by JL Paul
“Fine,” Ally murmured and hung up the phone.
“Damn it, Al,” Cole cursed. “I thought we agreed not to do that?”
“She backed me into a corner,” Ally defended.
“How?” RJ asked.
“Never mind,” she said quietly.
“What did she say about your dad?” Jamie asked.
Ally shrugged. “That it’s a rumor and that she’ll talk to me about it at Thanksgiving.”
RJ swore colorfully. “So much for figuring out a way to get it out of them. They’ll never tell us anything now; they’ll be on guard.”
“Sorry,” Ally said, grabbing her crutches. “I told you, she cornered me.”
“About what?” RJ yelled hotly. “About the stupid dance? About what color your dress was?”
Ally felt a lump start to form in her throat. She argued with Cole all the time and once in awhile with Jamie. But never with RJ. Ever. “No. Something else.” She pulled herself up and made for the door.
“Where are you going?” Cole asked, voice hard.
“Back to my room.”
“Running out? I think you need to stay and help us figure out what to do now,” RJ said, eyes cold. “You’re the one who screwed this up in the first place.”
“I’m sorry,” she said; hunched over her crutches, hand on the knob. “But it’s not like they would have told us anything anyway, no matter how clever you think you are RJ.” She pulled the door open and ambled out.
“Not now they won’t,” RJ shouted.
“Leave her alone,” Jamie ordered, grabbing the door before it could close. “She didn’t mean to say anything. It’s obvious Aunt Liz said something to make her panic.”
RJ snorted and plopped on his bed. “Stupid move by a stupid….”
“Hey,” Jamie yelled, allowing the door to shut. He strode up to RJ and grabbed his shirt. “Don’t talk about her that way! What is the matter with you?”
“Jamie, he’s right,” Cole said, coming between them. Jamie opened his mouth but Cole cut him off. “Not about the name calling.” He turned and gently shoved RJ into the wall. “RJ my man, I must say, that was totally wrong and uncalled for. Don’t do it again.”
RJ just huffed so Cole turned back to Jamie. “We specifically asked her not to say anything but she did anyway. You know Liz will say something to our parents and then our parents are going to be on guard and careful what they say to us. I just think RJ is right – if we could have figured something out – some way of questioning one of our dads, maybe we could have gotten a little truth. Now no one is going to talk.”
“Exactly,” RJ pouted dropping to his bed. “They’re just going to tell us that it’s all talk and if Jay was planning to go solo, they’d tell us right away.”
“What if Aunt Liz told Ally the truth, huh?” Jamie persisted. “What if it is only talk or they were goofing around? If there’s nothing more to tell then they wouldn’t bother calling us. They’d just tell us when we got home.”
“If I didn’t know better, I’d think you’re the one screwing her,” RJ said darkly.
Jamie lunged for him but Cole grabbed him and pushed him back. “Stop it, both of you,” he said, slightly out of breath. “This ain’t getting us anywhere.” He glanced between both boys. “This is exactly why they won’t tell us anything. Look what it’s doing to us now! We’re already falling apart. What happens if it’s true and they do split or Jay goes solo? What then? Hell, we’ve already alienated Ally. She’s probably in her room crying or planning our deaths.”
RJ hunched over, head in hands. “Damn. Oh, hell, Jamie, man, I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay,” Jamie said, looking away, drinking in Cole’s words. “Cole’s right. We can’t do this.” He took a deep breath. “I’m going to go talk to Ally.”
“No,” RJ said, getting to his feet. “Let me. I’m the one who owes her an apology.” Jamie nodded as RJ opened the door. He paused and looked back at the other two. “If I’m not back in thirty minutes, come save me.”
Cole pushed him out of the room and shut the door. He sighed and walked to his bed. He reached over to straighten the sheets and got a whiff of Ally’s strawberry shampoo still lingering on his pillows. His heart wrenched as he thought about the way he’d treated her. She was scared and confused and hurting both physically and mentally. She was worried about her family and what would happen if her father did part with the band. He was willing to bet she was even worried that if Jay did leave the band, maybe it would affect their friendship and the friendship of their kids. Maybe she was worried she’d lose them all.
Sure, she panicked. So, what? They’d figure out what was going on sooner or later. Until then, he had to make it up to her.
“Hell,” he muttered falling to his freshly made bed. “We certainly didn’t do right by Ally this morning at all. I can’t blame her, man, she’s worried. I know how much the band means to her and the extended family that goes along with it. It would kill her if Jay left.”
“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean we all won’t still hang out,” Jamie said.
“I know, but she’s an emotional wreck right now,” Cole said, his heart falling. “Her ankle is killing her, she can’t play volleyball, she’s worried about basketball season and now this. I owe her an apology, too.”
“Maybe and man, I don’t envy you at all,” Jamie said gravely.
Cole hoisted his body to his feet, pulled on a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt then grimaced at Jamie. “Come on, man, let’s go apologize. RJ probably needs rescuing by now anyway.”
Jamie snorted. “You just want me to go to protect you from the wrath of Ally.”
“So,” Cole mumbled. “What’s your point?”
Jamie laughed and shoved him out of the room. “You’re never going to survive this relationship, bro.”
Chapter Fourteen
Ally fumed, fighting tears of rage and pain, as she dropped to the desk chair, vaguely pondering where Jeana had gone off to so early. She glanced at her clock, mostly as a means to help her get her mind off recent events, and realized that it was well after nine, close to ten, and Jeana most likely went down for breakfast.
Her intercom buzzed and she sucked in a breath, not ready to be further berated by her so-called friends. She knew she’d messed up – knew she’d panicked. But she was in no mood to listen to them now. She wanted to figure out a way to fix it – to get information from her parents and set not only her own mind, but the minds of her friends at ease.
The intercom buzzed again and again in quick succession. She groaned and hobbled to the door to press the TALK button.
“Go AWAY!” she yelled, her voice not nearly as stern and angry as she’d like. Too much pain had filtered through to sound even remotely threatening.
“Let me in, Ally,” RJ pleaded. “Come on. I came to apologize.”
She pressed the button again. “Then apologize already. I’m listening.”
“I’m not going to do the over the intercom. Just let me in,” he asked.
“Fine,” she sniffed. “But I swear I’ll hit you if you say the wrong thing.”
“I realize that and I’ve come anyway,” he said in his most valiant voice.
She cracked a smile and hit the button to unlock the door. She unlocked her room door and fell back to the desk chair, her ankle throbbing.
He rapped lightly before entering, his hazel eyes apologetic and his face on the verge of angelic. “I’m very sorry, Ally. I’m an idiot, you know that.”
She nodded and smiled, gesturing for him to bend down so she could hug him. “I’m sorry, too. I didn’t mean to blurt anything out,” she mumbled into his neck.
“Yeah, well, at least we know they are aware of the rumors,” he said with a sigh. He straightened and frowned at her. “I know you slept a little in our room this morning but have you been sleeping otherwise?”
She shrugged, not sure she could form a sentence without crying. “The pain meds knock me out for a littl
e bit.”
His frown deepened and she turned her head, trying to hide her tears. “You need to be in bed with that ankle elevated.”
“I was working on that,” she said, sucking back a sob, pain etched around her mouth. “It just hurts right this second and I’m summoning up the courage to move.”
“I got you covered, babe,” RJ said with a wink. He bent and scooped her in his arms just as the door opened, admitting Jamie, Cole, and Jeana.
Cole’s eyes darkened and narrowed as he stepped into the room, his posture stiff. “That’s a hell of an apology.”
RJ’s cheeks pinked and he set Ally gently on the bed. She grimaced as she lifted her leg to arrange her pillows. RJ flashed Cole a dirty look before returning his attention to Ally, helping her to prop her leg. He didn’t say a word as he strode into the bathroom and returned, reading the label of her prescription bottle and a glass of water. “It says 1-2 every 4 hours. When’s the last time you took this, Ally?”
“Around 5:30 this morning,” she said, trying to gauge Cole’s mood. She wasn’t sure if he was still angry with her or not – his face was so dark.
RJ shook two capsules out in his hand and gave them to her. She swallowed them and sat back, white as a ghost. “I thought the pain would be somewhat better by now,” she said, eyes squeezed shut.
“It’s not going to happen overnight,” Cole said quietly.
She opened her eyes just enough to glare at him. “Thanks for the reminder.” She closed her eyes again. “And if you’re here to beat me up some more for the mistake I made this morning on the phone, then just leave. I already feel horrible about it.”
“Not at all,” Cole said. “You know what you did was stupid.”
Jamie sighed. “Leave her alone, Cole.”
“I honestly didn’t mean it like that, James,” Cole pleaded, his hands in the air.
“Don’t worry about it,” Ally slurred. “It’s over and done with. Just because the band may be falling apart doesn’t mean we have to. Now what do we do?”
Cole sat on her bed and studied her tired, pale face. She kept her eyes closed and her head started to droop. He helped her to scoot down in a lying position, adjusting her pillows. “We wait until Thanksgiving and see what they have to say then.”
“What’s going on?” Jeana asked.
Cole sighed and looked up at the other two boys for help.
“Rumors going around about the band again,” Jamie said. “We talked to Aunt Liz this morning and she said it’s not true. It just upset us all a little bit.”
“Oh,” Jeana said with a slight smile. “The one about Uncle Jay going solo? I heard that one at breakfast. I always ignore rumors about Uncle Jay’s band.”
“Good thinking,” RJ told her with a wink. She blushed and got up off her bed.
“I’m going to Candace’s room. I’ll see you guys at the dance, right?” RJ and Jamie both nodded. Cole shrugged and glanced at the dozing Ally. “Well, call me if you need any help with her.” She waved and left.
“I forgot you two actually have dates,” Cole smirked.
RJ plopped on Jeana’s bed and turned on the TV. “What are you going to do tonight?”
Cole sighed. “I don’t know. I might make an appearance. I don’t think we should avoid people. Jeana said people were talking about the rumors at breakfast. Did you go to the cafeteria at all today Jamie?”
He shook his head. “Nope. I have a stash of breakfast bars in my room.”
Cole looked at Ally again. “We should probably go there at lunch, huh? We don’t want anyone to think we’re hiding because the rumors are true.”
***
Cole knew he’d been right on the money as soon as they stepped inside the cafeteria that afternoon. He kept his eyes on his tray, and the tray he was preparing for Ally, as the buzz around them heightened.
None of them said a word until they sat at their usual table and started to eat lunch as if nothing were affecting them at all. Except Ally.
“You know most of these idiots probably wouldn’t care if it wasn’t for us going to school here,” Ally stated sullenly. She pushed her fries around and nibbled on the corner of her cheeseburger.
“You’re right,” Cole said as he glanced over her shoulder and caught Jennifer Mansfeld glaring hatefully in Ally’s direction. He pushed his tray away and walked over to the other side of the table. He sat down and took her hand. “Al, I don’t think we should go to the dance tonight.” His heart sank at the hurt and disappointment that filled her eyes. “How about if I get us a pizza and a couple movies and we hang out together in your room?”
She nodded and gave him a small smile. “That’s fine, Cole.”
“Great,” he said and kissed her cheek. “I have to go do a few things. I’ll come over later.”
Jamie raised a brow as Cole grabbed his tray and left. “What’s up with him?”
Ally shrugged and picked at her bun. “I don’t know. He just asked me if I’d hang out with him tonight instead of going to the dance. By the way, who are you going with?”
“Tara Sweeny,” he said with a smug smirk.
“She’s nice,” Ally told him warily. “Don’t hurt her.”
He raised his hands in mock surrender. “Wouldn’t dream of it, cuz.”
“Who are you taking, RJ?” she asked eagerly, hoping that he really had gotten over the fuss they’d had that morning.
“Miley Spencer,” he said with a wolfish grin. He waggled his brows. “You know, the one with the big…IQ?”
She rolled her eyes. “You’re all pigs.”
RJ leaned forward. “Yeah, and you’re hanging out in your room with Cole tonight.”
She awkwardly got to her feet, positioning her crutches comfortably under her arms and grabbed at her tray. “So?”
“I’ll get it,” Jamie told her, pulling her tray in front of him. She kissed his cheek.
“Well,” RJ persisted, grin tugging at his lips. “What does that make you?”
She leaned forward, impish smirk curling her lips. “Lucky.”
***
Cole arrived at Ally’s room a half hour after Jeana left for the dance, bearing a pizza and movies. The tantalizing aroma of garlic and tomato sauce floated in the air, making her stomach growl like a lion.
Cole chuckled as he cleared off her desk and set it down, along with cold drinks.
He turned to her, grinning at the anticipation on her face. “I figured since you weren’t feeling well it would be a romantic comedy night, huh?” He shot her a wink and dished out a couple slices of pizza on a paper plate and handed it to you. “Even if I did feel like an idiot at the rental place.”
She smiled as she settled her plate on her lap. “You do know the way to a girl’s heart, don’t you?”
“It’s a gift.” He prepared his own plate and, juggling two cans of soda, scooted next to her. “How’s your ankle feeling?”
She shrugged, mouth full of pizza, quickly chewing and swallowing. “It’s okay. I haven’t had to take any pain meds since earlier.”
He frowned, his dark brows dipping over his eyes. “Probably because you kept off it all afternoon like you’re supposed to do. Do you need any pain meds now?”
She shook her head as she wiped her mouth with the sleeve of her sweatshirt. “No. Not now.”
They chatted politely while they ate; avoiding the subject of her father and the band, and instead imagining what RJ and Jamie were up to at the dance. When they finished, he cleared their mess and held up two DVDs. “Which one?”
“I don’t care,” she said as she fluffed her pillows. He chose one and put it in the machine before settling next to her. She burrowed into his side as the opening credits popped on the screen but the movie could not hold her interest. She fidgeted, throwing him an apologetic smile when he gave her a puzzled look, and tried to sit still. She tried not to notice how good he smelled – like the fresh outdoors, or how the ends of his hair curled slightly above the collar of his
t-shirt.
The movie rolled along and she laughed in the proper places, maybe a second later than she should have, but she couldn’t help it – she was far too aware of him. His long legs, sheathed in denim, were stretched out beside hers; of course, hers were sheathed in her favorite penguin pajama pants.
“You going to watch the movie, Al or are you going to keep checking me out?” he asked with a tiny smirk. “I mean, it’s a little weird.”
“Both,” she mumbled, cheeks pinking.
He chuckled and fumbled for her hand, lacing their fingers together. He turned his attention back to the television.
Suddenly, the realization that she was sitting with her best friend, holding his hand and that they were, for all intents and purposes, dating, hit her hard and gave her heart a stir. They’d kissed a few times – she desperately wanted to kiss him at that moment – but would they ever…do more?
Her heart twisted violently at that thought and she dug deep in her emotions to see how she felt about it. It made her nervous to even imagine getting to that point and she knew she wasn’t ready for it now. But would she get to that point with him? Would they be able to look at each other as lovers and not best friends?
She thought they would - eventually. She glanced at his profile out of the corner of her eye and smiled. She’d always thought he was handsome with his pretty brown eyes and dark hair, but now she was attracted to him – his lean frame and hard chest. He worked out with Nate a lot when they were home on school breaks and even hit the weight room from time to time at school.
“Everything okay, Al?” he asked, startling her out of her thoughts.
She smiled nervously and nibbled her bottom lip. “I…uh…want you to kiss me but I don’t really know how to ask.”
He laughed gently. “I think you just did.”
She blushed and ducked her head. He tipped her chin and caught her eyes with his amused ones. “I can’t believe you want me to kiss you while Orlando Bloom is on the television,” he said in mock disbelief.
His teasing relaxed her enough to play coy. “It was a difficult decision.”
