“He throws you the ball,” Melissa reminded him.
“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean he has a brain cell. The guy relishes in being the stereotypical jerk jock, one of these days I’m going to punch him.”
Cassie grinned as she shook her head. “You’d be kicked off the team.”
“Would be worth it.”
Chants began as Mike Daniels jumped onto the table, preparing to do his own jump off. Cassie sighed heavily. “This isn’t going to end well.”
Melissa was already grinning brightly, a knowing twinkle in her dark eyes. Mike jumped off the table, spinning through the air. His feet hit the ground, the left one skidded out from under him as he slipped on one of Jack’s discarded fries. He landed hard on his butt, a loud whoomph issuing from him as his breath rushed out.
Laughter filled the air; Cassie nearly choked on her shake as a satisfied gleam lit Melissa’s onyx eyes. Then she glanced past Cassie, her forehead furrowed as her eyes narrowed sharply. Cassie stiffened, turning slightly to follow Melissa’s gaze. Surprise riveted her to the spot.
Luther stood on the other side of B’s and S’s, his eyebrows raised disdainfully as he watched Jason climb onto the table. His glasses slid down to the edge of his nose to perch precariously upon the tip. The loose fitting jacket he wore hung off of his slender shoulders, making him appear even thinner than he was.
“What is he doing here?” Chris asked softly.
“I don’t know. I’ll go find out.”
Melissa slipped past them, skirting the group gathered around the picnic tables. “Who is that?” Devon inquired softly.
Cassie shifted slightly, not at all sure how to answer that question. “It’s Melissa’s dad,” Chris told him.
“I thought Melissa’s parents were dead,” Devon said.
“Adopted father,” Chris amended, glancing briefly at Devon. “But he’s raised her since she was a baby, so it’s her dad.”
“I see,” Devon said softly, his eyes coming swiftly back to Cassie.
Cassie swallowed heavily, barely managing a slow nod. It was not entirely a lie. She should not feel bad, but she did. Tearing her gaze away from his, she tried to keep her breathing, and her heart rate, under control. “Were Melissa’s parents with yours in the car accident?”
Cassie’s mind fumbled with an answer for that, she knew what she was supposed to say, what they had been told to say, but her tongue could not get the lies out. “No, Melissa’s family was in Egypt at the time. Her mother died in childbirth, and her father was killed in the line of duty.”
Again, it was not entirely a lie, but it was Chris who uttered the words, not her. “Line of duty?”
“Yeah,” Chris answered his gaze intent upon Devon’s. “He was in the British armed forces, stationed in Egypt, where he met Melissa’s mom. Luther and he were good friends, so Luther adopted Melissa when she was orphaned. There was no other family.”
“I see.” Devon nodded slowly, his eyes slightly distant as he gazed down at Cassie. “How sad for you all.”
“My mother is still alive,” Chris reminded him, unable to keep the bitterness from his voice.
“Chris…”
Chris’s anguished eyes swung toward her. She knew Chris loved his mother, but there was so much pain and anger between them that Cassie feared their relationship could never be repaired. Her words trailed off; there was nothing that she could say. Though he was grateful that his mother had been spared the massacre of that awful night, she knew he would give anything to be free of her, and his household. He was eager to flee town as soon as they graduated.
A gentle breeze wafted over them, tickling the hairs at the nape of her neck, blowing strands of it across her face. Devon stiffened beside her, his hand stilled on her waist as he turned slowly toward the woods behind them. Nostrils flaring slightly, his eyes narrowed as he studied the shadowed forest. His jaw clenched fiercely, a muscle jumped in his cheek. The hand upon her waist tightened as he moved protectively closer to her.
Confusion swirled through Cassie. She turned toward the woods, her gaze intently searching the darkened interior for some hint of what had caught his attention and upset him so. She glanced back at him; his eyes had turned a dark leaf green color, the tight clench of his jaw looked painful. She frowned, not understanding what had him so tense, and focused upon the forest.
Cassie’s attention was torn from him as Melissa came back toward them; she looked grim as she weaved gracefully through the crowd. A chill of foreboding traveled down Cassie’s spine. Melissa’s dark eyes met hers briefly, a strange hollowness radiated from her usually bright gaze. “Is everything ok?” Chris asked quietly.
Melissa shook her head, her attention turned briefly to Devon. He had turned away from the woods, but he was still wound as tight as a bowstring. “No, Luther just received some bad news. I’m afraid I have to go.”
Cassie shifted, pressing briefly against Devon in the hopes of easing some of his rigidity, but he did not relax. He was so tense that he was not even breathing, she realized with a start. “Do you want us to come with you?” Chris asked.
Melissa sighed heavily. “Yeah, he’s pretty upset. It would be nice of you.” She glanced back at Devon. “You know he thinks of you as family and I think he needs all the comfort he can get right now,” she added for his benefit.
A cold shiver ran down Cassie’s spine again, it turned the blood in her veins to ice as her heart lumbered to pump it through. Swallowing heavily, she managed a small nod. “Of course.” She turned slowly toward Devon, trying hard to keep the panic from her face as she met his fierce, dark gaze. “I have to go.”
He nodded, but she could tell that his thoughts were elsewhere, and that he was still unsettled. Though he had started to breathe again, he was still as solid, and unbending, as a rock. His hand moved over her back, clenching briefly against her. “I will see you later.”
Cassie blinked in surprise; the words had come out almost as a growl. The fierceness in his hard gaze and the intensity of his words caused goose bumps to break out on her skin. She did not know what was going on tonight with Luther, or with Devon, but her sense of foreboding kicked up another notch.
“Yes.” She agreed simply because she didn’t know what else to say. His eyes burned into hers, his hand was firm against her. For a moment he seemed to have no intention of letting her go, and then his hands slid away.