The Wrong Path

Chapter Five





She wasn’t sure if she was pleased or embarrassed at her sudden status as Trevor’s girlfriend. People she barely knew kept coming up to talk to her as though she were Claire, and other girls kept giving her dirty looks and making snide comments to her. When she was alone, of course—the girls were still afraid of Claire.

“Hey,” Claudia greeted, tapping Annabelle on the shoulder. Annabelle turned back, smiling in relief at the sight of her and Mary. Her friends were here. They would make everything better. “All anyone will talk about today is how uptight Annabelle went crazy with the guys. Is that how you managed to snag Trevor?”

Annabelle flushed, stricken. “No,” she protested weakly.

“Mmm…” Claudia murmured, exchanging a look with Mary. “Careful, Annabelle. You’re going to get a bad reputation if you keep this type of stuff up.”

Horrified, she tried to defend herself, but she was too mortified and the words caught in her throat. Tears sprang to her eyes and she quickly gathered up her books and fled from the classroom, making it out into the empty hall when the bell rang.

She rushed out the back door so her friends wouldn’t see her, hating herself for letting the harsh words get to her. She hurried over to a cluster of trees at the edge of the campus and stepped behind one, shielding herself from the school’s windows. Then she slid to the ground, holding her hands against her face to try and hold back her sobs.

“Rough day?”

Startled, she looked up, and seeing no one, continued her gaze upwards. She jumped to her feet and spun around, gaping up at Will, who lounged on the tree branch above her head with a book in his hands.

“Will?” she asked in disbelief. She looked around, but they were alone. “What are you doing up there?”

“Reading.” His dark eyes studied her. “What happened?”

She swallowed hard. “Nothing. I’m fine. Just needed some air.” Seeing Will reading a book in a tree was so different from her image of him that she felt her mood lift a little, curiosity overtaking her. She leaned forward, trying to peer at the cover of his book. “What are you reading?”

He suddenly grinned, turning so his legs dangled in the air. “Why don’t you come up and find out?” he suggested mischievously.

She took a step back, aghast. “What?” she asked, stunned. “No. I-I can’t.”

He set his palms against the branch, and in a graceful movement was down on the ground in front of her, straightening to his full height. Without her heels, she discovered the height difference between them was even greater than it had been at the party. She only came up to his chin, her eyes level with his chest.

“Come on,” he said, tucking the book into the waistband of his jeans. His eyes danced playfully. “Have you ever climbed a tree?”

“No,” she breathed. She couldn’t climb a tree… She was wearing a skirt. And she would get dirty if she tried. Images of skinned hands and knees filled her mind and she shuddered, shaking her head. “No.”

He rolled his eyes. “Come on,” he insisted. “It’s not like you’re skydiving. It’s easy.”

She tried to protest, but he was already pulling her by her wrist to the other side of the tree. He held her between his body and the tree as he conducted her like a puppet, forcing her hands to grab limb after limb. She struggled, but it was a futile effort. Will was just stronger than she was, and determined.

A sharp stabbing sensation went through her right arm as her grip fell from one of the branches. She sucked in a quick breath of pain, but Will wasn’t going to be deterred, stubbornly forcing her hand back onto the branch. With him climbing up behind her, they were at his previous perch in only a minute or two. Her hand throbbed as she finally sat on the branch, holding it with a frown.

As she sat there, her heart pounding, her palm aching, practically sweating with exertion, she realized she felt oddly triumphant. Despite her protests, she had successfully climbed a tree—something she had never done before. And she had done it in a skirt.

Will dropped onto the branch beside her. There was just barely enough room for the two of them to fit leaning against the tree, and she shifted to make more room for him, resting her left side against his right one. The smell of cologne hung around him, and she couldn’t help but be reminded of the shirt she had washed and folded the night before.

He pulled the book out from his back waistband, holding it out for her to see. “Sinclair Lewis,” she read aloud slowly. “It Can’t Happen Here.” Stunned, she looked up at him. “That’s one of my favorite books.”

He laughed, looking surprised. “Really? You?”

She felt her shock fade to wariness at his tone. “Is that so unbelievable?”

He shrugged, holding the book on his lap. “It just doesn’t seem like the type of thing you would like reading.”

She frowned up at him, confused. “Why?”

He glanced down at her, and she was taken aback by his close proximity. The memory of being in his arms at the party suddenly filled her mind, making her cheeks flush. She had been so sure he had been about to kiss her, but that was crazy—it must have been the drug inducing those thoughts in her mind. She wasn’t even close to Will’s type. Will liked girls like Ebony. And besides that, Will wasn’t her type. She was dating his brother, Trevor!

Flustered, she dropped her gaze to their feet, staring forward, unable to hold his eyes any longer.

He suddenly laughed. She felt her heart fall into her stomach with embarrassment. Had she misread the situation again? Was he making fun of her? Did he think she was a moron who couldn’t read? She had shelves and shelves of books. In fact, she had given away half of her books because she had run out of room on her bookshelves.

“You seem like one of those romance-novel types,” he told her, still smiling.

“There are some I like,” she admitted shyly, then rushed on. “But I like books that make you think, too… Ones you learn from.” She felt his eyes on her and slowly lifted her gaze to his.

His dark eyes held hers so long the air between them grew thick and heavy. She was desperate for him to say something, but he seemed content in the silence… in the strange atmosphere between them.

Finally, unable to take it any longer, she shifted and looked out over their legs, stretched out side-by-side on the branch. “I have your shirt at home,” she said, her voice sounding strangely loud compared to the quiet she had just interrupted. “I washed it for you. I can bring it over after school, if you want. Or you can come pick it up.”

“Why wait until then?” he challenged, a mischievous tone in his voice. She looked up quickly, horrified.

“You mean skip school?” she asked.

He shrugged. “Why not?”

She worked for an answer, but nothing came out. There were so many reasons not to skip she couldn’t put them all into words. “My… my dad is home today. If I go home, he’ll know I skipped. And… I came in with your brother. He’ll be worried if he can’t find me after school.”

Will’s demeanor switched instantly. “Ah. I heard a rumor that you two were dating.” Without warning, he turned and was down on the ground. She gaped at his back, startled. Did he hate his brother so much that just talking about him made him angry? “Since you don’t want to skip school, don’t you think you should get back to class?”

She uttered a protest, looking around wildly for a way down from her perch. She certainly couldn’t jump… She’d probably break her ankle. Or fall on her hands and knees, and her hand already hurt. “Will!” she cried after him desperately, when she saw that he had turned to go.

He turned back, his eyes still dark, but when he saw her dilemma, a small smile graced his features. “Just jump,” he instructed, walking back under the branch.

To her dismay, tears welled up in her eyes. “I can’t,” she argued brokenly. She had never been particularly afraid of heights, but now that she was faced with falling herself, she could understand the phobia.

“Do you want me to come up there and push you off?”

“No!” she exclaimed, terrified. She stared down at the ground, which seemed impossibly far away, and then up at Will. “I’ll break something.”

He sighed. “You’ll be fine. People jump off of buildings and don’t break anything. Now jump.”

“I can’t!”

He held out a hand to her. Slowly, carefully, she reached for it, keeping a fierce grip on the branch with her other hand. She stretched as far as she could, but his hand was still just a few inches too far away. She felt more tears of panic form in her eyes. She was going to get stuck up there, in the tree, and they were going to have to call the fire department to get her down and she’d be the laughing stock of the entire school—

She screamed when something grabbed a hold of her hand, clenching her eyes shut as she was yanked off the branch, her body going into freefall and heading straight down to the ground.

The crash was surprisingly not as painful as she expected. Her knee hurt a little, but other than that, the ground was soft and not at all dirty or unpleasant under her.

It only took a moment for her to realize it was because she wasn’t on the ground.

Her eyes flew open and she looked down at Will, who had her wrapped securely in his arms. He was flat on his back on the hard, unforgiving ground, holding her against his chest. He had caught her and protected her from injury, risking his own safety.

“Will?” she asked fearfully, looking down at him from the shelter of his embrace.

His eyes opened, one after the other as if testing to see if they still worked, and met her gaze. Then he burst out laughing. “You sure know how to fall,” he declared, still laughing. She scrambled up off of him and he sat up, rolling his shoulders. “That was the most ungraceful thing I’ve ever seen.”

She flushed, then scowled at him. “You pulled me out of the tree!” she argued angrily. “You tried to kill me! What if I had fallen on my head?”

“You’d get dirt in your hair and then go home?” he suggested. “Can’t be seen at school with dirt in your hair, you know. Your friends might not talk to you.”

She frowned. “You don’t know my friends,” she argued, though he was right… If she’d gotten dirt in her hair, she would have gone home. Dirt in the hair would have been unforgivable by Claire’s standards.

“I know enough,” he assured her. He stood and brushed himself off, then held out a hand to her to help her to her feet. Hesitantly, she took it, allowing him to pull her up with strong, slender fingers.

She couldn’t resist a smile when she saw a leaf in his silky dark hair. Before she could think twice, she reached up and pulled it out, holding it up with a laugh for him to see.

His eyes studied hers.

She felt her smile die as their eyes held, heat rushing up around her. She couldn’t make herself look away, no matter how hard she tried, but again, she tried to tell herself it was just the adrenaline pumping through her veins.

Sirens in the distance finally broke their stare. She frowned as they got closer, to the school, then looked up at Will, who had tensed. Wordlessly, he headed toward the front of the school, and after a moment of deliberation, she followed him. She couldn’t go to class without a late slip, so she would have to wait until the next period started before she could go in. And until then, she didn’t know where else to go. So she went with Will.

He seemed surprised to see her behind him as he stood behind the bricks jutting out from the school building, giving them a perfect view of the cop cars that had gathered in front of the school. He glanced back at her, then returned his attention to the assembled cop cars.

“What’s going on?” she whispered, leaning past his shoulder to see. She held on to him, afraid that if she didn’t, she would fall off balance and give away their presence. Her heart pounded nervously in her chest. She had never spied on anything before, and certainly not while cutting class. Would they get suspended if they were caught?

Will’s body suddenly jerked forward, and then he was out from behind the bricks, stalking toward the front of the school. Annabelle started to protest, bewildered. For a moment she struggled internally, trying to decide if she should follow or remain hidden. Finally, feeling slightly ashamed of herself, she remained where she was, peering around the bricks to see what Will was doing.

And then in an instant she understood. Her heart ached as she saw the cops leading Ebony and a few of Will’s other friends out of the school.

“Step back, son,” one of the officers ordered, holding Will at bay as he tried to get to his friends.

“No. What the hell is going on?” he demanded.

The officer, clearly not appreciating being sworn at, paused and straightened to his full height. He was taller than Will, and much more menacing. The handle of his gun gleamed in its holster in the sunlight. Annabelle could barely take her eyes off of it.

“These kids friends of yours?”

“Yes.”

“Were you involved in the illegal drug usage today?”

Will was silent. Annabelle’s heart raced as she waited for his answer. When he continued to give none, to just stare down the cop, her fear and anxiety twisted inside of her and she abandoned all thoughts of self-preservation. Her mind whirled desperately to come up with a believable story as she hurried forward.

“Will!” she cried, rushing toward him and the officer, who broke their stare to look at her. Will’s eyes flashed. “What’s going on?” She turned to the cop, deliberately making her eyes wide and full of tears. She didn’t need to fake fear—that was real enough. “Are we in trouble for skipping class? I’m sorry, it’s just that as soon as I discovered it was missing, I had to find it, and Will offered to help me, and—“

The cop frowned, holding up his hand. “Miss, calm down, please. We received some reports today regarding some students and illegal narcotics. This has nothing to do with skipping class.”

She clung to Will’s arm, looking up at the officer with what she prayed were innocent, shocked eyes. “Illegal narcotics?” she repeated. Could the officer hear that fake note in her voice? “We’ve been looking for my bracelet almost all morning. We weren’t doing drugs!”

The officer studied her, but she must have looked frightened and believable enough, because after a hard look at Will, he nodded and looked back at her. “You two get back to class. Look for your bracelet after school.” He eyed Will one more time, then turned and went to his police car, the last one left.

Will stood there for a long time after the police had driven off with his friends. Annabelle trembled so hard she couldn’t make herself let go of his arm. She had lied. To a police officer. She had lied to a police officer for Will.

Slowly, he turned to face her, breaking her hold of his arm. His face was unreadable when she met his eyes. Was he angry? Was he grateful? Had she done the wrong thing?

“Do you want to get out of here?” he asked.

She automatically looked up at the school, but just the thought of going in after what she had done and what she had witnessed made her sick to her stomach. She looked back at him and nodded slowly. He studied her for another moment, then wordlessly turned on his heel and headed to the student parking lot. She followed him to the convertible and climbed in, still shaking.

They were silent as he drove. She couldn’t stop trembling, but beside her, Will was calm and firm. She was grateful for his steadiness, because she was a complete mess. The radio blared some hard rock music she only vaguely recognized, but somehow the background noise helped drown out the screaming in her head at what a horrible thing she had done. She had lied to a police officer. Wasn’t that an offence she could get arrested for? What had she been thinking? Will could have gotten himself out of trouble. No one expected her to jump in and help him. And if he was guilty, he probably deserved to get into trouble for it.

Didn’t he?

Will finally stopped the car, putting it into park and killing the engine. She looked around warily, eyeing their surroundings. They were next to a two lane road in what appeared to be a small forest, but she couldn’t remember ever having been there before, even though she had lived in New Kingston her entire life. Will had pulled off onto a dirt shoulder that looked like it had been made to park on, and as he climbed out of the car, she followed slowly, hesitantly. She wasn’t the least bit afraid of Will, but being out in the middle of nowhere with someone who wasn’t her boyfriend—even someone who was—didn’t seem particularly safe.

“Where are we?” she asked, as he started walking through the trees.

“The overlook.”

The… what? She followed him through the trees, confused. She had definitely never heard of the overlook.

The trees thinned, and to her surprise, opened up to reveal, just as Will had said, an overlook. She sucked in a breath at the beauty they stood over, dazzled by the scene. They were above the town, which looked small and impossibly far away. Beyond the town she could see an expanse of forests, and in the distance, large snow-covered mountains completed the sunny scene.

“It’s beautiful!” she gasped, turning to Will. She felt all of her fear and anxiety fade as she looked out over the bluff, a hidden little recluse undiscovered by others.

Will smiled slightly. He hopped up onto the edge of the stone wall, leaning against one of the pillars. She hesitated, peering over the edge. There was a small platform under it, jutting out from the hill, but it was still a long way down. Despite her fear, she steeled herself and carefully lifted herself up as well, leaning against the pillar opposite Will. Even with both of their legs stretched out, they didn’t quite touch.

“Do you come here a lot?” she asked.

He let out a slow breath and looked out over the valley. “Yeah,” he admitted.

She couldn’t hold back the smile that turned her lips up. He looked almost reluctant to tell her, in a boyish, shy way, but at the same time, he seemed so pleased with his space. “I can see why,” she said, looking back over the bluff. “It’s really nice here. Peaceful.”

He said nothing in response, but unlike normal, she didn’t mind the silence. She could hear the wind rustling through the trees, and the birds chirping around them. The tranquil atmosphere soothed her nerves and she felt herself relaxing, filling her with a sense of serenity.

She couldn’t help but think it was odd that Will liked to hang out here. He didn’t strike her as the type to appreciate nature’s beauty so much… He seemed more like the type to hide in the back of a coffee shop, looking around with disdain.

“Do you think your friends will be okay?” she asked finally, looking over at him.

At her question, his eyes fell closed. When they opened again, they were impossibly dark. He shot her an arrogant smile. “Of course. If anyone can get out of that kind of trouble, it’s them.”

She fidgeted, fingering the edge of her skirt. “That’s good.”

He cocked an eyebrow. “You should practice your sincerity.”

She flushed and looked down at her lap. “I don’t know what you mean. I’m glad they’ll be fine.”

“Really? Last I checked, it was their fault that the entire school is talking about you.”

The amused challenge in his voice, coupled with his words, made her flinch. So he had heard. The memory of the other students’ words came flooding back into her mind and she had to force back her tears, twisting her fingers in her lap. “It’s not their fault,” she argued quietly. “They didn’t put it in my drink.”

“Oh, yeah, that’s right… It was, who…? Your friends, wasn’t it? The jocks you hang around? My friends might provide, but they certainly wouldn’t dose someone’s drink.”

She quickly slid off of the waist high wall, his mocking words stabbing straight into her heart. “I’m sure they were just trying to help me relax and have a good time,” she insisted quietly. “We should go. Can you take me back to school?”

He was in front of her before she could take another step, his hand holding her arm. “Really?” he persisted, his voice flat. “You really believe that?”

She pulled her arm away. “Of course I do,” she insisted. “Everyone always gives me a hard time about being uptight. None of my friends would maliciously try to—“

His derisive snort broke off her sentence. She scowled up at him, annoyance lighting sparks in her veins. “You can’t honestly be that naïve, Belle. They dosed you on purpose, and they did it to get in your pants.”

She flushed and turned away. “No,” she declared shakily, though even as she spoke, she could see Parker handing over a twenty to the boy pouring her drinks almost as if it were happening right in front of her all over again. “No, you’re wrong. You don’t even know them. How would you know?” She turned back accusingly, glaring up into his carefully guarded expression. “Your friends are the ones who brought the stuff in, weren’t they? Maybe they stuck it in all of the drinks and it was an innocent exchange. You don’t know!”

He crossed his arms and glared back at her. “Are you always this illogical?” he demanded, sounding like he was trying not to shout. “You’re like a ten year-old. You can’t think the best about everyone all the time, you know. They’re going to stab you in the back and leave you to drift down a river.” And then, as if he hadn’t driven his point home enough, he continued with a cold smirk. “Or date rape you, as the case may be.”

“Shut up!” she shouted angrily, shoving him as hard as she could away from her. She took great satisfaction in watching him stumble backwards, his smugly crossed arms falling to his sides to help him maintain balance. “Just shut up! You stand on the edge of everything, causing pain to your brother who loves you, and trying to kill your mother, who is sick and weak enough without you coming in and making it worse! You have no right to judge anyone!”

His eyes flashed coldly. “Since when did you learn so much about my family, Belle? You’ve been dating my brother for, what? A day? That doesn’t exactly give you the insight you need to be casting dispersions.”

She seethed at him. “You think people don’t talk? You think your mom doesn’t talk to mine? I know all about the heartache you cause her.”

Will’s expression was dark… almost murderous. “This song, again?” he asked quietly, his voice low and filled with fury. “Did my dearest brother ask you to talk to me about how I’m ruining the family? About how Mom’s failing health is all my fault and has nothing to do with the cancer that’s eating her from the inside out? About how everything she and Dad fight about is related to me, and how it would be easier for everyone if Mom would just let them ship me off to boarding school?”

She felt her anger subdue, the pain under Will’s carefully disguised rage evident. He might have accused her friends of trying to drug her, but she shouldn’t have attacked his family. She knew how sick his mother was, and it was a low blow… It had been downright hateful of her.

“Will—“ she tried, reaching for his arm.

He yanked it away, turning away from her. “Let’s go.”

She felt tears brimming in her eyes, but afraid of doing more damage, she followed wordlessly. Whether or not she agreed that her friends had deliberately drugged her, Will had been the one to save her. And how did she repay his warning, even if it was unfair and off-base? By accusing him of digging his own mother’s grave. She was a spiteful, evil person.

When she climbed into the car, she tried to discreetly wipe the tears from her eyes. The music was so loud she couldn’t even hear herself sniffling. Will drove like a maniac back to the school, but even though she felt like they would inevitably crash into a tree at some point, he came to a screeching halt in front of the school. He waited with his foot on the brake, clearly not intending to get out.

She wanted to thank him for the ride—to apologize to him—but the words didn’t come out. After a hesitation, she climbed out of the car and slowly shut the door, watching as the black car zoomed off.

She opened her locker just as the last bell rang. Students came pouring out of the classrooms, filling the previously empty space. She felt strangely lost in the sea of people, more isolated than she had ever felt before. Wasn’t this why she said nothing when following Claire around? So that she wasn’t alone?

Almost on cue, Claire appeared, flanked by Mary and Claudia. “Where have you been all day?” Claire demanded. “People are going crazy talking about you.”

Annabelle lowered her head. “I know…”

Claire held up a hand in a “stop” motion. “Don’t worry. I set them straight. Everyone knows that those… vermin that crashed the party were responsible.”

Annabelle’s head shot up. “What?” she asked, startled.

Claire was smiling as if she expected an outpouring of appreciation. “Someone even called the cops on them and they got busted. The police checked out their lockers and hauled them out of here.”

“I heard there was practically a pharmacy in Frankie’s locker,” Claudia added smugly. “He’ll be in juvie forever with that.”

Annabelle felt her head swim. She was going to throw up. She felt as responsible as if she had made the call herself. And it was her fault, wasn’t it? The rumor had been about her, and to defend her Claire had placed the blame on Will’s friends. Claire had been trying to be a good friend to her, and Annabelle was grateful to her… but now it was Annabelle’s fault Will’s friends were going to juvenile hall.

“Hey.”

She felt an arm slide around her shoulders, and looked up into Trevor’s concerned face. “Hi,” she greeted, a little breathlessly.

“I was worried about you when I couldn’t find you earlier… Are you okay?”

She melted, relieved. She should have gone looking for Trevor when she had been upset. Trevor would have made her feel better. “Yeah. I’m okay. Are you?”

He nodded and sighed, smiling tiredly. “Will’s friends got arrested earlier for doing drugs on campus… I’m trying to figure out if he did, too.”

She wanted to reassure him that he hadn’t, but she couldn’t make herself say the words.

“Well we’ll leave you two love birds alone,” Claire declared loudly, drawing their attention. Annabelle smiled weakly at her. Claire held up her fingers into the shape of a phone. “Call me, sweetie. Love you!” She smiled at Trevor. “See you later, Trev.”

They bid them goodbye, and then she, Claudia, and Mary were gone, the hallway separating for them as they walked.

Trevor flashed a smile and leaned against the locker beside hers. “Ready to go?” he asked.

She nodded, grabbed her backpack from her locker, and was delighted when Trevor took it from her. He really was a gentleman. His chivalry continued out to the parking lot, where he held open the passenger door for her and shut it behind her before going to his own door.

He was more silent than normal as they drove, so she forced herself to speak. “I’m sure Will’s fine.”

He looked over at her quickly, then smiled weakly in appreciation. “I hope so… My mom really can’t take hearing more bad news about Will.”

She hesitated. “Do you really think Will’s behavior has that much affect on her?”

Trevor nodded immediately. “Will’s her baby. She can’t understand why he can’t just behave and stop acting like a little kid. He was always a little bit of a trouble maker, but now he seems to be doing whatever he can to cause her as much stress as possible. And with the doctors warning us that she needs to be kept calm…” He sighed.

“Maybe he’s just so upset about your mom that acting out is his only way of dealing with it?” she suggested uncomfortably.

Trevor laughed softly. “I wish that were true. But he’s just being a selfish brat. Can’t see anything but him…” Trevor trailed off as they pulled up to their houses just as Will did. Trevor parked in the street between the two houses and all-but jumped out of his SUV as Will climbed out of his black convertible. Annabelle slowly slid out of the SUV, watching the two brothers face off against each other.

“At least you didn’t get arrested,” Trevor said quietly, flatly. “Are you deliberately trying to kill Mom, Will? Want your inheritance early or something?”

Will’s face was as cold as if it had been carved in granite. “Funny. I never even thought of that. Makes you wonder which of us is really waiting for her to kick the bucket.”

Trevor’s hands were clenched into fists so tight he was shaking. Annabelle stood behind them, not sure if she should stay or go into her house. “Where the hell did you go today?” he demanded. “If you weren’t getting arrested, what were you skipping school for? You know the principal said he’d call Mom if you missed one more day.”

Will arched an eyebrow. “Really. How do you know that?”

“Did you go bail them out?” Trevor went on. Annabelle could tell he was struggling to keep his voice quiet. “Finish making deals they couldn’t so you wouldn’t get shot and killed?” He roughly grabbed the front of Will’s shirt, yanking his brother to him. “Answer me!” he ordered furiously. “What the hell was so important—“

“Trevor? Will?”

Annabelle and both boys instantly followed the voice up to the front porch, where Mrs. Scarlett was standing, looking aghast at the scene in front of her. There was utter silence in the yard.

And then Will pulled out of his brother’s loosened grip and strode up to the porch. “Hey, Mom,” he greeted warmly. “You want some tea?”

Mrs. Scarlett accepted the hug he gave her with a confused look. “Is everything okay?” she asked, frowning.

“Sure, of course it is.” Will gestured back to Trevor with a light laugh. “Trev and I were arguing over who had the prettier girlfriend. You know guys and fighting for their women’s honor and all that. Sorry if we freaked you out.” Will turned to Trevor and Annabelle in the yard and raised a hand, his light expression obviously forced over his rage. “Didn’t mean to insult you, Belle. Everyone knows you’re beautiful.” He deliberately flashed a charming smile and then led his mother into the house, the door closing behind them.

Annabelle stood in silence behind Trevor, her mind spinning over what she had just witnessed. She looked up as Trevor turned to face her, looking exhausted.

“He was with me,” Annabelle heard herself say. She felt like she was watching everything take place from somewhere far away, as if it were a movie unfolding before her. She watched Trevor’s eyes flash with alarm and confusion. “Will. He was with me today. There were… rumors going around about me. I was upset, and Will took me away from school. He wasn’t making any drug deals. He was helping me.”

Trevor’s expression had shattered. “Why… why didn’t you come find me?” he asked, sounding like he was almost choking on the words.

She shook her head. “I didn’t plan on leaving. I don’t think Will did, either. But I ran outside, and he was there, and he could tell I was upset. And then we saw his friends get taken away by the police, and I think we both just needed to get out of there. He brought me back right before school ended.”

Trevor pulled her into a warm, strong embrace. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, though she didn’t know why. She had been the one to keep the truth from him, but he was apologizing to her? “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Annabelle.”

She could only hold him back.



***



Annabelle sighed as she entered her bedroom. It had been a long, long day, and all she wanted to do was sleep. Once Trevor had finally stopped apologizing, he had gone into his house to be with his mom, and she had spent hours trying to catch up on the homework she had missed. Then over dinner she had told her parents she had skipped school with Will because his friends had been taken away by the police and he had been upset—leaving out why she had been outside with Will in the first place—and guiltily listened to their lecture about skipping school. When they had finally finished, almost an hour later, they had written her a note excusing her from school that day. She still felt a little guilty, but she felt a lot better, too. After the lecture she’d dragged herself up the stairs to the bathroom for a warm shower, wrapped herself in a bathrobe, and was finally ready for bed.

She shut the door and flicked on the light, looking up out her window. She gasped and jumped back, her heart leaping into her throat. Will sat on the branch leading to her room, almost invisible under the cover of darkness. She hurried to the window and opened it, kneeling down to look at him. “Will,” she hissed, her heart pounding furiously in her chest. “What are you doing?”

“Trevor said you told him I spent the day with you.”

She flushed and dropped her eyes. “Well... you did…”

“He actually apologized,” Will announced, his voice unreadable. “For ‘wrongfully accusing’ me.”

She hesitated, not quite sure what to say. “Isn’t that… good?”

“What would you have done if he had accused you of trying to cheat on him with me? He doesn’t exactly think highly of me, so it wouldn’t have been out of the realm of possibility for him to jump to that conclusion. You couldn’t know that I wouldn’t lie.”

She felt her heart plummet into her stomach. “What?” she asked, bewildered. She shook her head, sure that she had somehow heard him wrong. “That’s ludicrous. Trevor would never be so cruel.”

He laughed softly and shook his head.

She hesitated again, but forced herself to speak. “My friends… They’re the ones who ratted out your friends. To save face for me. They said your friends drugged all the drinks, and someone called the cops. I don’t know who. I don’t think it was one of my friends, but…” she trailed off, not sure how to finish. “I just wanted you to know,” she concluded softly, unable to meet his eyes.

She braced herself for cold words, but there was just silence. Had he been so angered by her words that he had gone back into his own room? Slowly, she lifted her eyes, surprised and a little relieved to see him still sitting there as calmly as ever, watching her under the shroud of darkness.

“And?” he prompted.

She straightened, startled. “And what?” she asked, bewildered.

He cocked an eyebrow in something like cold amusement. “You want to make sure we’re not going to retaliate? What?”

She blinked. “Retaliate?” she repeated, a cold sweat breaking out over her body. “Y-you’re not going to, are you? They were just trying to protect me, and they’re not the ones who called the police, so it’s really not their fault—“

“I’m not going to do anything,” he interrupted, and she felt the air drain from her lungs. “Everyone knew my friends dealt. It could have been coincidence.”

She could have hugged him. Instead, flustered, she dropped her eyes, not sure what to say back.

“Here.”

She looked up, confused, and saw him leaning toward her on the branch, holding a book in his hand. She took it slowly, looking down at it even as she settled back. “Elmer Gantry?” she asked, looking up at him.

He stood on the branch. “It’s one of my favorites. I thought you might like it.”

She watched as he moved easily to the branch that led to his window, surprised to discover she was disappointed he was leaving. “Thank you,” she called over to him.

He paused on his branch and looked back at her. “You’re welcome,” he said, and then he was in his window. She pushed herself up off of her knees, looking down at the book. She climbed into bed with it, bewildered and a little pleased. Will could be harsh and cruel, but he was still intriguing.

She opened the book, which was covered in creases and obviously well read, and settled against her pillows.