The Libby Garrett Intervention (Science Squad #2)

by Kelly Oram

  Grayson’s jaw dropped all the way to the ground. “Are you shitting me with this, Brandon?”

  “What? This was my grandpa’s tux. It’s classic.”

  “It’s hideous!” Grayson said. “Dude. I change my mind. Put the jacket back on. Please.”

  I don’t know what was more entertaining—Brandon’s suit or Grayson’s horror. We all burst into ridiculous laughter and didn’t stop until someone came through the door and said, “Sounds like the party’s already started.”

  Damn it all to hell! What was Owen doing here? The guy was a douche, a total prick. He didn’t care about Libby. So why was he standing there dressed like he was headed to the prom with everyone else? Was he really here to take Libby to the dance? Why was he fighting so hard for a girl he was embarrassed to be seen with? Didn’t he realize this would count as a public appearance together? As her date? Like, as a couple?

  My thoughts were screaming at me so loudly that I didn’t notice how silent the room had fallen. Everyone was staring at Owen, just as shocked as I was. Libby looked like she might actually faint.

  Owen scanned the group of kids with a bit of a cringe, but then his eyes landed on Libby and stuck there. The appreciation in his eyes surprised me. I guess I’d always known he was attracted to her on some level because he had no problem taking her to bed, but it was different seeing that attraction. Libby noticed it too, and her eyes grew even wider.

  Owen’s gaze flicked to me and narrowed for a brief second, before he took Libby’s hand. “Can we talk?” he muttered.

  Libby bobbed her head up and down and followed Owen to a corner of the room. Most of the group stared at them, but both Avery and Grayson looked my direction. I couldn’t meet their gazes. I wasn’t an idiot. I knew I was about to get ditched.

  Unable to handle Avery’s and Grayson’s pity, I grabbed the coffee pot and made the rounds, offering warm-ups to the few customers in the shop making use of the free wi-fi. Libby was waiting for me at the counter when I returned. “Would you hate me?” she asked.

  Owen was standing with Grayson now, but his eyes were burning holes into me. As if he had any right to be jealous? Asshole. I know I’ve said that before, but some things are worth repeating.

  Libby didn’t look torn with indecision; she looked apologetic. She’d already made her decision. Didn’t take her long. Unable to trust myself not to say something stupid, I shrugged.

  I guess it was my turn to be dragged to the corner for a private conversation. As soon as we were out of earshot from everyone, Libby looked at me with desperate eyes. “Adam, I’m sorry. I don’t want to cancel, but it’s prom. I’ve dreamed of this my whole life, and for the last year, I’ve pictured Owen being my date. He’s willing to go. He doesn’t want to, but he’s doing it for me because he knows it means a lot to me. He’s got tickets, and dinner reservations, and he even rented us our own limo.”

  And a nice hotel room, no doubt.

  “He went all out,” she continued, her voice pleading for understanding. “He did it for me.”

  I ground my teeth together and bit back a number of snarky replies. I’d promised I’d do better to keep my personal feelings out of this. “I understand that it’s your prom,” I said, once I could speak calmly. “I know how much you want to go, and I’d love to see you go and enjoy yourself.” Relief and a look of pure joy washed over her…until I added, “With your friends.”

  I ignored the pout she gave me. No way was I going to let her off the hook easily with this one. I tried to keep my voice indifferent. “Canceling on me aside, it’s not a good idea. Every addict is faced with temptation eventually. You’ve got to learn to say no.”

  “But he made an effort.”

  I sighed. “He made an effort because you cut off the sex. You wounded his pride, rejected him. Twenty bucks says he shelled out the cash for a nice hotel room tonight and will ask you to leave with him less than half an hour after you get to the dance.”

  Libby’s face fell, as if I’d crushed all her hopes. Then it flushed red with rage. “I know you think he’s a waste of space, and you think that people can’t change, but I don’t believe that. He showed up. He’s willing to go to the dance as my date. This is beyond huge for him. I like you, Adam, I really do, but I like him, too. You know I do. That’s what this whole thing has been about. I don’t want to cancel on you, but the effort he’s making tonight deserves respect. He deserves a chance to prove he’s changed. And it’s my prom. If it weren’t prom, I’d tell him no.”

  My hands fisted at my sides and I clenched my so tightly my head started to ache. I took several deep breaths. I couldn’t speak. Nothing good would come out of my mouth right now.

  Libby’s expression softened. “Please try to understand. Think about it from my point of view. You said you’d try to keep your personal feelings out of it.”

  I tried not to react. I swear on all things holy I tried to keep quiet. I tried. And I failed. “I can’t keep my personal feelings out of it,” I snapped. “This sucks, Libby! You’re not just ditching me; you’re ditching me for an asshole who is going to hurt you.”

  Libby returned my anger. Or maybe it was just frustration. “You don’t know that! You’re jealous, and it’s keeping you from looking at this rationally.”

  I knew she was upset and feeling defensive. I could even understand what this looked like in her eyes. It was the fairy-tale ending where her dream man changed for her. Chicks live for that kind of shit. But shit is exactly what it was. Guys don’t do that in real life. Especially not guys like Owen. She was going to get burned.

  I surprised myself when I spoke in a low, calm voice. “Of course I’m jealous. I know I can’t compete with him. I don’t have his looks, his cash, or his popular college athlete status. But if you’re so shallow that that’s what you need in a guy, then really, I wish you luck tonight. I hope those few hours where he makes you feel good are worth it when he goes back to all his college girlfriends tomorrow.”

  So much for not losing my temper. I regretted my words instantly, but the damage was done. Libby flinched, and when she spoke, her voice shook with barely controlled rage. “Way uncalled for, Coffee Man. You really are an ass. You know that’s not what this is about. You know I don’t care about looks, money, or status. You know I’m not that kind of person.”

  My heart sank into my stomach. She was right. I knew damn well this wasn’t about Owen’s money or his looks. It was deeper than that. It was about her need to feel validated by the person who’d never given her the love she’d been desperate for. “Libby, I’m sorry. You’re right. I didn’t mean that, I just...shit! I’m sorry.”

  Libby calmed down, but her face turned sad. “You talk about me needing to love myself, but you can’t do that yourself, can you? You don’t think you’re worthy of someone’s love any more than I do. Maybe you don’t have body image issues, but you definitely have issues.”

  She was right. She was so right. She’d called me a hypocrite before, and she was right. My silence was a confirmation of her accusations. Not that she’d needed one. It also signaled the end of this conversation.

  She stepped back, and the second she put space between us Owen was there, slipping his arms around her like a protective boyfriend. “Problem, wildcat?”

  The question was directed at Libby, but it was really more of a threat toward me. Libby gave me a small, pained smile and shook her head. “No. Let’s go.”

  “Libby, wait.”

  I reached out for her hand, desperate to change her mind. She stopped to listen, but Owen had other plans. He grabbed my hand and threw it off Libby’s wrist, then pushed me away from her.

  I didn’t care if the guy was a muscled giant; some things needed to be said, and I wasn’t going to let them leave without saying those things. I shoved him back and met his glare with pure hatred. “You’d better treat her right for once, asshole. She’s an amazing person, and she deserves the best. You hurt her again, and I will beat your ass until yo
u can’t get up.”

  Owen’s eyes flashed.

  Before we could get into a brawl, Grayson was on Owen and Josiah was holding me back. “Come on, kid, calm down. Nobody needs to throw any punches tonight.” He turned to Avery. “Maybe you and your friends should get going now.”

  Avery, face pale as the moon and eyes glistening, nodded. She mouthed an apology to me and then herded her friends out the door. Libby looked back at me before she walked out the door. Her anger had given way to confusion. She hesitated, and for a moment I thought she might change her mind. But then Owen pulled her out the door, and in her daze, she followed him.

  After the whole group left, my anger deflated and disappointment hit me hard. Jealous, yes, I was definitely jealous. It wasn’t fair that some jerks had it all and some of us got the shaft every single step of the way. Needing to vent for a moment, I ignored Josiah’s calls of concern and went into the break room to cool off. I guess my anger hadn’t disappeared entirely, because once I was alone, I slammed my fist into my employee locker. “Damn it!”

  Josiah followed the noise and found me sitting at the table, glaring down at my hands. He sat down next to me and awkwardly patted my shoulder. After a heavy sigh, he said, “All relationships have hiccups, son. That’s all this was.”

  I scoffed bitterly. “Sure, it was. We don’t have a relationship. And if we did, I just destroyed it.”

  “You were both confused. Both hurting. She’ll realize she picked the wrong guy, you’ll say you’re sorry for the things you said, and you guys will work it out.”

  I laughed once, such a bitter laugh that I could taste it. He made it sound so easy.

  “Why don’t you cut out early? Go home and shake it off. I’ll cover you.”

  I hated losing even fifteen minutes on the time clock, but I was too upset to go back out there, so I nodded. “Thanks.” I glanced up at him, feeling suddenly sheepish. “Sorry I handled things so badly. It was completely unprofessional.”

  Josiah chuckled. “Love is anything but professional, kid.”

  Adam

  My night went from bad to worse when I walked into my apartment to find it decorated and smelling delicious. There were white Christmas lights and pink and white crepe paper strung up around the room with pink and white balloons scattered all over the floor. The coffee table in front of the couch was set all fancy with a tablecloth and matching dishes. There were even candles in actual candlesticks.

  “Kate?” I was scared to ask but too curious not to. “What is all this?”

  Kate burst out of her bedroom, both grinning and shrieking at the same time. “You’re home early! I didn’t get the banner up yet.” She grabbed a dark men’s suit still on its hanger from where she’d lain it on the couch and thrust it into my arms. “It’s okay; I can do it while you go change. How long do we have until she gets here?”

  My sister’s antics dissolved my horrible mood, and yet I felt terrible as I realized what she was doing. “Kate.” Grinning, I grabbed her by the shoulder and forced her to stop racing around like a crazed chicken. “Stop.” I glanced around at the decorations. “What is all this?”

  The hint of the happy little girl I knew from when we were kids vanished, and cool, tough Kate made her return. She shrugged as if striving for indifference, but her cheeks flushed pink. “You never got a prom.”

  I glanced around the room again, and though it had been done on a budget, a lot of time and effort had been put into it. My throat closed up and I had to clear it in order to speak. “You really did all this for me?”

  A small smile broke through her tough outer shell. “You’ve missed out on so much in order to take care of me. You work so hard and worry so much about me all the time. I never get to fuss over you. Take tonight and be a normal teenager for once. Enjoy your prom.”

  When my eyes started to burn, I pulled my sister to me for a tight hug. The force of it startled her. I wasn’t usually so affectionate, but after getting dumped, I needed it. It was nice to know I was good enough for at least one person in this world. It didn’t matter if I was short, or broke, or uneducated with no life goals. I was Kate’s Superman. “Thanks, Kate.” I pulled back and looked at the ground, suddenly needing to scratch an itch on my neck. “I guess you’re not always the world’s most annoying sister.”

  Kate rolled her eyes. “Well, you are definitely always the world’s most annoying brother.” She nudged me with her elbow and added, “But I love you anyway.” She gave me a shove toward her bedroom. “Now, enough with the mushy stuff. Go get changed.”

  And just like that, my heart sank into my stomach again. “No need.” I sighed as I looked into the kitchen. “I hope you’re hungry.”

  Kate gasped. “You got ditched?”

  I sank down onto the couch and looked up at my shocked sister. Her face was bright red. In seconds I’d have to tie her down to keep her from going on a rampage. “His Holy Hotness showed up looking like James Bond with a limo and prom tickets. The guy’s like eight feet taller than me with more abs than Kyle Hamilton.”

  Kate picked her jaw up off the ground in order to scoff. “Still. I can’t believe she ditched you for the prick.”

  “She thinks he’s being all sweet, and really, I hope he is for her sake, but he’s going to hurt her.”

  Kate, now pacing the small room, shook her head furiously. “It would serve her right.”

  Part of me agreed, but a bigger part of me was just worried about her. “I can’t blame her. Prom was really important to her. And it’s a big public event in front of all her schoolmates. He offered her everything she’s ever wanted from him. I can’t compete with that.”

  Kate held up her hand. “Don’t even. You are leagues above that asshole, and you know it.”

  I rolled my eyes, but smiled so that Kate wouldn’t launch into one of her favorite lectures. “Well. You’ve obviously put a lot of work into this, and it smells great. There’s no need to let it all go to waste.” I glanced up at her. “Unless…”

  She rolled her eyes. “I didn’t cook it.”

  “Awesome. Then let’s eat.”

  I jumped up, eyes and stomach set on the kitchen and whatever that smell was, but Kate stopped me and pushed the suit at me again. “Are you serious?” I asked.

  “This is your prom, mister, whether you have a date or not. And you’re right; I worked my ass off for this. So yes, I’m serious. You want the food, you wear the suit. I’ve never seen you dressed up.”

  I wanted to argue, but I could tell it would mean a lot to her, so I took the clothes from her and picked up the movies I’d thrown on the counter when I got home. “Well then, Miss Koepp.” I held up the crappy Disney movie and grinned. “Will you be my date to the PROM?”

  Kate’s face as she took the DVD case and read the back turned from disgusted to terrified. Her head snapped up. “You’re kidding, right?”

  If I thought I could handle it, I’d make her watch the movie as payback for the suit. But there was no way I could turn that trash on. I laughed and held up the Carrie remake. “Hell yeah. How about this?”

  Kate laughed. “See? Annoying. Hurry and go change. It’s Italian, and there’s chocolate cheesecake for dessert.”

  I took two steps before I realized what she said. “Chocolate cheesecake? Where the hell did you get chocolate cheesecake?” I looked around the room again and frowned. “Come to think of it, where did you get any of this?”

  Kate grinned. “I’m not the only one who loves you and thinks you work too hard. The decorations and dishes and stuff are from Avery, and the suit is one of Josiah’s old ones that looked close to your size. When I told him why I needed to borrow the suit, he pitched in and sprung for a nice dinner. He brought it by as a surprise before heading in to work tonight.” Her smile turned wicked. “He brought me some too, so there’s lots.”

  I laughed at her excitement and then killed it. “I get Libby’s dessert.”

  “Hey!” She punched my arm. “It was my i
dea.”

  “I’m the one who got ditched. I need it more than you.”

  She actually folded her arms and scrunched up her nose like a little kid. I swear she was seconds away from stomping her foot, but instead she sighed. “Fine. You’re right. But I get her breadsticks.”

  At the mention of breadsticks, I hurried to change, grumbling the entire way about the suit—not that I’d ever actually worn one, but I imagined they sucked. I smiled as I looked myself over in the mirror. Kate was ridiculous for making me wear the thing for dinner, but I loved that she was insistent about it. She complained constantly that I never got to be a normal teenager, but neither did she. I’ve done all I can to give her some semblance of a normal life, but growing up the way we did, normal was simply a luxury we both missed out on. She’d get her prom next year, but for now, I wanted her to have fun tonight, too.

  Kate had to work every bit as hard as me, just in a different way. We never just got to be silly and immature. So I put on the suit and even posed for pictures without complaining when she surprised me with a borrowed camera. Then we ate our fancy dinner on the couch until we both wanted to puke—I shared the extra cheesecake with her—and watched Stephen King’s version of prom.

  All things considered, I had a great night and Kate did a fantastic job of keeping me distracted. But toward the end of the movie, after we’d sort of settled into food comas and grown quiet, my depression reared its ugly head again. It couldn’t be helped. I was sitting there watching this movie about this poor, unsuspecting girl having her dreams come true as she’s escorted to the prom with the guy she likes. But I knew she was about to get her heart broken, and suddenly I didn’t want to watch the end. Kate didn’t say anything when I spontaneously shut off the TV.

  “Why do girls always fall for the douchebags?”

  Kate slid me a glance but didn’t otherwise call me on my whining. Instead, she faked an insult and said, “Not all of us. I don’t have a crush on any douches.”