Find You in the Dark (Find You in the Dark #1)(2)
Author: A. Meredith Walters

I mumbled something unintelligible, not bothering to formulate words. Dad only chuckled. “I’ll interpret that as a thank you.” He said, shooing me out of the kitchen. I walked out to the family mini van, not focusing too much on the social mortification of having my librarian father take me to school. If I wasn’t feeling so negative, I’d appreciate how considerate my dad was.

I really was lucky in the parental department. My mom and dad always seemed to take my teenage moods in stride. Not much ruffled their feathers. Not that I’d done much ruffling in my seventeen years.

So here comes the obligatory life run down. I was your typical teenage girl, living in small town America- (or Davidson, Virginia if you really wanted to know-) on the corner of cliché and stereotype. My life had been typical and uneventful. I grew up, the only child of the local beauty queen and the bookish guy she fell in love with. We had an apple pie life of family dinners and games of Monopoly on Thursdays- (Wednesdays if it was mom’s week for Bunco-).

My best friends, Rachel Bradfield and Daniel Lowe had been my partners in non-existent crime since the womb. Our mothers had grown up together and it was predetermined that we would be as close as they had been.

I was suitably smart, sporting a solid B plus average and had aspirations of college; just like my friends. I did my homework, followed the rules, and basically bored myself to death. What I was, was in a very deep, crater-sized rut. How sad to be a senior in high school and already done with it all. And the year had only just begun! It was just the third week of September.

So my car’s refusal to cooperate this morning only added to my overall sense of malaise. I waited less than patiently in the passenger seat, tapping my fingers on the dash board in an imperfect rhythm. “All right, Maggie girl, buckle up.” My dad’s persistent use of my childhood pet name- (only mildly less obnoxious than the fact that I was named after some seventies rock song by a guy with really bad hair and a penchant for super models-) was sort of grating this morning. I wasn’t sure if dad had yet to realize that I wasn’t ten anymore. My parents had a really hard time accepting that I was – gasp – almost an adult. Though to be fair, most days -(this morning included-), I didn’t necessarily act the part.

I pulled out my phone and sent a quick text to Rachel and Daniel, letting them know I was running late. Judging by the time, I was at least missing the painful drone of our assistant principal, Mr. Kane, as he read the morning announcements. He always sounded as though he needed to blow his nose.

So maybe the day was still salvageable. I tried to minimize conversation as dad drifted lazily through our tiny town toward the high school. He sang along, rather badly, to the Righteous Brothers, his voice an alarming falsetto. He swayed his shoulders with the beat.

Dad was being so over the top that I couldn’t help but crack the barest hint of a smile. He caught me, of course, my emo facade at an effective end. He let out a whoop. “There’s my girl’s smile! I knew it was hiding somewhere.” My dad reached over and poked me in the side, causing me to squirm and laugh grudgingly.

“You are such a dork, Dad.” I told him, not unkindly. Dad only grinned and turned up the radio. The auditory torture didn’t last much longer before we pulled up in front of Jackson High School. I barely gave my dad time to slow down before I had propelled myself from the still moving vehicle.

“Don’t forget to call the garage at lunch.” Dad reminded me again. I gave him an ironic salute and turned to walk toward the school. I was glad to see I wasn’t the only straggler this morning. A few other kids were hurrying from the parking lot.

I fumbled to try and get my phone out of my jacket pocket, wanting to send a last text to my friends to let them know I was there. It seemed that I was having a lot of trouble getting it out, thus I was less than attentive as I slammed into the back of someone who had stopped in the middle of the sidewalk.

“Hey!” I yelled as I collided with the very solid body. I dropped my phone, the back popping off and the battery skittering across the concrete. The guy dropped the papers he was holding and they scattered at his feet.

We simultaneously let loose a string of expletives that would have earned me a mouth full of soap had my mother heard. “What the hell?” The guy growled, stooping to pick up the items he had dropped in our bodily fender bender. Okay, I was already in a craptastic mood and his snotty tone was just the icing on an already pissy cake. So maybe I was being clumsy and all but I didn’t need some random guy giving me grief. “Oh I’m sorry, did I miss the stop sign?” I fired back, not bothering to look at the jack ass as I tried to fit the broken metal onto the back of my phone.

I heard, what sounded like, a gritting of teeth. “Guess it’s too much to expect an apology.” His sarcasm was thick, his words ground out through obvious clenched teeth. “Probably.” I quipped, finally looking up into the most amazing pair of brown eyes that I had ever seen.

Hot damn. Cue the violins and happy cartoon bunnies, I was in the middle of a Disney moment. Because this guy was gorgeous. And we were standing so close to each other. If he hadn’t been holding onto a barely contained rage directed at yours truly, it could have almost been construed as romantic.

Just add delusions to my growing list of issues.

Mr. Cutie stood there in all of his infuriated glory – and he was seriously angry. His perfectly symmetrical face -(covered in a fine dusting of adorable freckles, I might add-) was flushed a rather concerning shade of red. Those awesome brown eyes that I had already noticed flashed murder. He was quite a bit taller than me, with dark hair that curled around his forehead and ears as though he hadn’t bothered with a haircut in a while. He had a cleft in his chin and a tiny scar under his right eye. And despite his obvious good looks, he appeared decidedly unhinged. Wow, they were only papers.

Cute boy took a deep breath and closed his eyes. I jammed my hands in my pockets and made the decision to get the hell out of there. I started to move around him, making sure to give him a wide berth. His voice, much calmer now, stopped me. “Well, you could at least tell me where the main office is. You know, after practically running me over and all.”

If his tone had been playful, I would be able to pretend he was flirting with me. But nope, he was terse and irritated and in a very bad mood. And I had had enough of it for one morning. So cuteness aside, this guy could go take a flying leap somewhere.

“You’re a big boy, I’m sure you can handle this one on your own.” I turned my back and quickly walked away. “Thanks for nothing.” He yelled after me. Yep, hot boy came with a bad attitude. Not really my idea of a good time, thank you very much. I couldn’t get away fast enough.