Aftershocks (34 page)

“Not here, Alexis,” Connor said, pushing past her as he drug me along with him.

I watched her eyes bug out of her head as we passed, but she quickly recovered, throwing one last barb at us. “I thought you didn’t want my sloppy seconds, Abby? What’s wrong, couldn’t find a guy of your own, so you had to go after my boyfriend?”

“Ex-boyfriend, Alexis,” I caled over my shoulder. “He broke up with you, remember?” I fought the urge to add, ‘because you’re a cheating whore’ because it just wasn’t ladylike, but also because I knew that wasn’t the real reason they’d broken up.

I heard her sharp intake of breath, especialy when she saw how many people were staring at her. Al around us in the halway people had stopped, no doubt hoping to see a repeat of our epic battle from the year before, but this time I wouldn’t give Alexis the satisfaction of getting her digs in. The one thing I knew she hated most was being ignored, and we’d essentialy done that. She also hated to be embarrassed. It was a good thing I’d held my tongue.

“Don’t let her get to you,” came Connor’s calming voice in my ear as he walked me to my next class. “It’s what she wants.”

“She’s right, though. I completely stole her boyfriend, and I had no qualms about doing it. I had no remorse, as I weaseled my way in and took what I wanted. You have to admit, that’s kind of shitty.”

Connor’s arm slid around me, puling me close, and I noticed everyone was staring. We were together, and we had gone public.

“First of al, you saying you took what you wanted is incredibly hot. Feel free to take it again anytime.” His voice was low, his lips close to my ear. “Second, you basicaly disarmed me with your smile from the moment we met, so I didn’t have much of a choice. It wasn’t like you schemed and plotted and tricked me into faling for you. I got there on my own. Alexis just got caught in the crossfire. I never should have stayed with her as long as I did.”

“It just took a while for this to catch up with this,” I said, touching my finger to first his head and then to his heart.

“I’m glad they’re finaly on the same page,” he murmured. “I’m finaly with the girl I was supposed to be with al along.”

“Alexis doesn’t see it that way,” I said when we stopped in front of my classroom.

“She wil,” he said, kissing me on the nose before heading toward his own classroom.

“I disarmed you with my smile?” I caled out when he was a few feet from me, raising my eyebrows.

He turned and smirked at me. “You sure did.”

“You totaly snaked that from a Smashing Pumpkins song,” I said, shaking my head.

“The fact that you know that is incredibly sexy.”

“I told you, I’m not like most girls.”

He shook his head a few times as he took the steps to close the distance between us. His arms threaded around my waist, as he puled me to him. “And that, A-dorable Abby, is one of the many reasons I fel in love with you.”

The next three weeks passed in a blur of holiday merriment and new relationship bliss with thankfuly no more Alexis run-ins. School was out, so Connor and I spent every day together. Mostly we participated in very G-Rated activities with Jordan, like playing video games, baking Christmas cookies and having snowbal fights in their backyard, but there were some nights when Connor’s dad would be out of town or working late and Jordan would be in bed, and I would have Connor al to myself. Those were the nights when we stayed up late talking and kissing, feeling like we were the only two people in the world.

His dad was home the week of Christmas but had to fly out again on the twenty-sixth, so Connor and Jordan spent Christmas day with him, and then they al came over to our house for dessert. It was nice to have our families together, especialy since Aaron was home from school. Much to my dismay, Wyatt spent Christmas in California with Jeremy’s family but told me he would be home for New Year’s Eve and my birthday on January 2nd.

Aaron griled Connor for the first hour we were al together, but then he seemed to deem him suitable for me and let it go. That was the only point at which I was glad Wyatt wasn’t there since I knew he’d be as overprotective as Aaron, and I didn’t want to subject Connor to more of that than I had to. Wyatt was already skeptical of him since he’d been privy to my rants each time Connor rejected me, so I think he was stil waiting for Connor to prove he was worthy of me. I had a feeling Wyatt would come around when they finaly met.

Nicky caled me from Breckenridge where she and her family had gone for the holidays to tel me al about their ski trip. When she left, she had accused me to ditching her for Connor and said she would never do that to me, but halfway through our conversation she had to take another cal, and I resisted the urge to cal her out on it. She was seeing someone new. She’d met him at a party the week before school let out, and she hadn’t told me anything more than that.

I could tel she was faling for him even though she’d been rather tight-lipped, which was a first for her. In the past, she couldn’t wait to tel me al about every new guy she met. She thought she was faling in love with each and every one of them and would always get her hopes dashed when she was too eager or the guy wasn’t looking for anything serious. This guy seemed different. I wasn’t sure if it was because she wasn’t talking about him or that he was stil caling her three weeks later or the fact that he was caling her while she was on a family vacation, but whatever it was, it seemed Nicky might have finaly found her guy.

It’s amazing how when you’re in love, you want everyone around you to be in love too, and I couldn’t have been happier for my friend.

I also couldn’t have been happier for myself as I lay on Connor’s bed a few days after Christmas, listening to music as the as the sun set outside. It was only four o’clock, but it felt much later. We had been lazy al day which would explain why I was tired. I had dinner with my family in an hour, though, so I had to wake up.

“I believe someone has a birthday coming up,” Connor said, as he gazed down at me. He was propped up on his elbow. “A very important birthday, I might add.”

“Yeah,” I said sheepishly, looking up at him. In a few days, I would be eighteen.

“What do you want to do to celebrate? We can do anything you want.”

I hadn’t given it much thought. Wyatt had talked about going to a club in the city, but we hadn’t made any definite plans.

“We don’t have to do anything,” I said. “It’s not a big deal.” Yeah, right. I was being humble, and I knew it. I secretly loved my birthday and couldn’t wait to celebrate with Connor.

“Yeah, it is,” said the guy who hadn’t wanted to make a big deal about his eighteenth birthday. “Come on, if you could go anywhere, where would it be? Disney World? New York? Fishing?”

“Fishing?”

“I was just seeing if you were paying attention. Never mind. I’ve got it. It’l be perfect. I’l surprise you.”

“No. No surprises. I hate surprises. Please tel me,” I begged/whined, even though I sort of liked Connor’s surprises.

On Christmas Eve, Connor had asked me to meet him late at night after everyone was asleep. His dad had been home for a few days, so we hadn’t been alone in a while. I waited until the house was quiet before sneaking out to my tree house. When I got there, I was taken aback by the hundreds of candles that rimmed the wals, lighting up the whole place. There was a smal Christmas tree in the corner with lights and two presents underneath.

Connor greeted me at the opening, puling me up into the space. We’d sat in the glow of the candles, drinking hot chocolate and eating Christmas cookies while the heater kept us warm. When Connor handed me my presents, he grinned from ear to ear, more excited for me to open them than I was. In one box was a beautiful sweater that he confessed Nicky helped him pick out, but in the other was a ring made up of a heart with ends that crisscrossed. As he put it on me, he told me he hadn’t given his heart to anyone in a realy long time and there was just one condition to giving it to me. He asked that I keep it safe. Then he kissed me, and I swear I didn’t stop smiling the whole next day, every time I looked at my hand.

“Wel, if I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise, now would it,” Connor said, trying to sound impatient.

“No, I guess not. Can I have a hint?”

He thought for a minute. “Sure. What we’re doing, you can’t do it here – in our town.”

“Yeah, that narrows it down. Thanks.”

“Wel, that’s the only clue you’re getting. You’l just have to wait until your birthday.”

“Fine,” I said, giving him a ful pout, which he promptly kissed away.

“Do you want to watch a movie,” he asked, thought his kisses.

“I can’t. I need to be home by five for family dinner.”

“What is it, the early bird special?” He was such a comedian.

“Ha, ha. No, Aaron and my dad are going to a Celtics game, and my mom wil probably go to bed early. Which means, if you want, I can come over later and entertain you.”

“Oh, do I ever, but just for good measure, I think we should practice now. You know, just so we know what to do later.”

“You think so?”

“I know so,” he said, leaning over to kiss me.

***

After the guys left for the game, she’d talked me into watching a movie. We’d left the remnants of dinner on the table, promising ourselves we’d get to them later.

“What are your plans for tonight?” she asked, as she cleared the half-empty Chinese take-out containers off the table.

“Hanging out with Connor,” I said, through a bite of an egg rol. There was only one left, so I figured I couldn’t waste it.

“You kids never get tired of seeing each other, do you?”

“Nope.”

“Ah, young love.”

“Mom, you make it sound so cheesy.” I couldn’t tel her how we felt about each other. She wouldn’t understand. My parents thought we were too young to be in love.

“Sorry, honey. I won’t comment on your relationship again.”

“Thank you.”

I started to close the lid on the Mu Shu Pork when I heard my cel phone vibrating on the counter. I popped a piece of pork into my mouth and went to answer it. The caler ID said it was Jack which was strange since I hadn’t realy talked to him since school had let out.

“Hey Jack. What’s up?”

“Abby,” he said, and his voice cracked. He started to cry. My heart jumped into my throat, and I immediately thought something had happened to Wyatt. Jack was not a crier. The last time I’d seen him cry had been while Wyatt was in the hospital. Something was wrong.

“Jack, what is it?” I tried to remain calm, but my heart was pounding out of my chest.

“It’s Connor.”

Connor?

“What about Connor?” I demanded. He didn’t say anything. “Jack!”

“There’s been an accident.”

“What do you mean?!”

He was crying. “It’s bad. You need to get down here.”

“Where?! Jack, what happened?!” I could hear an ambulance siren in the background. “Where are you?!”

“I’m at work.”

My brain went cloudy for a minute as I tried to place where Jack worked and why Connor was injured at Jack’s work. It didn’t make any sense. Then everything suddenly clicked into place. Jack volunteered at the hospital. He wanted to go to medical school, so he spent a few days a week volunteering. Connor was in the hospital.

Oh, my God.

I could barely breathe. I felt my phone slip out of my hand, as I slid down to the floor, my back scraping against the cabinets.

“Abby?” my mother caled out, as she realized what had happened.

From the phone, I could hear Jack saying, “Abby? Abby!”

My mom saw the look on my face and picked the phone up off the floor. “Jack?” she said. “This is Mrs. Lucas. What’s going on?”

Jack must have been talking on the other end of the phone, because she was silent for a few minutes before I heard her say, “Oh my.

Oh no. Okay, we’l be right there. Thank you, Jack.” Then she hung up the phone.

Connor was hurt. Connor was hurt. This was not real. This was not happening.

My mom knelt down beside me. “Abby, we need to get to the hospital.”

I looked at her. “He’s hurt?”

“Yes, he is.”

“How bad is it?”

“He has a broken leg, some cuts and he hit his head, but they don’t know how bad it is. He’s stable, but he’s stil unconscious.”

I felt the tears start to fal down my cheeks as I buried my head in my hands. He was unconscious. “What happened?” I asked, though it came out muffled.

“I don’t know, but the sooner we get down there, the more we’l know. Come on, grab your coat. I’l drive.”

Somehow I was able to stand and put one foot in front of the other to make my way out to her car. If it was cold, I didn’t notice. Al I could do was cry, as I pictured him lying in the hospital unconscious. What if he didn’t wake up? What if he wasn’t okay? Oh, my God, no.

I could not go through this again. I could not lose Connor.

Suddenly, my brain clicked into gear. Jordan. Where was Jordan? Was he with Connor? Was he hurt too? My hand involuntarily reached into my pocket for my cel phone. I dialed their house. Jordan picked up on the first ring.

“Connor?” he asked, sounding panicked, and I was so relieved to hear his voice, to know that he was okay.

“Jordan, it’s Abby.” Jordan started to cry, and I realized my voice probably set him off. I was close to hysterical. “It’s okay, J,” I said, trying to sound soothing.

“Where’s Connor?” he asked through his tears. “He was supposed to be home when I got back from Peter’s house, and he wasn’t here. He’s not answering his cel phone. He always answers when I cal.”

“It’s okay, Jordan. Don’t worry. Everything’s going to be fine,” I said, but as I spoke those words that were meant to be comforting, I started to break down. I couldn’t help it. I was panicked.

I could hear Jordan sniff back his tears. “Abby, I’m not a baby. Don’t treat me like one. Where’s Connor?” He was being defiant, and I couldn’t realy blame him. He could tel I was upset.