Ink (11 page)

My heart skipped a beat as his lips grazed my ear. He quickly retreated, trying not to lay it on too thick. His arm rested on the table as he worked his lips on the ice-cream, making me a little hot and bothered now.

I pushed my hair away from my face. “What do you do here, anything exciting?”

He finally made it to the end of his ice cream, biting into his cone aggressively as his eyes watched me. “I work at my dad’s office. I surf and I play basketball near my house.”

I nodded, balling my napkin in my fist. He sounded pretty normal. These were all things I could see someone like him doing. “What’s your dad do?” I stuffed my napkin down inside the soggy ice cream cone; I was never one for cones.

“
My father is the mayor of Cherry. And he also owns several big businesses around these parts.” Tucker nodded as if I knew what he was talking about.

“
Interesting,” I muttered.

“
I wouldn’t be surprised if your father doesn’t work under my dad.”

I raised an eyebrow. “My father works for Nona’s boyfriend Claude.” I shrugged. It really didn’t matter.

“
Claude works for my father.” Tucker smirked, glad he was right.

I didn’t act impressed,
although
he didn’t seem to be trying to impress me.

Tucker sprang up from his seat, taking his trash to the garbage can. He held his hand out for me to toss my garbage to him, which I did with a lot of effort behind it. I wanted to prove, at least once, he wasn’t so good at everything that he did, but he caught it.

A group of guys walked up to the window obstructing my view of Tucker. I picked at the peeling paint on the picnic table waiting for him to return. A strong gust of wind blew off the water, making my skin spring a million goose bumps.

“
Aww... You look cold, Hope,” Tucker said from behind me. He ran his hands up and down my arms playfully. I turned to face him.

“
I wish I had a jacket or something for you.” He smiled at me. I smiled back.

“
Darn,” I said sarcastically.

He pulled the back of his shirt up and off. Several girls behind us let out audible moans of satisfaction, even a few older women passing us on the boardwalk.

“
You really didn’t have to do that,” I said as he tossed the shirt in my lap. And as I slid the shirt on, I spotted him. Slade. He was with that group of guys, waiting in line. We made subtle eye contact, Tucker pulled me up and forward, pulling me toward the boardwalk. I wondered why he was always hanging in groups, and why he had never come around again.

I gave a wave as we hit the boardwalk. Tucker followed my wave, letting out an unrecognizable noise. A cross between a groan and pain.

“
What?” I asked, following him along.

He jerked his head. “Those kids are bad news.”

I looked back to make sure he saw who I saw. It was obvious he was talking about Slade, everyone always talked about him, and never good.

“
Why do you think so?”

“
A couple of them used to go to Ashwilder. I’m sure it’s nothing you heard about yet, but they were kicked out for some really bad reasons.” Tucker scratched his head. “I was friends with them.”

My heart ached to know if he was referring to Slade. There was just something about him that made me wonder. “I met Slade when I first moved here. We watched the concert past my house. He wasn’t a bad guy. A little dark and moody, but he wasn’t bad. Why does everyone act like he’s awful?”

Tucker cleared his throat. He jumped off the path, walking across the sand toward some really expensive beach houses, ones that even Nona and Claude didn’t live in.

“
Slade and Erica Andrews are brother and sister. Erica was an amazing singer until she went
batty
. And Slade, well, there were allegations against him that are nothing to sneeze at.”

Tucker and I were nearing the dark green beach house now and I was slowly feeling creeped out. “Allegations?”

Tucker punched a code into a key pad, opening up the iron gate. “Serious offenses. Things that would scare the life out of you.”

I sighed. “Just tell me.”

He shut the gate, pressing another code. “Rape.” He shot me a look to see if I was still with him. Probably hoping I hadn’t run away in fear, maybe.

“
No, why would he rape anyone. I’m sure he doesn’t have problems getting girls.” I shut my mouth, blushing at my admittance.

Tucker unlocked the glass door, a smell of lavender wafted past my nose.

“
Anaya Young was her name. She came here our freshman year. Her parents both worked for some boating and fishing company that started up out here. She started hanging around at the concerts and with Erica and Slade.” He pulled two cokes from the refrigerator, setting them down on the marble countertop in the kitchen. I hadn’t noticed my surroundings, my ears were warm and at full attention, nothing around me was even registering at this point.

“
She was an amazing singer.
Anyways
. Slade and Anaya were seen around town from time to time together. Everyone assumed maybe they liked each other, but even when I asked him about Anaya he would only give me an angry glare and not want to discuss it.

“
A week before the school dance she just never showed back up to school. My mom was worried, so she called Anaya’s parents.” I gripped the table, Tucker was extremely serious and growing more and more somber as he explained everything to me. “Anaya’s parents had no clue she had been missing, the last they knew she had left a note saying she was spending the night with Erica. Erica went MIA and Slade ended up down at the police station once Anaya showed back up. Word spread around school that she was found at the concert, bruised and battered. That someone had sexually assaulted her for days.”

Tucker rubbed at his neck nervously. I nodded my head for him to go on, I could take it. “By the time cops got around to questioning Slade and Erica, they found her body along the shore. Some jogger saw her feet poking out from behind some rocks and seaweed.”

I gasped, clutching my chest in horror. “Did she ever say what happened to her before that?”

“
She was traumatized. I mean, come on, do you think it would be that easy to talk after some guy forced himself on you for days?” Tucker shot me a look.

“
Well, no, I guess not. But what makes you think it was Slade?” I asked. Just because this
Anaya
had hung around Slade didn’t mean he was guilty of rape and murder. “And why didn’t anyone put him in jail then? There’s DNA and forensics for all of that.”

Tucker scoffed as if I was silly and wrong for even arguing against the
idea
. “No one knows what happened that night besides Anaya and whoever did it to her. But both of them Andrews were acting awful guilty. Erica flipped out in school, nearly killed another girl for mentioning it, and Slade decked Mr. Rudner in the hallway for no reason that any of us knew of. Just hauled off and punched him. And seeing the cops and school couldn’t prove anything, they just expelled him permanently.”

“
That’s a really messed up story. It sounds like they were angry, maybe they cared about this Anaya and they were angry, did anyone think about
that?” I cracked open my pop.

Tucker ran his hand across the marble. “No one had time to think much of anything. They tossed all the boulders along the shore blocking the concert grounds from all of us and a town meeting was called warning all parents and kids to steer clear of the park and, most importantly, the band.”

“
Evil
kings,
you mean?” I asked, catching on a little.

“
You guessed it. A bunch of the kids around here have ties to them. Their parents and grandparents or something have always been running around in this band. Dad likes to call it a “satanic cult.” I say it’s just bad music and a band of misfits.” He popped his drink open, taking a swig. “The Ashwilder rejects, the kids who weren’t good enough to make it at our school, that’s where they go.”

I stared off, lost in thought. It was a lot to take in. To think if it
was
true, I had willingly spent the night with a boy who had possibly raped and murdered an innocent girl. My stomach hurt suddenly.

“
I’ll be back. Where’s your bathroom?” I stared around the room, feeling uneasy. Tucker walked into the hallway. He opened up the first door on the right, snapping on the light.

I gave a smile before shutting the door. I let out a huge sigh, going to the sink and running the cold water. No one back home had ever done anything as bad as get into a two minute scuffle in a front yard where I was from. And once Natalie Angler shop lifted at the carryout on the corner, her mother had whipped her in front of God and everyone, and no cops were even called. Going from that to rape and murder made me feel ill.

I immersed my hands in the water, taking in the coolness on my fingertips. I cupped my hands, bringing some of the water to my face. I patted my face quickly, enjoying the shock. Finally, my heart returned to its normal rhythm.

I gave myself a quick glance in the mirror, making sure I still looked halfway decent. I opened up the drawers searching for a hand towel. The only thing in the first one was a couple of playboys and a pack of cigarettes. I scrunched my nose, moving to the next drawer. I covered my mouth at the sight of several packs of condoms and a couple bars of soap. Who kept condoms in their bathroom drawer?

The third drawer rolled open silently, a pill bottle rolling to the front of the drawer. I poked at it with my finger trying not to be nosy.
Everett Sinclair
was the patient on the bottle.
Thorazine
was the drug prescribed.

I carefully shut the drawer and settled on wiping my hands on my shorts. Seconds later I realized there was a whole cabinet housing dark red hand towels and washcloths.

If I had only looked a little higher, I thought.

I hurried down the hall back to Tucker. I was just going to have to let things be. Who was I to think one way or another about someone I barely knew. I told myself I would be careful, that I wouldn’t be stupid anymore. The next time Slade came around I would make sure I wasn’t alone.

That seemed judging.

I would make sure I felt him out next time before I was alone with him again. I wasn’t going to be that crazy, all-assuming girl who judged someone before they really knew them. But I did know that I would be careful at all times, anymore, period. If it wasn’t Slade that meant it could have been anyone, and that meant that anyone could be still lurking around after killing Anaya.

Tucker was sitting at the table in the kitchen. A large kitchen with shiny well polished appliances and shiny black tiles on the floor. Expensive pots and pans hung overhead, and several stoves were lining the walls. I wondered who wanted so many stoves in their kitchen. We had one and we barely used it.

“
Want to take a walk?” Tucker asked.

I nodded. “Sure, sounds good. Whose place is this? I don’t see your mom anywhere.”

“
My dad’s, but he only comes here occasionally, usually when he is trying to get away from my stepmom, Anita.” Tucker smirked at the thought of it. I smiled as well. A whole house just to escape. That was the life.

The beach was a little less crowded, only one couple remained. I wondered where they all went. Tucker pulled off his sandals, lobbing them back at the house. I could tell he was completely comfortable on this beach. We made it a little further toward the water, coming to a stop at an old log, its wood bleached from the sun. Tucker took a seat first, I followed.

“
I should take you out and teach you how to surf sometime.” He stared out at the water, the waves violently crashing against
the shore.

“
I never tried and I don’t think I would ever want to.” I hugged my arms to my body, a little chilled. I had given him his shirt back on the way to his house assuring him I was a big girl and able to withstand the weather.

“
It would be fun, I swear it.” He poked my arm playfully, pushing his body against mine in a playful bump.

I bumped him back. “I’m afraid of the ocean,” I admitted.

Tucker let out a laugh. “Are you kidding?”

I laughed myself. It sounded a little odd seeing I lived by one my whole life. “Yes, I am. Ever since I was little I was afraid of the ocean. I’m not sure what caused the fear, but it’s there. So I stay away from it.” I shoved my toes in the sand. He probably thought I was a spaz.

“
I’m afraid of airplanes,” he offered.

I looked him over. “
You
afraid of something? Wow.”

Tucker stared at his hands. “I’m afraid of you, too.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Me?”

He looked at me. My heart sped up. He leaned in as he nodded his head. I didn’t know what to do next, but I automatically turned toward him. He brought his hand to my face. “I’ve been wondering what it would feel like to kiss you since Smitty’s. I’m afraid I’m going to get myself in a mess if I keep wondering.”