“It’s on the other side of the school. Head toward the mini-mart on Second Street.” She adjusted the shoulder strap on her seat belt.
Aaron nodded and pulled out of Jenna’s driveway. He tried to think of something to say while he drove.
“Nice weather, isn’t it?” Gah. Why did I say that? Any way I could be dopier? Nice weather. I sound like an eighty-year-old. Might as well start complaining about my aching joints.
“Mmm.” Sadie fiddled with her backpack.
Think of something brilliant to say. Think…of…something. She’s bored. “Did you see the new end of the world movie?” Nice one. Girls don’t go see end of the world movies. Duh. They like romantic comedies and sexy vampire movies. Real smooth, Aaron.
“No, but it looks good.”
Aaron grinned. “I know, right?” Hallelujah. She likes end of the world movies. Hot dang.
Sadie squirmed in her chair.
Oh, no. She thinks I was trying to ask her out. I didn’t mean it like that. Now I’ve made her uncomfortable. Shoot. “Sadie, I—”
“That’s it.” Sadie pointed to the mini-mart, and Aaron slammed on his breaks.
“Sorry. Which direction is your house?”
“Here is fine.”
Aaron looked around, confused. “Here?”
Sadie unbuckled. “Yep. I need to pick up something before going home. Thanks for the ride.” She hopped out before he could react.
“Wait.” He pulled into a parking spot and shut the car off. “I’ll come in with you. It’s dark. I shouldn’t let you walk home alone.”
She edged toward the large glass mini-mart door. “I’m okay by myself.”
Aaron got out of the car, determined now more than ever to see her home. “It’s no big deal.”
Her shoulders slumped. “Fine.”
Aaron followed her to the cash register where she grabbed a pack of gum and tossed it on the counter.
“You needed gum?”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “What?”
“Nothing.”
They checked out and got back into his car. “Where to?”
Sadie waved her hand. “Go up the street and turn left into the mobile home park.”
Realization hit him. She was embarrassed about living in a mobile home. How stupid could he be? Why did he force the issue? His face heated. Here he was, in his father’s fancy convertible, making Sadie hate him even more.
Just great.
Chapter Three
Sadie shut her locker and turned the dial on the lock twice, clockwise. For some reason, it gave her a sense of security. Just one of those goofy habits. She’d been trying to break them, without much success.
The hairs on the back of her neck tingled. Someone was behind her. She turned to find Aaron standing there.
“Oh. Hi, Aaron.” She resisted the urge to fan herself. She must be near a heating vent.
Aaron shifted his weight. “Hey. I just wanted to say I think it’s cool you decided to help Jenna.” He stared down at his shoes and hooked his thumbs in his jeans pockets.
“Sure. No problem.”
He raised his gaze to meet hers.
His eyes were the color of storm clouds, and looking into them made her stomach drop.
“You didn’t have to. I think that’s why it means more to me. You’re doing it to really help her, even though I can tell you don’t like her.”
Sadie tugged on her turtleneck. “She’s not so bad, once you get to know her.”
The bell was about to ring, and students crowded the hallway. The sound of sneakers squeaking on the tile floor rose above the chatter. Neither one spoke, but they walked down the hall, side by side, as if it were the most normal thing in the world. “Yeah,” Aaron said. “She’s okay.”
Brett, a burly football player shoving his way through the crowd, almost ran into her. Aaron wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close to avoid a collision. Her heart raced, probably because she’d almost become a pancake.
“You okay?” He leaned over, his voice low.
“Yeah.” Not really. Her knees were weak, and she couldn’t seem to get enough air, which was silly because it wasn’t like her life had been in danger. Getting clobbered by Brett the Bulldozer wouldn’t have been the best start to her day, but why in the world would she faint?
They continued to walk down the hall, Aaron keeping his arm around her. A couple of girls turned to stare, which was hilarious because Aaron’s arm around her didn’t mean what they assumed it meant.
When they arrived at her classroom, Aaron dropped his arm and turned to face her. “You coming over tonight?”
A little shiver of excitement shot through her, which was insane because she didn’t like Aaron that way. “Sure.”
“I think you should ask Lorena to come over. You know her really well, and we can come up with some great questions to ask her.”
Sadie nodded, an idea forming in her head. “Great. And I know how we can fool the machine, too.”
Aaron raised an eyebrow.
“We’ll talk about it in class.”
***
Aaron stood and crossed the living room when he heard the doorbell ring.
“You gonna get that?” his dad called.
“Yeah.” He opened the door. Sadie stood on the front step, her blonde hair falling in a single braid to her shoulder blades. It made her look different…older maybe. She hugged her backpack to her chest. Lorena was beside her, doing some kind of jumpy dance thing, like she’d eaten too much sugar, which was pretty normal for Lorena. She stilled when her gaze fell on Aaron.
“Hey. Thanks for coming over, you guys. Come on in.”
Sadie’s arm brushed against his chest when she walked by, and a faint vanilla scent wafted past him. He swallowed, hard.
“You guys want a soda?”
They all grabbed a can and headed downstairs. When they entered the study, Aaron motioned for Lorena to sit. “I’ll hook Lorena up to the lie detector if you want to get your questions ready.” He nodded to Sadie. His nerves jumped as he untangled the cords.
“Okay.” Sadie unzipped her pack and slid her notebook onto the table.
After Aaron hooked up Lorena, Sadie began her questions.
“What is your name?”
Lorena grinned and leaned forward a little. “Lorena Harrison.”
“What is your date of birth?”
“July 17th.”
Sadie ran her finger down her notebook page. “Where do you live?”
“447 Rosewood Drive.”
Sadie put down her notebook, narrowed her eyes at Lorena, and crossed her arms. Time for the experiment. “Lorena Harrison, did you take my locket?”
Lorena didn’t seem fazed. “No.”
Aaron leaned over the machine. The readout said she was telling the truth. Time to make her uncomfortable. “That’s a lie,” he announced.
Lorena laughed. “No, it’s not.”
Sadie stood, putting her fists on her hips. “You did. Admit it. I saw you messing with my jewelry box the other day. You took my necklace.”
Aaron was impressed. Sadie really looked mad. Nice acting.
Lorena looked from Aaron to Sadie, her face sobering. “I swear. I didn’t touch your locket.”
The machine still registered the truth. They’d better up the pressure. “Another lie.” Aaron’s voice rose. The needles became more animated.
“That’s not true!” Lorena shouted. “Your machine is broken. I didn’t steal anything.”
Sadie crossed her arms. “Then what’s in your right coat pocket?”
Lorena reached into her pocket. Her face drained of color, and the machine mirrored her distress. Lorena pulled a silver necklace out of her pocket. “I swear, I don’t know how this got here.”
“The machine really does say she’s lying, now.” Aaron grinned at Sadie, elated her plan had worked.
Sadie reached out and took the locket. “You’re right. You didn’t put it t
here. I slipped it into your pocket when you were ogling— um, I mean, when you were distracted.”
Lorena frowned. “What? Why?”
Aaron cleared his throat. “We needed to make you uncomfortable so the machine would register your responses as lies when you were actually telling the truth. It worked like a charm, too!”
“Geez, you guys. You scared me.” Lorena didn’t appear to be too happy. She grabbed her soda can and took a long swig.
“Sorry, Lorena,” Sadie said, touching her knee. “We needed to fool the machine, and putting you in distress was one way to do it.”
“So, if a criminal is scared they are getting blamed for a crime they didn’t do, it could affect the results of a lie detector test?”
“Definitely.” Aaron flashed a smile at her.
Lorena flushed. “And I just helped you prove your scientific theory.”
“Yes. Thank you.” Sadie slapped her notebook on the table. “Aaron, could I use your bathroom?”
Aaron motioned toward the door. “Sure. Down the hall and to your left.”
Once Sadie was out of the room, Aaron’s shoulders relaxed. Lorena grinned at him and tucked her red hair behind her ear. “You like her, don’t you?”
Is it that obvious?
Aaron shuffled his feet. “Why?”
Lorena shrugged. “You act all funny when Sadie’s around.”
Aaron plopped down in Sadie’s chair. Time to come clean. “Yeah, I like her. A lot.” He ran a hand through his hair. It actually felt good to say it out loud.
“You should tell her.” Lorena leaned forward and placed her folded hands on the table.
“I can’t. She hates me.”
The clock on the wall ticked. Lorena considered him for a second. “I don’t think she hates you as much as she likes to put on.”
“Why do you say that?”
Lorena glanced toward the door. “Because she acts jealous.”
“Jealous of what?”
“The attention you give to other girls.”
This surprised him. “I don’t give attention to other girls.”
Lorena raised an eyebrow. “You don’t? You’re always smiling at the other girls at school.”
“Smiling?”
“Of course. And you talk to the girls, too. You’d notice if she were always smiling and talking to other guys.”
He let the thought take form in his brain. Yeah, he probably would notice. Part of him liked the idea that Sadie was jealous. If she was jealous, that might mean she liked him. Even a small part of her liking him was good. He mulled that over.
“Why don’t you ask her out?” Lorena said.
“I would, if I thought she’d say yes.” Aaron squirmed. “I don’t think she would.”
“She might.” Lorena turned her head to the side. “She’s just a bit uptight, because of her past.”
“Hey, what’s up with her dad, anyway? She won’t talk about it. What happened?”
Lorena pressed her lips together, forming a tight line. She shook her head, making her curls bounce. “No. Don’t ask me that. You’ll have to talk to Sadie about her dad.”
“Why?”
“I promised I’d never tell a soul. That’s all I can say.” Lorena pinched her thumb and index finger and ran them across her mouth in a zipping-her-lips motion.
Right. He’d really ask Sadie about her father. That would go over well. Maybe if he wanted to see how good her right-hook was.
“At any rate, you really should ask her out—for a soda or something. Don’t make it a big deal.”
Aaron thought about it. Maybe he could ask her out, if it wasn’t anything too date-like. Something low pressure. “Maybe.”
“Do it. Tonight. Ask her to get a soda with you. Then you can talk more.”
He chewed his lower lip. “I’ll think about it.”
Sadie entered the room and stared at Aaron sitting in her chair.
“Oh, sorry.” He stood up.
“I think we should hook Aaron up to this thing.” Lorena grabbed the cords before Aaron could say anything.
Sadie nodded. “Yes, I think it’s Aaron’s turn.”
Aaron shrugged. “Sure.”
Lorena slid the pressure cuff on his arm while Sadie wrapped the other fasteners around his middle and put the gadget on his finger. Her touch sent electricity through him.
Lorena clicked on the machine and then got a devilish look in her eye. Oh, no. He was in trouble now. What was she up to?
“Is your name Aaron Peters?” Lorena asked, her voice turning authoritative.
“Yes.”
Sadie sank into her chair, flipped open her notebook, and began writing.
Lorena folded her arms. “Are you the student body president of Shady Pine High School?”
Aaron flinched. “Yes.”
Sadie didn’t react to that question. She just kept writing in her notebook, which relieved Aaron. He took a deep breath and let it out.
“Are you currently dating anyone?”
Aaron glared at Lorena. She lifted her chin a fraction of an inch, silently challenging him.
“No.” He hoped she’d take the hint and move on.
“Is there anyone you wish you were dating?” Lorena’s voice became innocently sweet, and she batted her eyes at him.
Great. How was he supposed to answer? The machine clicked as the spindles moved across the paper. He wiped his hands on his jeans.
His hesitation must have been too long because Sadie looked up from her notebook, her blue eyes peering at him in curiosity.
“Yes,” he said, shooting Lorena a more forceful look that he hoped said, ‘That’s enough.’
Lorena smiled, and said, “Who do you wish you were dating?”
All the spit in Aaron’s mouth dried up, and heat rose to his face. He was going to kill Lorena.
Chapter Four
Sadie couldn’t believe Lorena would be so brazen. She picked up her notebook and whacked Lorena’s hip. “Stop your flirting. We have a science project to work on.”
Poor Aaron looked like he was about to swallow his tongue.
“Wait, I want to know the answer,” Lorena said.
“This isn’t the dating game. It’s a science experiment.” Sadie glanced at the machine. “Although you’re doing a pretty good job of making Aaron uncomfortable and I do have some questions I need to ask. Real questions.” Sadie rolled her eyes at Lorena.
“It was a real question,” Lorena muttered as she walked to the end of the table and plopped down on a chair. She took out her phone and began texting.
Sadie flipped the page in her notebook and started asking the real questions, making note of Aaron’s responses and how the machine reacted. While they worked, she noticed Aaron fiddling with the sensor on his finger. She wondered what he had to be nervous about.
When they were done, they unhooked him, and Sadie tucked away the results. She and Aaron were ready to start compiling the data.
“Do you guys want a ride home?”
Sadie bristled. She shouldn’t care if Aaron knew where she lived. It didn’t matter, really. It’s not like he cared, right? She shrugged off her annoyance. “Sure.”
Lorena slid into her jacket. “I’m not going home. My brother’s on his way to get me. Thanks, though.” Lorena shot a look at Aaron that Sadie couldn’t interpret.
“Okay.” Aaron tucked the cords away on the machine.
When they stepped outside, Lorena’s brother was already waiting in their mom’s car. “See ya.” Lorena bounced to the curb and hopped into the car. They sped off.
“That was weird,” Sadie muttered.
“What?”
She shrugged. “Lorena never goes anywhere with her brother. They have this kind of pretend-the-other-doesn’t-exist relationship, which I’ve never understood. If I had an older brother, I’d do all kinds of stuff with him.”
“I guess it’s easy to take for granted the things we have.” Aaron opened the car door f
or her, and she slid onto the seat.
“You’re right.”
Aaron shut his car door and hesitated before putting in the key. He started the car but didn’t put it into gear. Sadie glanced over at him.
He tapped the steering wheel. “Do you…want to go get a soda or something?”
A soda? He’d already given her a soda in his house. She wasn’t thirsty. “No, thanks,” she said.
“How ‘bout some ice cream? My treat.”
She wasn’t really in the mood for ice cream either. “Naw, I’m good.”
Aaron gave her a sad puppy-dog face. That struck her as odd. Why would he care if she wanted ice cream or not? Aaron put the car into gear and backed out of the driveway. He was silent on the way to her house.
When she got inside, the phone rang. She picked up the cordless from the kitchen counter. “Hello?”
“What are you doing home?” Lorena asked, her voice high pitched.
Confused, Sadie slid her backpack off onto the counter. “Aren’t I supposed to be home? You’re the one who was going somewhere with your brother. Why are you home?”
“I’m coming over.” The line went dead in Sadie’s ear. She pushed the end call button and set the phone down. How strange.
The door buzzed, and Sadie went to let Lorena in.
“What happened?” Lorena crossed the living room and plopped down on the couch. “Spill it.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Sadie sat next to Lorena on the couch.
Lorena sighed like she was exasperated. “Did Aaron ask you out?”
Sadie squinted at Lorena, unsure if she were all right. “No.” Then she realized that wasn’t exactly true. “Well, I mean, he did ask if I wanted to go get a soda.”
Lorena leaned closer. “And what did you say?”
“I wasn’t thirsty, so I said no, thank you.”
Lorena whacked Sadie’s leg with the back of her hand. “You idiot.”
“What?”
“He didn’t want a soda. He wanted to spend time with you. He likes you.”
Sadie’s pulse jumped at the thought. Ridiculous. He does not like me that way. And I definitely don’t like him that way. Do I? “That’s ludicrous. He was just being nice.”
The Truth Comes Out Page 3
