Strung

She jumped out of her truck and looked up.

Directly at me.

I stared at her, taking in my fill; she was okay. She was totally fine. I was being ridiculous. It was just rain.

But no matter how many times I told myself that — I was still frustrated as hell. I just, I needed to know she was okay — I also needed to give her a giant ass piece of my mind about NOT answering her cell phone and taking three years off my life.

Without thinking — I put on my flip flops, ran down the stairs into the outside and then used the trash can on the side of her house to launch myself onto her low roof and go over to Nat’s window.

I was going to wait for her when I noticed it was open a crack. Are you freaking kidding me? Did I need to give her a bodyguard twenty-four-seven? What if someone would have crawled through her room — someone who wasn’t me? Someone who wanted to hurt her?

Damn it. I was going to get gray hair; I just knew it.

With a grunt, I pushed the window open and stepped inside the room, shutting the window behind me. Grimacing, I looked down at my naked torso as water dripped off my body and onto the floor. Yeah, she deserved a wet floor after what she put me through. Hell, I had half a mind to give a little shake or something, create a damn pond, if that’s what it took to get her attention and to get her to LOCK HER DAMN WINDOW!

“Holy crap, what are you doing here?” Nat gasped and dropped a bag onto the ground. What am I doing here? Oh you know, just freaking out, having a heart attack at nineteen, contemplating asking my brother where he used to store his pot so I could get high and forget about the fact that my heart is hammering so hard in my chest that I want to hold it a bit… or maybe I just wanted to hold her.

“What am I doing here?” I repeated, running my hands through my damp hair.

“In my room,” she clarified eying me up and down.

I seriously had to take a minute so my voice wouldn’t shake, “Do you realize how worried I’ve been about you?”

“Worried?” Her face softened. “Why?”

“You disappeared, Nat! When I came back to the house your truck was gone. You weren’t at work. You weren’t downtown… I waited for hours!” Yelling. I was full on yelling at her. Shirtless.

“I don’t understand?” Her voice was small as she hugged her arms to her chest.

“Haven’t you seen the weather report?”

She shook her head.

“A huge storm is coming in tonight, they’re telling people to stay inside, and here you are driving around as if the damn sun is shining!” Calm down, calm down.

Nat sighed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

“Where’d you go?” I demanded pacing in front of her like I was more a forty-year-old dad than a teenager.

Jaw clenched, she answered, “Not that it’s any of your business, but Lincoln City.”

I cursed and turned away from her, stretching my arms behind my head to keep myself from putting a hole through the wall. I whipped back around. “Listen, Nat. I’m only nineteen. It’s not good for my health to be thinking about all the awful things that could happen to you in the rain.”

“It’s just rain.” She took a tentative step towards me.

I fought to keep my face from paling. “No, it’s not. Things happen, you can lose control, your car can slip, people die.” I closed my eyes and cursed.

“Was it raining when—”

“Yes.” I said, voice hoarse. Demetri’s girlfriend, Benjamin’s mom, the accident, the storm. I shuddered.

“I’m sorry.”

“You should be.” I snapped, not really meaning it but feeling so damn angry that I wanted her to know it. I never understood why people got into fights, why people yelled. Now I knew. You yelled, not because you actually thought it would solve anything, but because you were terrified and wanted the other person to know that their behavior affected you in such a way that you couldn’t be silent. Not even if you tried.

Nat’s eyes flashed. “I was getting a dress.”

For a moment I was confused, and then I hung my head. Damn it. “For Homecoming.”

“Yes.”

Anger cooling, I asked, “May I see it?”

“No.”

I scowled. “Next time, will you just tell me where you’re going? So I don’t have a heart attack before twenty?”

She sighed. “Yes, but why didn’t you just text me?”

“I think your phone died.” Please let it have died because if she was just ignoring me I was going to freak out.

Nat pursed her lips together and dug her cell phone out of her purse; she stuck the charger in one end and sauntered back over to me. “Satisfied?”

My lips curved into a smile. “Sure.”

Her eyes darted back to my chest before looking away again. “Put on a shirt or something, you’re making me nervous, and I’m already edgy enough what with having to drive two hours through the rain.”

“Sorry,” I mumbled then looked around the room. What did she want me to do? Cover myself with her pink blanket?

Nat rolled her eyes and tossed me a shirt from the corner. It was the one she’d worn when she was sick.

Suddenly self conscious, I turned around and put the shirt on, I don’t know why the hell I turned around. It felt stupid, but whatever.

“Hey.” Nat called as I had the shirt half on.

“Does Demetri have any tattoos like that?”