Deep Betrayal Page 0,34

the porch. “You’re hilarious. Let’s go.”

13

FIGHT

We were some of the last to arrive at Oleson’s barn. I recognized a few faces from the party I’d gone to at the Pettits’ awhile back. I also saw the parish priest, Father Hoole, and a bit later, Mrs. Boyd, with whom I tried not to make eye contact. Jack made it to the movie, too, though he was clearly there against his will. He scowled at the ground and leaned against an outbuilding that looked as beaten down as he did.

Practically the whole town turned out. Multiple generations gathered together, talking, laughing, turning bratwursts on a grill. I tried to ignore the strange looks and turning heads or, when that failed, hoped they were gawking at Calder’s usual conversation-stopping good looks and not at me.

I smiled nervously at several mothers who were spreading out their family blankets, overlapping theirs with friends’ to create large, quilted continents. We’d have to act quickly to claim our territory; the center areas had already been staked out.

“Why are there so many little kids here?” I asked. “It’s an R-rated movie.”

“They’re just here for the ice cream,” said Calder. “They’ll all be asleep before it’s dark enough to start the movie. Okay, over here.” He towed me to an open patch of lawn in a circle of light cast by a floodlight that was mounted on a pole and swarmed by moths. The side of the barn was covered in king-sized white bedsheets, sewn together and stretched taut. I chewed my lip.

“Are you nervous being here with me?” Calder asked, taking Gabby’s quilt from my arms and laying it flat on the lawn. “It’s okay if you are,” he said. “I’m kind of nervous, too.”

“What are you nervous about?” I asked.

“Crowds give me a headache. If it wasn’t going to be dark soon I wouldn’t bother to come. Besides, don’t you feel like the whole world is looking at us?”

“Ugh. If they are, I hope they’re focused on you. I look ridiculous.”

“You are intoxicating.”

I blushed and buried my head in my hands. “It’s Gabby’s fault.”

“She did a good job,” he said, uncovering my face, “although I do miss your style.”

“Are you talking about the clothes, or am I not my normal color again?”

“Now that you mention it, both.”

I didn’t know what to say to that, particularly because he frowned when I mentioned the changes he saw in me. We sat in awkward silence for what seemed like hours. Alone, I could have told him almost anything, but I couldn’t put two words together when I felt so on display.

Thankfully, it wasn’t long before someone decided it was dark enough to start the movie and killed the outdoor lights. The town took their seats and obediently fell silent, with the exception of someone’s baby. The little kids were already sleeping. The air was thick with bug spray. The movie projector flickered, then projected the image of a young girl onto the side of the barn.

I watched as the girl made the rookie horror-movie mistake of separating herself from the group. She ran by a dark, weather-worn fence that looked strangely like the skeletal remains of a large fish. A boy chased her, and she teased, stripping off her clothes—piece by piece. I’m going swimming, she said. Normally, I’d make some crack about How stupid can you get? But considering my recent run-in with Maris, I was in no place to judge.

The girl swam naked out into the ocean, too far from shore, the da-dum music working its way into the audience’s collective psyche. I wished the girl could hear the music. Maybe she’d turn back.

Calder sighed. I glanced over to see if he was all right. His profile was a beautiful line that I wanted to run my finger along, letting it bump over his lips, which were slightly parted now. Maybe he would slip his hand behind me. He could lean in and kiss me. I imagined his hand going to my neck, and then my sigh as he lay me back on the lucky blanket, his weight pressing down on me, his knee between my legs. The crowd disappearing …

I bit down on my bottom lip and imagined its softness between his teeth.

But Calder paid no attention to me. He was focused on the swimming girl, watching her warily, holding his breath. The shark jerked her under. The audience screamed. The girl’s eyes grew wide. And then she was pulled again. She rang the bell on the