Healing Rain (7 page)

He laughed again. “You're an interesting girl, Rain. I thought you said you were boring.”

I blushed. “I am, really. Don't let the dancing fool you.”

He didn't answer; he just looked at me, smiling. There was a brief silence, and suddenly I felt slightly uncomfortable. He seemed to notice and shook his head quickly, looking away. “Well, I guess I'll see you Monday,” he said casually, going back to loading up his trailer.

“Yeah, Monday,” I said, turning around slowly. It was an awkward good-bye, after a weird moment, but I didn't know what else to say or do to make it any better. I took a few steps, and then glanced back at him. He was watching me walk away. I smiled and waved, and then went back to my group.

By that time, Ethan was back. He was leaning against Anna's car, with Alexis standing close to him.
Wow
, I thought.
She didn't waste any time
. I figured she was probably waiting for a chance to be alone with him all night. That was why she had asked him for a ride to the party. She was probably furious that I was taking them home.

“Hey, pretty girl,” he said when he saw me approaching the car. Alexis turned her head toward me and glared when she saw who he was talking to. “You ready to go?”

“Ready when you guys are,” I said, pleased with his new nickname for me. We all loaded into the car – me in the driver's seat, Ethan in the front, and Anna and Alexis in the back. I pulled out of the driveway and headed out onto the road. “Where am I going first? You know I don't really know my way around here.”

Ethan looked in the back seat. “Um, well, Anna lives closest, but since you're staying there I guess you need to go there last. The next closest would be Alexis. You can go there first. Take a right at that stop sign.”

I looked in the back seat. Alexis's irritated expression told me she was unhappy to be the first one to go home, but she couldn't argue. Ethan led me the rest of the way to her house while she sat in silence. She lived in a beautiful house as well. It wasn't quite as big as Anna's, but it was still gorgeous. It had an old Victorian vibe to it, with large white columns and an intricate swirling pattern in the wood trim. She looked at us and hesitated before getting out. “Well, thanks for the ride. See you guys later,” she said, finally realizing she was defeated. She had no way to hit on Ethan with Anna and me in the car.

The next stop was Ethan's house. He lived only a few blocks from Anna's house, in a brick house so big it took my breath away. It was the biggest house I had seen in the whole town. When I thought about it, it was the biggest house I had seen in my whole life. He had to put a code into a keypad to get through a gate that led into the driveway. My mouth dropped as I drove up the driveway and around the fountain to the front door. It looked like it should have its own zip code.

“Wow, Ethan, you have a beautiful home,” I told him, thinking about how he had seen my tiny apartment earlier that day.

“Thanks,” he said, turning towards me. “Hey, Rain, I had a really good time with you tonight,” he said.

I smiled. “Me, too,” I told him, even though in reality, I hadn't been around him all that much. I had spent most of the night dancing with the girls.

He looked back at Anna awkwardly, who was looking out the window, away from us. He turned back to me, and leaned in, closing his eyes. It took me a second to realize what he was doing, but once I did, my heart raced. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, leaning in towards him. Our lips met, and I felt my heart stop completely as electric currents shot through my whole body. His lips were soft and slightly parted, and he raised one hand to cradle my face as he opened his lips a little more to deepen the kiss. His body moved closer to mine as he put his other hand around me, touching my lower back and gently pulling it towards him. I felt my body collapse as I sank into the kiss, forgetting all about Anna, who was sitting in the back seat.

I had no idea how long the kiss lasted; I lost all concept of time. Before I was ready for it to be over, Ethan pulled away. “I better let you guys go,” he whispered, his face still close to mine. “I'll talk to you soon.” He kissed me again, quickly this time, and turned to get out of the car. I watched him as he walked through his front door, and then I tried to pull myself together enough to remember how to drive so that I could stop lingering in his driveway.

Just then, Anna brought me back to reality. I jumped as she put her hands on my shoulders from behind me, shaking me with a squeal. “Ohmygosh, Rain, Ethan just kissed you!” she screamed in a high-pitched voice.

All I could do was nod. Shaking my head hard, I put the car in drive and headed out of the driveway. I couldn't even put words together. It didn't matter; Anna was in the back, rambling on and on about it. “I can't believe this, Rain, he's totally into you! I mean, I
can
believe it because you're totally awesome, but I can't believe that just happened! I
told
you he was flirting with you! This is so awesome!” She chattered nonstop the entire way back to her house while I remained silent. My lips still tingled from the kiss, the butterflies still bounced around in my stomach. The currents still faintly moved throughout my limbs. Somehow, I managed to make it back to Anna's house. I didn't remember parking the car or walking through her house and into her room. My body was on autopilot, floating through the air in pure bliss.

 

 

Once we were back in Anna's room, I found my voice again. “What just happened?” I asked her, my eyes still wide with shock.

She gave me an exasperated look and said, “Um, hello, you just totally made out with Ethan Collins! That's what just happened!”

I grinned and said, “No, I know what just happened, but…what just happened?” And then I burst into laughter, knowing I wasn't really making sense.

She laughed right along with me, and soon we were both giggling uncontrollably, rolling around on the floor, holding our stomachs. We must have looked ridiculous. I felt like a little kid again, except the feelings I had just experienced had been far from the feelings of some little kid. In fact, I had never felt anything so…intense. Sure, I had kissed boys before. I had boyfriends in middle and high school, but none that were ever too serious. And none that had ever made me feel like
that
before.

“What was it like?” she asked, grabbing my arm and sitting up excitedly.

“Um, you were there, Anna,” I said. “You saw the whole thing.”

“Yeah, I know, but give me the details! I was trying to look away to give you guys some privacy,” she said with a smile.

“It was…a kiss,” I said, hesitating to say more. I mean, I just met this girl, and she was friends with Ethan's ex-girlfriend…who knew what was safe to say?

“Oh, come on! You have to tell me more than that. What was it like to kiss Ethan Collins?” She looked so eager that I couldn't help but laugh.

“It was great,” I said honestly, looking down. “He's a good kisser.”

“Ahh, I always knew he would be,” she said, sitting back against her bed and sighing, staring dreamily up at the ceiling. Then, she suddenly looked at me. “I mean, don't get the wrong impression. I don't, like, have a crush on him or anything. It's just, he's Ethan Collins!”

I laughed. “So you keep telling me…”

She shook her head. “No, Rain, you don't understand. Ethan Collins is
the
most popular guy in school. Everyone loves him. He's just so cool because he's like this total jock and you'd think he would be a complete jerk but he's really the nicest guy ever. He's, like, the whole package.”

I shook my head at her with a grin. “Anna, you sound like someone admiring him from afar. You act like you don't hang out with this guy every day. Aren't you guys good friends?”

She nodded. “Oh, yeah, of course! We are, but that doesn't mean we don't all see how hot he is! Plus, he's seriously the sweetest guy in the world.”

I stopped smiling as a thought that was in the back of my head suddenly starting creeping up to the front. I looked at Anna for a moment, trying to decide if I should actually say what I was thinking. Finally, I decided if I didn't ask her, I didn't know who I
wo
uld
ask, so I came out with it. “Anna, there's one thing that I don't understand. I don't want to hurt your feelings because I know she's your friend and everything, but I just have to ask: What did he see in Alexis? I mean, I know that sounds mean of me to say, but she's just so…hateful. She is really pretty, but her personality…” I trailed off, feeling like a jerk. I felt bad for insulting her friend, and regretted saying all of that.

Anna looked at the floor for a moment, and finally spoke. “Look. Alexis can be a horrible person, and I know that. We all know that. But, like I told you earlier, she's an only child and she's used to getting what she wants. I know that's not an excuse, but there's actually more to it than that. I just don't feel comfortable discussing it with you. She's never even really discussed it with me. She's got some…family problems that I shouldn't tell you about. She's really private about it.”

I blinked a few times, taking in what she had just said. “I completely understand. I'm sorry, again. I really shouldn't have said anything.”

She shook her head. “No, you have every right. She hasn't exactly been welcoming to you. I can see why you would wonder about that.”

All I could do was nod and sit in silence. I really did feel bad for judging Alexis so harshly, and for trying to be so competitive with her. I mean, if anybody could understand family issues, it was me. Suddenly I had a newfound respect for Anna for not going into detail about Alexis and her family issues. I mean, I knew that she liked to gossip a little about stupid, petty things like clothes and relationships, but it made me feel good to hear that she was not going to share private information about her friend with me. It made me feel safer, somehow.

Suddenly, I was exhausted. I remembered that I had to get up and be home by ten o'clock, and I looked at the time. “Oh my gosh, Anna, it's four in the morning? I have to be home in, like, six hours. I really need to go to sleep,” I told her, putting on my pajamas.

She yawned. “Yeah, I'm tired, too. I'll set the alarm for nine-thirty and take you home.” She reached up and set her alarm, and then pulled down the flowered comforter on her king-sized bed.

I turned out the light and climbed into the bed. We laid in silence for a few minutes, before I said, “Anna? You still awake?”

“Yeah,” she mumbled. “What's up?”

“Thanks for today. I had fun,” I said, suddenly feeling shy.

“No problem. I'm glad you came,” she said through a yawn. With that, we both turned over away from each other. I was asleep within seconds.

The next thing I knew, I was in my old house. I had just come home from school and was looking at a note from my mom that was sitting on the counter.

Went to Tyler
's classroom p
arty.
I'm staying to help clean up, but
we should be home around 4:00.
Sliced kiwi in the refrigerator.
Love, Mom

I looked at the clock and saw it was three-thirty. Happily, I got into the refrigerator and took out the bowl of sliced kiwi – my favorite snack. Mom was always making our favorites. I ate a few slices, and then noticed through the kitchen window above the sink that my dad's car was parked in the back of the house. That was weird – he should be at work. Where was he? I hadn't heard anything from him since I got here.

I walked up the stairs to look for him. “Dad?” I called, but got no response. I started to go back downstairs, figuring that he had to be outside, but then decided to look in his office. Turning around, I walked back down the hallway to his office, where I found the door shut. After I knocked once and got no response, I opened the door anyway.

A puddle of blood lay ominously on the floor. I froze, and heard a loud, piercing scream. It took a minute to realize that the scream was coming from me.

I heard Anna's voice behind me. “Rain! Rain, are you okay?”

“The blood! The blood!” I shouted.

“Rain, wake up!” Anna yelled. I turned to look at her, wondering why she was telling me to wake up. Suddenly everything was blurry, and I was sitting straight up in the dark, with Anna's hand clutching my arm.

It took me a moment to remember where I was. I was in Anna's bed. It had been a dream. “Rain, you had a nightmare,” she said soothingly, turning on the lamp that sat beside her bed. “What were you dreaming about? It really shook you up! That was the loudest scream I have ever heard, and you were saying something about blood…” she trailed off, waiting for me to respond.

I sat there, breathing heavily, unable to respond for a few moments. “I…I don't remember,” I lied. “I'm sorry!” I said, utterly embarrassed.

She smiled. “Don't worry about it! Just go back to sleep.”

I nodded, wiping the sweat from my forehead. “Sorry,” I said again.

She reached over and turned the light back out. “It's fine,” she whispered.

There were a few minutes of silence, and I thought she had gone back to sleep. Suddenly, she spoke up. “Rain? You still awake?”

“Yeah,” I said.

“Maybe you were having a nightmare about Alexis beating you up over Ethan. That's why you saw blood,” she said, giggling.

“That is so not funny!” I said, but then I couldn't help but laugh.

“Just kidding. That would never happen,” she said, still laughing a little.

“No, it wouldn't. She could never take me; she's way too little,” I said, trying to sound serious, but then we both dissolved into giggles again.

When we finally stopped laughing, it was almost seven o'clock in the morning. I decided to do my best to go back to sleep, even if it would only be for a couple more hours. After I finally put the dream out of my head, I succeeded.