Page 1 of Rowe

CHAPTER ONE

Rowen Tyler James, Rowe to his friends, was a big kid. He’d always been a big kid. As a child, his parents worried that he’d be overweight. He was the baby every mother in the grocery store wanted to pinch. In a good way.

“Oh, those chubby thighs,” laughed one woman. “I just want to squeeze ‘em.”

“Look at those cheeks! I could just squish ‘em,” said another woman.

Rowe was bigger than most until he was around ten. Then he started to thin out after he began playing baseball and football. The thinning out wasn’t exactly thinning; it was muscle building.

“How old is that kid?” asked an opposing coach during his first middle-school football game. Rowe was twelve at the time.

“He’s within the age limit, coach,” said the ref.

“He looks fifteen.”

“Not his fault,” smirked the ref. “We’ve checked all the birth certificates. He’s good.”

By the time he was seventeen, Rowe was six-feet-five, two-hundred and eighteen pounds. He had college recruiters knocking on his door asking him to commit to their school.

What Rowe didn’t have were parents that cared either way. Well, they cared. They cared that he went to college and left their home. It wasn’t that they didn’t love him. He knew he was loved. He just wasn’t their priority.

Born when his parents were both forty-one, they were now ready to fully retire and travel the world. Without their son.

Rowe wrestled with the idea of college every day. Girls who had been chasing him wanted him to commit to their school.

“Why?” he said with a scrunched face. Mary Ellen Sorte was trying to convince him to accept the offer at Penn State.

“Because I’m going there,” she giggled, running a finger along his arm. He pulled back, almost repulsed by her actions. Rowe was a lot of things but naive was not one of them.

He despised the games the girls played. They played games with the guys and with one another. He’d been a witness to more than a few girls, mean girls in his opinion, pitting one another against someone just to try and get the ‘guy.’

For what? He could never figure it out. Especially at just seventeen and eighteen years old.

“Mary Ellen, I won’t be choosing any school based on where some girl is going. I will choose what’s best for me and only me,” he said firmly taking a step back. Her face flushed and for a moment she looked as though she might lose her temper.

“Rowe, we could help one another. We’d be friends. That’s all.”

“We’re not friends, Mary Ellen. We’ve never been friends. You made a decision to pursue me after Gary dumped you and started dating Kelly. I’m no one’s seconds.” He turned and walked away, everyone in the hall laughing at Mary Ellen. That was not his intention. He turned toward the laughing crowd, straightening to his full height.

“Shut up,” he said calmly. “Her interest in me is none of your business. You make fun of her or anyone, I’ll be there to deal with you.”

The entire hallway was quiet as he moved to his next class. This was why he didn’t date. Well, this and the fact that he’d watched his own parents fight and make-up more times than he cared to remember.

Not just a spat. Those were normal. It was screaming, throwing things, calling names. Hurtful, horrible names. Then three or four days later, they were all lovey again. He would never allow himself to be in such a relationship.

When Rowe left baseball practice that night, his world changed in two ways. The first was his opinion of Mary Ellen. She was waiting near his old pick-up truck. He opened his mouth to speak but Mary Ellen lifted her hand to stop him.

“It’s not what you think,” she said quietly as other guys watched from their own vehicles. “I-I wanted to apologize, Rowe. I’m sorry for what I tried to do and thank you for sticking up for me in the hall.”

Rowe eyed the girl carefully. He often wondered why she hotly pursued anyone. She was cute enough. Smart enough. And for the most part, sweet enough. So, why?

“Thank you for saying that,” he said quietly.

“I wanted to go to Penn State because it’s far away from my mom and her new husband.” Now she had Rowe’s attention. “He hasn’t done anything. Not yet. My mom won’t listen to me when I tell her he’s creepy around me.”

“Go talk to the counselor,” said Rowe. “She can help and they’ll make sure you’re safe until you leave for college.”

“I did that today,” she said with a sad smile. “I’ve been removed from the house and I’m staying with Tara’s family until the end of the year. It’s only a few weeks away. Then I’ll be at Penn State.”