Pulled (24 page)

“
Damn it, Naya! You’re not leaving!”

He is pissed.

“
Don’t listen to my grandmother! I told you she was delusional. She doesn’t know what she’s talking about!” He slams his fist against the door frame, causing it to shake.

“
This isn't your grandma,” I sigh.

“
Then what is it? What did I do?”

He's not going to make this easy. I turn my back to him. I can't look in his eyes when I say this.

“
I so can’t believe you’re making me say this, but apparently you enjoy being cruel.” My shoulders slump. “I get that you’re not…into me. But it’s just too hard to be near you knowing that what I feel is one-sided.” I exhale a quick, shaky breath and try to steady myself. “So, if it’s all right with you, I’d like to leave now.” Bracing myself, I turn to face him. I expect to see pity on his face. But instead, I find fury.

“
No
. No, it’s not all right with me. You are not leaving me again.
Ever
. Do you understand me?” He grabs my shoulders and shakes me a little.

“
No. I don't understand,” I whisper.

“
You’re wrong, Naya,” he says through clenched teeth. “I am
very
much in to you. Probably too much, and I am
not
letting you go.”

His eyes burn into mine, putting me into a trance that I never want to come out from.

“
But, when I kissed you before …you didn’t--you just stopped—that night, you pushed me away. I know rejection when I see it.” And he had rejected me; twice. But Etash’s expression is grim.

“
The only reason I didn’t kiss you back that night was because I knew I would have been taking advantage of you. I mean, after all, you were only kissing me to wake me from a dream. To kiss you back would have been assuming a hell of a lot on my part.”

I’m really confused now.

“
Then you…wanted to kiss me?”

“
Not only
wanted
to, but
want
to; every minute of every day. I don’t think you understand, Naya. You consume my thoughts, my dreams. You are everything to me.”

His eyes close for a moment before he pulls me into his arms, holding onto me tightly, as though he's afraid of what might happen when he lets go. He really doesn't want me to leave.
How could I have been so wrong about this?

Etash

I pull back from her, taking her chin in my hand. Everything about this moment is ripe for our first real kiss. Just one kiss and I can convince her that she is loved.
Can
be loved by someone who will never hurt her the way that monster has.

But of course, at that moment, the phone rings. Pissed beyond belief, I rip the phone off the wall.

“
Someone better be dying,” I snap, but then stop short.
“Mom? Mom, what’s wrong? Why are you crying?” I listen to my mother’s words as she explains, but they don’t seem to register.

“
Etash? What is it? What happened?” Naya asks.

“
Grams just had a heart attack.”

Focusing hard, I listen to what my mother tells me. She's still alive, but in ICU.

“
I'm on my way,” I tell her, hanging up the phone. Naya takes my hand and the gesture brings tears to my eyes. “I have to go back and see her,” I whimper.

“
Of course you do. I'm coming with you.”

She pulls me into her arms and holds me. I want to stay here with her forever, but I can't. I need to see Grams.

Naya convinces me to let her drive back, and she's right, I'm in no condition to drive. She keeps the radio on low on some top-forty station and the soft music makes my lids heavy. I don’t mean to doze off, but before I know it, she’s waking me up, asking for directions to the hospital.

When we pull into the garage, I spot my parents' red Blazer a few cars down. “My folks are still here
.”

“
Etash, please don’t take this the wrong way,” she says, shifting the car into park, “but, I really think I should stay in the car.”

“
What? No. I'm not leaving you here.”

She turns to look at me. “This is a time for family.”

I start to protest, but she holds up a finger to stop me.

“
I don't want to risk upsetting her again,” she flashes me her sad eyes. She thinks this is her fault.

“
Naya,” I begin.

“
I’m not going anywhere,” she pats my leg. “I’ll be right here when you get back. I promise. You need to be with your family now.”

I am so conflicted I don’t know what I should do.

“
Go to her. I’ll be fine.” Her eyes are sincere, kind. Reluctantly, I leave her side and go check on Grams.

Naya

Watching him enter the hospital I am overcome with emotion. I simply cannot believe how wrong I had been. He
does
feel the way I do, and I am both stunned and giddy at the same time.

I reach into the back seat for my bag, glad that I had enough foresight to bring a few books with me to read. Picking out my drama lit book, I thumb the pages to find where I had left off with
Antigone
. But every time I start to read, Etash's face flashes in my mind and causes me to blush. So I give up trying to read and instead lower the car seat and settle myself down in it. Sleep takes me almost immediately.

The sound of my phone wakes me. Instinctively, I reach for it and answer before I realize whose call I've just taken.

“
What do you want, Seth?”

“
You know what I want, baby. I want you to come home.” The all too familiar plea resonates in his voice.

“
It's too late. I'm with Etash now. Don't call me again.” Quickly, before I can change my mind, I hang up and turn my phone off and cram it down into the bottom of my bag.

When I hang up, I spot Etash coming out of the hospital. One look at his face and I can tell something has happened--something bad.

“
What is it? What happened?” I ask, rubbing my eyes. He tries to look away, but I place my hand on his face to pull his eyes back to me.

“
Etash? Your grandma, is she…?” I can't say the words.

Etash

“
Walk with me,” I say, pulling her out of the car.
I don’t know where I’m taking her, but I’ve got to get her out of this dark, cold garage. I need to be some place warm with her, somewhere in the sun.

She follows me silently, worry creasing her brow. Once outside of the garage, I find a small outdoor sitting area beside the hospital, dragging her along with me until I find a bench.

“
How is your grandmother?” she begs, only sitting after I do.

“
She’s recovering, but…” That’s not what’s on my mind.

“
But what? Etash, what aren’t you telling me?”

“
She seems to be okay right now. She’s awake, but she’s incoherent.”

“
Well, that’s to be expected, isn’t it?” she asks.

I take a deep breath before continuing. “Naya, she keeps saying a name. One name, over and over again.”

She cocks her head to the side, trying to follow me.

“
Whose?” she asks finally.

Swallowing hard. “Seth’s. She keeps saying Seth’s name.” Her face goes white.

“
You told her about him?” she asks me.

“
I mentioned you had a boyfriend, but I never said his
name.
Not once.”

“
Well then, how did she...?” She looks up at me with big worried eyes.

Grams' earlier warning suddenly screams inside my head: '
Beware the Ice Man.'
Now she's chanting Seth's name. Seth, who as fate would have it, has icy blue eyes. I pull her into my arms, shielding her from the worry in my eyes.

“
Promise me, Naya,” I say into her hair, “Promise me you won’t see Seth again.”

“
I won’t,” she whispers. I hold her so tightly that I'm afraid I might be hurting her.

“
Come on. Let’s go home. There isn’t anything more we can do tonight.”

I don’t like that she’s out in the open. It feels too vulnerable somehow. Like he's watching her. I need her someplace where I can protect her and lock the doors behind us.

And that’s exactly what I do the minute I get her inside the apartment. I make tea even though I know neither of us wants it. It's a reflex. I will the water to boil faster, while I pull out mugs and plop two herbal tea bags in the cups, give the cream a quick sniff, and bring the tray out to the living room.

But Naya will not be having any tea tonight. While I was busy in the kitchen she has managed to curl herself up into a tight ball on my couch.

“
She sleeps,” I say softly. Sitting beside her, I sip my tea and watch her. Seeing her there safe and sound calms me down tremendously.

After about an hour, I triple check the locks, then carefully scoop her up in my arms and carry her into my bed. She makes only the smallest of cooing sounds as I settle her under the covers. I want nothing more than to slide in beside her, just to be able to hold her, but I don’t. Instead, I grab a pillow from the couch and lie down on the floor beside her, not even bothering with a blanket. I'm content to just lie beside her. Before I know it, I too, am fast asleep.

When I awake a few hours later, I am surprisingly warm. Lifting my lids in the darkness, I can see my comforter wrapped around me. Sitting up, I look over and see the bed is empty. Instantly, my heart starts racing. I fling off the covers and I am about to start screaming her name, when I almost trip over her curled-up body on the floor beside me.

“
Naya,” I whisper, feeling my heart pounding in my ears, “you are going to be the death of me.” She doesn’t answer because, thankfully, she is still asleep. Getting back down on the floor, I can’t help but drape my arm around her waist and pull myself close to her, smelling her hair as it falls against my face. She sighs and pulls my hand around her tighter, still deep in sleep. Content, I close my eyes and join her.

I have never wanted to hurt an inanimate object so much in my life, as I want to hurt my alarm in the morning. The sound alone is justification for its death, but the fact that it has one, woken Naya, and two, forced me out of her arms in order to shut the damn thing off is ample cause for its destruction. Cursing profanities as I go, I hear Naya giggle softly, and I am instantly calmed. I yank the cord out from the wall and walk back to her, hesitant about what happens now.

Naya

He is positively stunning standing above me in just his pajama bottoms, feet bare, his hair tousled.

“
What time is it?” I ask.

“
Eight.” He scratches the back of his head.

I sigh. The weekend is over. It’s time to go back to school. School. It seems like such a trivial thing now in light of everything that has happened this weekend.

“
Guess we’d better get ready for class then,” I say, getting up, trying to stretch out my muscles which are stiff from sleeping on the floor.

He stands there for a moment, cocking his head to the side and smiling. He comes over to me and wraps his arms around my waist. His touch is electric.