Out of the Shadow

by J. L. Paul

  “I really am sorry,” he said. “Damn. I guess I didn’t think. What a mess.”

  “Cole, I’m not ashamed of you, honestly, but you just didn’t hear those girls talking about you that day in the cafeteria,” she said. “And then they all came to my room yesterday and I had to leave.”

  “Listen to me, Ally,” he said with a deep breath. “We can talk in circles all day long, apologizing then defending ourselves but it’s not going to get us anywhere.”

  She froze, her eyes bulging in their sockets. Her bottom lip quivered. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean we’re getting nowhere at all. Let’s just agree that I didn’t think the interview through and maybe you got a little over emotional before we had a chance to talk.”

  She smiled through her tears as her heart filled with love. “Okay.”

  “So, this tour ends in about a week and a half,” he said. “And I think the first weekend I’m home that we should spend that time together. Just us. We’ll talk and work all this out. What do you think?”

  Her tears dried and her heart swelled. “I think that’s great. I can’t wait.”

  “Good,” he said. He yawned. “What are you going to do tonight?”

  “Well,” she said as she tucked her legs under her body. “I’m home right now and Jamie’s coming over later. We’re going to pig out on pizza and watch corny horror flicks.”

  He laughed and it did her heart some good. “Sounds fun. I miss that stuff.”

  “You’ll be home soon and after our weekend together, we’ll hang out with Jamie and RJ again.” She scooted up, excitement building inside her. “I miss the four of us together.”

  “Yeah, I know,” he said. “Hey, princess, I have to run. We have sound check in a half an hour and I haven’t even showered yet.”

  “Okay,” she said, sad that she had to end her call but feeling much better. “Call me after the show and let me know how it went.”

  “Of course,” he said. “Ally, I love you.”

  “I know,” she whispered. “I love you, too.”

  ***

  Ally returned to her dorm Sunday afternoon, grateful Shannon was out. She opened the top drawer of her dresser and extracted a framed photo of her and Cole. She smiled at him, an ache throbbing deep in her heart, and carefully placed the photo on her nightstand. No sense hiding it anymore. At least she’d be able to look at him every night before she went to sleep.

  She withdrew another framed photo – this one from her graduation day. It featured her and Jamie, clad in graduation gowns, sandwiched between Cole and RJ. It was one of her favorites. She flicked the leg on the back of the frame out and set the photo on top of her dresser.

  The door opened and shut quickly, admitting Shannon in a whirlwind of activity. She locked the door and engulfed Ally in her arms. Shocked, Ally cautiously wrapped her arms around Shannon and patted the girl on the back.

  “Is everything okay?” Ally asked.

  Shannon drew back to blink rapidly at Ally. “I was going to ask you the same thing. You left in such a hurry Friday and didn’t come back. I didn’t have your cell phone number to call you and I was worried.”

  “I know,” Ally sighed, abashed. “Sorry. Let me give you my number now.”

  They exchanged cell phone numbers and sat on their beds, facing each other, as Ally regaled the entire story to Shannon – most of it, anyway. She purposely left out the kiss with Robby. She hadn’t told Cole or even Jamie about it and she wouldn’t – not until she deemed it the proper time.

  “Those girls stayed here for a long time after you left,” Shannon said, her eyes wide. She fiddled with the cell phone in her hands. “I think they were waiting for you to come back so they could talk to you about Out of Control.” Shannon nodded at the picture atop Ally’s dresser – the one her eyes seemed to be drawn to.

  “I’m sorry I left you here to fend for yourself,” Ally said, noticing that she seemed to be saying those two words a lot lately. She’d apologized to Robby, Cole, Jamie, and now Shannon. She just wanted to put the whole mess behind her and move forward.

  “Don’t worry about that,” Shannon said with a wave of her hand. “I think I would have run away from them, too, if I was you. You were pretty stunned when I showed you the article.”

  “Yeah,” Ally said, sighing. She scooted on her bed and rested her back against the wall. “You see, my whole life I grew up as Jay Jones’s daughter. Everyone knew who he was and who I was so I never really knew who liked me for me. When Jamie and I came here, we wanted all this stuff kept secret. I figured I’d tell you sooner or later but it’s not an easy thing to tell someone.”

  “I understand, Ally,” Shannon said with an earnest face. “Honestly, I do. Yeah, I was a little put out at first because I thought we were friends and I couldn’t believe that you wouldn’t tell me. But when I saw your reaction and then those girls showed up here, I understood immediately.”

  “Thanks, Shannon,” Ally said. She twisted the ring Cole had given her and smiled softly. “Cole was my best friend growing up. Jamie and RJ, too, but me and Cole were tight. And then, my junior year, something changed. It wasn’t easy at all, but we found a way to make it work. But it’s getting really hard again with him being so far away.”

  “The tour is almost over, isn’t it?” Shannon asked. “That’s what Rosie said.”

  Ally nodded, her heart jumping. “About a week and a half left.”

  Shannon blew out a long breath and hunched over, her eyes trained on Ally. “I don’t know many people here but I’ve been hanging out in the library and the Student Center and I’ve heard people talking about you and Jamie. Nothing bad, don’t worry. But those girls that were here, they are determined to meet Cole and the other band members.”

  “Yeah, I figured as much,” Ally said with a roll of her eyes. “I’m not worried about them.”

  “What are you going to do?” Shannon asked.

  Ally shrugged and slid off her bed. “Nothing about them but I am going to work on this math stuff I totally ignored this weekend.” She flashed a tiny smile. “I think I’ll call Jamie and have him come over to help.”

  ***

  It started Monday morning as soon as she set foot inside the crowded cafeteria. Shannon escorted Ally to the food line as they marveled over the number of students grabbing food or sitting at the tables, talking excitedly to their friends. Although Ally had only been at school a short time, she couldn’t remember ever seeing so many people up and about and in the cafeteria on a Monday morning.

  “Ignore them, Ally,” Shannon whispered and Ally nodded. She would do exactly that. She grabbed a tray and surveyed her choices, knowing that whatever she chose would most likely go to waste as her appetite had fled at the sight of the crowded cafeteria.

  Nevertheless, she grabbed a muffin, a carton of milk, and two pieces of toast, swiped her meal card and searched the crowd for her cousin. She spotted him sitting at a small table in the corner with his roommate. Ally waited for Shannon before strolling as casually as possible down the aisle. Many hopeful faces smiled at her, silently inviting her to dine with them, but she barely noticed them. She focused only on Jamie as if he was a life line and she was drowning in the ocean.

  “Morning, cuz,” she said as she set her tray next to him and plopped in the chair. “How’d you manage an empty table?”

  Billy Brent, Jamie’s rather large roommate, grinned and flexed his muscles. “There were a couple people just sitting here, not eating or anything, so I asked them if we could have the table.”

  “So, brute force?” she asked, sending Billy a smile.

  “Whatever it takes, babe,” he said, shooting her a wink.

  Billy was huge and had a menacing look about him but Ally discovered she rather liked him – what she knew of him, anyway. He seemed teddy bear-like in class or around campus but get him on the football field and he was a force to be reckoned with.

  Ally relaxed and took a bite of her muffin,
her eyes darting around the cafeteria inconspicuously. With Jamie beside her, she felt as if she could deal with whatever anyone threw at her that morning. They’d gone through similar things in high school and certainly they could deal with it at college. Co-eds were supposed to be more mature than high school kids, right?

  “Cole said that we’re going to spend his first weekend home together,” Ally reminded Jamie. “But he still won’t tell me what this project is he has you working on.”

  Jamie smirked but didn’t reply, just as she figured he wouldn’t. He could be stubborn when he wanted to be and apparently, he wanted to be at that moment. But Ally didn’t get a chance to try to pry any information out of him – three people joined their table.

  “Hey, Ally,” Rosie said, setting her tray next to Ally’s and squeezing beside her. “Where were you all weekend? We were looking for you.”

  “I went home for the weekend,” Ally said as her body grew taut. Jamie sensed it and nudged her shoulder with his own. “Wasn’t in the mood to hang out here.”

  “I think it’s really cool that your dad is Jay Jones,” Sami said with a shy smile. She’d squeezed in between Shannon and Trudy on the other side of the table.

  “It is,” Ally said as she opened her carton of milk. “He’s a great dad. Great uncle too, huh James?”

  “Yep, the best,” Jamie said, furrowing his brow at Ally. She just shrugged.

  “When are you going to see Cole again?” Rosie asked.

  “When his tour is over,” Ally said in a clipped tone.

  “Do you think I could meet him?” she persisted.

  Ally turned slightly and lifted a lazy brow at the other girl. “But, I thought you already have met him. You were flashing that picture of you with the band around for a week.”

  Anger shot through Rosie’s eyes as her cheeks flushed. “That was only for a few minutes.”

  Ally stood, tossed her bag over her shoulder, and grabbed her tray. “Well, maybe you should talk to your uncle- he has connections, right?” She smiled sweetly at Rosie then pushed Jamie’s shoulder. “Let’s get to class, cuz.”

  She spun on her heel, a triumphant smile firmly in place. Perhaps she’d won round one but she sensed a battle ahead.

  Chapter Twelve

  Ally had never been more relieved than when tryouts and conditioning for basketball started. She needed the distraction to keep her mind off of her drunken kiss with Robby and the days that were stretching out far too long, determined to keep her and Cole apart.

  The din from the magazine article hadn’t faded in the least. She still suffered from pointed looks and whispering, which she could handle. But it was the constant people following her that really irritated her – especially Rosie and Trudy. Sami, who’d been just as awed as the others, had realized that Ally didn’t like the constant attention and had backed off, which was sort of a shame because Ally kind of liked her.

  Ally parked her body on the gym floor a few days before Cole was due home and started stretching. A person sat next to her, extremely close, and she was surprised to see Sami.

  “I didn’t know you played basketball,” Ally said warmly.

  Sami smiled as she spread her legs apart and leaned over one, stretching the muscles. “Yeah, I played in high school – strictly JV – but I thought I’d give it a try.”

  “Good,” Ally said as she leaned forward, stretching her arms as far as they’d go. “It’s nice to have a friendly face.”

  Sami frowned and glanced around the gym. “Are the other girls treating you badly?”

  Ally wrinkled her nose and shrugged. She nodded in the direction of a tall, thin girl in the row in front of them. She inched closer to Sami and whispered, “She’s got an attitude toward the others but toward me – let’s just say she read the article.”

  Sami winced as the coach blew a whistle. The girls jumped to their feet and faced the coach, waiting for instructions. Ally grabbed a basketball and joined a line, waiting for her turn to shoot a layup. The basketball was like an old friend and the rough feel on her palm was comforting. This was her thing – sports were her thing. She was at home when she was working her body, sweating, challenging herself, and competing. This was what she’d missed since the National Tournament ended.

  The workout had been invigorating and Ally jogged happily to the locker room, eager to shower and meet with Jamie so they could go over some notes for their first class in the morning.

  Once she showered, she tugged her fresh clothes from her locker and started to dress. Just as she sat on the bench to tie her shoes, Danielle Campbell plopped down next to her and smirked.

  “You looked good out there, Jones,” she said. “I think you’ll be a great asset to this team this year – a vast improvement from last year.”

  “Thanks,” Ally said, tightened the knot in her shoelaces. She dropped her right foot and lifted her left. “There are some great players here. I can’t wait until the season starts.”

  “Half of these girls won’t be here when the season starts,” Danielle said as she sneered at the girls in her vicinity, not hiding her disgust. “They suck.”

  “They do not,” Ally said as she finished with her shoes and stood. She snatched the gym bag at her feet and tossed it over her shoulder. “These girls have been working hard.”

  “Whatever,” Danielle snorted. She stood, too, towering over Ally. “Hey, do you want to grab a coffee or something?”

  “Can’t,” Ally said with a false smile. She moved closer to the door. “I have to study.”

  “I’ll walk you to your dorm,” Danielle offered and followed Ally out of the locker room.

  Ally hid her irritation the best she could as she hurried out of the gym and into the cool night air. Her shoes ate up concrete as she headed quickly to her dorm, Danielle hot on her heels. She wasn’t in the mood to talk to the other girl or to hear her berate the girls trying out for the team. One of the most important lessons she’d learned from her dad when she first started playing sports was to be a team player. He’d told her that that concept applied not only in sports but in music, in the workplace, and even in life.

  “Hey,” Danielle said, her long legs easily matching Ally’s pace. “So, when are you going to see Cole again?”

  Here we go, Ally thought as she adjusted her bag strap on her shoulder. “I don’t know. Soon, I suppose.”

  “I watch their website and it says the tour is almost over,” Danielle continued, ambivalent of Ally’s annoyance. “Will they be back in Chicago soon?”

  “I imagine,” Ally said, her jaw set. Her dorm was in sight so she picked up the pace, eager for the warmth and the door that would separate her and Danielle.

  “Well,” Danielle persisted just as Ally reached her building. Danielle grabbed Ally’s arm and stopped her escape. “Do you think maybe I could meet them?”

  Ally let her head fall back and closed her eyes against the night sky. She sucked in a deep breath and released it slowly. She dropped her head to look into Danielle’s hopeful eyes. Her irritation backed down a bit. “I don’t know – I’d have to ask.”

  “Great,” Danielle said with a wide smile. She squeezed Ally’s arm and actually jumped up and down. “Just let me know when.”

  Ally, too shocked by Danielle’s sudden display of girly enthusiasm, could do nothing but nod. Danielle’s mouth opened and words began to fall out and if it wasn’t for Jamie’s impeccable timing, she probably would have still been standing there when the sun arrived over the horizon.