Lie to Me (A Touched Trilogy) (7 page)

“Yeah, just not feeling well all of a sudden. I’ll be fine
in a minute.”

“Why don’t we find a spot to sit?” She started to guide me
to the kitchen, but Trevor grasped her arm.

“She’ll be fine. Let’s dance.” He didn’t look at me, just
gazed hard at Tonya.

“But-” She glanced back and forth between us.

“I came here to be with you. I didn’t drive almost an hour
to sit in a kitchen.” Trevor dropped her arm then took a step closer. “If you
want to spend the night with your friend, I can find someone else to be with.”

Wow. I didn’t even know what to say. Apparently, Tonya
didn’t either, because we both just stared at him.

“I’m gonna get another drink.” He headed to a table at the
back of the room where a beer keg had been set up.

“What the hell’s his problem?” I asked, rubbing a hand
across my stomach as the cramps eased.

Tonya glared at me. “Nothing’s his problem. He’s
disappointed that he can’t be alone with me. That’s what boyfriends want.”

“Whatever,” I said. “I’m gonna go sit.”

I wasn’t really expecting her to follow me, but it still
kind of hurt that she left me pretty eagerly to join Trevor on the sofa where
he was working on a beer. Instead of staying in the kitchen, I wandered through
and went out the back door. The yard was dark except for where the indoor
lights filtered through the windows and the moon glinted off the dark water of
the swimming pool. I sat on one of the pool lounge chairs and rubbed my hands
along my arms.

What did the cramps mean? Was it a warning? It could have
been just a false alarm. It wasn’t like before, when the whisper followed the
cramps.

“You have a serious problem, you know.” Nathan’s voice came
from right beside my ear. I swirled around to see him crouched beside me,
thoughts of my gift completely vanishing as I met his stormy eyes.

“A problem?” Did my voice just quiver? I swear he got hotter
each day.

“Yeah, you’re a terrible flirt.” He smiled and I couldn’t
help myself. I smiled back and leaned in closer to him, inhaling deeply. He
smelled amazing, like the ocean, or at least what the ocean should smell like.
Fresh and cool, with a breeze that sent tingles up your arms. I didn’t know
what cologne it was, but damn, it was worth whatever he paid for it.

“Am I really that bad at it?” I asked.

He straightened up and came around to sit in the chair
beside mine.

“Oh, I wouldn’t say you’re bad at it. I’d just say you’re
bad.”

Heat filled my cheeks, yet he looked entirely unfazed.

“How do you do that?” I asked.

“What?”

“Anytime someone else is around, you blush like a little
girl, but the second we’re alone you have no shame.”

He laughed. “I guess it’s the same way you have no shame in
public, but the second we’re alone you blush like a little girl.”

I pursed my lips in a failed attempt to stop a smile from
forming.

He raised a knee to rest his arm on. “So, why are you out
here? Normally, you’re joined at the hip to Tonya or Bianca.”

I shrugged a shoulder. “Bianca isn’t here and Tonya’s got a
new boyfriend, and apparently he doesn’t want to share her.”

“Ah, so you’re sulking.”

“I am not sulking. I wasn’t feeling well, so I came out for
some fresh air.”

He leaned his head back, looking up at the sky. He had one
of those strong profiles that should only belong in marble. A year ago, he’d
been a bit on the scrawny side, but now, well, I was pretty sure he hid a
six-pack under his shirt.

His lips curled up; he knew I was staring. Even knowing that
he was aware of my gaze, I didn’t take my eyes off him. When he was surrounded
by his friends, there always seemed to be a part of him hiding, yet here alone
with me, he was relaxed, like he was the real Nathan.

 “Enjoying the view?” Chloe’s voice came from behind us.

“Yes, and you’re interrupting,” I snapped and then swatted
at Nathan when he gave a laugh. Both of us turned to watch her walk across the
patio.

“I need to talk to you. It’s important.” She raised her
eyebrows and motioned her head to the corner of the yard. She crossed her arms
and I knew refusing was pointless. She’d just keep bugging me.

I pushed up out of the chair and followed her to a far
corner of the yard. I turned back to see Nathan watching me. I blew him a kiss
and gave a small wave. He just shook his head and looked back up at the stars.

“Have you ever considered that Nathan just doesn’t take you
seriously?” Chloe asked and slapped my hand down.

“Maybe, but it’s a hell of a lot better than him not
thinking about me at all.” I gave her my full attention. “You said it was
important, is this it?”

“How are you getting home tonight?”

“I’m driving,” I said, confusion drawing my eyebrows low.

“Are you taking Tonya?”

“No, she came with her boyfriend, Trevor. Why? What’s this
about?” I watched as she shifted her weight back and forth on her feet.

“I saw you in your car and Tonya was beside you right before
it crashed.” Her voice trembled and I wondered how detailed her vision of the
accident had been. A strong stomach never had been her strong point.

“Shit. You sure?”

Her head tilted to the side as she raised an eyebrow. “I saw
it, Phoebs.”

“Yeah, well, you saw a few other things that never happened,
didn’t you?”

“This isn’t a joke. You know how right these visions are.”

“Again, you’re batting zero with me lately.” Maybe it was a
lame attempt at brushing her off, but if she was right then there was
absolutely nothing I could do about it anyways, so worrying wasn’t worth the
effort. We’d both learned that changing her visions wasn’t possible.

“So what? Two mistakes out of millions I’ve had? “Her voice
shook.

Obviously, the vision had scared the crap out of her. I just
didn’t know what to do or say. Maybe she was wrong about this. I wanted to
brush it off again, but her pale face gave me pause. Taking a deep breath, I
said the only thing I could.

“I promise not to give a ride to Tonya.”

“Will you go home now? I’ll follow you back.” She crossed
her arms, rubbing them slightly as if she could brush away the vision she’d
had.

“Chloe, I’m not going to leave early.” I looked back at
Nathan where he sat pretending not to be watching us.

“Come on, Phoebs, it’s not like this thing with you and
Nathan ever seems to go anywhere,” she said, letting the snarky sister I knew
loose.

 “That’s not what you said a few weeks ago. You told me you
had a vision of him asking me out.”

Her mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. She
knew if she admitted she’d been wrong then that it was possible she was wrong
now. She’d always known her visions were the future, now I had her wondering if
they really were.

“Stop worrying.” I gave her a half hug then deserted her. I
had better things to do, namely Nathan, than go home with Chloe because of some
vision..

Walking across the yard, I went straight back to him while
Chloe stomped back inside. I needed to get my thoughts focused and off Chloe’s
vision. If she was right about her gift, that it was always right, then there
was nothing to do. I slid onto my chair and gazed up at the stars, not really
wanting to talk. Just being near Nathan was enough to get my body humming.

Finally, when my racing thoughts settled, I turned to him.
His eyes were closed and I thought for a moment he was asleep, until a devilish
smile bore dimples into his cheeks.

“You’re staring again,” he said so softly I almost didn’t
hear it over the music carrying out to us from the house.

“Are you complaining?”

“No... -Maybe.” He sighed. “I just never know where I stand
with you.”

“What do you mean?” I sat up and swung my legs over the side
to face him.

“You play hot and cold, Phoebe. One minute you’re practically
panting over me and the next you’re insulting me.” His eyes glanced off mine
before focusing on the stars above us.

I tried to think of something witty to say, to make it easy
between us again. I didn’t want him to know why I teased him. When he’d taken
Vivian to that dance and then spent the next year dating her, I’d tried to
salvage some dignity. That day in the art room when I asked him to Homecoming,
I had thrown myself at him, kissing him and he’d rejected me. Because he
thought Vivian was better. After that, I figured it was just better to make him
think it was all a big joke, that I didn’t take it seriously and he shouldn’t
either.

“Forget it,” he said when my silence continued.

“What do you want me to say?” I snapped. “How about I don’t
know where I stand with you. When you first moved here, I did everything I
could to show I liked you. I kissed you and asked you out and what did you do?
You started dating Vivian. Vivian. That pretty much said it all. Vivian and I
are about as different as a dog and a...an elephant.” I stood up, too angry to
care that he could probably see up my nose. “What did you want me to do? Pine
over you? Pout and cry every time I saw you kiss her or hold her hand. Excuse
me for wanting to puke instead. Vivian. I mean the least you could have done
was have some good taste.”

He rose up from the chair to stand toe to toe with me. I
crossed my arms over my chest.

“There’s nothing wrong with Vivian.”

“Really? Then why break up with her? I’m surprised you had
the balls to do it. You’ve spent the last year letting her tell you what to do.
She probably even told you when to kiss her.”

“Gee, who else does that remind me of?” He looked pointedly
at me.

“Yeah, well that’s not a mistake I’ll make again.” I
suddenly regretted starting this whole argument.

“Well, maybe that’s why I broke up with her and maybe it’s
why I never bothered to go out with you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Hurt was pulsing through my
chest. Why the hell did I even like this guy? He obviously didn’t like me.

“It means that I don’t like being chased around and maybe if
you hadn’t come on so strong last year I would have asked you to the dance
myself.”

My mind had already been racing to find some attack
response, but his words stopped my mouth from forming it.

“You push and push and then when I give the slightest push
back you take off, or make some flip comment. I just don’t know when you’re
being serious.” He threw Chloe’s words at me. God, I hated it when Chloe was
right. Why didn’t she just tell me this is what she’d seen?

My shoulders sagged and my eyes dropped to focus on where
the tips of our shoes met. This wasn’t Chloe’s fault. It was my own. I’d acted
like a little girl with her first crush and did what I normally do. I bit my
nose off to spite my face.

Nathan’s hand wrapped around one of my arms, then slid his
fingers down to wrap around mine.

“Do you think we could start over? Pretend I’m the new guy
again? Only this time, maybe you could leave the chasing to me?” His eyes
widened in a cute attempt at puppy dog eyes.

My heart was thudding and it was difficult to draw in a deep
breath. Then my nose started to tingle. What the hell?! No way was I going to
cry 'cause Nathan wanted to chase me. If I’d seen this in a movie, I’d probably
have fast-forwarded because I felt embarrassed for the actors forced to repeat
the ridiculous lines. Thankfully, my natural instincts kicked back in.

“Does that mean I can’t flirt? I’d really miss that.” I
looked up at him, for once loving that I was tall. It made it easier to see the
small blue flecks mingled with the grey in his eyes.

“I think I could handle a bit of flirting, just maybe not in
front of the guys.” His fingers danced across my palm before trailing up my
arm.

“But that’s the best part,” I teased.

“Is it?”

He cupped the back of my head and leaned toward me.

“Hey, it’s not midnight yet!” A voice called out from the
doorway, breaking us apart. The voice was followed nearly immediately by calls
of “Fight! Fight!” from inside the house.

Chapter 5

Nathan and I sprinted inside. As much as I hated fights and
sickened at the sound of fists pounding on flesh, the instinct to see who was
fighting overrode the threat of puking. Everyone had crowded into the living
room to the point where Nathan and I were trapped in the kitchen doorway. No
way could we see anything.

“Who’s fighting?” I yelled at some guy next to me, hoping he
could hear over the music.

He shrugged his shoulders. “Dylan and some guy I don’t
know.”

“What happened?” I asked. Again, he shrugged then moved away
from me, trying to get a better view.

“It’s Dylan,” I said, turning to Nathan.

“Shit.” Dylan was one of Nathan’s best friends, not to
mention Lily’s boyfriend. Nathan guided me along the wall toward the dining
room table then pulled out two chairs with pale suede seat covers. Climbing on
top, we stood heads above the swarm of spectators.

One punch was enough for me. I’d seen the fighters. Dylan
and Trevor were swinging and grappling in the center of the room. Tonya stood
at one end of the circle encasing them, tears streaming down her face. Lily was
nowhere to be seen.

I jumped down from my vantage point and started shoving my
way through, Nathan following right behind me. The closer I got to them the
louder things became. Amid the roars of ‘Fight! Fight!’, poor Nadine screamed
at them to stop. Her parents didn’t mind the occasional party, but destroying
their home would mean the end of the school’s party house.

I reached Tonya’s side just as Nathan burst into the circle
and stepped between the two guys. Both of them kept jabbing at each other until
a couple more guys helped break it up, grabbing arms and dragging them in
opposite directions. The end of the fight sent a mass of people to the beer
kegs.