Soulsearch (Teen Paranormal Romance Series) (The Soulmate Series: Teen Paranormal Romance Book 2) (11 page)

“Dude, your girlfriend looks fierce in that red dress with her tits falling out,” the boy in the blue cummerbund declared, punching his friend on the shoulder suggestively.
 
“You’re gonna tap that tonight, right?
 
If not, let the rest of us have a turn.”

“Speaking of fierce, did you see crazy Rachel and Paige here tonight?
 
Who knew psycho could look so smokin’ hot?”
 
The second guy adjusted his crotch as he sneered lecherously.
 
“I’d tap that if I wasn’t worried the crazy would rub off.”

A white, hot anger ignited in Zach as his prom date’s name rolled lasciviously off the tongue of the low-life, degenerate, scumbag sophomore in the slick black suit.
 
His eyes glazed over with rage and the beast inside him took control as he rushed towards the teenagers, face contorted in rage.
 
Cups of punch tossed to the side, Zach’s fists flew through the air and connected with the second boy’s head and he heard the crunch of bone against bone as he pounded furiously at his face and neck.
 
Defending his friend, the first boy tackled Zach from behind and Zach’s wrath immediately transferred as he turned to batter the disgusting animal who spoke so lewdly about his best friend’s girl.
 
The three crumpled to the ground, their dress shoes sliding on the punch-slick floor as they tussled, the sticky red liquid pooling beneath them like fresh blood.

Just then, Paige emerged from the ladies’ restroom followed by two other girls, presumably the dates of the lowlifes Zach was currently pummeling into the ground.
 
Their shrieks attracted more attention than the grunts and groans of his victims had and soon the hallway was flooded with onlookers, cheering and jeering as he continued his abuse of the two reprobates.
 
It was Paige’s voice breaking through the cacophony that cleared a tiny path through the cloud of Zach’s fury and distracted him just enough to allow the horde of alarmed chaperones to pull him off his victim’s crumpled form.
 
They grabbed his flailing limbs and dragged his struggling body away while others rushed in to assist his defeated opponents.
 
His eyes scanned the awestruck faces of the surrounding throng and landed on the terrified face of his date, cowering in the back of the crowd.
 
His eyes met hers and he read her terror and confusion like a flashing neon sign in a store window.
 
The light in her eyes dimmed as she stared at him, the trust he had so recently earned vanquished by his impetuous actions.
 
His gaze never left hers as he was pulled away from the crowd and down the hall, his stare begging her to understand, to give him another chance.

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“This is so romantic,” Rachel murmured as she nuzzled Rider’s neck, her arms draped over his shoulders and his hands wrapped around her waist as they swayed in time to the music.
 
“With the move and then the accident and Jason’s death, I never imagined I would get to go to prom this year.
 
It’s like a fairy tale!
 
Thanks for being cool with it.”

“I’m cool with anything that makes you so happy you purr like a kitten in my arms,” Rider whispered back huskily.
 
“You’re not getting cat fur all over my suit, though, are you?”

“Aaaand the moment is ruined!” Rachel jokingly complained and pretended to scratch his face with her nails.
 
“I hope Paige is having a good time.
 
I really want things to work out between her and Zach.
 
I feel so bad leaving her here all alone while I’m hundreds of miles away, living my dream life.”

Just then, Zach and Paige drifted by, caught up in conversation and looking happy and interested.
 
“I think they’re hitting it off, don’t you?” Rider replied.

Rachel nodded, satisfied to see her friend looking content.
 
Her attention shifted back to the feel of Rider’s arms around her, his firm chest pressed up against her softness, his musky cologne tickling her nose.
 
She gazed up at him, memorizing the lines of his face, mesmerized by the dark blue eyes peeking out behind his lashes.
 
“I can’t wait for school to be out,” Rachel said.
 
“What do you want to do this summer?
 
Maybe we can make a few trips up here to hang out with Paige.”

“Uh, yeah, sure.
 
That would be fun.
 
But I was thinking I ought to get a job this summer.
 
You know, save a little money for college?” Rider replied.

“Oh, yeah, I guess so.” Rachel’s voice was heavy with disappointment.
 
That sounded like a lot of time apart from each other.
 
“Where would you like to work?”

“It doesn’t really matter; wherever they’ll hire me, I guess.
 
Maybe we could both apply?”

Rachel wasn’t too keen on the idea of spending her summer working, but if it gave her more time to spend with Rider, it was something to consider.
 
She hadn’t talked about college much with her parents yet, but she just assumed they would pay for it.
 
Maybe she should bring it up.
 
But she didn’t want to worry about things like that tonight, she just wanted to enjoy the moment, so she filed the concern away and concentrated on enjoying Rider’s company.

When it was time to choose the prom king and queen, Rachel tore her eyes off Rider just long enough to admire the guy and girl who were being crowned.
 
They were seniors, so she didn’t know them that well, but she recognized their names and faces.
 
They looked so confident and beautiful in tux and gown, proudly wearing shiny plastic crowns on their heads like they were made of solid gold.
 
She was fantasizing about the possibility of someday winning the crown herself when loud voices broke through her concentration.
 
All eyes turned towards the bathroom hallway where the sound of fighting echoed through the hall, a cacophony of jumbled cries.
 
The teens who were closest quickly funneled out of the gymnasium, starting off a wave of excited bodies, straining and writhing against each other in an attempt to get closer to the action.
 
Chaperones, not sure what was going on but suspecting trouble, pushed through the crowds of curious students hoping to intervene before things got out of hand.
 
Rachel and Rider were too far away to get anywhere near the fight, but the rumors made their way across the room quickly.

“Pasquetti just attacked Vince and Mason!” they heard whispered from a dozen different mouths.

“Where’s Paige?” they shouted in unison, taking off towards the commotion.
 
By the time they made their way through the sea of students, though, the fight was over and the teachers had cleared the hall of everyone except the two victims and a few witnesses who were animatedly recounting their versions of the story.
 
Paige was standing off to the side, alone, her eyes glazed over in shock as she stared at the bloody victims of her date’s uncontrolled rage.

“Paige, come here!” Rachel whisper-shouted at her friend, the chaperones preventing her from getting any closer.
 
Paige tore her gaze away from the crumpled bodies on the floor and made her way towards Rachel in a daze.
 
“What happened?!” Rachel asked as soon as Paige was close enough to answer.
 
Rider put his arm around her waist to steady her and Rachel grabbed her in a hug.

“I don’t know,” Paige answered, slowly shaking her head in befuddlement.
 
“I just went to the bathroom and when I came out he was pounding on them.
 
I thought he was getting us punch!”
 
Rachel stroked her friend’s hair and back while Paige struggled to breath normally.

“Come on, let’s get out of here,” Rider suggested, resisting the urge to crack the joke that popped into his head, and instead leading the girls down the hall towards an exit.
 
The cold night air immediately chilled their overheated bodies, drying their sweat and making the girls shiver in their sleeveless gowns.
 
Rider took off his suit jacket and wrapped it around Paige’s huddled form as the three trudged around the outside of the building to the main parking lot.
 
The walk seemed interminable and everyone breathed a sigh of relief when Rider’s vehicle came into view. They quickly climbed in, Rachel joining Paige in the back seat.

“Are you okay?” Rachel asked as soon as they settled into the car.

“If by okay you mean shocked, appalled, and humiliated, then yeah, I’m just fine!” Paige retorted angrily.

“I’m sorry, that was a stupid question,” Rachel apologized, taking Paige’s hand.

“I thought he was such a nice guy!” Paige wailed, the tears finally falling as she clutched Rider’s coat tighter around her.

“Me, too!” Rachel sympathized, not sure how to comfort her friend.
 
“You didn’t see how it started, did you?
 
Maybe they started it and Zach was just defending himself.”

“Let’s take you home,” Rider suggested, starting the car and turning up the heater.

“No!” Paige responded emphatically.
 
“I can’t go home like this!
 
Plus it’s way too early!
 
My parent’s will know something’s up.
 
Let’s go….somewhere else instead…. so I can calm down.”

“Where do you want to go?” Rider asked, pulling out of the parking space with no destination in mind.
 
Paige hemmed and hawed as Rider drove slowly towards the school exit.

“How about the movies?” Rachel suggested.
 
“We can see a comedy.
 
That will be fun and will kill a few hours.”
 
Paige nodded her approval and Rider headed towards the theater.

“The way we’re dressed, maybe we can pretend we’re movie stars attending the premier of our latest hit.
 
Maybe they’ll even let us in free.
 
Just let me do the talking,” Rider suggested sarcastically, trying to lighten the mood, but his joke fell flat as the two girls stared blankly at him from the back seat.

When they arrived, the lobby was fairly quiet; most of the movies had already started.
 
Their party-wear garnered a few strange looks from those milling around, but the girls plastered on happy faces and tried to ignore the oglers while Rider headed to the box office to buy tickets.
 
He picked the dumbest-looking movie on the marquee and Paige decided it was perfect
 
— the plot line sounded so stupid she couldn’t help but laugh.

“I think we need popcorn,” Rider decided, and the three loaded down their arms with goodies before heading in to watch the show.
 

Two hours later, Paige’s smile was genuine as she walked out of the theater, arm in arm with Rachel and Rider.
 
When she thought about Zach she was still upset, but the movie had taken her mind off him for a few hours and helped her realize there were worse things that could have happened.
 
The trio headed back to her house and she managed to pull herself together enough that her mom wasn’t suspicious when she told her she had a good time.

“I’m really tired,” Paige told Rachel through a yawn.
 
“Do you mind if we just go to bed?”

“No, of course not.
 
I’m tired, too,” Rachel assured her.

“Will you sleep with me?”
 
Paige asked in a little-girl voice.
 
For years, the two had curled up together in Paige’s small bed.
 
Only recently had Rachel taken to sleeping on the floor when she stayed over.

Rachel smiled and hugged her friend.
 
“Sure.
 
You have to promise not to kick me, though!
 
I don’t want to fall out of the bed in the middle of the night with your foot in my back!”

“I would never!” Paige retorted saucily and trounced to the bathroom to get ready for bed.

Rachel looked at Rider and realized their plans for the night had been interrupted.
 
“I’m sorry, Rider, but I have to be with Paige right now,” she apologized, hoping he would understand.

“It’s okay, Rach,” Rider smiled and caressed her cheek before leaning in for a kiss.
 
“We have the rest of our lives to be together.
 
You’re worth waiting for.”

chapter eight

She wouldn’t have imagined it was possible, but Paige was even more reluctant to go to school on Monday than usual.
 
She was positive the word had gotten around that Zach was her prom date.
 
Now, she had a reputation for having a crazy best friend and a maniac boyfriend.
 
She couldn’t stand the thought of hearing the not-so-subtle whispers as she walked down the hall, couldn’t bear sitting alone in the lunchroom while everyone gawked at her.
 
Once again she envied Rachel and her ability to escape the onslaught.
 
Her only consolation was knowing that at least she didn’t have to face Zach.
 
She was sure he had been suspended, possibly even expelled, for his attack on the two boys in her class.
 
She didn’t know what had prompted the assault, but Zach clearly had the upper-hand in the fight.
 
The two sophomores could barely move once he had been pulled off of them, and Zach didn’t appear to have a single defensive wound.
 
Not that she didn’t feel a little gratification at Zach’s choice of victims — if anyone deserved to be pummeled it was Mason Jordan and Vince Kelly.