CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“QUEEN OF SHEBA!” KIRA GASPED, DROPPING HER maroon and gray pom-poms on the wood floor. “He knows?” She sat down, stunned.
I nodded. The squad was not taking the news well. Neither was I. I hadn’t even ironed my cheer skirt this morning. In fact, my braid had strands of hair dangling from it.
“Is he going to tell?” Leona asked, looking around the empty gymnasium. Poor thing. She was so nervous. She’d actually chewed off three of her fingernails. Her French manicure was ruined.
“Well,” I began, pacing in front of the bleachers as they sat watching me. It was hard to look composed when I felt so broken. “He said he wouldn’t. But he’s asked to help.”
“Help?” Kira squeaked with relief. “That’s so sweet!” She was beaming.
I tried to smile, but my belly turned. Christian had said he was worried about me, but I knew the score. All I had to do was indulge him in two assignments. It wasn’t like I had to hook up with him. Thank heavens he knew better than to ask for that. That would have earned him a swift kick to the groin.
“How did he find out?” Leona asked. I stared at her for a minute, unsure if I should tell. Cassie had messed up, it was true, but it was no reason to subject her to Leona’s wrath.
“I don’t know,” I said. “And it doesn’t matter now.” But there was something else I wanted to talk to them about. Something I’d realized as I snuck out of Aiden’s window in the middle of the night.
“After the Christian situation is resolved…” I paused. “I think SOS should take a break.”
They all gasped.
“What about the cheaters?” Izzie squealed. “We’re just going to let them get away with it? Look at what happened to Emily Hodges—her boyfriend was sleeping with her sister!” Izzie looked sick. We’d caught her boyfriend with her cousin just last month.
“Tessa,” Leona spoke up. “Can you imagine the cheater stats if we stopped tracking them? They’d be out of control.”
“They’re already out of control,” Izzie whined.
“Even more reason to keep on it,” Leona shot back.
Kira stood up, waving her hands wildly. “Be quiet and let Tessa have the court.”
I took a deep breath, glancing from face to face. Their expressions told me one thing. I’d be a quitter. If I didn’t stick it out, I’d be a quitter.
“Never mind,” I said quietly. “I’m just tired.”
“You look it,” Leona muttered. I was glad I’d never let her lead a practice. Her attitude was less than sparkly sometimes.
“Tessa,” Kira said, turning to me, looking serious. Her usual wide-eyed expression was gone. This was the real Kira, the one that kicked tush. She marched over and hugged me tightly.
“You’re choking me,” I said.
“Sorry.” She backed up and tilted her head. “If you want to stop SOS, I’ll follow your lead. After all, we’ll still be Smitten Kittens. Even without the spying.”
She was a peach. An absolute Georgia peach. “Thanks, K.” Starry night! I was going to cry.
But the bell rang, signaling that we were all late for first period. I sucked up my sorrow and straightened my posture.
“Shoot,” Izzie said, bounding toward the gymnasium door. “I’m going to get the tardy chair!”
Kira groaned and jogged over to get her pom-poms from the floor before leaving, and Leona mumbled something to me about writing a letter to the school board as she walked out. I exhaled, knowing one positive thing. No matter what, the Smitten Kittens would always stick together.
I was late for history. The class I shared with Chri—Fiddlesticks!
Scooting in three minutes late, Kira and I were assigned lunch detention in front of the entire class. No surprise there. What was alarming was the fact that Christian was absent, leaving his seat in the back row empty. It made me pause in my distrust for him. I’d thought he’d show up to gloat, stalk, or at least gaze, knowing that I was pretty much at his mercy. But he didn’t. I was relieved.
The relief didn’t last long, though. Ten minutes later, he walked into history. His hair was pushed behind his ears, his cheeks rosy with what looked like athletic exertion. It was… attractive. I folded my hands in my lap and glanced away. My neck felt slightly warm.
“Nice of you to show up, Mr. Ferril,” Mr. Powell said. “And I’m sure you’ll be happy to hear that you get to share your afternoon in lunch detention with two cheerleaders.”
Christian chuckled, and when my eyes met his, he winked. My stomach turned, and my fingers began to tremble. He walked past my table, and Kira tapped me on the thigh with her purple pom-pom pen.
“Tess,” she whispered, her eyebrows pulled together. “Do you think… do you think Christian is helping because he’s still crushing on you?”
I laughed. I didn’t know how else to react. He’d been obvious, and even though I knew it, I’d still let him hang around me. Was it any wonder my life was about to fall apart? Strawberry shortcake! I felt sick. Really si—
“Mr. Powell?” I raised my hand.
“Yes, Ms. Crimson.”
“I need the nurse. Now.” I stood up, knocking my chair into the table behind me, but before I could make my way to the exit, I leaned over and threw up on the linoleum floor of the classroom. I’d had Froot Loops for breakfast, and it made my puke all rainbowy. It was almost cute, but still, it got on my sneakers. Gross.
Kira was there, moving my braid of hair away from my mouth and rubbing my back. “Oh, Tess!”
My head was swimming. I could hear the class behind me, most of them sounding disgusted; a few laughed. Suddenly, everything just felt so out of control. Tilted.
“Ms. Crimson,” Mr. Powell said, moving from his podium to come to stand near me. “Are you okay?” His voice was kind. I appreciated that.
“No,” I said, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.
“Do you want me to have the nurse come get you?”
I shook my head, but it made me dizzy. I put my hand on the cool table to steady myself.
“I’ll take her,” I heard from behind me. A hand slid around my waist, straightening me up. Christian.
“No,” I said, trying to push him back. But I felt weak. “Kira?” I turned to look at her for the first time. She was pure white.
She shook her head. “Let him, Tess,” she said apologetically. “You know how much I hate chunky things.” It was true. The girl didn’t go anywhere near stew or cottage cheese.
Shutterbug! Once again, I was at the mercy of Christian. It was like he had control over every part of my life, including my health.
“Let go of me,” I said, wiggling out of his grasp as he tried to touch me again. The classroom door opened, and the janitor came in, sloshing a rolling bucket behind her. I quickly wondered if she had vomit radar but then realized time had passed while I stood, trying to gather myself. Someone had even opened a window.
My stomach turned again. I needed to move.
I quickly stepped forward, careful to avoid my puke, and despite my clear resistance to his help, Christian found a way to get his hands on me again. He held my elbow and led me out of the classroom just as the sound of water splashed on the classroom floor.
The minute we got into the deserted hallway, I stopped. My vision was beginning to clear. I still couldn’t understand what had happened. I’d thrown up more in the past few weeks than I had in my whole entire life. It must have been stress-related, and I had a feeling that I knew the source of it.
“What are you doing?” I asked Christian, using my hands to smooth back some of my loose strands of hair.
“Saving you again.” He sounded amused. “Obviously.” I stared at him for a minute, unsure of whether or not to trust my gut or the things Christian said. He certainly hadn’t tried anything, and yet I couldn’t help but feel uneasy around him. Actually, the better word was queasy.
“Come on,” he said, laughing a little. “I’ll take you to the nurse, and you can tell me about our first assignment.”
“No—”
“You agreed to two,” he interrupted. “And you wouldn’t go back on your word, would you, Tessa?” He smiled as he said it, like it wasn’t a threat.
I glared at him, and the small smirk stayed on his lips. They were nice lips, sort of full. But they weren’t mine. The lips that belonged to me were about ten inches higher. I closed my eyes.
“So if I go back on my word…” I took a deep breath. “Are you going to tell my boyfriend?”
Christian chuckled. “Come on, Tessa. Hanging out with me can’t be that bad. Would it really be worth telling Aiden? It’s not like I’m going to attack you.”
“Well—”
“Not unless you want me to,” he added.
A tingle spread over me, and I was suddenly alarmed. Only Aiden was allowed to make me tingle there. I took a step back.
Christian shook his head. “I’m kidding,” he said, reaching out to touch my forearm. “Let’s take you to the nurse’s office. You look pasty.”
I felt weak, so I let him pull me along, not saying anything. I didn’t want him to touch me. Definitely not. And yet I let him lead me, not fighting back anymore. I wondered if I’d already become his prey.
As soon as Christian left me alone with the nurse, I began to feel better. Her perfume didn’t even make me nauseous. I waited for Aiden, knowing that Kira would find him and tell him what had happened. Not that he wouldn’t hear about it anyway. I mean, I threw up in history class. That was news.
Second period started. I chewed on the corner of my lip, glancing at the clock. There was an ache in my chest. Why hadn’t my sweetie come to check on me? I glanced over at the nurse, who was keeping herself busy refilling the canister of cotton balls.
Aiden. My eyes began to sting, and I lay back down on the cot.
“Are you feeling sick again, Ms. Crimson?” The nurse looked concerned. I was glad someone was.
“Yeah,” I said. “Can you call my mom? I think I need to go home.”
“Oh, honey,” my mother said as she drove. “You look so pale.”
I nodded, unable to shake the dread as I rested my head against the cool glass of the passenger window. My life felt so off balance. It was like I was on the top of a human pyramid with an unstable base.
My mother swallowed hard, and I could sense she wanted to talk to me. It was rare that she wasn’t humming or talking. This awkward pause was disconcerting.
“Tess?” she asked. “Is everything… okay?”
I turned to her, slowly, lifelessly. “Why?” But I could tell by the way she looked at me that I didn’t seem well.
She blinked and then turned back to the road as she slowed down for a red light. “I don’t know,” she said, looking sideways at me. “You seem to be tired all the time, and I haven’t really seen Aiden around.”
I glanced at my lap, staring at my jeans and wishing I were wearing my uniform. The sight of the gray and maroon colors sometimes cheered me up. “We’ve been getting together a lot at night,” I said quietly. “When you and Daddy are at the club.”
My mother gasped. “Oh, no. Is that what this is, Tess? Is it because we’ve been gone too much?”
I shook my head. She sounded so guilty, poor thing. How could I tell her it was my own fault that I was down? It was the sneaking and the lying and the boy who was after me. How could I tell her that I was losing Aiden?
“That’s not it, Mom,” I said. “You guys are strawberry smoothie. It’s… it’s nothing.” I was lying again. To my own mother.
“Tessa,” she said softly. I turned to her, desperately lonely. “You don’t have to be perfect, honey. Everyone gets sad sometimes.”
“Not me.” And I tried to smile. Because the worry lines on my mother’s face were almost too much for me to handle. She had her own life. She shouldn’t be concerned over mine. She needed me like this. She needed me to be a Smitten Kitten.
“Really, Mom,” I said, straightening my posture. “I’m liquid gold right now. I just felt a little sick. I haven’t been eating well.” Everything inside me ached, but as I forced the perk, I started to feel it. Soon, I was myself again. Grinning, chatting.
When we got home, I helped my mother reorganize the cabinets after she made me chicken soup. It was nice to stay busy, something to keep my mind off the fact that my phone didn’t ring once. Well, the SOS phone vibrated four times, but my phone didn’t. Maybe Aiden didn’t know. He’d call me after lunch, though. He’d surely find out then.
But lunch came and went. It was really hard to beat my mother at chess when I kept picking up my phone, checking to make sure I hadn’t missed a call or accidentally left it on silent mode.
At three my mom had to go pick up my father from the airport. He’d flown down to San Francisco a few days ago, trying to book them a huge gig. I was glad he’d be back. I’d missed our talks.
Three thirty. School had let out close to forty minutes ago. No Aiden. I made myself a cup of hot tea and debated whether or not to put on my uniform, just for morale.
I had curled my legs under me on the couch and reached out to grab the remote off the coffee table when the phone rang. I nearly dropped my tea as I quickly set it down and snatched up the phone, pressing it to my ear. “Sweetie,” I whined. “Where have you been?”
There was a chuckle, and my belly took a swift turn. “Shoot, Tessa,” Christian said. “I just saw you a few hours ago.”
I closed my eyes. Not again. “You really shouldn’t call me,” I said, unable to hide the disappointment in my voice. Where the heck was my boyfriend?
“You’re right,” Christian replied. “Would it be better if I just came by?”
“What?” My heart rate sped up. He’d become so aggressive in his hunt. It was really throwing me off. “No. You can’t—”
“I’m kidding.” He was laughing. “You need to lighten up.”
“Oh, I’m light,” I mumbled. “Like a feather.” I put my forearm over my eyes and leaned my head back into the couch cushions. I just wanted Christian out of my life.
“Listen,” he said, still sounding amused. “Kira caught up with me after school, said you guys were going on assignment tonight. I wanted to check and see if you were still up for it.”
Dang it. I wanted to get my two nights with another man over with, but could I really do this? Especially when I seemed to throw up at the drop of a pom-pom these days.
“Fine,” I said, surprising myself. Wait. Really?
“Really?” he asked.
“Yeah. Meet me in front of my house at eleven. We’re… going to the movies.” I hung up and dropped the phone on the couch next to me.
Napa Valley! I’d just made a date with another boy. I groaned and collapsed into the cushions, covering my head with my arms. My phone rang again.
Okay, now he was going to get an earful. I sat up, my pulse racing, and brought the receiver to my ear. “What now?” I said, much ruder than I had been in years.
“Tess?” Aiden asked. “Is that you?” He sounded confused. I was horrified.
“Hey,” I said. “Sorry, yeah. I …” I couldn’t tell him I’d thought he was someone else, because who else could it really be other than a Smitten Kitten? And I’d never be rude to them.
I walked to the kitchen table and sat down on a hard wooden chair. I was talking to my sweetie; I should feel relieved. Instead, I felt anxious. Unsure.
“Heard you got sick,” Aiden said casually.
“Did you?” A bit of anger prickled down my back. “Were you worried?” I rested my elbow on the linen tablecloth as I put my palm over my forehead.
“Of course, baby.” He laughed. I clenched my jaw.
“I could tell,” I snapped. Holy crow! I was being sort of mean. Who was I?
“What?” Aiden asked. I heard the phone shift on his ear. “What’s wrong with you? Are you pissed at me or something?”
Oh, my word. I could feel the beginnings of a fight. But it wasn’t fair! He couldn’t just forget about me like that. I would never forget about him.
“You know what?” I said, beginning to choke up. “I am PO’d. You didn’t come to find me. You didn’t call. In fact, Aiden, you’ve been out of school for over an hour, and you’re just now getting ahold of me. Where were you?” I didn’t sound like myself. I was acting crazy. Paranoid. Suspicious. SOS was getting to me. But Aiden paused, and there was a sickening twist in my belly.
“I was working on a chemistry lab assignment, Tessa.”
No. Oh, no. I took the phone away from my ear for a second, breathed out, and then brought it back. “With Chloe?”
“Yeah. We stayed after. I didn’t find out you were sick until just now when Kira called.”
“Where were you at lunch?” I needed to curl up in a ball and sob. In about ten seconds, I was going to do just that.
“Same thing, baby. Working on chemistry.”
Small little aches began to break across my face, wanting me to cry. “So,” I said, trying to sound as composed as possible. “You spent the entire day with Chloe?” Sugar and spice! I would die.
“Don’t say it like that,” Aiden said, sounding annoyed. “Damn, Tessa. Do I say shit when you hang out with that prick?”
I was startled. Aiden knew better than to swear like that. “Stop,” I said.
“No.”
My eyes widened. What was going on? Things were so clearly upside down. My boyfriend was angry with me when I was the one being ignored. He’d spent the entire day with that little cougar!
“I have to go,” he said quickly. “I’m sure you’re busy tonight.” He was definitely upset. And correct. I was busy.
“Sort of—”
“Whatever. I’ll see you tomorrow or something, Tess. Whenever you can fit me in.”
And. He. Hung. Up.
The phone fell from my hand, bouncing on the table. Aiden had never, ever hung up on me. Not ever.
My life had just officially fallen apart.
“Hi, Daddy.” I walked up to give him a kiss as he came in the door, dragging his suitcase behind him.
“Hey, sweetie.” He sounded confused, pulling his brows together. “You do something different with your hair?”
The braid had been hurting my head so I took it out, letting my hair run wild with crimps.
“I came home sick from school,” I said, as if that had ever stopped me from looking great before. “Where’s Mom?” I peeked over my father’s shoulder as he was closing the door.
“She’s going to the club. We’re staying in town tonight. She… she said you were upset with us for being gone so much. Is that true, Tess?”
My mother. She’d obviously been obsessing about our earlier conversation. I was making her unhappy. I was making everyone unhappy.
“That’s not it,” I said. My father moved his glasses down his nose to look me over slowly. Then he adjusted them and motioned to a kitchen chair.
“Take a seat, kid. Looks like you need to talk.”
I smiled. If only I had talked sooner, I wouldn’t be in such a mess. I plopped down in the seat and waited as my father poured us both a glass of milk and grabbed a few oatmeal cookies out of the cupboard. He was adorable. I was such a lucky Kitty.
“Thanks,” I said, taking a cookie from him as he sat down.
He nodded and then cleared his throat. “All right, Tess. Spill.”
I chewed slowly, wondering what my father would think of my spying. Wondering if he could relate more to the cheaters than to me. “I’m in trouble,” I said.
His eyes widened. Oh. I guess that wasn’t the best thing for a teenage girl to tell her father.
“Not that sort of trouble,” I said quickly. He exhaled.
“Wow, Tessa, thanks for the heart attack. Now what exactly have you gotten yourself into?” He pushed back in his seat and crossed his legs, taking a sip from his glass.
“Daddy, do you think Aiden is tired of me?” I hated those words. They were entirely too close to possible.
My father choked on his milk, his face turning red as he leaned forward. When he was able to breathe again, he put his hand on my arm and shook his head. “Has something happened with Aiden?” He was terrified. Aiden was the son he wished he had.
“No, not yet—”
“Not yet?” My father raised his voice. “Are you two having problems? Is it his mother again?”
“No, she’s the same. But Dad, do you think… maybe Aiden wants to see other girls?” Good golly! I began to tear up.
“What other girls could there be?” he said so seriously, I had to smile. In my father’s eyes, I was perfect. Even if it wasn’t true, that was what he thought. He reached over to mess up my hair.
“Stop.” I laughed, pushing his hand back.
He pressed his lips together, looking at me thoughtfully. “To answer your question,” he said quietly. “No. I don’t think Aiden would leave you, Tess. I’ve seen the way he looks at you. It’s the same way I used to look at your mother. He adores you.”
But his words, although sweet, stung me. “You left Mom,” I said, suddenly needing to know why. If he loved her so much, why did he walk away?
My father dropped his head, and I recognized the look. I’d seen it many times in my line of work. Shame. He had cheated. My father had cheated on my mother.
“I made a mistake,” he said, meeting my eyes. “I made one mistake, Tess, and I almost lost her.” He waited a beat, and I felt a heaviness creep over my chest, aching.
“Why did you do it?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “I think I was lonely. But I never meant to hurt her, or you. I love you two so much. You’re my life.”
Aiden had told me that once.
“And I’m glad your mother loved me enough to forgive me.” He ran his hands through his thinning black hair. He tried to smile at me. “Aiden’s a good boy,” my father said. “He loves you. Why can’t you trust that?”
I didn’t know. I wasn’t exactly sure what had changed. It seemed that everywhere I looked, all I saw were cheaters. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.
I didn’t trust Aiden. I couldn’t. Because if there was one thing my heart-to-heart with my daddy confirmed, it was that my boyfriend could love me and cheat on me.
But I wouldn’t let him.
SOS DONATION ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Dear Mrs. Pugliese,
Thank you very much for your donation. SOS is a nonprofit organization, and your donations go directly to assisting others with their relationship needs by giving us the funding for the latest surveillance equipment.
Helping your daughter out of an unfaithful relationship was a joy in itself, but your money is much appreciated. We share your hope that Lynny will consider dating again in the future, even though she has taken a lifelong oath of celibacy. We understand your desire for grandchildren.
Once again, thank you for your generosity, and we wish you all the happiness in the world. Have a great day.