It was nearing the end of the day when I finally noticed all the extra looks I was getting from school. More students were staring, some girls whispered as I passed, and even a few teachers shot me glimpses of what I could only place as pity when they passed me in the hallway.
“What in the hell is going on today?” I hissed to Emma as she leaned back against the bed of lockers, waiting for me to drop off my books.
She had a vanity mirror held up to her face, pursing her red lips as she stared at herself in the hand-held reflection. “Beats me,” she said. She snapped the mirror shut and dropped it back into her purse. “I guess you’re just beautiful.”
“No,” I said. “Something else is going o—”
“Olivia!” Behind Emma’s shoulder, a stranger’s voice startled me to silence. I squinted to see a vaguely familiar face, one accompanied by blond hair, a hot body, and a million-dollar smile.
“Um. Gwen, right?” I said.
Pushing Emma aside, Elijah’s flawless girlfriend flung her arms around me dramatically. She smelled of amber perfume and roses, but it was overpowering, nearly knocking me off my feet. Over Gwen’s shoulder, I saw Emma pretend to dry-heave, her nose wrinkled as she apparently caught a whiff of the perfume.
“I’m so sorry to hear about the troubles you’re having at home,” Gwen said. She sighed heavily, as if getting ready to sob, and then stood back, holding me out at arm’s length.
“What are you talking about?” I asked, wary.
Behind Gwen, Emma stepped up, looking just as confused as I felt.
“You know!” Gwen insisted. “The whole thing with your aunt and the social worker. That must be tough. We’re all rooting for you, though.”
“Gwen.” I took a deep breath and then cleared my throat. “Where did you hear that?”
“Hear it?” Gwen repeated. “Oh. Well, I—I think I heard it from Amanda Parsons.”
“I don’t even know who that is,” I said carefully. My fists were tightening by the second.
“Well,” Gwen said, furrowing her brow. “Amanda told me that she heard it from Christina, who heard it from Lauren, who heard it from her little sister Brandi.” Just like that, it dawned on me.
“How old is Brandi?” I asked.
“Um. Like thirteen. Fourteen, maybe.” Gwen looked clueless. I wanted to smack some sense into that little head. Behind me, Emma sucked in a breath. I leaned forward and placed one hand on Gwen’s shoulder, smiling.
“Thanks for your kind words,” I said. “But just keep in mind, for future reference—nobody likes a gossip.” I didn’t care that I was being rude when I turned and walked away, leaving Gwen staring at me, open-mouthed.
Around us, the final bell rang. The school day was over. “Funny how this is the first thing that girl has said to me since I’ve been here,” I said to Emma, who had hurried to catch up. “She didn’t care to say ‘hey’ when my life wasn’t drama-filled.”
“Welcome to the big city,” Emma announced. “Where people don’t know your name unless there’s something to talk about.”
“After all that’s happened to us in the last few days, I can’t believe my little brother has the nerve to blab about it around the school.” I was walking faster now, practically seething. The bodies around me were a blur as I shoved my way through the crowd. Emma, impressively, stayed hot on my heels.
“I know you’re upset,” she called. “But try to keep a level head.”
“I could strangle him sometimes.” I hardly heard Emma’s words. All I could think about was that the entire school now knew about the personal situation at home. “I don’t want people’s pity party,” I ranted. “And that’s exactly what this is going to turn into.” In the distance, the middle school was letting out and students Noah’s age were piling out of the building. I stopped near the parking lot and shaded my eyes from the sun, watching for my little brother.
“As fun as I think this is going to be, I’m out of here,” Emma said. I looked over at her. Her expression was wary. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Liv. Oh, and I think Jesse wants you to call him.” I didn’t say goodbye. I was too angry, so I turned away stubbornly as Emma vanished, leaving me to wait for Noah by myself.
As I stood waiting for my kid brother, I quickly realized that Audrey wasn’t there yet to pick us up. I looked around but saw no one that was familiar. By now, cars were clearing out of the parking lot left and right.
“Hey, sis,” Noah called from behind me. “Is Audrey here yet?”
Hearing his voice, I cringed, angry all over again and temporarily forgetting about our ride home. I spun around to face him, my heartbeat roaring in my ears. Noah stopped, his face taking on a wary expression.
“What is wrong with you?” I demanded. “Why can’t you ever just keep your mouth shut about things?” It took a moment for it to dawn on him, and when it did, his eyes went wide with innocence. He stepped back, looking guilty.
“I didn’t mean for it to get out of hand,” he said. “I just told one person. I didn’t think she’d tell everyone else.”
I was surprised when he turned away from me and walked down the side of the road. I stared at him, speechless, and then realized that the school lot was nearly emptied out. I took a second to figure out that he was walking toward Audrey’s apartment. I took one last look over my shoulder and followed him.
“Well, she did,” I called to him. “And now we’re the freaks of the school.”
Noah was silent as we walked. His head was down, shoes dragging on the pavement. It was the first time in some time I had seen him look sorry for something he’d done. “We’re not freaks,” he said quietly. “We’re just orphans.”
“Orphans who will end up in foster care if you keep this shit up,” I said.
Noah stopped suddenly, the rubber soles of his sneakers squeaking against the pavement.
“We won’t end up in foster care,” he said. “Aunt Audrey loves us. She won’t let that happen.” I reached for Noah’s arm, my fingers wrapping around his wrist in anger. I yanked him toward me, hot with rage.
“It’s not up to Audrey,” I said between my teeth. “It’s up to the social worker, and the judge, and the jury, and whoever the hell else they want it to be up to. Not Audrey.” Noah jerked away from me, seething. His eyes were flashing, and for a second, I prepared myself for a punch if he came swinging. My kid brother was small, but he had a temper like an exploding bomb and the force to go with it.
“I don’t care where they put you,” he said finally. “But I’m staying with Aunt Audrey.”
“It’s not your decision, Noah,” I said. “It’s not up to you.”
But he wasn’t listening anymore, and my words were lost somewhere in the air. The rest of the walk took about an hour, and Noah stayed ahead not speaking, slumped over, his pack over his shoulder and his head down. I wished for once that I could have been the proper big sister I was expected to be.
Noah and I had just walked through the front door, shaking the rain off, when Audrey turned toward us. Then I realized she had tears in her eyes and a puffy, red nose. She was holding the phone in one hand, the other arm dropped at her side. She set the receiver down in the cradle and met my eyes.
“That was the social worker, Sheryl,” she said. “She and her supervisor came to an agreement that I may be an unfit guardian. We’re going to court.”
“What does that mean?” Noah asked from beside me. His voice sounded far away, like a blanket was muffling it. “Are they going to take us away?” Outside, a car horn blared, and the neighbor’s dog barked. It grated at my eardrums, an irritating sound. I closed my eyes and took a breath. Breathe deep and tune everything out.
“Noah, I—”
“She doesn’t know,” I said, and Audrey closed her mouth. I looked straight at her, and our eyes met. “Like I told you, Noah, it’s not up to her.” I kicked off my shoes and walked past her, straight up the stairs and to my room. Once there, I turned on the CD player on the dresser, th
e music drowning out any outside noise. As I was reaching into the top drawer for a pair of fluffy socks, my eyes stopped on the photograph perched on the dresser. Mom and Dad, their high school prom. Young, naïve, and so in love. I reached out and touched the glass separating us. Tears welled in my eyes, and my face flushed hot. “We need you,” I whispered. “Mom. Dad. We need you.”
They only kept on smiling, their expressions frozen in a false sense of security and unconditional love—never, ever changing. Not anymore. Not ever again.
For the next few days, talk of court was kept to a minimum. It was a bad word in the apartment, one that only seemed to bring bitterness and resentment. Audrey, Noah, and I tried to proceed with business as usual, but it was difficult. Tension hung in the air, over our heads, never wavering, only growing.
They’d set a date for December 16. I knew that because Audrey had it marked with a bold red pen on the calendar. She had circled it six times; the ballpoint pen had been pushed so hard into the paper it had poked a tiny hole. The three months we’d been with Audrey had flown by fast, and now, the days were falling together, morphing into a routine.
Friday morning, three days before the court date, Emma pulled me aside before class, demanding an explanation as to why Noah and I had been moping around the school. I hadn’t bothered to tell her or Jesse about court—I had assumed they didn’t care to hear about the drama at home, so I had said nothing. I should have known better, though, because both Emma and Jesse had been good friends —and not just to me but to Noah, too—since we’d been in Seattle. Neither of them was thrilled with me when I finally came out with the truth after some insistent begging from Emma.
“We’re going to court,” I told her. Emma walked on one side of me, Jesse on the other. Jesse’s arm was brushing mine, and my skin grew hot beneath my sweater. I wondered when, if ever, he was going to man-up and just take my hand. “Audrey has to prove to them that she’s a fit guardian.”
“You’re kidding,” Emma said. “That’s the biggest crock I’ve ever heard. Audrey is fantastic.”
“I know,” I agreed. “But the court doesn’t care.”
“They won’t take you guys away,” Jesse said. “Will they?” Was it just me, or did he sound—worried?
“They could,” I admitted, then felt a little thrill of triumph when Jesse’s face fell. “We could be sent to foster care.”
“Aren’t you almost eighteen?” Emma asked. “You would be okay in a few months.”
“Yeah,” I said. “But Noah wouldn’t.”
Thinking of my kid brother being sent to live God-knows-where with a family he didn’t know terrified me more than anything. We had just lost our parents. The stable, normal home we’d once had was yanked out from under us, crumbling into a heap of nothingness. Living with Audrey had been pushing it, but we’d adapted. But being taken away from the only family we had left and shipped off to live with complete strangers? I couldn’t do it—and there was no way in hell I would let it happen to Noah.
“I’m sorry, Liv,” said Emma. She looked sorry, too, and it made me want to cry, just to be comforted. “Can I help?”
“I don’t know if you can.” I stopped outside of Mr. Devereaux’s classroom door and peered in. Our teacher was standing up at the dry erase board, a scribbled-on piece of paper in one hand and a marker in the other. I tilted my head in his direction and looked from Emma to Jesse. “But he can.”
“He can?” Jesse asked. “How?” He ran one hand through his shaggy dark hair, his brow furrowing with confusion. He looked so handsome standing there that I wanted to lean over and kiss him, but I didn’t. At one time, he had liked me, and I’d brushed it off. Now, I was probably too late. We’d both been friend-zoned.
Yanking my attention away from Jesse, I glanced at my watch to make sure there was enough time before students would pile in, then I entered the classroom. Mr. Devereaux looked up.
“Olivia,” he said, nodding. “Emma. Jesse.” I stopped in front of him, not in the mood for chitchat, but silently relieved that Emma and Jesse had both chosen to back me up. I felt more secure with them in the room, like I wouldn’t fall apart at the drop of a hat. There was only one thing left to do, and I intended to clarify it to him.
“We need your help,” I said. Mr. Devereaux’s eyes narrowed, paranoid I was about to set him up. He dropped the marker and paper down on the desk and folded his arms, looking wary as he stared at me. Behind me, Emma didn’t utter a word, only watched. Jesse was leaning back against one desk. He still looked slightly lost, but I didn’t have time to explain it to him now; this was about Mr. Devereaux.
“Concerning what, Olivia?” my teacher asked.
“Noah and me.”
Mr. Devereaux’s lips flattened into a thin line, and I wondered if I was walking on thin ice by doing this. Approaching him about the matter had been sketchy enough, and now I had to follow through.
“What are you asking me to do?” he said finally. I let my backpack drop to the floor, unable to hold it steady any longer. By now, my hands and legs were shaking, and I could feel Jesse’s eyes on my back.
“Audrey’s in trouble with the court,” I told him. “They’re threatening to take us away unless she has a legitimate argument on her side. We’re going on Monday—and we need you.”
“To be a witness in court?”
I took a deep breath. “To be her boyfriend.”
There was silence as he took this in, and I almost turned and bolted out of the room in shame. Instead, I forced myself to stay right where I was. I was a crazy mess on the inside, but on the outside, I was cool, collected, and ready to do what needed to be done. At least I hoped that’s what I was portraying.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Mr. Devereaux leaned back against the dry erase board. “I see,” he said. I waited for more, waited for some further acknowledgment he knew what I was asking of him. When none came after another few moments, I frowned.
“Well? Can you do it?”
Catching me off guard, Mr. Devereaux chuckled. “Do you understand what you’re asking of me?” he said. Suddenly, his face was serious. The laugh had been a ruse. Now he just looked annoyed. I didn’t know what to say now, so when I didn’t answer, he went on. “You’re asking me to lie to the court, Olivia. You’re asking me to lie to the judge.”
It felt like a stinging slap to the face as the words left his mouth. I dropped my eyes from him, feeling hot tears well up suddenly. I didn’t want to cry, not in front of Jake Devereaux, but it was too late as warm, salty tears streamed down my face. In front of me, Mr. Devereaux shifted uncomfortably before reaching over to snag me a tissue from the box. He handed it over, and I took it, but the damage was done. Behind me, I was surprised when Jesse stepped up, resting his hands on my shoulders and squeezing. He didn’t let them drop immediately, and his warmth was comforting, but I was almost embarrassed enough to pull away.
“I’m sorry you guys are dealing with this,” Mr. Devereaux said. He looked at Emma, and I knew he didn’t want to be having this conversation, especially not in front of two other students. “It’s a difficult situation, Olivia, but it must be handled with care. I cannot lie for you in a court of law. I just can’t.” I looked up at him, wiping snot off my nose and tears from my face. Jesse’s hands were still on my shoulders, holding me up, reassuring me.
“That’s just it, though,” I sniffed. “It doesn’t have to be a lie.”
“Olivia—” Mr. Devereaux cleared his throat. “Audrey and I aren’t together anymore.” I tossed the tissue in the wastebasket near my feet, angry enough to throw a hissy fit and kick it across the room. But I didn’t.
“Do you miss her?” I asked. “At all?” My words were choked with tears, face probably red and stained with smeared mascara. There was a brief silence, one I hadn’t been expecting. Mr. Devereaux sat down in the chair behind his desk and let his head rest in his hands.
“Yeah,” he said. “I do.”
Even Emma,
who had been standing back silently the entire time, let out a soft whistle between her teeth.
“Don’t fight it, Jake,” she said. “Listen to your heart.”
“Emma,” warned Mr. Devereaux, but he seemed too tired to argue with her. Instead, he looked at me. “The conversation is over, Olivia. Please know I’ll be thinking about all of you.”
And just like that, my world continued to crumble at my feet.
I couldn’t focus in class for the rest of the day. Every lesson, every homework assignment, every word spoken was lost as I trudged from class to class, just trying to get out alive. An hour before school let out, I received a note from the front office. Noah is home sick, it read. Please take a cab home. It was from Audrey. I crumpled up the piece of paper and tossed it into the trash can, wondering if I, too, could get out early.
“Do you want to hang out tonight?” Emma whispered. “I could come over, and we could watch movies or something.”
“Not tonight,” I said. “I think we just need to focus on getting through the weekend without having a melt-down.”
Emma nodded, understanding. When the last bell rang, I crammed my books and other things into my locker, wondering if it would be the last time I’d be at this school. Pushing that thought as far away as I could get it, I waved goodbye to Emma and Jesse and hailed a cab. The sun was shining today, such inappropriate weather for the mood, as if God were mocking us. I closed my eyes and let my head rest against the back window, the rays washing over my skin. It was comforting, but only to an extent. As I was paying the cab driver, he looked over his shoulder at me and smiled.
The Guys Next Door Page 13
