Keeper(11)

“I’m fine, thanks.”

He nodded at me and walked over to Auntie Marmalade. “They were too fast; we couldn’t catch them. One ran down Main, the other two hopped in a car a few blocks away.”

Auntie Marmalade grunted and murmured something along the lines of “stupid punks” under her breath.

“What about the other guy?” I piped up.

The server looked confused. “The other one?”

“Yeah, the one in the gray shirt.” The server gave me a long, blank stare. “You know,” I continued. “Gray t-shirt? Black hair? Tall with broad shoulders, a crooked yet mildly seductive smile that kinda makes you feel like a popsicle on the fourth of July?” I stopped myself. Geez, Styles. Word vomit, much? “Ignore that last part.” I indicated the server. “He walked right past you.”

The server was staring at me like I had sprouted a second head. Auntie Marmalade, who was cradling her rolling pin to her chest like a baby, offered me a sympathetic smile. “You poor dear. You must be in shock. Come inside and I’ll make you up a plate of nice, hot fritters.”

“Oh, no, thank you, ma’am. I’m fine, really.” I thought about how Ty had walked so casually past Auntie Marmalade, as if she couldn’t even see him at all, and hopped the fence.

“As if she couldn’t even see him,” I muttered, under my breath.

“What was that, dear?”

“Nothing.” I shook my head.

The servers followed Auntie Marmalade back into the restaurant, and I was left alone in the alley feeling very much like I had entered the Twilight Zone.

On the ground by the wall, a lump of material was lying in the dirt. It was Ty’s leather jacket. “Okay,” I said, picking it up. “So I’m not completely crazy. He was here.” I wiped the dirt off the jacket and, feeling slightly ridiculous, folded it over my arm and continued toward the library.

The sidewalk was more tightly packed with people now. I weaved in and out of the foot traffic, trying to make sense of all the mayhem that whirled around inside my head. I was so preoccupied with my thoughts, I didn’t notice when the man in front of me came to a complete stop.

Like an idiot, I slammed into his back and fell backward onto the pavement. The man whirled around and gave me a dirty look.

“Sorry!” I squeaked, trying to appear demure.

He harrumphed at me and kept walking. The palms of my hands were slightly skinned from where I had landed on them, and my elbow was throbbing. “Ow,” I groaned, rubbing the spot gently. I stood up, assessing myself for more damage, and wiped the dirt off my jeans.

When I straightened, Ty was standing in front of me, an amused expression in his eyes. The bruise on his cheek, the one I had noticed at the comic book shop, had faded to a greenish-yellow color, but a new one was forming around his left eye.

I started a little. “How long have you been standing there?”

“Long enough to see you wipe out on your ass.”

“I didn’t wipe out,” I said, matter-of-factly. “I was testing the sidewalk for durability. You’ll be happy to know that this particular patch of concrete is in fact safe for pedestrians.” I cocked an eyebrow at him. “You’re welcome.”

He let out a deep chuckle, and my cheeks warmed at the sound of it. I wasn’t sure if he recognized me from the comic book store or not, and despite my initial emboldened response I had absolutely no idea what to say next. Should I ask him about the fight?

“Well, now that I know the sidewalks are passable, I better get going. See you around.”

He waved, then turned and starting walking toward the street.

I stared at his retreating back.

“Wait!” I called out. “Wait! So that’s it?”

He turned around to face me, walking backward. His face was lit with a grin. “Were you expecting something else?”

“Well, you could at least give me a high five or something. I saved your life, after all.” And I wouldn’t mind knowing how you managed to go all Harry Potter with an invisibility cloak back there.

Ty stopped, his features suddenly highlighted by a patch of fading sunlight. “You saved my life?”

“That guy had a weapon,” I replied matter-of-factly, pushing back my shoulders. “He could’ve killed you.” At this point, I wasn’t sure the other boys actually had a real chance of killing this mysterious boy in front of me, but the fact remained that without my brilliant—okay, slightly stupid—interference, the fight could’ve ended differently.

Ty walked toward me, each step slow and methodical, his face bright with amusement. “Trust me, he couldn’t have killed me.”

I rolled my eyes, though I had to admit I was the tiniest bit impressed by how certain he seemed of his abilities in the fight. “You’re kinda cocky, aren’t you?”

“Not at all,” he said, without a single ounce of arrogance in his voice, as if he were stating a fact. “And why don’t we just call it even. Had any more troubles with Thor lately?”

“So you do recognize me!”

“Of course . . . babe.”

I had no control over the stupid smile that crossed my face. “We’re even.”

“All the same, thank you, Lainey. It’s not every day such a pretty girl saves my life.” He winked at me.