by Dee J. Stone
Other than Rey and another guy.
Rey’s forehead shines with sweat. Knees shake. He’s swallowing like one of those garbage bags is lodged in his throat.
“Where is the damn money?” the guy shouts.
I step forward. “Rey? What’s going on?”
Rey’s terrified eyes jump to me. “Cruise, get out of here!”
The guy turns around. Gaze meets mine. He looks like trouble. Tattoos, half-shaven head. Torn clothes. Piercings. “Who the hell are you?” he demands.
“Can ask you the same thing.”
“Get lost. We have business to discuss.”
“I’m not—”
“Just get out of here, Cruise!” Rey yells.
The guy raises a hand to punch Rey. I leap.
Chapter Eighteen
Lex
“Why do you always park so far from the building?” I grumble.
“Because I always arrive last,” Dani says.
She forgot her science textbook, so we’re walking all the way to the other end of the school parking lot to get it from her car. My legs are sore from the intense dance practice we had this morning. And I mean real intense. Coach worked us so hard, I almost wanted to quit.
“Stop being a baby, Lex.”
I frown. “I feel like my legs are on fire.”
“You don’t have to tag along, you know.”
Yeah, I know. But I want to. We spend so little time together, and I feel like I need to squeeze in as much Lex/Dani time as possible. Getting her book from her car may only take ten minutes, but it’s ten minutes more than I had an hour ago.
She unlocks the car, opens the back door, and reaches for her textbook. Holding it up in the air, she says, “Eureka! Now Mr. Jenkins won’t take off points for not having my book in class.” She rolls her eyes.
We make our way back to the school building. Just as we’re about to climb up the stairs, I hear something. It’s a voice, a familiar one. I strain my ears. “Is that Cruiser?” I ask.
The voice gets louder, like he’s shouting.
“Definitely Cruiser,” Dani says.
It’s coming from behind the school. I turn around and rush over. Dani follows. I see him standing there with Rey and a guy who looks like he came out of juvie. Rey is as pale as snow, but I can’t see Cruiser’s expression because his back is turned. The juvie kid’s face is inches away from Cruiser.
Clearly, some sort of argument is going on.
It seems as though we’re not the only ones to hear the shouts. A few kids are gathered around. Some are looking out of the windows of their classrooms.
Cruiser turns away like he’s done talking to the guy. But a second later, he whips around, raises a fist, and smashes it into the guy’s face. It’s such a strong blow that the guy is knocked off his feet and thrown back.
I gasp, feeling my eyes widen. Cruiser punched a guy.
A girl shrieks and races to the guy, helping him to a sitting position. His face is a mess. Blood is dripping all over the ground and onto his shirt and jeans.
Dani whistles. I stare at Cruiser. I’ve never seen him that violent, and it scares me to death.
“What the devil is going on out here?” Vice Principal Rayer storms into the backyard. One look at the guy on the ground and she intakes a long breath. “Reagan Dalton, Elvis Dalton, and Jake Tyler. Into my office right now.”
No one budges. Rey’s face is still white, the girl’s pressing a bloody tissue to her boyfriend’s nose, and I still can’t see Cruiser’s expression. I don’t know if he has any remorse. I don’t know if he looks triumphant.
VP Rayer grabs hold of Cruiser’s arm and pulls him toward the back door of the school. Rey and Jake follow. Cruiser looks back and his eyes lock with mine. His eyebrows rise in surprise. Then regret.
I saw it, Cruiser Dalton. And I don’t like it, not at all.
Chapter Nineteen
Cruiser
“A whole week’s suspension?” Mom’s hands squeeze the steering wheel. “Why did you punch that boy, Elvis?”
I bite my tongue.
“You’re lucky you didn’t get expelled. You broke his nose.”
I curse to myself. I didn’t mean to break his nose. Hell, I didn’t mean to punch him.
Mom shakes her head. “You were making such good progress. Do we need to send you to Cayton Hill for troubled boys?”
I press my lips together before I explode. Is she really hanging Cayton over my head? Thought we were past that.
She goes on and on. How my bad behavior will get me far in life. Does one mistake outdo all the good I’ve done? I met with the damn guidance counselor today. I’ve been studying hard to get my grades up. I speak with more respect to my parents. All that goes to hell because of one mistake?
I tune her out and stare out the window. If only Rey said something in the principal’s office. But no. The guy kept his mouth shut, just like always. Even though I saved his damn ass.
I count to ten and breathe. I need to forget about all of this and move on.
We enter the house. It’s quiet. Too quiet. Gran and Gramps caught a flight to New York this morning. They had to cut their vacation short because a friend died. I miss them like hell already.
Mom sends me up to my room to do my homework. I make a fist, but force it to my side instead of to the wall. Dammit, Rey. He’s in more shit than I thought. Deep in shit. Buried so deep it’ll be hard to dig him out.
I drop down on my bed and rub my face.
Lex. The look on her face when Rayer dragged me out of the backyard. She was horrified. I guess she saw the whole show. I slam my fist on the bed. I didn’t want her to see me like that. I’ve gotten into a lot of fights in the past, messed up people’s noses. But it’s been a while. I stopped in New York. I’m going to strangle Rey with my bare hands.
I’m huffing. Getting too worked up over this. It’s not my problem. Rey’s not my problem. Except he is. If I won’t look after him, no one will.
I need to fix my mind on something. I grab my school bag and yank the thing open. Some crap tumbles out. Makes a mess on the floor. Getting down on my knees, I push things aside until I find my math homework. Mom wants me to focus on homework. I laugh like I’m high. Homework, as if that’s the most important thing going on in my life right now. If she knew what kind of shit Rey’s involved in…
Twenty minutes into homework, my phone beeps. Lex? I grab it. But it’s not Lex. It’s Erica Sandford. Hey, Cruiser. Long time no see. Miss me?
Damn. She and I…we hooked up a few times when I came back from New York. Why the hell is she contacting me now? I haven’t heard from her in weeks.
Another text: Want to come over tonight?
I ignore her. I’m not that guy anymore. I don’t sleep around. Just seeing her name and the text brings me back. Makes me feel dirty, like someone poured a pile of crap over me.
I’ve grown. Changed. Gotten better. I have a girl I’m crazy about.
I delete her message.
***
An hour and a half later, Rey hesitantly walks in. I don’t say or do anything, just pretend to be working on my math problems. I feel his eyes on me. Nervous, worried. Scared. I count to ten again. But it doesn’t calm me down. A fire is burning inside me, ready to kill everyone and everything in my path. I shoot to my feet and throw my school crap to the floor.
“Drugs, Rey?” I shout. “You lied to me!”
Backing up until he hits the wall, he holds out his palms, motioning for me to keep my voice down.
“No, maybe I should yell louder. Let them know exactly what shit you’ve gotten into.”
His face goes really white. Like he’s about to faint. My chest heaves. I ball my fists at my sides.
I rake my hand through my hair. “Dammit, Rey.”
“I...I didn’t…” He swallows hard. “I didn’t mean—”
“That guy was going to rearrange your face. I saved your damn ass.”
“I-I know.” He trie
s to back away even more, but he’s practically fused into the wall. “I-I didn’t need you to—”
“Shut up.” I rake my hand through my hair again and start to pace. “You bought drugs off that guy that night I picked you up from that shady neighborhood. You owe him money. That what happened?”
His eyes are wide. Terrified. I gulp in some air and try to calm myself. There’s no sense in exploding on him. I need him to talk to me. I don’t want to drive him away. If he doesn’t have me looking out for him, I don’t know what he’d do.
Taking in some more breaths, I sit down near him. He hugs his legs to his chests and rocks. Like a little kid. Tears slide down his cheeks.
My heart softens. Guess I can’t stand to see my bro in pain. I shuffle a little closer. Rest my hand on his shoulder. “What happened?”
He covers his face with his hands. “I’m in deep shit, aren’t I?”
“Yeah, you are. Want to tell me what happened?”
“I was with Nate and his friends that night. We met with another guy and Jake Tyler. They sold us drugs. I…I…” He sobs. “I didn’t know they’d make me pay for it all. I don’t have that kind of money.”
Shit, this is bad.
“I-I thought I could talk to him. Guess I was wrong.”
I shut my eyes for a sec. “Drugs, Rey?”
He rocks again. Moans.
“We went through this the last time. I gave you the pot. You promised you wouldn’t touch that ever again. Especially because Mom found the joint.”
“I know.” Another moan.
“What’s going on with you, bro? You drop out of Kelman’s, you hang out with the wrong crowd. Ditch your friends. Now you owe some drug dealer a crap-load of money. Do you want to get your ass killed?”
He continues to rock and moan.
“You gonna tell me what’s really wrong?”
“I…I can’t. Don’t make me.”
“I almost got expelled because of you. You get that? You were sitting with me in the principal’s office. You didn’t even defend me! I had to come up with some lame crap that he spoke shit about my girlfriend.”
“I would have gotten expelled if they knew about the drugs! And Mom and Dad—”
“And me? You know what Mom said? She wants to ship me off to Cayton’s.”
His head springs up. Shocked eyes stare at me.
“Yeah. I’m cleaning up your mess, Rey. I stood up for you like a good brother. But I can’t protect you like this. You need to start putting your act together.”
“I don’t need you to protect me.”
I scoff. “Really? You rather be in the hospital right now?” I shake my head. “You didn’t even thank me. Or apologize. After everything I do for you—”
He jumps to his feet. “I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t know the guys would screw me over like this.”
I stand, too. “I’ve been where you are. Do you really want that? You want to screw up your life? How will you get into a good music program? Be a famous violinist? How—”
“I’m never going to be a famous violinist!”
My mouth snaps shut. I stare at him. “What are you talking about?”
He spins around, facing his back to me. His hands fist at his sides. “Don’t you get it? I left Kelman’s because I don’t belong there.”
I continue to stare at his back. What the hell? “Rey—”
He whirls around. “They’re all better than me! You should have seen the way they looked at me. The teachers, the kids. Like I was some idiot who accidentally got accepted into their school. All the teachers hated me. Were disappointed in me. I didn’t meet their expectations.” He punches a wall. A bit too hard because he yelps and shakes his hand out.
“Wait a sec, Rey. You quit Kelman’s because you thought you sucked?”
“Yes!” He kicks the wall. “I was so damn excited. Couldn’t wait to get there and be part of the school. I thought that was where I belonged, with kids and teachers who breathed, ate, and lived music.” He falls to his knees and grabs hold of his head. “I’m such an idiot.”
I get down on my knees, too. Reach my hand out and lay it on his shoulder. “Rey.”
He shrugs me off. Gets to his feet and marches to the window. He peers out. “I’m a failure. I don’t belong at Kelman’s. I don’t belong in the music world. I don’t belong anywhere.”
I get up. “Sure you do. You’re a great violinist. I—”
“What the hell do you know? You don’t give a crap about the violin. You don’t know what’s good or not. You should have seen those kids. They were geniuses, child prodigies. And I sucked ass.”
“No one’s born a genius. With practice and determination—”
“No!” He spins around. “It’s over. My violin is over. I’m done with it. Forever.”
“You don’t mean that, Rey. You love the violin. It’s your dream. You can’t just—”
“I’m nothing, Cruise. Nothing.”
He storms past me. Out of my room. Before I can say anything, he slams the door to his room.
I plop down on my bed. This is why Rey’s been acting out of control. All his life, he’s had his violin. He had other interests, too, but his dream was to be a famous violin player. Now he thinks he sucks. He gave up on Kelman’s. Gave up on the violin.
He’s got no clue who he is.
Chapter Twenty
Lex
I stare out my window. Cruiser’s curtain is drawn. I wait for a few minutes, hoping for…I don’t know what. I wish he’d pull his curtain aside and search for me. I want our eyes to meet so I can look into his and believe that what happened yesterday was a dream. That I didn’t see him break a guy’s nose.
He and I haven’t seen or spoken to each other since VP Rayer pulled him into the school building yesterday afternoon. He sent me a text last night, apologizing and asking to talk. But I didn’t respond. I wish I could, but I don’t know what to say.
It was a punch—he didn’t kill anyone—and he may have had a good reason for doing it. But he was so violent. I’ve never seen him like that. A part of me, buried deep down, worries that there’s so much I don’t know about him. He spent a whole year in New York doing who knows what. I trust him, I really do. But when he does unpredictable things like breaking a guy’s nose, I freak.
Slouching to my bed, I grab my stuffed hippo and lie down. I feel like such a jerk. Cruiser is an unbelievably sweet guy. I love him so much it hurts. He had to have a reason for punching that guy. I know he had. I grab my phone and text him.
Hey, Cruise. Can you come over?
As I wait for his response, I stare at the ceiling. Despite what I tell myself, I know Cruiser has issues, just like everyone else. He can be so soft one minute, but rash the next. The rash part scares me. I honestly don’t think he’d ever lay a hand on me. But…with what happened to Dani, I’m scared. Jimmy Fuller seemed so sweet the few times I met him. I didn’t know anything was wrong until Dani called me one night, crying that Jimmy shoved her against a wall. That was the first sign. She tried to get out of the relationship, but he wouldn’t hear it. He gave her bruises all over her body and she finally threatened to report him to the police. He backed off and that was the end of it.
I know Cruiser would never do that to me. I know it. But I’ve been wrong before. I roll onto my side and bury my face in my pillow.
My phone beeps. I reach for it and scan the screen. A text from Cruiser.
Under house arrest. Can’t come. Sorry.
My heart sinks a little. I really want to talk to him. And maybe I’m being too much like a girl and deciphering every single word, but his message seems cold. Like he doesn’t care.
I respond with, Can you text?
Again, he doesn’t answer. Is he mad at me? Why should he be mad? He was the one who punched a guy. He can’t blame me for freaking out, can he? Cruiser’s not one to hold grudges. At least, I don’t think so.
I get up and walk to the window. His curtain is still drawn.
I sit down on the still and stare at my phone, as if commanding it to control Cruiser to answer my text.
That’s what sucks about having a boyfriend. You freak out when he doesn’t answer because you think he doesn’t like you or might be cheating. But all along he’s doing something important to him, like playing a game or working out. Then you feel like an idiot for overreacting. That’s how I feel. But I’m not sure if I’m overreacting.
I rub my forehead. I wish I could get out of my head for a while.
My phone beeps. I scan the screen.
Not a good time. Hope to talk to you later, darlin’. Miss you like crazy :(
My heart warms. He’s not being cold to me. He doesn’t hate me.
Sure, Cruise. Miss you like crazy, too :(
I slide my phone into my pocket and make my way downstairs. Mom just finished preparing supper, and I help set the table. When I’m done, I call Dad from the den and wheel Rosie over. She has a small frown on her face. She’s been doing a little better, but Jamie’s procedure still weighs down on her. It hurts my heart that she has to deal with this at such a young age. But she’s a fighter. She was so brave those months in the hospital after the accident, so much stronger than my parents and me. She’ll get through this. As long as we’re here for her, she’ll be okay.
I bump her shoulder. “Anything fun happen in school today?”
She shrugs. “It’s school. Are fun things supposed to happen?”
I laugh. “Sometimes. How’s learning how to write script going?”
“Fine.”
I glance at Mom, who’s watching us. Her eyebrows are creased. The whole procedure thing has us all on edge. Of course we want it to be a success so Jamie could walk again, but we’re worried what effect it will have on Rosie. It’ll break our hearts to see her revert to how she was before she befriended him.
“How about inviting your old friends over for that sleepover you wouldn’t shut up about?” I ask.
Instead of her face lighting up like it did when she first brought it up, a shadow creeps on instead. “I don’t want anyone over.”
