Fate's Return (Twisted Fate, Book 2)

Chapter Thirty-One

After a half-ass explanation about steering clear of the students full of questions about my accident, Gabe was a willing participant in my truancy, and we continued to drive in silence.

Just before the caves filled with hot springs at the edge of town—which is what Hidden Springs was named after—was a roller rink. During school hours, nobody was there, which was exactly what I needed. By simple proximity, the air was warmer and less pressing, as though weightless. I didn't know if it was the nature of our environment or Gabe, but somehow, the absence of burden in our surroundings transferred to me as though in this place, and just for a moment, troubles didn't exist.

We circled the indoor rink side-by-side on old-fashioned skates, the kind with four wheels that waitresses used to roll around on in diners while taking orders and serving food. We laughed, rounding the edges at least fifty times before sitting at one of the round tables to eat. The room was like a cafeteria, with dark blue walls and cold cement flooring, and served hot food through a single concession window across from the rink.

We both grabbed corn dogs and sodas and sat at the table closest to the rink as though in silent agreement the fun had just begun. I'd only ever been here once before, but even my excitement as a ten-year-old girl celebrating her birthday with friends didn't compare to coming here with Gabe. It almost felt like a date, and for a while, I let myself pretend it was.

"You are a bad influence," Gabe said, smiling through a mouthful of food bulging in his cheeks like a chipmunk hiding its nuts for storage. "It's way past the time where we can go back and be marked late for class."

I smiled and then paused, twisting in my seat to roam the walls until my gaze fell onto a circular clock above the concession. It was already 2:45 pm, a half hour until the final bell would ring. Crap, crap, crap. Responsibility started to niggle at my conscious.

I swallowed my food and held out my hand, wiggling my fingers in the air. "Give me your phone." I wiggled my hand again when he stared at me in response. "Come on. Mike told me you finally bought one, so hand it over."

"Why?"

"Cause it's evil and will give you brain tumors."

"That's not funny." He pulled his phone out, flipping it in his hand, and then looked at me like he wished I would grow brain tumors for playing on his adversity to technology.

Suck. It. Up.

"Really?" I smirked. "Seriously, I need to use it."

"No. You have your own phone."

"I left it in the car." Rolling my eyes, I wiggled my fingers more. "Please?"

"So then go get it," he said, enunciating each word with care. "I don't need you texting people I know pretending to be me."

He looked away and I snatched it from his hands. My fingers flew across the screen as I typed my message to Suzie: THIS IS ALY. IM W/ GABE AND LOST TIME. GET DERYK TO DRIVE YOU HOME????

I handed Gabe his phone back with a grin. "See? All innocent." Biting into my corn dog, I smiled wider. Sure, there would be a thousand curse words waiting for me on my phone, but at least I wasn't abandoning her completely without a word. She took every chance she got to be with Deryk, so I chose to think of it as me doing her a favour.

His phone beeped, and Gabe looked down, smiling.

"What?" Swallowing, I took a sip of my soda, slurping on the straw as I studied him.

"Suzie texted you back."

"What's it say?" I wiped my hands on my napkin and reached out, but he was already texting a response. My response. "What are you saying?"

He made a show of pressing send and smiled again. "She asked if you should break up with Brenan before making out with Gabe." He winked and met my gaze. "That's me."

My mouth dropped. "What?"

The phone beeped again, making him laugh, and he started texting.

"Gabe!"

He looked up, innocent. "What? I told her it doesn't count if there's no kissing."

"What!" I reached for the phone, but he was too quick, jerking back so it was out of reach. "What are you saying now?"

"She said that Brenan's a good guy and you should stop messing around." He pushed send and held the phone in his palm on the table. "So, I said she should tell him to take lessons from Gabe." He pointed to himself, just above where his heart was. "Again, that's mwah."

I grabbed the phone, surprising him, and started looking through the texts. He hadn't lied. I found the messages, just as he said they were, and cursed.

"You. Are. An. Ass. Hole." I said as I typed a new message: DO NOT REPLY – NOT ME TALKING!!!! ALY. I kept the phone in my lap under the table in case she didn't listen and glared at Gabe.

"What?" His laughter faded, but a lopsided grin remained, and he took a sip of his soda through the straw he placed at the side of his mouth. "You girls talk about boys all the time."

"I get that you don't like Brenan, but do you hate me, too?"

"Of course not."

"You know Suzie likes to talk. What if she says something to Brenan about this?"

"It was just a little fun, Alyssa," he said. "You should break up with him anyway."

I snorted. I wanted to tell him to shut up, that this wasn't any of his business. But really, he wasn't wrong. Isn't that what I already decided to do? I had even taken the time to list my excuses. It's too close to college. I'm just not ready. You're not David. Add that he'd lied to me? I was done, and the only thing left to do was to tell him.

But Gabe didn't get to know that.

"Thank you for your opinion," I said, "but that's my choice to make."

Our gazes met and held. It was intense, like somehow something connected us. An invisible thread through the air, maybe. I didn't know. Thankfully, we were the only people here; I doubted either of us would have noticed if we weren't alone. Even if I wanted to be with Brenan, there's no way I could do that if I could react like this with someone else.

Gabe's phone beeped in my hand, the sound breaking our bubble so that I could look away. Bringing it up to eye level, I saw that it wasn't a message from Suzie, but Mike: MEET BACK AT ARCADE ASAP. NEED TO TALK.

Really? Smirking, I replied I would be there in twenty minutes, and then texted Suzie to meet me in twenty-five.

"Come on, let's go," I said and handed him his phone.

"I thought you wanted to keep skating?" He pointed to the entrance to the rink, but I was already putting on my shoes.

"Mike's expecting you at the arcade and Suzie's meeting me there." I hoped. "And unless I want to kiss my party goodbye, I can't be much longer getting home."

He looked at his phone and frowned. "You answered my phone?"

"You get what you give." I kissed the air in his direction, smiled, and then lobbed his shoes at him one at a time, disappointed when neither hit him in the face.

"But it's my phone."

I rolled my eyes and started to stand, grabbing my bag from the back of the chair. "Let's go or I'll leave you here to find out what Mike wants on my own."