"Not bad, not bad. Now move over and see how it's done." Isaac playful nudged me with his hip. His ball ended up doing almost exactly what mine had done but actually went in.

"Oh, now it's on," I said as I headed over to my ball to tap it in.

Isaac jotted down the score while we walked over to the next hole. Behind us I could hear girls giggling and peered back to see that Brooke and her friends were behind us. When she caught me looking she narrowed her eyes. Ignoring her, I turned back around.

"Still think you're gonna beat me?" Isaac asked, his eyes dancing in the moonlight.

"Are you kidding? That last hole was just a warm up. You aint seen nothing yet."

The rest of the evening we bantered and teased but in the end Isaac ended up beating me by ten strokes. I finally admitted to him that I'd only played miniature golf a couple of times in my life and the last time had been several years earlier.

"Really? The way you were trash talking I thought you played all the time."

"Nah. I was just teasing you."

He smiled, putting his hand on my arm. My skin broke out in gooseb.u.mps.

"Well, then you're a natural."

Feeling bold I said, "You'll just have to take me more often so I can get better."

His hand still on my arm he said, "I'm gonna hold you to that."

Just then a group of students descended on us. It looked like the rest of the youth group had finished as well. After everyone decided to go inside for some pizza, Isaac and I followed them in. I was a little disappointed as we sat down amidst the group. The time alone with Isaac was so enjoyable that I hated to have to share him now. When he left the table to order, an attractive girl with dark hair and a smattering of freckles across her nose and cheeks scooted into the booth next to me.

"Hi. I don't think we've met before. I'm Stephanie." She stuck out a hand and her smile was genuine, unlike Brooke's.

"I'm Mackenzie, but you can just call me Kenzie for short."

"Nice to meet you, Kenzie. Are you new here?"

"Sort of. I'm just staying with my grandma for the summer. Isaac lives next door. He invited me tonight."

"Oh, that's great. Well, I'm glad you came."

"One pepperoni pizza coming up," Isaac said when he returned. I was disappointed when he slid into the booth across from me. Even though Stephanie seemed nice it irritated me that she took Isaac's seat.

By the end of the evening I was stuffed from the pizza, tired from the golf and happier than I'd ever been before. I'd had so much fun with Isaac and his friends. The only downfall of the night was meeting Brooke but after that one encounter she'd pretty much left me alone.

"So, was it really that bad?" Isaac asked when he walked me up to my front door to say good-bye.

"It was wonderful."

"Good. I'm glad you came. My friends all really liked you."

"I liked them also." Most of them.

"I had a lot of fun with you."

My pulse raced. "Me too."

"See you tomorrow morning?"

"What's tomorrow morning?"

"Church."

"Oh, I don't know."

"C'mon. It'll be fun."

I never thought I'd hear the words church and fun in the same sentence.

"You said it wasn't so bad."

"Yeah, miniature golfing and pizza wasn't so bad, but going to church is completely different."

"Maybe not. Maybe you'll find that church isn't so bad either." He nudged me. "C'mon, just try it out. For me."

My lips tugged upward in a grin. "Fine. For you."

"See, I told you. That wasn't so bad, was it?" Isaac asked me in the lobby after service.

I shook my head. I had never been to church before but it looked a lot like I imagined with its stained gla.s.s windows and wooden pews. The music was pretty cool and the preaching was okay. I did find myself getting a little bored at parts, but sitting next to Isaac sure made it worth it. Frankly, the pastor could've spoken all day.

"Hungry?" Isaac asked.

"A little."

"Wanna grab a bite to eat?"

I nodded. "Let me just find Grandma and let her know."

There were only about a hundred people who attended the church, and my grandma seemed to know them all. She stood in a cl.u.s.ter of women who were chatting and laughing like schoolgirls. They stopped abruptly when they saw me.

"Oh, this must be your granddaughter," one of them shrieked.

"She's gorgeous," said another.

My cheeks warmed and I smoothed down the skirt of my dress.

"This is Mackenzie," Grandma said placing her hand on the small of my back and gently guiding me into the circle. They all crowded around me. I had a flashback of being in preschool and playing London Bridges. Floral perfume and hairspray swirled around me.

I was met with a chorus of "Nice to meet you," and "we've heard so much about you."

I smiled politely and then faced Grandma. "Isaac and I are going to lunch."

"Oh, that's wonderful. Then I suppose I'll grab lunch with the ladies."

"Great." I smiled again and pressed my way out of the circle. "See you later." The moment I freed myself I ran right into Brooke.

"So, what's your sob story?" she asked.

I was totally confused. Talk about coming out of left field. "What?"

"C'mon, you must have a story. Let me guess. You come from a divorced home, dad's not around. Am I close?"

Too close. My face flamed.

"Look, everyone knows Isaac's a rescuer."

"What do you mean?"

"You think you're the first girl Isaac's brought around here?"

My stomach tightened. I wanted to cover my ears and run. Instead I stayed rooted in place, eager to hear what she had to say.

"I used to be you. I met Isaac a little over a year ago. My parents had just split. My mom moved here with her new boyfriend. Things weren't going well for me. And then I met Isaac. We started hanging out, he brought me to church and as soon as I got comfortable he moved on to the next girl who needed rescuing."

My hands shook, my stomach rolled, and sweat broke out on my forehead. "Why are you telling me this?"

"It's just a warning. Enjoy Isaac while you can." With that she spun around and stalked off.

Could she be telling the truth? It made sense. Isaac did only take me out once at my grandma's leading before he invited me to a church event. Was he only interested in getting me saved? I thought he'd been attracted to me but maybe all I was to him was another girl to rescue.

"Ready to go?" Isaac appeared by my side.

I stared at the deep maroon carpet. "No, I think I'll just go home with grandma, after all."

"But she just left."

"She did?"

"Yeah. Are you okay?"

Still looking down I said, "I'm not feeling well. Can you take me home, please?"

"Sure."

Once we got in the car I kept my gaze glued out the window. Even his proximity was making me nervous but I needed to just survive the short car ride home.

"Did something happen?" Isaac asked.

I shook my head.

"I saw you talking with Brooke. Did she say something to upset you?"

"No, she was fine."

Awkward silence filled the car the rest of the ride. When we pulled up at the house, I jumped out before he could come around to open my door. I sprinted toward Grandma's. Once safely inside I broke down into tears. I knew falling for another boy would only cause me heartbreak. It happened every time. When would I learn? n.o.body loved me just for me. I was somebody people used or took pity on. That's all I'd ever be.

Without even realizing where I was headed, I ended up in the bathroom with a razor held to my arm. This time the cut was deeper than usual and I started bleeding profusely. I pressed a wad of tissue against it to stop the bleeding and with the other hand frantically searched for the Band-Aids. The minute I located them, I pulled one out and slapped it over my cut.

A loud knock startled me.

Could it be Isaac? I couldn't pretend I wasn't home. I had to answer it. Swiftly pulling the sleeve of my cardigan down over my arm, I raced to the front door. When I swung it open Rhiannon stood on the porch.

"Oh hi," I said.

"Hey, I hadn't seen you in a couple days and thought I'd check on you. See how you liked the book. But from the looks of your aura you're not doing so well."

Here we go again.

She wrinkled her nose and pursed her lips. "Hey, did you know that you're bleeding all over your sweater?"

"What?" I looked down to see crimson splatters on my sleeve.

Oh great. How would I explain this? Period? Nose bleed? Scratch?

Rhiannon reached out and pulled up my sleeve before I could stop her. The Band-Aid covered my newest cut but my old ones were still visible. Angry, I tore my arm away from her.

"Why would you do that?" Her boldness unnerved me.

"I suspected you were a cutter."

"What?"

"It's not rocket science. It's actually pretty obvious because of your unhappy aura, always wearing long sleeves, and now the blood."

I glared at her. Her smugness was really annoying.

"You can leave now," I said.

"There's no reason to be mad. I used to be a cutter too." She put out her arms, palms side up. Large, grotesque scars rode up them. I couldn't believe I hadn't noticed them before. But then again I never looked that closely. "I ended up cutting an artery and almost died. That's how my parents found out about it. I had to see a shrink and everything."

"Is that what made you stop?"

"No. I found something better than counseling. C'mon over to my house and I'll show you. While I'm at it, I'll wash your sweater. I'm sure you don't want to have to explain your b.l.o.o.d.y clothes to your grandma."

Chapter Six.