Chapter Nineteen
“Watch out! There’s the psycho killer!”
A group of underclassman snickered as they passed by Rebecca and her friends. Rebecca felt her face turn crimson for what must have been the millionth time that week. She had to wonder when the childishness was going to end—if it was ever going to end. Maybe she would just spend the rest of her senior year in exile.
“Wendy is the only psycho in this school,” Carmen called out loudly from their corner of the stage. Her voice carried pretty far, and a few people turned to stare at her, including Wendy. The look she gave them was anything but friendly. Wendy had the masses on her side, as the popular crowd always did.
“Really, Becca, you shouldn’t let her bother you anymore,” Debbie told her. “Everyone will have forgotten about this stupid joke by the end of the weekend. They’ll have moved on to another victim.”
Rebecca would have loved to believe that. But five days had passed and it hadn’t been enough to make anyone forget about the newspaper article yet. In fact, the rumors had gotten even more twisted as they were passed from one gossipy teenager to the next. The last she had heard, she was having Mr. Russ’s love child. The stigma didn’t end with her. Carmen and Debbie had become outcasts by association. Rebecca never appreciated them more than she did that week. They stood by her through every taunt and sneer, and had truly proven themselves loyal friends. It only gave Rebecca one more thing to feel guilty about. She sat down on the edge of the stage and put her head in her hands.
“I’m so sorry that you guys got dragged into this mess.”
Carmen shrugged. “What are friends for?”
“After all, we’re The Three Musketeers, right?”
“That is sooo corny, Deb,” Carmen complained with a roll of her brown eyes.
Practice was about to begin and they all moved to their allotted spots, promising to get together when they were done. The rehearsal proceeded without any problems. Rebecca noticed, not for the first time, that Tom seemed to be avoiding her. He called her every night, but in school he was always conveniently unavailable during the times when they would normally run into each other. Justyn, on the other hand, seemed to be lurking around every corner, and took her new leper status as further proof that they were destined to be together. He never came right out and said that he found the whole thing amusing. He didn’t have to. She could sense that he enjoyed the fact that Tom, and every other available male, was staying away from her. This left the door wide open for him to make his move. That might have been the one bright side of the whole ridiculous situation.
“So, are you ready for tomorrow night?” Justyn asked as they packed up to leave after practice.
“Do I need to wear a black cloak?”
He laughed good-naturedly. “You could wear a burlap sack if you wanted and I wouldn’t care. You’d still be beautiful.”
Rebecca felt her cheeks grow warm, and that fluttery feeling had finally returned with a vengeance. “You still aren’t going to tell me where we’re going, are you?”
“Not a chance. But trust me; you’re going to love it. I’ll be at your house around six tomorrow,” he told her with a secretive wink. “See you then.”
He headed out to his bike, leaving Rebecca slightly breathless and completely flustered in his wake. Trust me, he had said. And strangely enough, though she had plenty of reasons not to, she did trust him. She remained nervous about their date. What kind of places did Gothic Wiccans take their would-be girlfriends? She kept having visions of a candle-lit dinner in a cemetery. But she knew that was silly. She had read Justyn’s book. While it had left her with just as many questions as it did answers, she knew she had nothing to worry about. If he were going to take her someplace witchy, it would probably be a drum circle in the woods. Such a gathering might actually be fun, as long as everyone in attendance kept their clothes on.
Rebecca was still daydreaming when Tom came out from behind the auditorium doors. Carmen and Debbie were right behind him and were quick to run interference. They knew Tom had been avoiding her, and they weren’t happy about it. They both shot him dirty looks as he walked towards them with his shoulders slouched, his hands shoved in his pockets, and a pathetically guilty look on his face.
Good. He should feel guilty, Rebecca thought. Even though he was coming to talk to her, she wasn’t about to forgive him. He was only willing to be seen with her now that the hallway was empty.
“Hey, Bec,” he said. “How ya doing?”
“Not bad, considering I’m the laughing stock of the whole school,” Rebecca told him. “So, what gives me the honor of your presence today, Tom?”
He flinched at the cold tone of her voice, but he knew very well that he deserved it, and probably a lot more. “I’ve kind of been a jerk, haven’t I?”
Rebecca only snorted.
“Jerk doesn’t begin to describe you,” Carmen said with a frown.
Debbie continued to glare at him. Since she was significantly bigger than him, it was threat enough. Tom cleared his throat nervously. He knew he was outnumbered three to one.
“Yeah, well, I think I found a way to make it up to you.”
“Not likely,” Carmen muttered.
Rebecca was inclined to agree with her best friend—especially when Tom pulled out a copy of the school newspaper and handed it to her. She came very close to tearing it into pieces and tossing it back in his face. The last thing she wanted was to see that horrible article again. But when she tried to shred it, Tom reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder.
“It’s next week’s edition. I got you an advance copy,” he explained. “Wendy isn’t the only one who has pull with the nerds. Remember, Jay is my best friend.”
That got a small smile out of her, but her friends still narrowed their eyes suspiciously. Rebecca took a deep breath, and pulled open the newspaper. It was a different edition. Emblazoned across the front page was a very unflattering photo of Wendy. Above the photo was the simple headline:
“Wendy Wright’s Lies Revealed, by Tom Rittenhouse”
Rebecca went on to read the surprisingly well-written article that outlined out all the events that had taken place between Rebecca and Wendy. It began with Wendy’s jealous reaction to the play casting and ended with her nasty article. It cast Wendy in a very bad, though extremely accurate, light. Tom was putting his head on the chopping block, and he knew it. He was taking the risk and doing it all for Rebecca.
“Tom I . . . I don’t know what to say . . . .”
“Say thank you!” Debbie told her. She was reading every word over Rebecca’s shoulder.
“Or say rest in peace,” Carmen added. “Because when Wendy sees this, your ass is toast.”
Tom heaved a heavy sigh. “She already knows. I asked her nicely more than once to admit what she did and have the article rescinded. But she wouldn’t back down. So this is the price she has to pay. Someone needs to teach her that she can’t treat people this way and pay no consequences.”
“And how is she going to make you pay?” Debbie asked.
It was a good question. Where Wendy was concerned there were always consequences, and this time they wouldn’t be good for Tom.
“Don’t worry about me. I can handle Wendy.”
Rebecca was truly touched, and felt a lump rise in her throat. “I can’t believe you did this for me. You’re a good friend.”
Tom seemed disappointed. “Just a friend? Does that mean I’m too late to win you back from Lord Justyn?”
Debbie grunted. “She isn’t a prize, you know.”
Tom nodded. “I know that. And I’m going to be fair. Go on your date tomorrow night. But remember, I’ll be thinking about you the whole time.”
“Dude, that is so sweet. It brings a tear to my eye. Seriously.” Jay had arrived on the scene. He pretended to wipe away phony tears with all his classic charm. “How’s it hanging, Becca? Amazon? And you, sexy Latina lady, how’s about you and me catch a movie or something tomorrow night?”
Jay brushed up against Carmen in an attempt at being provocative. But she sidestepped him just in time. Jay only stopped himself from falling by slamming face-first into the nearest locker.
Carmen smiled sweetly. “I would rather stick bamboo splinters up my finger nails than go anywhere with you, Jay.”
Jay was unfazed by the rebuff. “Whatever. Your loss, babe,” he told her once he had regained his footing. “I got a date tomorrow night already anyway.” He turned to Tom and put his hands together in an exaggerated begging motion. “Dude, can I please borrow your truck tomorrow night? I can’t pick up this classy chick on my bike.”
“Sure, I don’t have any plans anyway.”
Tom shrugged and turned his sad eyes on Rebecca, making her feel just a little bit guilty. After all, he was practically signing away his reputation for her sake, and she was going out with another guy. But she didn’t get a chance to say anything because the last group of stragglers was walking out of the auditorium doors. And one of them was Wendy. She did not look happy. Not one little bit. She stomped over to Tom and her cheeks were red and blotchy with barely controlled fury. The still healing scars on her face made her look that much scarier.
“Tom, if you go through with this, you’re finished. You realize that, right?”
Tom huffed. “Whatever, Wendy. Your threats don’t scare me.”
“Maybe they should scare you. Because if I have my way, your life will be over. You can count on that.” She turned to glare at each member of the small group in turn. “All of your lives will be over.”