Authors: Gina Buchanan
Chad looked at Carly and asked, “What about you, Cabrerra? You still going to that community college in town?”
“Yeah, still going. Figured I’m not ready to leave home just yet. Plus, I’m trying to save some money before I transfer to the University of Miami.”
“Cool. So, when is Jake coming back to visit?” he asked. “His parents must be totally stoked.”
Carly scoffed at Chad’s erroneous conjecture, especially where Jake’s father was concerned. But she refrained from revealing that much to him.
“Oh, yeah. Totally stoked,” she lied.
“Well, when he comes back into town give him my new number,” he said. He pulled out a little piece of paper from his wallet and scribbled on it, then handed it to her.
“By the way,” he said to her, winking, “don’t be a stranger. Call me any time.”
"I don't think my boyfriend would like that," she replied, purposely emphasizing "boyfriend."
"Too bad," Chad replied. "See ya, Cabrerra."
Carly was thankful the conversation hadn't lasted long and watched with relief as he strode to the checkout line.
“What was that all about?” Amanda asked. She came up to stand next to Carly.
“Oh, nothing. Just Chad being Chad,” Carly responded.
“Well, let’s buy this thing and get outta here."
They brought their purchases to the register and were immediately greeted with the flashy smile of a former classmate. Carly recognized the girl as a former fellow cheerleader at Lakeview High who had graduated with Carly. The girl had also been one of Susan’s closest friends. Carly was sure the girl's name was Isabel. And Carly vividly recalled Isabel hadn't been too friendly to Carly after she'd had the falling out with Susan. Isabel looked down at the CD cover and looked back up.
“Pretty cool, huh?” she remarked.
“What do you mean?” Carly replied, although she knew exactly what Isabel meant.
“It’s just so insane how Jake has suddenly become this big music star,” Isabel explained. She scanned the item before adding, “You still talk to him?”
“And what if she does?” Amanda said rather rudely.
Isabel shrugged meekly. After collecting Carly's money, she replied, "Just wanted to…” Isabel hesitated, daring a quick sidelong glance at Amanda before continuing. “I just wanted to know if you could tell him hi for me. We used to get along pretty well in high school. We sat next to each other in Chemistry.”
“Weren’t you the one who helped Susan kick Carly off the cheerleading squad?” Amanda asked.
The girl became silent, and Carly could tell by the look on her face that she was trying to conjure up the best explanation to Amanda's scathing assertion.
“No, I don't remember that. I wouldn't be surprised if Susan lied. I haven't talked to that snob since high school."
"Ah ha, sure," was all Amanda said in response. Her tone was sarcastic and Isabel immediately took note of it. She opened her mouth to respond, but then shut it again and resumed the transaction.
Before Carly and Amanda could slip through the exit doors, Isabel turned abruptly and said, "I'm so sorry, Carly. It was Susan's idea, and she made me go along with it."
Carly shrugged nonchalantly and answered with, "It doesn't matter anymore."
"So, you think you could tell Jake I said hi?"
Carly grinned and felt a sudden surge of power coursing through her veins. She replied coldly, "Yeah, I’ll tell him…if I remember.”
With that, both girls left the store. Once in the parking lot they burst out into laughter.
“Did you see her face when you said that?” Amanda asked.
Carly smiled widely and nodded.
“I have a feeling we’ll be subject to some major ass-kissing from now on," Amanda said.
Carly was suddenly in a much better mood than she had been this morning. And by the time the twin had dropped her off at her house, Carly was humming the melody of StoneLief's
Revelation.
She joined her parents in the kitchen, cheerfully greeting them.
"Well you're in a good mood," Lydia remarked.
“You heard about Jake?" Carly asked eagerly.
“Yes. I spoke with Mrs. Harmon this morning and she told me. It's absolutely wonderful," Lydia replied elatedly. Her tone then took on a more serious note. "Although, I wish he'd take a break from his busy music career and call his mother. Mr. Harmon isn't doing so well."
"He had a heart attack," Juan quickly interjected.
"What?" Carly asked, incredulous and absolutely stunned. "Has anyone even tried to call Jake?"
Lydia nodded and replied, "Yes. Mrs. Harmon has tried many times to call him, but his phone is either turned off or it goes straight to voicemail."
"Well, if I don't hear from him tonight I'll call him tomorrow in the morning," Carly said. "How's Mr. Harmon doing?"
"He had double bypass surgery. But he's doing okay now. The surgery went well," Lydia explained.
Juan took a sip of his coffee and said, "It's a shame. But I'm not surprised. The guy was always angry about something. He really needed to take it easier."
Carly shook her head in disbelief.
Juan took another sip and added, "But I'm not surprised Jake is doing so well. I always knew that boy had something special. The only thing I could never figure out was why you two never dated.”
Juan turned his eyes away from the newspaper and cast an accusatory glance at his daughter.
Carly’s cheeks turned a different color as she gasped at her father’s unexpected remark.
“We’re friends” Carly said through clenched teeth, although she wanted to yell it at her father instead.
She refused to let her bad mood return, so she left the kitchen to escape to her room. Halfway up the stairs, her phone rang. Her first thought was whether it was Jake. She looked down and saw the caller's name revealed.
“Hey there, hottie,” Roy greeted cheerfully.
Although she was a bit disappointed that it wasn't Jake, she couldn’t help but smile. Roy was always so buoyant.
“How’s my favorite NFL star?” she asked, playfully teasing him.
He laughed on the other end and responded, “I’m not in the NFL yet, but it’ll happen soon. By the way, you heard about our boy up in L.A.?”
“How could I've missed it?” she answered.
“When you have that much talent, you’re bound to get recognized,” Roy said.
“Yeah," she concurred. “Kinda like you on that football field.”
Roy’s athletic skills were becoming recognized nationally, and his coaches predicted big things for him.
“Well, I do my best,” Roy replied humbly. “But how about you, Carly? How are you doing?”
She relayed to him her plans to finish her two years of general studies at Clanton Community College and then transfer to the University of Miami to pursue marketing. She also relayed information about the twins. She told him that Amanda was still as mean as ever, and that Aaron was well on his way to becoming an English professor. By the time they ended their conversation and said their good-byes, Carly was in a happy mood again and was ready to relax and do a little reading for psychology class. She slipped into her favorite pajama pants and climbed into her bed. Her book lay sprawled out on her lap. She was well on her way to reading about Maslow's hierarchy of needs when the telephone rang, nearly startling her. She scrambled to locate her phone somewhere amidst the waves of her comforter and picked it up. Her heart jumped with joy when the caller’s voice responded to her initial greeting.
“Jake, where have you been?” she asked fervently.
“Sorry, I’ve been really busy. We’re finishing the album, and we finished our single a while ago, which is…”
“Number one on the charts. I know,” Carly interrupted.
Jake laughed, and then said with an odd tone to his deep voice.
“I miss you.”
She didn’t quite know how to respond to that. They both remained silent, and then she replied, “It feels weird you not being here. It really feels weird not being able to talk to you as often as we used to.”
Silence ensued once again. Suddenly, she could hear what sounded like female voices in the background.
“Where are you?” she asked him.
“That’s what I was calling about. I’m in New York right now. We’re gonna be performing on channel 8's morning show tomorrow and I want you to watch."
Carly smiled and said without hesitation, “Of course I’ll watch.”
“We’re at the hotel right now. Just hanging out.”
She heard the feminine voices again and felt the beginnings of jealousy budding inside of her.
“Who’s with you?” she asked.
“Oh,” Jake said. He sounded uncomfortable. “Hayden picked up some girls at this nightclub. They came back to the room with us.”
“Already getting groupies, huh?” Carly asked. She was trying hard to hide the disappointment in her voice.
Jake laughed at her remark. Carly didn't find it funny in the least.
“Hold on. It's getting louder in here so I'm gonna move out in the hall."
She waited until Jake was situated so they could continue their conversation.
“Now that I can talk to you without interruption…how’ve you been?” he asked.
Carly stated she was fine and that school was going great.
“By the way, you really needed to call home," Carly stressed. "You're dad is not doing well and your mom's been trying to get ahold of you."
"What happened?" he asked in a sudden urgent tone.
"Why haven't you called your mom?" she asked in a stern voice.
"I've just been so busy," he explained. "But I swear I'll call her right after we get off the phone."
"Good, you need to," Carly replied. "Especially after how you left things with him."
Jake suddenly sounded extremely downtrodden when he said, "I guess one of the reasons I haven't called is 'cause I figured he wouldn't wanna talk to me after all that happened."
“He’ll warm up,” Carly said reassuringly. "Especially now."
He got quiet and then said in a very worried tone, "What happened to him?"
"You just need to talk to your mom...right away. Like, immediately."
"Okay."
After a brief silence he continued, "I'll call after the morning show. We're heading back to L.A. afterwards to wrap up the album and get ready for the release party. So it's gonna be crazy."
“Wow," Carly replied. "Well, don't forget about me when you're all famous and stuff."
Jake chuckled and responded, “How could anyone forget about you?”
She was surprised at how those words filled her with warmth...and those butterflies.
Shortly thereafter, Jake said he had to go. After hanging up, she sat on her bed for a few moments in what seemed to be some sort of trance. Everything just seemed so weird and surreal. For a brief moment she wished that things could be back to the way they were when Jake was just a few houses down the street. She pondered on those female voices and her eyes filled with hot tears. She didn't even want to imagine what was going to happen in that hotel room tonight. Deciding there was no way she could concentrate on her psychology lesson, she shut her book and lay down. Her tears fell on her pillow, and she repositioned her face to avoid the damp areas. She was thankful when the mercy of sleep saved her, although her dreams betrayed her. She was plagued by painful images of Jake on a large bed, surrounded by beautiful women. They were all so willing to please him in every way imaginable, and he appeared content and wholly satisfied. A smug grin graced his lips, and he unhesitatingly indulged in this sinful orgy. When she awoke the next morning, she immediately thought of wringing his neck. She knew without a doubt that his sudden success would be a challenge for her.
Chapter Sixteen
The bar was packed with patrons eager to combine drinking and bad karaoke singing on a Saturday night. A particularly bad singer was currently gracing the stage, and Carly was desperately wishing for some earplugs to block the spine curdling howling that could in no way be classified as singing. At that particular moment, she wished she hadn’t taken this job, but she needed the extra money to help pay for her tuition and books for the fall semester. She looked up and saw the owner of Jerry’s Karaoke Bar strolling into the smoke-filled pub. She was surprised to see him, for he rarely visited. Mr. Jerry Jamison’s karaoke bar was one of the most frequented hot spots in Clanton on the weekends, which explained why she was able to make so much money from tips alone. Before accepting the job at the bar, Carly told herself that she wouldn’t be working here for long. She would be here just long enough to finish two years at Clanton Community College. After that, she would move to Florida to finish her bachelor’s degree and then start her career in marketing. Juan had offered his daughter a job at his restaurant while she attended junior college, but she had zealously declined. She knew that she wouldn’t be able to handle working for her father. She had no doubt whatsoever that they would eventually butt heads. Thus, she had opted for a position as a waitress at the bar, much to her father’s disappointment. She was currently leaning against the bar waiting for a round of shots and, thus, didn't notice Travis Jamison sneaking up behind her. She jumped as he poked his finger into her side. She turned quickly and smiled as she identified her “attacker.” Travis smiled back, trying to appear apologetic, but failing miserably.