As expected, Hannah started crying once the tiny spot that was their baby was pointed out on the screen. Brady hugged her closely and listened as the nurse gave them suggestions about countering morning sickness. He knew that Hannah was too busy staring at the screen to pay as much attention to the nurse as she should have been.
Her head was a jumbled mess. Aimee wanted to claim that she had no idea how she had reached that point in her life.
She couldn't explain her obsession with David except that he was the person her older sister had pointed out to her.
The older sister who hadn't responded to a single e-mail in months.
The bread crumb trail of violence and destruction was all hers. Broken lockers. Graffiti. Vandalism. The total wreckage that was now David's car. And she'd taken her friends down with her. They were all lucky that David didn’t want to ruin Kelly and Will’s lives because of her influence; that was how he explained it while looking at everybody else but her.
Aimee could pin point the moment where things started to spin out of control - it was when her mother revealed the truth about her father. Life had been turned upside down and shaken and she had no clue how she could get back on track. She was now the mean girl and that's how everyone would continue to see her.
That's how she found herself staring up at Brent Goldman’s house. Her biological father’s house.
That's where Kyle found her. “What are you doing here?”
“I don't know.”
Releasing a sigh, Kyle studied the older girl. He knew there was a chance this day might happen. He'd known about his father's affair for years, even if his parents weren't aware that he knew about it. He just never expected to see Aimee Kirkland standing in front of his house.
Letting out a cuss word that would have made Penny flush if she heard it, he pulled his half-sister away from the front yard. “It can't be you.”
“You know?” Aimee whispered. “What's he like?”
“No,” was all Kyle said. No inflection. No tone. Nothing. Just that single word.
“Why?”
“After the childish stunts you've been pulling you expect me to let you enter my mother's life and throw everything into disarray like you do with everything else? No, you don't get to meet him. No, my mother is not going to find out that you are the result of his affair while she struggled to get pregnant. No, you are not going to come into our lives before you get your own life straightened out. I have spent too much time protecting my mother from what I know and going along with my father’s bidding for you to come in and destroy everything.”
Kyle wished he could storm off, but his crutches hindered his movements. That didn't stop Aimee from staring as he moved away.
He was right. She was childish. She was acting like a spoiled brat throwing a tantrum because she couldn't get her way.
Childish. Destructive. Manipulative. All words that described her and Aimee had no idea how to go back to the girl who originally loved softball more than boys. No matter what she did nobody would be able to see her at that girl again.
It wasn't all bad news. While David's Mustang had to be in the shop for about a month Jennifer had agreed to drive them to and from school. His car needed a new paint job and the dents from the baseball bat removed. Two weeks into this arrangement was Delilah's eighteenth birthday and thanks to the Davis family tradition she got a sensible Honda. It was not much, but it was perfect for her. Jennifer went back to carting only her youngest brother to school and David and Grace caught a ride with Delilah. They parked in David's empty parking spot until David got his car back and they went back to riding in the Mustang.
The parents paid for the damages that their teenagers had done to the car and the school in exchange of no charges being filled; they were insisting that they were paid back no matter how long it took to for their children to pay back the $20,000 plus in damages.
News of the trashed car and campus spread quickly in the small town and finding jobs for the three teenagers involved was difficult. Will had to work weekends with his dad. Aimee and Kelly - much to Jennifer and Penny's amusement - could only find work at the bookstore. Kelly, having babysat for her neighbors for years had saved up most of her earnings for a college fund, was able to pay her father most of what she owed him and wisely decided to stop hanging around Aimee. It hardly mattered that her mother had demanded it; at this point she would have done it on her own.
Chapter Fifty-Seven
The rumor about Hannah’s pregnancy was still making its rounds even after Aimee’s display of temper against David’s car. Kelly suspected that Aimee had found out the truth and had decided to attempt to use it as a way to deflect attention away from her.
The problem was that nobody really cared beyond their initial surprise that the Good Girl had gotten herself knocked up. Even the drama clique allowed Hannah to continue sitting with them.
It was almost as if nothing had changed, even though everybody already knew that everything was changing.
A small handful of girls gathered around Delilah’s locker one afternoon, waiting for the bookworm and Kelly Johnson. They were worried and decided that they needed to do something to make sure that both girls were protected despite Aimee’s recent fall from grace.
Once the missing duo, plus a few others, had gathered around the locker, they started to plot, plan, and eventually observe. They knew that they would need to gather evidence that could be used against Aimee.
They forgot about including Hannah.
On the Friday after her eighteenth birthday, a few weeks after the vandalism of David’s car, Hannah signed herself out of school – it was fourth period Culinary Arts and the last class of the day – and met Brady in the parking lot.
“Any problems?”
“No. Mom sent in a note and they validated it this morning.” Hannah looked out the window and thought that it would be the last time she would need a note validated. “She started crying as she wrote it and again when she dropped me off.”
“But she’s still meeting us there?”
“Yes.”
Brady glanced at his phone. “So now we just have to wait for Kelly?”
“You might need to go in. She isn’t eighteen yet.”
“Will they let me sign her out?”
“If your mom sent a note saying you could and they called to validate it.” She glanced quickly at the doors. “They are going to tighten up on her because of what Aimee convinced her to do to David’s car.”
Sighing, “I shouldn’t have protected her about Mr. Wallace’s car.”
“It’s not like you had a choice to downplay her involvement. You had to protect Savannah too.”
Kissing her quietly, “That’s why I love you.” Looking at his phone one last time, “I’ll be right back.”
Five minutes later he had returned and the three of them squeezed into the small cab of his mid-sized truck. Hannah was thinking about how thankful she was going to be in a few months that she wouldn’t have to try to lift herself into a full-sized truck. Her father had taken her car away after they announced her pregnancy and she doubted that even her mother’s pleas would be enough for Hannah to get the car back.
Not that she had very many places to go. Brady could drop her off in the mornings and Kelly would be giving her a ride home in the afternoons. It served in Kelly’s best interest because on the days where she didn’t have to work then Hannah would be able to help her soon-to-be sister-in-law with homework like she did before Aimee went off the deep end.
They handed over their paperwork, including proof of their counseling with Pastor Samuel. The difference in cost of the license was sixty dollars without the counseling and they would rather start the rest of their lives together thirty-nine dollars in debt rather than ninety-nine dollars in the hole. In all things, they rounded up those fifty cents, even though they both provided nineteen dollars and twenty-five cents.
Kelly held back her giggles as her brother counted out five dollars
and twenty-five cents in quarters, dimes, nickels, and fifteen pennies. Both teenagers had taken Brady’s parents at their word and refused Mrs. Stanfield’s help in paying for the marriage license. They had sat through the four hours required of marriage counseling. They had broken into long-forgotten piggy banks and dug through sofa cushions – at least Brady did at the Student Center – until they had gotten the exact change that they had needed.
“We want to start this right,” Hannah had explained. “So much of what is happening is happening out of sequence, and we want to be able to say that we paid for our marriage license and not our parents.”
Mrs. Johnson –also called Mom #2 – sighed in resignation. She wanted to help her son and soon-to-be wife.
Mrs. Stanfield knew how her daughter was; Hannah was independent and wanted to stand on her own two feet. The thought made her start crying for the second time that day.
The mothers huddled together as their children started taking care of the necessary paperwork and proof of identity. Sniffles reached their children and the daughter dug in her purse, pulled out a travel-sized tissue, and tossed it in their direction. She wished that she had packed a few more.
Kelly was bouncing; she’d always wanted a sister and was thankful that her part in Aimee’s schemes hadn’t lost her Hannah’s friendship. Right then, watching Hannah and Brady unite together to go along a road that was not going to be easy during the next five years, Kelly swore that she was going to side with Hannah no matter how much pressure Aimee tried to put on her.
She already had in a few small ways, like refusing to discuss Hannah’s pregnancy and marriage plans with the gossipy mean girl. She’d talked to Will Cooper about how they both needed to make some changes in their lives and remove the toxic person before even more of their lives collapsed around them.
And then the paperwork was taken care of. The license paid for. The counseling approved. They just had to wait for their turn with the judge.
Minutes ticked by. They felt like seconds to their parents, parents who knew that their children’s lives were about to be vastly different. They felt like hours to Hannah and Brady, who were impatient to start their new lives. They felt like minutes to Kelly, who took out her copy of Frankenstein and started reading the assigned section.
Finally their number was called and all six of them filed into the judge’s office. Kelly, sadly, was distracted by the books lining the walls, by the framed diplomas proudly displayed, and even the photos of his children on the desk. Her head jerked upright as she heard him state, “By the power vested in me by the State of Tennessee I may now pronounce you Husband and Wife.”
Kelly had missed the entire ceremony by daydreaming.
“Now, if we could just sign here, here, and I need two witnesses to sign here.”
She watched her brother, new sister, and the mothers sign their names at the indicated places. She watched Hannah beaming up at Brady. She needed to remember that she wasn’t losing her brother but gaining a sister.
A sister who was much nicer than her so-called best friend.
Chapter Fifty-Eight
Grace held her hands behind her back to keep Kyle from noticing how they shook. He’d assured her that there was no reason to be nervous. His father would meet her and fall for her just as Kyle had.
“You fell for Jennifer first,” she quietly reminded him.
Blinking, Kyle turned to face her. “Honestly, I’ve always been interested in both of you. You had this knowing look about you and Jennifer let people know she was in the room. It wasn’t until I’d gotten to know the both you that I found out that you were more my speed.”
Letting out a self-deprecating laugh, she whispered, “You mean quiet and managing.”
“I mean caring and sweet.” He didn’t dare admit that those were some of the things he liked best about his mother. “I have enough loud and demanding at home.”
“She’s not that bad,” Grace defended her friend.
Turning to face the door, and his parents, Kyle acknowledged the comment. He’d remembered bits and pieces of their freshmen year and how Amanda Kirkland had treated her. What he’d forgotten David and Jennifer had taken the time to remind him.
“She’s a great friend; just better suited for Wesley,” he agreed.
Tilting her head to the side in thought, “Do you think they’ll ever get together?”
Smiling before he kissed her quickly, “I’d bet on it.”
Without a beat, Brent Goldman opened the door, startling the young couple. “Are you going to be standing there forever or are you going to come inside and join us for dinner.”
Grace reached for Kyle’s hand and gave it a squeeze. He could almost feel her hand trembling.
Clearing his throat, “Father, this is Grace Chandler. Grace, this is my father. We’ve been working on his people skills.”
“Kyle!”
“Well,” Kyle drawled, the past couple of weeks being out from under of his father’s thumb having done him some good, “Most people open the door and say ‘hello’ instead of some sentence that isn’t even a proper greeting. You, of all people, taught me better than that.”
“Kyle Brent Goldman!” sounded from inside the house, “Don’t speak to your father like that!”
Mr. Goldman moved out of the way so that Kyle and his girlfriend could enter the house. Seconds later he disappeared into its depths while Kyle held Grace back.
“Hey, wait,” he stopped her, tugging on her arm. “Dad and I haven’t exactly been getting along lately. I’m sorry for bringing you into this, but my mom has wanted to meet you ever since the football game.”
Giving him a quick kiss on the cheek, Grace smiled, “It can’t be any worse than what happens at my house.” Letting him lead her into the house, she continued. “It’s a zoo with everybody talking over everybody else.”
“Hurry up already!” Mr. Goldman’s voice echoed from the direction of the dining room. “Dinner won’t wait forever.”
Chapter Fifty-Nine
Pacing back and forth in front of her locker, Wesley decided to put an end to their constant back and forth. He’d watched as Grace and Kyle started out in their relationship, including the ups and downs related to Kyle’s father.
He still wondered how their ‘Meet His Parents’ date went. Kyle and Grace were amazingly tight-lipped about the experience. Wesley knew that things had been rough between Kyle and his father for the past couple of weeks thanks to Kyle’s declarations. Even though taking sports off the table, Wesley knew that his friend still had to focus on his grades to remain towards the top of his class.
“Ummm,” Delilah saddled up to where Wesley was waiting. David was five feet behind her. “You are aware that Jennifer has Cross-Country practice right now?”
He was moments away from banging his head against the locker. “How did I forget that?”
David, barely paying attention even though he was waiting for Delilah to give him a ride home, added his two cents, “Why don’t you wait at her car. Practice only lasts thirty minutes most days.”
Nodding his head, Wesley grabbed his back pack and walked out with the are-they-or-aren’t-they couple. “So, do you have any idea what happened at Grace and Kyle’s ‘meet the parents’ dinner last week?”
Shaking her head, Delilah answered him, “No. Grace is being close-lipped about what happened.”
Delilah curled herself up in the tree house, hoping that David didn’t see her escape. All she needed was a few minutes to think, to really think without any distractions, to figure out if what David wanted was really what she wanted. Did she want to reattempt the course that their paths had been taking before freshmen year? Did she want to run the risk of him doing something equally painful again? Something worse? Was David worth the risk? So much had happened and so much could happen again.
She knew it was impossible to deny that he wasn’t the same David whose father had died before they were entering high school. She could also see that h
e had no idea about who he was anymore either. Did she even know who she was at eighteen? Was it even possible to know this stuff in high school? So many things could change with college and graduations and life in general.
Nodding her head firmly, she accepted what was, she figured, meant to be for right then. Let whatever would come later come then instead of wondering about it now. Everything happens for a reason. Anything else was simply buying trouble.
And as all things go things have to come to an end, including the secret admirer books. The other girls often wondered if they were right with their suspicions. They wondered if Delilah knew who it was – she did and was enjoying keeping that secret from her friends. They wondered if he would or would not reveal himself. One by one they had begun to suspect David since nobody else ever paid Delilah as much attention as he had, but they had decided not say a word to Delilah since it wasn’t easy to figure out how she would take their suspicions.
Finally, the fateful day arrived where it would all be revealed. She had pretended to wait patiently for months. She would verbally wonder who it was that kept leaving books in her locker. Today was the day she would enact the plan the girls had been working on for weeks. The girls were beginning to get impatient about confirming their various theories. Delilah stood in place for mere seconds before walking over to her locker where David was ‘unknowingly’ being watched by the girls in various different locations. He spun open the lock and smoothly placed the gift wrapped book on top of a textbook.
Walking up behind him, she tapped him on his shoulder. Feeling as if she was in a movie, she quoted, "I'd hoped it was you," she said for the benefit of everybody watching, which happened to be everybody currently standing in the hallway.
The Bookworm Next Door: The Expanded and Revised Edition Page 21
