Unconventional Scars Read online

  An hour later, just before going to bed, she sent Alex a text, sweet dreams. He texted her back immediately, dreaming of u! Smiling, she drifted into slumber on a cloud of pure, unadulterated bliss.

  11

  Philip was on the patio reading the Sunday paper the next morning when Lisa called. She sounded even worse than she had the night before. Apparently her sniffles had morphed into a full-fledged cold. He only hoped he hadn’t picked up any of her germs. Showing up for his consultation on Tuesday with watery eyes and a stuffed-up nose was definitely not the impression he wanted to make. He promised her he’d stop by later with some tissues and Nyquil, making a mental note not to get too close to her.

  A door slammed next door and, looking up from the sports section, he saw Charlotte’s boys driving off in their truck. He wondered, not for the first time, exactly what he’d walked in on last night. It was pretty obvious those two had been making out. He wasn’t dense enough to think they were just sitting there in the dark, listening to music.

  I wish I knew more about raising teenagers. How am I supposed to handle this? The last thing I want is to see Annie follow in her mother’s footsteps. Of course, Alex is a nice kid. Maybe I have nothing to worry about. Then again, I was a nice kid too, once. But it didn’t stop me from trying to get into girls’ pants, did it? And face it, she’s not that little girl I used to have tea parties with anymore. She’s grown up in the past ten years. Even more than she should.

  So what am I supposed to do, lock her away in a tower? As if that would work! Not my style, anyway. For God’s sake, she’s a girl and girls are interested in boys. That’s life. Right?

  The way he saw it, there wasn’t much that could be done other than make sure she was conscientious enough to be responsible. Beyond that, he’d have to trust her judgment.

  There was, however, one thing he could do.

  Folding the paper, Phil went back inside the house. He needed to make a trip to the drugstore. For tissues, Nyquil . . . and a little peace of mind.

  ****

  No matter how hard she tried to concentrate, Anna couldn’t focus on biology. She found herself reading the same paragraphs two and three times because her mind would wander off in the middle of a sentence and she would forget what she’d been trying to memorize. She kept checking the time, too. Ten-thirty. Alex had said he would call her. Clearly, she wasn’t going to retain much knowledge of vascular plants until he did.

  Phil had shouted up a little while ago that he was going to take Lisa some medicine for her cold and would be right back. Maybe she should fix some lunch while he was gone. By the time he got back, it would be ready. He’d probably appreciate that.

  Saving her place in the textbook with a folded-up piece of notebook paper that had hearts doodled all over it, she was just about to head downstairs when her phone rang. She grabbed it, praying it wasn’t Karen.

  “Hey, beautiful.”

  Nope, that definitely wasn’t Karen!

  “Hi.”

  “What are you up to?”

  “Not much. Studying for a biology test. You?”

  “Creed just dropped me off at Josh’s. I promised him several days ago I’d help paint his room.”

  “Oh. That’s nice.”

  “So . . . did your uncle say anything after I left? I was afraid he might be ticked off at you or something.”

  “No. Why would he be mad? He said I could have friends over.” Anna knew she was being facetious. She couldn’t help herself.

  He laughed. “Friends with benefits? Is that what we are?”

  You tell me! “He didn’t say anything. We had ice cream and then went to bed.”

  “Mm. I love picturing you in bed.”

  “I bet. You’re just a regular perv, aren’t you?”

  “Only around you.” There was a short pause. “But . . . seriously though. I don’t want you to get the wrong idea about me.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Just that I don’t want you to think I’m trying to use you or something. Because it’s not like that.”

  Anna thought she might melt into a puddle like last night’s mocha fudge ripple. “It’s not, huh?”

  “I hope you know it’s not. I really want us to spend more time together. If that’s okay with you.”

  “Well, I’ll have to check my calendar. But I think I’m free through New Year’s.”

  “Consider yourself booked now. And do me a favor.”

  “What?”

  “Go ahead and buy next year’s calendar and pencil me in there as well.”

  “Will do.” Alex was so funny!

  “Dammit, Josh is flicking paint at me! I better go. I’ll see you at school tomorrow, okay?”

  Laughing, Anna said, “Okay. Bye.”

  ****

  “Cut it out, dumbass, you’re getting paint everywhere!” Alex shoved the cell phone back into his pocket and picked up a wooden stick. He dipped it carefully into the open can of Sierra Redwood and stirred.

  “Who were you just talking to?” Josh wanted to know, grinning shrewdly.

  “Your mother. I was confirming our date for tonight.”

  “I’d date your mom. She’s hot.”

  “I’ll let her know you said so. Actually, it was Anna.”

  “I figured. Erica said you were with her at the Graveyard. So, what, are you two hooking up now?”

  “Something like that.” He pulled the stick up and held it over the can, watching the paint drip in a smooth line. “I was over at her house last night.”

  “Oh yeah?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “So what happened?”

  “Nothing much. We just talked.”

  “If you say so.” Josh wasn’t one to pry. Alex liked that about him. For a time, nothing else was said and the only sound was the wet swishing of paint rollers on the wall. When they’d first opened the can, they had second thoughts about the dark color. It was starting to look pretty good, though. It lent a lot more character than the dull white they were covering.

  “Hey, can I ask you a hypothetical question?” Alex said suddenly.

  “Sure.”

  “Would you ever deliberately keep anything from Erica?”

  Josh glanced over at him. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean . . . do you tell her everything? Or is there stuff about yourself that you think maybe she’s better off not knowing?”

  “I didn’t tell her about the raging case of the trots I had last week.”

  “Thanks for the mental image. No, I mean serious stuff. Like . . . I don’t know. Something that would freak her out. Do you think you could have a relationship with her if you knew you hadn’t been completely honest about something important? Would your conscience bother you enough to come clean even if you thought she might hate you? Or would you just keep it to yourself and hope she never found out?”

  Josh considered this. “Depends, I guess. If keeping her in the dark wasn’t hurting her, then I wouldn’t see any reason to stir trouble. You know what they say. Ignorance is bliss.”

  Alex didn’t reply. He knew from past experience that ignorance was not bliss. Ignorance was . . . dangerous. Painfully so.

  “Why do you ask?”

  “No reason.”

  ****

  By the time Phil returned home, Anna had a skillet of julienned green peppers, onions and chicken breast simmering on the stove. She was pouring a packet of seasoning into the pan when he strolled into the kitchen, sniffing. “Yum. Something smells good. What are you making?” He dropped a plastic bag on the counter.

  “Chicken fajitas.” She stirred the mixture and added half a cup of water. “So how’s Lisa?”

  “Snotty and crabby, but she’ll live. What are your plans for this afternoon?”

  “I don’t know. I thought I might call Karen and see if she wants to come over and study with me. Biology test tomorrow.” She made a face.

  “No . . . um . . . plans with Alex?”

  U
h-oh. Where’s this going? She scrutinized Phil’s expression. He looked as if there was something else he wanted to say. Odd, because he normally didn’t press her for information. He was a pretty private person, and respected her privacy as well.

  “Not today. He’s helping Josh paint his room.” Anna opened the fridge and took out a package of shredded cheese. “Why do you ask?”

  Phil pulled out a kitchen chair and sat down. He looked decidedly uncomfortable. After clearing his throat twice, he finally asked, “So you and he . . . I take it you’re not just friends?”

  That was a good question. Unfortunately she hadn’t quite figured out the answer. “I don’t know. I guess not. I mean, I’m not really sure yet.”

  “Annie. Did your mom ever . . . uh, talk to you about sex? By any chance?”

  Anna nearly dropped the spatula she was holding. “Um. Not directly. But the apartment walls were pretty thin, if you know what I mean.”

  “That’s a little more than I needed to know.”

  “You asked!”

  “I can’t even begin to convey to you how sorry I am that I did.”

  “Well, why did you?” Oh my God, if he starts talking to me about STD’s and stuff I will die! Right here and now!

  Phil rubbed his forehead. He appeared to be equally embarrassed. For a while, he just sat there, as if debating whether to continue this conversation or go hide out in the garage. Anna stirred the chicken in silence, wishing he would go hide in the garage. She so had not envisioned spending the day discussing the birds and bees with her uncle.

  “That . . . uh, that’s for you,” he finally said, gesturing to the bag on the counter.

  She peeked inside, and a startled laugh escaped her. “Condoms? Are you kidding me?” She could feel her face burn. “Uncle Phil, seriously, I don’t . . . I’m not . . .”

  “I know, I know,” he interrupted. “But I would feel a lot better about leaving you here alone if I knew you were covered. Just in case. And one more thing.” He pulled a tiny canister from his pocket. “It’s mace. I want you to keep it with you always. Will you promise me you’ll do that?”

  Who on earth would he think I’d need protection from? “All right. I promise.”

  ****

  Alex was waiting by her locker the next morning. He looked different to her somehow, so familiar and yet even more handsome than before, and the butterflies in her stomach fluttered madly. She wondered if she’d ever be able to look at him without feeling them. Probably not.

  “Hey, beautiful,” he said, leaning casually against the lockers. “Did you miss me?”

  “What do you think?” Anna opened her locker and dropped her biology book inside. How could he be so calm and self-assured? It was all she could do to keep from tossing her cookies in front of him.

  He kissed her then, right there in the hallway. Her heart soared.

  “I think you missed me.”

  “So maybe I did, a little.” Anna admitted. “Did you and Josh finish painting his room?”

  “Yeah. It looks really good. His parents were even impressed.”

  Erica appeared at that moment. “Hey, you two. Did you enjoy the party?”

  “Which one?” Alex inquired. Anna tried to hide a smile, and failed.

  “Okay . . . don’t even wanna know.” Tossing a strange look their way, Erica headed into Mrs. Brenner’s room.

  “I better go or I’ll be late.” Alex picked up his backpack from the floor. “See you at lunch.”

  Anna merely waved. She was too happy for mere words.

  ****

  In third period she was approached by Sebastian, who wore a contrite expression on his usually smug face. She crossed her arms, waiting to see what he had to say for himself.

  “I’m sorry about what happened Friday night. Forgive me?”

  “What exactly are you sorry about, Sebastian? Calling me a tease? Making homophobic comments? Or just acting like a jerk in general?”

  “Um . . . all of the above?”

  “Okay, fine. Whatever. You’re forgiven.” Anna turned back to her desk, opened her notebook and flipped to an empty page. She had nothing else to say to him.

  Sebastian touched her arm. “Look, I really am sorry. I didn’t mean any of that stuff I said. I had too much to drink that night. I know that’s no excuse, but . . . just don’t be mad at me. Please? I’m sorry. Really, really sorry. Okay?” He actually seemed sincere.

  Anna sighed. “Forget about it. Just don’t let it happen again, okay?”

  “Cross my heart. So. Are you and I friends again?”

  “I suppose.” It was hard to stay mad at him when he gave her that kicked-puppy pout.

  “Good. I’d really miss flirting with you.”

  She rolled her eyes, but smiled.

  “It also appears I was wrong about your boyfriend, huh?”

  “Looks that way.”

  Retreating back to his desk, he threw one more comment over his shoulder. “He’s a lucky guy!”

  ****

  At the picnic table, Karen monopolized the conversation, as usual. She knew only the basic details of Saturday night, filled in by Anna as they’d studied together on Sunday after the bizarre conversation with Phil, but to her credit she had the good grace not to bring it up. Instead she rambled on about Friday night’s party and who had hooked up with whom, which girl had on the skankiest outfit (the award went to Bailey Blake), and how rumor had it Randall Harrison had been so drunk he’d barfed all over his date. Everyone agreed they were glad to have missed that particular spectacle.

  Anna was sitting beside Alex, rather than across the table from him as she usually did. He caught her eye sometimes and smiled, which thrilled her to no end and caused her to nearly choke on her carrot sticks. At one point she caught Erica and Karen exchanging knowing grins, as if to say we knew all along they belonged together. Glad they figured it out.

  ****

  Alex walked home with Anna after school. He even came inside with her when asked. Frankly, she’d been afraid that he’d want to avoid Phil, who to her relief was friendly and didn’t say anything embarrassing regarding Saturday night’s events. Alex seemed at ease, too. She wondered if he’d be as collected if he knew about the things in her dresser drawer.

  The three of them watched a wrestling match on TV, and even though Anna hated wrestling she had fun because Alex and Phil were enjoying themselves and it was interesting to watch them get excited over the fights. She did have to wonder what they found entertaining about men beating the crap out of one another. At one point she gave them a disgusted look and proclaimed testosterone overload!, which they thought was hilarious. Marie had taken the day off to spend with her granddaughter, so Phil ordered a large pizza with everything and when he asked Alex to stay for dinner, she wanted to hug him right then and there.

  ****

  Anna was filled with nervous anticipation at school all day on Tuesday. Phil’s flight left at ten o’clock and the idea of having the house to herself until Thursday was not only exciting, but terrifying. She played through her mind every possible scenario. Would Alex come over again? What would happen if he did? How far would things go? How far would she let them go? She was conflicted with emotions ranging from thrilled to scared.

  They were walking home from school when Alex unexpectedly suggested that she come home with him. He must have caught the surprise on her face, because he added, “I don’t think my mom likes the idea of me hanging out at your house when your uncle’s out of town. Guess she sees it as too much of a temptation.”

  “Is it?” Anna couldn’t help asking.

  “More than you could possibly know,” he admitted, stopping to kiss her on the sidewalk. An elderly lady who was watering her flower garden smiled at them. Anna made a mental note to write a letter to Miss May.

  “Is your mom even home yet?”

  “Not yet. She usually gets in around four-thirty if she’s not held up in court. You’ll just have to fend me off until then.
”

  “Good thing I have my mace,” she teased.

  “You carry mace?”

  “Uncle Phil gave it to me. He said he wanted to make sure I was protected. I guess it could come in handy if I’m being chased by a vicious dog or something.”

  “You definitely want to look out for those wild animals.” Alex’s eyes twinkled.

  Inside, they had glasses of Sprite and Alex tried to teach her how to play some Xbox game, but kept interrupting her for a kiss and after that it was really hard to concentrate on which buttons to push.

  About an hour later, Ms. Somerville came home. Anna thought she was very nice but couldn’t help feeling slightly intimidated by her. She was always dressed so professionally, in conservative but fashionable suits and stiletto heels, and her flame-red hair was never out of place. Anna couldn’t wear heels that high – they made her ankles wobble. It occurred to her that Alex must have inherited his composure from his graceful mother.

  Creed breezed in from work while they were playing with Sylvester in the living room, and he seemed surprised to see her there. As a matter of fact, Anna kept noticing out of the corner of her eye that he was watching her suspiciously, as if he expected her to suddenly internally combust. Ms. Somerville invited her to stay for dinner, but Anna declined with the excuse that she had homework to do. Which was true, but the real reason was that Creed’s furtive looks were making her uncomfortable. Maybe he didn’t approve of her seeing his brother, but she had no idea why.

  The rest of the week passed in basically the same manner. The Somerville home became the central hangout, and they retreated there after school to play board games and watch silly cartoons and talk about everything that popped into their heads. They also kissed. A lot. Anna wasn’t sure whether she should be disappointed that Alex didn’t come back to her empty house with her. She supposed that at least now she didn’t have to worry about what might happen. It was actually a weight off her mind.

  Well, almost.

  12

  May arrived quickly, and finals were coming up. Anna and Karen studied together just about every night the week before. Erica joined them once, but since most of her classes were different, she wound up studying on her own anyway. Alex declined to join them, with the excuse that he didn’t want to be a distraction. He was right, of course. Anna was inevitably distracted when he was around. She couldn’t help it.