Never Say Die- Chapter 7

 

Chapter 7

 

 

            The next Saturday came all too soon and as badly as I wanted to back out, I knew he'd be upset if I did so I sucked it up and put on a brave face as I helped him pack his truck with everything we'd need for the trip.

            “Thank you for doing this, I know you're nervous about meeting my friends but they're going to absolutely love you I promise.” I wasn't so sure that he was right but I smiled anyway and nodded, not trusting myself to speak. Nervous didn't even come close to describing how I felt, I was already breaking a huge rule by even dating a human, but then to become so intimately involved in his everyday life, I was really pushing my luck and the guilt was definitely looming over my head like a storm cloud. I told myself, You'll never know if you don't try to just let go and blend in for once.

            Seeing the look on my face, Flan pulled me aside, “I know you're not used to being around people like this but just try to enjoy it, Rhys and I are right here with you, it should be fun.” I nodded. Maybe my relationship with Rhys was a sign that it really was okay to get closer to more people at a time instead of being so selective, take the good with the bad?

I was about to find out.

 

            When we got to the river it seemed like half the college was there, cars and trucks everywhere, people blowing up inner tubes and tying them together with ropes to form a long chain and prevent anyone from floating too far away. You could smell coal, propane and food cooking on grills all over the place, it was one big tailgating party really and the perfect day for it too.

            Rhys grabbed our inner tubes and the car pump to start blowing them up, while he waited he pointed toward a specific group of people and suggested that we go set up near them while he unloaded the truck. So Flan and I went and got our blankets and towels laid out before going back to help him carry down the rest of our stuff.

            Finally our tubes were full of air, tied up to the others and we had settled into a nice spot close to his friends, he even set up an umbrella for me which I hadn't noticed that he'd packed, “I can't have my best girl getting sunburned.” he said as he passed me the sun block, I stared at him blankly before reminding myself that he didn't know I didn't burn and smiled at the thought of worrying about sunburn. It was sweet that he cared though, just one more thing that made me crazy about him.

            “I don't usually have trouble in the sun, I'll be alright.”

            “It gets really hot down here especially if you stay in the water, I'd feel a lot better if you'd at least put one coat on while we're here, I've seen people burn to the point of needing medical attention and that would definitely ruin my perfect day with my perfect girl.” he winked and I could feel the blush rising on my cheeks as Flan snickered. He was always so concerned for my well being that it was impossible to say no to him, so I obligingly began to rub the lotion on my arms.

            “I bet you love watching me rub this white goop on myself.” I grumbled so low that only the two of them could hear me and Flan laughed even louder.

            “It's kinda sexy actually; want me to do your back?” He whispered as he gently nibbled on my ear.

It was a good thing I was sitting because I think my legs would have given out at that point.

            “You're terrible you know that?” I teased and as I handed him the lotion he grinned an evil grin and gave me a peck on the cheek before starting on my back.

When it was my turn to rub lotion on his back I nibbled on his ears to drive him crazy until I was done.

            “You're gonna pay for that when we get back.” He assured me.

            I just returned his grin and replied “We'll see.”

            “Come on you guys enough already, you don't need to make everyone here nauseous.” Flan teased with a grin.

            “Maybe we'll find you someone to make others nauseous with Flan.” I said grinning back.

            “Thanks, when you find them let me know.” she laughed

            Now that we really were all set it was time to go down to the tubes and meet his friends, this was the part that I was really dreading, but I fixed a smile on my face as he took my hand and led me to the water. Before we even got to the rivers’ edge I noticed the men taking me in and they all looked like they'd never seen a girl before.

            The girls were another story, seeing their boyfriends stare open mouthed at me wasn't going to help me make friends and I knew I might have to cheat to win them over. Suddenly I missed Flans indifference to my Charisma, and as if I'd willed it to be so, she was at my side, looking breathtaking in one of my less revealing bikinis with a wrap around skirt.

            I was glad that I had at least worn a cover up over the bikini I'd chosen despite the fact that the second it got wet it wouldn't hide anything, suddenly I was feeling self conscious about my flashy wardrobe. It didn't matter so much when we were hanging out around the pool at home but now I was seeing the error of my ways in the situation at hand.

            I tried to ignore the glares and gaping as we reached the edge of the water and Rhys introduced me to his friends whose names I forgot nearly as quickly as he said them. As I took in the faces I realized that Rhys was easily the best looking guy in the bunch, not to say that the other guys weren't good looking but he definitely stood out. I stopped to consider that the glares I was getting may not be simply because of how I looked but because he was with me and not one of them. I smiled to myself It’s gotta suck to have to settle.

            One guy in nothing but shorts and tennis shoes jogged toward us with a football in his hand and held it up in question, “You up for a game later Rhys?”

            “Sure” he grinned.

            I turned to get a good look at the man who had spoken and suddenly I felt very uncomfortable under his gaze, he didn't have the same gaping look as the others when he took me in, I watched him look me over with appraising eyes and raw lust barely concealed behind them, I disliked him immediately but smiled to hide my distaste.

            “This must be the famous Saydie you've been telling us about! Your description has hardly done her justice Rhys she looks like a goddess.” he held out his hand and I shook it firmly while trying to look flattered and not nauseous before stepping back and taking Rhys's hand again. I could tell that this was a man who was used to getting what he wanted and I needed to get away from him before he added me to the list.
            “Yeah that's my girl.” He said with what I thought was a hint of warning in his voice as he squeezed my shoulders and looked down at me with pride. For a moment I forgot how creepy his friend was, how his other friends felt about me and was just happy to be there with him, to be his girl.

            “This is Mark Whitley he's our star lineman.” Rhys informed me and I nodded, no surprise there, he was built like a rhino just like everyone else on the team.

            “It's a pleasure to meet you Mark.” I lied.

            “I assure you the pleasure is all mine.” He replied and smiled at me in an almost evil way.

            “Well let’s do some tubing shall we?” Mark suggested as he turned to splash his way toward an empty tube.

            I sighed quietly and allowed myself to be led into the water; Flan heard me and gave me a smile as Rhys helped me onto the inner tube with a quick kiss before helping Flan as well and somehow managing to gracefully launch himself on to his own. We floated silently for a while, soaking up the sun and holding hands, every now and then I'd catch him gazing at me with unconcealed happiness and think about how crazy I was to be involved with him at all.

            When Rhys eventually dozed off I decided to attempt conversation with some of the girls in the group but before I could get a word out, I was beat to the punch.

            “So you're the flavor of the week?” I turned to a pretty girl with green eyes, red hair, a very familiar voice and a smug smile as she gazed at Rhys with open admiration of his body and thought so the battle begins.

            “I'm his girlfriend if that's what you're asking.”

            “It won't last long you know, Rhys Davis never stays with any girl for more than a few months at most.” she sneered. So this was Veronica, as I cheated and allowed the information I needed to come to me, I understood her bitterness, she had been with Rhys longer than anyone, thought they'd be madly in love forever and was devastated when he broke things off. Her heart didn't seem to have recovered from it yet and as I felt her pain I almost felt sorry for her...almost.

            Some of the girls turned to see if I was going to respond and were surprised when I looked her directly in the eyes, “Veronica, I know you're hurting and want things to work out with him but it's not going to happen so I'm going to make this easy for you. Rhys is my boyfriend now, be an adult and suck it up.” her mouth fell open and she gaped at me, I felt very pleased with myself but felt my stomach go sour as I considered the remote possibility that she could be right. I could make him stay with me if I wanted to but I never would, he was free to go if that was what he wanted but I knew in that moment that it would break my heart if he did.

            I turned away and Flan gave me a thumbs up with an impressed look on her face as Rhys opened his eyes and squinted at me in the bright light, “Hey beautiful, I must have fallen asleep.” I smiled at him as he moved his sunglasses from the top of his head down to his face, “You were definitely off in dreamland so I was just getting to know some of your friends” I gestured in the general direction of Veronica who had a scowl on her face until he looked at her, then she smiled her brightest smile and waved at him, “I can't see why you've been hiding Saydie from us, you should really just bring her out more often.”

            She made it sound more like What's so special about her? I heard Flan choke back a laugh and try to make it sound like she was coughing instead, I couldn't help smiling at her, she knew bullshit when she smelled it.

            “Want to sink your claws into the new girl already Roni? If anything I was protecting her from you.” he responded with a laugh.

            I wrinkled my nose in disgust for a brief second, Like I need protection from her, she'd be in for the shock of her life in a fight with me, but I was glad that he wasn't as oblivious to the situation as I thought he could be, some guys just don't get it right away when it comes to ex and current girlfriends.

            I saw her cheeks turn red with embarrassment as she tore her gaze from his muscled chest, she seemed to have a hard time keeping her eyes off of him like she just couldn't help it but I totally understood that temptation.

            “Rhys has hardly been hiding me, we just like to spend a lot of time alone.” I smiled over at him and rubbed his arm and he smiled back and winked. I put one hand to the side of my mouth as if to prevent him from seeing what I was saying and whispered loudly “He's like a demon in bed.” I smiled to myself at the joke, gave her an over exaggerated wink and turned away to see Flan choking back a laugh with silent tears rolling down her cheeks. I pointed out that Rhys looked a bit red and in a very suggestive manner, helped him cover himself again with SPF 40.

            Plenty of beer was going around during the course of the day and later that afternoon I somehow ended up with a half drunk Mark on the inner tube immediately to my left, now he was leering at me in his drunkenness. I was feeling uncomfortable again as I slid off my tube and turned to swim the short distance to hang on the edge of Rhys's tube so that I could talk to him and Flan about plans for the upcoming week, anything to distract me from the disgust I felt toward the drunk behind me.

            I could feel Mark's stare on my back as he took me in, now that I was wet and he could see most of my body through my now transparent cover up. He wanted me, that was obvious and only one of us knew that would never happen. I gazed at Rhys with open adoration and a hint of a plea as he leaned down for a kiss before pulling me up on to the tube with him and into the protective circle of his arms.

            A guy whose name I vaguely remembered to be Aaron, began to talk to him about an upcoming football game and distracted his attention from me. I had ended up sideways in his lap with my head on his shoulder facing Mark which earned me more leering, and I could almost see his thought process changing. His intentions were rolling off of him in nearly visible waves as I realized that this wasn't going to end well and he wasn't going to give up until he'd had his way with me.

            We'll see about that, I glared back at him for a brief second before turning back to Flan to talk about going grocery shopping. I suddenly realized I was so grateful to have her there that I was going to have to buy her a really big gift and no matter what kind of fight she put up I was going to make her keep it.

            Rhys absentmindedly squeezed me tighter almost as if he sensed something was off and then gazed down at me with open devotion and something else that I didn't immediately understand but as my heart warmed under his gaze my eyes locked on his I found that out of nowhere, I was fighting back three words I never thought I'd say to him. Panic took over and I tried to look away but I couldn't, my heart felt like it was pounding out a million beats per second, he noticed the change in my gaze and I watched as his brows came together in confusion and concern.

            “Baby what's wrong?”

            I simply stared at him in shock, unable to speak. This couldn't be happening, how did I manage to fall in love with a human? But I knew in that moment that there was no turning back, I could never be away from him now. I heard a voice in my head mocking me “what did you expect? That's how it all works.”

            It was as though my entire universe had shifted in that moment and now he was the center of it, my sun, my moon, my whole world, I needed him like I needed to breathe. I felt my expression change as I tried to accept what I was feeling, and then terror gripped me.

            What if he didn't feel the same way? What if he was totally blissed out but not in love with me? My stomach turned over and for a second I thought I might be sick.

I realized that I had to get a grip on myself before I said or did something to really freak him out.            “Sorry I just spaced there for a minute, I'm okay.”

            He seemed to relax a little, “Saydie you're not okay, you looked terrified and a little green, come on tell me what's up?” I thought fast to come up with a good lie.

            “It's just...” I sighed as a thought came to me, “I was just thinking about some things Veronica said to me while you were asleep.”

            “Like what?” he asked, raising an eyebrow and looking slightly wary.

            “She called me the flavor of the week and basically said that you'd never stay with me because you don't stay with anybody for very long.” I looked down at the water feeling awful for lying to him, but also feeling panic-stricken at the thought of telling the truth.

            “Veronica is just jealous, I've told you that. I'm yours Saydie,” He took a deep breath, “and honestly I'm not sure I could leave you if I wanted to at this point.”

            I was helpless against the love that flowed through me at his words as I nodded and smiled just for him, I was in this for good now, no matter what happened, I could never let him go, demon or not I needed this to work more than anything else in the universe.

            I felt better as he smiled back and then pressed his lips to mine but this time it was different, not like the other times and I started to wonder just what it had been that I'd seen in his eyes as I found myself breathless and dizzy yet again.

            He put one hand on either side of my face and there it was again, that look I couldn't figure out and just before he opened his mouth to speak, like a light had turned on in my head, I understood what was coming and was flooded with exultation and relief-

            “I love you Saydie.” He sounded almost as though he was trying to reassure me that I had nothing to worry about as long as I was with him. My heart swelled in my chest and my entire life seemed to come together in that moment. Veronica had been wrong and I had been right, Rhys wasn't going anywhere, he loved me and we belonged together.

            “I love you too.” and as his lips found mine again I let go of the ledge of resistance that I'd been holding onto for so long and let myself sink into a pool of total happiness.

 

            Later that night we packed the truck back up, moving slowly after stuffing ourselves with hamburgers, hot dogs and s'mores. We'd spent the rest of the day as close to one another as possible, either holding hands, wrapped in each other’s arms or gazing lovingly into each other’s eyes almost as if we were seeing each other in a new light.

            I decided to use the bathroom before we left, leaving Rhys talking to one of his buddies by the truck. On my way back out I saw that Mark was just coming out of the men’s room, I tried to walk away before he saw me but I was too late. I realized now that standing here in the dark so far away from others was probably a bad idea.

            “Where's the fire Say-dee?” he exaggerated my name with deliberate mocking in his voice and I rolled my eyes at him, “You're drunk Mark, you should go find a ride so you can go home and get some sleep.”

            I started to walk away but he grabbed my arm, “You think you can just shake your a*s at me and then walk away?”

            I looked him right in the eyes and answered “I haven't been shaking anything at you, now let me go before you regret it.”

            “Before I regret it? What are you going to do kick my a*s?”

            “You have no idea what you're doing Mark, leave me alone”

            “Screw you b***h, I saw how you looked at me, just begging me to give it to you and now I'm going to.”

            I was trying my hardest to keep my temper under control and not lose it but then he pulled me closer to him, I could smell the beer on his breath and tried not to gag. It was a lot harder to handle this situation and try to remain calm at the same time. Then I got a bright idea. I turned my Charisma down as low as I could, hoping the creepy feeling would get him to back off but I figured out very quickly that he was too drunk for that and there was going to be no easy way out of this.

            “I will give you to the count of three to get your hands off me and walk away Mark.” He laughed at me in his creepy, drunken way and suddenly his arm snaked out to land a back-handed slap across my face.

            “Or what? What are you going to do if I don't?” He asked mockingly.

I was so shocked that I didn't move an inch, I felt the anger flare in me and was suddenly out of control of myself, my eyes turned red and my teeth went sharp, I was going to kill him, there was no doubt in my mind, then, out of nowhere there was the whistling of air, the dull thud of bones hitting bones and he was laying on his back with Rhys standing over him flexing his fingers.

            “If you ever touch her again you'll wish I'd killed you.” he spat at Mark, disgust dripping from every word. I could only stare as Mark rolled over and his eyes flashed red for a brief second before changing back. My mouth fell open and I watched in silence as he got to his feet and stumbled away. Then those gold eyes were in front of me, the ones I loved so much and for a second I couldn't be sure I hadn't imagined everything that had just happened.

            “Saydie are you hurt? Are you alright?” Honestly, I wasn't sure. What had just happened? Had Mark been influenced? Could a demon possibly be behind this?

            “How did you get to me so fast?” I asked him.

            “I didn't feel right about having you out here in the dark so I left Flan with the truck and came to wait for you. A little too late I guess. I'm so sorry.” I put my finger to his lips, “You don't have to be sorry, you didn't do anything wrong. Thank you so much for coming after me.” I wrapped my arms around him and just let him hold me for a while. In the back of my head I made a mental note to speak with my father the very first thing in the morning.

 

            I woke up to the sun streaming in the window and Rhys's arm wrapped protectively around me, we had fallen asleep on top of the covers, fully dressed after talking more about what had happened with Mark and how it should be handled since he was Rhys's team mate.

I stretched carefully trying not to wake him up but he opened an eye and smiled at me.

            “Good morning beautiful.”

            I smiled back, “I do believe this is the first time you've gotten to say that in person.”

            “I guess it is.” he chuckled and leaned over for a kiss.

            “So what's on your agenda today?” I asked, propping myself up on one elbow with my hand supporting my head.

            He looked thoughtful for a moment as he went over his schedule for the day in his head, “I think I'm pretty much open all day, I took today off from Marlene's, wasn't sure how sunburned or hung over I might be after yesterday.” Then yesterday’s events came flooding back to me and I felt a wave of anger wash over me.

            He noticed the change in my expression, “He won't hurt you again Say, I promise. Our coach won't be happy when he hears about how Mark acted and he might end up suspended from the team.”

            I shook my head, “I'm not worried about him hurting me, I never was, I just can't believe I put myself into that situation, I should have taken Flan with me.”

            “You're such a brave girl, I've noticed that. Facing Veronica head on the way you did was extremely impressive by the way.”

            I grinned, “She deserved what she got, being all snotty just because you're not into her anymore, what a pain in the a*s.” He threw his head back and laughed at my assessment of her.  “Wow when you dig in your claws you aim for the heart don't you?”

            “Who me?” I tried to look innocent but he knew better.

            I wandered downstairs while he took a shower and found Flan in the kitchen; she was staring out the window but not at anything in particular as far as I could tell. She jumped when she heard me and turned to me with a very disturbed look on her face.

            “Everything ok?” I asked, opening the fridge to see what I could make Rhys for breakfast.

            “Yeah just worried about a big test I have coming up.” I could tell that she was lying but figured I'd just let it go, she obviously had her reasons.

            “Okay well do you want French toast?”

            She grinned at me as I held up eggs and thick sliced bread, “You know just how to take my mind off of my problems Saydie.” She turned to pull out a bowl and whisk for me from under the counter and didn't mention the test again.

            While I was waiting for the skillet to warm up my phone rang, of course it was my mother wanting to know all about how my day out with the humans went. I told her all about it but when I got to the part about Mark and the red eyes she put me on hold while she shared the information with my dad. I had stepped out on the patio for this part closing the door behind me so that nobody else would hear me and wasn't surprised when it was my father who came back on the line, “Saydie are you absolutely sure his eyes turned red?”

            “Yes dad I'm positive, he was being influenced by a demon, not that he needed much considering how drunk he was.” I added disgustedly.

            “And you say he struck you?” I could tell that he was horrified at the thought of anyone laying a harmful hand on his daughter.

            “Yes but I'm fine, you don't have to freak out or anything I can take care of myself, besides Rhys got to him before I did. Knocked him flat on his back, it was pretty impressive really.”

            There was a stunned silence on the other end, “Dad?” I asked a little concerned about his lack of response.

            “I'm sorry darling I was just thinking, I thought things had gone reasonably well...” he trailed off and now I was really concerned because he wasn't making sense.

            “Dad I don't get it, things went well with what?”

            “Well with Malcolm of course, I never would have expected something like this from him but if you anger an upper level, of course he sees himself as superior to any human-”

I interrupted, “You think Malcolm influenced Mark because he's mad that I won't marry him? What kind of kindergarteners are you surrounding yourself with dad?”

            “Have some respect Saydie, he is my associate after all. I don't think it's the actual rejection of the proposal that upsets him, I do believe it could be your preference to a human over him. If Malcolm is feeling this threatened about him then there must be something very special about the boy, perhaps something that not even Rhys is aware of. Malcolm has done his homework though my dear, he’ll know what sets Rhys off now and I'm afraid that he'll prey on Rhys's devotion to you and use it to interfere in your relationship.” I was so stunned into silence that I nearly dropped the phone.

            “Why? What could possibly be so special about Rhys that Malcolm would go to such extremes?” I finally asked.

            “Honestly, it could be as simple as the fact that he was able to win you over despite your aversion to too much human closeness. Malcolm is one of those who believe that we should stick to our own kind.”

            “Then why is he trying to marry me, it's not exactly a secret that I'm not full demon.”

            “Ah my child despite your mother’s side, being my offspring makes you more demon that you've probably ever considered, it's as close to me as you can get.” I could almost hear his smile through the phone and he was right, I hadn't considered it, I'd always thought of myself as half and half but even those who had been created still weren't as much demon as I was. I was born with it in my very being, physically passed on by the creator himself. It was like comparing an original painting to a print, you can make all the copies you want but there's nothing like having the real thing.

            “That combined with your position in the hierarchy and the fact that you are female makes you the absolute most suitable demon for partnership and reproduction as far as he's concerned.”

I suddenly felt like we were discussing some kind of bizarre science project and not my personal life.

            “Okay dad I get the point but how do we stop this? I couldn't have been more clear when I declined his proposal, what do I need to do to put a stop to all this?”

            “Well let's not be too hasty with retaliation in the event that I am mistaken but I wonder...” He trailed off again and I didn't like the sound of it.

            “You wonder what dad?”

            “Well I wonder if I could meet him? I'd like to see for myself what is so special about the boy. Though I completely understand if you're not ready for him to meet your parents, I know you do struggle with the thought of having the paths of your human and demon lives cross.” Of course he understood that I wasn't ready yet and used it to make me feel guilty.

            “You play a dirty game dad.” I sighed knowing there was no way out of this. “When do you want to meet him?”

            “Any chance you'd be free today?” I was shocked into stunned silence again, my parents meeting him today? What would I tell him? I couldn't think of a reason to decline, Rhys said he had the whole day free and my dad would know if I lied and said we had plans though he'd never bring it up assuming I had my reasons for it.

            I sighed again, “I'll ask him if he's up for it dad and call you back, will that work?”

            “That would be lovely my dear I look forward to hearing back from you soon.”

            Just then I heard a knock on the kitchen window and I looked back at Flan to see that she had finished the French toast for me, guilt washed over me and I saw that Rhys was already sitting at the table waiting for me to come back in. I hadn't realized that I'd been on the phone for so long. I held up a finger to let her know I'd be back in a minute.

            “Alright, Flan is waiting on me to come eat breakfast so I’ll talk to him and call you when we're done.”

            “Thank you darling I'll talk to you in a bit.” I hung up the phone, took a deep breath to compose myself and went back in the house with what I hoped was a normal expression on my face.