Rounding Third - Michelle Lynn Page 0,61
to pick her mood back up. I failed at that once, and I won’t again.
A few minutes later, I’m pulling into the quarry area, parking behind a few trees so as not to be seen. Although it’s a popular spot, technically, there’s no trespassing. Everyone in the back climbs out, and Spencer is soon at the passenger door to retrieve Ariel.
“May I have her now?” Spencer holds his hand out.
“Nope, she’s mine today,” Ella says, holding her sister to her chest.
The two pretend to have a tug-of-war with her, but Spencer wins. Ella pretends to pout but fails miserably.
With Spencer’s arm tucking Ariel close to his body, the two of them follow the guys to the quarry, leaving me and Ella.
“Hey, can we talk later?” she asks.
There’s a hesitation in her voice that I don’t like.
“Sure. You can talk to me anytime.”
She nods, and a small smile crosses her lips. When I go to grab her hand, she sidesteps me, placing her towel in that hand.
“I was only going to secure you while climbing over the rocks. I wasn’t insinuating anything.”
“Oh, I know. It’s just…you know.”
Honestly, I don’t, but I keep my mouth shut.
We clear the dense trees, and our vision opens up into a quarry with refreshing water. Brax throws his inflatable ring over the edge right before following it, screaming the entire way down. A big splash echoes against the rocks, and Oliver, Saucey, and a few girls follow his path.
“Come on, Keaton. I’ll catch you,” I say, preparing myself to jump.
“Ariel and I are taking the stairs.” She swings her arm through the opening of her sister’s arm without Ariel’s consent.
Ariel shoots Spencer with a pair of eyes that say, Sorry, but she’s my older sister, and the two descend the slippery concrete steps.
“Should we follow?” Spencer asks.
“Nah. Anal Ella will make sure they’re careful. Come on, little brother. Who will hit the water first?”
I walk up to the edge of the rock, but Spencer places his hand in the air.
“Hold up. I need to talk to you.” He looks behind him and turns back to me.
I stop my feet, walking the distance back to him.
He’s apprehensive.
“What’s up?”
He inches closer. Lowering his voice, he says, “Ella went home yesterday.” His eyes pierce into mine, as though I should know more.
“Yeah, she mentioned it.”
“Did she say anything else?”
“No. Why?”
He glances back again. I’m guessing he’s making sure that the girls have indeed gone down the path.
“Ella talked to Ariel. X announced in front of everyone in the store that you were back at Ridgemont. Took her mom by surprise.” He fiddles with the string on his swimsuit, not able to meet my eyes.
“Yeah?” At this point, I need more information to go on. I’ve never seen Spencer act this way toward me, almost afraid of my reaction.
“I’m not sure of everything that happened, but Ella made a deal with her parents.” His voice trails off.
“Spence?” My impatience grows.
He looks me square in the eyes, sorrow weighing down his face.
“Ella said if they didn’t give Ariel crap for dating me…”
“What?” My voice echoes off the rocks.
“She’d promise to stay away from you.” His eyes immediately cast back down to his feet.
Pure rage warms my veins. A million questions drown me. How could she toss me aside? She said she’d give us thought.
The kiss didn’t seem forced or uncomfortable—quite the opposite actually. Her nails left scratch marks on my shoulders.
The question arises again. How could she make this promise?
“You know she did it for Ariel. It’s not that she wants to stay away from you,” Spencer says, sticking up for her. “She said she did it because Ariel had been invisible to her parents for the last two years. All of their attention was focused on Ella after the accident, and the town wasn’t the same. She did it because Ariel is happy now, and she wants it to stay that way.”
“Well, I’d like for Ella to be happy, and she would be if she were with me. What am I supposed to do now?” My voice rises the more I’m talking.
Spencer places his hand on my shoulder, hoping to quiet me down.
Voices are floating up from the water below. Brax is egging me on to jump.
“Lynch, don’t pussy out,” he says.
“I don’t have answers for you, but I didn’t know if she was going to tell you or not. Wanted you to know.”
My hands tighten in my hair, and I contemplate my next move. She fucking checkmated me without