by Claire Adams
"Turn the alarm off. Jeez," Katelyn grumbled from her bed, and I realized that I was lying there letting the alarm continue to scream at me.
"Sorry. Shit." I scrambled out of bed and turned it off before letting out a long yawn. "Get up. You're coming with me."
"I'd ask where, but I don't want to know because my response will be the same. No. I'm tired, and I want to sleep in." She pulled her covers over her head as I yanked the curtain back and let the sunlight in. "Amy and Lucinda are coming, too. Let's go wake them up and get this party started."
"Why are you in a good mood? You hate getting up early." She sat up and gave me an exasperated look.
"We're going to my mother's to work on wedding stuff for Allison. I'm not in a good mood, but I am looking forward to having someone cook all three of my meals today." I smirked before pulling my pajamas off and dressing in a knee-length skirt, a nice blouse, and designer boots. A sweater and leggings sounded much better, but I didn't want to give my mom too much ammo. She was already upset about the car situation and me having broken up with Paul. There was a lot stacked against me, and I'd yet to walk through her front door.
"I don't like your mother. She makes me feel like a bug under a microscope." Katelyn got up and let out a frustrated sigh. "But...I'd do anything for you, so I'll go. I'm wearing what the fuck I want to, though."
"I'm good with that. She's not going to say anything to you, Katelyn. She only berates me. I'm the punching bag." I ran my brush through my hair and fixed my makeup perfectly. I hated the fact that I had to get dolled up to the extent that I did, but I just did. It was expected.
"I'm going to trick punch her if she makes you cry like she did last time." Katelyn yanked on my ponytail on her way to the restroom, causing a huge lump of hair to lift in the middle of it.
"I cry every time." I pulled my hair back down and did it again. Anything out of place was going to get me an ass chewing. I'd tried standing up to her several times, but that only made the drama more intense and usually got my dad dragged into the center of the explosion.
No thanks.
"That's bullshit, but I know you know that." Katelyn stopped beside me a few minutes later. "Jeans and a sweater okay?"
"Yep. Whatever you want to wear. Seriously." I got up and sprayed a little bit of perfume on my chest. "I really wish Tate would call. I didn't get him the tryout with Martin so that he would like me, but it kinda hurts that he hasn't so much as called or texted anything but a quick thanks."
"Val." She worked her hair into a bun before pulling her scarf around her neck and tying it in a way that I could never get mine to work.
"What?" I got up and pulled my jacket from the closet.
"I don't know the guy, but from what Martin says, he's really, really poor. Not that him not having money should matter at all, but I'm sure that causes him to reconsider calling you. You're way out of his league. You're not just some pretty girl from a nice middle class family. You're a Scott." She lifted her eyebrow at me. "That means a lot around here."
"Yeah, well, I wish it didn't." I let out a painful sigh and grabbed my purse. "Come on, let's go visit the famous Scotts and try hard not to leave feeling like we're two inches tall. My mom's good at shrinking people and their egos."
"Your mom is the wicked witch of the west." Katelyn opened our door and followed me out into the hall. "Tate is probably crazy about you, but you know as well as I do that he's not going to call. If he's mature, then he'll leave you be."
"Shit. Thanks." I gave her a pseudo-glare.
"Don't look at me like that. You're going to have to date a richy-rich just so they can stand to be around your family. Hell, you dragging the three of us there today should prove that. You can't even stand to be around them." She laughed, and I tried to let her words slide off my back, namely because she was right.
*
The look on my mother's face when she opened the front door of our enormous, dark-brick mansion was almost comical. Almost.
"Valentine. You brought company." Her smile was tight and eyes piercing as she looked around the group, but continued to block the doorway. She seemed to have forgotten than it was twenty degrees outside where we were standing.
"Yep. You remember my friends." I glanced back at them as they all gave shit-eating grins. I loved every one of them. "Lucinda, Katelyn, and Amy."
"Right. Come on in, then. You'll catch your death out there." She moved back and opened the door wider.
"Is that Val?" My sister's voice caused my heart to squeeze tightly in my chest. I loved her tremendously, but it was a hard relationship to reconcile within me. She was the reason I wasn't good enough, but she couldn't help that. She was just perfect, and it had little to do with anything vengeful toward me.
"Hey, Allison." I moved into her warm hug and squeezed her tightly. "You remember my friends?"
"I do." She moved out of my hold and gave all of my friends hugs as my mother tugged at my arm.
"Valentine, a word." She pulled me into the study just beside the entrance to the house and closed the door. "Why didn't you ask if it was alright to bring a whole entourage to the house? We have things to do, and the place is filthy."
"It's not filthy, Mom, and besides, they came to help us. I know you wanted to make some of those little paper mache flower things. All of my friends can work on those. Stop being dramatic." I cringed as the words left my lips. Why I couldn't just shake my head and nod was beyond me.
"I'm not being dramatic, but I'll start if you'd like to see me act as such." She moved into my face as her face contorted into the look I was used to seeing – disappointment. "Just do as you’re told today and try to remember that this isn't about you. It's about Allison."
I nodded, biting my tongue so hard it hurt. It was always about Allison. How the hell could I forget that? Neither my mother nor father ever let me.
"Yes, ma'am." I followed her back out into the foyer to find my friends gone.
"Great. Where are they?" She glanced back at me before walking toward the kitchen.
I kept my sarcastic remarks to myself and followed after her quietly.
All of my friends were standing around the kitchen counter, laughing with my older sister as we walked in. I moved up in between Katelyn and Amy and pressed my elbows to the counter as Allison lifted her eyebrow at me.
"The girls tell me that you finally dumped that jerk, Paul. I never did like him. He looked too much like a Ken doll." She winked at me.
"He did, didn't he?" I picked up a chip from the bowl in front of me and nibbled on it. "He cheated on me."
"He did not." My mother stepped up beside Allison. "Your father spoke to him earlier this week. He said that the two of you grew apart. Things happen, dear. Don't spread rumors."
"He was having sex with Carolyn Jacobs, Mom. I walked in on it. I'm not spreading rumors." My temper went from zero to burning hot.
"Okay. So first things first." My sister reached out and grabbed my hand. "We've got three types of cakes to taste. These are the final ones that I liked. Grab a fork and let’s have some fun."
I picked up a fork and let out a slow breath as Allison moved us into the dinner room and escorted my mother somewhere else.
"God, your mother is a bitch." Amy moved up beside me and pretended to stab the air in front of her with her fork. "I think we should egg Paul's car tonight. He's a lying bastard to tell your family that you guys grew apart."
"Yeah, and who calls someone’s parents after cheating on them?" Lucinda gave me a look. "We need to wait for him in a dark alley."
"Word." Katelyn shook her head and moved ahead of us. "Someone needs to teach them all a lesson."
"We're not teaching lessons, beating anyone, or egging anything. My mother has always been like this, and I'm not at all surprised that Paul called. He's just like them. He didn't care about me. He wanted in with them, and now that he's figure out how to do that, good for him." I shrugged and moved up to the three large chunks of cake sitting on
the table before us. "Let's wait for my sister or I'm liable to eat the cakes in the wrong order and the room will blow up around us."
My friends chuckled as we gathered around the table.
Lucinda poked at me with her fork. "Tell us more about Tate. That's his name, right? The biker mechanic guy."
"Oh yeah, that's his name." Katelyn wagged her eyebrows. "Tell them all about him so I'm not jealous all by myself."
"Why are you jealous? Martin is a great guy." Amy gave Katelyn a look. "You don't get to be jealous. Us single girls get that right."
"Oh Lord, come on already. I want to know more about him." Lucinda grumbled as my sister walked back in.
Allison stopped across the table from me. "More about who?"
"This guy I met." I shrugged. "We'll talk about it later. This day is about you, so tell us what we're doing and what you want from us." I gave my sister a genuine smile.
"This day isn't about me, silly. Tell me about the guy while we try the cakes. Just see which you like best, and we'll vote. It's the bride’s cake we're trying to decide on. I'm not going to spoil it by telling you the flavors beforehand. Just try them." She picked up her fork. "And it's just us, so pig out."
I laughed and took a big bite of the first one, groaning in delight as the sugary goodness rushed over my tongue. I rarely ate treats, but when I did, I realized what I was missing and would usually overdo it for a few days.
"Tell us about Tate." Amy took a big bite of the last one and grimace. "No. That one is gross."
"Really?" Lucinda moved down to the last cake and tried a bite after Amy. "What? This is delicious. I love it."
I rolled my eyes and continued to try the cakes until they badgered me into talking about Tate. There wasn't much to tell, but I figured I'd share what I could.
"He seems like a nice guy. He's a little taller than me, broad shoulders, sandy brown hair. He's got a great smile, beautiful lips, and warm brown eyes." I took a bite of the middle cake and gagged. "Nasty."
"Nasty in bed or like he has a nasty attitude?" My sister glanced up at me.
I laughed. "The middle cake is nasty. I don't know Tate that well. We just went to lunch the day he fixed my tire."
"Oh, a man who's good with his hands. Fun." Amy wagged her eyebrows. "Didn't you say he was a mechanic?"
"Yep, and he has tats all over his neck and arms, too."
Lucinda wagged her eyebrows. "He sounds delicious. Did you get to see him the other day when you took her over there, Katelyn?"
"Unfortunately, no, but Tate is trying out of the swim team. Val got the opportunity for him with Martin by winning a bet." Katelyn smirked at me.
"A bet? Sounds interesting." Lucinda stiffened, and I turned to see why. My mother had walked back into the room.
"It's nothing. I scored the first three points of the intramural games the other night on the boys’ league. Just a quick fake and shot, and I got the tryout opened back up for him." I smiled and mimicked the move that sunk my three-pointer.
"Who's Tate?" My mother asked, and it was as if she'd sucked all the air from the room.
"Just a guy who helped me fix my tired that other night, Mom." I took a bite of the last cake, trying not to get into a conversation with her over it.
"And, you got him a spot on the swim team? Sounds quite self-sacrificing to me." Her tone was less than friendly. Where I used to be embarrassed by the way she talked to me in front of my friends, I was rather used to it now. There was no changing it.
"The first one is my favorite." I glanced up at Allison and smiled.
"Valentine, I'm speaking to you." My mother gripped the back of my arm.
My friends started to give their recommendations to my sister as I turned to face my mom.
"I'm sorry. I was just trying to stay focused on Allison like you asked me to." I kept my tone steady and soft, though I didn't want to.
"By talking about some heathen guy that you're helping out at school? You have more important things to focus on than becoming someone who just hands out random opportunity to charity cases. Understood?" Her brow pulled in tight as she studied me with open disapproval.
"Being nice is free, Mom. Tate's a good guy, and I was happy to help him out as a repayment for helping me first." I shrugged and pulled from her. "He's not open for discussion."
That was obviously the wrong thing to say. She spent the next twenty minutes berating me on my choices and lack of ambition. Allison was kind enough to pull my friends into another room a few minutes into the ass-chewing, but much to my horror, my father walked in at the end of it.
I stood there in stony silence and went to a happy place in my head where neither of them existed. It was the only way to get through any of it. Screaming at my mother would have just made matters worse, and knowing that her blood pressure was causing issues left me defenseless against her. She'd keel over in front of me, and though I hated her with every cell in my body, I loved her just as equally.
Too bad I was the only one that felt that way between the two of us. She didn't care for me then, and I wasn't sure she ever had.
"Do you hear me?" she screamed in my face as I glanced over to my dad.
"See you guys later. Sorry I showed up today." I turned on my heel, collected my friends, and got back in the car as my teary-eyed older sister waved from the front door.
None of us spoke a word back to campus, but then again, there really wasn't much to say.
Chapter 12
Tate
I should have called Val sometime during the week, but between dealing with my mother, the cops over Daniel, work, and school, I was beat. She was just a pretty girl who had learned a little about kindness from me. Nothing more. It was better to just let things go between us. Pushing it would only leave her in the awkward position of having to pretend like my poverty didn't matter when she came face to face with it. I didn't care what Jerry said. Rich people were still rich people.
After packing my swimsuit and a towel in my backpack, I drove to the campus with a sense of trepidation sitting heavy on me. Val might have sweet-talked some poor schmuck into giving me the chance to try out, but there was no way they were going to let me on the team. It didn't matter that I was better than most of them and equally gifted as the rest. I was from the poor side of town and my tats were a sign of rebellion that the rich kids didn't seemed to appreciate. Or at least the guys. Their girls would spend hours tracing them if given the chance.
I parked the bike under the canopy at the natatorium and walked in to the smell of chlorine and the sound of water lapping.
A large group of guys were running drills, and their coach glanced up at me as I walked in with my torn jeans, leather jacket, and shit-kickers. If he was judging me, I couldn't tell. His face was rather expressionless.
Another guy about my size moved from the group and extended his hand. "You must be Tate. I'm Martin, Val's friend."
"Nice to meet you." I shook his hand and glanced around the room. "There a locker room where I can change?"
"Yeah." He turned and pointed to the far side of the room. "Just over there, and that's Coach Dalmoth. He's strict as shit, but a good swim coach."
"Great, thanks." I walked toward the coach and extended my hand again, not quite sure what to expect. "Thanks for the chance to try out today."
He shook my hand and gave me a tight smile. "We'll see what you’ve got and go from there."
"Sounds good." I turned and ignored the stares and mumblings about my clothes, my hair, who the fuck I was. Guys were worse than girls at being judgmental.
After changing into my suit, I stopped by the mirror and ran my hand over the shadow of my six-pack. I needed to get back into the gym, but if I made the team, they would provide a routine of sorts, anyway.
I grabbed my towel from my bag and walked back into the larger room with my shoulders pulled back a little. I knew I was going to catch some shit over my tats, but it was what it was. They each had an assigned meaning, and I loved th
e way they looked and made me feel.
"Tate, over there." Martin waved me over with a worried look on his face. "Coach is going to let you try out and then we'll start practice. The guys aren't too thrilled you're here, but I'm sure you're perceptive enough to pick that up."
I rolled my shoulders and nodded. "Yep."
"Tate, what's your last name, son?" The coach motioned for me to move to the front of the group of guys that hovered around the edge of the pool. It was a good damn thing it was warm in the room, or I wouldn't have been much for sporting nothing more than my swim trunks.
"Phillips." I tossed my towel onto a nearby chair and stepped up beside him as my insides turned to mush. I'd been swimming my whole life in the lakes surrounding our small town, but having these guys watch me intently left me unnerved. No one would be the wiser over my internal struggles, but they were there, nevertheless.
"Alright. Let's see what you’ve got, then. I'll time your full lap. You beat more than half the team's times, and you're on." He patted my back. "Take a few warm up laps and tell me when you're ready."
The grumbling got worse around the room, but Coach Dalmoth glanced around and gave everyone a warning look, which shut them all up. It was almost humorous.
"I don't need a warm up, but thank you." I jumped off the side down into the pool and glanced up. "Let's do this so you guys can get back to your practice."
"You sure?" His incredulous look caused my stomach to relax a little. He was being sincere, which was good. The last coach the swim team had was a total dick and wouldn't even look me in the eye.
"Yep. Ready?" I turned and positioned myself. Either I was going to beat the time, or I wasn't.
