The Outcasts Page 3

  “Did you see him?” I asked anxiously. What if the Russian dude was still hanging around? But for some reason I had this inkling that he had vacated the premises.

  Corinth searched the shadows around us in the garage. “I saw Madison, she told me you ran out...” he clutched his side, “... crying... I came to find you.”

  “Don't tell me you didn't see him?”

  “I didn't see anyone. Are you sure you're okay?” He asked.

  “Not really.” I felt drained now that the adrenaline had started to wear off. The stranger hadn't threatened me, even though I was certain he might have, given more time. But what he'd said still echoed in my skull. “Your father's eyes.”

  “You sure you saw someone? It's dark out here,” Corinth interrupted my rampant thoughts as if he were trying to convince himself more than me.

  “Yeah—because when I see imaginary people, they're always Russian.” A wave of dizziness hit me and I felt Corinth put a hand on my shoulder to steady me.

  “Why don’t we go back inside and grab our seats again? Finish this out in style?” he suggested, a small smile playing across his lips as he raised his eyebrows.

  Moving out from under his hand, I unlocked my car and got inside as I watched him sink his hands deep into his pockets. By the way he kept glancing back toward the direction of the amphitheater as the music started to swell, again, I knew he really wanted to go back inside.

  I rolled my window down. “I'm fine. It’s just the heat getting to me.” My voice softened when I saw the disappointment on his face. “I know this is your favorite band and I don’t want you to miss it on my account.”

  For a second, he looked like he was going to argue, but then nodded.

  Now that the stranger was gone and there was no sign of danger, I was starting to feel like I had overreacted. I turned the key and the engine sputtered to life as Corinth toed a loose piece of concrete at his foot.

  “What's with this Russian mob business?” He said, “You a gangster and I don't know about it?”

  I rolled my eyes but whispered, “No, but my dad might be.”

  Corinth's eyes flicked quickly to meet mine. “What?”

  But I had already gunned the gas and put him in the rear view mirror. For some reason I needed to get home to read my dad's journal all over again.

  The idea of finding my father had suddenly gotten a lot more urgent. All these years and not one person mentions him besides a random teacher who knew him from his prior PTA days. My mom never even talked about him and now some stranger shows up and brings him up without a second thought?

  Either I was on the right track, or maybe none of it actually happened and I really had been hallucinating.

  ***

  Graduation came quickly, but the incident in the garage never fully left me. I hadn't seen any sign of the dark haired Russian since then, or Corinth for that matter. I guess he'd gotten mad at me for leaving him alone in a dark parking garage. On thinking back, I'd be mad at me, too. Now that I was out of harm's way, I realized Corinth could have been in danger.

  I stood at my bedroom mirror with my cap and gown on and tried to focus on how much I hated this itchy material. At least it hid most of my mid-section. I pulled irritatingly on the zipper at the back of my robe in anger and something ripped. Scrabbling at the fabric, to my relief I couldn't find any holes or tears.

  My mom stuck her head into my room to take one last peek at me. She was close to tears as she took my picture with her phone. “I'm proud of you.”

  “Thanks, Mom.”

  She snapped one last pic of me and sighed.

  In a whirlwind of goodbyes, lame photos, and even more lame speeches, I had my diploma in one hand and Amber's arm wrapped around my shoulder.

  “Can you believe it?” she asked.

  “I can believe it. You're one of the few people I'll miss.”

  Crowds of kids marched past us all cheering in glee as she hugged me. “Stay in touch while you're away, and call me with every single detail, okay?”

  I pulled back and gave her a grin. “You better upgrade your minutes, then.”

  I felt the sudden flutters of excitement in my stomach as I realized how close I was to leaving my town in the rearview mirror. This place wasn’t all bad. It was a city so beloved it had three nicknames: ‘The Worth’, ‘Funky Town’, and ‘Cowtown’. Yes, a big city with a small town feel. Fort Worth prided itself on its rich history in all things dealing with cattle. My favorite thing about it here was how you could get a steak on any street corner. The perfect place for the bovine lover, and it would have been perfect for me if no one else lived here. So, when I had decided to seek out my father, I felt that much more exhilarated about taking my life into my own hands. I guess these types of experiences always started off a little scary.

  Later that day, my mom, Corinth, and his whole family had decided to meet at a seafood restaurant for the after celebrations.

  By the time we got there, a large table had already been set up in a private room in the back of the crowded restaurant. Corinth's graduation was next week but because I was leaving, we'd decided to celebrate early. It seemed that everyone else in the entire city decided to join us. A banner hung from the wall that read: Congratulations Graduates. There was one below that too: Happy Trails, Larna. I was so stunned that they had even thought about me that when I found a free seat beside Corinth, I plopped down without a thought out of the ordinary.

  It wasn't until I met my mom's proud face that I turned to glance at Corinth, and for the first time, noticed he looked tired.

  He gave me a lopsided grin. “How's it going, Larns?”

  "Oh I'm great. School's out and we're about to eat like a mega ton of food." I picked up my fork and pointed it at him. "You really need to start sleeping."

  He grunted and gave me a sideways glance. “Sleeping's boring.”

  I hadn't seen him since the concert and it stirred up unfamiliar feelings—a shy awkwardness that hadn't been there before. I turned my attention from him to his little sister, Zoey, who was jumping up and down next to him.

  “Where've you been?” she asked, throwing a hand over her mouth and giggling. Everyone at the table turned to look at us as she shouted, "I think you and Corinth should kiss!"

  Red was not my color, but apparently that's the shade my face liked to choose at moments like these—especially when my mom turned to wink at me from across the table. I pretended my water was the most interesting thing on the entire planet as I took a long, slow sip.

  I noticed Corinth shove his sister playfully on the shoulder out of the corner of my eye. “Leave her alone, Zoey. Finish coloring your picture.” He pointed at a drawing of a giant fish she'd already colored a rich forest green.

  “Don't tell me what to do, Corinth Taylor.” She stuck her tongue out at him. “I can talk to whoever I want.”

  “You tell him. He needs to learn manners,” I said in solidarity.

  Zoey was thrilled I'd sided with her as she yelled, “He sure does!”

  Corinth mussed her hair up before she could finish the rest of what she was going to say. He was an awesome big brother. It made me wish I had siblings like him.

  “Hey, don't touch my hair,” she said and ran in the opposite direction toward her parents.

  His younger brothers, James (Jimmy for short), a gangly ten year old with the same dark messy mop of hair, and Peter, a chubby thirteen year old with shoulder length dirty blonde hair like his father, were whispering conspiratorially to each other. They loved Corinth but were closer to each other in age, so they spent most of their time planning pretend raids and coming up with battle strategies together..

  Corinth's mom and dad were sitting near the other end of the table, now in the process of lecturing Zoey for the interruption.

  Times like this made me miss having a normal family. Mom worked most holidays and I stayed at home eating pre-made microwavable meals. She'd try and get me to come to the hospital to visit—always
telling me there was plenty of food—but I never went. It wasn't the same without Dad.

  Before he left, we'd all cook together. He'd pick me up and put me on the kitchen counter and let me watch him: while we listened to Frank Sinatra’s ‘The Best is Yet to Come’, and Mom would open up a bottle of wine and cook while I watched them dance with joy until our food got cold.

  My mom doesn't allow me to play Frank Sinatra in the house any more.

  Zoey pointed in our direction and Corinth stuck his tongue out in response.

  “Mature, Taylor, real mature,” I said with a snicker.

  “This from the girl who drinks cheese through a straw.”

  I grabbed my chest. “You mocked me once Westley, never do it again.”

  Without missing a beat, he answered, “Asssss yooouuuu wwwiiiiissssshhhhh.” His eyes crinkled at the corners and I grabbed his hand. He glanced down quickly, just in time for me to pull my hand back awkwardly.

  But when the food came, I forgot about the awkwardness and ate my way through bread, gumbo, and a fried oyster basket that was as big as my head.

  Soon after, Mom and I said our goodbyes to everyone before leaving.

  Outside, Corinth eyed me from the front of the restaurant and moved toward me with a determined look on his face. He stopped in front of me and turned to my mom with a sheepish smile. “Can you give us a minute, Ms. Collins?”

  With a raised eyebrow and a wink, my mom retreated to the Toyota and got in.

  The fact that he'd asked to speak to me made me nervous. My cheeks reddened as I let him pull me further away from the people spilling from the entrance.

  “Hey, can we talk about what happened the other night?”

  I guessed he wanted to get right down to it. “What do you mean?” I lied.

  Corinth ran a hand through his dark locks. “I was worried... you kind of left me hanging at the concert.”

  “I've just been stressed—”

  He nodded. “Yeah, so you said.” The expression on his face made me stop abruptly; this time even my ears turned red as I realized how serious he was. He was never serious.

  “I like you,” he admitted and it came out so quiet I almost missed it.

  I wasn't good at being direct. And to be honest, I was kind of in shock. A cute guy I was crushing on had admitted he liked me. But my self-doubt came crashing back down and suddenly this wasn't a conversation I wanted to have right now, so I did what I always did. I changed the subject. “What souvenir do you want me to bring back from England?”

  He threw his hands in the air, clearly upset. “Do you even like me?”

  I wanted to tell him the truth. That I spent most of my day thinking about him. That whenever I needed an opinion about something it was his that mattered most, or that all I wanted to do was run my hands through that mane of his. That I wanted to stay up all night watching him play video games and drink caffeine... but instead, I settled for awkward silence.

  He pursed his lips and after a beat, nodded in defeat.

  The breeze tousled his hair and I got a whiff of his shampoo. It wasn't herbal or fruity, it smelled like mint and I hated myself for not having the courage to act on anything, even telling him how I felt.

  “I guess I better go,” he said and turned to walk away, but I grabbed his arm to stop him.

  “Wait,” I pleaded.

  He turned back and there was a glint of hope in his eye that hadn't been there before.

  Just tell him, dummy.

  It would be good to get it off my chest.

  “I—” I began but my mom honked the horn, scaring us both. I gave her the evil-eye as she motioned for me to hurry up.

  “Can we get together later?” I asked him.

  “Yeah, sure.” He shoved his hands into his pockets, hunched over, and left me standing there like an idiot.

  Story of my life.

  Chapter 5

  I WOULD TELL CORINTH everything. The more I thought about it the more my stomach celebrated with the occasional flip. It was something I wanted more than anything. Mom had one of her rare shifts off work from the hospital. All her spare time was spent tending to her vegetable garden out back. Today, her gardening gear consisted of a pink bandana, pink gloves, and her favorite pair of well-worn overalls. Her idea of therapy was spending hours in the backyard tending to her radishes, turnips, kale, and peppers. I might have enjoyed the garden a lot more if she'd at least plant some potatoes or watermelon. Personally, I didn't see the appeal. Texas weather was hot and humid in the summer and you were sweating by the time you even stepped outside. And it wasn't like my mom cooked a lot; she spent most of her time at the hospital anyway.

  “Penny for your thoughts?” she asked, snapping me out of my reverie.

  I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye and sighed. “I'm thinking about my trip.”

  “I kinda wish I was going with you,” she said wistfully. “I bet London will be a life changing adventure, especially since you've never even been out of the country before.”

  If she knew the real reason why I was going to London, she would freak. A sudden image of her beating my dad with her pink garden gloves popped into my head and I couldn't help but snicker. Yeah, her going with me was not a good idea at all. I mean, that was contingent on the fact that I even found him.

  Seeing the faraway look on my face, she nodded in understanding. “I sense this isn't about your trip though, is it?”

  I sat up straighter, trying to hide the panic I knew had to be written on my face. Uh oh, she'd somehow found out about my true intentions and I was about to experience the fallout.

  “It's really about a boy and his name starts with the letter C. Am I right?” she asked.

  I ran a hand across my mouth in relief and muttered, “Maybe.”

  “Corinth is quite the catch.” She gave me a wink. “He got tall didn't he? And that dreamy hair of his, too.” She nudged me.

  “Mom!” I groaned and covered my face as the heat started to creep up my neck and into my cheeks.

  She waved a hand. "I have to admit, that boy has had a crush on you since you were toddlers. Remember when he used to come over here with those little flowers he'd pick from the garden?"

  I risked a peek out through the cracks in my fingers covering half my face. “Really? You think he likes me?” I knew Corinth had admitted he liked me, but it was nice to have my mom reaffirm that fact out loud. It really didn’t get old, hearing it from a third party as well as from my own crush’s mouth.

  She patted my hand and gave me a smile that said 'duh'. I watched as she grabbed her phone and turned on her meditation music—which consisted of a lot of flutes and odd piano chords that she said sounded soothing. The odd screeching noise hit my eardrums and I grunted in protest.

  Before she marched outside, she turned to me. “My advice, don't rush into anything. You have the rest of your life to figure it out. Have fun on your trip and focus on that. He'll be here when you get back.”

  I shrugged in defeat, thinking about how conflicted I felt. She was right though, the impending urge to leave and get my trip started hit me. Things were starting to look up and I was ready to see what life had in store for me.

  “I'll be in the garden if you want to talk. You should join me sometime; maybe help clear your head.” A chord screeched out of the speakers on her phone and I scrunched up my face and plugged my ears. When I glanced back up, she was already outside, head bobbing to her odd music.

  Back in my room upstairs, I tried to decide what to wear. It would probably be the last I would see of Corinth for a long time, so I dug into the very depths of my closet, feeling a little like an archeologist. This was part of my closet that hadn't been foraged through in years, so when I pulled out a simple black wrap dress Mom bought me on a whim a few years back, I grinned in triumph. Even with a few wrinkles and some dust, the dress still looked wearable.

  I put it on and sucked in my gut.

  Studying myself in my full length mir
ror wasn't something I did often these days. A pair of bright brown eyes stared back at me. My dirty blonde hair was pulled into its usual ponytail but I tugged it free and let it fall gently over my shoulders. Surprisingly, the dress camouflaged most of my muffin top and gave me a partial waistline. “Hmmmm... never knew I had one of those,” I muttered as I pulled on a pair of black flats.

  I didn't really wear makeup but what the hell, I was leaving for a full summer and this was the last chance I'd have to tell Corinth how I felt about him. This was a now or never kind of situation. I threw on a little nude lip gloss and some mascara right as my cell phone rang and Corinth's picture popped up on the screen.

  “Hey,” I answered breathily.

  “Hey, Larns,” he said. I could hear the grin in his voice when he spoke. “You ready?”

  "I'm always ready," I answered.

  “I would expect no less. Okay, I'll be over in a sec.”

  He hung up. With one last look in the mirror, I was satisfied that it wasn't going to get any better. I went back downstairs to wait with bated breath. The more I tried to rehearse what I was going to say to him, the more nervous and silly I started to feel about this whole thing. And especially with the way I was dressed. This just wasn't me. By the time my mom walked in, I was almost ready to cancel our get together and run upstairs to change into my jeans and t-shirt.

  She saw how I was dressed and her mouth dropped open.

  “Don't make a big deal out of this,” I grumbled.

  I could see she had about a thousand things she wanted to say, but instead, she grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and moved back into the living room to join me. Bits of grass and dirt covered her over-alls and clung to her hair and her eyebrows rose comically as she studied me.

  “Not a word, Mom.”

  She gave me an all-knowing smile and drank a sip of water without a word, but her eyes sparkled in response. Thankfully, the doorbell rang before she could start the Spanish Inquisition and my stomach did a somersault. This was it!