Crash Course

Chapter 3

As the day concluded, I was trying my hardest to find the motivation to stay for Drew's scrimmage. "Come on, Bella, Andrew really wants you to." Nate whined as we walked towards my locker.

"I know, I know. You and Kris cheer extra hard for me?" I dumped my books into my locker and we began to walk towards the exit.

"Kris is going to be pissed."

"Nate, I'm just so exhausted. I've seen Drew play a million times, plus I'll be there for opening next week!" Nate just shook his head at me. I walked down the stairs alone as Nate headed off to the field.

"MM!" I heard someone call over my shoulder. I turned to look at Liam. "Need a ride?" He tossed me his spare helmet without waiting on an answer. I stared at him. "Come on, I want to show you something." My heart was racing. Was I about to learn a secret from the man of mystery himself? I quickly put the helmet on and climbed on the back of his motorcycle, he revved the engine and we were off, out of the corner of my eye I saw Nate staring at us. Damn, this was going to be fun to explain.

We raced down the twisted roads to the coast line. After about twenty minutes I began to wonder if Liam was taking me somewhere to kill me. I continued to hold onto him tightly. He smelled like fall - an unmistakable scent of pine cones and spice. His back muscles were flexed as I rested my head against him. I watched the water crash against the shore line. Liam stopped at an overlook. It was a steep cliff, where the water crashed against jagged rocks. The cliff itself was barred off to the public, a sign sighting Dangerous Waves as the reasoning. Liam easily hopped the fence and looked to me, holding his hand out. I slipped my hand into his and he helped pull me over. "Is this safe?" I asked, as we walked through tall grass and shrubs.

"As long as you aren't planning on jumping." He said soberly. We sat in the grass, it was so tall that anyone looking our way wouldn't be able to see us. As the sun shone onto it, it swayed in green and golden waves.

"Why did you bring me here?" I asked.

"To help you out on your hunt for the truth." He answered. "This place is important to me."

"Why?"

"I can't just give you the answers, that ruins the game." He laughed, laying back in the grass. I crawled towards him, sitting next to him and using his side to prop myself up.

"I have a theory." I said, looking down at him and ripping up some grass.

"And what's that?"

"That you brought me out here to kill me." I said. He rolled his eyes.

"I wouldn't kill you here, they would make even more security precautions and I'd never be allowed to visit." He said lazily. I spun around and stared directly down into his steel eyes. "What?" He asked, his eyes flickering around my face, memorizing my features.

"You and I are the same, you know?"

"Oh are we?" He propped himself up on his elbows.

"Yeah, we both have a dirty history that we can't have discovered but we are dying to let someone know, so we don't have to carry the burden alone. We were once the talk of the school, the perfect American teen, but now we struggle to figure out how to interact with people normally. Our demons are outside our bodies and although they may not be here right now, we are still fighting them." I broke our intense gaze. Liam stayed quiet, observing me. He ran a finger down my spine, making me shiver.

"You hit the nail on the head Mighty Mouse." He said. I felt myself smiling, finally, someone who understood.

"I know you'll figure me out. The past can only stay buried so long." I whispered.