Don't Tell

by Amare, Mercy

  Lucy

  I walked back down the stairs, far away from Ian. He was too good, and too nice to spend his night listening to my sob story. If I would've stayed in there much longer, I would have told him everything... As always, I would hold my feelings on the inside. I would put on a smile for the world, and pretend that I mean it. I live a lie that everybody believes.

  “Lucy!” I heard Derek Freeman's voice, and inwardly cringed.

  “Hey Derek,” I greeted him with a smile. “Great party.”

  “Thanks. I'm so glad you could make it.” He stepped closer than I liked. His breath reeked of cheap beer and vodka.

  “Me too,” I lied. Well, it was partly a lie. I had to get out of my house. Being here definitely beat the alternative. After the party, I would go to Tess' house to stay the night. It was the one place I felt safe. Charles couldn't hurt me there.

  Derek yelled at somebody else and stumbled off. I was thankful he was easily distracted from me.

  I looked for somebody that I knew. I saw a few familiar faces from school, but the party had grown, and I didn't know at least half the people there. Finally, I spotted Chrissy, and I made my way towards her.

  I've known Chrissy practically my whole life. Her family moved to Paradise when we were in the third grade. We've been friends ever since.

  “Hey, Chrissy!”

  “Heeeey! Lucy!” she laughed. I could tell she was completely wasted. “You cheered so good at the pep rally today. How do you get your body to bend like that? I wish I could do that.” She looked a little green. She stumbled and I caught her. “You're so pretty, Lucy.”

  “Thanks,” I said as I helped her stand up straight. She started to grab another can of beer, but I grabbed it from her. “I think you've had enough.”

  “C'mon! Don't be a party pooper!”

  “You'll thank me in the morning,” I assured her as I helped her to the bathroom.

  “You know, I've always been jealous of your hair,” she said as she sat down on the bathroom counter. I searched for a washcloth. “I have to dye mine blonde. My natural color is like... dirt. Why couldn't it at least have been a pretty brown? Like Tess' hair. She had the darkest brown hair ever. She looks like freaking Kim Kardashian. And you, you look like a barbie. Why do I have to look like a freaking whale?”

  I found a washcloth and ran it under cold water. “Chrissy, you do not look like a whale. You have curves. Nice curves.” I dabbed the cloth on her face. “And blonde hair is so... average. Anybody can dye their hair blonde. I actually like your natural color. You have the slightest tint of red. It's so unique, and not at all like dirt.”

  “Whatever,” she rolled her eyes. “You only say that because your... well, you... You're freaking Lucy Pierce!”

  “And you are Chrissy Smith. You're beautiful. Anybody who tells you otherwise is a liar.”

  “Thanks, Lucy,” she said, smiling. “You're really awesome.” She scooted off the counter, and almost fell.

  “Are you ok?” I asked, as I helped steady her.

  “I'll be fine,” she laughed again.

  “No more drinking.”

  She started to walk to the door, and fell against it. She laughed even harder. “You know, I think I have had enough to drink.” She opened the door and yelled into the hallway, “What's up party people!?”

  I shook my head. She would definitely regret this night.

  I left the bathroom to find Tess. I was more than ready to leave this party.

  THREE

  Ice Cream

  Ian

  After the party Friday night, I couldn't sleep. I had a lot of emotions running through me. First of all, I was excited. Excited that Lucy actually talked to me, and she didn't run away, or try to push me away. It was progress. Second, I was worried. Lucy was lying about her bruises, and I didn't know why. Was it a family member? I knew that her mom died, but did anybody else live with her besides her dad? Maybe it was her dad? Somebody was doing this to her. Deep down, I knew that I should probably tell somebody, but who? The last thing I wanted to do was make Lucy hate me. So maybe I should talk to her first, and get her side of the story. Maybe there is a simple explanation and I'm just making it complicated.

  One thing was certain – I had to get Lucy to open up to me. Last night, while I was holding her, I knew that I would do whatever it took to protect her, and I will. In my arms she felt so vulnerable and small. Why would anybody want to hurt her? I couldn't figure it out.

  At church on Sunday, Lucy and her dad slipped in the back just after church started. I had never before realized how scared she looked sitting next to him. Sure, she was smiling, but I could see the fear in her eyes.

  I planned to talk to her after church, but they slipped out before the service ended. I thought about going by her house, but I quickly decided that would be border-line stalker, so I waited until Monday morning at school.

  Lucy slid into the desk beside me just as the bell rang, as always. She was always just on time, or late. I think it's because she rides with Tess. That girl is late for everything.

  “Good morning, Lucy,” I greeted her, like every morning. When her eyes met mine, my breath caught in my throat. Her blue eyes were mesmerizing.

  “Hey, Ian,” she smiled.

  “How's your eye?”

  Her smile faltered just a little. “It's better, thanks.” As soon as the words left her mouth, she looked forward, away from me. She was pushing me away again. I couldn't let that happen.

  “So how was your weekend?” I asked, trying to keep the conversation going forward.

  She once again looked at me, and my heart skipped a beat. “It was good. I hung out with Tess all weekend. We watched 2 whole seasons of Vampire Diaries.”

  I laughed. “You like that show?”

  She laughed too, it was music to my ears. “I love it. Damon is hot.”

  “My mom watches it too.”

  A pained look came across her face, but disappeared almost as quickly as it came. I started to say something else when Mrs. Lochman walked into the classroom. She had her coffee in one hand, and a Diet Coke in the other. I tried desperately to ignore the girl sitting beside me, and focus on the teacher. It was impossible.

  …

  Lucy

  When I got home from school that afternoon, I pulled out my journal.

  I had a good weekend, despite the black eye that Charles gave me.

  Friday night, I went to Derek Freeman's party. I can't stand the guy, but Ian was there! And he talked to me! I was so glad that I went.

  Ian told me that he likes me... Well, of course he likes me! Ian likes EVERYBODY! He's just super nice like that. But still, I like that he likes me.

  But the thing is, I think Ian knows... About my dad... I haven't told him anything, but I am pretty sure he's figured it out. He's very observant. And I'm scared. I've wanted to talk to somebody about Charles for so long. But what can I say? “I have a black eye because when my father gets drunk he blames me for my mom's death”... Yeah, not going to happen.

  So, I'll just wait it out, and see what happens.

  A few hours later, I heard a peck on my window. I smiled as I saw Tess' face on the other side. I raised my window, and after a few minutes of trying, she was finally able to climb through.

  “How can you climb through your window all the time?” she asked, out of breath.

  I just shrugged, unsure of how to respond. Sure, climbing through my window sucked, but it's better than getting punched for waking up Charles.

  “Anyway, you're coming with me to get ice cream,” she said, putting her hands on her hips.

  “Umm... ok,” I said, grabbing my pink hoodie off my chair. I climbed out the window first, and then helped Tess down. Once in her jeep, I turned down the radio. Today she was listening to techno music. “You have got to be the most random person I know.”

  “It's all the caffeine,” she admitted.

  I laughed.

  “So, I heard from... someb
ody... that you and Ian were in the closet together at Derek's party,” she wiggled her eye brows.

  “Who did you hear that from?” I could feel the heat rising to my cheeks.

  “So it's true?”

  I wanted so badly to deny it, but I couldn't lie. “Nothing happened! I swear! We were just talking.”

  “Talking? Yeah, right.” She sighed dreamily. “Oh my gosh! You and Ian!”

  I couldn’t help but smile. “Shut up. I'm serious, nothing happened.”

  “I can't believe you kept this kind of information from your best friend.” She put her hand over her heart dramatically. “That hurts.”

  “There was nothing to tell you.”

  “So what did you talk about?” She made quotes in the air with her fingers when she said the word talk. The car jerked slightly to the right and she immediately grabbed the wheel back.

  “Can you keep you hands on the wheel?”

  She rolled her eyes. “Why are you avoiding my question?”

  “Because...” I was unsure of what to say. “He told me he likes me.”

  “He likes you?” she squeeled. “Oh my gosh!”

  “I don't think he likes me like that. He just... likes me. As a friend.”

  “A friend that he happened to be in the closet with.”

  I rolled my eyes, but didn't respond. It was obvious that the conversation was going nowhere fast. Tess pulled into a parking spot and I followed her inside. My heart skipped a beat when I saw Ian and Mason sitting at a table near the door, and Tess was walking right towards them.

  …

  Ian

  I looked at Mason’s ice cream. It was literally in a bucket. “There is no way you’re going to eat all of that,” I said laughing.

  “Watch me.” Mason took what I said as a challenge, and he never backed down from a challenge, ever. He scooped up a huge bite, and shoved it in his mouth.

  The door jingled at the ice cream shop, and I looked up. I smiled as I watched Lucy and Tess walk in.

  Maybe this night won't be so bad after all, I thought to myself.

  “Ian... Mason,” Tess greeted us. Lucy stood quietly beside her, biting her lip nervously. She nodded towards me and smiled when she saw I was watching her.

  “What a coincidence,” Mason said. He pulled out the chair beside him. “Have a seat.”

  Tess went and sat down by him. Lucy stood there, looking at the ground. She had never looked so beautiful before. Her short skirt hugged her curves in all the right places, and it was hard not to stare at her perfect figure… She had no idea the effect she was having on me. She was absolutely clueless to her beauty.

  “Want to sit by me?” I asked her once I was confident I could speak without sounding breathless.

  She smiled, and nodded. I could tell she relaxed a little, but she was still uptight. I didn’t want her to be uncomfortable around me. Mason and Tess were having their own conversation, so I decided that is was a good time to get to know Lucy.

  “I’m really glad you’re here,” I admitted.

  “I think we were set up.” She laughed a nervous laugh as she looked behind me.

  I turned around to see that both Mason and Tess were no longer sitting at the table. I smiled. “I don’t mind being set up.”

  She too couldn’t stop smiling. “Me either.” She blushed as the words left her mouth.

  I decided that I no longer wanted to be sitting at a cold ice cream shop on the perfect October day. “Do you want to walk to the park?” I asked.

  “Yeah,” she nodded.

  We got up from the table, and on the way out the door, I decided to be brave. I grabbed her hand. I was surprised when she didn't pull away.

  As we walked, I felt as though I were dreaming. Me with Lucy... her not running away, it felt surreal. But it wasn’t just a dream. She looked up at me with her big blue eyes, and my heart felt as though it had melted in my chest.

  “What are you thinking?” she asked me.

  “I was just thinking about how beautiful you are.”

  Her cheeks once again started to blush. “Thank you,” she accepted the compliment. “I think you’re beautiful, too,” she added softly.

  Now, it was my turn to blush. “Thank you.”

  She looked at the ground as she talked. “By the way, thanks for everything at the party. I'm sorry that I was so... rude.”

  “You weren't rude. You were just stressed. Don't worry about it.” I wanted to peruse the topic of the party. I wanted to find out exactly why she had a black eye. I wanted her to spill all her secrets. But now was not the time. She had to trust me first, and I wasn't about to make her run away again. So, I suggested we swing.

  While we were swinging, I got to learn a few things about her. For instance, her favorite colors are pink and white. She loves Harry Potter, the books and the movies, and she's still secretly waiting for her Hogwarts invitation. She spends most of her free time writing. She said that I most definitely would not be reading anything she wrote anytime soon, but that someday she hopes to share her work with the world.

  After we were done at the park, I walked her to Tess' house, which was only 2 blocks away. I wanted to kiss her goodnight, but I didn't want to scare her away. Plus, I happened to know that Tess was looking out the window at us. I decided our first kiss needed to be when there wasn't an audience. So instead, I gave her a hug. It was the best hug I had ever given in my life.

  One thing was certain – Lucy Pierce was turning out to be even more amazing than I expected.

  FOUR

  Away game

  Lucy

  On Tuesday, there was an away game. All of the cheerleaders and football players got to leave school an hour early. I was excited about missing algebra. I met Tess by her car.

  “Don't be mad,” were the first worst out of Tess' mouth when I got in her jeep.

  “Why would I...” Before I could finish my sentence the back door opened. I look back to see Addison and Mandy climbing in.

  “Hey Tess, thanks for giving us a ride,” Addison said, and then turned to me. “Hey, Lucy.” When she said my name, I could hear the slightest bit of disgust in it.

  “Hello, Addison,” I said back as politely as possible.

  I would definitely be killing Tess later.

  “I heard you and Ian hooked up at Freeman's party. Wow,” Mandy said to me once we were on the interstate.

  I chocked on the Red Bull I was drinking. “Hooked up?” I asked, disbelief in my voice. “No, we didn't. I didn't. I wouldn't.”

  “They just talked.” Tess came to my rescue, even though she too didn't believe me.

  Addison laughed. “Yeah, right.”

  “I'm so jealous. Ian is like so hot,” Mandy added. “I've been trying to hook up with him since the ninth grade. He always tells me he's interested in somebody else... Guess I know who now.”

  I couldn't help but wonder who Ian was interested in. It couldn't be me.

  I wanted for them to know the truth. We didn't do anything. But if my best friend didn't believe me, then why would they? But once again, Tess came to my rescue by changing the subject.

  “I heard that Diane is pregnant.” I am not sure if she just made up this rumor, or if she really heard it. Either way, I'm grateful to her.

  “That slut,” Mandy gasped.

  I nearly chocked again.

  “You're one to talk, Miss I've Done Everybody On The Football Team.” Addison was the only one brave enough to say it. It was true.

  “Not everybody. I haven't done Ian,” she looked at me. “And I haven't done Frank the skank.”

  Addison laughed. “Nobody is desperate enough to do him.”

  I always hated when people called Frank that. He was a really nice guy, he just didn't bathe daily. Maybe not even weekly. I cringed.

  The rest of the car ride was spent gossiping. Mandy and Addison knew all at Paradise High School. I hated hearing all the rumors, and I did my best not to believe them.

  3 ho
urs later, when we pulled into the other school, I sighed in relief. I couldn't wait to get out of the car. But, I knew that in a few hours, I would be forced to get back in the car with them again. The thought made me nauseous.

  On the way inside, I saw Ian pull up.

  “Lucy, wait up,” I heard him yell from his truck. I stopped to wait for him. Mandy, Addison and Tess all gave me curious looks as they walked by.

  “I figured you would ride with Mason,” I said as he walked up beside me.

  Ian was wearing a plain white t-shirt and a pair of black sweat pants. I wanted to reach out and feel of his biceps, but I didn't.

  “If I would have rode with him, then I couldn't have asked you to ride back with me.” As Ian talked, I stared at his totally kissable lips. I forced myself to look up.

  It took me a few seconds to process what he said. “You want me to ride with you?”

  “If you want to.” He smiled, revealing his dimple, and I felt like I melted into a puddle right then and there.

  “I would love to ride with you.” I tried to sound confident, but I could hear my own voice shaking as I said it.

  “Ian!” I heard somebody in the distance call his name.

  “I got to go, but I'll see you after the game.” With that, he left me standing there. I was unable to move for a few seconds.

  Suddenly, I couldn't wait for the ride home.

  …

  Ian

  She said yes.

  I couldn't stop smiling.

  Through the whole football game, I tried not to let it distract me, but I was having a hard time thinking about anything else. I couldn't believe that Lucy Pierce agreed to spend 3 hours alone in a car with me. It was nothing short of a miracle.

  We won the game that night, 21 to 0. After a quick shower, I changed back into my black sweats and white t-shirt. I suddenly wished I would've brought something else to wear.

  When I walked out of the locker room, Lucy was standing in the parking lot. She was wearing a pink hoodie over her cheerleading uniform. The wind blew her hair around her face, and my breath caught in my throat. I decided right then and there that there she was the most beautiful sight I had ever laid eyes on.