can walk around downtown if you guys want and maybe eat at the Melting Pot or something."

"What's the Melting Pot?" I asked.

Marilyn answered first. "It's an awesome fondue restaurant. You get to cook each dish right at the table on your own personal fondue pot."

Summer spoke up. "It's the desserts I love. They have these amazing strawberries dipped in this heavenly chocolate. It's kind of expensive to go to all the time. I only get to go there on special occasions."

"The cost isn't a problem tonight, girls. Don't forget," Faith reminded us, "I've got Daddy's American Express, and he did say to have fun! What's more fun than treating my friends? As much as I'd love to do that, though, right now I really want to get into that club and dance."

"Ya know, I heard the same thing you did, Faith, about the club I mean,” Summer assured us, “and our age shouldn't be an issue."

We all piled out of the car as Summer finished talking. We were lucky. Faith had found a parking place near the entrance, so we didn't have far to walk.

"Some clubs in bigger cities like Atlanta have allowed this for years," Faith explained. "I guess they make their money from the cover charge and all the nonalcoholic drinks they know we'll gulp down getting thirsty from all the dancing we'll do." She turned and smiled as she added, "I'm really excited about getting to go to Club Ville. On certain nights it's supposed to be a great place for live music, too. Maybe we'll get lucky and get to see a new band that we might hear one day on the radio."

"I think it's crazy that just because you're not twenty-one people think you don't want to hear good music and dance. If I can get these two feet on a dance floor," Marilyn stated emphatically, "I don't have to be drunk to have some great moves."

To prove her point, she started dancing right on the middle of the sidewalk as music wafted out on to the street from a nearby bar. A whistle sent from a group of guys sitting at an outside table only encouraged her to laugh and keep dancing.

Faith grabbed Marilyn by the arm and steered her to the opening of the club. "Okay,
Dirty Dancing
wannabe, let's get you off the sidewalk and onto a real dance floor before it's time for us to go home." We were all laughing as we walked up the steps and into the club.

Again, we were in luck. A cover charge and show of our driver's license were all they required. We each got a stamp on our hands to show the bartender that cola would be the strongest drink we were allowed to purchase.

I knew a lot of kids our age were big into sneaking out and getting drunk on the weekends, but not being able to buy alcohol wasn't a big deal to me. I had spent too much of my life trying to keep myself together and not fall apart that the idea of voluntarily losing control was an idea I wasn't crazy about.

Faith squeezed my arm to get my attention. The music was loud but good, and she had to lean in close so I could hear her.

"Let's grab a seat before we all get separated."

I nodded my agreement, and the four of us headed to a table tucked away in the corner. The chairs were more like bar stools, and I slid in and took a seat right as the waiter came to take our order.

Everyone asked for some type of cola. Then Marilyn and Summer disappeared together into the throng of dancers. Faith was texting on her phone; I assumed it was to Grant. He was supposed to be meeting us, but he hadn't been sure what time he'd get off from his job at the golf shop where he worked on the weekends. The unexpected minute to myself gave me time to look around.

The dance floor was large but packed. Most of the crowd looked like they were near our age, but there were a lot of older kids as well. I guessed some of the students were from the local campuses like Vanderbilt or Belmont, but of course, I couldn't be sure. No one was sporting any of their college gear tonight. The dress code for the club seemed to be a step up from regular day wear, and I was glad I'd opted to wear a dress. The room was dim except for the flashing lights on the main floor which were strategically placed so the effect made everyone look like they had flawless dance moves.

I didn't recognize the band that was playing, but I liked the beat and the music was fast enough that I knew we wouldn't look out of place dancing with a group. Faith had told me on the nights they had live music there would be a band playing part of the evening, and the rest of the night would be recorded music from various pop artists.

It didn't matter to me. I liked almost all music. Over the years I'd found it was a great way to escape. I could put in my ear buds, crank up my music, and block out the rest of the world.

Faith put her phone in the back pocket of her miniskirt and motioned for me to follow her out on the floor. The drinks arrived right as she walked away, so I took a quick sip of mine and hurried to join her.

It didn't take us long to find the rest of our group and join in the dancing. I realized from all the smiles and waves going on around me that Faith and the other girls knew a lot of people in the crowd. It didn't surprise me either that so many people from school were here. There was no major sporting event going on tonight at the high school, so it left all the students, including the athletes, free to enjoy a night on the town. With Jasper having little to no nighttime entertainment and Nashville being so close, this club was bound to be a hit with the high school crowd. A few familiar faces smiled and waved at me and not just the other girls. Maybe my senior year at Jasper wouldn't be so bad after all.

We continued to dance as the band played several songs before finally taking a break. After the musicians left the stage, the music that flowed from the speakers was all current pop. I knew most of the songs, and since no slow ones ever seemed to rotate through the play list, we all kept dancing.

We had been on the dance floor for quite awhile when I heard Faith's squeal of delight. I turned to see her hugging a sandy blonde-headed guy who I immediately recognized as Grant from the many pictures of him I'd seen. Or, at least, I certainly hoped it was Grant with the way she'd attached herself to him. If this guy wasn't her boyfriend, that was definitely a move he wouldn't want to witness.

Faith pulled him by the hand through the crowd and onto the dance floor and then attempted to shout introductions. Both of Grant's arms were wrapped around Faith as she leaned back against his chest, so he simply smiled and nodded his head. It was really too loud for conversation, but I smiled back and motioned with my hands for the two of them not to worry about me and to go dance.

When I turned back around, Marilyn and Summer were both still dancing with some guys I recognized from my science class. So far I'd been approached by several guys asking me to dance, but I'd managed to avoid having to really say no by pointing out I was with my group of friends.

Now with everyone occupied, I was feeling a little nervous. I didn't want to be approached by a stranger, and honestly, I was starting to get a little tired. I couldn't remember when I'd danced this long. The schools I'd attended had held dances periodically, much like the one we'd hosted for the underclassmen, but those were only a few throughout the year, and I normally was in trouble at whatever boarding school I was attending and couldn't go to after school functions, even if I'd wanted to.

As the lights flickered and the music blared, our secluded table in the corner was looking pretty good to me. From there I'd still be able to watch the dancing and enjoy the music, but I'd also have a little bit of alone time.

I made my way back to the corner, slid onto one of the stools, and took three huge gulps from my drink. It only took about two minutes before I realized my plan of being by myself was not going to go the way I'd intended.

A guy I'd never met was suddenly leaning against the small, round table where I sat. He had brown hair, blue eyes, and was wearing a green pullover shirt with a pair of dark blue jeans. He wasn't bad to look at, but he wasn't in the same league as Granger or Keller.

Now, where had that thought come from? Could I not do anything without those two popping into my mind?

I looked again at the guy standing beside me. I definitely didn't recognize him from JHS, and besides, he looked too old to be in high school. Maybe it was simply because he had invaded my space, but there was something about him that I didn't like.

"I'm Brian," he said over the noise of the music.

"Hi," I said back, but I didn't add anything else. I certainly wasn't giving him my name if that's what he was waiting for. I looked at the dance floor instead of at him, hoping he'd take the hint and leave, but when he didn't move I knew subtlety wasn't going to work.

When he slid onto the seat next to mine, I was more than a little startled by his boldness. I was definitely going to have to say something to get him to go away.

"I'm here with friends," I said, motioning to the other empty seats. "They'll be here any minute."

He kept looking at me, and I was getting really uncomfortable. He didn't exactly look like a creeper, but he was still making me think about all those movies I'd seen where the nice-looking guy turns out to be the one who's killing everybody in the town.

Crazy thoughts?

Yes.

But, I hadn't exactly grown up with an older brother or a dad or someone like that to ever look out for me. I hated having to handle situations that were awkward. It was obvious by his refusal to leave that he wasn't going to make this easy on me.

"Being here with lots of friends is cool." He winked at me and leaned closer to my chair. This close he smelled like alcohol, and his words were a little slurred. "I'll just stay here with you until they come back. A pretty girl like you doesn't need to be lonely."

My head started to pound along with the rhythm of the music. Why would he think I wanted company? I wasn't smiling or trying to flirt or do anything that could be construed as welcoming. As far as I could tell, I was being the antithesis of friendly and inviting.

Maybe he was too drunk to take the hint, and if that was the case, it was definitely going to be hard to get him to leave, and I was starting to feel desperate about getting rid of him.

I couldn't put my finger on it, but something about him was more than simply annoying.

One year in health class we'd had this unit on safety. An officer had spoken to our class on several different occasions. One lesson that had really stood out to me was about people and their instincts. He told us that animals use their instincts all the time to protect themselves, but that people tend to ignore theirs whenever they kick in, thinking they are being rude if they try to evade someone.

The officer kept stressing to each of us in the class that if we ever had that feeling - that feeling like someone's walking over your grave or like you need to get away - then don't ignore it. Each time he lectured he reminded us that it was our natural instincts trying to protect us, even when we wouldn't pay attention. I'd spent years feeling like there was something evil always on the edge of my life. I'd often assumed it was simply the bad feelings I had over my father and being raised without a connection to any parent, but I knew it was more than that. And then that day in the school when the lights went out, something wasn't right, and now this.