by Lynn Stevens
“That’s not true, Lucy,” Dad said, a hint of defeat in his voice.
“It is, and this conversation is over. Just go.” Mom sighed. “We’ll talk next week, but right now, you need to leave.”
“Lucy—”
“Just go,” Mom said.
A door closed downstairs. I didn’t move. Dad walked into the foyer at the bottom of the steps. He looked back toward the kitchen, shaking his head. For a long moment, he stared in that direction. Then he glanced at the two luggage cases beside the door. He leaned down, picked them up, and left.
He never even noticed I was there.
Chapter Nineteen
The next day, I got up, went to school, and had lessons with Rex. Wednesday was the same. The gossip centered around Erik’s suspension and Rachel’s disappearance. My mother kicking my father out was either unknown or a nonfactor. I hoped for unknown.
Erik had been radio silent. I had texted him Monday to check in, but he never texted back. I wanted to give him space. Let him sort out everything. I just didn’t think it would take so long. Maybe I’d overthought it. Maybe we were just friends who had one great date and wouldn’t have another.
Before the bell rang on Thursday, Vicky finally said something to me that had nothing to do with Erik’s anger or Rachel.
“What’s going on with you?” she asked when she caught up to me in the parking lot.
“Nothing, why?” I asked.
“You’ve been out of it for the last few days.” She waved at someone in the distance. “So what’s the deal? You still upset about Theo?”
I shook my head. Of course she would think it had something to do with Theo. She just expected everyone to react the same way she had to Erik. “No. I’m good.”
Eva joined us, glancing at Vicky before looking at me. “Something going on?”
“For the last time, there’s nothing wrong and there’s nothing going on.” I stopped and glared at both of them before settling on Vicky. “I’ve got a lot of school work and couldn’t care less about Theo Tudor. So just drop it, okay?”
Vicky’s mouth dropped open.
“Okay,” Eva said with fake cheer in her voice. “Hey, Vicky, let’s get inside. I want to talk to you about something.”
Vicky’s face wrinkled into confusion, but she didn’t argue with Eva. Nor did she ask why Eva didn’t want me to know whatever the big secret was. I didn’t really care. Across the parking lot, Erik climbed out of his car. Everyone knew he was suspended. Nobody knew for how long. Rumors ran rampant that it was for a week or a month or even the rest of the quarter.
Apparently, it was only three days.
He stopped and stared at the school, his backpack hanging off one shoulder. I waited for him to feel my gaze and look my way. He didn’t. Instead, he walked into the school with his head high, meeting the stare of anyone and everyone who dared look at him. I followed him and went to my locker. When I opened it, an envelope fell out and landed on my black Mary Janes. I recognized his handwriting from his notes and picked it up. The bell rang, but there was no way I was heading to class when I had this in my hand.
Glancing around, I hurried down the hall and ducked into the girls room and into the stall farthest from the door. The triangular flap was open. My hands shook as I pulled out the single page letter. Erik’s handwriting scratched in blue across the white page.
Andrea,
This is weird, right? I’m not sure if you tried to contact me or not. I feel like an idiot writing this if you didn’t. But I think you probably did. Mom and Dad took away my phone and have been monitoring my laptop. I can only work on schoolwork. It sucks, but it’s kept me busy the last few days. Fortunately, my suspension was minimal. Logan admitted to saying something inappropriate. I admitted to losing my temper.
Dad found out about therapy, but he’s not going to try to stop it. At least I don’t think he will.
Anyway, none of that matters. I didn’t want to lie to you, and I definitely owed you an explanation. I just wanted to let you know I’ll be in the library at lunch. If you want to join me, great. I’d love that. If not, I understand.
Erik
I read it three more times, before folding it and putting it in the outside pocket of my backpack. That explained so much, but I still didn’t know why he’d punched Logan. Obviously he’d said something to Erik, I didn’t know what he’d said. I ran to the office to get a pass for class, blaming it on female issues. It wasn’t even nine. Lunch was forever away.
The morning dragged, as I expected it to. That must have made it worse. It didn’t help that I couldn’t stop looking at the clock. I could hear every tick, every bump of the hand. It kept getting louder. When the bell rang for lunch, it echoed in my ears.
“Hey, Andrea, wait up,” Vicky said as I hurried to my locker to grab my food. I spun around and stared at her as I kept walking backwards. “You’re going to run into somebody.”
“Guess they should pay attention.” I grinned. A little bubble of happiness floated in my chest. The morning had taken forever and I just wanted to talk to Erik. “What’s up?”
“You’re in a hurry,” she stated as she fell into step beside me. I spun around and walked the rest of the way to my locker. “Anyway, I just wanted to say I’m sorry for earlier.”
I opened the door and tossed my books in before pulling out my lunch bag. “No big deal.”
“It’s just...” She pulled her books tighter her chest and leaned against the locker next to mine. “We haven’t been hanging out much lately. I know there’s been a lot going on, but I miss you. I feel like ... I don’t know. You know?”
I almost laughed, but it wasn’t really funny. We had grown apart the last few months. It wasn’t all my fault. It was partly hers. Since she started hanging out with Rachel more, the only real time I’d seen her was when I went to tell her about Theo’s bomb. I’d thought that might mend the fence I’d torn down, but all it did was keep us on opposite sides. There was so much more to hash out, but this wasn’t the time. “Can we talk about this later?”
“Seriously? I want to have a heart to heart and you’re blowing me off?” Vicky’s attitude shifted in an instant. Something she was always good at when she didn’t get what she wanted.
I held up my free hand. “I’m not blowing you off. Look, you can’t just decide that you want to talk when you feel it’s convenient for you. You can’t just decide you want to be my friend when it’s convenient for you either.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I’ve always been your sidekick, around when you needed me. When I needed you, you haven’t exactly been there.” I closed my locker door, careful not to slam it. That would only add to the tension and that wasn’t my goal. I just wanted to get to the library. “I’ve needed you to forgive me for the last few months. You haven’t. Not really. And I deserve it, but I don’t either. Theo preyed upon me. He used my insecurities against me to get what he wanted. He manipulated me, and all you could say was poor me. Well, poor Vicky. You didn’t want him anymore than I did, yet you’re still holding it against me.”
She stared back at me with her mouth open and her eyes wide, the total look of innocence. It was total bullshit.
“And don’t deny it.” I pressed my lips together for a moment. “I’m truly sorry about what happened with Theo. I’m sorry I hurt you. But I’m not going to be your lackey anymore.” A small crowd gathered around us, including Theo, Logan, and Eva. “If you still want to be my friend, you know where to find me.”
I spun on my heel and walked down the hallway in the opposite direction of the library. Murmurs followed me, but I didn’t pay any attention. I pushed out the door, circled the side of the building, then entered again through a side door near the library. The hallway was virtually empty since most of the school went to the cafeteria or outside to the bleachers. I relished the quiet.
Erik sat in his usual spot, books spread out in front of him. But his head was up and he was starin
g out the window. I paused for a moment. Erik was tense, almost rigid. The total opposite of his cocky self-assured every day appearance. I crept toward him, not wanting to freak him out by lumbering in.
“Hey,” I said, after I slid into the chair.
He whipped toward me, his eyes wide. That was not what I expected. He looked scared, surprised, and a little bit shocked. I understood to a degree. Maybe I expected too much. At the very least, I thought he’d smile. But he didn’t. He just stared at me.
Before I could say anything, he leaned in and kissed me gently. I reached up, caressing his cheek with my fingers. Erik flicked his tongue against my lips then pulled back just enough to press his forehead to mine.
“I didn’t think you were coming,” he whispered.
“I got held up,” I whispered back. “I’m sorry.”
“You have nothing to be sorry for, Andrea,” he replied, sitting straighter in his chair.
“Yes, she does,” an ice-cold voice said behind me.
Erik closed his eyes slowly. I waited for some other confirmation that it wasn’t as bad as I thought, but I knew better. I knew that voice anywhere. After all, I’d just told her she’d never really been my friend.
“You were wrong, you know,” Vicky said with the cool calm of a serial killer. Chills went up my spine. “I had forgiven you for Theo.”
I inhaled deeply and turned in my chair to face her.
“But this,” she pointed toward Erik. “This is unforgivable. How could you? With him of all people?”
I stood. This wasn’t something I could take sitting down. “There’s so much you don’t know, Vicky,” I said calmly. “About me. About Erik.”
“Are you trying to get some sort of revenge on me? After all we’ve been through together?” She raised her voice loud enough that anybody walking nearby would hear. “I really didn’t care about your fling with Theo, but you had to turn around and fuck Erik Perday? He broke my ribs. He made my life miserable for years.” Her eyes widened as if a lightbulb went off in her head. She pushed by me and glared at Erik. “Or are you behind all of this?”
“Victoria...” Erik said slowly as he rose to his feet.
I could see the anger building inside him. He wouldn’t hurt her. Not on purpose. But I didn’t want to risk it. Erik had worked hard at therapy. She was the one person who could destroy everything he’d accomplished.
“You are,” she exclaimed, spinning in a circle. “You decided to seduce Andrea just like Theo did in some sick way to get back at me.” She faced me and sneered. “You’re pathetic, Andrea. Always after my sloppy seconds. Can’t find a boyfriend on your own? You have to steal mine then go after the one guy I hate more than anything in this world. Like I said, pathetic.”
“You’re such a bitch,” Erik said, clenching his hands into fists at his thighs. “You can’t control everyone.”
Vicky snorted. “That’s rich. I had you eating out of the palm of my hands.”
I pushed her away from him, before he could lose his control. Erik’s nostrils flared. I put my hand on his arm and faced Vicky.
“Just go,” I said. “You’ve been vicious enough for one day.”
“This is low, even for you, slut,” she snapped. “I can’t believe we were ever friends.”
We weren’t, not really. I didn’t say this though. Vicky always had to have the last word. It was easier to let her. She sneered at us a moment longer before walking away in a huff. It would be less than half an hour before everyone knew. And I was relieved.
I smiled gently at Erik and let my hand slip into his. “Guess the cat’s out of the bag, huh?”
“Is that what you want?” he asked, his fingers loose around mine.
“Yes, but I didn’t want it like this,” I answered honestly. “I wanted to have you to myself rumor-free for a while longer. Nothing like bad press to ruin the start of a relationship.”
“We’re in a relationship?” he asked, a smile curling his lips.
“Aren’t we?” I was totally confused.
“If you want to be, yes,” he said cautiously. “If you want to be noncommittal, then I’ll deal with that.”
“I’m not a noncommittal person,” I said, raising on my tiptoes. “So I guess we’re in a relationship.”
He pressed his lips to mine for a brief kiss. “Okay, girlfriend.”
“Okay, boyfriend,” I said kissing him again before the bell rang.
Erik turned and gathered his books, shooting quick glances over his shoulder at me. I linked my hand in his and relished the feeling of being officially together.
“So, boyfriend, will you walk me to class?” I asked as we walked toward the door.
“Of course,” he said with a smile. “Want me to carry your books, too?”
We stopped at the door. “No, I think I should keep them.” I looked up at him. “To fend off the wolves.”
“Good idea. We’ll be surrounded.” He raised his eyebrows before lifting our joined hands to his lips. “Stronger together?”
I smiled. “Always.”
Chapter Twenty
We survived the looks. We survived the whispers. When the bell rang at the end of the day, everyone had heard about the blowup in the library. Everyone knew Erik and I were together. Not that we hid it. He walked me to class and met me at my locker between classes. I wasn’t surprised when I saw him leaning against my locker at the end of the day.
“Andrea, wait,” Eva said behind me. What was with people sneaking up behind me these days? It was annoying and getting old.
I stopped and turned toward her. “Yes, I’m dating Erik.”
“Okay, why?” Her eyebrows furrowed, and she pulled her brown hair behind her back. There wasn’t anything vicious in her expression, just genuine curiosity. “You remember what he did to Vicky last year?”
“I remember what Vicky said he did last year.” I raised my eyebrows. “We never asked Erik. We just took her at her word. It was a crappy situation all around. Neither one of them was right, but we took Vicky at her word. It was wrong. We should’ve given him a chance, Eva.”
Eva’s face scrunched in consideration. She did that whenever she had to think about something intensely. “But Vicky’s our friend.”
“No, she’s yours now.” I glanced over my shoulder. Erik watched us cautiously. “I like him. A lot. He’s actually pretty great once you get to know the real Erik.” I smiled and turned back to Eva. “Vicky’s been my friend forever, but she doesn’t want to be friends with someone who has their own mind.”
“You’re being unfair,” Eva said. She glanced at Erik. “I mean, I get what you’re saying about not asking him last year. There are two sides to every story, but you should’ve told her that you’re dating him. She shouldn’t have found out the way she did.”
“If you want to know the whole truth, that’s why we kept it quiet. So we could be together without anybody else judging us.” I sighed and my shoulders dropped. “We wanted to just be us. I should’ve told her. I planned on it but not right away.”
“Without the pressure?” Eva asked as she glanced over her shoulder toward Logan’s empty locker. “I get that.”
“Don’t hate me,” I whispered. “I can’t lose all my friends.”
Eva smiled. “You won’t. Just give it time.” She strode around me toward Erik. “If you hurt her or if you’re using her, I’ll get my little brother to kick your ass. He’s a black belt.”
Erik simply nodded. Eva strode away, glancing back at him once before turning the corner. I stepped up beside him. Erik slipped his hand in mine.
“Hi, girlfriend.”
“Hi, boyfriend.” I raised onto my tiptoes and pressed a quick kiss on his lips.
“What was that for?” he asked, his smile widening.
“Because I can.”
He leaned down and kissed me back. “Because I can.”
I put my books away, and we walked out of the building together. Stares followed us. Whispers surrounded
us. I wasn’t surprised one bit. Victoria Hudson had ruined Erik’s reputation last year. Mine was sure to be done for this year. So much for the senior year we’d planned all last year. I looked up at Erik. This one was going to be better.
“What’re you doing after school?” I asked as we strolled hand in hand toward my car.
“I’m on house arrest.” He grimaced, squeezing my hand. His lips pressed into a tight line. “Straight home.”
“You never told me why you punched Logan.” We stopped at my Jetta. I hadn’t asked, because I wasn’t sure I wanted to know. It was bound to be about me, as selfish as that sounds. I tossed my books and bag into the passenger seat. “Or why he didn’t throw you to the wolves.”
Erik sighed and pinched his nose. “Because Theo had been running his mouth about... Paris, Logan decided to tell people he’d slept with you, too. Then he proceeded to tell me that he was going to take you to the lake and ...” He pressed his lips together. “Let’s just say I lost my cool.”
“He said that?” Anger built in my stomach. I thought I was going to hurl all over Erik. “He told people we’d had sex?”
“And he was going back for more,” Erik said, his own rage building in his eyes. I put my hand on his arm, hoping to calm him. “He saw us at the lake. Apparently, he was there with some girl and they were walking toward our place. That’s why he made that comment to you.”
I was so over it. Why did guys have to be like that? Why did they have to prove their male prowess by lying about girls? And why did that always make the girl a slut? It was crap. I glanced over to where I knew Logan parked every day. He stood there, side by side with Theo. I locked my car and took off toward them.
“Andrea, wait,” Erik said behind me, but I was too fast. “They aren’t worth it.”
