Rising Tide: Dark Innocence (The Maura DeLuca Trilogy Book 1) (8 page)

I didn’t know what to say to him
next, but my mind was formulating phrases like, “Have you ever thought about
moving to Vancouver?”

He was definitely becoming more
ingrained in me.  I thought of him so often.  When I went to sleep at
night, he wove his presence into my dreams.  Even when I had nightmares
about what had happened last Saturday, he always made an appearance at the end
to save me, just as he had in real life.  He was always on my mind when I
awoke, wishing that he was lying beside me…but only so I could have the depths
within his eyes be the first thing I became aware of.  At times, I would
resolve to be stronger, knowing our separation was inevitable, but that resolve
never seemed to stick with me for very long.  I guessed I was doomed to
know a bit of Caelyn’s suffering, despite the fact that I’d decided a long time
ago to never let that kind of thing happen to me. 

He broke through my silent,
meandering thoughts, “You have some real classics here,” he noted.  This
seemed to please him.  He was holding my copy of
Lunar Silver Star
Story
.  He knew of that game? 

“Have you ever played it?” I asked
disbelieving.

“Oh yea.”  He said it like
there could be no way he hadn’t.  “This is one of the best games ever.”

“It’s my second favorite,” I said.

“Oh…then I guess your first is?” he
inclined his head toward my PlayStation.

I blushed again, and nodded. 
I still couldn’t believe how boneheaded I’d been to forget about renaming my
characters like that…and actually allowing him to get anywhere near the
controller.

He did grin again, at my
embarrassment I guessed, but he let it go and asked, “What do you think about
VII
?”

“Oh!  I love Sepiroth!”

“You like the bad guy?”  His
eyebrows shot up in surprise.

“There’s just something…sad about
him…and his hair is really cool,” I added sheepishly.

“So, you like guys with long hair,
huh?”  He’d put the game back on the shelf and was walking back toward
me.  I couldn’t hear the song playing on the computer speakers
anymore.  There was an electric kind of buzzing inside my head. 

“Mm-hmm,” was all I managed. 

He kept walking until he stood
right in front of me.  “Do you like me?”

He was very direct, but it suited
him.  I still gulped.  “Of course.”  Now I’d gone and done
it.  What good could come out of this?

He moved on, almost like I hadn’t
said anything.  He didn’t visibly react in any way to my confession. 
“How strict do you think your mother is going to be with this grounding thing?”

“Very,” I admitted.  In this
moment that knowledge bothered me…a lot.

The corners of his smile turned
down.  He took my hand into one of his and my heart sped.  “That’s
too bad, I was going to ask you to prom.”

Ugh.  Being around all those
phonies at school, clad in a ridiculously overdone dress.  It definitely
wasn’t my idea of a good time.

“I really didn’t want to go
anyway.”  I could see him search my face to determine if that was really
the truth or I was just trying to let him down easy.

I continued quickly so he wouldn’t
get the wrong idea, “Besides, that is a nighttime activity.  If we want
to…get around Mom’s restrictions, we’ll have to find things to do while she’s
at work.”

“So you want to cut more classes?”
he grinned at me.  Relief had flooded his features when I’d mentioned that
I wanted to do other things—besides prom—with him. 

Hmmm, I’d actually been thinking of
making the most of the three hours we’d have after school…but as long as I was
in trouble anyway….”Sure,” I grinned back conspiratorially.   

“So what should we do first?” he
asked eagerly.

“Well…I have to get started on
dinner.  Now is definitely not the time to make her suspicious at all.”

He pulled at me then, towing me
toward the kitchen.  “Great!  I’ll help.”

The next morning, Caelyn was out
the door before me—as usual—but today that was an especially good thing. 
I actually peeked out the window to make sure she drove away.  Sneaking
around was really making me paranoid.  But, this was the first time I’d
ever cut an entire day of school before. I’d hardly ever missed school during
the entire three years I’d been attending the high school.  I didn’t doubt
that my forged excuse would escape any scrutiny by the school secretary.

Now for the more important
worry.  What to wear?  I was determined that Ron wouldn’t see any
more of my childishly patterned pajamas.  Funny how I’d never seen them in
that light until that night…

I threw open the doors to my little
closet and combed through the shirt options.  Jeans would be a necessity
for an amusement park, but since dresses made up the larger part of my
wardrobe, my choices for what went over them was a bit limited.  I thought
of raiding Caelyn’s closet for a moment, but came across my favorite shirt just
in time.  It was a long-sleeved, light sweater.  The sleeves and top
part were smooth, but below the empire waist, accented by a black ribbon that
tied around the back, the sweater had a slightly raised texture like a
basket-weave.  It was an unusual cherry-red color with three, golden,
star-shaped buttons in a line at the topmost part of the shirt.  There was
an almost medieval look to the top that I loved.

I threw on a pair of black jeans—to
accentuate the ribbon on the top—socks and my sneakers and ran to the bathroom
to put my face and hair in order.  My lashes received a light coating of
mascara to make my eyes pop just a bit, and I added a bit of cherry-colored lip
gloss to my heart-shaped mouth to match the sweater. I was just finishing a
light coating of hairspray to tame my oddly-thickening curls into place when
the doorbell rang.  I squealed a bit in anticipation, surprising myself,
and ran downstairs, pausing a moment to make it look like I was opening the
door calmly.

He probably didn’t miss my sharp
intake of breath though, as I took in his image, my eyes widening.  The
sun was behind his head, a halo of light.  This put his face in shadow,
his eyes seemed darker, more mysterious.  They sparkled, as if he was just
as excited about today as I felt. 

“Hi,” I finally managed in a
breathy voice.

“Hi!”  This boisterous tone
didn’t come from my brown-eyed angel.  I finally noticed that Shane stood
off to his right, something I’d been completely unaware of until he’d spoken.

“Shane?”

“The one and only! 
Surprise!” 

I was surprised.  And a bit
disappointed.  Maybe Ron had brought his friend along because he didn’t
want to be alone with me…or give me the wrong idea.

Though I tried to hide it, the distress
must have broken through in some part of my expression.

“Is it a problem if I come along?”
Shane asked, suddenly less enthusiastic.

“Well…it’s not only him,” Ron
admitted, looking a bit guilty now, “he brought Merina along too.”

Oh!  A double date.  That
was much better than just Shane coming alone.  Ron and I were a couple
again instead of an unbalanced threesome.  Not that I would have really
minded.  Shane was too much fun to be around.  I’d really only been
worried about the fact that Ron might not have wanted me to think of today as a
date…which I realized I’d already been doing.  

“Of course, Shane,” I perked right
up, smiling at both of them, “it wouldn’t be the same without you!”

He grinned back at me, his eyes
alight, but Ron still looked a bit troubled.  I couldn’t explain my former
reluctance without revealing just how terrified I was of him rejecting
me.  I’d dealt with ridicule and avoidance for so long that I came to
expect it as an unavoidable eventuality.

But would he think I was being a
snob to his friend?  “I was just afraid you’d sit with Ron on the big
coasters and leave me to be terrified all alone.” I added, hopeful it would be
explanation enough.  Realization dawned in Ron’s eyes then, and it filled
me with a strange happiness to know he understood me so easily.

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure we get
plenty of alone time,” he promised, making my heart race at the
implications.  He captured one of my hands, his own hand felt almost too
warm around my own.

“Wow! Maura, your skin is like ice
today!”  I tried to reclaim my hand then, but he refused to let it
go.  “It’s okay,” he picked up the other one.  “It feels good. 
It’s already getting hot this morning.”

His words reminded me of what would
happen today if I stood out in the sun too much.  I glanced up at the sky,
hoping for even a trace of cloud, but my gaze came up empty.  The sky was
nothing but blue and yellow today.  Nothing to hide the glare floated
there at all.  I hadn’t thought about this possible complication until
this moment. 

This time, I kept the worry to
myself, burying it beneath a smile borne of looking at the softness emanating
from Ron’s stare.  Somehow I would avoid getting sick.  I couldn’t
let any of them find out about that facet of my weirdness.

As I ran to get my tiny black
purse—today lighter was definitely better—I thought of all the shady places
that existed at Kennywood.  I’d been there nearly every summer of my
existence, and Caelyn was a master at keeping me out of the sun. 

As we walked to his car, he noted,
“I love that sweater on you, but don’t you think it’s a bit too hot for that?”

I was used to covering up.  “Oh,
it’s thin, really.  And I’ll just make sure to keep out of the sun.” 
Perfect.

Merina was a quiet girl.  Her
heart-shaped, pixyish face was pale and framed by shoulder-length, straight,
black-brown hair.  Her eyes were a peculiar shade of hazel-green with a
depth that seemed impenetrable.  They were wide and round, giving her a
look of exaggerated innocence.  I noticed in the rear view mirror that
they flicked often to the boy in the back seat beside her.  She was
obviously enamored with Shane completely.

Her shyness had him teasing and
joking the whole ride to the park, trying to draw her out of her shell. 
Clearly, he liked her very much, too.

Ron and Shane got the tickets, so
strongly against me or Merina paying, that they wouldn’t even let us accompany
them to the ticket booths—like they thought we would try something sneaky.

Once inside Ron and I asked at the
same time, “So what do you guys wanna do first?”  We looked at each other
and smiled.

“Two words…Roller.  Coaster,”
Shane replied, his eyes shining in anticipation.

I was hoping he would say
that.  “Which one?” I asked.

“Well…that depends…wooden or
steel?  Indoor or outdoor?  Single coaster or racing coasters?”

“Too many choices,” Ron shot back
at him, “let’s just ride the one we get to first.”

Shane shrugged, “Works for
me.”  He took off at an animated pace, dragging Merina behind.  He
started to sing, “
Roller coaster…of love…roller coaster…
”  He swung
her hand in rhythm with the Red Hot Chili Pepper’s words.

I laughed as we started after them,
Ron taking my hand, as well.

I noticed that Shane took a route
around the park that would take us to the Phantom’s Revenge coaster
first.  Oh well, we might as well start big.  The big, looping
coaster’s second hill dropped more than 200 feet, with the coaster reaching a
speed of 85 mph.  It always made me feel like my stomach was in my
throat…but I loved every minute.  I just hoped we wouldn’t have to stand
out in the sun too long, waiting in line. 

Luck was not with me here. 
The line was long, and not very much of it was under cover.  I nervously
licked my lips as I looked at the snaking rows of people waiting to ride. 
Of course, Ron instantly picked up on this.  He seemed so ‘aware’ of me at
times, it was mind-boggling.

“Everything ok?” he whispered it,
using the opportunity to brush his lips against my ear in a way that I didn’t
think was an accident.  I had goosebumps everywhere.

“Sure.”  My tone wasn’t
completely confident, and I could tell by his uneasy expression that he’d
caught the sound in my voice.

At the moment there was nothing I
wanted more than to
not
get sick in front of this sweet, extremely-good-looking
boy.  We stood in the line for 15 minutes, the sun relentlessly beating
down on me.  I was envious of all the people around me who looked like
they were soaking it up, enjoying every fragment of light it poured down upon
us. 

I was beginning to feel the first
tinge of nausea.  Slight, like being spun around too fast, but a definite
warning of unpleasant things to come. I wrestled over which was worse, running
off to stand under a nearby tree—but retaining the breakfast digesting in my
stomach—or puking—quite possibly
on
Ron in the tightly packed line—and
making a complete spectacle of myself.  I chose the less embarrassing…but
embarrassing, still nonetheless…option and pulled my hand free of Ron’s. 
Mine was still so chilly, his palm was left unsweaty, even in the summer-like
heat. 

“Maura?” he questioned.

“I think I’m going to go stand
under that tree…if you don’t mind.”  I could feel the heat creep into my
cheeks.  “The sun is just so strong today.”

“Are you okay?  I knew you
weren’t feeling good.  Your skin is so cold, are you coming down with
something?  Do you want to go home?”  His words were escaping in a
worried rush.

“No, no!”  I saw the panic in
Shane’s eyes.  “I just…don’t do well in the sun.” I admitted, dropping my
head and the volume of my voice. 

He seemed to catch on quickly to
the humiliation I was feeling.  He immediately let the subject drop. 
But he insisted on going with me, explaining to the people behind us in line
that I didn’t feel well, so that we could reclaim our place behind Shane and
Merina once they reached the covered part at the station.  We moved over
into the shade and down along the line of trees, off to the side, as our
friends moved up through the metal dividers, following their progress. 

“Thank you,” I whispered to Ron,
once we were out of the sun.  I was overjoyed that he didn’t press the
issue.  The only questions he asked while we were waiting were of the safe
variety.  What was my favorite food, color, anime…those types of things.
And of course I had plenty of questions for him, too.   I’d never had
time waiting for something wonderful go so fast…or be so much fun. 

“What’s your favorite color?” I
asked.

“Green…I like trees.  Hey, do
you like hiking?”

“Sure,” I lied, then corrected,
“well, I’m sure I would like it if I went.”  He laughed his easy laugh.

“I’ll have to take you before you
go.”  He looked away for a minute.  I heard him take in a sharp
breath, and then he turned back to me.  “But let’s not talk about that
anymore today.”

“Ok,” I agreed, feeling as
melancholy as he looked.

“When’s your birthday?” I asked to
distract him.  I hated to see that look on his face. 

“September ninth.
^.
  And
let’s see, yours is June twenty-fourth?”

How did he know?  All I could
do was look at him open-mouthed, shocked.

“Hey!  You two had better get
over here!” Shane yelled over to us.

Shane and his girl had reached the
boarding station—that was gloriously covered.  Quickly, we slipped back in
line behind them, given the others waiting in line around us were so
forgiving.  I was still pondering how he’d known my birthdate.  We’d
only been speaking to each other a few weeks, and I was sure I’d never revealed
that bit of information to him. 

“Are you ready for this?” Ron
asked, excitement in his eyes.  Then he looked worried again, “Are you
sure you’re up to it?  You feeling okay?”

I rolled my eyes at him, trying to
distract him from his worry.  “Are you going to ask me that before we get
on
every
ride today?”

“Just making sure.”  He took
my hand again.  He must have thought I still felt cold, because he rubbed
it between both of his like he was trying to warm mine up.  I smiled at
his caring gesture.  Just standing beside him made me feel warm.

Shane was fairly bouncing with
excitement when we were next to be loaded into the coaster cars.  I
thought he was going to drag Merina off her feet before they crossed the short
distance to their seats.  Ron led me over, considerably more gently,
holding my hand while I stepped down into the car. I felt the first twinges of
nervous elation when our shoulder bars were clicked into place.

“You nervous at all?” I wondered if
he had some uncanny ability to read my mind that he was keeping from me.

“Nope,” I lied, “you?”

“In a good way,” he responded,
laughing a little. I decided right there his laugh was my favorite sound in the
world.  “But despite what you say,
I
think you are a little
scared.  So, I’ll just hold your hand for you.”

“You’re my white knight,” I
responded, loving the way it felt when his fingers intertwined with mine.

It had been a couple of years since
Caelyn had brought me to this park, so the second drop—the big one—seemed to
make my heart stop for a few seconds.  Ron and I were both laughing wildly
as our coaster shot up from under the tracks of the wooden coaster beside it. 
It was a great effect.  When we’d dropped down our coaster’s biggest hill,
the path under the other coaster made it seem, for a moment, like you would
crash right into the wooden struts supporting it.

“That was
GREAT
,” Shane
exploded when we were climbing back onto the platform, back at the
station.  Merina looked a little pale.  Her legs shook once she was
upright again.  Shane snickered and hugged her close.  Watching their
easy intimacy made me hug Ron to me, almost unconsciously.  I didn’t even
realize I’d put my arm about his waist until I was squeezing him against my
side.  He beamed at me...of course, I blushed in response.