“What?”
“I called him. And I quote, ‘She’s not my problem anymore.’”
“But what about you and Ashley?”
Tess shrugged and looked down at her mom.
Tess’s dad had taken off when Tess was eight—in third grade. I had met him once. Honestly, it was probably why we were as close as sisters. We’d spent that whole year together. Me delighting in a new friend, her simply trying to cope with the pain. Over the years she had talked to him occasionally, and it had always put Tess in a terrible mood for days. Last I had heard he lived in another state with a brand-new family. I was almost as surprised by her calling him as I was to hear that he felt that it wasn’t his concern. Anger curled up inside me like a thick red rope. If he had been in the room, I would have strangled him and felt no remorse.
Together we moved Mrs. Howard into her bedroom to sleep it off. Tess left to go check on Ashley, and I went back to the bathroom to finish cleaning up the glass and the blood. I scrubbed the floor and the sink, and picked out the large pieces of glass that were still stuck to the mirror frame. I caught sight of my broken reflection and stared at it. What am I supposed to do?
I didn’t know the answer, but I was pretty sure I was in over my head. It was one of those God-sized problems that Darby had talked about.
I wasn’t much of a pray-er. Wasn’t even totally sure how to do it. But I dropped my head. Help us. Please.
I turned to see Tess standing in the doorway. “I think you need to call Liam.”
CHAPTER 11
Tess hovered close by, antsy and nervous, giving instructions.
“Tell him he has to come here. And make sure he’s not going to say anything. Tell him that she can’t go to the hospital because she’s deathly afraid to go.”
I glared at Tess. “Will you let me handle this?”
She turned away and dropped onto the couch, putting her hands over her face.
“You still there?” I asked.
“Yeah. But I’m not sure I get it,” Liam said.
“Sorry. I just need to know if you think Brian would come over to Tess’s house and stitch up her mom’s hand.”
“Why doesn’t she just go to the emergency room?”
“If it were that simple I wouldn’t be calling.”
“And you’re not going to give me anything else?”
“Liam, please. It’s important. Her mom is too scared to go, and she needs her hand stitched up.”
“I don’t know if he’ll do it.”
“Convince him. Please?”
“I’ll call you back.”
I ended the call and went to sit next to Tess, but she jumped up as soon as I sat and started cleaning the living room. I joined her, grabbing empty liquor bottles and stacking papers neatly. I pulled open the shades. The sun was starting to set, but it still made a huge improvement to the room.
My phone rang twice; but both times it was Darby, and I just let it go to voice mail. I didn’t want to miss Liam’s call. Tess hurried around cleaning; and when the living room was straight, she started in on the kitchen. She threw a frozen pizza in the oven and tore open a package of cookies, the kind you break apart and bake.
“Cookies?” I asked.
“The smell of fresh-baked cookies gives the illusion of normalcy.” Tess placed the doughy squares on the cookie sheet.
“Is it like this all the time?” I asked.
“Some days are better, some are worse. This Darren thing has definitely made things worse.”
My phone rang. It was Liam.
“He’ll come over, but he’s not happy about it. We’ll be there soon.”
“Thank you, Liam. Thank you so much.”
I closed the phone. “They’re on their way.”
Tess blew out her breath. “I’m going to go check on her. See if I can get her up and out here.”
“Do you want help?”
Tess shook her head and walked down the hallway.
I sat on the couch to wait. Within minutes there was a knock at the door. But instead of Liam and his brother, I found Darby standing there, a grin on her face.
“I knew you’d be here. I’ve got to talk to you and Tess,” Darby said.
“It’s not a good time.”
Darby’s face grew serious. “What’s wrong? Mallory?”
I tried to swallow my tears. Seeing her standing there just made me want to fall into her arms. I wanted her to tell me that everything was going to be okay. I brushed at the one tear that escaped. Mom would kill me if I got Darby involved in this.
“Nothing. It’s fine. Maybe we can get together tomorrow.”
Darby put one hand on her hip. “Look at me, Mallory. Do I seem unstable or depressed to you?”
“No.”
“Then quit trying to protect me. I want to help.”
“I know you do, but…” I couldn’t tell her that “protecting her” was practically in Mom’s job description for me.
Just behind her I saw Liam’s car pull into the driveway. An older version of Liam climbed out the passenger side. Brian carried a bag and walked toward the porch.
He stopped in front of Darby. He was a head taller than she was, and he was staring at her.
“Don’t I know you?” he asked.
“Church, I think. You go to Riverside Fellowship, right?”
Brian snapped his finger. “That’s it,” he said. “I’m Brian Crawford.” He still hadn’t so much as acknowledged me.
“Darby Dane.” They shook hands, smiling at each other. Liam came over and squeezed my hand.
“So what’s going on here?” Brian asked.
“I have no idea. This is my sister, Mallory.”
Brian looked at me. “I’m not sure this is the wisest thing to do. I’ll take a look but…”
“It’ll probably be a snap for you.” I pulled open the door, and everyone crowded into the small living room. Darby came in, too, even though I gave her a look begging her to go home.
“I’ll go get Tess.” I hurried down the hallway and pushed open the door.
“I can’t get her up.” Tess was distraught. “They can’t come back here.”
I glanced around the room; evidence of her mother’s bender was everywhere.
“You get on one side, and I’ll get on the other.”
We pulled Mrs. Howard upright. She moaned but didn’t say anything. Fortunately, she wasn’t very big, so we were able to get her to her feet and move her toward the doorway. But since the hallway was only big enough for two people, we had to turn sideways and shuffle ourselves down the hall to the living room.
“Whadya think you’re doin’?” her mom slurred.
“You need to see a doctor. Your hand is cut,” Tess said.
“Whaa?” Mrs. Howard looked at her hand and the thick towel knotted around it.
As soon as we came into the living room, Brian and Liam jumped in and took Mrs. Howard from us and walked her to the couch. When they set her down, Mrs. Howard flopped like a rag doll, unable even to lift her head.
“Who are you?” she asked.
“I’m Brian Crawford. I’m just going to take a look at your hand.”
Brian was amazing with Mrs. Howard. He spoke in a soft, gentle voice, explaining everything he was doing. Mrs. Howard didn’t argue. She seemed confused about the whole thing. Darby pulled me over into a corner.
“She’s wasted,” Darby said.
I shrugged.
“Mallory. Is she taking care of Tess and her sister?”
“Please stay out of it, Darby. Go home. It’ll be fine.”
Mrs. Howard yelled out from the couch, but Brian calmed her back down. I went and stood beside Liam. “Your brother is a saint,” I said.
Liam laughed. “Don’t let him hear you say that. I’ll never hear the end of it.”
“Is this going to cause problems for you?”
Liam shook his head and squeezed my hand. “He doesn’t mind helping at all. I think he’s just worried about gettin
g into trouble.”
“I think it’s best for all of us if we don’t mention this to anyone, anyway.”
Brian finished with her hand, and Mrs. Howard promptly fell back asleep.
Brian stood up and looked at Tess. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”
Tess nodded and followed him into the kitchen. I walked back over to Darby.
“Why did you come here?” I asked.
Darby knowing about Tess created that much more pressure for me. For both of us.
“The warehouse. We’ve got one. I wanted to tell you and Tess.”
“Look, Darby. You have to forget all this, okay?”
“Mallory.”
“It’s Tess’s choice, and she doesn’t want anyone to say anything. You can understand that, can’t you?” It was a bit of a dig, but I was desperate.
She dropped her chin and nodded.
“C’mon, Liam.” Brian came out of the kitchen and strode out the door, followed by Darby. Liam squeezed my shoulder and gave me a sympathetic smile but hurried out after them. I found Tess sitting at the table, her head buried in her arms.
“Tess?”
She looked up, her eyes red and puffy.
“Is Brian going to…?”
Tess shook her head. “I don’t think so, but he’s upset about it.”
“Yeah, Darby wasn’t happy either.”
“Why did you let her in here?” Tess’s words were sharp.
“I… I didn’t mean to. They all showed up at the same time.”
“That’s just great.” Tess pushed away from the table. She began scrubbing the counters hard and tossing items toward the sink.
“Tess, I’m sorry. Darby came to tell us we have a place for the toy drive.”
Tess’s movements slowed and then she turned and nodded. “Good. Good. Then we can finish the posters, start letting people know….” Tess rambled on about the toy drive, making plans, taking on the role of the confident committee leader.
What else could I do but let her?
CHAPTER 12
I got up extra early on Tuesday so that I could go home and shower before school. Tess was still sleeping, so my only option was walking. I scribbled a note for her to pick me up and set out for home.
I could do the walk in my sleep, which was a good thing since I had tossed and turned most of the night. I kept having dreams about Darren breaking in and killing us all as we slept. I knew it was ridiculous. Darren was in the county jail, but it was still scary. Every little noise made me jump.
As soon as I walked into the house, Darby pounced.
“What’s going on, Mallory?” Darby stepped in front of the stairs, blocking my path to a hot shower.
“I told you last night—I need you to stay out of it.”
“I can’t. If you’re going to spend the night in that house, Mom needs to know. Someone needs to know about it.”
“Who?” I filled Darby in on every excuse Tess had given me. “There’s nothing you can do.”
Darby frowned. “She needs help, Mallory. You have to see that.”
I pushed past her, frustrated with how much I agreed with her and how little that mattered. I had to help Tess get through the next eighteen months. That was my mission. Along with seeing if I could snag Liam as a boyfriend. I could totally do both.
I showered and changed quickly but got cornered by my mom in the kitchen.
“Did you see Darby this morning?” Mom was still packing her bags for school.
“Yeah.” The less I said, the better.
“Did she look okay to you? She’s upset but won’t talk about it.” Mom pressed her fingers to her lips. “What do you think’s wrong? Maybe I should call in sick and stay here.”
I could almost feel that dark cloud of worry moving back over the house. Darby was upset, but I didn’t think it was the level of upset that Mom was thinking. But what did I know? None of us had thought she would do what she did. Something like that forever changes the realm of what is possible.
But I still said, “I think she’s okay.”
Mom looked at her watch and shook her head. “I have to go. Keep a close eye on her, and see if you can find out what’s going on, okay?”
I nodded, feeling uneasy about how all this fell on me.
Mom hurried off, and Tess was waiting outside when I came out. She grinned, an obvious clue that we weren’t going to talk about moms this morning. Which was just fine with me.
“So, does Darby really have a place for us?”
I handed Tess the sheet of paper Darby had given me. “We need to go over and sign something at the leasing office to make it official. But there’s a problem.”
“What?”
“Darby’s really upset about last night. I may not be able to stop her from saying something to my parents.”
Tess’s eyes grew dark. “You have to. There’s no room for mistakes.”
“Last night was a huge mistake then, because now we have three more people who know.”
“Brian promised not to say anything. And you can manage Liam and Darby.”
Sure. Simple.
Normally, I’d be looking forward to B Day, but even having Liam waiting at my locker didn’t help.
“Brian’s ticked with me.” Liam wrapped his arms around me and squeezed.
“Sorry about that. He’s not going to say anything, though, right?” I hung up my jacket and grabbed my books.
“I don’t think so.”
“You have to know for sure, Liam. You have no idea how important it is.”
“But, Mallory, she can’t handle that by herself….”
“You, too? You don’t think I’ve already tried? Look, it’s her decision—not yours or anybody else’s.” I slammed my locker. “Got it?”
Liam lifted his hands like I was holding a gun to his chest. “Got it.”
The bell rang.
“I’m sorry. I’m just tired.”
He kissed me on the cheek and left for class while I trudged in the opposite direction. Protecting Tess was quickly becoming a full-time job.
The week dragged by. Tess didn’t stay overnight and wouldn’t let me stay at her house, despite some begging on my part. I was worried, but Tess wouldn’t talk about it.
Things were going well with Liam, and if I ignored the Lexi death stare I got every time she saw me, I was feeling pretty good about the relationship. He’d show up between classes, take my hand, and even drop notes into my locker. I was in both heaven and hell at the same time.
My dad agreed to be our photographer. He even seemed excited about it. So the fund-raiser was shaping up, which made Tess appear happy and content. I knew it was all just a front.
I had been looking forward to Friday all week, because not only did we have a pep rally and game (which was always a nice distraction), but we even had an assembly scheduled for first period. What could be better than a day without PE?
I joined the streams of kids headed into the auditorium, trying to spot Tess’s curls in the crowd. She waved, and I slowly made my way toward her. I reached her before I could find Liam in the crowd.
Tess had her notebook out, and we immediately started whispering about fund-raiser details. Assemblies were a great time to catch up on things. I wasn’t even totally sure what this one was about, except that it was the first of four scheduled for the school’s “Safe Homecoming” campaign. One was always about drunk driving, which I wouldn’t do even if I had a car, and there was usually one on sex. For some people, homecoming was a time to try and have sex at school without getting caught.
Principal Rodgers, who was five-foot-nothing but could scare the crap out of you when necessary, climbed up to the lectern. The noise level dropped noticeably.
“Ladies and gentleman—and I use those terms very loosely—you will give your full attention to Barbara Whittiker. She is the founder of Debating on Waiting.”
A snicker rippled through the audience.
Principal Rodgers pointed at us.
“And you will be respectful and listen or there will be no homecoming.”
We all quieted down. I seriously doubted that Rodgers could take away homecoming but, like everyone else seemed to think, Why risk it?
Tess and I hunkered down and used hand signals to talk through our plans. I didn’t hear much of anything until one line caught my attention. “Would you lie about your sex life just to impress your friends?”
My head snapped up.
“Suppose all your friends were talking about sex. Suppose they tried to make you feel stupid and naive for being a virgin. Would you go ahead and have sex, or would you maybe choose to lie about it?”
Tess looked up, too. “Where is she going with this?”
I shushed her, my eyes fixed on the speaker. Panic rose up my throat, making it difficult to breathe. Relax, it means nothing. She couldn’t possible know anything.
“I heard a story just the other day that may shock you. It’s about a beautiful, popular girl, a cheerleader, who is a virgin.”
Laughter erupted all around, but Tess reached over and squeezed my hand.
“Now wait.” The speaker held up her hands, but the laughter continued until Principal Rodgers stood up from her front-row seat and glared at everyone.
“This girl decided that instead of admitting that she didn’t want to have sex, she’d lie about it. She decided to tell her friends that she was having sex with her long-distance boyfriend.”
The laughter and whispers grew louder. And every head that turned in my direction seemed to be looking at my guilty face. I slid farther down into the seat.
The speaker paused, waiting for a break in the noise. Principal Rodgers planted herself on the stairs to the stage, which quieted things down a little bit.
“But she didn’t really have a boyfriend.”
More laughter. Loud, obnoxious laughter.
“This can’t be happening.” My heart was pounding in my ears so loudly that I thought I might have a heart attack and die right there in the auditorium.
“It’s not. It’s a generic story. Probably from one of those Chicken Soup books,” Tess said. But she had a death grip on my hand.
The speaker continued, even though I was praying for her to collapse or just disappear altogether. “While I love to hear of students choosing to wait, this particular story made me sad. Because this girl was making a strong and courageous choice. A choice that would protect her heart and her body in many ways. This girl wouldn’t have to suffer through soul-ripping breakups or diseases that could affect her for years. She made a smart choice. A brave choice. But she was afraid to admit it.”
Me & My Invisible Guy Page 10
