Deceptive Cadence (26 page)

“Yeah, Robbie’s such a moron. He never used protection, the cocky SOB.”

“What’s going to happen?” I asked breathlessly.

James scratched his head. “Well, according to her mum, who’s friends with my mum, she almost aborted it, but her mum stopped her. Robbie has no intention of being a father, so they’re going to arrange an adoption.”

“Are you serious?” I shook my head in disbelief. “She’s so brave.”

“Who knew, right?” James tried to look optimistic, but as he slowly looked me over, I sensed uncertainty and apprehension. He didn’t want that to be
me
.

He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and nodded to Justin and Tyler his appreciation for looking out for me. He tilted his head for Geri to follow, and we walked back to have lunch on the the quad.

TWENTY-ONE

“Cadence!” Harper screamed through the house.

I dropped the half-taped box and ran out to her. She stood in the driveway, her arms full of boxes. “What?”

“Don’t
what
me! I invited your stupid boyfriend so we could have some muscle around here, but where is he? Nobody knows!”

“Dad took him to get―”

“Blah, blah, blah! Dad better hurry up because my arms are killing me!”

I giggled as I rushed back inside to tape down the last box we had left. We hadn’t realized how much stuff Harper had, and so didn’t save up enough boxes for packing. It didn’t help that each painting had to be packed with an inch of padding on either side. Dad and James went to get more boxes, and Harper had been griping about having to carry her own stuff into the trailer ever since.

When they arrived, she gave James a piece of her mind. He stood and patiently took it, before sighing and lifting the boxes out of the car. I couldn’t help laughing as she tailed him up into the house, never stopping her stream of nagging.

Finally, we’d packed everything, and her room lay bare. She and I stood in the doorway looking it over.

“I’d forgotten the walls were cream,” she said.

“Yeah, it looks weird without the assault of colors everywhere.”

She nudged me in the ribs and giggled. Her gaze lifted to her painting on the ceiling. “I’m gonna miss waking up to that.”

“It’s a good painting. Even Dad likes it.”

“No, not just that. Those people.”

I turned my head to look at her. She stared up at it with tears in her eyes. She rubbed her left eye with the heel of her hand and grunted. “Look at me. You’ve turned me into a sap.”

I wrapped my arms around her waist.

Later, at her apartment in the inner suburbs, she rushed inside, leaving Dad and James with all the heavy lifting. She dragged me behind her and showed me around. She would be sharing with three other girls, only one she actually knew.

We dumped her bags in the wardrobe, and paused to assess her room.

“It’s small,” she said with a sigh. “But it will do. I’m close to school, and there’s plenty of places to get a job around here.” She looked into my eyes, and I saw in them what she wanted to say, yet couldn’t―
but it’s not close to you
.

I looked away, not wanting to get emotional. “So, grand tour!”

She pulled me around the apartment while Mum set her things up in the kitchen, and James and Dad brought her furniture in with Dusty guiding them. When the bed and her desk were in, we retreated to her room to set up everything.

We didn’t talk much, just a few “where do you want this?” questions. But when we finished, and Mum announced it was time to leave, Harper jumped up and clung onto me.

“Cadence, why don’t you stay the night with me?”

“I can’t. I have school tomorrow.”

She let out a sharp sob, but fought it back down. “You stupid kid. Hurry up and grow up already.”

I wrapped my arms around her and rested my face on her shoulder. “I’ll miss you too, Harp.”

She took a sharp breath, but refused to allow herself to cry.

The first game of the netball season arrived. James loved coming to my games to egg on my crazy aggression. He laughed maniacally when I knocked other girls to the ground, and yelled at me to give them what-for if they tried to push me around. The year before, my coach told me to stop bringing him, it became so bad. So, as he came along for a new season, I set up some rules.

“No swearing.”

“That’s a given,” he answered.

“No yelling at me to break their nose.”

“Aw, but I wanna see blood.”

“No abusing the umpire about being prejudiced.”

“What if they are?”

“And when you get told by anyone to stop, you
stop
. I don’t want you getting banned again.”

“I didn’t even know you
could
get banned at these things, but I guess it’s apparently so.”

I slapped his chest and laughed. “Just behave.”

He sat with Mum as I joined my team to warm up. One of the other defenders looked over and said, “Cay, you’re still with that guy?”

“Yeah.” I’d been with the same group of girls for the last three years. They all knew me well, and had liked having James there at first, until he opened his mouth.

“Did you tell him to keep his mouth shut this season?”

“I most certainly did.”

“Good.” She trotted up beside me and we looked him over. “Wow, you’ve been with him for ages.”

“Just under a year and a half.”

“What, are you gonna marry him or something?” She tilted her head as she looked him over. “He’s pretty hot, so I can see why you keep him around.”

I laughed. “That’s just a bonus.”

The coach called us over, and soon the game began. She stuck me in the goalkeeper position first off, down at the spectator end. Thankfully, James behaved himself. I only heard one comment about my legs in a miniskirt.

Afterward, we went to his soccer game where I sat with his parents. Karen squeezed my hand as I settled into a camping chair beside her.

“How’d it go?” she asked.

“We won, but barely.”

“No deaths today?”

I grunted. “Apparently I’m gonna kill
James
for telling everyone I’m crazy.”

She chuckled.

John was the one who spouted off the abuse during James’ games. Karen and I kept a safe distance from him so we weren’t associated. He yelled all kinds of obscenities, usually at anyone who came near James, and Karen and I ducked down. It amazed me how a sports game could turn people into savages . . . but I wasn’t one to talk.

“How’s school?” Karen asked during a lull.

“Good. Just cruising along.”

We both flinched as John bellowed.

“How’s your sister doing?” she asked with her face covered.

“Good. She’s really enjoying her course. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her happier.”

She squeezed my leg as the ball approached the goal. We leaped to our feet and yelled in excitement as James appeared and lined up for the pass. He received it perfectly and shot a brilliant goal.

James pulled his shirt over his head and ran around in a circle, then pulled it back down and ran to John for a chest bump.

“Good heavens.” Karen covered her face.

James looked at me and blew me a kiss. “That’s for you, baby!”

Karen rolled her eyes as I giggled.

Afterward, as we packed up James’ car, he glanced around. “We’re the last people to leave.”

“So?” I slipped the camping chair in the back.

“So . . .” He grabbed me and turned me to face him. “I’m gonna kiss you.”

He shut the back door and pinned me against the car, clasping my face and placing a kiss firmly on my lips. I melted into it, loving how easily his lips glided over mine and how familiar it had become.

“Jimmy.”

James swung around, pulling me behind him as he shifted me toward the passenger door. “Robbie!”

“Still playing soccer I see.” Robbie’s gaze drifted over James’ shoulder and onto me.

“Yeah. I feel like I need it now more than ever with the HSC coming up.”

Robbie’s eyes narrowed on me as he shoved his hands into his pockets. “Still at school then, huh?”

“Yeah.”

Robbie scoffed.

“I don’t wanna waste my life, Rob,” James said. “I feel like I’m on track, you know? I’m working toward getting into uni to do a bachelor’s in science.”

Robbie scowled and stepped toward him. “I’ve got a job, good one too. You don’t need a degree to get a good job and do well in life.”

“No, but that’s what I want because I know I can.”

He sneered and looked over at me. “She’s filled you with crazy notions of grandeur. I can’t believe you’re still with her. According to the girls, she doesn’t even put out.”

James clenched his right fist while clutching my shirt with his left. He struggled to hold himself back.

I grabbed his hand on my shirt. “James, let’s go.”

Robbie burst out laughing. “Yeah, James, go with your little princess. Leave your best friend since you were ten for some pathetic child.”

“At least I didn’t get her pregnant!” James responded with passion. “Unlike you! And even if anything did happen with us and she fell pregnant, I wouldn’t abandon her like you did. You’re such an ass!”

Robbie stepped back, his jaw clenched. “It was her fault. She can deal with it.”

“See? This is exactly what your problem is. You can’t take responsibility for anything.”

“I didn’t come here to fight with you! I came to see if you wanted to make amends. You and me again, Jim, like old times. Forget all this and let’s go hang out―”

“No, I’m done with all that.” James opened the door for me. “We’re leaving. If you wanna be friends, you’re the one who needs to change. You were dragging me down, and now I’m up again, I wanna stay here.”

I sat in the seat and he closed the door. He hurried around to the driver’s seat as I buckled, but the door flew open. I didn’t have a moment to react before Robbie grabbed me and dragged me out of the car.

“I can’t believe I encouraged you to go after her!” he yelled at James. “She’s ruined everything! She ruined
you
!”

James rushed back around, his fury exploding from him. “Let her go!”

Robbie wrapped my ponytail around his hand and wrenched my head backward. I screamed and tried to grab his hand to make him stop. His other hand grabbed my throat and he squeezed. “I’m gonna get rid of her for good.”

“No! Cadence!” James sounded desperate, making my fear surge through me. I couldn’t speak or scream. Robbie’s hand clutched me so tightly I couldn’t breathe. I clawed at his hand, desperate for relief, desperate for air.

“Stupid bitch.”

I saw stars, the world began to spin . . .

Thwack!

I fell to my knees as Robbie stumbled back and James grabbed his neck. “I swear, Robbie, I
never
want to see you again!
Ever!
If you come near her or me ever again, I will hand you over to the cops for everything I know you’ve ever done. All the drugs, underage drinking, robbery, assault, vandalism—do I need to go on?”

Robbie’s eyes widened. “You wouldn’t dare! You were usually doing it along with me.”

“And I’ll go down, too, if I need to. I’ll do anything to protect Cadence from you.” James tossed him back.

Robbie stumbled, but managed to stay on his feet. He gave me one last long, icy glare, before he turned and marched away.

James fell onto his knees beside me and pulled me against him. “Will this ever be over? Why won’t they just leave us alone?”

To my shock, a tear ran down his cheek. I scrambled forward and kissed it away. “James, you’re so brave.”

He scoffed. “I’m an idiot, that’s what I am. I screwed up my life and now I’m living with the consequences. I just wish they didn’t affect you.”

“Oh, James.” I stroked his cheek and ran my hand back into his hair. “Your life is so much better than it would have been if you’d stayed with them.”

He smirked. “Another one of your ‘premonitions,’ huh?”

“Stop that,” I said, trying not to smile. “I just know the path you were on. I will deal with anything that gets thrown at me because I care about you, James, so nothing can stop me from being with you.”

His gaze lifted and met mine. His eyes looked bluer than I’d ever seen as they pierced into my soul.

“You mean more to me than anything.”

He kissed me softly. When he pulled away, he helped me to my feet and we climbed into his car. We remained silent during the drive to his house, allowing him time to process his feelings.

At the house, he held my hand as we walked in, but retreated straight to the shower. I felt terrible for him. He was so forlorn and heartbroken. I went into his room and sat at his desk, flicking idly through the pages of
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
. A thought popped into my mind. I glanced into the hallway to see if anyone was nearby, before I whispered, “Angel? Angel, can you hear me?”