Deceptive Cadence (16 page)

Just after ten, Robbie walked over to Carla, whispered in her ear, and they disappeared inside. I felt sick. I pulled my chair right against James’ and leaned against his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around me and stroked my hair. “Hey, it’s okay.”

“I don’t wanna be here anymore.”

“Nothing’s happened. You’re fine.”

I looked up into his eyes and saw him pleading with me. I nodded toward the pool. “Maybe I just need a break to recompose myself.”

He nodded and stood.

We walked over and he leaned against the fence, pulling me into his arms. I rested against his chest and sighed. I felt safe there, and loved the sensation of his fingers running up my back.

“How was your Christmas?” he asked conversationally.

“Good. Harper actually smiled a couple of times.”

“Wow, there are such things as Christmas miracles.”

I giggled.

“Hey, James.” I jumped and turned to see the group of girls approaching. I clung tighter to him, hoping they wouldn’t try to attack me again as Becca’s glare burned into me.

“Hey, Cadence,” she said as they stopped in front of us. “I think we started off on the wrong foot. I’m Becca.” She stretched out her hand.

My hand trembled as I took hers. “Hi.”

“I thought you were trying to pull something on James before. After months of him chasing you, you can understand how I came to that.”

“Oh.”

Several boys approached and one wrapped his arm around Becca’s neck. “Cadence, right?”

I nodded.

“You’re very quiet.”

“I, ah . . .” I clung to James.

“She’s a little nervous, guys,” James said.

“Aw, how sweet,” one of the other girls—Sally?—said teasingly.

James’ arms tightened around me. “Don’t be like that, Sal. She’s a bit sheltered, but that’s nothing to make fun of.”

The guys laughed.

“I guess we’ll have to do something about that!” one said.

“Has she ever even got drunk before?” said another.

“Or stoned!” said another, and they all laughed.

I pressed against James, trying to edge behind him.

“Guys, stop it,” James said.

“I bet she’s still a virgin!” Sally sneered.

The guys stared at me. I caught my breath. “James . . .”

“A virgin, huh?” One of the guys grabbed my arm and wrenched me away from James. “You better do something about that, Jimmy.”

“Guys, stop it. You’re freaking her out,” James said.

“How about a beer first?” Another guy shoved a bottle under my nose. “To help you relax a bit.”

He shook the bottle and beer splashed all over me. I pulled back and whimpered as they laughed. Dad would kill me—I couldn’t explain that smell away.

“Hey, seriously, stop it!” James raised his voice.

But the group ignored him and closed around me.

“She’s so boring,” one of the girls said. “She’s not showing any flesh. She could probably pull off cute if we could see some.”

“I can fix that.” One of the guys rushed at me and grabbed my shirt. I screeched as he pulled it up to expose my midriff. The laughter rose around me, and my arms were grabbed from behind. The guy lifted up my shirt past my bra.

“Oh, look at those abs!” one of the boys jeered. “You can tell she plays a lot of sports.”

“Forget that! Look at her rack.”

“James!” I screeched, terrified.

“Oh, James!” I heard echo mockingly around me.

But something inside James snapped at my distress. His arm wrapped around the neck of the boy holding up my shirt, and he squeezed. “Let her go!”

The group fell quiet with surprise. The guy turned red. James shoved him aside and punched the guy holding me in the face. He pulled down my shirt and wrapped his arms around me, rushing us toward the house.

“James!” one of the guys bellowed.

He ignored him and pushed me through the door. Inside we came face to face with Robbie and Carla.

Robbie looked from James to me. “What’s going on?”

“We’re leaving,” James replied.

“What? Jimmy!”

“I’ll talk to ya later, Rob.”

“Hey!” He left Carla and rushed after us into the front yard. “What’s going on?”

James turned to Robbie. “They were getting on Cadence’s case.”

Robbie’s gaze fell on me. “Ah . . . well, she needs to loosen up a bit.”

James pulled me closer. “She’s fine how she is.”

Robbie glared at him. “
You
changed for
her
. The least she could do is give you a little bit back.” His eyes took in my body.

James pulled me away from him. “She’s mine, Rob! Don’t look at her like that!”

“Oh, come on, Jimmy! We all share our girls around. I let you have Carla―”

“Don’t even think about bringing that up! Cadence is different. She’s actually my
girlfriend
! And she’s―”

“A total bore! Geez, James! I thought maybe you were working hard to get her because you knew she’d put out. But apparently not. All she’s done is turn you into another clone because you’re so whipped! Get out of my face until you can bring my best friend back.”

James glared at him. “Gladly.”

He hurried us down the street.

I didn’t dare say a word. I could see his anger as he marched, jaw clenched. We turned the corner, then another, and slowly, he relaxed. His face softened as we walked and distress filled his eyes instead.

We made it to a service station and he called his mum to come pick us up. We sat on the gutter to wait. He pulled his knees up and rested his elbows on them. His head fell into his hands.

I wasn’t sure what to do, but I did want him to know I was grateful he’d stood up for me. I shuffled closer and rested my cheek on his shoulder. “James?”

“Mmm?”

I couldn’t get the words out. They felt fickle after he’d just walked out on his friends. His head turned and he looked at me, waiting for me to speak.

“What are you thinking?” I asked.

He rubbed his eyes. “You don’t wanna know.”

I pulled away from him and wrapped my arms around my knees. “You’re wondering if I’m worth ditching your friends for. That’s okay, I get it, and I’d understand if―”

“Cadence, no!” He grabbed my face. “No! You are worth it. I’d do it a hundred times over because what they just did to you was wrong,
so
wrong.”

My emotions bubbled up and tears welled in my eyes. I cursed my hormones again.

“Oh, Cadence, don’t cry.” He brushed my cheek to wipe away the tear that fell. “I was just thinking that I should have noticed sooner, and I wondered if I’d done things similar and
not
thought it was wrong. I’m also wondering what’s gonna happen when we go back to school. I’m not gonna have any friends.”

“You’ll have me.”

He smiled. “I will.”

“And I have some friends in your grade that would probably be happy to help out.”

He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me against him. I nestled into his chest as he sighed. “Thanks, Cadence.”

I looked up into his face. The pain in his eyes broke my heart. He’d done the right thing, and I wanted him to know that and not feel guilty about it. I sat up and caressed his face before I kissed his cheek. He leaned into me, sighing as I softly pressed my lips against his.

He shuddered. I paused, surprised by the effect I had on him, then kissed him firmly. He pushed into me as our mouths opened and his tongue slipped into my mouth, stroking my lips.

I wrapped my arms around him and pulled closer as our kiss deepened. We were so enthralled in each other, we didn’t notice the car pull up in front of us.

“Herm. James?”

I jumped and looked around to see Karen looking down at us.

She chuckled. “Do you want to drive?”

James shook his head and examined my face. “No, I had something to drink.” He helped me up and opened the door for me.

On the way to his home, he held me close as he stroked my hair. Several times Karen looked in the mirror at him with concern.

“So, James, is everything okay?”

James pulled me closer and kissed my ear, but didn’t say anything.

Karen sighed and looked disappointed. A hint of my motherly instincts kicked in and my heart broke for her. “Karen, James was really brave tonight.”

Her eyes met mine in the mirror. “He . . . what happened?”

“Nothing,” James replied.

“It wasn’t nothing, James,” I said, looking into his eyes. “What you did was one of the hardest things you could ever do.”

“Standing up for you isn’t hard.”

“But standing up against your friends is.” I ran my fingers through his hair. “You’re so brave.”

He took a sharp breath as total adoration gleamed in his eyes. My heart pounded in my chest. I loved how expressive his eyes were, and I gazed into them, reveling in his feelings for me. His gaze flashed to my lips and I smiled. He smiled back, picking up on my cue, and softly kissed me.

After he pulled away, I looked forward again to see Karen smiling at me in the mirror.

At their house, John and Melanie sat watching the TV. Melanie was curled up on the couch, while John halfheartedly read the newspaper on the furthest armchair. They both sat up as we entered, obviously wanting to know what happened.

James didn’t say anything. He took me over to the couch and sat in the middle, pulling me down beside him. He rested my head onto his shoulder and stroked my hair as he stared at the TV.

Melanie stared at him, gaping slightly. She touched his arm and he pulled away. Her gaze flashed to me as she stared with suspicious eyes. She blamed me―that was obvious.

I looked away and saw John watching us over the newspaper. Karen hung up the keys and dumped her bag on a small table by the door. A brief moment of eye contact passed between her and John before she said, “Cadence, would you like to help me bring some snacks and drinks out?”

“Sure.” I moved to stand, but James pulled me back down. I turned to him, startled, but he drew me back into his arms and stared ahead.

“James.”

He looked into my eyes and allowed me to peel his hands off me. I stood, and his gaze never left me as I walked out of the room.

In the kitchen, Karen turned to me, wide-eyed. “What happened?”

I glanced toward the living room and lowered my voice so it wouldn’t carry. She listened intently as I explained everything. When I finished, tears filled her eyes.

“I didn’t know they were that bad,” she said softly. “I knew they weren’t the best influence on James, but they always seemed polite when they came here.”

She sighed and wiped her eyes. “Cadence, you have no idea how grateful I am that he found you. Ever since he looked at Melanie’s grade photo after that disco, I’ve noticed changes in him for the better. But I hadn’t realized how bad it was. He used to be so closed off from us, and although I knew he smoked and drank, I struggled to do anything about it. I’d ground him, and he’d just run away. I’d say no to going to parties, and he’d just sneak out.”

She glanced toward the living room. “Don’t tell him I told you this—he’d be very embarrassed—but since you came along, everything’s changed. He’s so completely smitten with you that impressing you is all that’s mattered for months.”

Heat flushed my cheeks. “I don’t know what to say.”

She wrapped her arms around me. “Nothing. I’m just grateful for you, and I’m grateful you gave him the courage to stand up against his friends and cut them off. This is all I’ve hoped for.”

Touched, I hugged her back. I wondered what had happened to James in the other timeline. Had he ever moved on? He was smart enough. Maybe after high school he found new friends and became the James I knew.

“Karen?” John slipped into the kitchen.

Karen let me go and smiled up at him. “I’m fine, John.”

He looked down at me with concern. “What happened?”

Karen took his arm. “I’ll tell you later.” She handed me a bowl of chips and a bottle of soda.

I walked back into the living room and saw James had gone. Melanie stared up at me as I set the chips on the coffee table.

“Where’d he go?”

“He didn’t wanna see you anymore.”

I sighed and decided to try his room. I was right. As I cracked the door open, he sat up on his bed. “Cadence!”

“Can I come in?”

“Ah . . .” He glanced around the room and hurried to pick up several things. “Okay.”

I entered as he closed the lid to his laundry hamper. I scanned the room, interested to find a poster of a rugby player over the head of his bed; several shelves full of books hung above his desk to my left. I turned to the shelves and examined them. “Sci-fi, huh?”

“Yeah . . .” He rubbed his neck, looking terribly embarrassed. “It’s a new thing.”