by May Dawson
Chapter One
Deidra
Homecoming is supposed to be one of those big nights in your teenage life. In a good way. Homecoming night isn’t supposed to end with you splattered in ice cream and blood, being loaded into a police car for a crime you could never commit.
But let me back up. It started off as a pretty good night, as my best friend Kate and I were getting ready in her bedroom. There was no sign of how it would end.
“I’m not sure I should let someone who can’t parallel park a car curl my hair.” I eyed her warily from my perch on the edge of her pink-and-white vanity stool. As she tried to untangle the cord, she waved the curling wand dangerously near my face.
“Those two skills are completely unrelated,” Kate said, finally unplugging the wand so she could untangle the cord. “I could point out that I don’t need fashion advice from someone who terrifies all the boys and almost always wears combat boots to school, but I still asked your advice when we were dress-shopping.”
“But you really shouldn’t take my advice.” I had always been a hot mess fashion wise: I liked black, I liked denim, and I liked military surplus. Those were the only three categories of clothing for me.
Meanwhile, Kate looked like an angel, even in her disaster of a room, where she was surrounded by discarded pink clothing and piles of books. Her long blond hair was already curled in soft waves around her face, and she had an ethereal glow in her full, blush-colored satin gown. Unlike other girls in our school, Kate didn’t tan; she had a fifties pin-up girl look, all vintage dresses and pale legs, and she rocked the hell out of it.
“We look like total opposites,” I added. “Luckily for you.”
“We are total opposites,” she mumbled around the bobby pins she had in her mouth as she re-attacked my dark, wild mane of hair. “But we’re both fucking awesome, and fucking awesome people have to stick together.”
Her hands smoothing my hair as I perched on her vanity stool felt relaxing, and I let my eyes drift shut. Right before she accidentally jabbed me with a bobby pin. My eyes opened in a hurry as I sat forward. “Ouch!”
“Don’t be such a baby. For someone who takes eighty-five martial arts classes a week—”
“Being jabbed in the skull with a pin is a different kind of pain.”
“It’s a bobby pin, you big baby. Sweet Jesus, if people could see you now, they might stop re-arranging their class schedules to avoid you.”
“It’s not that many people,” I said. “And they all deserved it.”
“I’m not contesting that,” Kate said. “I just wish you’d let everyone else see the real you.”
“This is the real me.” I held my hand out to admire my freshly painted, shiny black nails.
“The only reason you slashed Nick Molich’s tires was to stop him from beating the shit out of that chess club geek for ‘taking his parking space’.”
Molich had that poor kid pinned against the kid’s mom’s Hyundai, and he damn near broke his nose. Someone had to end things. “And?”
“And yet you told everyone you were personally offended by Nick’s new boy band drop-out haircut and felt the need to retaliate on behalf of his hair follicles.”
As she started to curl the strands of hair hanging around my face, she stuck her tongue out between her perfect white teeth in concentration.
“I don’t see what you’re getting at here.”
“You’re the world’s biggest softy, that’s what I’m getting at.”
“Shut your damn mouth, Katelyn Rodriguez. You’re going to ruin my reputation.”
“You already did within like, a week of starting ninth grade.”
I opened my mouth, about to argue even though I was defenseless before Katie-with-a-curling-iron, but just then the doorbell rang.
“I’ll get it,” Mrs. Rodriguez called as she walked past the open door.
“Finally,” Kate said. “Wendy and Rach are so late.”
“Are we done?” I pushed a hot tendril of hair off my forehead, wincing. “I feel pretty. Am I pretty now?”
“Like super pretty,” Rachel dead-panned from the doorway, in her fakest valley girl voice.
“Whoa, that is a new look.” Wendy pushed in beside Rachel. “Not you, Kate. You look like a Leave it to Beaver extra as usual. But Hot Topic here looks amazing.”
“I’d be hurt by your name-calling, but if my name was Wendy, I’d probably develop a bitter, sarcastic outer shell too,” Kate shot back. She took a step back, pumping the curling wand aloft like a prize fighter. That must mean I was finished.
I stood to hug Wendy and Rachel hello. Despite our banter and vast differences, the four of us had been thick as thieves since we started Bennington High. Freshman year, we’d been four new kids who didn’t know anyone else… and quickly learned that we didn’t need anyone else. We had just seen each other that morning for classes, but it still felt like a hugging kind of day.
“First dance of senior year, bitches,” Rachel said as she picked her way across the room to hug Kate. I was clearly not the only one who was feeling the celebratory vibe. “The countdown to graduation begins. Everything is about to change.”
“Don’t start, you’ll make Wendy cry,” I said.
Wendy slugged me in the shoulder, but I just grinned and let her get away with it for once. Turning, I caught a glimpse of myself in Kate’s full length mirror. My long, sleek black dress had a halter top that exposed my tanned, toned arms. I was never conventionally pretty, with my long nose, heavy brow, and perpetually bee-stung lips. The only feature people looked twice at was my unusual emerald green eyes. Kate liked to say that I looked like more in a world where girls try to make themselves less. I didn’t know what the hell that meant, but I knew she meant well.
But with my hair in a sleek updo and a few curls loosely waved around my face, and a fancy dress, I did feel pretty that night.
“Oh, I almost forgot, I brought everyone corsages,” Kate said.
“Corsages?” I couldn’t hide my grin. “You sweet, sweet dork.”
“Yes, corsages. We’re each other’s dates tonight. Let’s do this right.”
After some serious misery at the start of junior year, the four of us swore off boys. Who needed boys when you had your girls by your side anyway, right? I figured I’d try dating again someday when there were men available instead of arrogant little boys, which our school had far too many of.
I dug in my backpack while Kate retrieved the corsage boxes from on top of her dresser. I never noticed the boxes were up there, mixed in with her perfume bottles and a whole lot of unmatched socks.
Once she’d pinned scarlet flowers onto one of the halter straps of my dress, I handed her the white-and-blush rose wrist corsage I had smuggled in my backpack.
“This is so thoughtful,” she said, clutching it to her chest.
“Let’s not make a thing of it,” I said.
“Oh, I’m totally making a thing of it.”
“This is why I don’t do nice things for you.”
“You do nice things for me all the time, Deidra.”
The four of us were bickering as we headed out to Wendy’s Prius for the drive to dinner. Because it was senior year, I already felt nostalgic as we got into the car. The bickering was just part of how we loved each other. Wendy drove, Rachel critiqued Wendy’s driving, and Kate sang along to the radio. We were all dressed up and on our way to a ‘fancy’ dinner at our favorite chicken and waffles restaurant.
That night, I was already thinking about how much I’d miss them when we all grew up. I threw my hands up in the car and joined Kate, bouncing around and singing along to the radio as Wendy turned it up to drown us all out.
At least I had savored the last moments of my normal life.
Chapter Two
“I need water!” I shouted at Kate over the music. “You want one?”
She shook her head, content to bounce along to the beat with her curls beginning to fall out. It was almost eleven.
One more hour until Homecoming ended and the after party began. I’d had fun dancing my heart out, but I was ready now to move on to the pajamas-and-ice-cream part of the evening.
As I slipped through the crowd, two of the baseball guys gave me a slow once-over that I couldn’t miss even with the low, pulsing light. They were both friends with Nick Molich. I didn’t know their names because I didn’t care.
One of them caught me looking. As his gaze met mine, his lips twisted in a shameless grin.
I guessed he wasn’t going to ask me to dance. I stared him down as I crossed the last few steps to escape the dim, heated room. I pushed open the double door and stepped out into the hall.
It was blessedly cool and quiet out here. I’d never been so appreciative of the school’s white cinderblock hallways before. A handful of people dotted the hallway, along with a half dozen freshmen and sophomores who were selling bottles of water at a folding table.
As I handed over my dollar and took the sweating plastic bottle, I breathed in a patented combination of offensively intense cologne and mild body odor.
“Hi, Nick,” I said without bothering to look back.
When I swiveled to face him, he and his two friends from the baseball team were right behind me.
“Hi, Deidra,” he said, his voice mocking.
His eyes studied me carefully as he looked down at me; he had a good foot of height on me, and a combination of muscle and chub that my uncle Liam called prison fat. I used to think Nick was handsome, with his ruddy cheeks and wavy dark hair.
“You look nice,” he said.
“Thank you.” Kate would be proud of how polite I was.
I slipped between him and his friends, fast enough that when I turned back, one of them gaped at me. “Enjoy the rest of your night.”
“Dance with me,” Nick said. “Let’s forget about the past.”
I flashed him a tight smile and reached behind me for the doors. My politeness quota was maxed out.
I’d never been a very forgiving person, and call me crazy, but I didn’t think Nick was a better human than me. I was pretty sure he hadn’t forgiven me for humiliating him.
“Fine,” he said. “Then let’s talk outside.”
“No thanks.”
The door opened behind me. As I took a step forward to avoid being hit by the door, I twisted to see who it was.
Another baseball boy came out behind me, crossing his arms and flashing me a smug smile. Great. Now there was nowhere I could put my back against the wall and keep all of them in front of me.
When Nick stepped in toward me, I didn’t hesitate. It didn’t take a psychic to see where this was going.
I got the first punch in, coming in low and slamming my fist into his side. As he tried to wrap his arms around me and slam me down to the ground, I ducked my weight low, staying on my feet. Nothing good happens once four guys get a girl down on the ground.
I slammed my head forward into his nose and felt it give. Crunch.
He stumbled back, his hands going up to his face. “You bitch!”
“Break it up!” The principal was right there, pushing Nick and me apart. Nick stumbled back into the waiting arms of his buddies. Blood poured down his face, splattering down his suit jacket and white dress shirt.
“He didn’t do anything to her,” one of his buddies rushed to tell the principal. “He just asked her to dance, and she went off like a crazy bitch and hit him.”
“We’ll sort it out Monday morning with your parents,” the principal said. He glared at me. “For right now, Deidra, it’s time for you to go.”
“Fine.” Nothing good was going to come from arguing with the principal. My uncle Liam would back me up on Monday morning.
Liam always told me to trust my gut. If my instincts were that the four intimidating guys trying to drag me outside were up to no good, he’d believe me.
“Make sure none of these yahoos come after me. I don’t want to break any more noses tonight.”
“Get out,” the principal repeated, pointing toward the door. As if I didn’t know my way out of this place.
I waved at them all over my shoulder as I headed for the parking lot. The quick flick of my hand was a lot more flippant than I felt. My heart pounded, and adrenalize buzzed in my ears. Four guys versus me. Damn. That could have gone a lot differently if I had waited to make sure they really meant to hurt me.
I yanked out my flip phone as soon as I cleared the doors. The fall night was warm, but rain fell softly in a constant light mist that seemed to hang in the air. It made the world feel fresh and clean, something I needed right now. My skin prickled like it was covered in grime after having Nick’s hands on my body.
Liam picked up on the first ring. “Everything okay?”
“Were you just waiting around in overprotective mode with your hand on the phone, assuming I’d find some kind of trouble?”
Guilty pause. “No.”
“Oh good,” I said. “Because I found some kind of trouble. I got kicked out of the dance.”
“Deidra.” In the background, I could hear the jangle of his car keys and the sound of a door closing.
“It’s a good story, you’ll love it.” I chewed my lower lip. “Stay on the line and come get me?”
“I’m already in the truck.” In the distance, the engine started. Country music suddenly blared, making me wince, before he snapped the radio off.
I put my back against one of the cement pillars in front of the school so I could watch both the doors and the parking circle. As I filled Liam in, I kept a wary eye out for Nick or his buddies.
“The same Nick that almost broke that kid’s nose? You think you broke his nose?” Liam sounded far more amused than most people do when their kid is most likely headed towards a suspension.
“It’s ironic, don’t you think?”
“I thought I banned Alanis Morisette music from our house until you started using the word ironic properly.”
“Rude.”
He tutted on the phone. “What am I going to do with you, Deidra? What kind of delinquent gets kicked out of Homecoming?”
“The kind you love and adore?”
The truck turned down the traffic circle in front of the school, and I released a slow breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. Safe. I was always safe when Liam and I were together.
As he stopped the car, his tattooed arm rested on the rolled-down window. “The kind of delinquent I’m going to buy ice cream. But only because this time, I think you’re in the right.”
“I know, I know.”
Liam was strict in many ways, far from what most people expected when they heard the quick banter between us. I both trained and worked in his dojo after school every day, I got good grades, and while I didn’t have a curfew, he always knew where I was. But he had my back.
I slid into the cab and shut the door with a bang. Then I texted Kate and the rest of the crew to tell them where I’d gone.
“You know, it wouldn’t take me two minutes to send a simple text if I had a real phone,” I pointed out.
“That is a real phone,” Liam said. “Smart phones make for dumb people.”
“You need to join the twenty-first century,” I said. “For my sake.”
“You love me,” he said.
“You love me more,” I shot back quickly, the way we always had.
No matter how strict he could be, I knew he was in my corner one-hundred-percent.
I chewed my lip, wishing I could find the words to thank him for that. But the two of us had never been mushy people. He showed me he loved me in that daily work in the dojo, so no one could ever hurt me like they did my parents.
I figured I’d find a way to thank him another time. Maybe I’d make something to give to him on graduation since it would be seriously amazing if I made it there.
For now, I just snapped on the car radio and switched it over to my favorite station as he sighed.
Chapter Three
When
we pulled up in front of Duffy’s twenty-four-hour diner, it was the lone bright spot on a quiet street. The lights shone out of the windows, and on the roof, a man with an excessively large head and a grin to match, holding a pie, revolved slowly.
“The guy on the roof is so creepy when we’re here at night,” I said, looking up at it.
“Duffy?” Liam sounded affronted.
“You think that’s supposed to be Duffy? You think it’s a statue of the first owner?” I stared up at the sharp-nosed, red-cheeked man, but he was revolving again, so all I could see was his red-checkered back, peeling denim-painted ass, and apron strings.
“Who else would it be?” When he closed his car door, it sounded like a shot going off in the quiet night. “You know, your dad and I used to stop here all the time when we came through town.”
“I know.” But I still loved hearing about my parents. I’d been so little when they died that I barely remembered them, but Liam kept them alive for me.
“Your dad would be so proud of you, kid.” He reached out to ruffle my hair with one hand.
“You’re going to mess up my curls.” I ducked away, putting my hand up to shield my hair. “Kate worked so hard on this updo.”
“Did she enjoy making you over?”
I nodded. “One night for her to pretend to fix me.”
“You don’t need fixing.” He said it with certainty, even though he was probably the only human being on planet Earth who would ever see me that way.
The diner was empty except for a couple of pot-heads eating French fries in the back corner and the late night waitress, Beth.
“Why do you have this child out so late?” Beth demanded sourly as we took our usual booth.
She was our favorite late night waitress, and coincidentally, she was also the only late night waitress.
“We’re celebrating,” Liam said.
She cocked an eyebrow at him as she plunked two glasses of water down on the table. “What is there to celebrate at midnight? We should all be in bed.”
“Deidra’s ability to stand up for herself, to take care of herself. She’s almost all grown up.” He winked at me. “Doesn’t need me anymore.”
