Destiny Binds (4 page)

Alex ignored him to look down to where I was frozen on the ground. “Scout, are you okay?”

“Iʼm fine.” Sure, I was going to have a bruise on my shoulder, and there were a few scrapes on my palms, but I could hardly complain with Jase spouting blood.

“Donʼt talk to her!” Jase looked ready to get even. I found myself worrying about Alex.

Obviously, he could throw a good punch when he wanted to, but Jase was strong. And surrounded by friends. And seriously pissed off.

“Go home, Alex,” I said, picking myself up off the ground.

“Scout--”

I was curious as to what sort of explanation he could have given for the fisticuffs, but I refused to let him finish that thought. “Please, just go home. Youʼve done enough.” I pulled some tissues out of my purse and attempted to wipe some of the blood from Jaseʼs face.

After one final look in my direction, he walked away. Jase and I rode home in complete silence.

“That was incredibly stupid,” Charlie said, bringing my thoughts back to the present. “Do you have any idea what could have happened? What could still happen?” The room was still and silent as an unspoken exchange occurred between them. Despite my feelings about my brotherʼs behavior, I automatically defended him.

“Itʼs no big deal. There were no teachers around, and no one is going to rat out Mr.

Basketball himself. Thereʼs no way this will affect his position on the team or scholarships. Itʼs all good.”

“Good to know I donʼt have to worry then,” Charlie said, never relaxing or taking his eyes off of Jase. For the first time it occurred to me that Charlie may have been in on whatever scheme Toby had conned Jase into.

Charlie repositioned himself so that he was turned towards me. My shoulders felt naked without his arm covering them.

“So, whatʼs the deal with you and this new guy? Do you like him?” Like the typical teenager I am, I rolled my eyes. “No, I donʼt like him. Good grief. Heʼs on the newspaper staff, and we have a couple of other classes together. We were just talking.

Quite frankly, I think heʼs arrogant and rude.”

Charlie chewed this over for a minute. “But he has the hots for you?”

“No, he doesnʼt,” Jase interjected. “Itʼs Scout, for Peteʼs sake. Heʼs obviously playing her to get to me.”

I recoiled as if I had been slapped. Itʼs not like I actually thought Alex liked me. Guys that looked like him only asked girls like me out to win some sort of stupid bet, and that only happened in cheesy teeny-bopper movies. I knew all those dazzling smiles werenʼt really meant for me. And I didnʼt care. I didnʼt want Alex Cole to like me, but to hear my brother dismiss me like that hurt. A lot. I felt tears welling up.

“Scout, he didnʼt mean it like that.” Charlie reached towards me, but the last thing I wanted was pity.

“Get out of my room.” I closed my eyes to keep the tears trapped.

“Iʼm sorry—”

“Please just leave me alone for a minute,” I managed to get out without my voice breaking.

Charlie, as always, came to my rescue. “Letʼs go, man. Cʼmon.” As soon as I managed to get the waterworks under control I stomped into the bathroom that connected Jaseʼs room to mine and began digging through the medicine cabinet. I was being overly emotional and moody. A double dose of Midol was definitely in order.

I must have been making a lot of noise, because there was a tap at the door, and then Charlieʼs voice asked, “Can I come in?”

Instead of answering, I reached over and turned the knob. Charlie was leaning against the door frame, looking more tempting than anyone standing two feet from a toilet had a right to.

“Your brother feels like shit.”

“Yeah, well I wouldnʼt be surprised if his nose was actually broken.”

“Thatʼs not what I meant, Smarty Pants.”

I closed the medicine cabinet and caught my reflection on the mirrored door. There were big red blotches creating a striking contrast to my fair skin. My eyes were puffy and gave off an eerie glow. There was even a little bit of snot along the edge of my nose.

Nice.

How could I blame Jase for pointing out the truth?

“Iʼm not mad at him,” I said, getting a tissue for my nose. “Itʼs okay. No big.” I hadnʼt seen Charlie move from the doorway, so I was startled when I felt his arms pulling me into an embrace. I instantly regretted not being one of those tiny little girls who can snuggle into a guyʼs chest when they need to be comforted. Instead, I had to make do with leaning my forehead against his.

Actually, that was pretty awesome too.

“If you want my personal opinion, Jase is wrong.” Charlieʼs breath smelled like cinnamon.

“Iʼll bet you batted those long lashes, gave a rare Scout giggle, and the boy turned to mush.” Yet another ridiculous tear made the short trek from the corner of my eye to my chin.

Charlie pulled back and wiped it from my cheek. It was a very tender and sweet thing to do, which was why I was completely unprepared for what he said next.

“That means itʼs even more important for you to stay away from him. He canʼt be trusted.

Itʼs not a question of if but when he hurts you. We just want to keep you safe. So, please, donʼt encourage him. Okay?”

I stepped back, moving to the other end of the tiny room. “Iʼm not some mindless ditz that tries to hook up with every cute guy that notices she exists —”

“Scout…”

“And I donʼt take orders from you or Jase —”

“Weʼre not —”

“And I donʼt like being the only one in the dark here. Tell me whatʼs going on, Charlie.

He scratched the back of his neck. “I donʼt know what youʼre talking about.”

“Yes, you do. Whatʼs up between you guys and the Coles? I feel like weʼve suddenly stepped into the middle of
The Outsiders
.”

“Itʼs complicated.”

I crossed my arms and cocked my head to assume what Jase and Charlie had always called my teacher stance. “Well, Charles, I believe history has proven that of the three of us, Iʼm the smart one. So, why donʼt you go ahead and tell me what is going on. Maybe I can uncomplicate it for you.”

I mentally prepared myself for a fight. After the day I had, I was hungry for it. I wanted to scream and yell and let out all of my pent up frustrations, so I was more than a little disappointed when Charlie didnʼt take the bait.

“Sorry, kiddo.” He really did look sorry. Of course, calling me “kiddo” didnʼt exactly endear me to his cause. “This isnʼt the sort of problem that can be figured out with those complex equations or thick books you like so much.”

“Donʼt be so sure. The answers to all of lifeʼs problems are out there. Itʼs just a question of finding the right book.” My desire to have a throw down was slowly subsiding, but that didnʼt mean I was ready to give up. “Lucky for you, Iʼve read lots of books. So, if youʼll just explain the ʻsitch...”

“The ʻsitch? Did you watch that
Kim Possible
movie again? You know it only makes you sad that you donʼt have a hairless mole-rat of your very own.”

“One, Iʼve been watching
Buffy
, not
Kim Possible
. And two, it is so not fair that Dad wonʼt let me get a Rufus when he lets Angel keep that stupid turtle.” Charlie came across the room to gather me once again into his arms. He was being uncharacteristically touchy-feely. It was kinda nice.

“God, Iʼm going to miss you,” he said, giving me a peck on the forehead. For the record, my forehead was very happy. The rest of me, however, was realizing this was goodbye.

Yes, he would be home on the holidays and maybe the summers. We would still text, email, and talk on the phone, but I knew things would never be the same. After seventeen years of growing up together, this was the first giant step towards growing apart.

“Iʼm going to miss you, too.” I was also going to completely dehydrate if I didnʼt stop crying.

Fifteen minutes later, I heard Jase and Charlie pulling out of the driveway as they headed off to a farewell game of pool at Randyʼs. I sank onto the bed, left alone with my thoughts and Guido.

Chapter 4

Thereʼs an old adage about everything looking better in the morning light. Iʼm guessing that whoever thought of that had never been punched in the face.

Jase woke up the next day with two black eyes and a huge, bulbous nose. Mom, a registered nurse who surprisingly bought the rogue football story, thought he should go in for X-rays. Jase brushed it off by telling her, in a somewhat nasally voice, that a crooked nose would help him to look tough.

I countered that no one ever described Owen Wilson as tough.

When we got to school everyone was talking about the “major throw down” that had gone on the day before. There were at least a dozen different rumors going around as to the cause.

It was about a girl. Basketball. Money. Drugs. Gay love. Pirates versus ninjas. (Okay, so the whole pirates versus ninjas one came from me, but how was I supposed to respond to all the people who kept asking me what happened?)

The most prevalent theory, however, had to be that Alex Cole had been misguided enough to flirt with Scout Donovan. Some versions even had me delivering the first punch after a confession of undying affection. I overheard Ashley Johnson shooting down that theory in AP

English.

“Oh come on,” she said when one of her plastic friends mentioned it. “Have you seen Alex Cole? Heʼs hot. Like Johnny Depp hot. The fact that he would even speak to Scout is mind boggling. He was just being kind to her because heʼs, like, a super-sweet guy. Itʼs probably some sort of Freak Outreach program or something, yʼknow?”

“I guess itʼs some type of Whore Outreach program that makes him talk to you.” It was the first time I had spoken to her in over a year. I knew I should feel bad about calling her a whore, it wasnʼt very Christianly of me, but at that moment I really didnʼt care. The last thing Ashley made me feel was godly.

All of the interchangeable girls sitting around Ashley looked aghast, but the witch just narrowed her beady eyes. “Are you actually climbing down off that high horse to speak to us, Scout? If so, maybe you could enlighten us all as to why your brute of a brother was picking on the sizzlinʼ new guy.”

Sizzlinʼ new guy?
Who talked like that?

#

“What? You didnʼt know? It was all about you.” All of the bitterness I had been carrying around since last summer weighed heavily in my words. “Alex said he heard that you were a backstabbing skank that would screw her best friendʼs boyfriend. Jase was just trying to defend your honor. He really is quite fond of you.”

Of course, Ashley is exactly the kind of skank that would sleep with one of her former best friendʼs boyfriend. She would even be so skanky as to do it in my own bed.

As for Jase, he would happily beat her to death with her own arm and she knew it. Mostly because he had told her as much.

“You are so self-righteous. What makes you think youʼre so much better than the rest of us?”

“Iʼm not better than everyone,” I said honestly, “just you.” I turned and walked away without waiting for her reply.

My high from putting the back-stabbing ho in her place lasted exactly fifty-eight minutes. I was trying to avoid the unidentifiable sticky black substance that clung to one of the legs of my desk in Mr. Beckʼs room when I felt him standing by me.

“Hey,” Alex said softly. I noticed several pairs of curious eyes flicker in our direction. John Davis brazenly turned around in his seat to witness the action.

Great. Confrontation with an audience. With Ashley I had been thinking of what I would say to her for fourteen months. I had played the scene over and over in my head and was just waiting for the right moment. This was different. I didnʼt know what I was going to say or even why I was saying it.

“What do you want?”

The room was small and cramped, forcing him to stand too close to me. The angle made him look very tall. “I just wanted to say that Iʼm sorry.”

“Itʼs not my nose thatʼs broken.” Although, I did have a fairly wretched bruise on my shoulder, but that was mostly Jaseʼs fault.

“Yeah, but youʼre the one I really donʼt want to be mad at me.” As messed up as it was, I wasnʼt mad at Alex. It wasnʼt his fault his brother needed some serious psychiatric help, and that mine was a tad bit over-protective. I wanted to tell him it was no big deal, but instead I did what Jase and Charlie had asked me to do.

“Alex, letʼs be clear on something. You and me? Weʼre not friends. Weʼre not going to be friends. If you could just leave me alone from now on, that would be awesome.” Apparently I had caught him off guard. It took him a minute to respond. “Is that what you want, or what your brother wants?”

“Itʼs what I want,” I lied. “Now, if you could please just go sit down and start pretending like I donʼt exist, my life would be perfect.” Or, at least, it would be normal.

“Iʼm sorry I bothered you then.” Taking my advice, he went to his desk and proceeded to ignore me for the next several months.

***

It didnʼt take long for a monotony to overtake our senior year. Every Tuesday there was a

“surprise” pop quiz in AP English, and on Fridays we did a lab in AP Chemistry that never actually worked. Mr. Beck consistently assigned at least two hours worth of homework every night. Even the Shakespeare class had fallen into a pattern: read a play, watch the movie, write a paper.

Every day during lunch, Jase would eat with Talley and me in a corner booth before going to hang out with his friends. Talley and I would then usually shuffle off to the library to spend the remainder of our break hunched over text books. We both decided four AP classes may have been a bit much.

I was so busy with the mountains of homework I had to move on a daily basis that I didnʼt have time to notice Alex Cole. I didnʼt notice the way he would click his pen when he was really trying to concentrate. I didnʼt notice that he only seemed to own five T-shirts, all of which hinted at the lithe, muscular body underneath. I didnʼt notice that he had a habit of licking his lips before he spoke, or that his left dimple was more pronounced than the right one. I certainly didnʼt notice (or care) that he took Ashley to Homecoming.