Time grinded to a halt as she waited for Talon to respond. One hour passed, then two, then four. All afternoon she waited, her anxiety rising as each minute ticked by. By the time dinner rolled around, she was almost cross-eyed from staring at her screen for so long.
When twenty-four hours passed without a response, she was convinced something happened. Perhaps he was held up at gunpoint and someone robbed him of his phone? Or maybe he got hurt at football practice and was currently at the hospital in a medical induced coma? Those scenarios sounded plausible....right? Because even if he didn't want to talk to her, he would have at least sent a text telling her to go away.
"Would you put that thing away?"
Keeley's head jerked up. Her brother stood in front of their bowling lane, impatiently tapping his foot. He held a neon yellow bowling ball to his chest, which screamed, "Look at me! Look at me!" But that wasn't even the worst part, the ball blended in perfectly with his neon yellow polo. She would have made some sarcastic retort about it except she was wearing the exact same shirt. When their mother heard they were going to spend quality time together, she ran out of the house and bought them matching outfits. Neither wanted to wear them, but they pushed aside the embarrassment—and there was a lot of embarrassment—when they saw how happy it made her. She even took commemorative photos, which both Keeley and Zach agreed needed to be destroyed immediately.
"I don't want you to miss the throw that ultimately defeats you and names me the victor," he continued with a smirk.
She looked past him to the two pins at the end of lane. One pin stood at the far right, while the other stood at the far left. "There's no way you're going to make that."
"Oh ye of little faith," Zach crooned. "Want to make a bet on it?"
She glanced at the pins again. It was a 7-10 split—one of the hardest splits in bowling. "Alright. I'll take my chances. What are the terms?"
Triumph flared in his eyes, but he quickly masked it. Rubbing his chin, he pretended to ponder. "If I don't make it, I'll do your chores for a month."
"And if you do?" she asked suspiciously.
He flashed her an innocent grin. "You have to cover for me the night of Homecoming."
So that was his game. She propped her elbows on her knees and bent forward. "What exactly do you want me to do? You know Dad wants you home by midnight." He was adamant about it. He didn't want them out on the streets at all. Last year during this time, a student from a neighboring high school had gotten drunk at his Homecoming dance. He made the bad decision to drive and ended up smashing into another car, killing a young boy.
"I know, but I'm going to be Homecoming King this year. I want to go out and celebrate." He lifted a hand when she gave him a warning look. "And I'm not getting behind the wheel. The party is happening at Cory's place so I'm going to crash there for the night."
"And what if you don't get voted as Homecoming King?"
He rolled his eyes and shifted the ball to his other side. "The only way that would happen is if all the ballets mysteriously disappeared so they couldn't announce a winner."
A sly look entered her eyes as she bit her lower lip.
"Nuh-uh," Zach murmured, pointing a finger at her. "Don't get any ideas, missy. I've waited four years for this moment. I will not be denied."
"Don't act as if this is your only chance. You're going to be voted Prom King too. What's the big deal if you don't get voted for both?"
"I'm going for the trifecta this year." His fingers popped up one by one as he listed, "Homecoming King, Prom King and MVP of football."
"Do you know how greedy you sound? Share the wealth with the rest of the population."
"No way. I've worked hard for this. Why should I give up what I so rightly deserve?"
"You don't deserve anything. You're popular. There's a difference."
"You don't think its hard work being popular?" he asked, his eyes narrowing. "Do you know how tough it is to be everyone's friend?"
She leaned back in her seat and draped her arms over the back. "Don't act like it's a chore. I've seen you in action. You love the attention."
"Most of the time," he answered. A frown appeared on his face. "But there are certain occasions where I would like to be left alone."
She already felt herself caving when she asked, "This really means that much to you?"
A single nod.
"Fine, I'll cover for you," she conceded. He punched the air with his fist and she hurried to add, "But only if you make this strike. And if you don't, I want you to do the chicken dance when you get named Homecoming King. Deal?" She held out her hand and waited.
"You drive a hard bargain," Zach told her. He closed the distance between them and sealed their bet with a handshake. "Deal."
"Let the better twin prevail," Keeley replied, sending him a cocky grin.
The excitement in his face swiftly turned to determination. He took a few steps back and got into position. Just as she was about to let out a loud cough to distract him, he spun around and pointed at her. His eyes were slits as he said in a low voice, "No messing me up on purpose. That's cheating."
"You take the fun out of everything."
He gave her a long look. When he was satisfied she wouldn't try and sabotage him, he turned back to the bowling lane. Carefully, he lined up the ball with the pins, swung it back, and then released. The ball hurtled down the lane; spinning so fast she could barely keep up. Like a sniper it hit the far left pin. The pin fell down on its side, rotating around and around. Both watched in anticipation as it slowly made its way across the space to the other pin.
"Come on baby, come on," Zach said under his breath. "You can do it. Hit it. Hit it."
All the while, Keeley whispered, "Stop right there. Stop right there. Don't do it. Don't do it."
The pin was starting to lose momentum and just as Keeley was about to celebrate her victory, the pin made one final turn, knocking into the other one. The standing pin rocked back and forth. Keeley jumped out of her seat and ran to the foul line. She watched as the rocking grew more pronounced and then toppled over with a resounding thud.
"Yes!" Zach shouted, throwing his hands up. He spun around to face her. "Who's the better twin now?" he chanted as he snapped his head and began doing the moonwalk across the slippery floor.
Keeley put a hand on her hip and scowled. "How did you keep pulling these things off? It's like you have leprechaun sitting in your pocket, waiting to do your bidding."
He threw an arm around her shoulder. "Don't be a sore loser. I can't help it if I have skills."
"You may have won the bet, but I'll win the game," Keeley muttered, throwing off his arm. She picked up a bowling ball and waited for her turn.
Unfortunately things didn't get better for Keeley. After Zach's lucky strike, he started to fall into a rhythm. He would hit most of the pins his first bowl, and then pick up the spares during his second. By the end of the game, Keeley couldn't even look at the scoreboard without weeping.
"What a great game," Zach sighed in satisfaction as he took off his bowling shoes. "Wasn't it a great game, Keels?"
She threw him an evil glare as she ripped off her shoes. "I refuse to bowl with you again."
He laughed and took a picture of the scoreboard with his phone. "All that winning sure has worked me up an appetite. What do you say we get something to eat? I'll even pay. Consider it a consolation prize."
After giving back the shoes, they left the bowling alley and walked across the street to the boardwalk. It was fairly busy for a weekend. Everyone seemed to be cramming in their last few days of sunshine before fall swept in.
Keeley looked out at the beach and her gaze landed on a teenage couple. They were wrapped in each other's arms, laughing and talking as they stood at the water's edge. The idyllic scene was too much for her. She quickly looked away, blinking back tears. Reaching into her purse, she pulled out her phone.
Still no response from Talon.
"Text me," she said.
Startled, Zach looked down at her. "What?"
"Text me. My phone may be broken."
"Your phone isn't broken."
"It could be. Now text me."
With an exasperated sigh, Zach drew out his phone from his back pocket. Seconds later, a text on Keeley's screen popped up.
If you've been hearing little voices inside of your head, press 9-1-1 and then hit send.
"Zach...."
"Just trying to be helpful."
She tried to stifle the disappointment welling up inside of her. So her phone wasn't broken. Which meant he either was too busy to respond or he just plain didn't want too.
"You know, Cory doesn't have a date to the dance yet," Zach suddenly said.
She closed her eyes. "Please tell me you're not trying to set me up with your friend."
"He's a good guy. And he's been crushing on you for awhile now."
"Not interested."
"Give him a chance. He may surprise you."
"I can't go to the dance even if I wanted too. I'm working that night." Her eyes slid over to him. "Who did you ask to go with you?" The school grapevine was suspiciously quiet on that front. Usually by now his dates would be clamoring for attention.
He angled his head away from her and said, "Just this girl."
Something in his tone caught her attention. She leaned forward to get a better look at his face. "Does this girl have a name?"
He slid on a pair of dark sunglasses. She didn't know whether it was too block her or the sun, but if she had to take a guess, she would pick her. "She does."
His vague answer only stirred her curiosity more. "You know I'll find out eventually," she warned. Edgewood wasn't that big. She could hunt down his friends and find out the name by the end of day.
His jaw ticked as if he knew what she was thinking. Caught in a corner, he admitted, "Her name is Riley. She's a junior."
Her mind riffled through all the juniors she knew. "The name doesn't ring a bell."
He shrugged and uttered something that sounded a lot like, "Thank God," but she couldn't be sure. The fact that he was so guarded where this Riley character was concerned was a huge red flag in Keeley's mind. Silently, she promised herself to look into the matter.
When they got to the restaurant, she followed him inside and discovered the place was packed. "We can go some place else. I know you have that group project later today."
"It's fine. They said they could seat us in ten minutes."
As they waited for their table, they chatted about school and what to buy their parents for their twentieth wedding anniversary. When Zach's name was called, they got up and followed the waitress to their seats. She wasn't paying much attention to what was happening around her so when Zach suddenly stopped in his tracks, she plowed right into him.
"You've got to be kidding me," Zach muttered in a harsh tone.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
When he didn't answer, she placed her hands on his back and looked around his tall frame. Instantly, her body froze. Sitting at a booth not ten feet away from her was Talon. He was surrounded by a group of friends—all guys she happily noted—including Finn and Mitch. His face was lively as he talked, his eyes flashing with excitement. Mitch said something and Talon threw his head back and laughed. The deep, throaty sound floated through the air, shredding her nerves.
"Let's leave," Zach said, grabbing her upper arm. "You don't need this."
"No. I can handle seeing..." She swallowed, unable to say his name.
"If you're trying to convince me you're alright, you're doing a crappy job. Now let's go," he ordered. He started pulling her toward the exit, but she resisted. She didn't want to run away, not again. That's when Finn glanced up and saw them standing there. She almost flinched at the scorn she saw in those dark eyes. He looked her up and down before flashing a cruel smile.
Quickly, she turned to her brother. "You're right. Let's get out of here."
But it was too late.
Finn nudged Talon and then jerked his head in Keeley's direction. It felt like all the air was being sucked out of the room as Talon's head turned. His electric eyes met hers in one blinding moment. The connection between them so fierce she could feel it clawing at her skin, then he blinked and those eyes turned a chilling, gunmetal blue.
"Hey, nice shirts," Finn called out.
Keeley's cheeks flamed. She'd forgotten all about their matching t-shirts. She looked like a walking, talking caution sign. Of all days to run into Talon! Embarrassed, she ducked her head and played with the hem.
"Very bright. Where'd you get them at? Notice-Me-R-Us?" Finn added, a clear taunt in his words.
Immediately, Zach stepped in front of her, blocking her from view. He folded his arms and said, "Don't talk to her. If you have something to say, you can say it to me."
"Tough guy," Finn joked, but there was a steely edge to his tone. "Interesting how she suddenly can't talk for herself, especially when she had so many opinions before."
"Knock it off," Talon ordered.
Finn's mouth dropped, taken back by Talon's words, but he quickly recovered. "Why don't you two scoot along? We're waiting for some girls and you're polluting the air."
Keeley drew in a sharp breath, but no one noticed except for Talon. His gaze flew to hers, an unreadable look building in his eyes.
"That's ironic," Zach snorted. "Because I was thinking the exact same thing about you."
Finn didn't appear impressed. "Why are you even here Brewer? Shouldn't you be on the field practicing? I thought your couch would have you doing double time since we trounced you at the last game."
"The only reason you won was because I couldn't play. We all know that game would have gone down differently if I had been in."
"You mean if you hadn't gotten kicked out because you started a fight with JT," Finn corrected.
Zach's eyes cut across to Talon. "I may have thrown the first punch, but I didn't start that fight."
"Funny, that's not how I remember it," Talon drawled, finally entering into the conversation.
"No? Guess it must have slipped your mind," Zach replied. He casually slipped his hands into his pockets."Though how you could forget taunting me about getting Keeley to send you pictures of herself is beyond me." Talon's spine stiffened. "But then again, you have an affinity for pictures so what do I know? Maybe you get so many, you can't recall them all."
"You crossed a line, Brewer," Talon snapped.
"It's a line you blurred long ago."
Talon slammed his hands down on the table. "You know what? I'm sick and tired of this. You always act so self-righteous about the situation, when in reality, what you did to Claire was just as bad as what I did."
Zach glared daggers at him, his color rising. "Don't ever compare the two. I genuinely cared about Claire. You were just using her as a way to distract you from your problems."
"You don't know anything."
"I know plenty," Zach spat. He sent Talon's friends a disgusted look. "And I know that after those pictures were sent, these so called friends of yours passed them around like wildfire."
"Don't try to turn them against me. This is beneath even you, Brewer."
"Don't believe me? Ask them. How do you think those pictures got spread so quickly? And why are they still floating around out there? I made all my friends delete them. Someone has to be keeping them alive."
Talon started as if the thought never occurred to him. "Guys?" he asked. First, he looked over at Finn, whose gaze was firmly planted on his food. Then he cut across to Mitch who dropped his chin to his chest. Everyone else at the table kept their mouth shut.
The silence was telling.
"I told you guys to get rid of them," Talon said, his tone incredulous. "I told you to find out if anyone still had them and delete them. You told me you did."
Finn raised his head. "Come on, man. You can't be mad about that. We were just looking out for you."
Anger flashed in Talon's eyes. "If you were looking out for me, you would have done what I asked. I promised to do everything I could to erase them." He leaned forward and stressed, "I gave her family my word."
Keeley was starting to feel uncomfortable. This was a conversation between friends. It should happen in private, not in a busy restaurant with everyone listening.
"Just because you made a promise didn't mean the rest of us did," Finn countered, his voice rising in volume. "And for that matter, why should we have to clean up after your mess? You made your bed, you sleep in it."
Talon's fist pounded the table and the silverware clattered around them. "You should have done it because we're friends."
Finn let out a brittle laugh. "So we're friends now? Because earlier today you were threatening to beat me to a pulp if I said anything bad about this one." He thrust a thumb in Keeley's direction. "And why you would even defend her is beyond me."
Zach growled and took a step forward. "What did you say?"
The waitress suddenly appeared at Zach's side. Apprehensive and a tad nervous, her eyes darted between the two parties. "Is everything okay here?"
An awkward moment passed as nobody responded to her question.
Not wanting to get in trouble, Keeley stepped in. "Everything's great," she lied, pasting on a smile. Zach started to grumble so she grabbed his hand and squeezed it...hard. The waitress paused, clearly not believing her so Keeley added, "We're ready for our table. Lead the way."
"We are not done here," Zach stated.
"Oh yes we are," she replied, dragging him after the waitress. He was on a hair-trigger and by the sound of it, so was the rest of that table. They needed to leave pronto before fists started flying.
Keeley took a chance and looked over her shoulder. Talon was arguing with Finn, his arms waving about as he illustrated a point. He seemed furious with them, his face red as he kept talking.
"I always thought he knew," Zach murmured as they sat down at their table. He ran a hand over his face, looking disconcerted by the whole incident. "In fact, I thought he was the one who told them to keep it up."
A loud shout drew their attention. They watched as Talon yelled something and then jumped up from the table and stormed out of the restaurant.
"Damn. I almost feel sorry the guy. To get blind sighted by your friends like that?" Zach shook his head. "Rough. I would hate to be him right now."
Keeley's heart went out to Talon. She wished there was something she could do. Her fingers wrapped around her phone. She considered sending him a text, but thought better of it. Wouldn't it seem a little desperate to send him two texts if he never responded to one? Mentally, she slapped herself. This wasn't about her. This was about him. She needed to set aside her own pride for a minute and concentrate on Talon.
"I'm going to the bathroom. I'll be back," Keeley said, excusing herself and making her way across the restaurant. Finding a private corner, she dialed Talon's number. She waited for him to answer, but it went straight to voicemail.
"Hey," she said into the phone. The word seemed funny now considering everything that just happened. "Uh...well...this is slightly awkward." She gave a nervous laugh and wiped a damp hand across her jeans. "I know we've had our...uh...differences but if you need someone to talk to—you know, a friend or whatever—then I'm here." She paused. "Or not. Depending on what you want. I won't be hurt if you don't call. Well, I mean I'll be hurt, but not hurt. Does that make sense? Because in my mind it did, but out loud I'm thinking not so much." She palmed her forehead. This voicemail was turning into a disaster. She needed to end it before it got any worse. "Anyway, just wanted to call and offer my services." Damn. It just got worse. "Okay, I didn't mean it like that. You know what I meant. Bye."
She hung up the phone and wondered if it was possible to die of embarrassment because if it were, then she would be living a very short life. It wasn't until she ordered food and started eating that she realized she never told him who was leaving the voicemail.
"Is there a particular reason you're banging your head on the table?" Zach asked.
She lifted her head high enough to say, "Because sometimes I'm an idiot."
He shrugged. "That's nothing new."
Her phone beeped and she scrambled to pick it up. Her heart pounded as she saw it was a text from Talon. It was simple and straight to the point, but she smiled when she read the content.
Hey. –T