Rumors (A Lingering Echoes Prequel)

by Erica Kiefer

  “What were you doing breaking into an apartment complex anyway?” Mom asked, her arms folded across her chest and her posture rigid. She closed the front door behind me.

  “There wasn’t actually any breaking…” I started to say, trying to ease my way towards my bedroom around the corner.

  “And why would you think it’s ok to stick around while your friends drank?” Mom’s voice rose higher with each question. At this rate, I expected she might reach the level of “only dogs can hear you”. I almost made a joke about that, but held my tongue. She was evidently not in the mood.

  “About them being my friends… I’ll admit that’s a little in question these days…” I took another side step, adding a bit of distance between us. My friendship with Tara and the rest of them would take a little time to figure out, though at the moment, I was still riding on adrenaline from being chased. And my ankle throbbed.

  Mom threw up her hands. “Well, that’s obvious! I can’t believe they all ditched you and left you to take the rap.” She let out a disgruntled sigh and then mumbled with a shake of her head, “And to think I thought that boy was so nice….”

  Thinking about Shane and remembering the concern in his eyes as he saw me fall, I felt like I needed to put a plug in for him. I was the one who had told him to leave, after all. “They didn’t ditch me on purpose. We all split up after we jumped the—” Mom’s glare made me pause, and I mumbled the last word, “—fence.”

  “Allie, it is very late—and I know your sisters are wide awake, listening through their door.” We heard a quick thunk from the hallway, indicating Mom’s statement was correct. I tried not to laugh, but the sound escaped anyway. My sisters were so nosy.

  Mom sighed. “When I told you I hoped you would hang out with your friends again, I didn’t mean like this. What were you thinking?” Mom put a hand to her forehead. “Never mind. We’ll discuss this later. Just please go to bed, and don’t expect to have any plans this weekend.”

  I had figured as much.

  With no phone and being grounded from leaving the house, the rest of the weekend continued without incident, other than Shane stopping by to return my phone Saturday morning. I was on the couch, elevating my foot to ease the blue swelling, when Mom opened the front door. I couldn’t hear the conversation, but whatever murmured exchange took place was short and to the point. Mom passed by the living room with my phone in her hands. I eyed the phone before checking her expression.

  She didn’t even slow her stride. “Don’t even think about it.”

  With my phone locked away, I had plenty of time to wonder how the night had played out for Shane and the others. I also had time to think about my friendship with Tara. Her words regarding my lack of heart in basketball still hurt. Our relationship seemed to be deteriorating quickly, and I felt a sense of loss. Whether it was her dating Austin or my failed efforts to normalize myself since the accident, things were changing between us and I didn’t like it, or even know what to do about it.

  An hour later, Leah and Taylor left the house to catch a matinee. One minute after the door shut, it opened again and Taylor reappeared.

  “Did you forget something?” I asked.

  Taylor glanced around before hurrying to my side. Her grin turned devious as she slipped a folded piece of paper into my hands. “Better not let Mom see.” With those instructions, she flew out the door just as Mom rounded the corner. I made a fist, wadding the paper inside my hand.

  “Was that Taylor? I thought Mrs. Stevens picked them up already. They’re going to be late to the movie.” Mom opened the door, peering outside, and then waved as the car pulled out of the driveway.

  “She… forgot her wallet,” I said, restraining my curiosity as the corners of the folded paper dug into my palm.

  Mom shut the door and finished buttoning her blue dress shirt. I noticed she had also changed into black slacks and had applied makeup.

  “Are you going to the office today?” I asked, though I already knew the answer.

  Mom grabbed a stack of papers from the table and shoved them into her work bag. “Yes, I need to go in for a few hours, unfortunately.”

  “But you worked the last two weekends, too.”

  She ran a hand through her hair, taking a moment to pull through a tangled end. “I know, I’m sorry. It’s been crazy at the firm this month—absolutely nuts. There’s a big case going to trial, and truly, the attorneys are hopeless without us…” She sighed, pausing to slip on her shoes.

  I didn’t know much about law, but I knew any firm would be lucky to have my mom as their paralegal. She didn’t put up with nonsense, as I was experiencing firsthand myself.

  “Anyway, it’s just for the afternoon. I’ll be back for dinner. Thai food tonight?”

  “Sure.”

  “Ok, then. Stay off your ankle, all right? And by that, I mean, you better not leave the house.” She tipped her head and gave me a strong, pointed look.

  “I’m not going anywhere.”

  “And he better not come in,” Mom added.

  “Ok already!”

  As soon as Mom left, I stretched open my fingers. Unfolding the wad of paper, I saw a handwritten note and, after skimming the bottom, saw it was from Shane:

  Hey, Beautiful,

  Sorry about last night. Can’t believe that dumb cop cuffed you! If it makes you feel any better, you looked hot getting arrested. Hope your ankle is ok. I’m tempted to stop by your window tonight to see you, but I know you will tell me that’s a bad idea. I’ll give your Mom some space before I try stopping by again. (She hates me, doesn’t she?) Catch you at school.

  Shane

  PS: I’m sitting and waiting in the bushes. I texted your sister, and she said she was leaving the house soon. It’s freezing out here. Oh well. I’m sure you’ll make it up to me later.

  I folded the note and tucked it into my back pocket. While I knew our relationship lacked in a lot of ways, the note still made me smile… and also roll my eyes, considering the last line. I wondered if he was still out there—and if he was, hopefully Shane had parked away from the house. If not, he was probably getting an earful from Mom right now.

  I thought about slipping outside to check for him—but I didn’t want to break Mom’s trust, especially if her leaving for work was actually a test. Maybe she was hiding around the corner, waiting to see what I would do next.

  Not likely. She really did take her job seriously and had enough to worry about without me causing drama. I kept the door locked until my sisters came home.

  By early Monday morning, my phone seemed heavier in my hands when I saw the bombardment of new text messages from Tara. They were a stream of apologies that had been sent throughout the weekend, in between missed calls. I softened a little, reminding myself that I’d said my fair share of rude things to people in the heat of the moment. Barely making it to school on time, I hobbled out of my car and hurried to class without a chance to talk to her or Shane.

  The rumors were back. I could feel it. With all the experience I’d gained since the beginning of the school year, my peripheral vision had a knack for picking up on the questionable looks from students. As I limped into my first period class, a spray of whispering showered the room—only pausing when my eyes caught the murmuring culprits looking back at me. I could barely focus on what my English teacher was saying. Instead, an anxious weight in my chest made me feel self-conscious and uncertain. People were talking about me again, and I was sure it had something to do with the weekend incident.

  I found Taylor after my English class, assuming she would know if anything was going on. She liked keeping up with the latest happenings at school.

  “So did you hear what happened to you this weekend?” she asked, her eyes wide in exaggeration. She grinned when I folded my arms.

  “Just get it over with. What’s everyone saying about me this time?” I asked.

  “Well, it’s more exciting than what really happened.” T
aylor shut her locker.

  “It always is. Just tell me.”

  “Ok, but you’re going to be mad.” At my impatient gesture, she continued. “The rumor going around is that you cheated on Shane with some random guy in a hot tub—”

  “Of course,” I said, placing one hand on my hip “And?”

  “And then the cops arrested you for drinking, and you spent the night in jail.”

  I threw my head back in frustration. “For real? Why does anyone believe this crap?” I was really getting sick of high school.

  Taylor walked with me. “It doesn’t matter if it’s believable—if it’s fun to assume it’s true, then that’s more entertaining than the truth itself.” I frowned at her words, knowing she had a point. The trend of drama-filled reality shows, with ratings skyrocketing when an episode was fueled with deceit and betrayal, proved that much.

  “I have to say, graduating high school and leaving all this behind is looking more appealing every day.”

  “That’s mean,” Taylor said. “What about Leah and me?”

  “Well, of course, I’ll miss you guys. Even if you are overly boy crazy.”

  Taylor shrugged, not the least bit concerned about my opinion. “You’re the one with the boyfriend,” she countered. I couldn’t really argue there, although the term “boyfriend” seemed too formal for Shane and me and, according to the newest rumor, I no longer had one anyway. “At least you still have basketball.”

  I hesitated with my response and then settled for, “Yeah—I guess.” Taylor’s eyebrows curved in confusion, or maybe disappointment… Then something, or someone, of interest caught her attention. Just as I turned my head, a pair of soft lips fixed on mine, pressing against me with determination. I staggered backwards in surprise, pulling away from the sneak attack.

  Shane grinned back at me. Taylor put a hand to her mouth and giggled. “I’ll let you handle that on your own. Later, Allie!”

  “What was that for?” I asked, looking around in embarrassment to see if anyone had noticed. I really didn’t need the extra attention. As expected, kids slowed their pace, rubbernecking when they walked by, as if trying to catch a glimpse of a car accident. With news going around that I cheated on Shane, they were probably hoping for a dramatic end to our relationship—especially the usual crowd gawking at him with lovesick eyes.

  Shane laughed. “Just trying to eradicate the rumors, or at least the one about us breaking up.” His face twisted into a mock-scowl as he pointed his finger at me. Speaking louder, he said sternly, “And don’t cheat on me again!”

  I grabbed his finger with one hand, using my other to push his chest backwards until he knocked into a locker. “Stop it!” I hissed. “That is the opposite of helping!”

  Shane chuckled, grabbing both my hands with his. He looked down, his perfect smile diffusing me—until he spoke again. “Oh, people need to lighten up. Let’s be honest—why would you ever cheat on me?”

  My mouth gaped open as I folded my arms across my chest. “You are unbelievable.”

  “Thank you.”

  “That wasn’t a compliment.” I broke free from his grasp. “You really are more attractive when you’re not talking.” Despite his arrogant laughter, I added, “Speaking of which, thanks for the note on Saturday.”

  “I thought you might like that. How’s the ankle?”

  “Sore, but I’m mobile enough.”

  “So when should I try and win your mom over?” Shane wrapped his arms around me and pulled my body into his. My cheeks flushed, still feeling the questioning gazes. 

  “Um,” I said, peeling myself away from his grasp, “you might want to give that some time. She doesn’t have the most forgiving nature…” I’d witnessed it firsthand after Dad cheated and he tried to reconcile. Not that I blamed her, and of course, that issue was on a much larger scale than this. But still, I knew she wouldn’t make it easy on Shane to change her opinion of him. “Hey, I gotta get to class. I’ll catch up with you at lunch.” I steered away from Shane and all the whispers trailing behind me.

  Tara and I finally ran into each other. We sat in the senior quad with our usual group, including Austin, Kate, Ben, and Landon. This was the first time all of us were together again since Friday night’s fiasco. Tara greeted me with a tight squeeze before jumping into her apologies again.

  “It’s ok,” I interrupted. “Let’s just start over, all right? So what happened to you guys after we split?” I asked.

  “Austin and I stuck together,” Tara said, while Austin’s arms wrapped securely around her waist. That fact didn’t surprise me.

  “We turned the corner and ran half a block before we circled back to the cars,” Austin chimed in. “We wanted to wait for you and Shane, but were afraid the cop would return and start asking questions.”

  Kate spoke. “Austin and Tara picked us up when they saw us sneaking around Shane’s car.” She gestured at Ben and Landon. “We were waiting for you guys to get back.”

  “We kept driving by until we saw Shane return,” Tara said. “We were so scared when we realized you weren’t with him! We heard Shane’s version through text messages, but I want to hear it from you. Give us the details!”

  I gave them a brief rundown of the evening, including twisting my ankle, the overzealous cop chasing me down, and the mellow cop intervening and giving me a break.

  “It’s a good thing you were caught and not us,” Landon said with relief in his voice. While I’d had the same thought—understanding that their consequences would have been more severe than mine with alcohol on their breaths—I didn’t appreciate the statement coming from him. He was the dummy who had brought the beer in the first place.

  “Is that your way of saying ‘thank you?’” I asked, not hiding the annoyance in my tone.

  Landon seemed taken aback by my response. “Why would I thank you? I got away just fine. You’re the one that apparently couldn’t jump the fence.” He indicated my bruised ankle.

  “If you hadn’t brought beer, that cop wouldn’t have bothered chasing us in the first place!” Fuming, I glared at him. “I could have turned you in—any of you—” I added, my gaze circling, “—but I didn’t.”

  “Not turning us in should be a given, not a favor,” Austin said. “That’s what friends do. Look, if you want a ‘thank you’—”

  “Austin, quit being an idiot,” Shane interrupted.

  Both Austin and I ignored him. “No, that’s not the point. I just…” I let out a huff of frustration, unsure what I wanted. I was irritated at them for dragging me into the situation after I had even warned them, and mad at myself for not stepping out when I was uncomfortable with it. As for them being my friends… I looked around the disgruntled group. The term friend was being used as loosely as boyfriend. “Forget it.” I abandoned my sandwich, ignoring Tara calling after me. When Shane caught up to me, I resisted his touch and asked for some time alone.