Light in the Shadows

Clay back, that’s all anyone is talking about.”  Claire grinned, licking pudding off the back of her spoon, her eyes twinkling devilishly. 
                    Jake went instantly tense beside me and he shifted uncomfortably in his seat.  “Well, that’s cool I guess.”  It was very obvious that it was anything but cool as far as he was concerned.  Rachel was staring at me, trying to send me Morse code through her eyeballs.  But clearly I wasn’t up to receiving encrypted messages. 
                    “Yep, cool,” I said dryly, getting to my feet.  I was definitely finished with this conversation and I had homework to finish up before my next class.  “Later guys,” I tossed out as casually as possible before heading to the trash can. 
                    I was shaking the food off my tray before putting it on the counter when Kylie joined me.  She flipped her hair over her shoulder.  “Wow, so Clay’s moved back to Davidson.  That’s so awesome.  I hope he’s okay.  I mean after trying to kill himself and all,” she said with false brightness.  I shot her a look over my shoulder and then walked out of the cafeteria, deciding no response was better than going all Kung Fu ninja on her ass.  Fuck that bitch.
                    The rest of the day was spent fielding a million and one questions about Clay.  You’d think this was the only news worthy event happening at Jackson.  Had everyone already forgotten about the junior girl who had gotten knocked up by her thirty year old boyfriend?  That seemed a hell of a lot more interesting than the fact that Clayton Reed had returned.
                    By the end of the day I was ready to bash my head in.  “Have you talked to him at all?” Lila Casteel asked me as I headed toward the gym for track practice.  I hefted the bag up onto my shoulder and gave her my frostiest smile.
                    “Nope, but I’ll get right on that, Lila. It’s right behind learning to tap dance and translating the Odyssey into Pig Latin.” Lila looked taken aback but I just didn’t give a shit.  I stormed away from her and was glad to have practice to keep my mind distracted. 
    ***
                   
    After practice, I grabbed my bag and left before anyone else could stop me, asking questions I didn’t have answers for.  If one more person asked me if I had seen Clay and whether he was really coming back to Jackson, I would profess temporary insanity and go UFC fighter on their faces. 
                    I dug through my bag for my keys as I got into the parking lot.  When I glanced up, the sight of who waited by my car made me stumble.  There went my plans for plausible deniability. 
                    “Damn it,” I muttered under my breath, righting myself, feeling the sting of embarrassment color my cheeks. 
                    “You okay?” Clay asked, coming to my side, making the flash of humiliation even more acute.  I waved him away.
                    “I’m fine.”  He jammed his hands back into his pockets and fell into step beside me. 
                    “This thing still lives, huh?” he asked, poking the tire of my car with his shoe.  I snorted as I opened the door to throw my bag inside.
                    “Still kickin’.  She’ll outlive your fancy ride over there, I have no doubt,” I said, nodding toward his BMW that was parked beside mine.  Clay laughed.
                    “I’m pretty sure your car could take mine in a cage fight.  I bet she fights dirty.” I tried not to get lost in his eyes as they twinkled in amusement.  It was way too easy to fall into our old banter.  But too much water had run under that particular bridge.
                    “As great as it is to stand here and discuss the finer points of our respective cars, I’m feeling smelly and sweaty and would really like a shower.  I’m assuming there is a reason for your random stalking?” I asked, trying to sound annoyed, when in actuality I was entirely too excited to see him. 
                    Clay’s smile faltered and then disappeared altogether.  Jeesh, I hadn’t meant to be so testy.  He looked as though I had just told him his favorite dog had run away.  But my overly fluttery heart set me on edge.  It reminded me