The Seven Devils (YA "New Adult" Romance) (10 page)

Chapter 11

I nearly died when Derrick picked me up for Lexie’s party the next afternoon. I know next to nothing about cars, but I do know a Mercedes emblem when I see one, and I also know my mom could save every penny she made this year and still not have enough to buy one. When Derrick pulled into my driveway in a mean-looking black Mercedes, I almost turned around and walked back into the house. What was I doing with someone like him? I really didn’t belong in Minster.

I forced myself to get into the car beside Derrick and I tried not to think about how horrible the party would probably be.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” I asked him.

Derrick smirked. “We don’t really have to stay too long, but we should at least make an appearance.”

I nodded and tried to relax, which wasn’t easy since I was too afraid to touch anything in the car. It looked way too new. “Is this your car?” I asked.

“You’ve never seen my car before?” he asked incredulously. “I drive it to school every day.”

I shrugged. “I don’t have any reason to be in the parking lot.”

“You know, I have football after school every day, but I could drive you to school in the mornings if you’d like,” he said.

“Oh no, I actually like the walk,” I replied.

We arrived at Lexie’s house a few moments later, and once again I wondered what I was doing there. I had to stand in the driveway and take it all in. The house was even bigger than Neil’s and it was on a huge plot of land just outside of town. Their front yard was beautiful, full of trees whose leaves were just beginning to change color, and there was a large fenced-off field to the left of the house where I could see several horses. Derrick held out a hand to me and I took it and allowed him to lead me inside.

We walked through the house and ran into Lexie who was just leaving the kitchen, her arms full of bags of chips and a huge bowl of dip. I was shocked when I saw she was wearing nothing but a skimpy bikini. “Hey cuz,” she said. “We’re all in the pool.”

“Swiming? But it’s freezing!” I said.

Lexie rolled her eyes and ignored me. She pointed to a small table against the wall of the living room and said, “Derrick, grab the keg pump.” As she pointed, she lost her grip on the bowl of dip and it fell to the floor, spilling French onion dip all over the carpet.

“Oh!” I cried. I immediately dropped to the floor and tried to scrape the excess dip back into the bowl. “Do you have any carpet cleaner?” I asked hurriedly.

Lexie laughed. “Donna!” she screamed.

Almost immediately, a woman popped into the room with a bucket of cleaning supplies and was on her knees next to me. “I’ve got it hun,” she said to me kindly. Lexie left the room humming and Derrick shrugged, grabbed the keg tap and followed her out.

“Is your name Ellen?” the woman asked me as she began soaking up the dip from the carpet.

“Yes, how did you know?” I asked.

“My daughter Hannah has mentioned you several times. I thought you matched her description,” she said, smiling.

“Oh! I’m glad I met Hannah. She’s great,” I replied. “A lot nicer than most people at school,” I said quietly.

“That’s my girl,” she said proudly. “My name is Donna, by the way. You should come over to our house sometime. I know Hannah would love it.”

“I really should,” I said.

Derrick walked into the room. “How is everything?” he asked.

Donna looked at me and said, “I’m almost done here dear, you go ahead to the party.”

I nodded sullenly. There was no avoiding it any longer. Derrick helped me to my feet and we walked into a huge room with an indoor pool. There were several people in the pool, splashing and shouting to each other. My brother was on a lounge chair on the side of the pool with Lexie in his lap.

I felt completely out of place and grasped Derrick’s hand, thankful I wasn’t there alone. “I didn’t know it would be a pool party,” I said softly.

“I didn’t think you’d want to swim, after what happened the last time you were in a pool,” Derrick said, running a hand through my hair.

I shook my head. “You’re right about that,” I said, surprised by his thoughtfulness.

We sat in a couple of teak chairs off the side of the pool, a little ways down from my brother and Lexie. Derrick ran off and got us both sodas after I assured him I wouldn’t rather have some beer, and we just sat and talked for a while. He was surprisingly sweet and easy to talk to.

After a half hour or so, a group of six more guys came into the room and immediately dove into the pool, fully clothed and started messing around and dunking each other. I laughed at first, but then stood up suddenly.

“What’s wrong?” Derrick asked. “They’re just fooling around.”

“Those boys. Weren’t some of them the ones who touched me in the bathroom that day?” I said.

Derrick stood and put his arm around me. “You don’t have to worry about them. I talked to them about that. They won’t mess with you again.”

“Can we leave?” I asked quietly.

“If that’s what you want,” Derrick replied.

I nodded, and he led me out of the house and back to his car. We sat in the car together for a moment and he looked over towards me. “Those guys—they honestly won’t hurt you again. Did you want me to do more? Do you want me to kick their asses?”

“No, I don’t want any fighting,” I said, looking out at the horses. “I just… I don’t want to see them.”

Derrick ran his fingers through my hair. “You’re not afraid, are you? You know nothing’s going to happen to you when you’re with me?”

I shook my head. “I’m not afraid, I just feel so overwhelmed sometimes. So much has happened in the last few months. I feel like I just need to catch my breath.”

Derrick was quiet for a moment. “It’s been months since Neil left you. Don’t you think it’s time to move on?”

I continued watching the horses as I considered what he said. “Hey,” he said, drawing my face towards his. “What are you thinking? You can tell me.”

Why did my mind always get so fuzzy when I looked him in the eyes? It was almost as if he were so good-looking that my brain couldn’t handle it and short-circuited.

“It’s just, I can’t tell if I really like you or if I’m just really attracted to you,” I said gently.

Derrick ran his hand back through his hair and I felt a pang in my chest, remembering the way Neil would do the same thing. “Isn’t that how relationships work?” Derrick said. “First you go out with someone simply because you’re attracted, and if you get along really well, you get more serious?”

I thought it through. “I don’t know. I guess you could be right.”

I couldn’t help but think about my relationship with Neil and how it seemed like so much more than that, even at the very beginning. I didn’t get those same feelings when I was around Derrick.

“Come to dinner with me,” Derrick said. “As a date.”

“I just don’t know if I’m ready,” I said honestly.

“Ellen, we’re just talking about eating together, just like we do in the cafeteria at school. It’s no different. There’s nothing to be worried about.”

What could I say? I didn’t really want to go with him as all I could think about was how unlike Neil he was, but what would I do at home? My brother was still here at the party and my mom was undoubtedly out on a date with Phil. It was either eat with Derrick or eat alone in my room.

“Okay,” I said and faked a smile.

***

By the time Derrick pulled into my driveway that night, I felt awful. The truth was that Derrick was really fun to be around and I enjoyed our dinner together, but at the same time all I kept thinking was how much I wish it had been Neil with me instead. I tried to be a good date and not let him see that I wasn’t enjoying myself quite as much as I let on, and luckily Derrick didn’t seem to be able to recognize the difference between my fake happiness and true happiness. Very convenient.

“I had a great time with you today,” Derrick said, stroking my hand.

“I had fun too,” I replied, smiling a sunny fake smile.

Derrick grinned. “Are you going to ask me inside?” he asked.

My eyes widened slightly. “I… Well, it’s getting late. I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I said.

“Not even for a couple of minutes?” he asked, stroking my cheek softly.

“Derrick, I –” He cut me off mid sentence by sticking his tongue halfway down my throat. He held me in a tight hug, pinning my arms under his so that I couldn’t push him away from his kisses. When he finally backed off, I gasped for breath and reached straight for the door.

“Ellen?” he said.

I looked back and saw his confused look. “I have to go,” I said quickly, got out of the car, and ran into the house.

I could still taste him in my mouth. I brushed my teeth and washed my face and then went straight to bed, though it was still quite early. Not long ago I had dreamed about Derrick kissing me, but it certainly hadn’t felt like I had fantasized.

I was still awake a few hours later when the phone rang. I climbed out of bed and prayed it wouldn’t be Derrick.

”Hello?” I said, picking it up.

There was nothing but silence. “Hello?” I said again.

“Ellen,” a man’s voice said. My father’s voice. I slammed down the phone quickly.

I paced around the house frantically. Why was I here alone? It wasn’t safe. I ran and locked all the windows and doors and finally curled up under my covers with the phone clutched to my chest. Every cell in my body seemed to be screaming “CALL NEIL!” but I just couldn’t. If I called and he hung up on me, I don’t think I could take it.

***

Several hours later when I finally fell asleep, I dreamt I was in the woods, something I had not done in weeks. I could hear movement in the woods, but I couldn’t see anyone there. “Please come out,” I cried. “Please.” I sat in the cool grass and prayed my wolf would come out and speak to me. I had missed him. I felt so alone.

I had nearly given up hope when he finally came out of the woods and moved towards me. He looked even larger than before and for the first time I felt a tremor of fear when I saw him.

“I am not the one you need to fear, Ellen,” his voice boomed in my mind.

When he was near enough I buried my face in the thick fun around his neck and held him close to me. “I’m so glad you’re back,” I said. “I need someone to talk to.”

“Why not talk to your boyfriend,” he growled.

“He’s not my boyfriend,” I said, disgusted. “I just don’t know what to do. He likes me… my mom likes him, my brother likes him. I think he’s cute, but he’s just not Neil.” My voice cracked as I said his name. “I miss him so much. He won’t even talk to me. I still don’t understand what happened.”

“Did you do anything to warrant this treatment?” the wolf asked.

I thought back to that night in my room, alone with Derrick, wanting nothing more than for him to kiss me. “Yes,” I said, my tears wetting his fur. “It hurts so much,” I said, sobbing.

“He is hurting too,” the wolf replied.

Chapter 12

We went out again the next weekend, against my better judgment. I was enjoying my time with Derrick less and less, but it was still more appealing than sitting alone at home.

On Wednesday Austin had answered the phone in the evening and it sounded like a wrong number. When he came back into the living room he told me he could hear breathing, but no one said a word. My mom and Austin thought I was paranoid thinking it was Dad, but I knew he was out there somewhere, and I sure wasn’t going to sit at home alone and wait for him to stop by.

So, Friday Derrick took me to a movie. I didn’t actually get to see much of the movie since I was too busy swatting his hands away. It started out with just kissing, which I didn’t mind too much, but when he moved a hand up the front of my shirt I could have killed him. We were surrounded by people and I’m sure at least the people to our sides and behind us could see what he was doing.

I crossed my arms tight across my chest and it was fine for a little while. I watched a little of the movie, and when Derrick leaned over and whispered “sorry” in my ear, I let my arms relax back to my side. Big mistake. A few minutes later he slid my hand over onto his leg. I tried to pull back, but his grip was merciless. The more I struggled to get my hand back, the tighter he squeezed. He led my hand up higher on his thigh and I pulled back with all my might. He twisted my hand and I would have screamed except for the look on his face. His eyes burned into mine with a look that left nothing to the imagination. If I made him angry, he’d think nothing of breaking my wrist.

The man sitting directly behind me cleared his throat and leaned in towards us. “Son, is there a problem here?” he asked Derrick. “I don’t need to call someone down to escort you out, do I?”

Derrick looked back at him with a fake grin plastered on his face. “Aww, we’re just messing around.” He looked at me and said, “Right baby?” as he crushed one of my feet with his own.

I nodded quickly. The man sat back down.

Derrick and I spent the rest of the movie staring straight forward, his arm tight across my shoulders.

We spent the car ride back to my house in silence once the movie had ended. Derrick parked in my driveway and cut the engine.

“You did good, nodding to that dickwad in the theatre. You don’t want to see me in any trouble, do you?”

I quietly shook my head no.

“Good. And as for the—“ he broke off suddenly, and grabbed my chin harshly. “God damn it, look at me when I’m taking to you.” His piercing blue eyes glared into mine. I tried to shrink back from him but he grasped onto both of my shoulders. “Now as for the shit you pulled that started it all in the first place, that’s all going to end. Now. If I want you to do something, you do it or you’ll face the consequences. Understand?”

Tears streamed down my face as I nodded. His fingers were digging into my skin and my shoulders ached.

“You look like shit right now, so I’m dropping you off and we’re done for tonight, but I’ll be here at 8:00 tomorrow night to pick you up for AJ’s party. Wear something sexy. And if I want to touch you, you let me touch you. After the party I’ll drive you back here and you’re going to invite me in. Understand?”

Another nod.

“Alright. Now get the hell out of my car.”

***

I woke up the next morning still clutching the telephone. After Derrick had left I considered calling Neil, but I fell asleep before getting up the nerve. I couldn’t shake the feeling that everything would be so much better if I could just see him. He had warned me about Derrick but I was too dumb to listen. I missed everything about Neil. God knows he would never threaten me.

I walked around in a daze most of the day, trying to figure out how to get rid of Derrick. The thought of his cold eyes and the way he twisted my hand terrified me. How would I make it through another night with him?

I decided to tell my mom what had happened last night. I found her in her bedroom, putting on some jewelry. “Going out tonight?”

“Big date!” she said. “How about you? I heard there’s a big party tonight. You going with Derrick?”

“He wants me to, but I really don’t want to go with him.”

She turned away from the mirror and considered me. “Ellen, I don’t know what’s wrong with you. You moped around here for months after that one boy dumped you, and now Derrick, the boy I wanted you to date in the first place mind you, wants to take you to a party, and you’re acting like it’s an inconvenience.”

“But Mom, you don’t know how he is.”

“Ellen, no man is perfect. You need to get your head out of your books and into the real world. Go to that party and try to make sure Derrick has fun. He’s the only thing you’ve got going for you here,” she said, and walked out. She left moments later without saying goodbye.

Wow, thanks Mom.

I had to force myself to shower and get dressed. I had absolutely nothing that could be deemed as sexy in my closet, so I borrowed a skirt and top from my mom’s closet. The top was a little too big and would slip down my shoulders if I wasn’t careful, but otherwise I looked pretty good.

Once dressed, I sat on the edge of my bed and waited. Who would have thought a date with one of the cutest guys in school would feel like a death sentence?

Derrick had said 8:00, but his car pulled into the driveway at 7:30, horn blaring. I ran down the stairs and hopped into the car.

A slow smile spread across Derrick’s lips as he scrutinized me head to toe. “This is how you should always dress when you’re with me,” he said.

He leaned out of his seat until our noses were inches away from touching. “Are you ready to be a good girl tonight?” His dead eyes were enough to terrify me, but the stench of liquor overpowered his breath mint and my breath caught in my throat. There was no stopping him tonight. He grasped my shoulders hard. “Answer me. Are you going to be a good girl tonight and do what I want you to?”

I couldn’t hold his gaze and looked down at my hands. “Yes, Derrick.”

“That’s what I like to hear,” he said with a smile and wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me backwards into his lap. His hands went up under my shirt and he buried his face in my hair.

“I’m going to wear you out tonight,” he growled into my ear. A shiver rocked through my body and he chuckled. “You like this, don’t you? Little slut.”

With that he pushed me back into my seat and started the car. “Soon enough, baby. Just a little party and then your ass is mine.”

***

I don’t think I said more than two words the entire night. Actually, I said exactly three. “I. Don’t. Drink.” Derrick punched a nice hole in the wall after hearing that.

“I told you to do what I fucking ask you to do. I want you to drink, so you’ll drink!” he screamed into my face.

I held firm and didn’t say another word all night. Derrick dragged me around behind him wherever he went, drinking whatever was available from shots to beer. After a few hours he pulled me to the back of the house and my pulse raced, afraid he was taking me to a bedroom.

When he opened a door and dragged me in I began to cough uncontrollably. The room was absolutely filled with smoke and only after a couple of seconds could I see the group of guys passing a bong. When they saw us come in a few of the guys yelled “Bambi!” and my knees locked up. Those creeps from the bathroom! Derrick high-fived several of them, and they cleared off the bed and settled onto the floor. Derrick grabbed my elbow and made me sit on the bed beside him.

I think we must have been in there for hours. The smoke and loud thumping music were disorienting and I spent most of the time leaning back against the headboard with my eyes closed, trying to ignore the boys’ conversations which centered mostly around football and “hot chicks.”

Suddenly I heard Neil’s name mentioned. I immediately tuned in, without moving or opening my
 eyes to alert them that I was listening or that I was interested in what they were saying.

“Yeah, fucking up his car was fun last time, but I want to do something better this time,” Derrick said.

There were grunts of agreement around the room.

“He never replaced the car though, and he doesn’t really have anything else to destroy,” another guy said. “So what can we do?”

“We’ll have to do something else. Something different. I say we do something and blame him. Like steal something or spray paint the school or something,” Derrick said.

There were lots of hoots and laughter at that. “Yeah, or plant drugs in his locker!” someone added.

“Or steal the mayor’s cat and plant her in Neil’s house.”

“Or KILL the mayor’s cat and plant the body in Neil’s locker!”

“Or kill the MAYOR and plant evidence that shows Neil did it!” They all died laughing and the ideas kept coming.

After awhile the conversation dwindled down and I realized I hadn’t heard Derrick say anything for some time. I sat up slowly and looked over at him. He had a hand clenched around the fabric of my skirt, but he was definitely passed out. Several of the other guys were too, but there were still three or four still awake in the room, passing that bong. One of them noticed me moving around and grinned. “Hey Bambi, want to have some fun? Your boy Derrick is out for the count, but I’m still kicking.”

I smiled weakly and said, “I’ll be right back. Bathroom.” I worked my skirt out from Derrick’s fingers and slipped off the bed. I stumbled several times on the way to the door and then out of the house. The rooms were spinning and it didn’t seem like anything was solid anymore. All the pot smoke must have been getting to me.

Once I made my way outside I sat on the dewy grass and put my head in my hands. I definitely wanted to leave, but how? Where was I? I remembered AJ’s house was on Franklin Street, but which direction had we come in? I took several deep breaths and then struggled back to my feet.

The party had mostly cleared up and there were only a few kids outside. A quick look around told me I didn’t recognize any of them. I did, however, see the huge church located in the center of Minster to my left, so I took off my shoes and began walking in that direction. Minster was a small town; I should be able to find my way home.

After a few minutes I began recognizing the streets and I found my way back to my house without much trouble. I passed right by it, though, and continued to Neil’s house. I didn’t even know what I was going to say to him, I just knew I had to go see him.

When I finally reached Neil’s house, I walked to the garage entrance he took me in when I had come with him before, and I knocked. No one answered. I knew it was late, but I just needed to see him. I knocked a little bit louder, but still there was no answer. Finally I got up my courage and tried the door. It was unlocked, so I eased it open and stepped inside.

Neil’s room (if you could call it that) was empty. I hadn’t seen his car outside; I should have known he wasn’t here.

I sat there in the dark garage on his bed and decided to wait a few minutes to see if he turned up before I gave up and headed back home. I had just gotten comfortable and closed my eyes when the door that leads from the garage to the house burst open and a man ran out.

“Who’s in here? I’m armed!” he yelled. I could see something large in his hands.

I gasped and leapt to my feet. “Please,” I said, and couldn’t think how to continue the sentence.

The man lowered what he was carrying. “A girl? Who are you? What do you want?”

“Where’s Neil?” I asked quietly.

The man was still and said nothing for some time. Finally he backed up a step or two and said, “Hold on a second” as he fumbled for the light switched.

The light was blinding for a moment and I shielded my eyes. When my eyes adjusted I saw I was speaking to a large man wearing nothing but a bathrobe, a baseball bat in his hand. He was obviously Neil’s father; they looked so much alike it was uncanny. If he were thirty years younger and fifty pounds lighter they could nearly be twins.