The Union

by T. H. Hernandez

  Lisa halts and spins me to face her. “You already know you’re gonna hate it. Three more months working there won’t change anything. Plus, I can tell by your tone you haven’t really decided.”

  I pull my arm loose and resume walking. “He’s counting on me. I haven’t told him I don’t want to.”

  “Just because you haven’t told him, doesn’t mean he doesn’t know,” Lisa says. “He’d have to be blind not to see it.”

  I blow out a puff of air and change the subject. “I talked to Eddie last night. He’s not coming for graduation, surprise, surprise. Apparently, my evil stepmommy is trying to get sole custody of the half-sibs. He’s afraid if he leaves, she’ll claim abandonment or something. He’s sending me a ticket to visit him over the summer. Maybe I’ll go for a week or two next month. I can spend a few days with him, then hang out with you guys.”

  Lisa waves her hand in front of my face in exaggerated fashion, like a mini fan blade. “You don’t want to work for Joe. What are you going to do after summer? You’ll never leave. You’ll end up working at M Clothing until you die.”

  “Geez, Lis,” Colin says. “That’s kinda harsh.”

  Lisa shakes her head. “It’s reality, and if she doesn’t make some tough choices now, she’ll end up even more miserable than she already is.”

  I stop and put my hands on my hips. “Hey, I’m standing right here. I can hear you.”

  “Good,” she says with a satisfied smile.

  3

  Change of Subject

  The moment we push through the front doors, laughter, clanging of metal lockers, and voices flood me. Various body sprays, perfumes, and aftershave scents mix in a dizzying array. We climb the wide main staircase to the second floor. Lisa and Colin go left and I head right, stopping for a moment to glance out the floor-to-ceiling glass walls that allow me to see all the way to the ocean on a clear day. Today heavy clouds mask my view.

  I turn and spot Bryce leaning against the wall talking with his jock friends. He’s wearing loose jeans and a faded navy T-shirt that makes his eyes look more blue than gray. His head turns, as if he senses me coming, and he directs his intoxicating smile my way.

  I give him a quick smile in return and can’t resist glancing over my shoulder after I pass. Bryce is watching me, still grinning, his dimples sending my heart spinning on its axis.

  BAM. My head slams into something solid and a sharp pain shoots through my skull. I take an unsteady step back, my feet sliding out from under me, and land ass-first on the tile.

  Muffled giggles and all-out raucous laughter surround me. I close my eyes and pray for the floor to open up and swallow me. Instead, my mortification is compounded when a smooth, brown hand reaches down to me. With a heavy sigh, I lift my gaze to meet Bryce’s, finding sympathy, not humor, in his eyes. He pulls me up, his fingers lingering longer than necessary, making my pulse quicken.

  “You gotta watch out for those doors, they’ve been known to kill people.”

  My face darkens and I mumble, “Thanks.”

  Bryce reaches out and tucks a curl behind my ear. The gesture is intimate and unexpected. “Are you okay?”

  His eyes lock onto mine, sucking me in. I could drown on those babies. Being this close to him, his hand still holding mine, heats the air around me, and I struggle to keep my breathing even. My surroundings disappear and voices blur as I’m pulled into the vortex of Bryce.

  I swallow hard. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just…embarrassed.”

  The continuous hum of voices around us halts and everything snaps back into focus. When I glimpse Alivia out of the corner of my eye, the lingering heat from Bryce’s proximity freezes over. She stands with one hand on her bony hip and narrows her icy blue eyes at us. I yank my hand back and duck under his arm, dashing down the hall to my first class before the daggers from her eyes can impale me. Without looking around, I slip into my seat and snap my tablet into the docking station. Tears flood my eyes, blurring the display.

  “Good morning, students,” Mr. Caldwell says as he enters the classroom seconds after the bell rings. “Everything on today’s final was covered in class. If you paid attention and studied, you will pass. Click the ‘Caldwell-History’ app and tap the ‘Final’ icon.”

  I do as instructed, temporarily restricting access to my other apps. After finishing ahead of most of my classmates, I press Submit, returning control of my tablet to me. I pull out my tiny wireless ear buds, pop them in, and launch my music app.

  A deep bass thrums in my ears as I try to block the events of this morning from my mind. When class is over, I stuff my tablet in my shoulder bag and escape before anyone can talk to me. I keep my head down, avoiding eye contact, nearly bumping into Lisa and Colin.

  “Evan, what happened? Everyone’s talking about it,” Lisa says.

  Oh no. “Uhh, I made an ass of myself in front of half the school.”

  Colin pulls me around to face him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but everyone else is talking about how Alivia busted you and Bryce flirting.”

  “It wasn’t like that…not exactly.”

  We turn and head down the main staircase toward our next class, and catch a few kids staring at me when we pass.

  Colin drapes his arm across my shoulder. “Word on the street is Bryce was playing with your hair.”

  “Oh, my god!” I bury my face in my hands. This isn’t good.

  “What’s the deal with you and Bryce?” Lisa asks.

  “Nothing. I slipped in the hallway and he offered me a hand up. That’s all.”

  She glances down at my shoes, then back up at my face before studying my hair. “So then what’s with the makeup and your hair?” She flicks one of my curls.

  I jerk my head away from her hand. “Nothing.”

  Lisa pulls to a stop and grabs my arm, forcing me to face her. “I thought we were friends. The kind of friends who tell each other everything.”

  “There’s nothing to tell.”

  Lisa snorts. “Are you trying to piss me off?”

  I sigh. “No. I just…you know how long I’ve been crushing on him. Then last night at the park he was there with his dog, and we talked. But that’s all. Just talked. I don’t know, though, there was something more, you know?”

  Lisa nods, as if this is not a surprise to her at all. “Why didn’t you mention it this morning?”

  I shrug. “I didn’t want it to be another me swooning over Bryce moment so you and Colin could roll your eyes again.”

  “Oh, Ev…” She pats my head like I’m a two-year-old.

  I jerk out of her reach. “It doesn’t matter. He’s with Alivia, and she’s going to hate me even more. I wish she’d get over Joe firing her. That was like five years ago. She models for all kinds of companies now.”

  “That is so not what this is about.”

  “Of course it is. She’s made me her personal punching bag ever since the whole ‘Eddie McIntyre is my real dad’ thing.”

  “How can you be so smart and so dumb at the same time? Come here.” Lisa grabs my wrist and pulls me into the girls bathroom.

  My shoes click on the tile, echoing off the bare walls as she pushes me up to the counter. She takes my face between her hands and points me at the mirror. Colin stands behind us, and I try to twist around to make sure no one else is in here, but Lisa holds me firmly in place.

  “Look.” She lets go of my face and moves to stand next to me “You’re beautiful, Ev. Alivia hates you because she’s jealous.”

  “Hardly. I know I’m not ugly, but come on, Alivia’s tall and model thin with that flawless complexion. Even zits are afraid of her.”

  As if on cue, the door opens and Alivia enters, her eyes red and her skin a little blotchy, like she’s been crying. Her expression hardens when she spots us. “I always thought you were secretly a girl, Colleen.”

  “You got me Ohhhh-livia.” Colin says.

  He heads toward the door and Alivia calls after him, “It’s Uh-livia w
ith an A, not Oh-livia with an O.” I roll my eyes. We’ve heard that about a thousand times. She catches my eye-roll. “At least I don’t have a boy’s name.”

  “Stunningly original, Alivia,” I reply.

  Lisa turns to me. “I’m going to class. Coming?”

  “Yeah, I need to pee first. Be there in a few.”

  “You sure?” she mouths, eyeing Alivia over my shoulder.

  I nod and lock myself in the stall while Lisa’s shoes clack across the tile on her way out.

  4

  Alivia

  The bathroom door opens and closes, and I’m pretty sure Alivia left. At least until Montreal says, “Liv, there you are. I just heard–”

  I assume her abrupt silence is the result of one of Alivia’s death stares. Alivia clearly doesn’t want me to overhear whatever Montreal was about to say. Animated whispers follow, then someone enters the stall to my left.

  I contemplate staying in here until they leave, but decide that’s too chickenshit. Taking a deep breath, I open the stall door. Alivia and Montreal lean against the counter in front of me, arms crossed. Montreal’s cat eyes are narrowed, staring me down.

  I take a step toward the sink, assuming they’ll move aside, but a sharp pain ricochets through my skull, making me stagger to the right before regaining my footing.

  Gia stands next to the open stall door on my left, a satisfied smirk on her face. “I hear you like doors upside the head.”

  A horrific ache replaces the initial sting, and I fight back tears of pain and shock. “What’s your problem?”

  “Like you don’t know,” Gia says.

  “No. I don’t.” Although I do know it has something to do with Bryce.

  Movement in the mirror alerts me to what’s coming, but I can’t react fast enough to stop it. Gia grabs my hair and yanks my head down.

  “Ow!”

  Before I can right myself, Gia slams her knee into my face. The pain is blinding, and light flashes behind my eyes. A warm trickle of blood seeps from my nose, and I wipe it with the back of my hand. The sight of bright crimson on the back of my hand makes the room tilt, or maybe she hit me even harder than I thought.

  I shake it off and stand up just in time for Montreal to kick me in the stomach, sending me flying into the stall. My butt connects with the ground seconds before my head jerks back, striking the porcelain edge of the toilet. A bursting shot of mind-numbing pain races through my skull.

  “You think you’re such hot shit because your dad’s a rock star. But you’re nothing,” Montreal says. “You’re the redheaded stepchild no one wants.”

  Her words hit closer to home than I care to admit, but they also snap me out of my daze. Pumped with adrenaline, I pull myself up and ball my fists, throwing a punch at Montreal’s face with my full weight. A sickening crack accompanies the searing pain in my knuckles and nausea rolls through me.

  “You’re a slob with frizzy hair and a big rack. Guys are only looking at your boobs,” Alivia says.

  “Jealous you don’t have anything for them to look at?” I ask before lunging, knocking her to the floor.

  “Bitch,” she screams.

  I hold her down while she flails beneath me, screaming like a crazed animal. Montreal and Gia kick me, and I yelp when one of their pointed shoes connects with a rib. Squirming, I attempt to dodge their feet while hanging onto Alivia.

  A hand grabs my hair and pulls my head back, allowing Alivia to wiggle out from under me. Alivia bends down until her face is next to mine. “If you ever talk to my boyfriend again, this will feel like a day at the spa compared to what I’ll do to you.”

  I spit a mixture of saliva and blood in her face. “Bring it on, OH-livia.”

  Whoever is holding my hair lets go and my head falls to the floor. Alivia’s boot connects with my temple and everything fades to black.

  “Evan…Evan, wake up.”

  A hand gently rocks my shoulder and something cool presses against my cheek. It’s a struggle to lift my eyelids, but when I finally pry them open, trendy purple sneakers come into focus. Lisa.

  With a groan, I try to push up, but excruciating pain convinces me not to bother. I drop back down, closing my eyes. It’s nice down here.

  “Colin, go get help. Hurry!”

  Someone lifts me and my ribs scream in protest. “Sorry,” comes a whisper. I take a shallow breath and surrender to the darkness.

  My eyes fly open and I blink to clear my vision. When the room stops spinning, I recognize the white walls and antiseptic stench of the school’s health office. Clive, the school nurse, is waving something under my nose.

  Lisa stands behind him, her twisted face relaxing. “Oh, thank god. What happened?”

  Everything comes rushing back to me. My voice cracks and a sudden bout of nausea overtakes me. Clive thrusts a bin in front of me, and I lose what’s left of my breakfast bar.

  “Alivia,” I whisper, laying back on the cot as the room tilts under me.

  “Alivia? Alivia did this to you?” Lisa’s screech bores through my skull and splits my head in two.

  “Not alone.”

  “I called for an ambulance,” Clive says. “You may have a concussion and other internal injuries.” He hands me a glass with a straw in it. “Here, this will settle your stomach. Lisa, can you call her parents? Phillips Memorial is closest. They’ll take her there.”

  Colin enters and gives me one of his crooked smiles. “That must have been one helluva door you walked into.”

  A short laugh escapes, but that only intensifies the pain slicing through my head. My laughter turns to tears, and soon I can’t stop crying. Colin’s eyebrows draw together and his mouth drops open.

  Lisa pops back in a few minutes later. “The ambulance is here and your parents are on their way to the hospital.”

  Two paramedics arrive, and after running their scanners over me to record my vitals, they transfer me to a stretcher. I watch the lights pass overhead before turning to check out the crowd gathering in the hallway. They stare at the freakish parade going by, a couple visibly recoiling.

  “How bad is it?” I ask Lisa.

  She winces. “You look fabulous. But you know in a puffy-eyed, blotchy faced, beat-the-crap-out-of sort of way.”

  Two cracked ribs, a couple of broken bones in my hand, a concussion, and a crapload of bruises. My face got the worst of it though. It resembles an eggplant that’s been thrown against a brick wall a few times.

  Mom, Joe and the girls left to get dinner when the police arrived to take my statement. Now the police are gone and I’m alone for the first time since I was admitted.

  Lisa said Bryce dumped Alivia and for some reason only Alivia can understand, she blames me. Although knowing her, this is less about Bryce and more about her image. What’s most bizarre about all this is she just ruined any chance of a long-term modeling career. Even her daddy can’t get her out of this mess. Why would she risk everything over a personal vendetta from five years ago?

  “Thanks for taking care of my niece.” My uncle’s voice outside my room startles me from my thoughts.

  “You’re welcome, Governor. She’s in good hands.”

  If Uncle David is here, things are about to go from nasty to downright ugly.

  5

  Downright Ugly

  Uncle David enters my room followed by his security detail. The men in black stop in front of the door and face us. My uncle scrapes a chair across the floor from the window to the side of my bed.

  He takes a seat, his gaze meeting mine. “Hi, Pumpkin, how are you doing?” I’m impressed he doesn’t flinch at the sight of me.

  “Eh, I’m gonna live.”

  “Hey, this is me you’re talking to.”

  I glance at the two guys by the door. “I’m okay. Really.”

  He turns to his detail. “Give us a minute.” They nod and step outside the room, resuming their stance, this time facing the hall. My uncle levels his gaze at me. “Tell me what happened.”


  I recount everything I remember, my voice somehow remaining steady.

  “All three girls are in custody,” he says when I finish. “But they’re saying you started the fight.”

  “What?” The steadiness abandons me as anger and bitterness coil through. “That’s not true. You have to believe me.”

  “Of course I do, but you landed one hell of a punch.” He gives me a small smile. “It makes their story more plausible.”

  Kicking the crap out of me wasn’t enough, now they’re blaming me, too. The unfairness is a slap across my swollen face.

  “Evan, I know this is hard.” He hands me a tissue to wipe my nose. I inhale a shaky breath, sinking back into my pillow. “If the case goes to trial, there’s not much I can do with the upcoming re-election. Alivia’s father told me he’s considering backing my opponent. I don’t hold any leverage at the moment, but I may be able to broker a deal. A public trial for his daughter is the last thing Mayor Benton wants.”

  The Union’s political system was supposed to cut down on government corruption, but this feels pretty damn corrupt.

  “What kind of a deal?” I ask.

  “One without a trial. Alivia and the other girls will do some community service.”

  This is unbelievable. Everything always works out for her, like she sweats glitter and farts rainbows. Suddenly the pieces click into place. “I was trying to figure out why she’d destroy her future over something so petty, but I get it now. She always knew she’d get away with it.”

  Uncle David sighs and rubs his face with his hands. “I understand if you don’t want to let this go, but there’s a lot to consider with a trial. Think it through and let me know what you decide. I’ll support you either way.” He stands and straightens his tie. “Are your parents here?”