Twisted Magic (2 page)

I sat up, running a hand through my hair still discombobulated. “I’m so sorry, Karsen.” I winced at the time. It was an hour past the time I was supposed to be at the airport.

“Your excuse better be good. And I mean
earth-shattering
. Like, I don’t know, you were abducted by aliens.”

I swallowed, trying to come up with something. “I fell asleep.”

Karsen hung up. I groaned. The first day home was not turning out the way I
planned
it. I dr
opped my feet to the floor.
Suddenly,
there was pounding on the kitchen door.

“I’m coming!
” I shouted
,
hurrying down the hallway. I pulled the door open
,
shocked to see Karsen and Kidd standing before me.

I let Karsen and Kidd inside. Handing over bottles of diet soda—it
is
the only thing in the house at the moment. I finally had a bit of hope. Now that Kidd was in front of
me.
I knew I could get some kind of answer about Slade.

“So,” I said, taking a seat.
“How was your flight?” I couldn’t just come right out and ask about Slade.

Karsen cracked the soda. She looked it over carefully. “This is a woman’s drink.”

I gave her a confused look.

“If I am correct your
dad
and brothers live here. Is your dad still dating that one
woman
?” Karsen’s jaw dropped. Kidd shook his head in disgust.

“Yeah, they are at lunch as we speak. I am home from
school,
and he is
having
lunch with Lynette.”

“I’m so sorry.
Even so,
don’t worry I’m here now.” Karsen flashed me a big smile. “
This
summer is going to be awesome.” She immediately took
note
of
my lack of enthusiasm and shot Kidd a look. Kidd cleared his throat.

I expected one of them to bring his name up. But all I got was compassionate looks from the peanut gallery. I felt like I wasn’t in on the big secret. I gritted my teeth.

“Just tell me what is going on.” I looked away, feeling the tears building all over again. Since when was I so emotional?

Karsen rounded the table. She placed a concerned hand on my shoulder. “We didn’t want to break the news to you like this.”

I immediately began thinking the worst.
“What's the
news? What’s going on you guys? Is Slade okay?”

Karsen looked at Kidd. Kidd sighed
,
finally filling me in. “Slade is downtown.”

I shook my head in confusion.
“He's downtown, as in jail?"

They both nodded. I suddenly wasn’t feeling
too
good.

“It gets worse,” Karsen told me. “Tucker isn’t in jail.”

My heart sank.

“They released Tucker the other day. Slade and
Tucker
got into
it,
and
both
 
were
arrested. Only problem is
,
Tucker was free to go and Slade had to stay.”

I cringed. “Let me guess. They want to press charges on him.”

Kidd
nodded. It
was clear by the expression on his face he was as pissed off as I
was.

The kitchen door opened. All three of our eyes settled on Lynette and Dad.

“Hey
,
Hope. Glad to see you,” Lynette
gave
a sweet smile. It soon faded when she noticed the angry expression on my face. One I couldn’t shake.

Dad touched Lynette’s arm. “Give us a minute.”

“Yeah, he needs a minute to explain what he is doin
g running around with you still,
” I snapped.

Kidd reached across the table, grabbing my wrist. “Don’t.” He warned.

“Why not?”

Kidd backed off. I shot out of my chair ignoring Dad’s angry glare and shoved the kitchen door open. I took a seat
outside
.

“You can’t be disrespecting Lynette like this, Hope.” Dad started. I looked at him. His polo, his pressed khakis, it angered
me. He
was taking the time to be anything other than himself around her. And that he didn’t care her son was already making my life miserable again.

“You kno
w I was happy to be coming home, b
ut not anymore.”

“Why’s that?” Dad questioned, taking a seat next to me. “Because you found out your boyfriend is in jail for assaulting
someone
?”

I looked at Dad in shock. “Tucker Sinclair
is not someone
. He is a lowly piece of
shit
.” And suddenly it hit me. Dad knew nothing about what occurred over the summer. I retracted the claws.

“All charges against Tucker have been dropped. They said there i
s no evidence to prove anything,
” Dad insisted. “You can’t be slandering Tucker
,
Hope. His father is on the lookout for anyone trying to make a mockery of his son.”

“His father?”
My heart picked up beats. The idea the two of them were free to roam made my insides
swirl.

“Yes
,
his father.” Dad stood up. “Is there something
you’re
not telling me?”

I pushed my hair behind my ear. “No.”
Like I was about to tell him how Tucker and his Dad tried to kill
me,
and that they got off on assaul
ting girls after drugging them.

He
squeezed
my leg
in
a form of comfort,
as he headed to the door. He stopped, handle in his grip. “I’d like you to apologize to Lynette. She has nothing to do with her son
’s actions
. And like
myself
,
she loves him regardless of what he did or didn’t do
, because she is his mother
.”

I nodded.

Karsen and Kidd emerged from the house as soon as Dad went in. Karsen’s eyes were filled with concern. She immediately took the seat next to me. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah fine,” I lied.

“Kidd said they are getting the money together to bail him out of jail. At
least,
this way he is free until a court date or
however,
that stuff works.” Karsen shrugged.

“How much more do you need?” I asked Kidd. He waved a hand
dismissive.

“Don’t worry about it. Lucy and
Erica are taking care of it.” Kidd told me.

“I
am
worried about it. He shouldn’t be in jail. I have
money. I
can help.”

Kidd shook his head again. “Slade is not the guy to let
a
girl bail him out of his mess up.”

“Well Slade can get over it. Let’s go.” I jumped up, prepared to save my criminal boyfriend.

Such the storybook life.

There I sat with Karsen on
the outside.  Waiting for Kidd to retrieve the guy
whom
my parents probably would have warned me about if they had the chance, but it wasn’t like that at all. To the outside
world,
Slade fit the ideal role of the troubled guy from the wrong side of the tracks, but I knew different. Anyone close to him knew different.

Karsen finally broke her silence. “Kidd said Slade messed Tucker up pretty bad.”

I shifted in my spot in the backseat of Kidd’s car. Talking about why Slade was in jail was enough to make anyone uncomfortable. As much as we all loathed
Tucker,
it still made me nervous to discuss.

“I’m sure he deserved it,” I said, shifting my gaze to the window. I wondered how long it took to bail someone out of jail. Was it a long process? Did you have to jump through a bunch of hoops to be free to walk?

“Nobody des
erves to be physically attacked, e
ven a creep like Tucker.” Karsen shrugged, dropping her head back
against
the seat. “I’m not saying your boyfriend is wrong. I’m just saying he
could
have done things differently.”

I sighed knowing full well Karsen wasn’t done giving me her two cents.

“He left you hanging the entire semester. Sure, you talked to him on the phone, but he never even came for a visit. What kind of boyfriend does that?” She dropped her stare to her nails and continued. “I was the one left picking up the pieces. You were upset the entire school year, Hope. Is he really worth it?”

I resented
her
words,
as soon as she allowed them to escape her mouth. No other time in our friendship did I want to slap her for such a rude
statement.
“As opposed to what, Karsen?”

“Don’t get mad at me.”

“I’m trying re
ally hard not to get mad at you.
” I sat up, my body going rigid at Karsen’s attitude problem that seemed to evolve out of nowhere. “Do you think Kidd is any better than Slade?”

Karsen shot me a dirty look over her shoulder. “Kidd has a hell of a lot better attitude that’s for sure. Slade walks around with a chip on his shoulder all the time. And I can’t believe you shelled out a grand to bail him out of jail.”

I’d never been so angry at her in my entire life. When she broke my favorite Barbie when we were eight I laughed it off. And when we were
eleven,
and I started my period and Karsen blabbed it to the whole fifth
grade. I
let it go.
Or,
when we turned
fourteen,
and she stole Bobby Jenkins at the skating rink
,
when he so clearly wanted to skate with me. I told myself Karsen deserved the chance to get to know Bobby.

I crossed
my arms staring out the window, a
grand insult evading my mind.

“I just don’t want to see you hurt. I know his type. And I don’t think
you’re
up for the challenge. No offense,
Hope,”
Karsen sighed
,
knowing she had said the wrong thing to many times.

“I never had a type.  And you got Slade all wrong. You know nothing about him. So maybe
for once
you should just keep your mouth shut.”

“Fine,” Karsen said, crossing her own arms in agitation.

“Fine,” I shot back.

I climbed out of the car annoyed with our stupid argument. She should have been supportive not putting me down for helping Slade out. Instead
,
she
picked on me
and made me feel like the biggest idiot. I had to remind myself I knew Slade more
than
anyone
else,
and it was never going to matter what
they thought about him.

“Free at
last,”
Kidd hollered as he walked alongside Slade coming out
of
the doors of the county jailhouse. My heart did a couple flips, and my stomach ignited with excitement at the sight of him.

There he was, tall, muscular and brooding like every time before. Black shorts and a black t-shirt, in his clutch was a brown paper bag. He slid a hand through his hair pinning the stray strands back.
His
eyes
met
mine, making my heart ache. I wanted to leap into his arms.
However, I
stayed where I was trying to act as if I had at least a little
self-control.

“Hey,” he said, he
hooked
a finger through the belt loop of my jean shorts pulling me
close, our
bodies meeting like old times. I immediately wrapped my arms around his neck planting my lips against his. Our lips meshed, and my heart was close to busting out of my chest.

“Your lip ring.”

Slade ran a hand down his face stopping where his ring had been. “They cut them off when you’re thrown in the slammer.”

I
nodded. He
knew
the way
more than me when it came to doing time.

“That’s not a p
roblem. I brought you another.”
Kidd tossed Slade something
,
hopping in the front seat. Slade grinned, fingering the small metal.