Fallen Crest High

chapter SIX





Becky sat next to me where the sidewalk dipped to the parking lot. I'd been there after the school's nurse had tended to my hands and after my da—David took the football team to the field for practice. That'd been around four. It was six now.

"I don't understand why you won't let me drive you home," Becky grumbled.

I stared straight ahead.

"You want something to eat? Let's get something to eat. I'll drive."

I jerked my head in a nod and stood up. When we got to her car, I winced as I tried to open the door. Becky hissed and moved me out of the way. She opened the door for me, and then climbed on her side. As she started the car, she muttered, "And you expect to be able to drive home like that? You can't even open a door. You're crazy."

I grinned. "I thought you were going to be a good friend."

"I am and I'm telling the truth. You're crazy."

That shut me up.

Her voice took on a giddy note. "Did you see how Adam was hovering over you? It was so romantic."

I hadn't. I'd been distracted.

"You guys are going to make a great couple. I can already tell."

"How?"

"What?"

"How can you tell? You don't even know me."

"Well… Okay, I'm being honest here, but you weren't all fabulous before. I mean, I've always known who you are. We're lab partners, seriously, but I didn't care. But something changed with you this year. I have no idea what, but it's like you don't care anymore." When we pulled into a coffee shop, she laughed. "Then you showed up at that party in that outfit. It sounds stupid, I know, but there's just something about you, like you're a mystery or something. Everyone knew Jeff wanted you hardcore that night. And everyone knows he's been cheating on you. Then you showed up today and you told off those pathetic excuses for friends."

"Are you obsessed with me?" My hands were starting to throb. I sucked in a breath when I tried to flex one hand, but stopped right away. What the hell had I done?

She laughed another one of those high-pitched squeals and flipped the red curls over again.

I cringed.

"Um, no. Are you crazy? I mean, you are, but are you?" Her laugh weakened. She turned to face me in the car. "I've known Adam all my life. He's my neighbor and he's a good guy. He's one of the good guys. I was thrilled when he broke up with Ashley."

"So why don't you date him?"

The cheeks got red again and her hands started to fidget in her lap before she tugged her skirt further over her knees. She mumbled something then.

"What?"

When she looked back up, her whole face was red. "I'm not good enough for him. I'm fat. I know it. Everyone knows it. Your friends used to call me hippo every day until—they still do."

I frowned.

"Anyways, I'm happy that he likes you. Last year I wouldn't think you had any balls. I mean, look at who you were. You had two sleazy best friends and an even sleazier boyfriend. They were all sleazy together behind your back. Some people thought you were stupid or had special needs or something."

"Thanks," I said dryly.

She brightened. "Now you're awesome. Jill Flatten tried to decimate you and you got away from her, easy as pie. No one does that. And you made her look stupid too."

"Is that hard to do?"

"Ashley DeCortts is afraid of her. That says something."

I grinned. "Are you going to buy me dinner now? All this flattery, then you drove me, now's the food part? What's next? A movie and a drink?"

She went back to tugging her skirt down again.

"Relax." I caught one of her hands, but grimaced from the contact. My hands were going to be in rare form for awhile. I swallowed the pain down. "I'm sorry I'm not as excited about Adam Quinn. I don't know him. I've never cared to know him either."

She turned to the window and mumbled under her breath, "He's only the best guy in school. That's all who he is."

"I think you should try for him."

A corner of her mouth twitched up. "He doesn't like me like that. He's interested in you."

"Okay, well, we'll have to wait and see, hmmm?" I elbowed my door. "Can you help me out over here?"

"Oh." She scrambled around the car and opened my door. As we walked inside, she started to bounce up and down. "I picked up an application here for a job. I'm hoping to work here. I think it'd be awesome. Everyone cool comes here, you know."

"When'd you turn your application in?"

"A month ago."

"Have they called for an interview?"

Her smile dimmed when we approached the counter. "The girl said they were fully staffed, but they'd call when they had some openings."

A Help Wanted sign hung underneath the cash register.

"Can I help you?" A brightly smiling petite girl waited for our orders.

I shook my head. "No."

"What? I like this place." Becky hurried after me towards the door.

"You tore into me how I let people walk over me last year. If we're friends, then take my advice. Don't let this place walk over you." I pushed open the door and started to step out, but a wall slammed into me from the side.

I cried out and blinked past tears from the sudden pain. It speared through me, but hands caught my shoulders and set me to the side.

"Oh….hi…" Becky had become a third grade little girl.

I sucked in my breath through my teeth and tried to numb down the pain. It felt like fire as it bolted up my arms and through my legs. I couldn't see for a moment when more tears kept threatening to spill out.

A voice asked, "What happened to her hands?"

Becky shuffled around on the sidewalk. I could hear her blushing. "She had an accident."

"Did she scratch some girl's eyeballs out or something?" The same voice laughed and another male voice joined in.

"I dunno. She won't tell me." Becky's voice had grown soft, even weak.

Enough of my tears had cleared and I was able to see who was in front of us.

My heart stopped. Of course. My luck.

Mason was in front with Logan beside him and their friend on his other side. Logan had been the one asking. Their friend still snickered. And Mason watched me with impenetrable eyes.

I scowled.

Then the friend asked, "Can she drive home with those?"

Becky had been watching the sidewalk, but her head whipped up. "No. I know. I've been trying to reason with her so I could drive her home, but she won't let me—"

I shook off Mason's hand. He'd been holding my elbow and I surged away. "I'm fine."

"Sam, wait." Becky jogged to catch up.

I bypassed her car.

"I drove you here."

"I'm fine," I repeated through gritted teeth and when I rounded a corner, I started to run. Forget my iPod or running shoes, I was grateful that I'd worn sneakers to school that day. I'd just run home.

And I did, or I tried. At mile ten, I slowed to a walk. My legs hurt from the different sneakers and my back hurt from my bag. When a car slowed beside me, I snarled when I looked over. I was ready for anybody, but David stopped beside me.

The fight left me in that instant.

He reached over and unlocked the passenger door and I climbed in, though my body was stiff.

He blasted the air conditioner and started off again. Then he turned the radio off and leaned back. His voice was weary. "I saw your car still in the lot and I wondered how you'd get home."

I let out a breath. I had nothing to say.

"Then I remembered what you said about Jeff and Jessica and Lydia. Do people know you're staying with the Kades?"

I shook my head. My throat was too thick to talk.

"Yeah, I imagined that." He watched the road and his voice grew distant. "You were always so stubborn and proud. I used to worry about your pride, even when you were three . I always told Analise that it'd either make you or break you. I'm not sure which it is ."

I closed my eyes.

The car turned at an intersection. "I know you might have questions for me, but I'm not sure they're questions that I can answer. Analise always wanted me to keep quiet so I did. I loved her. And now…"

"You raised me all my life."

He stopped the car somewhere and held my gaze.

My heart thumped, it was so loud in my ears.

He looked emotionless, but then he turned away and pressed a hand to his mouth. "I did." He was choked up. "I did, Sammy." And he took a deep breath. "Listen, if you'd like I can give you a ride to school tomorrow. I know you won't ask anyone and you don't have your car right now."

I realized we were a block from the Kade mansion.

"I will be here at seven tomorrow morning, on the dot. You don't need to call or anything. Actually, don't call. I'll be waiting for you."

I jerked my head in a nod. He reached across me and opened my door. As I got out and used my elbow to shut it, he called out, "See you tomorrow, Samantha. Get some sleep tonight."

Like that was going to happen.

He sped away and I walked up the mansion's driveway. There was only one car parked in front, my mom's new convertible she'd gotten the week we moved in. My heart started to pound again when I went inside. And then I heard her voice. It grew louder until I found her in a library-like room with her back to me. She had a phone pressed to her ear.

"Yes, honey. I know that." Pause. "Oh, I'm sure they'll be fine. Samantha's adjusting just fine—well—no." She sighed. "I'm sure he's not that bad of a boy. Mason seems very sure of himself. No, I know. Yes….okay, honey. I'd like that a lot too." She listened to the other end for a minute. "Everything will work out wonderfully. I promise you."

Then she laughed. The sound peeled through the room and it jarred me. I jumped back and tried to block the pain from the movement.

"Okay. Yes. I love you too. Bye."

I opened my eyes in time to see her turn around. Her eyes widened a fraction of an inch. "Honey, I didn't know you were there. How are you?"

I waited.

She gasped.

She saw my hands.

"What did you do?"

When she came over and started to reach for one of them, I jerked away. "I'm fine. It's nothing."

"Were you in a fight?"

I fought against the urge to puke. All accusations, all questions I had went down my throat then. I didn't want to hear her lies. I wasn't sure if I could stomach more fake promises come out of her mouth either.

"I was trying to open this door, it was stuck, and someone banged it shut from the other side. They didn't see my hands."

"That's it?" my mother asked flatly.

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing." She shook her head and plastered on a smile. "The boys are coming home soon. They had practice that ran late, but James and I wanted to have a family dinner. What do you think?"

"It'll suck."

She sailed past me. "Do you think they'd like meatloaf? They seem like the kind to like meat, maybe pasta? Chicken and pasta? The chef went home, I asked him to go. I wanted to cook this dinner by myself."

I scowled and followed her down the hallway.

She turned into the kitchen. "You want to help, honey? You could make your famous green bean dish. You always made that for Jeffrey."

"Can I invite him?"

Her laughter bounced off the walls. "Oh, honey. You're so funny. You must get that from your dad. David could be funny at times."

As she went into the kitchen, I went to my room. My skin felt like it was stretching off of me. My feet wouldn't stop moving. Dinner or no dinner, I had to get out of there or I'd be bouncing off the walls too.

When I had changed into my running shoes with my iPod on my arm, I hit the sidewalk. As I ran down the driveway, Mason's black Escalade pulled in. Logan's yellow one came behind, but I didn't look at either of them and started running.

I'd have to go back. I knew that. I couldn't keep running from my mom or what she'd done to our lives, but for now this was how I was going to deal with the storm that was happening inside of me.

At that point, I didn't care when I went back home. It could be long past midnight before I returned, preferably when everyone was asleep. I'd slip in, sleep, and sneak back out. I took a deep breath and pumped my arms higher in the air. This was going to be my life, until everything would crash underneath our feet.

It was only a matter of time.