Painted Lines (17 page)

Chapter
28

“You
forgot your meds,” Kale said quietly when we walked back in camp.  I sighed and
went into my tent and grabbed my meds then headed back.

I
showed them to him and Liam popped them in my mouth.  I accepted the cup of
coffee from Liam and swallowed them.  “Want to check to make sure I took them?”
I snapped.

“Hey
calm down, Scout,” Matt mumbled looking up at me.

Liam
just shrugged it off, “Welcome to Scout without caffeine and late on her meds,
we're used to it,” he said giving me a smile.  I mouthed sorry at him and he
nodded.

Nikki
came and sat down beside me, and I could feel her eyes on me.  I slid over
adding a little more room between us.  I liked Nikki but she was too close to
me.  I drank my coffee and stared down at the empty cup debating the merits of
moving to get more when Liam snatched my cup from my hand and refilled it.

“Thanks,”
I told him offering him a smile.

He
smirked down at me.  “You are a real bitch without it, I’m only doing it for
self-preservation.”

“Prick,”
I muttered.

“I
have one and it’s very large, would you like to see?”

I
reached up and punched him hard.  He oofed and started laughing, “Later, huh?”

“Asshole,”
I told him.

“I
have one of those too but—”

“I
swear if you finish that sentence,” Matt told him.  “Kale will not get any use
out of it anytime soon.”

I
started laughing and choking on the sip of coffee I had just taken, I turned
and looked at Matt with watering eyes shocked.

He
looked over at me winked and grinned.

After
my coffee, I decided it was time to hit the lake.  I went and quickly changed
into my board shorts and a tank top, slathered on sunblock, and went in search
of willing people to come with me.  I finally talked everyone into coming down,
and when they were ready Nikki led the charge down to the lake, in yet another
tiny bikini.  I kept an eye on Thayne, giggling at the death glares he gave the
guys ogling her.

It
was relatively quiet when we got there but I knew that would change soon, since
it was the fourth and families would show up for the day.  I intended to enjoy
the less crowded water while I could, so I dropped my stuff off and ran out
into the lake.  When I was far enough in, I dived into the water and swam out
as far as we were allowed. Once I reached where the rope was I began to start
swimming laps.  I had pent up anger and grief to exert in some way, and since I
didn’t have a punching bag here that left swimming or running, I preferred
swimming.

By
the fifth lap I was exhausted.  I hadn’t been away from home that long but in
that time away, I hadn’t kept up my usual routine.  I hadn’t had a Krav Maga
class or a workout in a gym, and I was feeling it today.  I swam back up
towards the shallower water and flipped to my back floating across the cool
water.  I heard Nikki shrieking then a splash followed my Liam laughing, it didn’t
take much imagination to know what happened there.  Liam loved tossing people
into lakes, pools, rivers, and he didn’t care which.

I
continued to float and stared up at the clear blue sky, no clouds today, just
the brilliant blue broken every once in a while with a bird sailing through the
currents.   I could hear more people coming in the water, kids laughing,
splashing, and parents yelling at them to stop.  I closed my eyes and let
myself drift, when I felt fingers wisp across my hand, I opened them and looked
up.  The same guy from yesterday was standing there grinning down at me, I
glanced around and found that we were alone in this area of the lake.

I
put my legs down standing in the water it came up to my shoulders, I hadn’t
realized I had drifted that far off.  I looked over and saw Kale and Liam
splashing Nikki with water.  I knew if I screamed they would be over in an
instant and that helped me calm down enough to look back at the guy.

“Yeah?”
I said.

“Do
you remember me from yesterday?”

“Kind
of,” I told him looking around.

“I
never did get your name,” he said smoothly, and I was sure this guy wasn’t used
to being turned down.  Oh well I wasn’t interested in him.

I
shrugged and moved to swim closer to where my friends when he reached out and grabbed
my arm.  I pulled back but he didn’t let go.

“Come
on, I just want to know your name,” he cajoled.

“Let
go of me,” I bit out.  He released my arm giving me a sheepish look.

“Sorry.”

I
nodded then went to move away again.

“Hey,”
he said putting his hands up.  “I’m just trying to get to know you,” he said
flashing his dimples.

I
shook my head.  “Sorry, I need to go find my friends.”

“Just
a few minutes,” he whined.

I
was about to tell him to go to hell when two arms wrapped around my waist and I
stiffened then a familiar voice, “Bella, I was looking for you.”  He nuzzled
his nose against my neck and I shivered.

“Thayne,
I was just coming to find you.”

“Mmm,”
he replied.  “I missed you; did you have a good swim?”

“Yeah,”
I mumbled enjoying him standing so close and holding me against his body.  I
felt myself slowly melt back into him and his smile against my neck.

“Who’s
your friend?” he asked.

“What
friend?” I replied confused then I remembered the guy who had been talking to
me, but my response had made Thayne chuckle and puffs of air blew across my
neck. I couldn’t remember my own name, let alone his.

“Uhm,
I don’t know,” I finally breathed out, and I felt his chest shake behind me and
he tucked his face in my shoulder trying to muffle his laughter.

I
realized at some point I had closed my eyes, and when I opened them, I found
the guy had left, leaving me alone with a very amused Thayne.

“That
was mean,” I told him.

“He
was bothering you, and I told him yesterday you were taken.”

“Mmm
and since when have I been taken?  And why didn’t I know about it?”

“Scout,
you’ve been taken since you ran into me in the parking lot, you never even
looked at me but I couldn’t take my eyes off you.  I thought she is the most
beautiful woman I have ever seen, and that I had to find out who she was. Then
I started spending time with you and I knew you were mine, you just hadn’t
realized it yet.”

“Oh,”
I breathed out.

“Yeah,
oh, so you are very taken, even if you still haven’t realized it,” he told me
and brushed his lips against my shoulder.

He
laced his fingers with mine and dragged me over to where everyone else was now
laid out on towels letting the sun dry the lake from their skin.  I let go of
his hand and spread my towel out.  He did the same beside me and when we were laid
on our backs, he grabbed my hand and lacing our fingers again. I smiled, I
actually liked this.

That
evening after dinner we headed back towards the lake.  Matt’s team had joined
us at some point, so now with a much larger group we were scoping out a spot to
set off fireworks.  I couldn’t believe the amount of fireworks we now had. 
Kale and Liam had bought a bag of different stuff yesterday, and Matt’s five
teammates had shown up with three more.  We finally found a place that everyone
was happy with.  I wrapped my flannel around me tighter and went to found a dry
place to sit, tucking my legs under me, and looked up at the sky filled with
stars.  The sky never looked like this in San Diego, there were millions of
stars to stare at, to get lost in.  So that’s what I did, I got lost in the
Milky Way, watching a shooting star zip across the sky.

“Cold?”
Thayne asked as he sat down behind me, wrapping his arms around me, and pulled
me back so I was leaning against his chest.

“Yeah,”
I said on a sigh, enjoying his body heat.  “You’re not going to set off
fireworks?”

“And
blow off a hand? Uhm, no thanks,” he muttered.

I
turned my head and looked at him, “Who told you?”

“Told
me what?” he asked sounding confused.

“That
I won’t touch them because I’m afraid of losing a finger?”

He
laughed.  “No one, but that is funny, most people think I am crazy because of
that.”

I
shook my head.  “Nope I get it, I like having ten fingers.”

“Hmm
I like your ten fingers too,” he said pulling me back against his chest once again
and clasping his fingers with mine.

We
sat there quietly listening to our group argue amongst themselves over the best
way to set up and shoot off rockets.  I didn’t know what to do or say. With the
other two guys I dated it was never like this, they didn’t touch me, and I
didn’t let them.  I only let one kiss me, even that wasn’t very often, and when
it did happen, I pulled away quickly.  So here I sat twenty-one years old and
uncertain what to do with a guy I liked.  Did I want him to kiss me?  Was I
okay with him touching me like this?  I didn’t know if I would like kissing
anyone, ever.

“Stop
thinking,” he whispered, “we’ll take this slow.”

“What
is this, Thayne?”

“Whatever
it turns into, Scout, just stop overthinking it and let it be.”

“I
don’t know what I am doing,” I whispered.  “I’ve never been in this situation
before.”

He
stilled.  “You’ve never dated?”

I
shook my head, “Not really.”

“What
does not really mean?”

“I
kind of dated two different guys, one didn’t last a month, the other lasted
eight months but now that I think about it we rarely actually saw each other. 
I think it’s why he stayed as long as he did.”

“There
is nothing wrong with you,” he said sternly, “and it’s my luck that they didn’t
stick around long enough to find out how great you are.”

I
snorted, “Uh huh.”

“You
really do not see yourself clearly,” he muttered, “you are more than what
happened.”

“I
know that,” I said angrily.

“No,
I don’t think you really do.  But hopefully one day you will see what I see
when I look at you,” he told me clutching his arms around me for a moment then
loosened his grip.

At
that point, I heard the telltale sound of fuses hissing then a zipping noise as
the first rocket launched into the sky, bursting into bright red sparkles
before falling into the lake, sizzling out.  I snuggled further into his body
and watched the show as the guys began lighting more of the rockets and sending
a kaleidoscope of colors bursting in the sky.  I sat, mesmerized by the show,
so when lips brushed against my ear I jerked.  I heard him chuckle and warm air
brushed my neck causing me to shiver.

“Mia
Bella,” he whispered I turned and looked at him about to reply that it was a
beautiful night when his lips feather light brushed against my own.  I stopped
breathing at that moment feeling my own fireworks being set off across my
skin.  He leaned forward once more and like butterfly wings, I felt his soft
lips against my own, his lip ring slightly dragging against my own.

“Breathe,
Bella,” he purred against my lips.  “You okay?”

I
gave a slight incline of my head not wanting to break the tentative touch of
his lips on mine.

He
leaned back in putting slightly more pressure against my sensitive lips this
time, and I breathed out, breathing in his breath into my body.  He ran his tongue
gently across my lips slowing over my piercings, playing with them for a moment
before running his tongue the other way repeating the action.  On the next run
of his tongue this time over my upper lip, he added more pressure and I opened
slightly, it was all the invitation he needed.  He slowly used his tongue to
open my lips more before pressing further in, rubbing his tongue against my
own, that was when I realized his tongue was pierced. When I felt the cool
metal stroke the underside of my tongue, I moaned quietly, unsure of what
exactly to do.  I let him control the kiss.  He brushed his tongue against mine
once again, and I finally understood what he wanted.  I returned the motion,
slowly, tentatively I felt him smile against my lips, and once again increased
the kiss, stroking his tongue against my own. Finally, he broke the kiss
nipping my bottom lip before leaning his forehead against my own.

I
hesitantly ran my tongue over my bottom lip, still tasting him, the slight
taste of nicotine and mint.  “Wow,” I muttered.

He
chuckled softly then reached up, to rub his thumb along my lower lip.  “Wow
indeed,” he whispered before leaning in and softly placed a chaste kiss on my
lips then backing away.  I faced forward again watching the sky light up the way
my body did with him this close.

Chapter
29

I
woke up the next morning hearing the birds singing, and the sun starting to
crest over the trees.  I tried wiggling further into my sleeping bag but wasn’t
able to move.  Something was holding me tightly keeping me from getting away. 
My breath sped up, my heartbeat followed, I struggled to get away, but the
steel bands holding me became tighter.  I began to fight, to kick to get away
from what was holding me.  I jerked my head to the side and came face to face
with vacant eyes, and screamed.

“Shhh
Bella,” Thayne said soothingly and I realized that we had fallen asleep out
here after staying up talking.  It was him that was holding me. I turned
quickly and buried my face in his chest, away from the dead animal that lay
beside me.

He
rubbed my back lightly, and yelled for someone.  Kale was outside quickly
looking around in panic, when he saw the dead animal, he started cussing.

“You
two okay?” he asked.

“Yeah,
we’re fine,” Thayne said still rubbing my back and holding me close, I let the
tears fall quickly turning into sobs.

“Shhh
Bella,” he murmured, “you’re okay.”

I
heard more footsteps then cussing when they saw what was lying beside me, a
dead rabbit had been cut open from throat down, left there.  I began shaking; I
was so cold.  Why was I so cold?

“Breathe,
Scout,” Thayne ordered.

I
let out my breath in a whoosh and quickly drew in another.  My heart pounded
and I felt it coming on, but I didn’t know how to stop this one.

“Kale,”
Thayne shouted.

I
heard Kale yell out ‘fuck’ then he was there asking me questions I couldn’t
hear.  My breathing was too fast, I knew it was but I couldn’t slow it down. 
Then there was a hand pulling my mouth opened and I struggled against it, they
shoved something small in and the closed my mouth keeping it closed.

“Hold
her, keep her close,” someone ordered and I shook harder.

I
couldn’t close my eyes.  I knew that if I did the memories would come, so
instead I stared at Thayne’s chest.  I watched each inhale and exhale move his
chest and tried to match his, but I couldn’t slow my own down.  Finally, I felt
the lethargy set in from a high dose of meds and slowly my body began to relax.

“Better?”
Thayne whispered.

I
tried to nod my head but it wouldn’t work correctly.  I felt him let out a sigh
and knew he understood anyway.

“Let’s
get you moved, huh,” he said moving slightly away, kissing my forehead.
Untangling us and standing then reaching down, picking me up.  He carried me
bridal style towards his tent, farthest away from the carcass.  Once inside, he
put me down on his sleeping bag, kissing me gently on the lips.

“I’m
going to go check on Nikki, k?”

I
attempted another nod and he smiled.  “Be right back.”

A
moment later, a stunned Nikki came in and sat down beside me.  “My brother said
I had to stay in here with you.”

“K,”
I mumbled.

“Who
would do something like that?” she asked between sniffling.

“Dunno.”

She
laid down beside me staring up at the tent ceiling and I slowly let the drugs
take effect and pull me into a not awake yet not asleep state.

They
decided we were going to leave earlier than we had planned and quickly tore the
camp apart.  I sat on the log by the campfire sipping coffee.

“Scout,”
Matt yelled and I looked over at him, “where are your keys?”

I
reached into my jean pocket and pulled them out showing him.

He
walked over and held his hand out.  “You can’t ride.  I’m going to ride Stella
and you’re going to go with Thayne,” he said and I knew that tone of voice, I
was doing as he wanted so I handed over my keys.

Soon
after I was in the front seat, my head resting on the passenger window watching
the scenery go by.  I sighed and looked over at Thayne.  He had one arm resting
on the open window the other on the steering wheel watching the road.  I smiled
slightly thinking of how great the night before had been, the fireworks, the
amazing kiss, spending hours talking about everything and nothing. 

He
looked over and smiled.  “What are you thinking about?”

“Last
night,” I said blushing and then laughing at the gagging sound Nikki made in
the backseat.

“You
doing okay?” he asked quietly.

I
nodded, “Yeah, I guess so.  Hey, why don’t you two stay for dinner tonight,
that way Nikki can get to know Cam since she’ll be hanging out with her
starting tomorrow.”

“Whatcha
think, munchkin?” he asked looking in the rearview mirror at Nikki.

“Yes,
real food,” she squealed which caused me to laugh.

“Real
food?” I asked.

“Thayne
can’t cook, so it’s either fast food or mac and cheese, I am tired of both,”
she whined.

I
wrinkled my nose, “Ewww.”

“See
I’m not the only one, Thayne,” she crowed.

“Sorry,
didn’t learn how to cook,” he replied and shrugged.

“Hmm
well then, how about a home cooked meal, Nikki?”

“Yes
please,” she said then went back to watching out the window.

The
rest of the ride was quiet, each of us taking in the view of mountains and
trees that surrounded us.

We
walked in the door and found Liam, Kale, Simon, and Matt yelling at one
another, I ignored them and went to my room to drop off my stuff, pulling out
the dirty clothes to toss in the washer.  After I started laundry, I went into
the kitchen, rooted around until I found the things I would need to fix
spaghetti for dinner and went to work cutting vegetables for the sauce.

“What
are they fighting about?” Nikki asked from the doorway.

“Me,”
I told her chopping the green pepper a little too vigorously.

“Why
you?”

“Liam
and Kale would have come home, told Simon about what happened with the rabbit,
then he would have called Cas who would have freaked out.   Then they would
discuss how to deal with the situation.  Then end up fighting over the correct
way to keep me safe, and hide as much of it as they can from me.”

She
blinked at me.  “Are you serious?”

“Yep.”

“Do
they do this often?”

“Yep.”

“Huh,
I thought my brother was overprotective.”

I
laughed though it wasn’t funny.  “I have four very overprotective brothers.”

“I
figured that out.”

“Where
is Thayne?”

“Sitting
in the living room with Matt watching them.”

I
watched the backdoor open and Cam come through with Zadok.  “Oh you’re home,”
she said giving me a smile.

“Yep,”
I said tossing the veggies in the sauté pan.

“Ooo
and making your spaghetti.”

“Yep.”

“And
pissed,” she mused.

“Yep.”

She
walked over to Nikki, “Hi, I’m Cam and this is Zadok.”

Nikki
smiled at the baby.  “I’m Nikki, Thayne’s sister.”

“Nikki’s
going to stay with you from now on when we’re at the garage,” I told Cam.

“Oh?”
Cam said looking at me with a raised eyebrow.

“He’s
been around,” I told her.

“Oh,”
she said coldly.  “Well Nikki, it’ll be nice having someone around to talk to
while they are off playing.”

“Yeah,
it was boring staying at the apartment by myself all day.”

“So
what happened?” asked Cam as we all listened to them still arguing.

“There
was a dead rabbit at the campgrounds,” said Nikki.

“A
dead rabbit?” she asked confused.

“Mmhmm,”
I replied, “lying by my head after it had been gutted.”

“Oh
shit,” she breathed out, “are you okay?”

“Yep.”

Simon
stomped into the kitchen, stopped and looked at Nikki then at me and shook his
head.  “We’re going home,” he snapped.

“Okay,”
I told him.

“Huh?”
he grunted.  “That’s it, ‘okay’?”

“Yeah,
call me when you get there and let me know you made it safely.”

He
growled, “I meant you are going home.”

“Nope.”

“What
do you mean ‘nope’?”

“I
mean, nope,” I told him stirring the veggies while getting the sauce started.

“This
isn’t up for debate, Scout.”

“Oh
I know it’s not, because I will not be joining you.”

“What
is wrong with you?” he yelled.  “Don’t you care about what’s been going on? 
First the pedal car, then the engine, the bike frame, and now a dead rabbit.”

“What
bike frame?” I asked confused looking over at him.

“Fuck,”
he muttered.

“Ah
another secret,” I surmised, “that’s fucking lovely.”

“It
doesn’t matter,” he mumbled.

I
snorted, “Of course it does.”

“We
just didn’t want to worry you,” he said trying to justify it.

“No,
you wanted to keep me stupid about what was fucking happening in my own life,”
I yelled slamming the spoon down splattering sauce everywhere, but I really
didn’t care at that point.

“Cas
is coming up in the morning.  We’re heading home, pack your shit,” he yelled
back.

“No,”
I screamed, “not this fucking time.”

“Is
this over some guy?” he shouted back.  “Because we both know Cas won’t allow
it.  He’ll just leave you like the others did as soon as he sees how fucked up
you are, then what, huh, Scout?”

I
took a deep breath and looked at my best friend.  “No, this isn’t about a guy,
this about me and pursuing the one fucking thing I have in my life.  I really
don’t give a fuck what you or Cas will or won’t allow, it’s my goddamn life
Simon, let me live it.”

“Let
you live it?  Really Scout?  We all bend over backwards to let you live your
life,” he bellowed.

“Then
stop, Simon, leave me to my own fucked up life, as you put it and go live
yours,” I told him quietly.

“You
know what, just fucking deal with Cas when he gets here tomorrow,” he yelled
then stormed off.

I
turned back towards the stove and stirred the sauce dumping in the slightly
charred veggies.  I reached up, wiped the tears from my face and turned to grab
the herbs I needed and found everyone’s eyes on me.  They all stared at me like
I had grown a second head except Cam and Thayne who were smiling like the cat
that ate the canary.

“About
fucking time,” Cam muttered.

“You
okay?” Thayne asked.

I
nodded and focused on cooking dinner.  Once I had the sauce seasoned, I turned
the heat down to let it simmer for a while.

I
walked into the living room and as one everyone stopped talking and looked up
at me. I walked over to where Thayne was sitting on the couch and sat down on
his lap.

“Don’t
stop talking about me just because I came in, I’m used to it,” I said.

“Oh
this is going to be fun,” Cam said smiling.

I
didn’t agree with her sentiments but didn’t correct her.  This was going to be
hard, and I didn’t know how I was going to deal with Cas tomorrow.