by A. L. Moore
A long uncomfortable silence ensued. I thought she’d hung up until I heard something brush against the phone. “I don’t know, Justice,” she finally said, her voice wary. “Mason’s here and we were thinking about catching a movie or something. What if I run into them?”
“You won’t. You won’t,” I insisted. “They’re in for the night. Mom has already taken her make-up off.
“Please, Anna, you know I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important.”
“Where will you be?”
“Just with a friend,” I said, not wanting to risk getting Liam into trouble if she blabbed but knowing good and well she knew I’d be with him.
“I don’t know,” she said again, clearly not liking my evasiveness.
I didn’t want to bring Mason into it, but Anna was my last chance. “Come on, Anna,” I pleaded. “You’re dating my ex for crying out loud. How do you think that makes me feel?” I paused for dramatic effect, giving her time to mull it over. “The least you could do is give me an alibi for one night.”
That did it! I could’ve probably asked for her first-born, and she would’ve agreed.
“Mom,” I said, pulling her attention away from the flashing television screen. “I just got off the phone with Anna.” Mom’s face lit up like a Christmas tree. I knew she’d be happy to hear I was reaching out to Anna. Anna was safe.
After my resent behavior, she and my dad were worried. I could see it in their faces, and I’d been counting on that reaction.
“She wants to do a girl’s night, but I told her I was grounded,” I said solemnly, staring at my shoes and then back to them.
The frown lines on Dad's forehead added twenty years to his face. "I don't think so," he started, his arms tight across his chest.
"Please, Dad. I know you are still mad, but Anna is the only friend I have left that you approve of." Turning back on my heels in a huff, I said, "Just forget it. Friends are overrated anyway." I trudged off to my room and grabbed the doorknob, preparing to give it a hearty shove, when my mom's hand stopped me.
"Justice Asher," Mom said, her face a bright, tomato red. "You were brought up better than this. Talking back to your father. Lying to us. Going off with strange men."
"He's not a stranger, "I said for the umpteenth time, plopping back on the mattress. "I know him and so does Robyn's family and Mr. Smith."
"That is hardly the point, Young Lady. Do you really want to risk where you will spend eternity on one lousy summer?"
I rolled my eyes, "Here we go again. Eternity? Really? I was just having a good time. You know, being a teenager for once. There's no need to be so dramatic."
My mom had never hit me before, but when she grabbed my arm and heaved me into a sitting position, I could see she wanted to. "Is that what you are going to tell the Lord, Justice? That you were just having a good time?"
"I haven't done anything!" I insisted.
She pursed her lips, shaking her head. "Why are you lying? I stared at my clasped hands in my lap. "If everything was innocent, then why did you lie about where you would be that night? Why didn't you tell us who you would be with? I watched her shoes nearing until I felt the bed jostle next to me. "Justice, baby, I was young once," she patted my knee. "I know it's hard to always do what is right, especially in today's world. You can't turn on the television without seeing kids your age having sex and drinking. That doesn't make it right."
I know that, Mom. I don't take my cues from T.V."
"That's good to hear, but don't take them from the people around you either."
"Robyn is a nice person!"
"I'm not talking specifically about her. I am forty-seven years old, and I fall short most days." She paused until I looked up, seeing tears in her eyes. "The Bible, Justice. The Bible never changes. No matter what's trending, no matter what the world decides is acceptable, the Bible remains the same."
"I know, Mom. You've been telling me that since I was five."
She shook her head, "No, I've been telling you that since you were a blimp on an ultrasound, and I'll keep telling you until you hear me." She patted my knee and stood up. "If the only thing I accomplish in life is getting you and your brother to Heaven, I will know I've done my job. I am just trying to be a good mother, Justice."
"You are a good mother," I said, pushing back the uncomfortable feeling in my gut that tugged at me to let her in.
She wiped her eyes and forced a smile. "I've talked to your dad, we've decided you can go over to Anna's, but please," she paused as I stuck my feet in my shoes and looped my bag over my arm. "Think about what I said and no more lying."
“Great, thank you,” I beamed, pretending to text Anna but really messaging Robyn. “She said she’ll pull up in a few minutes.”
I ran back to the living room and kissed Dad on the cheek. "Thanks for letting me go."
“Is she here already?” Dad asked, leaning up to peer out the window as I opened the front door and started out.
“No, but she was already in the car. I’m just going to wait on the porch.”
Jayson turned on the headlights when he saw me. I quickly looked back to the window. Thankfully, the blind kept us hidden. Dad probably thought Jayson was Anna. Good thing he didn’t come out to chat with her.
I could make out Robyn’s silhouette in the passenger seat as I jogged across the road. Jayson stepped out of the driver’s seat as I approached and pushed the seat forward allowing me to crawl into the back.
“Pay up,” Robyn said before the car moved an inch. Jayson handed her a five-dollar bill, shaking his head as he piled his massive body into the tiny car, his dark hair nearly touching the roof.
Jayson glanced at me in the rearview mirror. “I didn’t think you’d make it,” he admitted sheepishly.
“I told you she would,” Robyn insisted, waving the money in his face. “Your brother is a force to be reckoned with.”
Jayson slammed on the brake, shooting her a heated look I felt in the backseat.
“And so are you,” she added quickly. “You guys should come with warning labels.”
Jayson rolled his eyes, his pensive gaze catching my attention in the rearview mirror. “So, Justice, what did you think of Liam’s place?” he mumbled. “Were you able to get through the door without the Jaws-of-Life?”
“She went to Liam’s,” Robyn started, turning in her seat to glare at me.
“What do you care?” Jayson said annoyed, his knuckles paling against the steering wheel.
“It was nice,” I said, unable to keep the smile from my face, despite Robyn’s scowl.
A text came in from Liam. My face heated just reading his words on the screen. I could hear his seductive deep voice in my head. He was waiting for me.
Jayson watched me amused from the mirror. “Did you guys get lost?”
“What?” I said, texting Liam that we were on the road.
“Is that why you were late getting home?” he kidded, clearly as amused as Liam had been that I still got in trouble for staying out late. “You get lost in that mess he calls a house?”
“It was really clean, actually,” I said, dropping the phone back into my bag.
I couldn’t see his mouth, but I could tell he was grinning. Robyn sat stiffly against the seat. What was her problem?
` “What did you tell your parents to get out tonight?” Jayson asked, flashing his headlights and jerking the car around a slow driver.
I stared out the window, watching the lights from town disappear. I was bursting at the seams at the thought of seeing Liam. “It doesn’t matter,” I said, already picturing Liam’s strong arms around me. “It worked.”
Jayson floored it when we hit the interstate. It was different in a car. The bikes were smooth, like skis on water, but the car was more like me on skis, struggling. We sped along with lots of jerks and vibrations. Before reaching the exit, the speed started to decrease slowly. I didn’t know much about cars, but I knew enough to know smoke shouldn’t have been coming out of
the hood. Jayson was swearing in the front seat as he pulled over to the curb.
“I’m sure you’ve got Liam on speed dial,” he said, peering over the seat. “Tell him to get his ass down here with some water.”
Jayson slammed the door, and Robyn turned around on her knees. Her make-up was fresh, and I could tell from the collar of her shirt that her hair was still damp.
“Tyler was excited that you were coming up,” she said, watching me closely for a reaction. “Have you and Liam thought about what you’re going to do about Ty?”
“I forgot about Tyler,” I said, my head falling against the seat.
“What’re you going to do if he tries something?
“I wonder if Liam will hit him,” she mused, thoughtful. “Doubt it.”
Robyn was quickly ruining my good mood. I’d pictured me and Liam off by ourselves, maybe on a blanket by a campfire. I wasn’t thinking about everyone else being there, especially not Tyler and his groping, skinny fingers.
My happy feeling came back when I heard the bike. I had my hand on the door ready to get out, when I saw that it wasn’t Liam. It was John. He looked directly at Robyn with a sheepish grin. She waved half-heartedly.
“He really needs to get over it,” she said, still smiling at him. “That’s one ride I’m not jumping back in line for anytime soon.”
“He seems so sweet.”
“That’s the problem,” she said curtly. “I’m not a flowers-and-candy kind of girl.”
Jayson slammed the hood and opened the driver’s side door. “Tell my jackass of a brother I said thanks for nothing.”
“You know how Tonya is,” John said passing Jayson an oily rag. “He’d rather stick around there, than listen to her mouth.”
“I hear that,” Jayson said, cutting his eyes back to Robyn.
“Don’t compare me to that skank,” Robyn said evenly.
What? Tonya was there? My heart sank as I watched John’s taillights disappear down the dark curvy road ahead of us. Jayson drove slower, probably not as slow as the speed limit, but close. I wanted to text Liam about Tonya, but there had to be a reason he hadn’t mentioned her. I scanned back through our texts to be sure I hadn’t missed anything. This was horrible, a fate worse than death! Here I’d been avoiding her like the plague and now, I’d lied to my parents in order to share a cabin with her.
“Tonya’s there?” I said unable to keep the hurt out of my voice.
Jayson sighed, glancing at Robyn. “She rode up with Liam today,” Robyn said offering no further explanation.
I was floored. What had he done, left my house and went straight to Tonya’s?
“She couldn’t get another ride?” I muttered.
“I’m sure she could’ve come up with Ty, yesterday,” Jayson said.
“She waited for Liam,” Robyn said, emphasizing his name. “It would’ve been kind of weird if she hadn’t. He is her boyfriend.
“Didn’t Liam tell you she was going to be there?” She said an amused smile on her full lips.
“Don’t be a bitch, Robyn,” Jayson said, maneuvering the small car with one hand onto the familiar exit.
“He’s still with Tonya…like with her?” I stammered, trying to rationalize it in my head. I could already see the cabin. A distant light, hidden in the trees. My own Hell on Earth. We rolled to a stop behind the line of bikes.
“No,” Jayson spoke up before Robyn could open her mouth again. He glared at her until she got out of the car and slammed the door.
“Tonya’s a real head case,” Jayson explained. “The worst thing Liam did was hook up with her. He’s tried to cut her loose, but she won’t take a hint.”
“But I sort of thought that he and I were…” I trailed off, unsure how exactly to finish the sentence. Liam and I were definitely something, to me anyway.
“Can’t he just dump her?”
“If he does it now, Tyler will know what’s up,” Jayson said, watching me in the mirror.
“So, what!” I said aggravated. I was so sick of Tyler getting in my way. He was worse than John was after Robyn. “I don’t care if Tyler gets mad!”
Jayson hit the power lock and glared at me over the seat. “Do I have to remind you what happened the last time you and my brother crossed Ty? Don’t go in there and start a bunch of shit.”
I sat back in my seat with a huff, wishing I could go home. It was too late for that now. If I went back, it would raise a red flag, and my parents would lock me up and throw away the key. Tucking tail and running was not an option. Jayson was right after all. The last thing I wanted to do was ignite Tyler again.
“It’s good she’s here,” Jayson said, his voice less acidic. “Think of her like a smoke screen. Liam knows what he’s doing.”
Jayson probably wanted her around as a backup to Robyn.
“You coming in, or you just going to sit in the car all night,” Tyler said from the porch.
“Is there any other choice?” I muttered, grateful that Tyler didn’t stick around to wait for me. Reaching for the door, I took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. I could do this. As far as I knew, Tonya didn’t know me from Eve. If anyone had clued her in, she’d have found me by now. I was overreacting. Worst-case scenario, I wouldn’t get the alone time I’d wanted with Liam.
“It’ll be cool,” Jayson said, giving my shoulder an encouraging squeeze. “Just keep it together.”
I wasn’t sure exactly what he meant until we walked through the door and I saw Tonya curled in Liam’s arms.
Chapter 16. Sharing
Liam didn’t look at me as I crossed the crowded room. I should have done the same. It would’ve been easier. Looking at him with her was like seeing a bloody car wreck on the highway. I didn’t want to look, but I couldn’t help it. It was sickening, all blonde hair, black roots and fake-tanned legs. Worse yet, the only empty seat in the room was next to them on the couch, and I couldn’t bring myself to sit there. I’d rather die.
I nearly tripped over a duffel bag and a crumpled pile of blankets in my haste to the kitchen. The room was filled with boisterous chatter, and besides Jayson, no one bothered to look my way. Robyn was already comfortable in Jayson’s lap, pawing at him like a kitten, and laughing with Tonya. I wasn’t sure if it was Tonya’s voice or the smell of food and beer wafting in from the kitchen turning my stomach. Choosing the leftover food and stale beer smell over Tonya, I stashed my bag beneath a kitchen cabinet and took a few minutes to clear my head. What was he doing with her? Did he love her? My experience was limited to high school boys. But there was something between us. I felt it. I could still feel it. Right now, it was crushing me to pieces.
My pulse quickened when I heard Liam’s voice. “I’ll be right back,” he said. Hesitantly, I peered around the corner to see Tyler glued to John’s phone, a smutty grin on his face. Jayson and Robyn were hidden behind the adjoining wall. If Robyn saw me, she’d know what was up. She probably did already, but Jayson wouldn’t let her make a scene in front of everyone. He wanted to keep the peace as much as I did.
I waited for Liam to signal where to meet him, but Tonya’s ruby red lips took him before he could make a move. It was the kiss heard ‘round the world. My world. It was nearly more than I could stomach. Tonya either didn’t care she had an audience, or she was putting on a special performance for me; I couldn’t decide which. My body physically hurt watching the hand that had gently stroked my hair only hours ago, grasp the back of her neck and fervently return her kiss. I wanted to die. I was dying. Only death could feel this bad. Unconsciously, I’d managed to move in full view of everyone in the living room, and if not for the counter beneath my arm, I would’ve been on the floor.
“How about a drink, Justice?” Jayson said, nearly tripping over the coffee table to get to me.
In seconds, he had me by the arm leading me toward the back door. As soon as we were safely out of sight, he wrapped his arm around my waist and half carried me to the deck. I gripped the railing and tried not to
cry, but it was no use. The tears came, flooding any hope I had of saving face.
“Come on, Justice. Don’t do that.” Jayson hugged me tighter, turning me into his chest. My tears soaked into his shirt. “He doesn’t like that bitch.”
“He must not like…kissing her…” I couldn’t get a whole sentence out.
The light from the kitchen reflected in his brown eyes as he watched the window. “Liam would kill me if he knew I said this,” he started, “but I haven’t seen him as happy as he is with you in a long time.
“Don’t let them see you like this,” Jayson said, holding my chin, his other hand wiping my cheek. “Girls like Tonya and Robyn will tear you to pieces. They smell weakness like a shark smells blood. Trust me. I’ve seen it.”
I couldn’t believe he was talking about Robyn like that. Why was he with her if that’s how he really felt? He’d made out with Tonya, too. None of this made sense. I pulled away from him, narrowing my eyes. He was willing to throw his own girlfriend under the bus to help his brother juggle two women. Unless, he was telling the truth.
I hopped to the depths of my soul he was telling the truth.
“Has she always been like that?” I sniffed.
“Who, Robyn?” Jayson propped his elbows on the deck and handed me a plastic cup. “Drink this. It’ll calm your nerves.”
“Why are you helping me?” I asked, taking the cup. I was used to Liam playing the white knight, but Jayson mounting the stead was unsettling. I couldn’t help but wonder if I was being played. Robyn’s words repeated in my head. “How long do you think it will be before Jayson, and the other guys come after you?"
“I guess you remind me of her, of Robyn,” he smiled, turning up his cup. “She was innocent once,” he added thoughtful, “and hell bent on not staying that way. Just like you.
“Bottoms up,” he said tapping my drink as I took the last sip.
I wiped my mouth across the back of my hand and let the cup fall, watching as it carried in the heavy wind, across the yard. “I saw you with her.”
