Deceptive Cadence (30 page)

“We wouldn’t need to if you hadn’t interfered in our lives.” We turned at the sound of Melanie’s voice. She leaned against the entrance to the hallway with her arms folded. “I knew you’d be bad for him. All your fake ‘I’m so sweet’ crap never fooled me.”

“Mel!” James’ voice rose again.

“Shut up, James! You’re such an idiot not to see it.”

“Melanie! Enough!” Karen said firmly. She looked at me and spoke gently. “Cadence, do your parents know about this?”

I drew a sharp breath. “No.”

Melanie scoffed behind us.

John’s eyes burned with indignity. “I guess they’re about to find out. Both of you get in the car.”

I panicked. Dad would kill me. He’d never look at me the same way again. I clung to James as I glued myself to the floor in utter terror. The image of Dad shedding a tear as he raised a glass to Austin flashed through my mind. “I can’t tell my dad!”

John glared at me. “Then why did you do it?”

I gnawed at my lip, wishing I could muster my adult way of thinking, but it had long gone as my teenage brain blinded me with fear. I couldn’t help myself as I cried.

“Oh, geez,” Melanie groaned.

James held me tighter.

Karen rushed over and grabbed my wrist. “John, you stay here. I’ll handle this.”

“Her parents need to know!” John responded.

“Yes, they do. But I think it would be better if I handle it. You’re not in the frame of mind to do this. All you’ll do is make matters worse.” She rested her hand on my shoulder. “Cadence, sweetie, you know this is very serious and your parents have to know. James and I will come with you to support you.”

“Mum!” Melanie groaned.

“Don’t coddle her!” John said.

“For heaven’s sake, John! She’s seventeen years old! I remember what it was like at her age. She has all these feelings and desires and is struggling to deal with them while trying to please everyone. Your son is as much at fault as she is, and maybe we are, too, for not paying closer attention. But she doesn’t deserve to be treated like trash for this.”

She wrapped her arms around James and me. “I’ll take them, and I’ll talk with Harmony and handle it tactfully.” She encouraged us out the door, and to my relief, John didn’t follow.

James slid into the backseat beside me and pulled my head onto his shoulder. “Cadence,” he said softly as the car started. “Please don’t end it with me. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

I gazed into his eyes. He was just as afraid as me. I caressed his cheek, and he leaned down and kissed me.

“James, I love you.”

He pulled me closer. “I love you, too.”

I rested my head on his shoulder and saw Karen glance back at me. In the brief moment before she noticed me looking at her, I saw she wasn’t angry at all. Nervous and concerned, yes, but mostly she loved us, both of us, and saw how much we loved each other. For the first time in a long time, I remembered Austin’s mother, Linda, and how she’d looked at me the same way.

We rode in silence as James kissed my head over and over. I sighed, feeling safe with him, even though I knew what we would soon face.

We arrived at my house. The car engine cut. I stopped breathing. Karen stepped out of the car and came around to open my door.

James nudged me. “Breathe, Cadence. I’ll be right here with you.”

We walked up to the door and Karen knocked. Mum answered.

“Hi, Karen . . .” Her face fell. Her gaze shot between each of us. “Oh, no.”

My cheeks burned and I cried again.

Mum opened the screen door and grasped my shoulder. “Come inside and sit down.”

James and I sat on the sectional together, and he clutched my hand. He held it so tightly that his knuckles turned white. Karen sat across from us on one of the armchairs, and Mum sank onto the far end of the sectional facing us. “It just happened, didn’t it?”

Karen nodded. “We came home early . . .”

Mum covered her face. “Oh, Cadence.”

My heart ached at the pain written all over her. “Mum, please don’t be upset. I love James.”

“Oh, sweetheart, I already knew that.” She shifted beside me and took my hand. “I just hoped you’d wait a little longer. I hoped you’d at least wait until you graduated.” She sighed. “Your father isn’t going to take this well.”

My lip quivered. “He’s going to hate me.”

She stroked my hair. “You were responsible, weren’t you?”

I met her gaze. Dodging my statement and redirecting the conversation only meant one thing: I was right.

“Yes, we were,” James said softly.

Mum nodded, but wasn’t able to look at him. “Well, that’s a start.”

“Mum.” Tears filled my eyes. “Are you disappointed in me?”

She stroked my cheek and gazed sadly into my eyes. “No. I’ll always love you and be here for you. You’re my little girl. I just wish you hadn’t grown up so fast.”

I threw my arms around her and we cried. I felt so glad she wasn’t angry at me and understood. It would make facing Dad easier.

Karen stood. “James should stay until David gets home, but I need to go do damage control with my husband and daughter. I’ll be back to pick him up at seven.” She stepped over and squeezed Mum’s shoulder. “Harmony, you’re a good mother. As much as this has shocked both of us, I know Cadence is good for my son and they love each other. At least we have that.”

Mum squeezed her hand. “Thank you, Karen. I’m grateful for all you do, too.”

Karen left.

Mum turned to us. “Well, Cadence, where do we go from here?”

I wasn’t sure myself. I wanted to be with James, but it seemed that level of intimacy involved more people than just us. I leaned against James as I carefully weighed my options. “What do you think I should do?”

Mum shook her head. “I’d prefer if you didn’t do it again, but I’m not naive. We’ll take you down to the doctor next week and get you on birth control. I’d rather you not run the risk of getting pregnant.”

I sat bolt upright. I hadn’t even thought about that. I looked back at James as he shifted back into the sectional and knew, by the calm expression on his face, that he had. He’d been careful both times. I turned back to Mum. “I’m not sure if I’ll do it again, but I appreciate that.”

She squeezed my hand. “Okay. Why don’t you and James go hang out with Dusty so I can talk to your father when he gets home? I think he’ll need baby steps for this one.”

James and I made our way to Dusty’s room.

When we opened the door, Dusty launched to his feet with a grin across his face. By the quick flash of his gaze to me, he sensed our somber mood, but he didn’t want to dwell on it. Instead, he focused on the return of his idol into our house. “James! You’re back. I was a little worried there for a while.”

James grasped Dusty’s hand and shook it. “Nah, I’m not going anywhere. I’m stuck on Cadence.”

“Well, hotness runs in the family.” Dusty plucked up his science exam. “Check it! I totally aced it because of you.”

James took it. “Nice, but you did know a lot of it on your own.”

“Nah.” Dusty grinned proudly. Nothing could be better to him than James’ praise. “Come on, let’s go out back and pass the football around or something.”

He plucked up his rugby ball and we made our way outside.

We played and laughed, even after the sun set. I had so much fun I forgot about having to face Dad. When he came in the gate, I rushed to him and threw my arms around his neck. “Hey, Dad!”

“Hey! I heard you three out here and wanted to see what all the fun was.” He kissed my head as he pulled me around. “And James is back.”

I hesitated as James hung back, acutely aware of what would come for him. He ruffled his hair and gave a crooked smile. “Hey. Yeah, we made up.”

“Well, good. Cadence was pretty mellow without you around.”

I wanted to be sick. He wouldn’t be making such friendly comments in a few minutes.

“I’m gonna go in and check if your mother needs any help with dinner.” He kissed my head again and turned inside.

I rushed over to James and grabbed his arms. “He’s gonna kill us.”

“It’s okay.” James pulled me against him. “I’m here no matter what.”

Dusty averted his eyes and spun the ball on his hand, in no way oblivious to what was going on.

Suddenly, Dad roared.
“WHAT?”

James swore and shoved me behind him and Dusty. I darted forward.

“No, I need to face him.”

The back door burst open. Dad marched straight to us with Mum bustling along behind him. He stopped in front of us, completely ignoring James. His glare fixed on me. His chest heaved as he stared into my eyes.

I wanted to cower back and burrow deep into the ground under his gaze, but I didn’t dare flinch.

“You . . .” he said in a barely audible voice. “Oh . . .” His head fell and he rubbed his eyes. We waited while he rubbed his face and hair. Finally his gaze lifted to me again and all I could see was a deep, devastated agony. “You’ve broken my heart.”

His words felt like knives cutting deep into me, piercing all my vitals, making me want to die. I’d never disappointed him like that before and it tore me apart. “Daddy, please―”

“Don’t ‘Daddy’ me!” he yelled, then lowered his voice to a near whisper. “You’re not my little girl anymore. I can’t even look at you.”

He marched back inside.

Tears streamed down my face again. I couldn’t move. That was worse than him yelling at us. I wished he
had
yelled at us. The level of disappointment he’d just laid on my shoulders was the worst feeling in the world.

James straightened as he looked down at me, fists clenched. “I’m gonna talk to him.”

“No! James, he’ll kill you.”

James shook his head. “I don’t care.” Before I could react, he hurried past Mum and back into the house.

Mum stepped beside me as I grabbed Dusty’s wrist.

“Get out of my house!” Dad’s hollering echoed from inside.

“I won’t. I will be heard out,” James replied defiantly.

“Heard out? You screwed my daughter! I trusted her with you and you abused that. The
one thing
I made clear as being off limits, and you went and did it. You disgust me.”

“I love her. We didn’t take it lightly. We held off for so long because she wanted to respect you and herself, and I’ve always loved that about her. This wasn’t just a thing, it was special. I would never hurt her, and I know that what you just did to her tore her apart―”

“What
I
just did to her?” Dad snickered. “No, you don’t get to blame me for that.”

“Maybe not, but all I want is for her to be happy.”

“I should rip you to shreds . . .” I heard a thump as something hit a wall, probably James’ body. “You will never touch her again. You will never come here again. You will never take her out anywhere
again
!”

“I will. She loves me as much as I love her. You can’t stop us.”

Dusty flinched. “He’s just provoking him.”

“Shh.” Mum wrapped her hand around mine.

Dad’s laughter filled my ears. “I can’t, huh? Well, Mr. Gordon, you are eighteen, making her illegal for you . . .”

I pulled away and rushed inside. The thought of James going to jail because of me wrenched my heart. I couldn’t let Dad do that.

When I burst through the door, I saw Dad had James pinned against the wall of the hallway leading to the bedrooms. James stared defiantly at him with his hands wrapped around Dad’s as he held tightly to his shirt. Both of their heads turned as I entered.

“Cadence! Get out!” James said in a tight voice.

But I rushed over and grabbed their hands. “Dad! Let him go!”

Dad’s hands tightened and he shoved him harder against the wall. James winced, the drywall cracking, and Dad said, “He’ll never come near you again.”

“Dad!” I pulled at his hands. “Dad! I love him! Don’t hurt him!”

My words caused his head to snap around to me. “What?”

“I love him!”

His hands still held to James’ shirt, but he never looked away from my face. “You’re seventeen years old!”

“So? I’ve been with him for two years and I know how I feel. He’s my best friend and the only person who makes me feel so alive. Don’t hurt him, Dad, because all that does is hurt me, too.”

Dad turned his focus back onto James as he slowly examined his face. Then, he let him go. “Don’t ever touch her again. I mean it. I’ll be watching you, boy.”

He turned away from James and looked down at me. His hand came up to touch my cheek, but he pulled away, his face full of pain. “I love you, Cadence. Don’t break my heart again.”

I reached for him, but he stormed to his room, slamming the door behind him.

TWENTY-FIVE

Geri’s knees quivered with her hands pressed between them. She glanced over at Mum, who flicked through a magazine while I waited to go in to the gynecologist. “So he still hasn’t even looked at you?”

I shook my head. “I did the one thing he was afraid of, and he won’t come out into the house when James is around. I’m afraid he’ll never forgive me.”

Mum’s hand squeezed my knee and she spoke without looking up. “He will. Just be patient.”

“Your mum’s awesome,” Geri said.

I smiled. “I know.”

Mum squeezed my knee again.

“Thanks for coming, Geri,” I said. “You didn’t need to be here.”

“Hey, what are friends for?”

The nurse called my name. I stood, heading in to see the doctor. I glanced back, wishing my mum could hold my hand, but knowing the time had come for me to be an adult again.

Melanie tossed a note at my head. I opened it and read,
SLUT
.

I tore it up. She’d turned vicious on me after she found me with James. Worst of all, she wouldn’t let either of us talk to her about it.

James’ parents soon accepted what happened, although they took precautions to avoid it happening again. James and I were never alone at their house anymore, not that we had any intention of trying again.

“Melanie,” I said in a low voice. “Why don’t you and I have a chat after class?”

“Ha! No.”

Geri growled. She jumped from her seat, and marched out of the room. This didn’t faze anyone—being eleventh graders had its privileges, and leaving class without asking was one of them. When she came back, she carried a vial of something. She made a beeline for Melanie.

I jumped to my feet. “Geri, no!”

She tossed the liquid in Melanie’s face. “Burn, witch!”

Melanie screamed and tried to wipe it off her face. Everyone turned and stared. The teacher rushed over as Geri sank back into the chair beside me. “Geraldine Turner! Detention!”

Geri scoffed. “Whatever.”

Melanie rushed to the sink to wash her face as Geri sneered.

“What did you throw on her?” I asked.

Geri shrugged. "H2O."

I bit my lip and covered my smirk.

After returning home from Christmas shopping, Mum and I paused when we saw James’ car parked out in front of the house. Exchanging concerned looks, we hurried inside.

“James?” I rushed through the house, knowing Dad was home, but not seeing either of them. “James?”

The office door creaked open, and Dad peered out with a stern scowl. “In here.”

Mum’s hand rested between my shoulders, giving me the courage to face Dad. She followed me in.

James sat facing the desk, his knees quivering. He shot to his feet as I entered, smiling nervously.

“Dad.” I looked up at him. “What did you do?”

“Sit, Cadence.” He moved to sit behind the desk. I felt like I was about to be interrogated for murder.

As I sat, James’ hands rested on my shoulders. Dad smoldered, but kept his head. “James and I have come to an agreement.”

I glanced back at James. “What kind of agreement?”

“No more sex.” Dad spat the last word out like a foul taste. “I will allow him to keep taking you out on that condition. Do you understand?”

I nodded vigorously. “I don’t want to do it again anyway. I don’t want to hurt you again. Please, Dad. I love you, and I hate that you won’t even look at me.”

Tears burned in my eyes as my voice caught.

His gaze shot to me. “Cadence.” He sighed, rubbing his eyes. “I love you too, sweetheart.”

Standing, he hurried around and pulled me into his arms. Relief washed over me at the comfort of his broad chest and strong arms. Dad had forgiven me, and everything in the world felt right again.

Afterward, I walked James to his car. “Did Dad call you, or . . . ?”

He smirked. “I just came over. I thought I’d try facing my fears.”

I giggled, leaning against his car. “Thank you.”

“Anything for you.” He rested his hands on my waist, kissing my forehead. “Next year will be better than ever for us, I promise. You and I are far from over, and I made that very clear to your dad. Everything will be all right.”

I nuzzled up in his arms. We were far from over. He still had me, hook, line, and sinker. But with him going off to university, I thought about my own university options coming up. I met Austin at university, but I’d gone to university clear across the country to start anew because I’d screwed up things so badly with my friends. This time, I had people keeping me where I was. I had Geri, a close relationship with Harper, and of course, James.

I wondered if I should talk to him about me going to Western Australia for university, but as he pulled away and stared into my eyes, I knew that was a conversation for a later date.

I stroked his face. “Next year will be great, James.”

He beamed. “As long as I have you.”