by Mae Doyle
Chapter 7
“So I saw that you had a personal escort to Spanish today.” Harper threw a pillow at me and I tossed it back. We’d been studying all afternoon and finally made it up to my room for a little chocolate. I figured that, if nothing else, eating my chocolate with my two closest friends was bound to be fun, and if were lucky, I might get a little more information out of them about the rogues.
“Yeah, I’m not really sure what that was about.”
“I know what it was about.” Maggie was digging through her backpack for something, but she looked up and grinned. “I think that you caught his eye and he wants to see what you’ve got going on under that jacket.”
Blushing, I pulled my jacket tighter across my chest. “I don’t think that it’s. I think that he’s just keeping a close eye on me for whatever reason. Makes me wonder what Brett told him about when we were little.”
“You said that you guys grew up next to each other, right? But what happened? And when did he move away?” Harper remembered everything, but I hadn’t filled her in on all of the details of what it was like living next to Brett.
Grabbing the candy from her, I leaned back on my pillow and thought about the best way to answer her question. I didn’t want to lie to my friends, but I also hated thinking about what it was like being friends with Brett when we were younger.
“So you guys know that I’ve always been homeschooled, right? This is my first time in public school?” They both nod and I continue. “Brett always went to public school when he was younger but we lived next to each other before his mom got married and her new husband swept them away to live in a mansion. Man, I was jealous.” Looking down, I saw that I’d wrapped my hand in my comforter and twisted, so I made myself let go.
“Anyway, before she got married and they moved, Brett and I liked to hang out. Honestly, it was me liking to hang out with him more than the other way around because I thought that he was so cute and cool.” Harper laughed and I shot her a look. “It’s true! He was darling when he was younger. Now he’s just a little scarier.”
“I still wouldn’t mind kissing him,” Maggie interrupted, and we all started giggling. I opened my mouth to tell them more about Brett and what it was like with him always daring me to do dumb things, but before I could say anything, there was a knock on the door.
“Expecting company?” When I shook my head, Harper hopped off of the bed and opened the door. Amelia stood outside with some of the girls I’d seen her sitting with at lunch. They were all dressed in dark green gowns and had wreathes in their hair.
“You guys dressing up as fairies?” Leaning over, I could see that, while they looked silly at first, their dresses were gorgeous and probably cost more than what I spent on clothes in an entire month. It didn’t make them look any less silly, though.
“Not. Hardly.” Amelia sighed and brushed some of her long hair back over her shoulder. “Mrs. McKearin wanted us to come and get you for our practice tonight.” She frowned, like she had had no say in the matter, and that if she did, she would not have agreed.
I pushed myself off of the bed, ignoring Maggie’s helpful hand. The last thing I wanted to do was look weak in front of Amelia and her harpies. “Why would the voice teacher want me? What practice are you talking about?”
The girl to Amelia’s left rolled her eyes. “You don’t know anything, do you, Rose? She thinks that you’d be a good addition to our vocal group, but we’re not convinced.” I’d seen this girl in my voice class. She had an incredible soprano voice, but my range was better. Klara? Kiara? Kelly? That was it. Kelly.
“Thanks, Kelly, I think I’d love to come sing with you guys.” Slipping my feet into my flats, I walked towards the door, making sure that I didn’t grimace or give away the pain I was in. “Is this in the voice room?”
Kelly glanced at Amelia, who still had her eyes locked on me. “It is.” Amelia’s voice was loaded. “But you need to know that I’m the leader of the group, and if you do get in, you’ll have to do whatever I tell you. Got it?”
“Got it.” Even as I answered her, I knew that I wasn’t going to do a single thing that she told me. I’d heard all of these girls sing in class, and while they were good, I was better. There wasn’t any doubt in my mind that if I had to compete against Amelia that I could beat her. “Is your position up for grabs?”
Her eyes narrowed instantly and I suddenly had the mental image of her as a snake. “Not a chance. Not for someone like you, anyway. I’m the best at Taylor Prep and you should remember that.”
“If you didn’t want me to compete with you, then why come and invite me in your little fairy dresses?” Behind me I heard my friends giggle, but I ignored them.
Amelia’s face darkened even more. “Believe me, Rose, it wasn’t my idea to invite you. Mrs. McKearin wanted us to invite you, so we did. But you don’t have to come.” She sneered at me, but I was already pulling on a jacket.
“Let’s go.” I squeezed my room key in my hand and then turned to my friends. “How about I swing by your rooms after I get done and let you know how it went? Maybe we can celebrate.”
Harper and Maggie agreed and scooted past me into the hall. “Be careful,” Harper breathed as she passed me. “Amelia’s a snake.”
I already knew that, but I also already knew that I had to take her down. Not only was I the better singer out of all of these girls, but they were just mean. That’s not something either of my parents would have stood for. Locking the door behind me, I turned to Amelia. “Ready?”
◆◆◆
“That was lovely, Rose.” Mrs. McKearin was beaming at me, but I could feel the hatred in the glares from the girls who had brought me down here, especially Amelia. She could hate me all she wanted – the fact of the matter was that I was a better singer than her, and now she knew it. Soon, everyone was going to know it, and the thought made me smile.
“I just appreciate the opportunity to try out.” I tried to look bashful and calm, but inside, I was jumping up and down. The way that the voice teacher was looking at me made it obvious that I was going to be the new leader in this group, which meant that Amelia was going to shit a brick.
“She was fine.” Amelia pushed in front of me and I had to catch myself on a chair to keep from falling over. My balance still isn’t great, and it’s not like she would ever deign to be careful around me. “I’m sure that you’ll just let us know what parts we’re going to sing for the competition, and I’ll work on getting our practice schedule set up.”
Mrs. McKearin stopped smiling at me and turned to Amelia. “Actually, I think that Rose will be in charge of working out the schedules.” Even though I could only see Amelia out of my peripheral vision, I immediately sensed the change in her. She stiffened her shoulders and her jaw twitched.
“Right. Fine. Girls?” Amelia turned around to her harpies. “Let’s go.” She swept past me, making sure to bump into me again so that I had to hold onto the chair to keep from falling. I turned and watched as the group of them stormed out of the room, Kelly holding the door for everyone and then shooting me a nasty look as they left.
Turning back to the voice teacher, I tried to smile. “I’m sorry, I don’t really know what just happened.”
She chuckled and handed me a folder stuffed with paper. “What happened is that you just became the new leader of the Taylor Prep vocal competition group, Rose. Your voice is lovely, and you deserve it. I’m just sorry that Amelia is taking it so hard, but maybe the two of you can talk it out and she’ll understand that it was the right move.”
Yeah, right.
“Of course. So, I need to be the one setting up times for practice?” It seemed like just one more thing that I had to do in addition to all of my homework and seeing my friends, but I loved to sing, and I came here to try to get the best education possible.
She nodded. “Yes, and I’m happy to help you get started, but not tonight. I’m sure that you have homework to do, and I want to go home. It’s been an imp
ossibly long day.” She smiled and ran her hand through her short hair. When she turned away from me, I noticed that she had a small bump in the front and it hit me that she was pregnant.
“Well, I’ll see you in class then,” I told her, backing up slowly. She nodded and waved, and I turned, picking my way through the room to the door. It was going to be a long walk back upstairs by myself, and I almost wished that I had asked Harper or Maggie to come with me, but going by myself was the best option.
I was halfway back to the dorm, cutting through the quad when I heard someone walk up behind me. Trying to look calm, I walked faster, not wanting to get caught out in the dark with whoever it was, but I already knew that there was no way that I could outrun them, even though I had squeezed in my physical therapy this afternoon.
Sure enough, before I made it ten more feet on the sidewalk, I felt a hand clamp down on my shoulder and spin me around. Amelia was standing there, still wearing her dress, her friends behind her like gang members in a bad movie. I stifled a chuckle when I saw how pissed she looked.
“What the hell was that about?” Her voice was a hiss and her mouth was pulled back into a grimace. “You think that you can just stroll in here and take my spot? I’ve been here for weeks working with Mrs. McKearin, you slut.” Before I had time to react, she swung her arm back and slapped me so hard that my head spun to the other side.
Gasping, I reached up and touched my hot cheek. That was going to leave a mark.
“I didn’t do anything but sing my best.” My entire body was screaming for me to make a run for the dorms, but I knew that I didn’t have a chance. I just had to stay and see this out. “Sorry that I’m better than you.”
“You’re not. She just feels bad for you since you’re such a pathetic little gutter rat, Rose. Brett told us that your daddy just died and that’s why your body is so fucked up.” Grinning at me, she crossed her arms over her perfect chest and shrugged. “I guess that I’d be a bitch, too, if I was in an accident and walked like you, but who knows? Maybe it’s an improvement.”
“Fuck. You.” The words left my mouth before I even knew that I was going to say them, and her eyes grew wide.
“Oh, you’d like that, wouldn’t you, Rose? But no thanks. Even if I did want pussy, I doubt that I’d want yours.” Her eyes travelled down my body and then locked back on my face. “No wonder Brett and his mom moved away from you as fast as possible when she got remarried. You must live in a dump. Or the sewer.”
Her cronies twittered behind her, but I didn’t spare them a glance. Amelia was the real problem here, not them, and I had to focus on her if I was going to make it out of here in one piece.
“Yeah? What else did Brett tell you about when we were little? He tell you why his mom ended up getting a divorce in the first place or why we fell out as friends?” As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I knew that I’d messed up. What happened between Brett and me when we were younger really should have stayed hidden, but Amelia’s eyes lit up.
Like a lion finally finding weak prey that they’ll be able to take down.
“Something happened?” She was so close to me that I could smell her root beer lip gloss. “Tell me everything, Rose.” Before I could react, she reached out, digging her nails into my arm. I yelped and tried to pull away, but she just squeezed harder.
“Nothing happened, Amelia! Let me go.” Her fake nails were strong and sharp, and it was obvious that she had no interest in letting me go. She leaned forward, so close that I could see where bits of her mascara had flaked off of her lashes and landed on her cheeks.
“I don’t believe you. You’re a liar and a slut, aren’t you, Rose?”
“Back off, Amelia.” Now that I knew I messed up by saying that about Brett, I wasn’t planning on giving her any more ammunition.
“Mmm.” She placed her cheek next to mine. Her skin was as cool as mine was hot and flushed. “We’ll talk more, you little rat, okay? I need you to spill all of your secrets for me, Rose, and then I need you to leave the voice group. Sound good?”
I didn’t answer. I felt pinned to the spot and knowing that I couldn’t run away made it even worse. After a moment, she let me go and leaned back, but kept her eyes locked on mine. Suddenly, she turned, leading her group away from me across the grass. None of them turned around to look at me except for Kelly, who flipped me the bird.
Great. Just great. It was only the second day of school and I not only managed to piss off Amelia, probably the most popular girl here, but also put a target on my back by letting her know that I had information about Brett.
Now it was just a matter of time to see which one of them got to me first.
Chapter 8
I managed to make it through the rest of the week without a lot of drama mostly by keeping my head down and making sure that I walked with friends to all of my classes. Jackie walked me to Spanish again, but if he knew anything about the run-in that I’d had with Amelia, he didn’t say anything.
“Are you girls packed?” Harper leaned in my door wearing jeans and a comfy looking t-shirt. She had her hair pulled back and some of the biggest earrings I’ve ever seen on. They would definitely have been against dress code, which must have been why I hadn’t seen them yet.
“Just waiting on you.” Maggie hopped up from my bed and reached back to help me, but I shooed her away. Since I actually started taking my physical therapy seriously again, I was having a much easier time moving around on my own. I had to take care of myself I was going to be able to avoid run-ins with Amelia and her friends, who, by the way, had kept out of my way since Tuesday night. I knew that it wasn’t going to be a permanent solution, but I’d take any break that I could get.
“Then let’s get out of here!” Harper squealed and beckoned for us. Maggie followed her out the door, swinging her backpack up onto her back, and I grabbed mine from the floor, slowing lifting it up. By the time I managed to get it situated on my back, they were halfway down the hall, laughing and giggling, and someone else was in the door.
Brett filled the door, his dark eyes locked on mine. He had on a white sweater that set off his dark skin and dark blue jeans that were perfectly molded to his thighs. The last thing that I wanted to do was have a physical reaction to seeing him, but there was a throbbing in my core when I saw him there.
He’d always had this effect on me, even when we were younger, but now that he was all grown up and filled out, it was hard to ignore the fact that he oozed sex. I pressed my legs together, feeling the throbbing between them, and forced myself to smile at him. “Hey, Brett. What’s up?”
At first, he didn’t answer. His hands were planted on the doorframe, and when I looked, I saw that he was gripping it so tightly that his knuckles were turning white. It was obvious that something was bothering him, but I pretended that I didn’t notice that something was wrong.
He must have talked to Amelia. I wondered if she was trying to get the truth about our past out of him and that was why she’d practically ignored me all week. Luckily, I didn’t have long to wonder about what was going on.
“You running around school spreading my secrets, Rose?” He stepped into the room, bringing with him the spicy scent of his cologne. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, unsure of how to handle this situation. “Because I heard from Amelia that you know things about my past, but you’re not sharing.”
Shit. Shit. Shit. I was right. I don’t know what came over me in the quad the other night that I would think I could say something like that to her without any repercussions, but it’s was obvious that I underestimated her a little.
Trying to play it cool, I shrug. “Everyone here knows that we knew each other when we were younger, Brett. Jackie told me that.” There was a flash of something on his face when I mentioned Jackie, but I couldn’t tell what the emotion was, and it was gone before I could really focus on it.
“That’s for me to tell, Rose. I just would hate to think that you were telling anyone my secrets. Our secret
s.” He took another step closer to me and I backed up, the backs of my knees hitting the mattress. One more step and I’d be sitting down.
“Our secrets?” Without thinking about it, I reached down and rubbed my arm – the one I’d broken when I had to jump from the tree. Well, Brett kept telling me that I didn’t have to, but I didn’t have a choice. I don’t know that I’d ever had much of a choice when it came to him.
“Yep.” He crosses his arms, and I admired for a moment the way it made his muscles pop out, then I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. “You know, Rose, I wasn’t really happy when I saw that you’d be coming here. You don’t belong at Taylor Prep, and you know that. This is a place for students with potential, who have families who will do anything they can to help them succeed. How’s your mom going to help you? Just by making sure she doesn’t fuck up orders at her shitty job?”
I grimaced but didn’t respond right away.
“Your dad isn’t here to make sure that you don’t run into trouble,” he continued, ignoring the pained look on my face. “And I think that you and I both know that even if he were, he wouldn’t want you here.”
“But he did. He wanted me to use the money from his life insurance to get a good education, and Taylor Prep is the best. Although, if that’s true, then I can’t help but wonder how the hell you got in. You wanna talk about daddy issues, Brett, then why don’t we start with yours?” It’s too far, and I know it. His faces twists in anger as he looks at me.
Before he can do anything, though, Harper and Maggie lean back in my door. “You coming?” Harper’s voice cut through the tension in the room, but I still felt like I was tied somehow to Brett. I glanced past him at my friends and gave them a quick nod, but when I looked back at Brett, I saw that he hadn’t moved. He was still staring at me, a flush growing up his neck.
