Work In Progress by A. M. Bryker (grave mercy .TXT) 📖

in her eyes, and she smiles. Then she holds out her hand. "I'm Traelynn, but everybody just calls me Trae."

  I look at her hand with in a disapproving manner and make no move to take it. She lets it fall to her side.

  "I know you," Trae says. "You're Trinity. We're in a few classes together at school."

  We are? Oh yeah. She's the bouncy one that usually raises her hand and gets the answers correct. Teacher's pet.

  "By the way, I totally adore your outfit," she gushes. "I really hope I didn't ruin it."

  Folding my arms, I say, "It's fine, really."

  Trae tilts her head to one side. "You know, you'd look so pretty if you smiled," she states. 

  I remember Jack saying something similar. Apparently I should smile more. Who knew?

  Just then, a guy comes over and wraps an arm around Trae's shoulders. His light brown hair is in a disheveled mess, and his blue eyes are dancing. "What's up, sis?" He asks, his voice also accented. 

  Trae's smile grows wider as she glances up at him and answers, "I'm talking to Trinity." Looking at me, she explains, "This is my brother Finn. He's the host of this party."

  Rick's friend. He seems decent. I wonder how he could be buddies with someone so annoying. 

  Finn smiles at me, and asks, "Care to dance?"

  Definitely not. I peer behind me and find that Jack is no longer there.

  I look back at Finn, shaking my head when I answer, "I'd rather not."

  "Really?" he exclaims, incredulous. "If you don't know how I can teach you."

  Without waiting for a reply, he takes my hand and leads me to where everybody else is dancing, ignoring my protests and futile excuses.

  Finn stands in front of me, and instructs, "Clasp your hands behind my neck, like all the other girls are doing."

  Feeling incredibly uncomfortable, I do as he says, just to get this over with. Once I do, he places his warm hands on my hips. 

  "Now just follow my lead," he says, smiling. 

  It's kind of difficult to follow his lead when all I want to do is get out of here. At some point, it looks like we're going to bump into a couple, and I try to shy away. Finn stops me. 

  "Don't look at what other people are doing," he tells me. "Watch me. I'll keep us from bumping into people."

  Inhaling deeply, I nod. I refuse to look away from Finn's face. He knows what he's doing.

  Looking at his eyes, I realize something. One of them is green. Finn has mismatched eyes. That's actually kind of cool. 

  After a few minutes, I finally let myself relax, just a little bit. As soon as I do, it becomes easier to dance. Not that I was really trying to, but if it gets me done with this...

  "There now, you've got it," Finn enthuses. 

  A moment later, someone's hand appears behind him and taps his shoulder. 

  "Mind if I cut in?" Jack asks with a smile. 

  Finn steps away, answering, "All yours, lad."

  Jack takes Finn's place in front of me. "Please don't run off on me this time," he says. "Give me just one dance?"

  Sighing silently, I give him a slight nod. "Just one."

  As we start to dance, he inquires, "Do you regret coming?"

  I think about that for a moment, and then reply, "I almost got spiked, soda got spilled on my shirt, and I've been forced to dance. What do you think?"

  Laughing, he replies, "Well, it certainly doesn't seem like anything you would experience any other day."

  Shrugging, I leave it at that.

  We dance together until the song ends and I say, "I'd like to go now."

  He nods. "Me too. Let's go find Rick."

  We leave the dance floor in search of Rick. It doesn't take long to find him. The throng of girls is a good indicator. 

  After pushing through the crowd, I wish I hadn't. Rick is on a sofa, trying to make out with two girls at once. 

  When he sees me, he yells, "Heyyy, Trin! Good to see ya. Want a turn?"

  Scowling in disgust, I shove my way back to Jack, who didn't dare attempt to get through all the girls with me. 

  "Where's Rick?" He inquires. 

  Shaking my head, I answer, "He's otherwise occupied."

  "So what do we do?"

  I start to shrug, but then I think of someone else who might take us. It takes a bit longer to find her, but finally I see Trae's shiny bronze curls. 

  "Trae!" I call out. .

  She turns, and when she spots me she hastens over. 

  Once she reaches me, she asks, "Hey, what's up?"

  "Can you take us home?" I ask, direct. 

  Glancing up at Jack and back down to me, she nods. "Certainly."

  Sighing in relief, I follow Trae through the house and out the door. She leads us to a sleek black Lotus in the driveway. 

  "We can take my car if you don't mind sharing a seat with Jack," she says. 

  In any other circumstances, I would blatantly refuse. As it is, I'm tired and want to get home.

  I look at Jack to see what he thinks. He just shrugs. 

  "Yeah, that's fine," I answer.

  She slides into the driver's seat and turns the key in the ignition. "Hop in," she commands with a smile. 

  Jack sits in the passenger seat, and I climb in after him, giving Trae an address.

  "You can lean back if you want," he murmurs in my ear. "Might be more comfortable."

  Taking him up on his offer, I lean against him, muttering, "Keep your hands to yourself."

  I feel his low chuckle resonating from his chest. "Of course," he responds matter-of-factly. "By the way, will you tell me your name now?"

  Quickly glancing at Trae to make sure she hasn't heard us, I sigh. "When we get home."

  Home comes more quickly than I thought it would. Maybe we really weren't that far away.

  As soon as Trae parks the car, I hop out and thank the girl. Jack climbs out after me and we watch the car as it drives down the road and disappears around a bend.

  "So?"

  Looking up at his expectant gaze, I say, "Trinity."

  A smile spreads across his face in a heartbeat. "Was that so hard?"

  I roll my eyes and start to walk away, toward my front door.

  "Trinity?" he calls out, and I turn. "Thanks for coming tonight. It was nice having you there."

  Casting my gaze on the ground, I nod, then say, "Goodnight, Jack."

  "Goodnight."

  With that, I enter my house and barely make it to my bed before I fall asleep.

5

 

A persistent, annoying sound wakes me. Groggily, I open my eyes. For a brief moment, I wonder where I am. Then memories of the night before crash down on me. 

  Turning off my alarm, I take in my surroundings. I'm in my room, on my bed, still wearing the clothes from last night. Something covers my upper body, and I realize that it's my jacket.

  Quickly, I sit up. My head protests at the sudden movement. Glancing at the clock, I find that I only have thirty minutes to get ready. 

  I jump out of bed and run to my closet. I don't have time for a shower. 

  Out of the many options in my closet, I decide to wear black flare jeans, a dark blue tank top, and a comfortable black sweater. After slipping on my black converse sneakers, I look in my mirror and consider what to do with my hair. Shrugging, I decide to run my ringers through last night's curls and leave them in an organized mess. 

  Just as I put the finishing touches of makeup on my face, I hear the doorbell ring. That would probably be Jack. Grabbing my jacket from off my bed, I hurry downstairs. 

  From the pantry I pull out a couple protein bars to munch on before school. I then rush to the front door and open it to find Jack on the porch. 

  Sighing, I ask, "Is this going to become a normal thing with you?"

  He looks at me quizzically as we start walking. "What, showing up at your house?"

  "Yes."

  Shrugging, he smiles and answers, "Maybe. Do you want it to be?"

  I don't answer. I'm not sure what I want. Jack certainly seems like a nice guy, but he gets on my nerves. He insists on being around me despite the fact that I've made it perfectly clear he isn't my friend. I then remember I have food in my hands and start peeling one of the wrappers off.

  "The weather seems nice today," Jack says suddenly. 

  I take a bite out of the first protein bar and nod, making a sound of agreement. It actually is a nice day. The sun is out and there isn't a cloud in sight. 

  "If it stays this way, would you like to go to the beach with me after school?"

  A little surprised at his question, I hesitate for a few moments. I glance up at him, then back down at my food.

  "Doubtful," I finally say, not wanting to make any commitments. 

  I'm able to finish my small breakfast by the time we make it to school. Once through the doors, I spot Rick standing with his group of friends in the hallway, excluding Finn. When he sees me, he smirks and makes his way over to me. I notice Jack is gone again. Why didn't I see him leave?

  "Hey, Beastie," Rick whispers in my ear. 

  Shoving him away, I hiss, "You said you'd leave me alone."

  "Feisty," he says with a short laugh. "I did leave you alone. Last night at the party, I didn't lay a finger on you."

  He's right. I should have known he'd find a loophole. Getting after myself for not being more specific, I let out an annoyed sigh. Rick follows me as I continue walking to my locker. 

  "What do you want, Rick?" I really don't care what he wants, but I just thought I'd ask. 

  "Many things," he responds, again leaning on the locker beside mine, therefore too close for comfort. "I have a whole list of things I want. However, there's one specific thing at the top of it."

  I drop my head back and look up at the ceiling in exasperation. "Give it a rest," I groan. I know exactly what he wants. 

  "It's not what you think." He smiles. "All I want is to take you out on at least one date."

  "Why?" I demand, slamming my locker door. "So you can put that on your list of petty achievements?"

  He laughs quietly, saying, "No. Once you've been on one date with me, you'll want to keep coming back."

  "Fat chance," I retort, rolling my eyes. 

  I begin to walk past him, but he holds out his arm and pushes me back against my locker. He stands close to me, and his hands grasp my arms, pinning me in place. 

  "Let go of me," I say more calmly than I feel. 

  "Not until you say yes," he murmurs in my ear. 

  His lips press soft but urgent kisses on my neck, and I feel like vomiting. I struggle to get my arms free, but Rick's grip just gets tighter. 

  "Get off of me!" I exclaim, doing everything I can to get him away. Not that there's much I can do, but I still try. 

  I turn my face away. Rick kisses along my jawline, getting precariously closer to my mouth. Students walk quickly down the hall, pretending that they don't see