True Colors (6 page)

Although the Chase thing still seemed pretty real.

I stood from the table and muttered something about getting my stuff. I was nervous about seeing Chase again...and Stella. Although Mom had just proved to me that yesterday might not have been real. Grabbing my keys and a towel, I stuffed everything inside my bag and headed for my car. Well, it wasn’t my car. It was Holly’s hand me down. She threw me the keys the day she moved to Hawaii. I had only been 14 at the time. My father had snatched them off me and told me he’d keep it in good knick until I was old enough. It would never be the nicest car in the lot, but I liked it. My 1999 Mini Cooper. I tried to imagine that I was in the Italian Job when I was driving it. It didn’t make my car any shinier, but it definitely made me feel cooler.

I made it to the beach at 12:10 and to my surprise, Stella had beaten me there. She was waiting for me on the brown grass. I smiled at her and she waved back with a grin. My static nerves began to settle as I hitched my bag up on my shoulder and walked towards her.

She was wearing shades, like me, but I decided that was okay. I didn’t need to see her eyes to know that things were back to normal. Her whole demeanor was friendly.

I was about to give her a warm hello when she lifted her shades. Her eyes were alight with lust. That was the only way to describe it. Glancing over my shoulder, I followed her line of sight and saw Eric jumping out of his jeep with his two little sisters in tow. Poppy and Lacey were squabbling over a frisbee, which Eric quickly snatched off them. They jumped and tried to reach it, giggling and pushing each other while yanking on his shirt. He grinned and ran ahead of them.

I turned back to spot Stella watching the exchange. Her hungry eyes were on fire and I couldn’t see a scrap of her usual subtle flirting. Eric took the trail that lead straight towards us. His eyes were down, obviously trying to avoid coming in contact with Stella’s leering gaze. Were we that obvious? No wonder he hated it. Stella was repulsing
me
right now!

“Hey Eric,” she said in a husky voice, running her tongue over her top lip.

Oh she didn’t!

I grimaced.

He nodded politely, lifting his hand with a short wave. He wouldn’t look at either of us and I didn’t blame him.

“Hi Caitlyn.” Lacey grinned as she bounced past me. I waved, unable to form any words. I was still too grossed out by Stella’s mental undressing of Eric.

“Come on, Stella, let’s go.” I tugged on her arm.

“Just one more minute.” She spun to watch Eric’s sleek frame make it all the way to the sand. I mean I got it, I enjoyed watching him too, but Stella looked ready to eat him alive.

“Do you have to leer at him like that? I don’t think he likes it very much.” I kept my voice light, hoping not to offend her.

“What do you mean?” She whipped around to face me looking guilty and surprised. “I wasn’t leering.”

An innocent veneer swept across her face, but it didn’t take a second for it to fall away. She was totally exposed to me right now and I don’t think she had any idea. She shrugged, smiling with what she obviously thought was her adorable smile. To me it just looked forced and weird.

Yesterday was clearly not going to be a one off.

I tried not to let this bug me as I made my way to the sand. I noticed Eric had taken his sisters as far away from my crowd as possible. Part of me wanted to go and join him and his sisters. Playing frisbee with them seemed so much more appealing than what I was about to do. But my friends would never get it and Stella would kill me, assuming I was flirting with a guy she had her eye on.

Dragging my feet just a little, I forced myself to catch up with Stella, dumping my bag on the ground next to Audi and Indie. I greeted both of them, but didn’t really want to get into conversation. Instead I kept my eyes on the ocean.

Audi was going on about Kurt and their night of clubbing. I so didn’t want to hear about it. Friday night was the beginning of the end for me. Stella started giggling as Audi went on about Sean and Chase getting drunk off their faces and dancing like fools.

My mood was growing blacker by the second. I wanted to get out of here. I wanted to go back to bed. It didn’t help that I had spotted Chase. He was playing volleyball with the guys. They were all shirtless and looking mighty proud of themselves as they spiked the ball and jumped around heroically. They made it look so dramatic. I rolled my eyes before taking in different facial expressions, frowning as every emotion was laid bare before me. Chase was feeling smug because a group of tweens were checking him out. They were all openly drooling over the high school seniors. The guys were loving it, except a few who were serious about the game and became majorly pissed with the show offs trying to impress the girls. Their emotions were all so raw and apparent, I was surprised no one else noticed.

Cheers went up as a point was scored. Chase ran his hand through his hair, looking annoyed that his team hadn’t gotten to the ball in time. He caught my eyes on him and I saw a flash of guilt, but it was quickly replaced by disdain. He looked away from me as if I were a stranger and focused back on the game. I couldn’t believe how quickly our relationship was over. I also couldn’t believe how much I didn’t care.

And I was planning on sleeping with him. Ugh!

I looked away from the boys with a frown.

Running my fingers through the sand, I zoned in on the feel of the grains on my skin. My head was starting to hurt again and my insides were buzzing.

“Hello! Caitlyn?” Stella’s sharp tone made my head snap up.

“Huh?”

The girls all giggled at me. It was hard to tell what they were thinking. All of them were wearing big shades that covered most of their faces and hid their expressions.

“So do you want to come?”

I had no idea what Stella was talking about and I didn’t have a chance to ask, because Libby Phelps bounced up to us with a cheerful greeting.

Man she looked nervous. I watched her chubby arm wave frenetically before she stopped at our feet.

“Hey girls.” She beamed. “How’s it going?”

Poor Libby. I’d never really noticed her desperation before. Behind that bright smile of hers was a nervous wreck. Her eyes darted to each of us as we smiled back. I don’t know why people had a problem with her. I mean, sure, she used to hang out with the brainiacs, which made her a slight know-it-all, but she was really sweet. Stella thought she was fat and repulsive, which was way harsh. She wasn’t that big and she had a gorgeous smile. But Stella just seemed embarrassed at having her nearby.

I don’t really know how Libby suddenly made it into our group. It had been a mystery that perplexed a few of us. One day we weren’t talking to her and then all of a sudden she was in...but from the expression on the faces beside me, I could tell that no one really wanted her included. I thought she was really nice. I liked her, although being the sheep that I was, I behaved as though I couldn’t care less.

I was so weak sometimes.

I glanced at my best friend. Stella’s legs were squirming and I could tell by the tense set of her shoulders that she didn’t want the guys to see us conversing with the chubby brainiac.

I smiled at Libby, hoping to ease her nerves a little. I could practically hear her begging us to like her as she chatted about the sun and how nice it was that the weather was warming up. Indie kept the conversation going a little, but it was so forced. It was like she was doing it under duress.

“I love that summer is coming. Sand, surf, and bikinis. Yay.” She giggled.

Stella’s nose wrinkled and I could tell she was picturing Libby in a bikini.

I winced. Did she have to be so openly repulsed by it?

I felt guilty just being near her radiating animosity.

“You okay, Caitlyn? You look kind of pale.” Libby’s gentle, brown eyes were filled with concern as they landed on me. Genuine concern.

It threw me a little.

Shaking my head, I mumbled. “Just a headache.”

“Still?” Stella looked at me. “You’ve had it all weekend. What’s wrong with you?”

“Wow, all weekend?” Libby’s brow creased with compassion. “Maybe you should go to the doctor. When did the headache start?”

“She’s fine, Nurse Libby. Thank you.” Stella flicked her hand, raising her shades to get a better look at me. I could see that she didn’t like someone else fussing over her best friend. Was that insecurity I glimpsed? That didn’t seem right. Stella was the most confident person I knew.

Glancing back at Libby, I saw her face crest with disappointment over Stella’s sharp words. She looked about ready to cry, but there was a smile on her face. It took me a second, but I told my brain to see past the smile and I spotted it again. The watery grin, the wobbling lips. The effort to keep herself in control so we didn’t know how desperately she needed us to accept her.

“Well, see you around then.” She waved, looking dejected as she slumped away.

“Stella,” I whispered. “That was a bit harsh, don’t you think?”

“What?” Stella looked confused.

“Libby. Look how rejected she feels.” I pointed after her.

“What are you talking about? She’s smiling.”

Glancing back, I noticed Libby was, in fact, smiling and waving at people as she passed. She looked like a happy, carefree girl who was friends with everyone. I frowned and rubbed my temples, feeling stupid for even saying anything.

“Seriously, Caitlyn, you have been acting so weird this weekend. What is wrong with you?”

“I don’t know.” I squeezed my eyes shut.

“Ever since Friday night at the club.” Stella shook her. “Did aliens snatch you and mess with your brain or something?”

I froze. “What did you say?”

Stella frowned. “It was only a joke, Caity. Chill out.”

Chill out? I couldn’t! My heart was racing too fast. My mind was ready to explode. Friday night. That man...on the street...the electric shock.

No freaking way. Did he do something to me? Was that more than just a shock?

I had to know.

Grabbing my bag, I flicked it onto my shoulder.

“Caitlyn, what the hell are you doing?”

“I gotta go.” I pulled on my shoes and dug my keys out of my pocket.

“Where?” Stella looked seriously irritated.

“I’m sorry. I just...I have to go. I’ll call you later, okay?”

“Caitlyn! Caity!”

I ignored her calls and kept my head down as I walked up the sandy path. I was on a mission and for once I wasn’t going to let Stella’s anger stop me.

Chapter 7

I put my foot to the floor and cruised along Pacific Coast Highway, up the California incline to Ocean Avenue and steadily made my way back to Sunset Boulevard and Skybar at the Mondrian Hotel. Coming from the beach wasn’t the most convenient drive, but I needed to get back to the club. Although I found my way easily, I still had to park down the block. Clutching my bag to my shoulder, I walked back down the street, keeping my eyes to the ground. My emotions were zinging like bullets inside of me. I couldn’t pinpoint which one to focus on. Everything from fear to outright rage was turning my brain into spaghetti.

The man wasn’t in the spot from Friday night. Stamping my foot, I swore loudly, scaring off a woman walking past me. I ignored her. Part of me wanted to head back to my car and forget this whole thing. It was ridiculous. I was out on the street looking for some homeless guy, because I thought he cursed me with the ability to see everyone’s true emotions.

Yes, that’s what it was.

I was seeing who people truly were. The facades everyone normally hid behind weren't there for me anymore. It's like they were laid bare, for my eyes alone.

It felt good to define it.

But that didn’t change the fact that I didn’t want this. I didn’t want to see what people were feeling. It was fully messing with my head and there was no way I could continue life this way.

Shoving my hands into my pockets, I looked up the street and then down, trying to decide which way to go. How long did I look for this guy? What if he’d moved on?

I wasn’t overly keen on searching through alley after alley of homeless people. Not to sound overly judgemental, but it scared me a little. What if something bad happened to me?

Something worse than what has already occurred?
I rolled my eyes.

The mental argument raged within me as I kept walking. The least I could do was check the full length of the street. If I didn’t find him after that, I’d head back home and I don’t know...start seeking out a psychiatrist or something.

My feet were aching by the time I reached the Standard Hollywood Hotel, further down Sunset Boulevard, and still I hadn’t seen the man yet. I was fully fighting tears as I turned to head back to my car, but then the thought that the street had two sides hit me. I crossed the busy road and started my search again.

Ten minutes later I found him.

It was pure chance really. I spotted a black boot sticking out from behind a dumpster. I didn’t recognize it as his or anything, but I was pretty desperate by that stage, so I headed into the smelly alleyway.

“Hello?”