by C. C. Bolick
“He’s right,” Collin said. “You told us this would be the last move.”
Danny lowered his voice. “If you don’t let us stay we’ll tell everyone the truth about Jes.”
Mom’s face was a mixture of pain and anger. “Why would you hurt your sister?”
“She’s not our sister,” Collin said. “We’ve overheard enough to figure out who she really is. We know why you made us move all those times.”
Dad’s eyes were incredulous. “What do you plan to do?”
“Tell everyone about New York,” Danny said.
This was my chance to sneak out of the room, but watching the boys fight with Dad felt normal. I needed normal after the last twenty-four hours. Reaching across the table, I grabbed a butter knife left from breakfast. I cut a slice of cake and stuffed a huge yellow bite into my mouth. Closing my eyes, I savored the sweetness. Mom had become quite an expert at making cakes over the last year, and I wouldn’t let myself imagine a world without her in it.
Collin looked at the floor. “You don’t want to push us. We’ll really tell everyone about Jessica Naples.”
“Oh yeah?” Dad asked. “Now she’s Jessica Naples to you?”
“No,” Collin said miserably.
Danny shoved his elbow into Collin’s ribs. “We have proof.”
I took a bite of the brown crust—my favorite part. “So does all of Credence High.”
Danny’s face fell. “You’re lying.”
“Nope,” I said, licking my fingers. “Bailey took one of the articles to school and now everyone knows, including your friend Samuel Greene. I know for a fact his dad saw the picture of me.”
Dad looked at Mom as she closed her eyes. “You said Jes had the article at school, but did I miss something? The whole school knows?”
“Yeah,” I said. “You worried for all of those years, and I haven’t noticed a single reporter knocking on the door.”
“I’m sorry,” Mom said. “I didn’t want to worry you any more than necessary. Not when we were already leaving.”
Dad gave Danny an uneasy look. “Would you really do that to your sister?”
“Look at what she’s done to us all of these years,” Danny said.
“Go to your room,” Dad said. “Both of you.”
“But…” Collin said.
Dad sighed. “As much as I hate to admit it, you’re right. All of those years we moved for Jes and the two of you were dragged along for the ride. Change into some old clothes and we’ll go fishing. Maybe Joel and Sam can meet us.”
Danny stood in a stupor until Collin pushed him toward the stairs.
“Don’t encourage them,” Mom said.
Dad took her hand in his. “I don’t approve of their methods, but they’re right. I haven’t been much of a father always putting Jes first.”
“We do what we must,” Mom said, but released his hand when she realized I still sat at the table.
“Hey.” Bailey stepped through the open door and around Dad. “What’s going on in here?” She scanned the kitchen until she saw me. “Please tell me you asked about the party.”
“Party?” Dad asked.
“Terrance is having a birthday party,” Bailey said. “Pade and I are going; he’s driving. Jes got invited too.”
Mom moved aside as Bailey passed. “Pade and Terrance made up?”
“Well, not exactly. We’re still working on the forgiveness part.”
“Can I go?” I asked.
Dad looked to Mom and then at me. “I suppose if you can stay out of trouble. No reason you can’t see your friends one last time.”
Bailey spun around. “You say that like you’re leaving for good.”
“We’ll be in Atlanta for a while,” Dad said, not taking his eyes off me. “Make sure you have your phone. Call us if there’s any trouble.”
* * * * *
“Are you still mad at me?” Bailey asked. “Is that why you didn’t answer any of my texts last night?”
I stared at the darkness outside of the jeep. “No.”
Bailey stayed silent until we pulled into Terrance’s driveway. “I hope Angel comes tonight. She needs an intervention.”
“What’s wrong with Angel?” Pade asked, glancing in the mirror.
“She wants to break up with Skip. I told her she’s an idiot.”
“That makes no sense,” Pade said. “Skip is totally in love with her. He never talks about anyone else.”
“Angel doesn’t agree, which is why she’s an idiot.”
“They’ll both be here,” he said and shook my arm. “You haven’t said anything all night.”
“I don’t know where to start,” I said, still staring out the window. How could I tell them about the night before? About seeing Chase? I felt along my shirt for the charm. Chase would be coming for me soon.
With Pade by my side, I wasn’t so sure about going back to Golvern. Yes, I wanted to know my mother. Yes, I needed Chase in my life. But going to New York had changed how I felt about my past in so many ways. I wanted to be me, and I wasn’t sure if that included being Kayden.
“Did I do something wrong?” he asked, his voice serious. “You’ve been avoiding me all week.”
The look on his face—it was time to tell him how I really felt. Before I missed my chance. “I’ve been trying to process Dad being sick again.” I swallowed. “Pade, I want to–” I jumped when someone hit my window.
Skip laughed outside the glass. He opened the door and I noticed Angel standing to his side in a dark red sweater. Reaching for my hand, he helped me out of the jeep and then reached to help Bailey.
When Skip circled the jeep to talk with Pade, Angel held out her hand. On her fourth finger glimmered a tiny gold ring. “Skip promised we’d always be together.” She smiled as Skip waved to her and followed Pade into the house. “Waiting is the right thing.”
Bailey put her hands on her hips. “That’s what I’ve been telling you.”
“He loves me,” Angel said, with a shining smile that matched her ring.
“Of course he does,” Bailey said and threw an arm around her neck. “Now if I could only get my brother to understand that about Jes.” She looked at me. “You were about to tell him, weren’t you?”
My smile grew with the sadness I felt. “Yes.”
“You’ll get your chance,” she said.
If my time didn’t run out.
The Party
An hour later, Pade and Skip laughed outside on the wooden deck. I watched through the sliding glass door as Bailey and I stood in a dark corner of a living room with white and gold furniture that rarely saw visitors. Every time the speakers boomed, the cabinet of hand-blown glass rattled to my side. Terrance came to the door twice and looked out at Pade, but finally turned and disappeared back into the crowded kitchen.
“This party sucks,” Bailey yelled.
I took a sip of the drink in my hand, focusing on the previous night. At first I thought the party would be a way to forget everything from the night before. But as I watched Pade, I realized there was nothing about the last twenty-four hours I could afford to forget. My whole world would soon change. Pade would know the truth about me, and Bailey. Or I’d disappear and they’d never know.
Thinking about Mom, I took another sip. I still doubted Dad’s involvement even after Chase insisted, but was Mom really as innocent as he suggested? What did she know about me? Did she have a power?
Rachelle appeared at my side. “Can we go outside and talk?”
“What’s going on?” Bailey asked.
“Nothing,” I said, trying to remember if I’d told her about Rachelle’s betrayal. No, that was another thing lost since yesterday. I looked over the deck where Angel had joined Skip. “Let’s go out the front door.”
Bailey finished her can of coke. “You go ahead, I’ve got to find the bathroom.”
“I’m sorry,” Rachelle said, the minute we stepped outside.
“For setting me up with Brianna
?” I asked.
“No,” said Brianna, who stepped out of the shadow of Skip’s red truck. “For this.” She grabbed one of my arms as Ronald jumped out from behind the truck to grab my other.
“What do you want?” I asked, trying to wrench at least one of my arms free.
“Payback,” Ronald said. “For what you did to me in the hall. For making me think I’m crazy. We’re going around back and you’re going to show everyone what you can do.”
I looked at Rachelle, who cowered a few feet away. “Why are you doing this to me?”
“I’m not the person you think I am,” Rachelle said.
“Well,” I said, “I can see that. Why set me up twice?”
“To make things right,” she said.
“To make what right?” I asked. “Is this about Leigh Ann?” I turned to Brianna. “What have I done to you?”
She used the dainty voice again, which made me want to throw up. “Nothing but hurt Ronald. He’s been there for me and I take anything against him personal.”
“I didn’t hurt Ronald,” I said. “He came after me.”
“You got him suspended,” Brianna said. “He only pulled that alarm because I asked him to.”
Okay, maybe if I played her game they’d let me go. No way could I show my power here. “Why did you ask him?”
Brianna smiled. “To prove he cared.”
Calling her motive dumb might not get the job done. “I can see he cares about you.”
“He does,” she said, giggling. “He’s the only one who’s been there for me since…” Her face fell. “Leigh Ann was my sister, until someone at school found out about them.” She pointed to Rachelle. “They threatened to post the picture everywhere. That’s why Leigh Ann…” Sobs followed the horrible cry uttered with the name.
Ronald released my arm to wrap his around Brianna. “It’s okay.”
“It’s my fault,” Rachelle said. “I didn’t know Leigh Ann wasn’t strong enough to deal.”
Brianna pulled away from Ronald. “Don’t you say that about her. And you’re right, this is all your fault.” She put her hands on her hips and got in my face. “I demanded to quit that school my parents always insisted on. I wanted to come here and find the girl who destroyed my sister’s life.”
“I cared about Leigh Ann,” Rachelle muttered.
“Not enough to save her,” Brianna said and inched closer to my face.
I had the power to stop Brianna. I could blink myself away, but the look on Rachelle’s face bothered me more than the tiny droplets that sputtered against my cheek as Brianna spoke. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Sorry? Sorry? Is that all you’ve got?”
“No.” I looked at Ronald. “You think I can do more, which could be bad for you. But I won’t if we end this now.”
“This will never be over,” Brianna said.
“Until what?” I asked. “Until Rachelle is so tormented she kills herself? That won’t make this better.”
Brianna’s face changed, to the point she looked close to tears. “I want her to feel what I lost.”
“Doesn’t she?” I asked.
Rachelle wiped the tears from her eyes. “Yes.”
Backing away from Brianna, I put an arm around Rachelle’s shoulders. “I was there the day she got the news. She cried on me for hours. If you think she hasn’t suffered, you’re wrong.”
“But what you did to Ronald—”
“I didn’t want to turn him in, but Dr. Greene showed up as he ran off and I didn’t have any choice. I considered telling him I did it, but he never would have believed me.”
“You would have taken the hit?” Ronald asked.
“Yes,” I said. “I don’t like ratting people out. But Mom showed up and I was stuck.”
Brianna looked from Ronald to me. “You still need to explain yourself. What Ronald said happened in the hall…”
“It wasn’t me,” I lied. “It was the guy with me. Joe.”
“Your imaginary friend?” Rachelle asked.
“No,” Ronald said. “He was there. Maybe…” He slapped a palm to the side of his head. “Maybe I am going crazy.”
“You’re not crazy, Ronnie,” Brianna said and circled her arms around him.
Ronald and Brianna—they were made for each other. Seeing my opportunity, I ran back to the living room, pushing through the crowd of laughter and dancing. Rachelle’s eyes followed me, but I didn’t have time to sort out how I felt about her. It was time to find Bailey and get out of there before Brianna changed her mind.
Out on the deck, Skip spun Angel as they danced. Pade was nowhere to be seen.
I walked through the kitchen, slamming into Tosh. The drink in her hand crashed against the floor and splashed in every direction. “Sorry,” I said.
“Don’t worry about it.” She reached for a roll of paper towels.
“Have you seen Bailey?” I asked. “Or Pade?”
“Pade went upstairs to Terrance’s room. They’re supposed to be talking, but I haven’t heard anything break yet.”
I peeked in each of the three bedrooms but no Pade. The last door was closed. I hesitated to knock long enough for the door to open, leaving Pade to stare at me.
He reached for my hand, pulled me around the door, and slammed it behind me. We were alone in the room, our only light a dim lamp next to the bed. “I thought you were Terrance, but I’m glad you’re not.”
Pade leaned in and kissed me softly as he wrapped his arms around me. “I’ve dreamed about us being alone again, but that never seems to happen.”
“You’ve got me now,” I said.
His eyes grew with the realization this was our chance. He locked the door behind me and took my hand in his. “I’m never letting you go.” Kissing me deeper, he moaned as I pulled him closer.
The alcohol on his breath stung my nose and tasted like a mixture of honey and tar.
“We could leave town tonight, just you and me,” he said. “I’ll be eighteen in two months.”
I smiled. A thousand reasons that couldn’t happen zipped through my head, but I dismissed every one. The only thing that mattered to me was his lips against mine. I loved Pade—I’d never stopped, though my feelings were so different from a year ago.
He led me to the bed, lowering me on top of the white and navy bedspread. Reaching to both sides of my face, he spread my hair to fan out around me. “You look like an angel.”
His laughter felt like a giddy comedy routine, but it was the first time he’d laughed like that since Colorado. The music around us faded as we entered our own world, one with sunflower fields to the edge of sight, where we could run for hours. A daring thought entered my mind. “Let’s make tonight special.”
The laughter stopped as Pade’s expression grew serious. He sat on the bed next to me, reaching down to kiss me with a gentleness that brought tears to my eyes. “Tonight is already special,” he whispered.
Deeper he kissed me, drawing me closer as he snuggled into the bed beside me. One of his hands slid along my cheek, while the other gripped my hand. “I love you.”
“Me too,” I whispered.
Pade pulled back and stared into my eyes. “I think you really mean it,” he said, his voice as silky as my favorite chocolate.
A banging sounded on the door. The handle shook, followed by Terrance’s voice.
“Damn,” Pade said.
I laughed. “You said this never seems to happen.”
He smiled. “It was enough to see you look at me like that.”
The door rattled again. Pade gave me a quick kiss and jumped from the bed. As soon as the door opened, Terrance pulled Pade into the hall.
I scrambled from the bed and into the hall, in time to see Terrance throw a fist at Pade’s face.
Pade fell to the floor, cradling his cheek. “Damn it,” he said, spitting blood onto the hardwood floor.
The bathroom door opened beside me and Bailey stepped into the hall, holding Chase’s hand.<
br />
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“Making up for the last year,” Chase said, his eyes watery.
Bailey wiped the smear of lipstick from the corner of Chase’s mouth. “He came back to me.”
Pade looked up at Chase. “Where the hell did you come from?”
“Let’s take this outside,” Terrance said.
“What did I do now?” Pade asked.
“Mia broke up with me, because of you.”
“You’re crazy,” Pade said and lunged at Terrance.
Pade and Terrance rolled across the floor, punching at anything they could hit. Pade slammed an elbow into Terrance’s head. Terrance kicked Pade in the stomach and broke away, climbing to his feet.
Doubling over in pain, Pade looked up at Terrance. “Hasn’t this gone on long enough?”
“I thought we could talk,” Terrance said and pointed at me. “You come to my party and end up on my bed with your bitch.”
“She’s not in this,” Pade said and lunged again. The crowd of onlookers separated as the pair went head-first down the stairs.
“Pade,” I screamed and raced Bailey down the stairs.
“Hey,” someone yelled, “the parents are home.”
In the midst of people running for the doors, Bailey managed to help Pade up, and I followed them to the jeep.
Pade pulled a set of keys from his pocket. The keys fell from his hand and he reached out, but lost his footing and fell to his knees. Cursing, he raked his hands thorough the grass around him.
“You can’t drive,” Bailey said. “You’ve had way too much to drink.”
“I haven’t,” Pade said, but his words ran together.
“Can you drive the jeep?” I asked Bailey.
“She doesn’t have a license,” Pade whined.
Bailey looked back at the door. “What the hell?”
Chase was crossing the yard with Tosh in tow. “I’ve got a better idea.”
Tosh pulled two keys on a tiny ring from her pocket, dangling them in front of Bailey. “I can drive a stick. Take my car.”
Chase reached down and retrieved the keys from the grass next to Pade, as if he knew exactly where the keys had fallen. “Here,” he said, handing the keys to Tosh. “Take the jeep and don’t stop until you get to the rest area in Georgia. I’ve got someone set up to take you from there.”
