Deceptive Cadence (21 page)

“Get out of my sight, woman! I’m fine. Flynn’s here, so I won’t be lonely.”

I stood hesitantly. “But I―”

She slapped me hard across my rump. “Go!”

I winced and grabbed at it. “Okay! Geez!”

I hurried into the hallway and turned toward the admin offices. Immediately I saw several of my guy friends sitting, lining the hallway. I folded my arms around myself, nervous and frightened for James. I stopped in front of Brian and Justin, staring down at them. Their eyes lifted and they both climbed to their feet.

“Cadence! Are you okay?” Brian asked.

“I’m fine.”

“Your boyfriend is getting grilled right now,” Justin said, tilting his head toward the vice principal’s office. “It doesn’t look good for him. All those guys said he swung first.”

“What are you guys saying?” I asked, glancing desperately between them. They both dodged my gaze.

“To be honest,” Brian began, “none of us actually saw. Flynn said he heard Robbie charge James, but his face was pinned to the table, so he couldn’t see.”

I gnawed on my lip, clinging tightly to myself. “He could get expelled.”

Neither of them responded.

I faced the vice principal’s closed door. I had to do something. James had stood up for me and protected me again, as well as Geri. He hadn’t gone looking for the fight—he’d tried to prevent it. Robbie and his cronies deserved to be expelled, not James.

I took a deep breath and shut my eyes to muster up the bravery I needed. Then, I charged in.

The vice principal stopped talking abruptly, startled by my intrusion. James leaped to his feet. “Cadence―”

“It wasn’t James’ fault!” I blurted out, my adrenalin pumping through my body. The same crazy aggression I felt while playing sports surfaced and I talked fast and in a near yell. “It was Robbie Cluff! He threatened me and made his moron friends force drugs down Geri’s throat. James protected me! If it wasn’t for him, Robbie would’ve really hurt us. And it was
Robbie
who swung first. I saw it! James pulled him off me and Robbie charged him.”

I surged forward and slammed my hand against the desk. “You should be after him, not James, because James did the right thing. They wanted him to go back to them and their self-destructive lifestyle, but he told them no, so they were pissed and tried to force him back by taking it out on two innocent girls!”

The vice principal scowled. “Miss Anderson, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“As much as your outburst was highly inappropriate, I appreciate your input. I’d noticed the absence of Mr. Gordon here in my office of late,
and
the improvements in his grades and attitude in general. I was going to give him a suspension because I didn’t want to discourage whatever it was that changed.”

“No! He doesn’t deserve―”

“Miss Anderson, let me finish.” He stared me down as I clamped my mouth shut. “But, with what you’ve said, I’m inclined to give him some leniency.”

I smiled and relaxed. “Really?”

He nodded. “I didn’t want to believe what those boys said, but none of your friends knew what happened. Maybe next time you could approach me in a more appropriate way―but I hope there isn’t a next time.”

I turned to James, who had sat back down. “I told ya, Mr. T.”

He nodded calmly. “So you did, James.”

“She’s a nut, but she keeps me in line.”

“And I’m glad to see it. Now get out of my office. I have at least ten more boys to see.”

“Aw, I thought we’d catch up. How’s the wife?”

The vice principal cracked a smile. “Get out, James.”

James jumped up and wrapped his arm around my shoulders as we headed out. In the hallway, everyone had heard me explode at the vice principal. My friends all smirked, while Robbie’s friends scowled, knowing I’d turned the tables on them. I didn’t care. James was safe from being unjustly disciplined. I squeezed his waist and leaned against his shoulder as we walked away.

We headed to the sick bay. He stopped us outside, turning me to face him. I noticed his split lip and swollen left eye. I gasped and touched his cheek. “James!”

He shrugged. “It’s nothing. I’ve definitely had much worse. You should see Robbie. Phew-ie! I got stuck into him good!”

“James, that’s not funny.”

He sighed and pushed me against the wall. Our foreheads pressed together. “As long as you’re okay.”

“Thanks to you.”

He stroked my cheek. “When I saw him grab you . . . oh, I just lost it. I told him very clearly to stay away from you.”

“I’m sorry, James.”

He leaned down and kissed me, but winced and pulled away. “Stupid lip.”

I pulled his head down and softly kissed his left eyelid. “Does that help?”

“Mmm.” His arms wrapped around me. I giggled and kissed his eye again.

Geri and I sat in the admin offices, completely stunned. “Ecstasy? Cadence . . .”

I grabbed her hand and squeezed it. “Lucky you threw them up.”

She shuffled closer to me and leaned on my shoulder. “I’m glad they let you come with me.”

I pulled at one of her curls, watching it spring back up when I let it go. “I’m glad you wanted me here with you.”

She smiled. “Of course I would. I swear, sometimes it sounds like you think I’m gonna ditch you.”

I forced a giggle. My nerves about our fight had died down, but I remained completely focused on
not
offending her in a new way.

“Let’s not talk about this,” I said. “We’ve been allowed to take this period off, so let’s go hide in one of the library study rooms.”

We hurried to the library where we picked out a couple of novels each, then slipped into a study room. She closed the blinds and the room fell dark for a moment before she switched on the light.

“I love these rooms.” She locked the door. “Complete privacy.”

We dumped the books and our bags on the desk and sat on the floor together.

“Got any food?” she asked.

“Yeah.” I opened my bag and pulled out a packet of chips.

“Sweet.”

We sat and munched in silence for a few minutes before she sighed. “Cadence, I think Flynn is losing interest in me.”

I stopped munching. “What makes you say that?”

She shrugged. “I dunno. He seems more interested in hanging out with the guys than spending time with me, and he doesn’t look at me the way James looks at you. In fact, usually I feel like he’s looking straight through me.”

“Oh, Geri.” I rested my hand on her knee.

“I think I’m gonna break up with him. Our relationship just depresses me because I’m not getting what I want out of it.”

“What do you want?”

She met my gaze. “I want what you and James have. I want a guy to look at me like I’m the only girl in the world and hang off my every word. I want a guy who can be my best friend
and
a boyfriend so we don’t have those awkward moments between us when we feel pressured to do or say something.”

I dropped my gaze. “I hope I don’t―”

She squeezed my hand. “Hey, there you go again. Cadence, you’re my best friend. You’re always there for me, and I’ll always be here for you, okay?”

I smiled. “So, what are you going to do?”

She leaned back onto her arms. “I’m going to break up with him. I figure it’s better if I just cut it off before we can’t even be friends anymore.”

“Okay, Geri. I’ll do anything you need to help you out.”

She smiled at me as she lay back on the floor. I shuffled down beside her, our heads touching. Her hand wrapped around mine. I smiled, relief filling my heart.

SEVENTEEN

The announcement board was very boring. I lifted my hand to check the time on my watch. James would be out of detention soon, along with my other guy friends. Across the quad, Melanie sat on the stairs with her back to me as she read. She completely blew me off when she saw me waiting for James by retreating to the stairs, and she hadn’t looked around since. I considered going over to sit with her, but I knew that wouldn’t end well.

“Hey, Cay.” Brian came and stood beside me. “Anything interesting?”

I shook my head as I turned away from the notices. “Same old boring.”

“Yeah, that’s life.” He shifted closer to whisper. “So, out of the five guys in Robbie’s group, three were expelled, including Robbie. Apparently it was the last straw for them.”

My stomach flipped. “Are you serious? Over a fight?”

“Nah, it was the drugs on school grounds. When the test came back with what they forced into Geri . . .”

He did a kicking motion.

“Oh my gosh!”

“I know, eh? James found out during detention. He’s a bit torn up about it. You might wanna give him a shoulder to cry on.”

Justin and Michael emerged, and both acknowledged me before James stepped into the circle. The three of them said a quick goodbye before leaving us.

“James . . .”

But before I could say anything more, his arms wrapped around me. He clung onto me, smelling my hair, stroking my back, and generally reveling in my presence. “I’ll never regret choosing to be with you.”

I wrapped my arms around him and grasped his shirt. I never wanted to let him go as his soft kisses on my ears sent goose bumps down my body.

“When I heard they got expelled, my only thought was that if it wasn’t for you, it could have been me, too.”

I clung tighter to him, knowing that wasn’t the case. Without me, he still would have graduated somehow, but I understood what he meant. I stretched up and kissed his neck, making him shudder. He dropped his gaze to meet mine.

“Oh gross! Could you guys just stop?” Melanie scowled. “I wanna get home.”

James grinned at her. “Mel, you should be nice to Cadence. Without her, I would have been expelled.”

Melanie rolled her eyes. “Give up, James. I’m not going to like her,
ever
.”

An idea struck me. “Melanie, would you like to go out to the movies sometime with Geri and me? I’ll pay if you want.”

She scoffed. “That’s probably at the bottom of my list of ‘must do’s’ in my lifetime.”

“I think that’s a good idea,” James said. “I’ll come along too, just so it’s an even number.”

“Ah . . . no.” Melanie folded her arms.

“Done deal.” James wrapped his arm around her shoulders and dragged us away under his arms.

At his house, James and I did our school work as fast as possible before rushing out into the living room and curling up on the couch to watch TV. I sat on one end and he sat on the other. We played this game regularly. He’d start by touching my ankles, and I’d do all I could to ignore him as his hand crept up my leg; once he reached my knee, I’d always shove him off and he’d grab my hand to pull me against him.

He rested his hand on my ankle, his fingers creeping up my leg, when Melanie walked in. She groaned and walked back out. James grinned at me and shifted closer, his hand running up my shin.

“Cadence?” Karen walked in and James’ hand pulled away. “Would you like to help me bake some choc chip cookies?”

“Mum, she’s not eight years old!” James said.

The thought of freshly baked cookies after dinner made my stomach growl. “I’m in.”

“Aw, Cadence!” James grabbed my hand as I rushed by, but I pulled free with a giggle.

Karen and I got along like a house on fire. We laughed and had a great time as she made dinner and I threw together the cookies. When John came home, he smiled warmly at us. Melanie met him as he walked down the hallway and followed him into his room.

“Why doesn’t Melanie give me a chance?” I asked. “I try so hard.”

“Don’t mind her,” Karen said. “She’s just moody, and very jealous of her brother’s time. They’ve always been close, being only sixteen months apart. She wasn’t really impressed when he changed his ways for you. She thought he was selling out.”

“But he’s still essentially the same, isn’t he? I mean, he just cleaned up his act a bit.”

“Yes, and no. He’s always been good at heart, but now he doesn’t need
her
as much.”

I stared into the bowl, my mind ticking it over.
She sees me as a thief . . .

Karen’s hand rested on my back. “It’s good for her. She needs to make friends other than her brother.”

A door slammed. I looked up as Melanie stormed down the hallway and slammed her bedroom door behind her. James’ head appeared through the archway before he trotted away and slipped into her room. After a few moments, she yelled, “She’s gonna dump you soon anyway! You’ve been together for what, six months? Your expiry date is coming up, James! Most relationships at our school are lucky to get past the six-month mark, so I
refuse
to be nice to her! She doesn’t deserve it.”

“You’re so selfish!” James’ voice echoed down the hallway. “You used to be cool! Me and Cadence, we’re going strong, and all I want is for you to accept her. Her family accepts me, so why is it so hard for you?”

“Because
she
doesn’t deserve you! She’s a manipulative, backstabbing whore!”

“Don’t talk about her like that!”

The yelling continued for several minutes while I bit my lip out of guilt. Karen watched me, and, noticing my distress, left dinner on the counter and headed down the hallway. The volume increased when she opened the door, but then it fell silent.

James burst out of the room and rushed straight to my side. He kissed me quickly. “Let’s go somewhere.”

“Where?”

“I dunno. It’s not like we can go far. Let’s try the park around the corner.”

“Okay.”

He tugged my hand and we hurried out of the house. We walked to a small play area behind a rugby field. He led me to a bench and sat me down. He paced, running his hand through his hair over and over.

“Today hasn’t been a good day for you,” I said.

He scoffed. “No, it really hasn’t.”

“I’m sorry.”

He paused and stared down at me with such an intense gaze I stopped breathing. “Cadence, we’re all good, right?”

“Yeah.”

“You’re not bored of me or interested in someone else?”

“No.”

He ruffled his hair and fell to his knees in front of me. “Promise me we’re fine.”

“James, we’re more than fine. Being with you makes me so happy.”

He leaned over and clasped my hands between his and kissed them. I bent over, lifting his face so I could kiss him. He eagerly reciprocated and sat up on his knees. I wrapped my arms around his neck, leaving his hands resting on my knees. His hands opened around my knees and slowly crept under my skirt.

I gasped and broke away from the kiss, but his hands wandered higher as he leaned in and kissed my neck. Intensely aware of his fingers on my thighs, I held my breath as they found their way to my underwear.

“James . . .”

“It’s okay. I’m not going to take them off.”

His hands moved on to the insides of my thighs, making me flinch away. His hands retreated from up my skirt and he clasped my face to kiss me again. He climbed up beside me on the bench and pulled me onto his lap as we made out.

Eventually, we stopped and sat gazing into each other’s eyes.

“We should go back.”

“Mmm.” He stroked my face and his gaze followed his finger over each curve and contour. “You’re so beautiful.”

I broke into a wide grin, giggling and blushing as I buried my face into his shoulder. His arms tightened as he laughed softly at my reaction.

I held Geri’s hand as Flynn approached the group. She took a deep breath as he paused to greet the guys, then stood.

“I’ll be here when you get back,” I said.

She squeezed my hand as she stepped out from the picnic table. She made her way to Flynn and pulled him aside to talk. Michael took her spot. “Hey.”

“Hey.” I wasn’t paying attention to anyone other than Geri. Flynn had his back to me, so I couldn’t see his reaction as she spoke to him.

“Disco is tomorrow,” Michael said. “Are you going?”

“Hmm?”

“Cadence!”

I turned slightly. “Sorry. It’s just . . .” I gestured to Geri and Flynn.

“Oh.” He sighed. “Oh well, it was kinda coming. They don’t spend much time together anymore.”

“Mmm.”

He wrapped his arm around my shoulders. “Cay, are
you
okay?”

I tilted my head to face him and rested my cheek on my hand. “Melanie’s kinda getting to me, that’s all. She’s dead set against me and James, and they had a huge row last night about me while I was there.”

“Oh, bummer.”

“Yeah.”

“Why does she hate you?”

I twisted my loose hair around my finger. “She thinks it’s my fault everyone hates her.” I went on to explain everything to him.

When I finished, he paused thoughtfully, then said, “Why don’t you try to make people like her then?”

I raised my eyebrows. “People don’t like her ’cause she’s weird.”

“Everyone thought James was a total druggy loser.” He shrugged. “Geri’s coming back.”

And with that, he left.

Geri sank beside me and rested her head on my shoulder. “That’s it.”

I stroked her hair. “How’d he take it?”

“Surprisingly well. He didn’t say anything until I finished explaining myself. Then he said, ‘Okay, I understand,’ and offered me his hand and said we could still be friends.”

“How about you?”

She sighed, but didn’t answer. I stroked her hair, knowing she felt hurt. But, she had been brave, and did the right thing, and I had done right by her this time around.

“Where’s James?” she asked.

“He said he had some catch-up work to do or something.”

She shuffled closer to me. “The second term disco is tomorrow.” She lifted her head with a crooked smile. “Where you and James first met last year.”

“Don’t remind me. He was a jerk back then.”

She giggled and rested her head back on my shoulder. “Yes, but it changed everything, didn’t it?”

I smiled. She had no idea.

“Yeah, it did.”

Getting ready at James’ house felt odd. He watched me wash up into the bathroom, and stood by his door without a shirt on when I came out, again watching me. He eyed me over slowly as he pulled on a white, pinstriped shirt and started buttoning it.

I went to get my hairbrush from my bag. His hand came down and grabbed my butt as I passed. I swung around and slapped his arm.

He grabbed me and pulled me in. “You look incredible. What else am I supposed to do?” His hand ran over my butt again in my tight, black, flared pants.