A Fiend in Need

by Maureen Child

  “Mom,” Thea said, her voice shaking, “Elle stole my routine.”

  Crap.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Thea scuttled out of the gym, and the rest of us were right behind her. Logan looked like he needed somebody to punch. Zoe was muttering words I was pretty sure Rachel didn’t even know her daughter knew, and I was right there with the kid.

  That miserable little cheating cheer-creep had stolen Thea’s original routine.

  Who knew how many nights she’d been standing at our backyard fence watching Brady and Thea practice? Who knew how long she’d been planning this?

  God, I hoped she was a rotten little demon so I could dust her ass.

  “I can’t believe this,” Thea said, walking in circles. “I totally can’t believe this. It was PERFECT. My routine was GREAT, and now Elle’s using it and I’m going to look like the one who stole it from HER.”

  “Are there not rules?” Brady demanded.

  “Yes, there are rules,” I said, talking to him, but going to Thea. “Some people just cheat; that’s all.”

  Watery sunshine shone down from a cloud-filled sky. The muffled roar of traffic out on the main street filtered to us from a distance, and from inside the gym came the sound of applause as Elle displayed Thea’s routine. Looking into my baby girl’s eyes, I felt her disappointment and hurt for her more than she could ever possibly hurt for herself.

  There was nothing I wanted more than to march into that gym, grab Elle by her hair and thunk her head against the gleaming wood floor a few hundred times.

  Thea turned wide, blue, tear-filled eyes up to me. “Mom, what’m I supposed to do now?” She shook her head and her long black hair swung out behind her like a battle flag at half staff. “I can’t go out there and do my routine now. Maybe I shouldn’t be a cheerleader. I was happy before. I’m the captain of the math team. I don’t need to be doing this. Maybe Sister Mercy was right….”

  I actually saw red.

  Then in memory I saw Sister’s sneering face telling me that Thea shouldn’t splinter her focus. Suddenly I wanted Thea to be a damn cheerleader more than she’d ever wanted it. Nobody was going to put my girl in a niche and keep her there. She could do whatever she wanted. Be whoever she wanted. If anybody tried to stop her, they’d have to deal with me.

  “Bull,” I told her.

  “Huh?”

  I frowned. “Are you going to let that girl do this to you?”

  “Really, Thea. That beyotch soo does not deserve to win,” Zoe piped up.

  I let that go. (Hey, Elle was a beyotch.) I dropped both hands to Thea’s shoulders and looked her in the eye. “You can beat her, baby girl. You just have to believe you can do it.”

  “Your mom’s right, Thea,” Logan said, and put one arm around her shoulders to give her a quick hug.

  “But she’s using MY ROUTINE.” A single tear rolled down her cheek and seared my heart. Seconds later, though, she swiped the tear away with one impatient hand, and I knew she was starting to get mad. Good. She’d need that to pull this off.

  “We can change the routine,” Brady said, moving up beside me. “Just enough to make it different.”

  “How?” Thea looked up at him, hope and resignation at war in her eyes.

  From inside the gym more applause rolled out and slapped at us. Apparently the routine was a big hit. Thea grimaced and seemed to slump into herself.

  “Is there time?” Logan asked.

  Good question.

  “When will it be your turn?” Brady asked.

  “I’m last,” Thea said, her voice a whisper. “We drew names before we started, so there are still five girls ahead of me.”

  “Good.” Brady took Thea’s arm, looked at me and said, “We will be back in time.”

  “Where are you…” But they were already gone, Brady whizzing Thea off to the track surrounding the football field.

  I looked at Logan, then Zoe, who shrugged. Right. “Okay, then. While they’re gone, Logan, Zoe…let’s keep an eye on the competition.”

  We waited at the back of the gym, just inside the doors. Kids in the bleachers were clapping time and shouting encouragement to their favorites as girl after girl did her best to impress.

  Was this payback for all the times I’d made fun of cheerleaders in high school? Was karma giving me a kick in the ass? Did it matter?

  Logan checked his watch and his pager, then focused on the gym floor.

  “Do you have to leave?” I asked, expecting him to make his excuses and get to work.

  “Supposed to,” he admitted. “But no way am I leaving until after Thea’s tryout.”

  If he kept doing things like this, touching my heart with the way he loved our daughter, I was in danger of becoming a real marshmallow. I couldn’t help smiling at him, and while I was feeling the warmth sliding through me, I told him, “You’re a good dad, Logan.”

  His eyes went soft in pleased surprise. “Thanks, Cassie,” he said, but when he might have said more, I patted his arm and turned my attention back to the gym floor.

  I was busy cracking mental knuckles and chewing on mental fingernails. Zoe kept up a running commentary on each girl.

  “That’s Doanna Fredericks. She’s such a cow. Totally mean, and forever talking about her uncle who knows Justin Timberlake. As if.” I nodded but Zoe kept going. “And Carrie Hastings is completely uncoordinated.”

  Carrie tripped on her own shoelace and did a face-first sprawl in front of the judges—I was guessing Thea didn’t have to worry about her.

  Girl after girl performed and left the floor, and time kept ticking past. I was wound so tight I felt like I was going to sproing loose and ricochet off the walls of the gym if this didn’t end soon.

  There was only one girl left to perform when Thea and Brady finally raced into the gym and stopped alongside us.

  “Well?” I demanded, looking from my girl to Brady and back again.

  Thea’s eyes were bright, and she was practically vibrating with excitement. Whatever she and Brady had come up with, it looked like it was working for her.

  “I’m soooo ready, Mom,” she said, flashing a smile toward Brady.

  “Excellent,” Zoe said.

  “Go get ’em, Thea,” Logan said.

  “Thea Burke.” The announcement was loud on the crackly microphone system and instantly caught all of our attention.

  “OH, GOD.” This from Thea, who went suddenly wide-eyed, fight-or-flight panic-stricken.

  “Go, baby; you can do it,” I said, and hoped I sounded way more sure than I felt. I’ve mentioned before that Thea’s athletic abilities weren’t much better than mine. Yes, she’d worked like a dog for a couple of weeks trying to make this squad. But were her splits and jumps going to be enough? Or would I be stopping on the way home at Sun and Shadow bakery for doughnuts to take the sting out of defeat?

  God, I hate tension.

  “You will be wonderful, Thea,” Brady said. “You will show these other girls that you are the perfect cheerleader.”

  “Totally,” Zoe crowed.

  Thea nodded, pulled in a deep breath and plastered the phoniest smile I’d ever seen on her face. Nodding frantically she said, “Okay. I’m okay. I’m good. I’m…”

  “Ready,” Brady finished for her, and clapped his hands together. He rubbed his palms hard, then held his hands, palms down, over Thea’s head. I saw Faery dust sparkle brightly, then settle over Thea.

  “What the hell is that?” Logan demanded.

  “Tell you later,” I whispered.

  Meanwhile, Thea took a deep breath and then smiled, relaxed.

  Faery dust? Good stuff.

  “Thea Burke?” The voice over the microphone sounded confused. And impatient.

  She jolted a little, whispered, “Good luck to me,” then turned around and walked into the middle of the gym all by herself. God, she looked so young and so alone. The crowd was quiet, just the usual stirrings of feet on bleachers and a low-pitched murmur as kid
s talked to each other.

  I wanted to rush out after Thea, grab her and carry her out of there. Take her back home, where she’d never have to perform up to someone else’s expectations ever again. My kid was great. She had nothing to prove to anybody. Why had I thought this was a good idea? Letting her put herself in the position of being judged by other kids?

  Oh, good God.

  “Christ,” Logan admitted in a softly pitched whisper. “I’m actually nervous.”

  Funny, but hearing him—and knowing he meant it—made me feel better. About Thea. About Logan. I smiled up at him and enjoyed the little flash of solidarity we had going.

  I’d been a single mom since the beginning. Of course, when Thea was little my dad was there, and he had been amazing. Once he’d gotten over the disappointment of finding his sixteen-year-old daughter pregnant he’d been an absolute rock. And he’d been totally nuts over Thea, so I guess I hadn’t really been completely on my own. But it had felt like that a lot of the time.

  I’d watched Rachel and Simon together with Zoe and envied them that sharing: the two of them together raising their daughter. When I wasn’t pissed off about Logan being married to somebody named Sparky, I’d wonder what it would have been like to have him around. To have him watch Thea grow up with me.

  Like on the nights when Thea was sick and I slept on the floor next to her bed, just in case she needed me. Or the day she rode her bike for the first time and she’d turned around to flash me a triumphant smile—just before crashing. Or the time she got her first A on a math test.

  Through all of those milestones, it had been just me and Thea. We hadn’t really missed having Logan as part of our lives because we’d never experienced it in the first place. But now that he was here, standing next to me, and we were together at last for one of Thea’s big moments…it made me think about how different things might have been.

  Not that I’d change anything, you understand. But a woman can’t help wondering.

  I looked up at Logan and found him smiling at me, and something inside me turned over. I didn’t want to look at it too closely, though, because I still wasn’t sure that starting up with Logan again would be a good idea.

  Then Brady leaned in on my other side and said, “She will win,” and my misty-watercolored-memory moment was shattered.

  I glanced at Brady and noted the satisfaction in his eyes. Then I shot a look at Thea, standing there in front of the whole school—not to mention the table where the cheer squad sat making notes on the tryouts—waiting for her moment, and a niggling sense of suspicion rose up inside me. I turned my back on Logan, grabbed a fistful of Brady’s shirt and dragged him away a step or two. Leaning in, I narrowed my eyes on him and demanded, “Did you put a spell or something on Thea?”

  He blinked those big baby blues at me. “I do not understand.”

  I wasn’t buying it. “Ha! You understand plenty.” My eyes went even squintier, and he looked a little worried. “Helping Thea is one thing,” I said, poking him in the chest with the tip of my index finger, “but she wouldn’t like winning if you helped her cheat to do it.”

  Brady looked absolutely as appalled and insulted as any Faery possibly could. He drew himself up, looked down his long, straight nose at me and said, “There are rules. We do not cheat.”

  Hmm.

  But then Thea’s routine started, and I spun around to watch and focus good thoughts on her. The gym was huge, and my girl looked awfully small out there. But once she started moving, calling out that stupid Funky chicken, loosey-goosey chant, it was like she owned the place.

  There were no nerves. Just a big smile, plenty of confidence and, hey, actual rhythm! She jumped, she whirled, she pumped her fists in the air, and her long hair swirled out around her like a cape in a high wind. She moved fast, every step sure. I noticed that she and Brady had changed a few steps of the routine, just enough so that it was a little different—a little better than the original had been. (Take that and stuff it, Elle!) Thea’s voice was loud and proud, and just a few seconds after starting she had the crowd behind her, too.

  The kids in the bleachers were cheering and clapping. Logan was grinning. Zoe was already doing a victory two-step beside me, and Brady looked like a Tony-winning choreographer, just waiting to accept his trophy. Me? I was happy and nervous and proud and scared and pretty much just holding my breath, waiting for it to be over.

  When Thea hit her last cartwheel, then launched into a handspring ending in a split, arms raised and big grin shining, I lost it.

  “Woo-hoo!!!!”

  My voice was lost in the roar of approval from the crowd, and I took a second to wonder if maybe Mr. Football had filled the bleachers with his pals to ensure that Thea got a standing ovation. But then I figured it didn’t matter. All that mattered at that moment was that Thea had done it. She’d gone after something she wanted and had beaten her own fears into submission.

  Hell, if she didn’t make cheerleader, I wouldn’t care. I was so proud of her at that moment, I wanted to find Merciless the Evil and say, “Nyah-nyah-nyah-nyah-nyah!”

  Brady swooped me up in a fierce hug, and then Logan pried me out of his arms for another hug, and just for a second I felt like a dried-up wishbone and worried about snapping in two. Then I relaxed into Logan’s hug and hugged him back.

  “She was awesome!” he said, and dropped me to my feet.

  “Was there any doubt?” I countered—hey, come on. I wasn’t going to admit to my doubts!

  Thea raced up and flew into my arms, squeezing me hard. “I did it, Mom. I actually did it!”

  “You were great, baby girl!” I cupped her face in my palms and knew I’d always remember that look on her face. The shining glory beaming from her eyes. The happy, proud smile.

  And when she hugged her dad, and I saw how much it meant to him, I was even gladder Logan had been there to enjoy it.

  Maybe I was growing as a person.

  “Oh, man,” Thea said, turning to me while she blew out a relieved breath. “I’m so glad that’s over.”

  “Me too, baby,” I said. Honest to God, I didn’t remember being that nervous and scared facing down a demon! Performance anxiety was a real bitch.

  Out on the gym floor the cheerleading squad was huddled around the score table, comparing notes, having a whispered conversation while they decided who was going to be their newest member. The kids in the bleachers shifted restively, and the tension in the gym ratcheted up a notch or two. I hoped those girls added up the points fast, because I didn’t think Thea could stand the suspense much longer.

  She grabbed my hand and threaded her fingers through mine, holding on tight. I squeezed back and held my breath as one of the cheerleaders stood up and walked to the microphone. Everyone in the gym got quiet and waited.

  “We’ve got our new cheerleader,” the tiny blonde said, her voice so peppy it almost hurt to listen to it. “She’s…”

  Thea took a breath and closed her eyes.

  Logan dropped one hand on her shoulder.

  Zoe closed her eyes, too, and started murmuring. Praying?

  Brady rocked on his heels, arms crossed over his chest, beaming at all of us like Father Christmas.

  Me? I was in a zone, just hoping.

  The blonde dragged it out for as long as she could, then shouted, “Thea Burke!”

  Applause, applause.

  Thea squealed and hugged me, then her father, then Brady, then Zoe, and before she was finished, Ryan Butler had made a leap from the bleachers and swooped in to grab a hug for himself.

  And I was so pleased for Thea, I didn’t even mind.

  Well, not much, anyway.

  After that it was sort of a blur of activity. Thea went out to join her new team, Ryan went off to football practice with a herd of testosterone-laden pals, Zoe went up to sit with some friends. The other kids in the gym started milling around, not anxious to go back to class, and Logan grabbed my arm.

  “I’ve gotta go back to work,”
he said, and flashed a look at his daughter, surrounded by hopping, happy cheerleaders. “Tell Thea I’ll see her later, okay?”

  “Sure. And, Logan,” I said, before I could talk myself out of doing a nice thing, “it means a lot to Thea that you were here.”

  One corner of his mouth tipped up, and he bent to give me a quick, hard kiss. “That must have stung, telling me that,” he said. “But I appreciate it.”

  “I know.” Brady came up behind me. Even if I hadn’t felt his presence, I would have known by the way Logan’s smile faded and his eyes narrowed. “Look, I’ll, uh, bring dinner over tonight, okay? We can celebrate.”

  “I will be making dinner,” Brady said.

  “I said I’ll bring dinner,” Logan told him.

  Wow. Two gorgeous men threatening to feed me. Could life get much better than that?

  “You bring dinner,” I told Logan, then looked up at Brady. “You make dessert.”

  That way I won.

  “Fine,” Logan muttered, then kissed me again, as if proving to Brady that he could. Then he left, hurrying out of the gym to go and make La Sombra safe again.

  When we were alone I looked up at Brady and asked, “So, what exactly did you do for Thea with that last-minute routine change?”

  “You are worried, Cassidy, but you have no need to.” He shrugged and smiled. “I gave her only confidence in herself. And a little extra Faery dust to make her shine and sparkle.”

  I shifted my gaze to Thea standing in the middle of a crowd of laughing girls, and knew that whatever Brady had done, I owed him. Even while I was thinking that, Thea ran toward me and skidded to a stop just inches away.

  “Mom, a bunch of us want to go to Tully’s for pizza. To, you know, celebrate and everything…”

  “Who’s a ‘bunch’ of us?” I asked. Hey, still a mom, here. Had to keep up.

  “The rest of the squad,” she said, hugging a grin close. “And some of the guys from the football team will meet up with us there after practice….”

  Here we go.

  “Like Ryan?”

  “Well…”

  “You’re not allowed to date until you’re sixteen,” I reminded her, though I had plans to push that off until she was thirty-five.