Part 11 (1/2)

He nuzzles my nose with his. ”Perfect.”

”I have to go. See you tomorrow.” I turn to leave. I'm cutting it close...I need to hurry.

”Lucky-?”

I pause and glance over my shoulder. ”Hmm?”

Bones bites his lip and shakes his head. ”Never mind. See you tomorrow.”

Chapter 13. Liora.

Tristan leans over to me and whispers, ”What's wrong, Liora? You seem distracted about something.”

I give him a quick side glance and wait until Mr. Sodenberg looks away before whispering back, ”I'm just kinda worried about Corrine. She hasn't been here all week. It's not like her to miss school-” I snap my mouth shut as my English teacher turns around and shoots an unfriendly glare in my direction. I bury my face in my book and s.h.i.+ft uncomfortably in my seat. For some reason my hips are sore, like maybe Lucky fell off Diablo last night or something.

A moment later a small piece of paper appears on my desk, and written in Tristan's neat handwriting is, ”I'm sure she's fine, but if you want, we can go check on her.” I flash him a grateful smile and nod.

When the bell rings at the end of cla.s.s, I reach for my phone and try calling Corrine again. Still no answer. Since Corrine doesn't have a cell phone of her own, her house line is the only one I can try. And either it's not working, or no one is home. But I can't shake the nagging feeling that something isn't quite right. Although she and I have been drifting apart lately, I still care about her and hope nothing is wrong. It's one thing to miss school if she's sick, but she hasn't even tried to get in touch with me for homework a.s.signments or anything. Considering how hard she's working to improve her grades, this is unsettling. Maybe she's mad at me?

Tristan and I start down the hall. But instead of turning down the corridor leading to our World History cla.s.s, I take his arm and lead him toward the parking lot. ”You wanna go now?” he asks, both eyebrows raised.

I nod and bite my lip, casting my gaze downward. Why does he suddenly look so ugly? ”Yeah, I just want to do a quick drive by and make sure everything is okay.”

”Sure, let's go-” He takes a step toward his car, but I hold him back.

”Wait...I was wondering if maybe you wouldn't mind loaning me your car?” I smile widely, knowing my request is nothing short of insane. His Jaguar probably costs over a hundred grand.

He furrows his brow. ”Why don't you want me to drive you?”

I sigh. ”It's 'cause of Corrine...she's really embarra.s.sed about where she lives. I think I'm the only one in the whole school who's ever been to her place, and believe me, she was humiliated. If she's sick or hurt or something, I don't want to make her feel any worse than she already does...”

”I don't think I like the idea of you going alone. What if something really is wrong?” he asks, squinting his sky-blue eyes.

I shrug and look away. His scar seems darker than usual. Garish, almost. Must be the shadows from the trees. ”I'm sure she's just sick, and her phone is out of order or something,” I mumble. For some reason, I really don't want him coming with me to check on Corrine. Normally, I want him next to me all the time. But now I feel like I need...s.p.a.ce.

”What is it, Liora? You seem different today, somehow.” Tristan studies me, and I s.h.i.+ft uncomfortably.

”Same ol' me,” I reply with a casual shrug. But in a way he's right...I sort of do feel different today. Not sure how or why, almost as if there's some deep antic.i.p.ation or excitement buried inside me...like I'm stronger, more cohesive somehow. I'd chalked it up to finally getting a really good night's sleep, since this morning I awoke feeling refreshed and recharged for the first time in weeks. The lingering, sickly feeling I'd been living with seems to have been replaced with a feeling of robust health.

But as I gaze upon Tristan, I wonder if something else is changing. At first, I never wanted to be away from him for even a short period of time. But now I'm suffocated by his overbearing presence. Why is he everywhere I am? Why does he do everything I do?

”I'll drive you to Corrine's,” he says, as if that settles everything. I can't very well argue; it is his car, after all. And my place is in the complete opposite direction. Plus, I'd run the risk of seeing Tatiana and facing her wrath. No thanks.

”Fine,” I say.

We're both quiet as we head toward the back road that leads to the outskirts of Dove Creek. Paved road becomes rubble, houses become shacks. ”She lives around the corner, last one on the row...Stay here and I'll be back in a jiffy,” I say, opening the car door once he stops.

”Wait,” Tristan says, getting out. I give him a confused glance as he lopes around the side of the car and wraps his arms around my waist.

”What's up?” I mumble, trying not to let my annoyance show. Why does he have to be so d.a.m.n clingy?

”Just wanted a kiss first.” He lightly licks his lips and lowers them to meet mine.

I return his kiss halfheartedly and am the first to break away. ”I'll be back in a minute.”

Tristan gives me an odd look as I turn and head down the path, but I don't care. I'll talk with him about his smothering behavior later. Right now my focus is on Corrine.

I just round the corner when I hear, ”Hey, pretty girl. Wanna come inside for some homemade lemonade?” A fat, balding man wearing jeans and no s.h.i.+rt stands in his half open doorway, scratching his portly stomach and drinking from a brown paper bag.

”Gross,” I mutter, and pick up my pace.

Loud and obscene shouts come from Corrine's trailer, and my heart stops. But then the yelling is followed by raucous laughter, and I let out a long breath. A moment later, the busted screen door swings open violently. A woman I recognize as Corrine's mother stumbles down the two wooden steps followed by a skinny man with a long, greasy mullet and pockmarked cheeks.

”Well lookie what we got here, Jolene. Some pretty 'ung thang here lookin' like Bambi who lost her mama,” the man says with a salacious smirk. ”Did you lose your mama, sweet Bambi?” His eyes feast over my body before settling on my chest. The curvaceous woman with overly-bleached hair and wearing clothes two sizes too tight, laughs as if it's the funniest thing she ever heard. She almost trips over her five inch spiked heels and grabs the skinny man for support, all the while puffing on a cigarette. I stand there unmoving, not sure what to do.

”Wait a minute, don't I know ya?” she slurs, blowing smoke in my direction. I try not to cough as I nod.

”Yes, ma'am. I'm a friend of Corrine's. My name is Liora Greyson.”

Her eyes narrow and she steps closer to me. The man watches us curiously as she glares at me with an intoxicated anger.

”She been telling you lies? That why you here?” Corrine's mother spits out, and takes a long drag from her skinny cigarette.

”Ma'am?”

”She's a liar. A dirty little liar and she spreads her filthy lies everywhere. I won't stand for it. I won't tolerate it, hear me, missy? The tongue of the devil!”

”Uh, yes, ma'am.” I figure it's best to just play along. She seems totally out of her mind.

”So go on now. Git. Denny and me are off to get party supplies, and I don't need the likes of you stirring up more trouble. That girl needs to learn her place and I won't be havin' no lies. Hear me? So go. Go on now. Git. And don't come back.” She waves me off with a handful of long, bright pink fingernails.

”Uh, yes ma'am. Sorry.” The man still hasn't stopped staring at my chest, and I hurry away, disgusted. They stumble off towards an old white pick-up truck, and I duck around the corner out of sight.

Once I'm sure they've gone, I return to the trailer, surprised to see Corrine sitting on the front porch, her head held low, her stringy hair covering her face.

”Hey,” she mumbles as I sit beside her. ”Sorry 'bout that. She's been on a tear lately.”

”Hey, Corrine,” I whisper. She raises her head, and I gasp. ”Corrine! What happened?” Her black eye is purple in some spots, yellowish in others. Her nose has a funny b.u.mp to it I don't remember seeing before, and her puffy mouth bears a vicious gash on her lower lip.

”It looks worse than it is. Promise. But I didn't really wanna show my face at school, for obvious reasons.”

”But-but-what happened? Were you in an accident or attacked or something?” I stammer, unable to get over my shock. I never expected to find her like this, and my heart aches.

She shrugs and drops her head again. ”It's all very Afterschool Special.” She lets out a deep sigh. ”Drunk mom has druggie boyfriend. Druggie boyfriend tries to have s.e.x with drunk mom's daughter. Daughter fights back and tells mom. Daughter gets the c.r.a.p smacked out of her. You know...the usual.”

”Oh, Corrine, I'm so sorry. Is there anything I can do?” I whisper, rubbing her back consolingly.