Growing Up and Other Tall Tales

Chapter 48

My hand reaches out to pull Lyra to the ground immediately when I hear the shots fire.

"Everybody get on the fucking ground! Throw your phones away or I will fucking kill everyone here!"

The shrieks and the screams that follow are louder than the gun shots. There is loud and panicked pushing of chairs and tables by the customers and the waiters dropping their plates and glasses to fall onto the ground.

"Son of a bitch," I hiss under my breath and Lyra's panicked eyes look up at me confusedly

I lean over her trying to gauge the situation when I notice Lyra taking her phone out. Her eyes are on the mirror near the sink that reflects the cashier of the restaurant where the shooter is. I hold my hand over hers shaking my head. She looks at me meaningfully and slips her hand from beneath mine to type on her phone.

"CAPO!" he screams with the gun coming to his side, "Where the hell are you?"

Shit

"Hey lady!" I hear the gun cock and I wince a little when I realize that he just found out our little hiding spot and worse he saw Lyra and her phone. My arm goes in front of her and she pushes it away before he notices.

"I thought I said no phones, pretty baby," he whispers bending down next to her propping his gun up next him

I see his black eyes flit over her face, glinting with interest. His gloved fingers curl in invitation and Lyra drops the phone on his open palm with an impassive face and as she is about to withdraw her hand it snatches upon her wrist. And my hand tightens its hold around her arm.

He notices.

He looks at me and from underneath his mask I know he smiles.

"Let the her go," he says clearly

"No,"

"No?"

"No," I hold his gaze

He's calmed down a little. His little flirting with Lyra has slowed his breathing, his hands stopped trembling and his voice is even now. He wouldn't dare bring our little ruse out into the public. He wouldn't dare having to risk losing his mask.

He lets go.

"Don't hurt anyone." I tell him pulling Lyra a little closer to me, "Get out of here,"

He looks again at Lyra who stares back at him unblinkingly. He chortles a little, looks at me and shakes his head.

"Najung-e bwayo,"

See you later.

I narrow my eyes at him warningly because he shouldn't even think about it. The choked laughter through his mask makes my chest further hollow. He leaps up to his feet and walks out of our view but not before he drops Lyra's phone on the ground unnecessarily loud, so loud that the people on the floor wince at the sound. He didn't need the phone, there is no evidence of a face, nothing to indicate his identity alone and no one was hurt for the police to launch an investigation that will hold. It's just another day in America. I slump against Lyra the same time she slinks into me and we sort of collapse into each other. Just as the police sirens are picked up by my ears.

Lyra scrambles to stand and I watch as she ducks away from me and skid past the awakening crowd of the restaurant. My mouth falls open in a half formed mouthing of her name when I see her bend down next to a boy on the other side of the room. Her hand's on his shoulder and his arm lounges around her shoulders.

I don't realize I've followed up behind her until Lyra turns around to look up at me blocking the light.

"Holy shit, is that Aiden Romano—hello," the boy waves collecting himself and sticking out a hand nervously. I take it. Lyra looks a little taken aback before the comprehension of linking me to football visibly draws upon her face. Everything is so easy to read on her face, I realize, every little shift and slight that ripples across the surface of her face geometrically aligned with her volatile temperament and fire, are so, so easy to read.

"Liam and I were just leaving," she cuts in before Liam opens his mouth

I feel like I'm missing something here.

"Well I guess the date ended with a bang," he laughs and Lyra rolls her eyes at the pun before pursing her lips as if she is trying to withhold laughter while trying to maintain a reservoir of her signature hostility

"Date?" I piece in, a little quietly

"Yeah,"

"The two of you. Alone?" I ask to clarify

"That is the point of a date?" Lyra asks pointedly

"You go on dates?"

"Is the fact that someone wants to go out with me so hard to fathom, Romanov?" Lyra asks crossing her elbows

No, not at all.

"Yeah," I cough out with a snort, "How did you not get sick of that face?"

"Man, she looks at everybody like she wants to drill a hole in their brain." Liam shrugs good-naturedly, "I got immune to it during the movies,"

Movies. They went to watch movies.

"What did you watch?" I ask nonchalantly

"The Secret Life of Pets," Lyra makes a face and then sniffs, "I liked it,"

She liked it.

"The rabbit reminds me of Lyra," Liam confesses and Lyra groans, "Come on—"

And they fall into a ceaseless bickering that I see around Nick and Lyra and I wonder if annoying Lyra is one of the key criteria to be accepted into the school's football team. Feeling like I'm lurking, I raise my hand in goodbye to which Liam waves back enthusiastically and Lyra, Lyra—

"You okay?" she asks and presses the back of her palm against my skin and ironically my skin feels scorching just at the moment of contact

Maybe, she can read me better than I can her.

"Yeah. Rough day," I manage when her hand drops to her side and she shrugs a little uncertainly

"Also, we are not done talking," she waggles her finger and I realize she's talking about the suspicious slinking around the bathrooms and I hope she is close to me enough to not link it to the shooter

I throw a look of mock fear to Liam who holds his hands up defensively and then bid my goodbyes.

It only takes me a second of not seeing Liam's smile and his appearance to be a decent dude who's good for Lyra for the guilt and something nasty to rear its ugly head up in a neigh of poorly disguised uneasy bitterness.

Unsettled and unable to figure out why, I duck back down into my car when my phone rings. Missy's muffled voice slices well through anything else and I'm almost grateful.

"We got him." Missy pants and in the background, I hear a loud slap

I start the car. Images of his hand on Lyra's, pulling, tugging and hurting, flash through my head. The rush of anger fuels the adrenaline.

"He's mine." I say