by Nicole Thorn
I blinked a few times and looked at my hands. “I didn’t know I was shaking.”
She sat me down and I looked up to see a terrified face, and Hale’s emotionless one.
“Someone left that in my backpack,” I pointed to book. “I lost it and someone left it in the locker room. Open it.”
She did. “Oh my god.” She flipped through the book and I watched her face. And Hale’s. “How did someone get all of these pictures?”
“How do you think?” Hale said, taking the book from her. “They were in her house.” He sounded angry.
“I think so,” my voice was distant.
He kept flipping and Jenna yelped. “I’m in there too!” I though she might burn a hole in the book given how hard she was staring at the pages in it.
My attention went to her. “What?”
Hale gave me the book. The pictures of Jenna weren’t as bad. A few of her at school and one or two of her on the couch at her house with her boyfriend.
“I’m so sorry, Jay. I don’t know why someone’s doing this to me. And I’m sorry that you’re getting dragged into this.”
“Don’t be. This isn’t your fault. But this means that someone wants to do more harm than just leaving you a dead animal. They broke into your house. They’re trying to threaten the people you love.”
I turned the page. On the very last sheet of paper was Hale. There were around thirty pictures of him. I was in a few. There was one of us sitting outside of the movie theater sharing a box of candy.
There were little broken hearts scratched into my eyes in every picture I appeared in.
I held the book out to show Hale. Slowly, his eyes went all over the page. He looked more furious than I’ve ever seen him. He must hate me even more than he used to. Now I was putting him in danger.
“What am I supposed to do?” I asked Jenna. “They can get into my house. They were following us all.”
Hale slammed the book and dropped it onto the bench beside me. “They were. But we know now.”
“What good does that do?”
“You can keep an eye out,” he said like this was all no big deal.
I stood up. “I know you’re mad that you got dragged into this, but if you don’t care, then can you be apathetic somewhere else? There’s a good chance my life is in danger. You’re safe, especially now that we’re not friends. So you can calm down now.”
He crossed his arms. “I’m not concerned about my safety. However, you are a target now.”
“I’m aware.”
“Good. Then I highly suggest you find out why.”
Chapter Eighteen: Father Of Mine
Find out…like I would try and do anything else.
“That’s the plan,” I said.
Jenna took a few breaths. “Okay. Well I have a class to teach. And I think I should get to it otherwise it might bring unwanted attention to this situation.”
“Yeah. I think it would be better if you let me handle this one,” I decided. I wasn’t sure how much this person knew about me and my family. But if they knew what I was, I couldn’t have the police get involved.”
“Excuse me?” Hale snapped. “Why are you allowing Rory to do this on her own? She’s a seventeen-year-old girl with a predator after her. She knows nothing about that kind of evil.”
I snorted and Jenna said, “I’m not abandoning her with this. I’m just trying to figure out the best way to handle this. There are things that you don’t understand. Maybe you would if you didn’t blow your chance to.” She left to go and address the students.
I shoved the scrapbook in my backpack and zipped it up. There wasn’t a chance in Hell that I was changing into my Gym clothes and acting like everything was okay.
Hale sat next to me. “Nothing is going to harm you, Rory.” He went to put his hand on mine but I pulled it away.
“No. You can’t do that. You can’t say what you said, do what you did, and then just act like I matter to you. It’s not fair.”
“I know it’s not fair. But I—”
“Please don’t. I don’t need to hear you saying more of what you told me. I know that I was too clingy for you.” I didn’t comment on how ironic that was. “I know that you didn’t really like me. You were probably just lonely. Bored.” That was the word he used before. “You got bored and that was the only reason you paid any attention to me at all. And that’s fine. But it’s over now and you need to leave me alone.”
“Can we just talk?”
I didn’t think my heart could take it. “I don’t want to.”
He nodded. “That’s fair. But I’m going to say what I need to say. I’ll leave you be for now. You’ve been through enough.” He moved to stand in front of me.
“I don’t think I want to hear anything else you have to say to me.” Was that too much to ask? Not to hear more words that would break what I had left of a heart.
He gave me one last look before he went to join the class.
I watched him while he apathetically stood around as the rest of the students played basketball. The ball rolled over to him a few times and he kicked it away.
The class ended and Hale set his sights on me. When he started walking over, I took off. I was too scared to hear what he had to say. I heard his words echoing in my head. I don’t want you.
I started walking down the hall as I made my way to the parking lot. The crowd was already thinning and I spotted Ethan talking on his phone.
“But I don’t have a ride. Why are you being such an ass today, Hale?” I couldn’t hear Hale on the other side of the phone but judging by Ethan’s face, he wasn’t being kind. “Fine. Leave me stranded. But Mason and Mollie aren’t going to put up with this for much longer. They’re already sick of this from you.” He hung up the phone and I walked over to him.
“Is everything okay?” I asked.
He turned and saw me. “Oh,” he smiled. “Potential salvation. Is there any chance I could get a ride home? Dottie left early for her appointment and Hale is being difficult. I’d walk but it’s ten miles away.”
I frowned. “I walk home. What about Mollie or Mason?”
“At work,” he sighed. “It would seem that I’m stranded until one of them gets home.”
I tried to think up a solution, but Hadley and Mom weren’t home yet. They had their cars. “How about you walk home with me? You can wait there for one of them.”
“Thank you, Rory. You’re a lifesaver.”
We started walking and I was thankful that I remembered which way to go. I almost never was brought here by normal means, so remembering how to get home could be hard.
It was a bit of a walk but it went by fast as we talked. He told me about how he was trying to get better. He wasn’t talking to his old friends anymore and he was talking with a therapist once a week. He was working through his issues slowly but surely.
“I’d tell you more about what we talk about,” he said while I unlocked my door, “But it involves Hale. I’m not sure how he would feel about me telling people.”
“Especially me,” I closed the door and we went to the kitchen.
“I’m sorry about him. I don’t know why he’s being like this. I know he’s still clean, so it’s not that.”
“It doesn’t matter. Hale isn’t my concern anymore.”
He sat at the counter. “Do you not care about him anymore? I thought the two of you were…a thing.”
“Me too. But then he said a whole bunch of horrible shit to me. Then he said he didn’t want me.”
His face was hostile. “What did he say to you before that?”
I leaned against the counter. “I don’t know if he told you, but he kissed me. And while we were kissing, he got up and left. He ignored all of my calls and texts. Then the next time I saw him, he said he only kissed me because he was bored.”
He looked confused and angry. “Bored? He said he was bored. Let me let you in on a secret. My brother has talked about you non-stop since the day he met you. Not incl
uding this last week or so. But even with me in and out of awareness, I knew that he was crazy about you.”
“Not anymore. He’s got Dottie now. Kenna said she saw them kissing. And I’ve seen how she is with him.”
Even more confusion crossed him. “They’re not together. She’s been to the house a couple times and she’s just really friendly. She can come across flirty but that’s not what she’s doing. Believe me when I say that Hale doesn’t want her.”
He doesn’t want me either.
I just shook my head. “Are you hungry?”
He smiled. “Yeah. Wanna get a pizza?”
I pulled out my phone and called to make the order. We both liked the same thing so it made things easier. I got us some extra dessert and when it got to the house, we brought it to my room. Brom Bones followed us.
“I hate that cat,” I stared him down. “He loves everyone but me.”
“Aww,” Ethan pet the cat and sat up on my bed with me. “He’s a sweetheart.”
“He’s evil.” I shooed the cat and he went running. I got up and closed the door behind him.
Ethan picked up a mini cookie and shoved the whole thing in his mouth. “God I miss junk food. Mollie has me on a healthy food diet. It’s miserable.”
“Am I not supposed to let you have this?” I hoped Mollie wouldn’t be angry with me over this.
He shrugged. “It’s fine. What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her.” I rolled my eyes at him and we kept eating.
While he was chewing, he pointed to my little set up for the Boston Tea Party scene. “Is that your project?”
“Yup. I’m almost done.”
“Has…has Hale helped you with it?”
I arched an eyebrow. “What do you think?”
He put his pizza down. “I have something terrible to ask of you. But if you don’t do it then Hale would suffer.”
“Good.”
“Rory,” he said my name sympathetically. “Please hear me out?”
I groaned. “What?”
“Could you put his name on the project? If he doesn’t turn one in, he won’t graduate. I know it’s a lot considering what he did, but could you do it? For me?”
I looked into the boys face and I couldn’t say no. But it really wouldn’t be for Hale. I cared about Ethan and if this would help him, then it wasn’t too much to ask.
“Sure. For you,” I said.
“Thank you, Rory,” he hugged me and rested his head on my shoulder.
“No problem. Just keep being good, okay.”
“I will. I promise.”
My door swung open so hard that I think it damaged the wall. Hale was standing on the other side of the door and his face was almost red. “What are you doing here, Ethan?”
Ethan let go of me. “I’m waiting for a ride since you’re being a dick. I think the real question is what are you doing here?”
Hadley walked up behind him. “I let him in. What’s going on?”
Hale gestured to us. “Your sister and my brother were doing this.”
“Sister?” she froze. “I’m her aunt.”
He looked back with an aggressive stare that I wanted to hit him for. “I know you’re her sister. But that’s not the point.”
I stood up from my bed and walked over to him. “Then what is? You have no right to be here anymore.”
Hadley scratched her head. “Why? He’s your friend.”
“Not anymore. Why are you here, Hale?”
He was fuming but he spoke. “Mason called me to yell at me for not bringing Ethan home. He said that Ethan told him he would be here.”
“So? Why can’t he be here with me? Just because you don’t want anything to do with me doesn’t mean I can’t be nice to your brother.”
Hadley was watching and I could see her trying to figure this out.
“You were being more than nice,” he narrowed his eyes at me.
I laughed. “Yeah. You’ve just got this whole thing figured out. I was messing around with your little brother because I couldn’t have you. Wow. How clever you are.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You insinuated it. After that day in the parking lot, you don’t have any right knowing my business anymore.”
His stance softened and it looked like his anger was diminishing. “I said I wanted to talk to you. But you wouldn’t let me.”
Ethan scoffed. “I wonder why.”
Hale’s eyes went to him. “What do you know about it?”
Ethan appeared next to me. “Everything. I can’t believe you’d do that to her. After everything she’s done for us. She deserved better than that for a break up.”
A break up suggests we were together in the first place. Hale made it clear that we were nothing at all.
“We’re going home, Ethan,” Hale grabbed his brother.
He looked back to me as he was being dragged off. “I’m sorry, Rory. Thank you for your favor.”
Hadley and I followed them into the living room. They were out the door before I could say anything. The door slammed and opened a second later.
Mom was wide eyed as she tossed her purse on the floor. “Well then… that seemed intense. What happened?”
“Yeah,” Hadley crossed her arms over her chest. “What the Hell?”
I had some explaining to do.
I’d gotten absolutely everything out to them after the boys left. Everything about Hale and everything about my stalker. They took it as well as to be expected. They both threatened to hurt Hale for me and they both panicked when they saw the scrapbook.
The current plan was for Mom to get a security system installed in the house. It would have camera’s outside and lights that went off when someone approached. But who knows when we could get someone out here. So for now, I was on my own.
“It starts at nine,” I told my mom on the morning of Parent Day. “Get there any time after that.”
“Sure thing. Be safe,” she hugged me and went back to looking through the scrapbook for clues.
Hell was empty when I got there. The Sage was nowhere to be seen, so I left quickly.
The lunchroom was all set up for the day. Each teacher had a table and the parents were supposed to visit their students’ teachers. It was fairly well organized. It could be due to the fact that the student body was so small.
Of course, I went straight for Jenna. She was sitting at her table playing on her phone.
“How goes it?” I said as I sat on her table.
“Boring so far.” She looked up from her phone. “Most of the kids ditched today.”
“I bet. But Mom’ll be here soon.”
She perked up. “Hadley too?”
I nodded. “As soon as her hangover clears up.”
She laughed and started going over her student files. She needed to give one to every parent that showed up. All it had in it was a short summery of the student’s progress. Nothing important.
I sat there and watched the students and their parents come in. The Wyatt’s walked into the room and my body tensed. It only got worse when they headed over here.
Mason shoved Hale forward at me. He looked annoyed as he spoke. “I’m sorry about what I did yesterday. I shouldn’t have burst into your home like that.”
I looked to Mason and he said, “And I apologize on my brother’s behalf. We don’t tend to handle situations properly.”
Mollie snickered. “That’s putting it lightly.” Mason shot her a look and shook his head. She kissed him on the cheek and wiped the lipstick off after.
“It’s fine,” I said.
“Good,” Mason took Mollie’s hand. “Let’s go see Ethan’s teachers first.”
Jenna held out a holder. “This is for Ethan. We can talk later.” They thanked her and left. Ethan followed but Hale stayed behind.
He put his hand on my lower back. “Can we go somewhere and talk?”
“I’m waiting for my mom and Hadley.” I thought that was the nicest w
ay I could say no.
“Later then?”
“Maybe.”
He moved his hand off of me. “Okay.”
I started pacing as I waited for my family to show up. They were running late and I had to assume it was because of Hadley. She was probably messing with the cat or something. Trying to make him do a trick.
“Whoa,” Jenna said. “Who’s that?” I looked to her instead of whatever her eyes were stuck on. She was grinning like a dope and I couldn’t imagine why.
There was a tap on my shoulder. As I turned, a man said, “Aurora?”
My mouth dropped open when I saw my father standing in front of me. He was tall. Really, really tall. His hair matched my color but only fell to his chin. And his eyes…something that you don’t forget, even if you only met him once. One hazel and one green.
“Oh my god,” I breathed. “What are you doing here?”
Hale moved closer to me. “Who is he?”
My father smiled at him. “Oh, do you really want to know that?”
I moved Hale back and took a step away myself. “You didn’t answer my question.”
He adjusted his blood red tie and his black suit jacket. “It’s Parent Day. And I’m a parent.”
Hale’s eyebrows went up. “Are you her father?” I heard Jenna gasp at that but I ignored it.
“I am. And I know who you are. You’re the boy who made my daughter cry. I don’t like when my girls cry.”
Hale looked at me with a pained expression. “I made you cry?”
My father answered. “You did.” His voice was deep and calm. Terrifying, really.
“How did you know that?” I asked Lucifer. I never told him.
He gave me a disappointed look. “How do you think?” I guess I had that one coming.
Jenna moved over to us and held her hand out to my father. “I’m Jenna Coleman. Nice to meet you, sir.”
He shook her hand. “And you too. Call me Louie.”
She burst out into laughter and Lucifer cracked a smile. “Louie…you’re kidding.”
“Well one of my sons is already named Luc. So…couldn’t go with that. It might be a little weird.”
She simmered down and I caught the look on Hale’s face. It suggested he thought the two of them were insane. At least he didn’t ask questions.
