Lie to Me (an OddRocket title) (21 page)

"But…"

"You did not."

"It wasn't my fault."

"I have told you to tell us the truth about where you are going, to not sneak out and..." Mom stopped as though she expected me to finish this sentence. "You did not."

My chest tightened; it seemed so unfair of Mom to make me think things were okay and then drop the hammer.

"Do you have anything you want to tell me, Cassandra, like who you were with? What you were doing?"

"I told you! I went to that stupid party." The tears apparently hadn't retreated that far since they came back pretty fast. "And it's not fair that I'm always in trouble. I didn't go see anyone or do anything. I just didn't want to come home. Okay? And I thought you loved me so much you would forgive me."

"Love has nothing to do with it. I always love you, and you are always forgiven, sweetheart, but that doesn't mean there aren't consequences." Mom glanced at her clock. "Now I've given you a few days off from the restaurant so you can think about this new arrangement."

"But Mariah needs me there."

"Nick can handle the day shift without you."

Nick. I needed to talk to him right away. I'd punched him in the nose. I needed to apologize and figure out how to get that note back. "But, Mom, I need the money. You can't just take away my shifts."

"Oh, yes, I can," she said.

The battle had already been lost.

"Fine." I didn't slam Mom's door when I left, but I can't say I wasn't tempted. If she and Aunt Lucy were going to gang up on me, I was going to make it really clear that I was not happy with the arrangement.

I leaned against my bedroom door, seething. At least RD wasn't around. I may have been grounded, but nothing they did was going to keep me from seeing him the second he docked that boat and came back to me. Nothing in the world.

I didn't speak more than absolutely necessary to anyone in my house. For four days, I ate a bowl of cereal in my room every morning. I watched TV with Addie after she got back from The Boys and Girls Club and I went to bed at ten. I read three books. RD never called. I also didn't say a single word as Aunt Lucy finally drove me to work at the end of the week.

"Think it will be busy?" Aunt Lucy asked. "Mariah said they've had some good crowds and Nick's improving." I shrugged and looked out the window. "So, have you talked to Priya?"

I didn't answer. I hadn't talked to her once since the party. She'd stopped calling, too.

“Cassie, I asked you a question.”

"Did you see me talking to Priya?"

"You know, the silent treatment is bad enough, but your attitude is worse. This would be a lot easier if we at least tried to be friends." She pulled into the parking lot at the Hideaway.

"I'll call you when my shift is over," I said, getting out of the car. "Thanks for the ride."

As Aunt Lucy drove away, I scanned the parking lot for RD's car. He was supposed to be back in town any day; at least, I hoped he was. At this point, I had to assume he'd lost his phone. I'd stopped leaving messages. I didn't see Nick's car but, since he'd been covering for me, I wondered if Mariah had given him the day off. I'd have to find a way to convince him to give me RD's note back. I hoped I hadn't given him a black eye.

"Welcome back, sweetie! Oh, I need you today," Mariah said from behind the mint-green counter top. The hiss of coffee hitting an empty pot told me Mariah was way behind schedule. None of the tables were set up except the booths by the windows.

"Nick's not working?"

"Here." Mariah threw me my apron. "He quit." She lowered her voice for this commentary. "He said he'd cover for you but when you were back, he was out of here."

"What?"

"Yeah." Mariah grabbed a tray of silverware and started slamming individual pieces onto tables. "No explanation." She popped her gum a few times before continuing her rant. "And you know, he was improving so much, I actually was starting to enjoy that guy." She went back for a tray of salt and pepper shakers.

Nick had quit. I was sure it was because of me. I grabbed a silverware tray and set tables by the window. How was I supposed to get Nick to give me back my note if he didn't work here anymore? It wasn't like I'd just see him at some party or the tennis club. My circles included no one but RD these days and I doubted Nick would show at the Hideaway. I would have to call him, see if he'd meet me. The idea made my stomach turn.

"You know…" Mariah watched me set the tables, her hands on her hips. "Everything changes at once and I
so
don't have time for this right now. After all, I have an official wedding to plan." She held out her hand and rotated it back and forth in the light.

I dropped a handful of forks. "Sorry. What?"

She nodded, her face breaking out into a crooked smile. The speck-of-dust diamond she'd worn as an engagement ring for years had been replaced with a big rock.

"Oh, my God. That's from Bill?"

"Yeah, yeah, my Bill." She beamed, twisting her hand in the light, casting rainbows on the plaid-green walls.

"Is it real?"

"Cassie!"

"Sorry." I started setting all of the booths with Jekyll the Pirate placemats.

"Bill gave it to me yesterday. He said he's tired of waiting and he wants to get married right away. I told him I thought that was the plan the first time he asked."

"Are you pregnant?" I asked.

"Cassie," she said. "Come on."

"Sorry. I didn't mean it like that." Open mouth, insert foot. Twice. "It's just you’ve been engaged, like, forever. Why the big rush?"

"Big rush?" Maria rolled her eyes. "We've been engaged for five years! Five years, Cassie. I was beginning to think that Bill didn't really want to get married, you know?" She said it quietly, as if she didn't want anyone else hearing her top-secret theory. I sat down at the counter on one of the cracked, red leather barstools.

"I know it's crazy," she said. "But it's about time Bill marries me. I know it's fast, but I already have the dress. Priya's mom is going to do the flowers and it's going to be outside on the grass above the docks. I'm really hoping your mom will give me away. You know she's been like a mother to me. It would just mean so much."

"That's cool, Mariah." I picked at a crack in the countertop, pulling apart tiny pieces. "It'll be nice to have a wedding outside. Mom will be happy for you." I knew my voice sounded strained.

"Oh, no. I'm sorry." Mariah ran around the counter and hugged me. "You have so much on your mind. I didn't mean to stress you out about your mom. Look, if she is there, that's great, but we're not going to worry about that now. I mean…" Mariah looked panicked, as if she couldn't stop bringing up the unthinkable.

"It's okay." I looked at my cell phone out of habit. I glanced down at the marina and it occurred to me that if RD’s phone was broken, I could make sure he knew I was working. I decided to leave him a note. That didn't seem too risky, just a small surprise waiting for him when he got back to Kismet. I felt a surge of energy.

"Mariah?" I said. "I have to run a quick errand, real fast, on the docks. Can I go before the lunch rush?"

"Okay, sweets. Sure thing." Elbows on the counter top, Mariah held her hand up into a beam of the sunlight.

I grabbed a note pad and stopped on the deck to scribble a few lines.
Missed you. Can't wait to see you. Working until four. XO Cassie.

I ran down the dock and jumped onto the sailboat, smiling, thinking what it would be like to kiss RD again after so many days away. I was about to stick the note between the hatch and the frame when I heard someone moving below deck.

My heart raced. "RD?" I knocked on the door.

No answer but, again, I heard pots clanging and a shuffling noise. Someone was down there. Maybe RD hadn't heard me.

"Hello?" I knocked again, harder this time.

A short, curvy girl wearing a purple UW tank top and one of RD's baseball caps slid open the hatch. She had one of those deep, summer tans that made pale girls like me look sickly and her thick, dark hair hit her shoulder and curved in one perfect shiny wave. "Oh, hey hey!" She climbed up the stairs, her hips swaying with every step.

She was sexy in a tight-shirt, curvy-body way. I immediately felt self-conscious and stick-straight. "My super bad, I didn't hear you," she said. "I got busy rooting around down there. Man, I don't know how he stands living on this thing."

"Um..." Why was she climbing out of RD's boat?

"You must be looking for RD? He's not back yet."

"Momma!" A voice called from below deck and a small boy with light blue eyes poked his head up through the hatch. "Juice orange juice." But it sounded more like o-juice.

"Shh, Duncan. One sec, baby," she said. "Anyway, you totally must be Cassandra. I've heard so much about you. I'm Rachel, RD's wife."

I stood on the boat, swaying with the waves, staring at RD's adorable, curvaceous, smiling wife.

"RD's told me what a help you've been on this old heap." Her hand extended, I stood like an idiot, my mouth dry. "Are you okay? You look like you might barf."

"I just thought RD would be here," I whispered. I couldn't shake her hand. I couldn't move. I thought my legs might buckle.

"Nope, not here. That’s my husband, Mr. hard to pin down.”

"Momma! Momma!" Duncan pulled on her shorts, an orange juice cup in his hand.

"Shh, Duncan. I'm sorry. Did you need him for something in particular? Can I give him a message?" She reached for Duncan, but kept her eyes fixed on me. Her husband. The word sounded monstrous to me. RD was someone's husband? That was impossible. He'd never mentioned a wife, a baby. He'd loved me on this boat, on the very bunk I could see right through the hatch. Just thinking about what we'd done together, I looked guilty. I just knew it.

"It's no big deal. I thought he had some work for me to do today," I managed to say.

"Oh," she looked relieved. "RD isn't the best at keeping a schedule. It took me weeks to get this vacation planned." She sat down on the bench by the wheel, pulling Duncan onto her lap. He immediately put his thumb into his mouth and rested his sandy-blond head underneath his mother's chin. His orange, plastic juice cup sat on the bench beside them. "We're all pretty tired after our big sailing trip this week. You know, sailing is a lot like camping. I need to be hosed down afterward."

Sailing trip. Every unanswered call made sense.

"Whales, Momma. Whales," Duncan said, kicking his chubby legs, pointing to the water.

"We took one of those cruises through the Gulf Islands and spent some time just exploring, looking for whales." Rachel explained. "RD was supposed to drop us off on the mainland, but we wanted to see the island, didn't we Duncan? Duncan sees whales everywhere now."

I reached up and touched the silver earrings RD had given me and quickly took my ponytail out and covered my ears. "Oh, yeah. The Gulf Islands are so cool." I tried to smile like this was a normal conversation. "He told me you guys were going. I forgot, I guess."

"So, how's your summer been going?" She ran her fingers through Duncan's hair as she watched me. "Have you had any fun, or has my husband kept you too busy working on this boat?"

"Oh, great," I said. "Summer's been great so far. Really, really great." So great I think I may just drown myself.

"Did you graduate this year?"

"No. Next year. I’m going to be a senior."

"I see." I noticed her eyes dart up and down my body. Suddenly her smile looked strained to me, I felt a new tension stretch between us.

"Is that for RD?" she asked, pointing to the note in my hand. I'd crumpled it into a ball while I was talking to her.

"No." I laughed. I had to make her think that nothing was weird even though every word out of my mouth seemed unnatural. “I work at the restaurant and I must have written an order down. It’s garbage."

"Want me to throw it away?" She held out her hand.

“No, that’s okay. I’ll get rid of it.” My heart pounded so hard I could feel my pulse in my bones. Rachel stared at me with an intensity that made it hard to breathe. Did she suspect something? Maybe she’d caught a glimpse of my note to RD? I needed a diversion. A distraction to take away her suspicion, make her believe I was just a normal island girl. "You know, my boyfriend went on a sailing trip this summer too.” I could hear my voice, but I felt like someone else was talking. "He went to Mexico. Not the gulf islands, but I’ve always thought a long sailing trip would be fun." What was I talking about?

"So, your boyfriend sails?" Her eyes lit up. I could tell this was a good path, the normal-island-girl-with-boyfriend conversation.

"Oh, yeah, he sails. Sometimes. And other times, he doesn't, and that's when he's in a band. Yeah. That's my boyfriend."

"Oh, a sailor and he's in a band." She laughed. "Sounds like the perfect summer boyfriend to me. You know, you could just wait here with us. I think RD should be back soon."

"Juice!" Duncan jumped off his mom's lap and headed below deck, almost losing his balance on the stairs as his orange juice cup clattered to the bottom. Between Duncan and Rachel, I could see plastic toys on our blue bunk. A photo of RD and Rachel hung on the wall where an old painting of a sailboat used to be. "Clearly, Duncan needs juice. Would you like a cold drink, Cassandra?"

How many times had RD asked me that question? "I’m okay."

"I wanted to say thanks for all your help." She stood in front of the hatch making sure Duncan made it safely to the bottom. Up close, I could see she was more beautiful than cute. Full red lips, a button nose and dimples, it all came together in this perfect, sexy package. "It's been a tough summer for us and this time away has been really good for RD, good for our family. RD says you've been a real life-saver."

Is that what he called it?

"Sure." I tried to swallow, my throat completely dry. Every word she said made me shrink. "It's nothing, really. I'm sorry. I should get back to work, my other work." I clutched my stomach, wondering if she could see me shaking.

"Are you all right?" Her voice soft, the question made my eyes fill with tears. "You sure you don't want something to drink?"