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We sat without speaking for a few minutes, a surprisingly comfortable silence between near strangers. A light breeze rustled the oak leaves above us. I felt myself relaxing, the lingering anxiety of my earlier close call finally fading away.
"So, not that it's my business, but I gotta ask..." Derek eventually spoke up, regarding me with friendly curiosity. "What's your real story, mystery girl? You've seriously piqued my interest."
I bit my lip, considering how to respond vaguely enough to satisfy his natural inquisitiveness without revealing too much truth. Derek held up his hands innocently. "You don't have to layall your secrets bare. But can you at least give me the PG version of what brings you here? I promise I won't judge."
His open, undemanding tone put me at ease. I decided a kernel of honesty woven with omissions wouldn't hurt. "Let's just say high school hasn't really been in the cards for me until now. But recently, my world got kind of...shaken up. So here I am just trying to catch a glimpse of something normal for once." I shrugged, hoping this nebulous explanation would suffice.
Derek's expression remained light and nonjudgemental, though I sensed the analytical thoughts turning behind it. "Hey, who doesn't need an escape from real life now and then?" he responded easily. "And you picked a pretty good place for a taste of the teenage dream."
His understanding surprised me. I had expected curiosity or suspicion, not such intuitive empathy. But Derek simply nudged me playfully and said, "Well, mystery girl, I'm happy to help distract you with the inside scoop on all things high school, anytime."
I smiled, strangely comfortable in his company this hidden grove. "I appreciate that. And please, call me Natalia."
Derek grinned. "Pretty name for a pretty enigma."
I rolled my eyes in mock exasperation, but couldn't help laughing. Derek just had an innate charisma that set me at ease,even while he casually probed for information. With him, it felt harmless, almost a game.
He launched into entertaining anecdotes about memorable high jinks and shenanigans friends had pulled over the years here at the academy. I found myself chiming in with funny stories of my own - omitting any mafia details of course. But it felt freeing opening up even that much about glimpses of my real life in return.
The afternoon slipped by effortlessly as we chatted in our leafy refuge. I was surprised how little I still knew about Derek beneath the charm and witty banter. But that aura of mystery just added appeal to his roguish magnetism. And to him, I was likely even more an enigma.
Derek was in the middle of recounting a hilarious tale about the time he and his buddies filled the varsity swim team locker room with balloons when hurried footsteps in the grass suddenly made us both look up.
Ashley emerged through the oaks, looking distressed. "Natalia, there you are!" she exclaimed, rushing over. "I've been looking everywhere since you didn't show up after English."
Guilt hit me realizing I had lost track of time out here with Derek and missed meeting up with Ashley like we'd planned. Before I could apologize, Ashley grasped my hand urgently.
"We gotta go, now," she said, eyes wide. "That creepy guy from the mall the other day just pulled up in the parking lot out front. We need to slip out the back way before he spots us."
My stomach dropped, levity forgotten. Vincent showing up here could only mean he was hunting for me, maybe making connections I had been frequenting the academy. We needed to disappear fast before he began questioning students.
I slid quickly off the wall, turning back to give Derek an apologetic look. "I'm really sorry, but I have to leave suddenly." I hoped he didn't ask for details I couldn't share.
But Derek just nodded, though his eyes were suddenly sharp with interest again. "Don't worry about it - go do what you have to. But hey..." He grabbed my hand, scribbling something quickly across my palm. "If you ever want to sneak away to a normal corner of the world again, you know how to find me."
I glanced down and saw he had written his number in pen on my skin. Curling my hand closed, I met his intriguing blue-grey eyes one more time. "Thanks, Derek. For everything."
Then Ashley was pulling me away quickly through the dappled grove. I cast one last look back at Derek perched casually on the sunlit stone wall watching us go. Even from a distance, I could see the wheels turning rapidly in his head from this abrupt exit. I had a feeling periodic refuge at his hideaway would not be the end of crossing paths with magnetic Derek Axton.
Right now though, I had to focus on making a safe exit before Vincent's men spotted us. Derek and his beguiling charms would have to wait - avoiding mafia detection took priority. Though part of me thrilled at the promise of seeing him again someday soon...
CHAPTER 15
BITTERSWEET REUNION
Ashley and I hurried through the shaded grove away from the academy buildings, hearts pounding with adrenaline. She led us on a winding path through trees and bushes until we came upon a sheltered vantage point behind some dumpsters with a clear view of the front parking lot.
Pressing back against the grimy metal, I tentatively peered around the edge of the dumpster. A sleek black car had just pulled up to the curb, the sight making my pulse spike anxiously.
But curiously, Vincent himself didn't immediately get out. For several long moments, the tinted windows revealed nothing of the passengers inside. Ashley and I exchanged tense looks, poised to run if needed.
Finally, the back door cracked open and a teenage guy I vaguely recognized as an upperclassman at the academy slid inside. As the door shut, the car immediately pulled away again.
I slumped back behind the dumpster, breathing out a shaky exhale. "False alarm I think. Looks like he was just picking someone up." Strange, but Vincent's abrupt departure was a relief nonetheless.
Ashley also visibly relaxed, raking a hand through her windswept curls. "Well that was a close one! Maybe now we can get back to my car without any nasty surprises."
I agreed readily, eager to get off school grounds before anyone else from Vincent's circle potentially recognized me. Ashley seemed to read my mind, linking her arm through mine supportively as we took a roundabout path back to the parking lot.
