The warning bell rang, and Zoe and I became engulfed in a mob of seniors heading toward fifth period. We followed the crowd, but Zoe remained close enough to give me the scoop on the school’s favorite jock.
“From what I’ve heard, Blake and Lindsay began dating freshman year but broke up this summer. Last year they were like the ‘it’ couple. Did everything together. I swear Blake worshiped her.” Zoe grimaced. “Oh, gosh, Skylar. That sounded bad. I’m sure he’ll feel the same for you eventually.”
“It’s fine, really.” She didn’t understand her words were more a relief than a slam. From the beginning, I sensed something missing with Blake. Now, at least, I knew what it was. We both wanted someone else. “Why did they break up?”
We entered class and took our usual seats by the back window. Zoe leaned in. “She cheated on him this summer. No one knows who with. Blake found out about it or maybe Lindsay told him, I don’t know. But he broke it off. I’ve seen her crying in the bathroom more than once.” She shrugged and pulled out her book. “It’s poetic justice if you ask me.”
I nodded because it seemed like the right response. But nothing felt right. Not Blake or Cody or Jill or Lindsay. It all felt like the real story hid behind a thousand shadows. And I was so sick of complications. Just once, I wanted something in my life to be easy.
B
lake strolled into
my room, looking cocky as ever in his jeans and tight Trojan wrestling shirt. “Come on, man. I’ve got a hundred people at Chugger’s just waiting for us to get there. I’ve been calling you for the last hour.”
Yeah, and I’ve been avoiding you for the last hour.
He closed my calculus book. “You can finish this weekend.”
I set my pencil down and leaned back, the leather chair squeaking in protest. “No can do. I’m on lockdown tonight. Parentals say I’ve been out too much lately.” It was a total lie and Blake’s “yeah right” expression said as much.
“Since when? Your parents are usually kicking you out of here.”
As if on cue, my mom walked in the room and set a laundry basket on my bed.
Hands on her hips, she sent me a reprimanding stare. “I want this done now, and fill it up with your dirty clothes when it’s empty.” She’d asked me to put away my clothes at least five times. Now I wished I’d just done it.
She turned a smile to Blake. “How’s school going this year?”
“Wonderful, Mrs. J. I was just trying to talk Cody here into hangin’ at Chugger’s house tonight. You know, going through some strategy for our first match.”
Mom quickly glanced in my direction but ignored my pleading eyes. “Well, if you can get him to put his clothes away, he’s all yours.” She turned back to me, her pleased expression reminding me how happy she was that I now had a social life. “If it gets late, stay there and come home tomorrow.”
Great. She just ruined my excuse not to drink.
My mom patted Blake on the shoulder, told him it was nice to see him and exited the room leaving a whole lot more than laundry in her wake.
Blake smiled smugly. “Get your undies put up so we can go.”
I sucked in a frustrated growl and grabbed a pile from the basket. Blake picked up a picture of me on the podium at state and examined it while I stuffed shirts and socks in my drawers.
“Skylar coming tonight?” The question burned in my mouth and made my phone feel heavy in my pocket. I hadn’t sent her a text all week, despite the numerous drafts I’d started.
“Nah. She does some kind of date thing with her dad on Fridays. Why do you care?”
“I don’t.”
“Good.” Blake set the frame down and watched me finish emptying the basket. “’Cause I get the sense you’re holding out on me.”
I didn’t like his tone. It was calm, like the eye of a storm. Blake had never been one to yell. He didn’t need volume. He had all the power.
“Nope.” I tried to repress thoughts of Skylar: the way her forehead wrinkled when she concentrated or the fact that I’d played her two songs on repeat for days now. “Just trying to focus on the season. More pressure this year.” This, at least, was a partial truth. I still hadn’t been back to the gym, unwilling to grovel after Matt had thrown me out.
“You sure that’s it? You’ve been a walking bad mood for days now. Ever since Saturday at the movies.”
The temperature spiked and sweat beaded around my collar. “Nah. Just need to relax.”
“I agree. We’ll have to make sure that happens tonight.” Blake pulled his keys from his pocket and strolled toward my door.
Grabbing my own set, I told myself this was the last time I’d let him dictate my weekends. “I’ll follow you.”
“Whatever you want. It’s not like you’ll make it home tonight, anyway.”
“D
ad, I brought
food,” I yelled through the quiet house as I hauled Italian take-out to the kitchen. The aroma of garlic and red sauce made my stomach growl, and I felt sorry my dad was stuck with the gluten-free, whole-grain, vegan whatever pasta he had to eat. “Sorry I’m late. Zoe sucked me into a marathon trip to the mall and then we found this fabric store—”
I froze. Aunt Josephine was in our kitchen, rummaging through the cabinets with a shopping list in her hand. The first item likely a reminder to make my life miserable.
I dropped my bags on the counter. “What are you doing here?” My tone sharpened to an edge that could slice through our invisible wall of hate. “Where’s Dad?”
She turned her beady, judgmental eyes on me and glanced at my shoes. “You spent three hours shopping in those?”
I compared my three-inch, peep-toe boots to her drab, black flats. “You’re seriously giving me fashion advice?” I cringed at my own words. My dad would have a fit if he heard me being so disrespectful.
Aunt Josephine barely flinched, as if she expected my snotty reply, and continued taking inventory. “Your father is resting at my house. The cleaning crew was here, and I didn’t want a cover story on tomorrow’s
Enquirer
.”
Like she’d know anything about that. I was the one who had spent seventeen years dodging the media, not her. “Well, they’re gone now, so why don’t you go on home? I can take care of Daddy the rest of the night.”
She turned and straightened in her stiff black blazer. She was a lawyer at a prestigious law firm in Asheville. A major partner, my dad had said, and she looked every bit the part. Hair too tight, posture too straight, heart too cold.
She folded her arms as if I were on the witness stand. “Skylar, this chemo is vicious. It’s time you start adjusting your expectations.”
“Because you’re now the cancer expert? You’ve only been around for two months. I’m the one who nursed him through his last round of treatment.” Me and the guys from the band. I still couldn’t figure out why Daddy hadn’t just us let stay in Germany where we belonged.
She pushed back an invisible lock of hair. “Things are different this time. It’s far more advanced. I know you don’t want to hear this, but you need to start preparing yourself for the possibility that he might not—”
“Just bring him home.” I fought back the tears, refusing to give her the satisfaction. “And for once, keep your opinions to yourself.”
I spun around and ran to my room. Daddy would be fine. I knew it. He knew it. We had faith. We prayed.
God would spare my father. He had to.
C
hugger’s house was
jammed with kids from school. His parents traveled a lot and let him do whatever, as long as no one ended up in jail.
The bump of music rattled my chest the minute I stepped from my truck. Blake parked a few spots over. I was losing his trust, which meant my loyalty would soon have to be proven. Madison was like the Mafia. You were in or you were targeted. There was no middle ground.
Groups huddled in the front yard, most hanging out on the back of truck beds. Since Chugger lived on ten acres of land outside the city limits, the scene mirrored a tailgate party, complete with two kegs and a portable shelter.
Blake walked beside me as we headed to a mob of football players and their groupies. “Time to mingle.” He loved these parties. The music, the energy, the unending attention. Two girls pushed toward him, offered hugs that implied they heard he was now single. They were both juniors and wore hip hugging jeans and halter-tops low enough to be lingerie. I recognized the blond from the lake. She’d been sitting on Chugger’s lap last time I saw her.
Blake slipped an arm around each of their waists and pulled them close. He took turns nudging their necks with his nose while they giggled. Someone tossed him a beer, which he caught to the disappointment of the brunette who lost his embrace.
“Cody?”
I knew it wasn’t really a question. “Sure.”
A cold can slid into my hand, and I took my obligatory first swig. It tasted bitter and cheap like most of the alcohol brought to these parties. Someone laughed at a punch line I didn’t hear, and I faked a response.
After two more beers for Blake while we talked about sports, we made our way into the house. I tossed my nearly full can in the trash by the door and followed Blake to the living room. Chugger sat fixated on the TV, engaged in his latest video game saga. The crowd was much lighter inside; only a few couples scattered throughout watching the sixty-inch screen.
Everyone knew the house rules. Alcohol stayed outside. Food stayed in kitchen. Back bedrooms were off limits, unless you were on the wrestling team, of course.
“Hey, you made it! Dang Blake, how’d you get Cody to crawl out of his hole?” Chugger asked, turning from his game long enough to notice.
Blake wrapped an arm around my shoulder, pushed my head forward and knuckle-rubbed my scalp. “Had to sweet talk his Mommy.” His voice was ripe with sarcasm.
I detangled myself from Blake’s arm and pushed him back.
Through the large windows, I saw various couples dancing, some grinding as if the back bedrooms had been moved to the patio. Jill Spencer was front and center, her hands moving down the length of her body when she caught me looking. She hooked her index finger back and forth and pointed a come-and-get-me smile right at me. I turned away.
“Looks like we found your way to relax.” Blake’s eyes were riveted even though he’d never been one for random hookups. Well, until this year anyway.
“Not interested.”
A loud whoop from the surrounding chairs started a round of smack talk and challenges. Blake took a seat next to Chugger and stole a drink from his red Dixie cup that I doubted was alcohol-free. The two wrestled for the controller while I found an empty spot against the wall. I’d been to this house dozens of times, but tonight even the air made my skin crawl.
I spotted my sixth period nemesis moving through the crowd like a medieval messenger. He wore fancy jeans and a watch that cost more than my car and had spent most of the summer kissing up to Blake. Joey was too weak for the wrestling team, which is why he’d always be just shy of the prize.
He crouched down, whispered something in Blake’s ear that made him bolt out of his chair. “Where? She bring someone?”
The fury in his voice had Joey’s face twisting. “I-I don’t know. I saw her and came to tell you.”
Blake pushed Joey forward until they disappeared from the room. I banged my head against the wall, my heart thumping with an adrenaline I couldn’t hide.
“Cody, come play.” Chugger lifted a controller without taking his eyes off the screen. I forced my legs to move toward the couch, even while my heart demanded to know if my rock star princess had come.
I sat and haphazardly moved the levers.
“I remember the first time you walked into the gym last year,” Chugger said, eerily absent of his usual humor. “All wide-eyed and eager. Nervous. I couldn’t believe it was Fatty James.”
The name made my chest burn while my knuckles around the controller faded to white. No one had uttered that name in years. Not since I pinned Blake in tryouts.
I stood slowly. I should have known Blake would use Chugger to do his dirty work. “Your point?”
Chugger lifted the controller, tapped wildly until a tank exploded. “I just find it amazing how far you’ve come. Captain, girls like Jill begging to get into your pants, planning senior skip day, jumping Henry. It’s been quite a year, and the season hasn’t even started. Would hate to see all that hard work wasted.”
His threat rang loud and clear: stay away from Skylar or we’ll nail you for all our crimes. Blake could get the whole school to confess I was a monster, and Henry wouldn’t dare speak up and tell the truth now that he was at the head table.
Gunfire snapped from the TV while Chugger’s fingers moved seamlessly over the controls. An enemy in black fell dead. He’d managed to kill us both simultaneously.
“So, we’re on the same page here?” His eyes locked on the soldiers blasting their targets.
“Your message is crystal clear.”
Ignoring the simmering fury in my stare, Chugger turned his head and offered an innocent smile. “Perfect. Now, get a drink and relax.”
The blinds vibrated when I slammed the back door. Past the dancing drunks, a large trampoline and a swimming pool was a path to the line of parked cars. I pushed through the groups clustered around a keg, including Jill who was too drunk to even speak coherently.
Madison’s rules were simple. I knew them. Hell, I’d memorized them. I fisted the keys in my pocket. Blake wanted me here to deliver a message. I got it. Now I was leaving.
But since my luck was up there with lottery losers and stranded drivers, the “she” who had Blake in a fury stood between my escape and me. I tried to slip by, but Lindsay’s soft hello caught me mid-stride.
“Hey, Cody.” She wiped her face, her hands trembling. On closer inspection, her entire body trembled, and her eyes were red.
Crap. I was so screwed. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” She wore a pair of tight jeans, boots that went up past her knees and a long sleeved green sweater that she pulled at endlessly.
She wasn’t fine. Not even close. Even her voice was raspy. “Lindsay, you’re shaking.”