Jaded (Rock Star Trilogy) (7 page)

Did I mention that
I love my car
? Cause
I DO
.

“
I want to drive your car,” he pauses. “No, I
need
to drive your car.”

I laugh. “I actually don't let anybody else drive it. Not even my mom, or dad.”

“What about Alec?” Is that jealousy I hear in his voice?

“
Once,” I admit. “But I was extremely drunk, and he only drove it five miles from his house to mine. Besides, he has a car that is much more expensive than mine that he lets me drive all the time.”

“
I was wondering something...” He pauses mid sentence.

“
Yeah?” I ask, when he doesn't continue.

“
You and Alec... Are you two more than just friends?”

“
NO
!” I say immediately. “He's like an older brother to me. That's it.”

“
I saw pictures of you two on the internet.”

My face suddenly feels warm. “We were both drunk that night. We never had sex. We just made out. I honestly don't even remember it, I was so wasted. I didn't know until I saw the pictures online the next day. After that night, we promised to never get drunk together again.”

I pull into the parking spot at school, but neither of us get out.

“
It must not have been that great of a kiss, if you forgot about it.” He pauses, then adds, “But, if I kissed you, you definitely would remember.”

“
I wouldn't know,” I flirt. “Maybe someday you'll have to... show me...”

“
Maybe I will,” he says, leaning closer. His lips are so close, I can feel the warmth from them. My heart is beating so fast that I feel like it's going to beat it's way out my chest. But he doesn't come any closer. “Maybe I won't.”

I roll my eyes, and back away from him. “Stephan, you sure have a way with the ladies. Tell me, how come you're single?”

I get out of the car, and basically shut my door in his face. I start walking towards my first class, and I hear Stephan run up behind me.

“
Maybe I'm single because I haven't found anybody who I would consider being with long term. Maybe I have been waiting for somebody special,” he says sweetly. “Maybe somebody like
you
.”

The bell rings, and I jump at the sudden, loud noise.

“See you in study hall,” Stephan says, walking away from me.

11:59 am

Stephan Montgomery has a heart after all...

After study hall, Stephan follows me out into the hallway.

“Want to eat lunch with me?” he asks.

“
Are you ok with eating with Ethan?” I ask him.

He sighs. “Come on, Scarlett. What is the deal with you and my stepbrother?”

“He's my friend,” I answer, firmly. “Ethan is cool. I don't know what your problem is with him, but you need to get over it. He
is
your family.”

“
He is
not
my family. He's just the son of the man my mother married.” His voice is bitter. “As long as you eat lunch with him, I won't be there.”

Before I can respond, Stephan storms past me.

Whatever. If he's going to act like a child, I'm not going to follow him.

“
Scarlett?” the brunette with the green eyes from yesterday walks up to me. “Hey. I thought I would try again. Yesterday, we got off on the wrong foot. I would like to be your friend. Would you consider eating lunch with me and my friends?”

I want to say
hell no
, but then I think of Ethan. What he sees in this girl, I will never understand. “I would like that, but only if I can invite my friend, Ethan.”

I see her smile falter a little, but she quickly recovers. “That would be fine. But really, why Ethan?”

As badly as I want to smack her across the face, I don't. “Why not? He is really nice. He's been such a great friend to me... And he's kind of hot.” Hot is a bit of a stretch, but he is nice looking. Any girl would be lucky to be with him.

She thinks about it for a moment. “Yeah, I guess he is kind of cute.”

I follow her towards the cafeteria, and decide to talk up Ethan. “You know, I kind of think he looks a little like Thor.”

She laughs, but I can tell it's fake. “Ok, well, you can grab your friend and meet me at the table. We sit in the direct center of the lunchroom. It's where all the most popular girls and boys in the school eat.”

Like I really care
who sits at the “popular” table!

I turn and walk towards the far right, where Ethan and I always sit. He's waiting there for me.

“Hey, Scarlett.”

“
Hey. Good news. We're sitting with that cheerleader girl that you like,” I say. “So come on.”

“
What?”

“
Come on,” I motion him. “Your dream girl awaits.”

After a few seconds, Ethan finally gets up and follows me to the
popular
table. I want to vomit at the thought of sitting there, but I have to hold up my end of the bargain.

“
Hey! So glad you two could eat with us!” The cheerleader scoots down for me and Ethan. I take the seat furthest from her, so Ethan is forced to sit by her.

“
Hey, Mona,” he says, shyly.

Mona, why can I never remember that name? Though, I guess I've always been bad with names.

Everybody around the table takes turns introducing themselves to me. I'm glad that none of them ask for my autograph, though I suspect Mona asked them not to scare me away.

Most of the people sitting at the table are either in sports, or they are cheerleaders. Apparently baseball and basketball are a big deal at this school. Only a couple of people sitting at the table aren't into sports, and I can tell by their designer clothing that they must have rich parents.

I wonder why they don't like Ethan. He's the hottest guy at the table, and he obviously has wealthy parents. Their house is next door to mine, right on the beach. A beachfront property, even in a small town like this, costs a lot of money. And I've seen the cars parked there – they aren't exactly driving old beaters. I'm pretty sure I saw his dad driving a Hummer, and his mom has a red Corvette.

Maybe they don't know
?

I shake off the thought almost as quickly as it comes. I know that's not the case, because in a small town like this, there are
no secrets
. There has to be a lot more to the story. Ethan definitely isn't telling me everything.

I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket. I pull it out to see a missed call from a blocked number. There is a voice mail.

“I'm sorry, guys,” I say to nobody in particular. “I have to take this.”

Before anybody has a chance to respond, I get up and walk out of the cafeteria as fast I can.
Nobody
, not even Stephan or Ethan, has my number. Just my parents, managers, record company, and Alec. I need to know who the call is from.

Ever since my sister disappeared, every time I get a call from a unrecognizable number, I think it's her. I'm usually disappointed, but I never give up hope. I can't. I even hired a private investigator.

Once I'm out of the cafeteria, I keep walking and head out the front doors of the school. Once I'm outside, I put my phone up to my ear, and listen to the message.

“
Scarlett, this is Andrew Davis,
” I listen. My heart jumps when I hear my P.I.'s voice on the other end. “
I have a lead on your sister. I'm not sure if this is just another dead end, but it looks promising. I'm in South Carolina. I should get back in touch with you in a couple of days at the most. Talk to you soon.
”

I lean against the side of the brick building and close my eyes. I try to picture Stacy, but when I think of her, I always see the 17 year old version of her. I know that she's 26 now, though. I wonder if she has her own family, if she's married with kids. I wonder if she still looks the same. I wonder if she would be proud of me.

I shake my head, and push myself off the wall. No, she would not be proud of the person I've become. I've had less than a stellar life. I let fame and fortune go to my head. But maybe she would be proud of my decision to come here – my decision to get my life straight.

“Is everything alright?” I hear Stephan's voice.

I nod, and wipe the tears away from my cheeks. I hadn't even realized I was crying. “Yeah, everything is... perfect.”

“I saw what you did for him... for Ethan...” he half-smiles. “Even if I don't like him, because of my mom's decision to marry his dad, doesn't mean I don't know he's a good guy. He doesn't deserve the way they treat him. Thank you for that.”

“
Wow. Stephan Montgomery has a heart after all.”

“
Who would've thought,” he jokes.

3:00 pm

Queen Bitch.

I'm heading out the front door of the school, about to walk out to my car, when I hear somebody yell my name.

“Scarlett!”

I think momentarily about ignoring the person, because I figure it's just going to be somebody asking for my autograph, but I stop anyway. I turn around to see a girl that I sat with in the cafeteria. I think her name was Nicole. Or Nancy, maybe? N something. Or maybe Mary?

“Hey,” I say.

“
I'm Demi,” she reminds me.

Wow, I wasn't even close.

“I just wanted to say, it was nice of you to sit at our table,” she smiles. “But next time, you need to understand, that Ethan is
not
welcome.”

I barely resist the urge to roll my eyes at her. Who does this girl think she is?
Regina George
? For a moment, I feel like Lindsay Lohan, and can't help but laugh. “Trust me, there definitely won't be a next time.”

“
Before you get all judgmental, maybe you should talk to Ethan about this. There's a reason that we don't like him,” she pauses for a second. “Actually, maybe you should ask Stephan. He knows the story better, and you seem to be pretty
cozy
with him.” She turns around and walks away from me.

What a bitch.

I continue to walk to my car, Stephan is waiting there for me.

“
Everything ok?” he asks, noticing the distressed look on my face.

“
Yeah,” I say, shaking my head. I quickly decide that Mona is not the girl for Ethan... Now just the convince him of this. “I'm actually coming to your house today. Ethan is tutoring me again.”

Stephan looks a little disappointed. “Oh.”

I smile. “Somebody is jealous.”

He shakes his head. “No, not at all.”

“I'm not into Ethan like that, you know. In fact, I happen to know he's into somebody else,” I say for his benefit. “I'm just not sure the girl he likes is the right girl for him.”

“
Yeah, I've tried to tell him,” he sighs. “Mona is the queen of this school, and she is a bitch. I don't see what he sees in her. Or what anybody sees in her, for that matter.”

His voice is bitter, and I couldn't help but wonder what happened between him and her. “So... Are you going to tell me what she did to make you hate her so much?”

“Let's just go home,” he says, opening the passenger side door.

I walk around the car and try to shake it off. Stephan is acting weird. I get in the car, start it, and put on my seat belt. I can't handle
not
knowing. It's going to eat me alive until I know.

“
Sorry,” he says. “I just don't want to talk about it... About her... It's nothing personal.”

“
What, is she like an ex girlfriend or something?” Great, now
I
sound like a
jealous
girlfriend.

He laughs, bitterly. “I definitely
never
dated her.”

“
Ok.” I say, inwardly sighing in relief.

“
Are you ready for tomorrow night?” he asks, as we pull out of the parking lot of the school.

“
I am very ready. Tuesday night was so much fun. I still can't believe that was just practice for you guys.” I pause. “Actually, I'm hoping that I can race next Friday night.”

“
I don't know, Scarlett,” he says. “It's kind of a big secret, and having you race... It could blow everything.”

“
What? Like I'm going to tell everybody about it?” I roll my eyes at him. “I don't even have friends here, besides you and Ethan that is. Who am I going to tell?”

“
I don't know... Just, don't tweet about it, ok?”