Mrs. Scarlett accepted the hug he gave her with a confused look. “Is everything okay?” she asked, frowning.
“Sure, of course it is.” Will gestured back to Trevor with a light laugh. “Trev and I were arguing over who had the prettier girlfriend. You know guys and fighting for their women’s honor and all that. Sorry if we freaked you out.” Will turned to Trevor and Annabelle in the yard and raised a hand, his light expression obviously forced over his rage. “Didn’t mean to insult you, Belle. Everyone knows you’re beautiful.” He deliberately flashed a charming smile and then led his mother into the house, the door closing behind them.
Annabelle stood in silence behind Trevor, her mind spinning over what she had just witnessed. She looked up as Trevor turned to face her, looking exhausted.
“He was with me,” Annabelle heard herself say. She felt like she was watching everything take place from somewhere far away, as if it were a movie unfolding before her. She watched Trevor’s eyes flash with alarm and confusion. “Will. He was with me today. There were… rumors going around about me. I was upset, and Will took me away from school. He wasn’t making any drug deals. He was helping me.”
Trevor’s expression had shattered. “Why… why didn’t you come find me?” he asked, sounding like he was almost choking on the words.
She shook her head. “I didn’t plan on leaving. I don’t think Will did, either. But I ran outside, and he was there, and he could tell I was upset. And then we saw his friends get taken away by the police, and I think we both just needed to get out of there. He brought me back right before school ended.”
Trevor pulled her into a warm, strong embrace. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, though she didn’t know why. She had been the one to keep the truth from him, but he was apologizing to her? “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Annabelle.”
She could only hold him back.
***
Annabelle sighed as she entered her bedroom. It had been a long, long day, and all she wanted to do was sleep. Once Trevor had finally stopped apologizing, he had gone into his house to be with his mom, and she had spent hours trying to catch up on the homework she had missed. Then over dinner she had told her parents she had skipped school with Will because his friends had been taken away by the police and he had been upset—leaving out why she had been outside with Will in the first place—and guiltily listened to their lecture about skipping school. When they had finally finished, almost an hour later, they had written her a note excusing her from school that day. She still felt a little guilty, but she felt a lot better, too. After the lecture she’d dragged herself up the stairs to the bathroom for a warm shower, wrapped herself in a bathrobe, and was finally ready for bed.
She shut the door and flicked on the light, looking up out her window. She gasped and jumped back, her heart leaping into her throat. Will sat on the branch leading to her room, almost invisible under the cover of darkness. She hurried to the window and opened it, kneeling down to look at him. “Will,” she hissed, her heart pounding furiously in her chest. “What are you doing?”
“Trevor said you told him I spent the day with you.”
She flushed and dropped her eyes. “Well... you did…”
“He actually apologized,” Will announced, his voice unreadable. “For ‘wrongfully accusing’ me.”
She hesitated, not quite sure what to say. “Isn’t that… good?”
“What would you have done if he had accused you of trying to cheat on him with me? He doesn’t exactly think highly of me, so it wouldn’t have been out of the realm of possibility for him to jump to that conclusion. You couldn’t know that I wouldn’t lie.”
She felt her heart plummet into her stomach. “What?” she asked, bewildered. She shook her head, sure that she had somehow heard him wrong. “That’s ludicrous. Trevor would never be so cruel.”
He laughed softly and shook his head.
She hesitated again, but forced herself to speak. “My friends… They’re the ones who ratted out your friends. To save face for me. They said your friends drugged all the drinks, and someone called the cops. I don’t know who. I don’t think it was one of my friends, but…” she trailed off, not sure how to finish. “I just wanted you to know,” she concluded softly, unable to meet his eyes.
She braced herself for cold words, but there was just silence. Had he been so angered by her words that he had gone back into his own room? Slowly, she lifted her eyes, surprised and a little relieved to see him still sitting there as calmly as ever, watching her under the shroud of darkness.
“And?” he prompted.
She straightened, startled. “And what?” she asked, bewildered.
He cocked an eyebrow in something like cold amusement. “You want to make sure we’re not going to retaliate? What?”
She blinked. “Retaliate?” she repeated, a cold sweat breaking out over her body. “Y-you’re not going to, are you? They were just trying to protect me, and they’re not the ones who called the police, so it’s really not their fault—“
“I’m not going to do anything,” he interrupted, and she felt the air drain from her lungs. “Everyone knew my friends dealt. It could have been coincidence.”
She could have hugged him. Instead, flustered, she dropped her eyes, not sure what to say back.
“Here.”
She looked up, confused, and saw him leaning toward her on the branch, holding a book in his hand. She took it slowly, looking down at it even as she settled back. “Elmer Gantry?” she asked, looking up at him.
He stood on the branch. “It’s one of my favorites. I thought you might like it.”
She watched as he moved easily to the branch that led to his window, surprised to discover she was disappointed he was leaving. “Thank you,” she called over to him.
He paused on his branch and looked back at her. “You’re welcome,” he said, and then he was in his window. She pushed herself up off of her knees, looking down at the book. She climbed into bed with it, bewildered and a little pleased. Will could be harsh and cruel, but he was still intriguing.
She opened the book, which was covered in creases and obviously well read, and settled against her pillows.
Chapter Six
Annabelle felt like she was glowing as she walked into the crowded diner under Trevor’s arm, wearing his letterman’s jacket like a brand. She spotted their group of friends crammed around their regular table in the back, several chairs pulled up to accommodate the ones that wouldn’t fit in the circular booth. Annabelle caught Claire’s eye and her friend immediately started catcalling, inciting the others into a chorus of cheers and whistles.
Blushing furiously in a mixture of immense pleasure and embarrassment, Annabelle stood at the head of the table with Trevor as the others slid over to make room. She had never been the center of attention before, and while couldn’t say she liked it, there was something exhilarating about it; about being Trevor’s girlfriend. She slid into the booth beside Erin, Trevor sitting down on the edge of the packed bench beside her.
“How was the movie?” Zach asked, his arm wrapped around Claudia’s shoulders.
“It was good,” Trevor answered, smiling. He picked up a menu from the table and held it out for Annabelle to look at with him. “What did you guys do?”
“Made plans for tomorrow night,” Parker replied, grinning wolfishly. Annabelle felt a weak smile form as the others laughed and began chatting excitedly. Even though she was sure that Parker hadn’t drugged her to be cruel, she still felt uncomfortable around him.
“Tomorrow night?” Trevor asked, frowning in confusion.
“You know!” Claire insisted. “The big launch of that new club?”
“Oh… Right.” Trevor smiled charmingly. “I forgot.”
“Well you’ve had a big week,” Claudia reminded him, shooting him a kittenish wink. Annabelle had to clasp her fingers together to keep from shifting uneasily. She knew Claudia didn’t mean anything by the flirtatious gesture, but she couldn
’t help feeling troubled that her friend might be interested in her new boyfriend. “We’ve barely seen Annabelle all week long.”
There was laughter around the table, while Trevor and Annabelle offered their protests. Annabelle looked over at Claire nervously, but she didn’t seem to be upset about Annabelle’s lack of appearances. She was laughing and teasing with the others, no traces of annoyance on her face. Annabelle relaxed, relieved, and allowed herself to feel pleased.
Being Trevor’s girlfriend was really like a dream come true. Trevor drove her to school, walked her to her classes, and after school she did her homework in the library while he was at football practice. Then he would either take her out for dinner or they would go back to her house and watch a movie in the game room. He was gentlemanly and polite and being in a relationship with him was impossibly easy. She had never thought it would be so easy to be in a relationship after all of the stories she had heard from her friends.
“So what is the plan for tomorrow night?” Trevor asked, when their teasing died down.
The waitress came by, interrupting the conversation before it began. Before any of the girls ordered, Claire suggested they split a plate of fries, and even though Annabelle was starving, she agreed with the others. It was an unspoken rule between the girls to never order anything they couldn’t fit into their mouths in a small bite—it was unattractive. Annabelle ordered a strawberry shake and the waitress collected their menus, looking irritated as she walked away.
“How do you girls survive on nothing?” Parker asked, shaking his head with a smile. The boys had ordered cheeseburgers. “It’s why you’re all so skinny, isn’t it?”
There were squeals of delighted objections. Annabelle added her voice to the protests, but she was so hungry it felt hollow—of course it was why they were skinny. And ordering nothing had the added benefit of drawing attention to themselves.
“Well they’re all so small they don’t need much food anyway,” Trevor pointed out, smiling warmly down at Annabelle. She smiled up at his compliment, squeezing his leg under the table as he ran a hand through her hair. He looked back at the others. “So, what’s the plan for tomorrow?”
Claire lightly smacked Parker’s hand away from her, giggling, and addressed Annabelle. “Tomorrow we’re going to get ready at Claudia’s,” she told her. “I’ll swing by and pick you up around 5:00.”
Annabelle nodded appropriately. Claire turned to Trevor. “You guys are going to pick us up at 9:30.” She looked around the table at the other guys, as if waiting for confirmation.
“We’ll be there,” Zach assured her flirtatiously, winking. Claire giggled and rolled her eyes.
Annabelle was desperate to ask what the plan was if one of them was turned away at the door for having a fake ID, but she didn’t want to bring down everyone’s good mood, so she kept her mouth shut.
They began talking about the new club and how cool it was supposed to be, so Annabelle tuned out, stirring the milkshake the waitress set in front of her. Her friends were laughing loudly, drawing the attention and stares of other patrons, but she felt strangely conspicuous in the mass of it. Normally she reveled in being part of the crowd that drew so many looks of admiration, but tonight she just wanted to be sitting at home in her game room with Trevor, watching a movie.
She darted a look up at him. He was reclined back in the booth, his arm stretched out behind her, laughing and looking completely relaxed and comfortable. She grinned when he looked down at her, and he grinned back before returning to the conversation.
Annabelle tried not to sigh. Trevor was having a great time, and she would just bring him down if she continued acting the way she was. She needed to cheer up. So what if she really just wanted to be somewhere alone with him? Trevor was having fun, and he had sacrificed his evening to go to a movie he had probably hated just for her—the least she could do was stop pouting.
In the corner, Annabelle spied a boy and girl, maybe thirteen or fourteen, having dinner with their parents. They looked embarrassed and uncomfortable to be with their parents, and kept shooting longing looks at Annabelle and her friends.
The sight made her heart ache. She wanted to tell them they were lucky their parents were still healthy and able to take them out to spend time with them, because it wasn’t a luxury everyone had. She wanted to tell them to enjoy being young, because in a few years pressures they couldn’t even comprehend would become daily occurrences. She wanted to tell them she would be willing to trade places with them for the evening in exchange for their cheeseburgers.
Instead she lowered her head and stirred her milkshake.
She had to hide how subdued she felt through the rest of the meal. When Trevor drove her home, he walked her to her door, and all her melancholy feelings vanished as he leaned down. Standing on her front porch, the moonlight overhead casting a silver glow everywhere, Annabelle received her first kiss.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said, almost shyly.
She swallowed the squeal in her throat and nodded. “Tomorrow,” she agreed, grinning up at him.
Trevor Scarlett had just kissed her.
Trevor Scarlett, who she had loved since she was a child, had just kissed her.
As soon as she was in her room, she threw herself on the bed and let out an excited screech. No matter how difficult it was to be in her crowd at times, there were definitely benefits… and being able to be with Trevor Scarlett was the biggest of all.
Chapter Seven
Annabelle stared at Trevor, passed out in the passenger seat, then looked into the backseat of the SUV at the pile of unconscious bodies that made up her friends, dismayed. Out of the twelve people crammed into the SUV, only Parker remained awake. He sat in the backseat squished between Erin and Mary, belligerently talking about how gorgeous Annabelle was and all the things he could do to her.
Tears of helplessness welled up in her eyes as she stared at the dashboard. The night had started out well enough—they had gotten together as planned at Claudia’s, packed into Trevor’s SUV, and had successfully managed to get into the club. But then her friends had started drinking copious amounts of alcohol, growing increasingly rowdy and dancing wildly on tables. When Mary had passed out mid-sentence onto Zach’s shoulder and the others had just laughed hysterically, Annabelle had decided it was time to leave. It had taken almost an hour to gather everyone together to get them out to the SUV, but she had managed.
And then they had all promptly fallen asleep, including Trevor, who Parker had practically carried out of the club.
Annabelle choked on a sob. She didn’t know how to drive a manual car. How was she going to get everyone home when she was the only sober one and she couldn’t drive? If she called her parents to come get them her friends would never forgive her. But every other person she could call was crammed into Trevor’s SUV.
She held a hand to her head to try and calm down as she mentally went over every person she knew. She had a cousin who could have come to get them, but he was away at college in another state. She had only had a few acquaintances at her private school, and she hadn’t spoken to them since she had transferred, so it wasn’t like she could just call them up randomly and ask for a ride. And she just didn’t know anyone else. She had tried to drive the SUV, but she kept killing the engine, growing more flustered when Parker had started screaming incoherent instructions at her. Finally, even though she hated to admit defeat, she had given up.
Most of her friends were only children, or the oldest, so it wasn’t going to be possible for someone’s sibling to come out and…
Annabelle straightened, swiped the tears from her eyes, and quickly reached over to the passenger seat to rummage through Trevor’s pockets.
“Oooh, baby, why not me?” Parker taunted. She felt more tears in her eyes as her fingers closed around the cell phone in Trevor’s jeans. “At least I’m awake. I can show you a good time.”
She cried out when she felt his hand on her neck and lunged back to the
safety of the driver’s side door, Trevor’s cell phone in her hand. She scrolled through the numbers while Parker started singing at the top of his lungs, pausing occasionally to interject a nasty comment about what he wanted to do to her.
Fear set in and she reached for her purse, closing her hand around her pepper spray. She twisted in the seat to lean sideways against the steering wheel, facing the back of the car to prevent any surprises. Then, to her vast relief, she finally found Will’s number.
She just prayed that he would answer.
Her fingers trembled as she hit the call button. She listened to it ring once, twice, three times… then voice mail. She nervously looked around the packed parking lot, hoping a security guard wouldn’t show up and ask to see their IDs. Parker was certainly going out of his way to draw attention to them—people walking by the SUV were staring into its tinted windows, making puzzled, annoyed faces at the noise.
“Parker, shut up!” Annabelle hissed as she called Will’s phone again.
“Oooh, she’s got a mouth on her!” Parker taunted, as Annabelle desperately listened to the phone ring. Suddenly, a hand clamped around her jaw in a vice-like grip. She cried out in terror, Parker’s face only inches from hers. “I don’t like it when my girls talk back to me.”
“Get away from me!” Annabelle shrieked, trying to push herself further into the corner of the SUV.
“What the hell is your problem?” Parker laughed coldly, his dark eyes glassy. “I’m offering to show you a good time. Your boyfriend’s too messed up to do it right now. Shouldn’t you take what you can get?” His voice lowered. “And you’ve got such a body on you…”
“I swear, Parker, I will use this pepper spray on you if you don’t back off now!” Annabelle all-but screamed at him, brandishing the bottle inches from his face.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Parker objected, holding up his hands. She felt hot, heavy tears stream down her cheeks as he fell back into his seat. “I was just offering, sweetheart. No need to get so angry.”
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