Fading Away (Hardest Mistakes #1) Read online

  Another car pulls up just as we reach the trees. Ashlee’s laughter echoes through my ears, making me freeze. Ashlee, Jacob, Jenny, and Luke exit the white jeep and turn our way. Sam stops walking and turns, looking past me to them, her eyes full of wariness. The group starts toward us and she comes to stand at my side.

  “What are you doing here? You’re not welcome at the lake.” Luke sneers at her as they come to a stop a few feet away.

  “This is public property.” She stands her ground.

  Jacob takes a step closer. “I can make you leave.” Instinct kicks in and I move to stand in front of Sam, a warning growl bubbling up my throat. Ashlee’s eyes widen and she places her hand on Jacob’s shoulder, pulling him back. He stares down at me, eyes narrowed in defiance.

  “Jacob, let’s go.” Ashlee nods at Sam then pulls on Jacob’s shoulder again. They turn and leave, walking back to the lake. Once they’re out of sight, Sam sucks in a deep breath and glances down at me as she starts walking. “Thank you. I know they’re your friends, so you didn’t have to do that.” Yeah, great friends…Am I like that? Does she see me the same way she sees them?

  ***

  I stretch out on the couch listening to Sam get ready for the Prom in her bathroom, a Prom that I’ll never get to attend. I wonder who she’s going with, she hasn’t said anything. Where would I be right now if she hadn’t hit me with her car? I should be thankful I’m still alive.

  She steps out of the bathroom slowly, hiding her face shyly. The floor length silver dress trails along the floor behind her. Her hair is hanging in soft curls down her back and she’s not wearing her glasses. I sit up and watch as she spins, twirling the dress around her feet. Wow.

  CHAPTER 9

  Sammy

  I can’t stop the smile from spreading across my face as I take one last look in the mirror beside the front door. I feel like a princess. Grabbing my clutch, I open the door and take one last look at Kai, who’s watching me from the couch.

  The senior class president, Jenny Harper, is taking tickets at a booth set up near the entrance to the gym. She looks up at me and does a double take as she takes my ticket and stamps my hand. “Sam, you look great.” She smiles and I grin back.

  I step through the main door and pause. The gym is only half lit, balloons and glittering stars hang from the ceiling and the walls are draped in dark cloth streaked with silver glitter. It looks like a sparkling cave. It’s so beautiful. I make my way over to the punch and pour myself a drink. The music pounds through the speakers set up around the room. Couples spin and dance to the melodies in the middle of the floor. It’s a little stuffy with all the people here. Jacob and Luke stare at me as they walk past, making me feel uncomfortable.

  The night wears on and still no one asks me to dance. I feel a little disheartened. Stepping out the side doors, I walk toward the dark bleachers for some fresh air.

  “Where’s your date?” I let out a small scream at the closeness of the voice and turn to find Kai standing in the shadows beside me.

  “You know, you’ve become really good at sneaking up and scaring me. Soon I’m going to think you’re doing it on purpose,” I accuse him with a small smile. He’s wearing the clothes I stole from David and his feet are bare. I glance back up at his shadowed face. “What are you doing here?” He shoves his hands in his pockets and shrugs.

  “Couldn’t miss our Prom, even if I can’t get in the front door without causing a scene.” Sadness glows in his eyes. I completely understand. He looks back toward the doors to the gym as a new song starts, echoing across the empty field to us.

  “Dance with me?” he asks suddenly, holding out his hand. I hesitate and then nod once in shock. He moves closer to place his hands on my waist. The song playing isn’t exactly slow, but he doesn’t seem to be following the beat anyway. I look up at his face—he’s taller than me—and he holds my gaze. Sighing, he pulls me in closer so we’re touching nearly all the way down our bodies. My heart feels as if its beating a million times a second and my stomach turns into a fluttery mess.

  “Kai?” I ask softly.

  “Yes?” he murmurs against my hair.

  I hesitate, unsure whether I want to ruin the moment. “You wouldn’t be dancing with me if you were still human, if you had a choice. At school you’re always such a jerk to me.”

  He sucks in a breath. “Sam…I don’t…it’s complicated,” he whispers near my ear, his breath tickling my neck. It’s the answer I expected, I guess. I pull back and take a step away from him.

  “I get it, I do.” I turn to leave. “I should go back inside.”

  “Sam, wait.” Kai grabs my hand as I walk past him and spins me back around to face him. I keep my eyes averted. His hand comes up under my chin and tilts my head up so he can see my face. “Look at me, please?” I take a deep breath and meet his silver gaze. “I’m not the same person I was at school. Believe me, I’ve changed. You wouldn’t have agreed to dance with me if I was still like I was then and you know it.” He moves his hands to my waist again and pulls me back into the dance.

  He steps back when the song ends. “I have to go, my time’s up. You should go back inside and enjoy yourself.” He pauses and looks down at my dress. “You look beautiful, by the way.” He smiles and I watch as he turns away and fades back into the shadows.

  Kai

  As I walk away, I turn to look back at Sam standing beside the bleachers. The dim lighting makes her dress sparkle as she slowly walks back to the gym. I shake my head and jog back to her. She stops and frowns at me in confusion. I gently capture her face with my hands, bend down, and press my lips to hers softly. She gasps, her lips coming to life under mine. She tastes amazing, like fresh apple and cinnamon. I pull back, my eyes meeting hers. She looks surprised. I rub my thumb across her soft cheek and start walking backwards away from her, and then I spin and jog away from the school. What did I just do?

  Sammy

  The rest of the night blurs past me. I don’t even hear who wins Prom King and Queen. I don’t even remember how I got home. I’m standing at the door to my apartment, keys poised in the air. I don’t know if I have the courage to open the door. This is going to be awkward, no matter what. I take a deep breath to calm my nerves and then turn the handle.

  Kai’s not in the main room when I enter, so I’m safe to go the bathroom and change out of my dress. I put on my pajama pants and a t-shirt, dawdling for as long as I can. Catching my reflection in the mirror as I move to leave, I start wiping the makeup off my face. Underneath my cheeks are flushed pink. I don’t think I’ve ever been more shocked in my entire life. I peek out of the bathroom to see where Kai is before I dash to my bed. He’s lying on the floor in the corner, asleep. I sigh in relief and squirm under the covers until I’m comfortable.

  ***

  When I wake in the morning to my work alarm, my eyes go straight to the corner where Kai was sleeping. He’s not there. I sit up slowly and rub my throbbing temple; I think I drank too much punch last night. Slowly, I dress myself and walk out into the bright kitchen, briefly glancing at Kai standing at the open window. Maybe the punch was spiked and last night was all a dream.

  Kai

  I twist to watch Sam in the kitchen. This is awkward. I can’t believe I kissed her, I hardly know her. I mean, sure, she’s nice and I like having her as a friend, but that’s all. The heat of the moment and little to no human contact must have finally gotten to me. Besides, she’s probably forgotten all about it, I know I will.

  “Coming to work again?” she asks, opening the door and waiting for me. Of course I’m going. That creep still works there. I huff at her and trot out to her rust bucket of a car. The cold breeze ruffles through my fur.

  Sam ties me to the tree and heads inside, holding her coat around her tightly to block the wind. Not fifteen minutes later, Ashlee’s car pulls into the parking lot and she jumps out. Her heels click on the pavement as she makes her way to the door.

  Sammy

  I tur
n back to the counter as the doorbell rings. Barbie herself strolls in and smiles at me. I arch a brow at her in question.

  “Hi, Sam. Prom was amazing, wasn’t it?” She’s still wearing the sparkly Prom Queen tiara. It twinkles in the overhead lighting as she moves.

  “Yeah, it was great. Congrats on the Queen thing, by the way,” I answer, turning to grab my pen and notepad to write down her order.

  Her smile falls a bit at my dismissal. “Thanks. Anyway, I heard a rumor at school that you got an early acceptance to the University in Black Pike. Dad pulled some strings with admittance, so I’ll be moving there too. My family owns a house in Black Pike close to campus,” she pauses and looks away, unsure. Is she telling me this to make me jealous? “Well, I just thought maybe you might need a place to rent?” My mouth drops open in shock. She frowns. “I mean it would save me from having to do interviews and stuff to find a roommate,” she adds quickly.

  I close my mouth and shake my head to clear it. “That sounds great, actually. But I have a dog, will that be a problem?” I glance out the window at Kai and then back at Ashlee. Her eyes widen in recognition, her expression quickly changing to one of fear. She remembers him from the lake.

  “He won’t hurt you, he’s just protective. I promise.”

  She takes a deep, steadying breath and nods, plastering a bright smile on her face. “Okay, sure, I think I can handle a dog.” She points to the notepad in my hands. “Write down your number, I’ll call you with the details.” She smiles again, I hand her the scrap of paper with my number on it, and she flounces back outside to her sports car.

  At the end of my shift I grab my bag, spin around, and smack into Alex’s chest. Wow, déjà vu. He grips my shoulders a little too tight and grins. His face no longer appeals to me, his smile is just creepy. There is no one else in the shop; Alex and I are supposed to lock up as we leave. I tried to tell Caity I wasn’t comfortable around him, but she was distracted and barely answered me.

  “Please move out of my way.” My voice is firm, but even I can hear the slight shake.

  His grin changes to a smirk. “I thought we could have a talk.” The memories from the alley resurface and I start to tremble. I open my mouth to scream, surely someone will hear me, but Alex’s hand flies up and smothers it. “Just listen to me.” I shake my head and swing my knee up, catching him between the legs. He grunts in pain and falls to the floor, effectively losing his hold on me.

  I jump over him and sprint to the front door. He yells out a curse from behind me. His footsteps echo on the tiles as he stands and comes after me. I yank the door open and run as fast as I can to where Kai is standing, straining toward me, his lead pulled tight around his neck. Alex shouts and runs across the parking lot after me. He catches me around the waist and pulls me down. My hip and shoulder hit the cement and I scream. Alex slaps me hard across the face. I stretch out a hand to Kai, just out of reach. He looks feral, snarling and snapping at us.

  Alex grabs my face roughly and turns my head toward him. “Shhh, it’s okay. I won’t hurt you.” Yeah right. I spit in his face. He narrows his eyes and lifts his hand, ready to hit me again. Suddenly Kai is there, ripping at his shoulder. Alex screams in agony and rolls off me. Kai is now on top of him. Alex holds his arms up, trying to protect his neck and face from Kai’s jaws.

  Sirens start in the distance. Someone’s called the police. The flashing lights turn into the parking lot a minute later and two police officers jump out. One grabs his radio off his belt, I nearly can’t hear what he’s saying over my heavy breathing but I’m pretty sure he just radioed animal control. No, they’ll take Kai away.

  “Kai, stop!” I scream, lifting myself off the ground to grab him. Alex punches Kai in the face and scrambles out from under him while he’s momentarily distracted by my yelling. Alex makes it over to the police. The other officer approaches my slowly.

  “Are you okay?” he asks, holding out his hands as if he’s advancing on a skittish animal.

  “I’m fine.” I pause and look at Alex, who’s standing with the other officer. “He tried to rape me. My dog was protecting me.” I try to stay calm but the tears spill down my face. The other officer hears what I’ve said and pulls Alex’s ripped up arms around to handcuff him. The man beside me puts his arm around my shoulder and helps me sit on the parking lot curb. I glance over at Kai. He looks dazed.

  An ambulance and the animal control van pull up. The police officer leaves me with a paramedic and they load Alex into the car and drive off. They want to take me back to the hospital for observation. The animal control man closes in on Kai as the paramedic talks to me.

  “Wait, what are you doing? That’s my dog.” The paramedic holds me back as I try to stand.

  “It’s okay, Miss. He’ll be fine.” I can see the lie in his eyes. I struggle out of his hold just in time to watch as Kai is loaded into the van.

  “He was just protecting me,” I scream at the animal control man. He doesn’t answer me; he just gives me a pitying look and pushes me back into the arms of the paramedic.

  ***

  The doctor at the hospital checks me over when I arrive and gives me the all clear. I have to stay overnight and they’ve already called Kathy and David, who are on their way. The police officer from the parking lot walks into my room and gives me a fatherly smile.

  “I’ve just come to get a statement from you. How are you feeling?”

  “I’m fine.” The starchy hospital sheets make my skin itch and the bed is extremely uncomfortable. “What’s going to happen to my dog?”

  He looks away, not meeting my gaze. “He’s been classed as a dangerous animal; unfortunately he’ll have to be put down.”

  “What?” I yell. “You can’t!” I move to get off the bed. The officer backs out of the room and signals for a nurse.

  “I’m sorry,” he apologizes and walks away. Kai was just protecting me. I sit on the edge of the bed and hold my head in my hands. The sobs wrack my entire body. I can hardly breathe. I’ve just killed him and no one will ever know.

  Kai

  I’m still a little dazed as I’m shoved into a cage at the pound.

  “No one’s coming to save you from the needle this time.” The dogcatcher sneers at me, kicks my cage, and walks back to his office. I’m totally screwed.

  The pound is far from silent, dogs yapping and growling, the dogcatcher snoring loudly in his chair. It’s almost impossible to sleep; either that or it’s the death sentence hanging over my head keeping me awake. I never would have guessed I’d end up dying in the body of a dog. There are so many things I wanted to do with my life. I guess I probably couldn’t do most of them as a dog anyway.

  There’s a loud crash from another part of the building, it sounds like a wall collapsed or something. I sit up as the dogcatcher jumps up from his seat and takes off to investigate. As soon as he’s gone, a shadow opens the main door and creeps up the hallway of cages.

  “Kai?” Sam’s voice echoes over the noises from the other dogs. I stand up and yip at her to catch her attention. Her shadowed face appears in front of me, her eyes full of unshed tears. She smiles weakly and unlocks the cage door. Footsteps echo down the other end of the hallway, Sam hears them too and takes off for the front door. We run down the street until the pound is out of sight, then we slow to a walk. Both of us stay quiet until we reach the apartment.

  Once we’re inside and the door is closed and locked, Sam kneels down in front of me and wraps her arms around my neck. Her arms are shaking.

  “Thank you,” she murmurs into my fur. She pulls back and her fingers brush the burn around my throat from the dog lead I destroyed at her work. I yelp at the sharp pain and jerk backwards. She frowns and lifts my chin to see the tender skin. She ignores me when I try to brush her off and move away. Tears well up in her already glassy eyes. It’s only a small rope burn, no need to get upset over it. She watches me for a moment longer then gets up and shuts herself in the bathroom. I walk up to the closed door
and listen to the running water.

  CHAPTER 10

  Sammy

  I step into the shower with my clothes still on. The hot water cascades over me, soaking through the memories of the last few days and scorching the hurt from my skin. Too soon it turns cold. I sit at the base and pull my legs to my chest, the cold water dribbles through my hair and down my face. I ignore the scratch at the door and continue to stare down at the wet tiles. I flinch as Alex’s face flashes across my thoughts. The scratching at the door gets louder. I stay where I am.

  Kai

  When Sam doesn’t answer I start worrying. I shove my weight against the door as hard as I can. The flimsy door handle gives and snaps open. Sam is sitting, fully clothed, in the base of the shower, the water running over her head and her arms wrapped tightly around her legs. She doesn’t look up as I enter. I push the shower curtain open and gently nudge her shoulder with my nose. She flinches away from me. I whine softly and move closer. Are you okay? God I wish I could talk right now.

  Her brown eyes turn and gaze up at me. “Kai?” she sounds surprised to see me, like I haven’t been standing here the entire time. “I’m sorry I took so long. I’ll get out now.” She stands on shaky legs and turns the water off. I pull a towel from the hanger and drop it in front of her. She wraps it around herself and slowly walks out of the bathroom.

  Sammy

  I catch my reflection as I leave the bathroom. Moving away will be good for me. I head for my bed and curl up on top of the covers, still wrapped in my damp towel and wearing my wet clothes. Kai jumps up on the bed and lies down beside me, his side pressing into my back. I roll over and curl my fingers into the fur on his neck. I feel lost and broken.