When Dru woke up the next morning her head didn’t feel so bad, and she
saw a note from her mother on the coffee table in front of her. She
realized she had slept on the couch all night. She read the note:
Your friend Ivey and her brother told me that you had a mishap at their house and hit your head. I saw them as I pulled into the driveway, and they explained about your car. Tomorrow morning I have a meeting at 7:30, so I’ll wake you up before I leave at seven. Mom.
She looked at the clock on the wall; it was 6:54. She got up gripping the couch to stay stable. She still could not walk steadily. Holding onto the wall, she stumbled into the kitchen. Her mother was sitting at the table eating cereal.
“Oh! You’re up,” she said. “You still can’t walk well, can you? You aren’t going to school today, you’ll stay home and rest.”
“I will to go to school. If I miss school today I’ll have to make up a physics test, not to mention the countless assignments in other classes,” Dru thought aloud.
“Do not argue with me, if you cannot walk then you cannot learn anything either,” she reprimanded.
Dru was too disoriented to argue, anyway. She nodded her head yes and stumbled back to the couch. She grabbed the remote and clicked the TV on. If I have to stay home I might as well watch cartoons, she thought.
Dru’s mom swept through the house getting ready. As she walked out the door she told Dru, “If you need anything, anything at all, just page me. You have my number at work, too. If your head hurts too bad then call me right away. Bye, honey.” She kissed Dru on the forehead and departed.
Dru was not actually watching the television, more like starting at it and seeing other things in my mind. She repeatedly saw herself flying across the stylishly decorated living room of Kincaid’s house. Then she would see Ivey and Cade driving her home and watching her doze while they drank some tea. It was a crazy daydream.
Dru was proud of herself, for the whole episode last night she had not once cried. Crying was a sign of weakness. If one couldn’t face a little bump on the head without crying then what would you do when something much worse happened? Something like finding out you have a brain tumor, or when your best friend dies.
But she had not cried; she was yet strong.
About an hour after Dru’s mother left the doorbell rang. Dru remembered that Cade and Ivey were going to pick me up for school. “Come in, its unlocked,” she said as loud as she could without hurting her head. “I’m in the den.”
Cade walked into the den without Ivey. “You’re-” he sputtered.
“Still not able to walk without help,” Dru finished. “Sorry I forgot to call, but where’s Ivey?”
“She had to go to school early today.”
“I am really sorry I forgot to call,” she said again. She managed to stand up and stumble over to where he was standing. Dru had at least changed out of her clothes from yesterday into her pajamas and robe, so she did not look all that horrible.
“It’s all right. Does your head still hurt?”
“Only when I smile or shake it.”
“That’s good.”
“That it hurts, or that it only hurts every now and then?” Dru teased.
“You know what I mean!” Cade laughed.
Silence.
“Drake came home past midnight and saw your car in the driveway and freaked out. Ivey and I had waited for him in the living room. When he came in he was asking us why your car was still in the driveway. Ivey replied by saying that you weren’t with us anymore. Drake went pale and just stood there for five minutes until Ivey felt guilty enough to tell him the truth.
Dru burst out laughing and immediately regretted it. Her head started throbbing horridly and everything started spinning. The disorientation she had felt earlier was nothing compared to the confusion she felt now. Her eyes started darting about, trying to take in everything. She stepped back, her leg catching on the table that had been placed there by her mother before she left Dru.
Dru saw Cade’s arm dart out and grab her, and then felt herself pulled to him. The feeling of security she had expected did not come, instead of it she felt an overwhelming fear. She purposefully pushed herself from him. He pulled her closer, his hand pushing against the sensitive spot on her head.
The pain was too intense and Dru felt the need to get away. Where to?
she did not know. Somewhere out there, she knew, was a land where there
is no pain and suffering, a land where nothing bad ever haunted the lives
of good, innocent people. She saw this place in her mind’s eye. Everywhere
she looked the scenery was light, airy. But then the beautiful place started
to fade and pull further away from her, until finally she could no longer
see it.
Dru groaned out of pain. Cade pushed her away from his body a bit to see if she was back in consciousness. “You fainted.”
Of course I fainted, you idiot, Dru thought.
She made a noise that was supposed to resemble her saying she knew that already. He moved her back onto the couch. “Lie down and don’t move. . .I don’t want you fainting again.”
He was sitting on the edge of the couch close enough for her to smell the shampoo from his damp hair. He looked around. “Why is the couch not against the wall? It was last night.”
“Mom moved it so I could see the front door through the doorway, should anyone stop by.”
“Oh.”
“What did Drake do when he got home? I mean, was he sorry at all?” Dru asked Cade.
Cade looked at her for a moment. “I don’t know,” he finally said.
“You’re lying,” she stated.
“So.”
“So what happened? I think I at least have a right to know!”
“You don’t want to know.”
“Yes I do.”
“No, you don’t!”
“How do you know, Cade? Have you ever been in an extreme confusion with the only clear thing in your mind being that you have been wronged! Do you know what that is like?”
“You don’t want to know,” he repeated, evading her questions.
“I do too,” Dru was yelling now. “Drake hurt me, Cade. He hurt me more than you’ll ever know. It wasn’t just a scratch on the head either; I know enough about psychology and myself to know that the scars go much deeper than that. If we had been in another place at the time it could have gone so much farther than it did! Just think. . .what if I had been dropping something off for Ivey and no one but him was home? Last night you commented on how small I was, and you were right, I am small. I’m puny compared to you, and Drake is even bigger than you are. I would have been powerless to stop him if he had tried to-” Dru stopped. It was so despicable she could not even say it.
Cade pulled her up against him. “I know, honey, I know.”
“He could have done anything he wanted to me,” Dru whispered.
“Nothing is going to happen to you,” Cade said as his hand smoothed Dru’s hair. “I’ll take care of my brother. I shouldn’t have let this happen in the first place...”
Dru realized what he was saying.
Dru turned her head up towards Cade with a look of half confusion and half anger. “Cade!”
“What?”
“Don’t ‘what’ me! What are you saying?”
“I was just--” He stopped, obviously at a loss for words.
“You just what, Cade? What!”
He did not answer her questions.
“Look, Cade, I don’t need this from you right now. I don’t need this from anyone right now! I’ve had my life planned out down to the last detail. Last night was not in my plans, and its going to be hard enough to bounce back from that. I don’t need any more distractions. And I don’t need anyone protecting me!”
Cade reverted to an old habit of running his fingers through his hair. “Dru, I didn’t plan any of this. Now that you mention it, I did the exact opposite. You don’t understand a lot of what has happened here, and you never will. But let me tell you this: I did a whole lot to protect you; it didn’t work, but I tried.”
Cade turned around and walked out of the house.
She heard the front door click. She thought about everything that had happened that morning and the previous day. Dru didn’t want anyone to know what had really happened. She jumped up as fast as her condition would allow her and stumbled to the front door. She opened it and fell onto the porch.
“Cade!” Dru called. She was sure she must look horrible, wearing a nightgown and robe and holding onto the porch railing so she would not fall.
Cade, who was just getting into the car, looked towards her.
“Don’t tell anyone what happened. Just tell everyone I had an accident and hit my head. Don’t tell anyone. Make sure Ivey doesn’t either.”
He nodded and got into the car. She watched him drive away. She
had a feeling that these two days were going to be some of the most important
of her life.
Later she tested her balance again. She was able to walk a few steps, now, without holding on to something. She went in her bedroom to change into regular clothes. She had just taken her pajamas off when the doorbell rang. “Hold on a second!” She called.
Dru pulled on an oversized white button-down shirt and hoped it covered enough of her to look decent. She caught a glance at herself passing a mirror and decided to pull on some pants, too. She grabbed a pair of black leggings and pulled them on.
She lurched through the house into the living room and opened the door. She looked up into the face of Drake Kincaid and slammed the door shut. She stumbled across the floor as the front door opened.
“Dru . . . Wait,” he called after her.
She wheeled around. “Do you remember what happened last time you said that?” she asked him.
“That won’t happen again, I promise.”
“I do not have any reason to trust you,” she said with all the cruelness she could get into one sentence. She shivered. “Close the door when you leave, you’re letting the cold air in.”
She looked at the two of them in the mirror, which hanged on the wall opposite them. He had shaved, and combed his dark hair. He fit the universal description of the hero in a romance novel: tall, dark and handsome. He looked a whole lot better than he had yesterday afternoon. She had to admit he was handsome. Her own curly black hair was spilling over onto the big shirt she had just slipped on. The tails of the shirt ended halfway between her hips and knees; the leggings showed just enough curves to attract attention. She would be a temptation to any man, especially one who found her so appealing.
She turned and tried to walk back to her room, where there was a lock on the door. She took two steps and fell. Dru heard Drake’s footsteps come across the floor and yelled, “Don’t touch me!”
Drake did not listen. He picked her up and asked her where her room was.
“Put me down this instant,” she said through clenched teeth.
“You’re scared,” he stated.
“I am not,” Dru lied.
“Yes you are, it shows on your face.”
“So I’m scared. Big deal. I have a good reason to be.”
He looked past Dru into the den, and then into the open door of her room. “That’s your room?”
Dru nodded. “Don’t put me in there, lay me on the couch.” He walked over to the couch and set her down gently. He stepped back a bit and stared.
“You can you leave now,” Dru said, her voice full of hostility.
“You’re beautiful when you’re angry, you know,” he replied.
Dru knew where this was leading. “Go away!” Dru shouted. “Don’t you understand that I don’t want you here?”
He was taken aback. “Look,” he said. “I didn’t come here expecting you to be nice to me, but I won’t take that.”
Then leave! her mind screamed. Her head was starting to pound harder from all of the yelling. “You wouldn’t have to if you weren’t here.”
“I came over here to give you an apology and you had better listen to me. Look, I’m really sorry about yesterday afternoon. I was way out of line. I knew better, but-” he stopped. “I normally don’t give a second glance to Ivey’s friends; you’re different.”
Dru’s face softened and he said, “I knew you would understand.”
He leaned down and gave her a little peck on the nose. She pushed him away.
“It was just a little thank-you-kiss.”
“Of course it was,” Dru said sweetly. Then, her tone belying her distrust, she said, “To be followed by a thank-you-for-the-thank-you-kiss, and that would be followed by a-”
“Oh, just shut up and kiss me.” Drake was stopped by a slap across his face.
“What was that!?”
“Get out of my house. You have no business here.”
“In that case . . .” He leaned down and pulled Dru to him. He gave her a long kiss. When he pulled away he said, “That was for slapping me.”
“Get out of my house,” Dru said menacingly.
He kissed Dru again. He pulled her away from the couch and lifted her up into his arms as they dropped back onto the couch. His hands moved up to her head as he twisted his fingers in her curls.
Dru remembered what he had done to her before. His fingers grazed the tender spot on her head, and the recollection of all the pain from the past twenty-four hours reclaimed the spot in her memory that his visit had silenced.
She moved her hands up to his and untangled them from her hair, then pushed his face away from her own.
“Why must you always resist?” he said softly, tenderly. Her face was only inches from his and she could hear his ragged breathing clearly.
“Because I have common sense,” she replied starkly.
“Wouldn’t common sense tell you to not resist because I could easily overpower you anyway?”
“No, common sense would tell me not to get involved with someone of your personality.”
“And what would that would be?”
“Roguish, seductive, as I told Ivey yesterday: shifty.”
“That could be changed,” Drake said as he lifted Dru off him and stood.
He leaned down and picked her up, carrying her like a baby. She did not realize where he was taking her until they were already there. He pulled back the covers of her bed and laid her on them, unbuttoning her shirt.
“Stop!” she cried. “I don’t want to-”
He smothered her protest with a kiss; she pushed him away.
“No!” she managed to get in.
How dare he! And to think, only moments ago I could think I could trust him! That’s it-- I’ll never trust anyone again, Dru thought.
“Drake, can you leave?” she asked timidly.
His face hardened and he stood up, backing away slowly. The utopian expression that had been on his face seconds ago had cleared away completely and was replaced by a look as impersonal as cold steel. “I can’t do this,” he said, more to himself than anyone else.
He was standing in the doorway. Dru ignored him and climbed into her bed. Just as she turned over she heard a noise behind her. She turned around to see Drake’s face just inches from her’s.
“Are you going to sleep?”
She was uneasy and squirmed. “Your visit has,” she paused, searching for the correct word, “tired me.”
An impish grin appeared on his face.
“What’s that smile for?” Dru asked sleepily.
“You’re so beautiful.”
“Hmm,” Dru murmured, not really even listening. She slipped off into a calm sleep.
Drake took in the sight before him. She was so attractive; he just couldn’t take it all in at one time. The covers of the king size bed were in a tropical greenery pattern, with the many shades of green surrounding her; Drake knew the colors would compliment her eyes if they were open. Her hair was spread haphazardly around her head, the dark curls shining with the reflection of the light.
He wanted to scoot under the covers with her and hold her, to wrap his arms around her and never let go. Drake gave in to the temptation and got under the covers, careful not to wake Dru; he knew that she would be angry if she woke and saw him. Drake conscientiously slipped his arms around her body and kissed her forehead gently. He looked into her face for a long time before he fell asleep.
A short time later Drake woke up from his short nap. At the same time Dru woke up.
“What are you doing!?” she screamed.
Dru was scared; she didn’t like the look that had suddenly appeared in his eyes. When she had first woken up it had been affectionate, now it was possessive.
A thought occurred to her: had anything happened already? Dru squirmed at the thought and was grateful to feel her clothes about her. Dru became worried. What was Drake planning to do? She had already woken up in his arms once, she did not want that to happen again! How did I ever get into this position? her heart cried.
Dru’s worries never became a reality.
Drake moved away from her and left the room. He came back in a few moments and said, “I’m going to stay with you until someone else gets here; you can’t be alone.”
“What--why? I assure you, I am quite capable--”
“That’s not what I’m worried about. Don’t ask questions. I can’t answer them and they wouldn’t do any good anyway. Now, you haven’t eaten lately, have you.”
Dru shook her head and was surprised again at the wave of dizziness that swept over her. “No...but I’m not hungry.”
“You need something in you’re stomach. You can’t survive on nothing.”
“Tea. There’s a box of tea bags in the cupboard next to the fridge.”
He brought her some tea and she drank it all very quickly, at his urging. After that, she was tired again. It was unnatural to sleep so much, she knew, but a bump on the head was also unnatural. She did not worry about it and fell into a deep sleep.
.
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