The Art of Being Indifferent (The Twisted Family Tree Series)

by Brooke Moss

  On the mantle there were two framed pictures of Posey that knocked the air out of my lungs. They’d obviously been taken when she wasn’t looking—or smiling—and both were of her outside with her ear buds in. Her hair was blowing in the wind, and she was doing that lip-sucking thing she did when she concentrated that made me want to yowl like a damned bloodhound.

  “So what about you, Drew?” John asked, interrupting the movie I was making in my mind. “What are your plans for after school?”

  “The University of Washington, hopefully on swimming scholarship,” I explained. “That’s what Posey is helping me get my Lit grade up for.”

  “Oh, that’s right.” Paula smoothed down the front of her bathrobe. “I remember hearing that you’re quite an athlete. Your father swam in high school, too.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” I forced a smile. “He taught me everything I know.”

  Posey reached over and squeezed my hand. She knew I was lying through my teeth.

  “I’m glad Posey’s been helping you,” Paula said, beaming at Posey.

  My stomach twisted. My mother never looked at me like that. She usually looked at me with irritation in her eyes, or the all-too-familiar haze brought on by too much wine. Posey had no idea how lucky she was.

  I noticed that John stared at our hands in silence, and gently moved mine away from Posey’s. “Listen, Mr. and Mrs. Coulter. I’m sorry I didn’t come introduce myself. I promise that next time I come to see Posey, I’ll come to the door first.”

  John’s face relaxed a bit. “That would be great, son.”

  I was surprised by his choice of words. I liked it.

  “Drew, would you consider coming over for dinner sometime?” Paula asked. “Meet the rest of the family?”

  “Be careful.” Posey nudged me with her shoulder. “That’s how she lures people in. With her homemade food.”

  “Yeah, stay away from the cinnamon rolls.” John patted his midriff and grinned at his wife. “She made them for me on our second date, and we haven’t been apart since.”

  I laughed, jealousy filling my belly. My parents couldn’t stand the sight of each other. “I’ll keep that in mind. Well, I should be going. My parents might wonder where I went off to.” I stood up, and the Coulter’s followed suit.

  “It was nice meeting you, Drew,” Paula said, reaching out and touching my arm. “Come over anytime.”

  I nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

  Posey pushed herself off the couch and looked up at me, her blue eyes sparkling. “Thanks for coming to talk to me.”

  “Anytime.” I wanted to kiss Posey again, but didn’t want to push it. These people had turned out to be really cool, and as lame as it was, I wanted to come back for dinner sometime. Being here was like being in an old family sitcom on Nick-at-Night.

  John reached for my hand. “Take care.”

  I shook it before letting Posey pull me towards the door. Once we found ourselves in the privacy of the front porch, I wrapped my arms around Posey and pulled her close, drawing in her scent. She smelled like cinnamon. Probably because of Paula’s rolls.

  Laughing to myself, I whispered, “You should give the Coulter’s a chance. They seem really great.” She didn’t respond for a few seconds. Instead, all I heard was the wind whistling up the hill from the sound. “Po?”

  “I know,” she sighed, looking up at me. Her eyes shone in the porch light. “I’m thinking about it.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Her.

  The school bus groaned to a stop outside the high school, and I closed my eyes as my stomach whirled. I was nervous. So freaking nervous.

  First off, I’d missed my window of opportunity to walk to school like I usually did, because I’d insisted on getting some bathroom time. It had only taken seven bazillion people telling me I should try pulling my hair back from my face before I finally listened to them and put it into a loose fishtail braid down my back. Then, in a rare moment of teenage hysteria I’d borrowed Jessa’s mascara and lip-gloss. Now I was late. But according to Tabitha and Paula, I “looked gorgeous.”

  I honestly had no idea what to think about that. Every girl wants to be pretty, but I’d always worked so hard to be “anti-trend” or “anti-establishment.” And wearing mascara and pulling my hair back meant conforming. So I felt like a poser as I ran for the bus with all the other kids. It didn’t help that all the high schoolers on the bus gaped at me like I’d come out naked.

  The whole ride from our place to TTHS, I’d sat in my seat with my eyes closed. What if Drew ignores me again today? What if Mac and Alexis and that wretched Maddie are with him? What if I’m forced to finish what we started in the lunchroom the other day?

  “Sorry Mom couldn’t drive today. Tabitha has therapy every Friday.” Jessa pulled me into a standing position while all the kids filed off the bus.

  A couple of sophomore girls passed us, whispering—loudly—about how weird I looked with makeup on, and I flopped back down. “Don’t listen to them,” Jessa reprimanded me, tugging on my arm. “They’re just jealous because you don’t need Proactive and they do.”

  “Whatever.” Rolling my eyes, I got back up and trudged down the aisle. “This is humiliating.”

  “Oh, shush. You look beautiful.” Jessa ducked down so she could see the kids filtering into the school, and squealed. “Look, he’s waiting for you.”

  “What?” I looked through the bus window and my heart skittered. “Oh.”

  There he was. In all his grey hoodie and backwards Titans baseball cap glory. The girls walking past Drew all fluttered their eyelashes and tossed their hair, and the guys going by nodded at him and offered fist bumps. This was so weird.

  What did it feel like to be at the top of the heap? Just ask my new boyfriend.

  When I stepped off the bus steps, Drew grinned so wide his dimples showed. “Mornin’ beautiful.”

  “Hi,” I said, biting my lip. I ducked my head to hide behind my hair, but I’d braided it.

  Crap.

  Everyone stared., watching me with their mouths hanging open in shock. Some people even stopped walking when Drew stepped off the curb and pressed a kiss to my forehead.

  “Aww… you guys are so cute.” Jessa practically skipped away. “See ya later.”

  “This is a bold move.” I waved at her, then laced my fingers with Drew’s. “People are looking, you know.”

  “I don’t care. Come on, let me walk you to class.” He gazed down at me, ignoring a pack of his swim team buddies as we headed towards my first class. They watched us with wide eyes as we passed. “I told you I wouldn’t hurt you again, right?”

  My chest swelled. “Right.”

  We stopped outside my Geometry class, and Drew touched my braid. “Has anybody ever told you that you’re beautiful?”

  My face heated as a group of girls—Maddie-freaking-Mulcahey included—strode by.

  “What. The. Hell?” she hissed, shooting daggers at us with her narrowed eyes.

  “Not sober.” I couldn’t help myself, I turned my face towards his hand, and let him cup my cheek. “Unless you count my foster sisters and Paula this morning.”

  “That counts.” Drew’s face softened and my heart twisted into a pretzel. “You’re beautiful, Posey.”

  A hysterical giggle escaped the back of my throat, and I immediately wanted to kick my own ass. What was up with me? “You’re not so bad yourself.”

  “Well.” Drew did his best to smile humbly, but the cocky tilt to his eyebrows and twitching lips told otherwise. “I don’t know. Maybe.”

  I pushed him playfully. “Oh, give it up! You’re such a—”

  The shrill squeak of sneakers coming to a halt on the polished floors cut off my sentence. I looked up in time to see Mac standing beside us, with his hair still wet and papers falling from the notebook under his arm. He blinked down at me a few times before snapping his head in Drew’s direction.

  “Dude,” he said breathlessly. “I heard it and didn’t bel
ieve it.”

  Anger came to a rapid boil in my gut. “You can—”

  Drew’s arm slid around my shoulders, the warmth from his body defrosting mine. “What’s up, man? You get your History homework done?”

  Something weird passed through the air between Drew and Mac. Though he grinned amiably, the muscle on the side of Drew’s jaw twitched. Mac’s eyes widened, searching Drew’s face for something—or having some sort of telepathic “guy moment”—before it seemed to click. Finally, Mac’s shoulders relaxed and his mouth curved upward.

  “Well, all right then.” Mac turned to me and winked. “No, I didn’t finish the homework. But Posey here said she’d do it for me.”

  I swallowed. What had just happened here? Had I just been accepted by the biggest douche bag in the school—who also happened to be my new boyfriend’s best friend? What would happen next? Tsunami? Locusts, perhaps?

  I had to filter through all of the smart-aleck remarks I usually kept at the forefront of my brain when dealing with the “cool kids” to find an appropriate response. Unless this was a prank? Maybe Mac was just waiting for me to say something so he could cut it down with an audience watching. Because God knew they were all watching. I was pretty sure I’d seen a junior take our picture with his cell phone a few seconds ago.

  Mac caught my eye and grinned. Nothing sinister, nothing tricky. Just an honest-to-goodness smile between friends. Huh. When Drew said Mac was a good guy, I’d assumed he’d said so because they’d known each other since preschool.

  My anger whisked away, and I laughed despite myself. “Yeah, right. You’re on your own.”

  The muscle in Drew’s jaw stopped bulging, and the corner of his mouth twitched. “Did you seriously just wink at my girl?”

  “It’s what I do.” Mac punched Drew in the shoulder, and the two of them launched into a heated debate about which one of them got more girls—a conversation that would have offended me on any other day. But I was to busy basking in the glow of new-and-now-public romance to care.

  Maddie and her peons watched me with narrowed eyes, and I scratched my cheek with my middle finger. Who’s got the cute boyfriend now?

  Maddie and her friends huffed, turning their backs to me so they could discuss this travesty in private. I probably shouldn’t have done that. But it felt good. Super good.

  Drew’s hand squeezed my upper arm, sending a shockwave through my body. “So what do you think, Po?”

  I blinked up at him. “Sorry. Wasn’t paying attention. What’s that?”

  Mac snorted. “Don’t feel bad, Posey. I ignore him all the time.”

  “Shut up.” Drew pulled me closer to his side. “I’ve got a meet after school today. Can you come?”

  “A meet?” I looked up at Drew, clueless. “A swim meet?”

  “Yup.” His hand started stroking lines up and down my arm, making my skin prickle to life underneath my sweater. “Maybe you’ll bring me luck. What do you say?”

  I’d never been invited to a boyfriend’s sporting event before. Were we heading into actual relationship territory? Once a guy I’d been hanging out with asked me to accompany him to the tattoo parlor. Did that count? And the guy I’d lost my virginity to asked if I wanted to come to his work release hearing. That didn’t count either. Man, my dating history was embarrassing.

  “Sure… but wait.” I chewed my lip. “What about your dad?”

  Drew looked away, his mouth tightening. “I’m not worried about that.”

  “Everyone saw us.” I gestured at the hall around us, then jabbed a thumb at Maddie and her lemmings. “She saw us. She’ll tell your dad just for sport.”

  Drew just shook his head. “Not if I tell her not to.”

  Mac lowered his voice. “Me, too. I’ll tell her to keep her mouth shut.” His eyebrows were high up on his forehead.

  Mac really did care about Drew. “Right,” I said finally. “Thanks.”

  “No prob. See you later, Baxter.” He fist bumped Drew and shuffled off, leaving a trail of wrinkled assignments behind him.

  Drew put both arms around me and pulled me into a hug. The buzz through the open classroom door behind me silenced as I pressed my face against his chest. “Don’t worry so much.” He spoke into my hair, making a shiver dance down my spine. “Has anybody told you that?”

  I shrugged, looking around to make sure no teachers were giving us the stink eye. “Maybe. Once or twice. I just don’t want your dad to see me there and then freak out on you.”

  “Listen,” Drew whispered into my ear. “At some point he’s going to find out we’re seeing each other, and there won’t be anything he can do about it. I’m eighteen for hell’s sake.”

  My head popped up. “But you’re not allowed—”

  “Not allowed to date during the season.” He tucked some loose strands of my hair behind my ears. “But once the season is over, I can do what I want.”

  “Unless he beats the hell out of you,” I hissed. Seriously. I hated Mayor Baxter. If I had a car, and he was in a crosswalk…

  “He won’t.” Drew’s tone turned serious. “And once I’ve got my scholarship locked in place, I might actually start fighting back.”

  My stomach growled, but not because I was hungry. Mostly because I was scared to death. The idea of Drew going head to head against his father made me want to freak out. I mean, Drew could take him. I was sure of it. But Mayor Baxter had money. If I’d learned nothing else from being at the bottom of the heap for most of my life, it was that money could keep the right people from getting into trouble. And the wrong people from taking all the blame. If Drew stood up to his dad, he would be in jail so fast the whole student body’s heads would spin.

  “I don’t know, Drew… I just—”

  He cut me off with a peck. “You just nothing. Be there. I need you there.” He started to back away, pointing at me. “And don’t you worry about anything. Got it?”

  I bit the insides of my cheeks and nodded, before ducking into the classroom and making a beeline for my seat. I hoped Drew was right.

  “Look at her sitting there, thinking she’s something special.” Maddie’s voice dripped of valley-girl-like rage as she spoke to her minions. They nodded obediently. “Disgusting little foster-tramp couldn’t help herself. But we all know better.”

  I sank down in my seat and opened my Geometry book. Where was the damn teacher? Of all the days to have that extra cup of coffee in the teacher’s lounge. Ignore her. Don’t engage, that’ll only make it worse.

  Alexis laughed wickedly. Just loud enough to make most of the class’s ears prick to attention. “What do you mean, Mad?”

  I snickered bitterly behind my book. Ironic they called her “Mad” considering she was brick shit-house crazy.

  Maddie’s hair whooshed when she tossed her hair. “It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know Posey spends those tutor sessions on her back,” she said loudly.

  The other girls giggled, and my blood boiled. Great. Here came the slut comments. Big surprise.

  “After all,” she went on. “We all know how much Drew likes getting some. Now he’s just proven he’s willing to dip into any dumpster to get it.”

  I wouldn’t respond. I refused to. That was what she wanted, after all, and I wasn’t giving it to her.

  Alexis turned to gape at me. “Aw, look. Her cheeks are getting red. You’re embarrassing her.”

  I moved my book so that they couldn’t see me. The class had gone perfectly still and quiet, except for Maddie and the girls. Who could blame them? This was top notch entertainment for first thing in the morning.

  “Poor thing.” Maddie clicked her tongue before sniggering. “She probably thinks she’s special. Like… now that they’re screwing, he’ll love her forever.”

  I gripped my book with white knuckles. Don’t give her the satisfaction…

  “What our resident foster trash doesn’t realize is…” Maddie whipped her hair again. “as soon as Drew is done slumming it, he’ll be ba
ck with me in a second. He’s not stupid. He doesn’t want some sort of whore like Posey when he could have me.”

  Tears stung the backs of my eyes, I refused to blink. I would not cry for this girl. Not now. Not ever.

  Maddie sighed dramatically. “Poor Jessa is going to be crushed when she doesn’t make the squad next year.” The girls all snickered, egging her on. “Or when she gets accidentally dropped off the top of a stunt.”

  Alexis snorted. “Poor Jessa. That’s what you get for being related to a whore.”

  My Geometry book landed on the desk with a slam, making several kids sitting near me jump. “Okay, that’s it.” I leaned forward in my seat, pointing a finger at Maddie’s evil smirk. “Say what you want about me, but if you hurt Jessa just because she lives with me, you’re just plain pathetic.”

  “Did I hit a nerve?” Maddie mocked me, putting a hand to her over-glossed mouth. “I guess Posey doesn’t like anybody messing with her family.”

  “They’re not…” Stopping, I gulped. “Don’t hurt her. Don’t mess with her. She’s done nothing to you. Your problem is with me. And I’m not afraid of you. Remember that.”

  Maddie’s manicured hand came down on her own desk with a slap. “You should remember your place around here. You’re at the bottom of the food chain. If you think sleeping with Drew Baxter is going to change that, you’re sadly mistaken.”

  “I’m not sleeping with Drew, and I’m not looking to change my place around here. This place…” I pointed to the whole class of kids, “and all of you don’t matter to me at all. My relationship with Drew is none of your business.”

  Everyone in the class—minus the lemmings—turned back around in their seats. I hid behind my book again, the lump in my throat now jagged and sharp like metal. I could still feel Maddie’s eyes on me, though. Like an unrelenting heat lamp from hell.