She sat there, tears running down her cheeks, as she listened to the booming base coming from the gym. Mr. Brown was probably trying to find her so he could lecture her. Lane was…well, she wasn’t sure what he was doing. Was he mourning his loss of the bet? What would he have to do? She wasn’t even sure. And she didn’t care either.
Well, okay. She cared a little. What humiliating thing had Gabe and he worked up? Maybe whatever he had to do would make her feel better.
The door opened, and for a fraction of a second, she wondered if Lane had found her, but then she saw Jessica’s shadow and breathed out relief. “You in here?” she asked.
“Yeah,” Trudy said.
Jessica wound her way in the dark until she found where Trudy was sitting, and sat next to her. “Loser brain left.”
Trudy assumed she meant Lane. “Good.”
“And I told Mr. Brown you were suffering from extreme grief over what’s happened in your life, and he said he understood. He’s not going to punish you.”
She hadn’t expected that. “Really?”
“Yeah. I guess you get a free pass when…well, you know.”
“When your sister dies.” This was the first time Trudy had said it out loud since it had happened, and for some reason, it lessened the pain a little.
“Yeah.”
Jessica nudged her. “What you said was great.”
“You think?”
“Well, I might have sprinkled a few choice words in there, but I think what you said did the trick. Lane looked absolutely devastated. I guess he had no idea he was going to lose the bet.”
Trudy thought this news would make her feel better, but it soured in her stomach. “Yeah. I guess.”
“Come on. What you need is to go in there and shake your booty.”
“I don’t dance.”
Jessica scoffed. “You so can’t use that excuse with me. I know Lane taught you.”
The last thing Trudy wanted to think about was how Lane had held her and they swayed to the music. “All right. I’ll come dance,” she said to get Jessica off her back. “Just give me a few minutes alone, okay?”
“Okay.” Jessica squeezed her shoulder before she left the room.
Trudy closed her eyes and laid her head back. She would join Jess in a bit. She just needed to convince herself that she’d done the right thing.
Chapter 28
The Thursday after Homecoming, Lane was called into the principal’s office. He walked into the room, his anxiety climbing. “Hey, Mr. B.”
Mr. Brown smiled. “Have a seat, Lane.”
This was how it always started. Mr. Brown smiling. The offering of the seat. Then he would pull the rug out from under you.
What was he in for now? Lane couldn’t think of a single thing he’d done wrong. Unless this was about his grades. Was he getting suspended again? Lane sat down obediently and rubbed his sweaty hands on his jeans.
The principal sat back in his seat. “After meeting with your parents and reviewing your school records and the tests the doctor gave you, we have decided to let you back on the football team.”
Lane gaped. Emotions immediately started to war within him. Relief and gratitude, excitement and confusion. He couldn’t quite believe what he was hearing. “What?”
“We pride ourselves on the opportunities we offer our special needs students. Your tests show you should have been given accommodations throughout your high school years.” Mr. Brown frowned. “We apologize for not recognizing the signs. We have staff that are trained to spot dyslexia. You should have been given these opportunities.”
Only half of the words Mr. Brown was saying were getting through to Lane. He didn’t want to argue with him, but he also wanted to understand what was going on. “So, what about my record? Does it still say I cheated? Because I swear I wasn’t cheating.”
Mr. Brown shifted in his chair. “Trudy came in yesterday. She pled your case for you. Apparently, she had found out about your dyslexia and didn’t think you were cheating. She showed me on the tape how you were using her paper to understand the problem.”
The mention of Trudy’s name made his heart stop. He’d spent the last week trying to forget he’d ever known her. Which was hard, because he was in the same calculus class. He’d changed seats, but it was still hard to sit in the same room, feeling her presence from several rows down.
What she’d said into the microphone at the dance had blindsided him. And crushed him. She sure showed her true colors. He hadn’t expected that at all.
But what Mr. Brown was saying confused him. “Trudy came in?”
He nodded. “I don’t know how she found out about your dyslexia, but she wanted us to know she didn’t think you had cheated.”
Why would she have done that? She hated him. She’d been lying to him this whole time. Pretending to like him. Her talking to Mr. Brown on his behalf didn’t make sense.
“Lane, I know you’re a good kid. I want you to succeed here at Rockford High.”
Lane didn’t know what to say. “I want to as well.”
“We are going to set up a meeting so your parents can come in. We’ll have all your teachers there. We’d like to set up an individualized education plan for you. We want you to get the help and accommodations you need to graduate this spring.”
Relief rose in his chest. “Thank you.”
Mr. Brown stood and extended his hand. Lane shook it. “Go talk to Coach.”
“I will, sir.”
Lane left his office, not quite sure what had happened, but he knew his life had changed. He was back on the team. He could barely believe it. His dream was back.
He walked down the hallway, energy building inside him. He would get to practice with the team now. He opened his locker and shoved his books inside.
Gabe came around the corner with Randy, the team’s water boy. They were laughing about something. Lane stared at him. What was he doing hanging out with Randy? He hated that kid.
“Oh, hey, man,” Gabe said, slapping Lane on the shoulder. “When are you going to pay up?”
Lane groaned inwardly. Gabe had been bugging him all week about the bet. However he’d done it, Lane wasn’t sure, but he’d procured a cheerleading outfit for him. Lane just had to wear it to school. “Tomorrow. I’ll do it tomorrow.”
Gabe pointed to him. “No backing out. You lost, fair and square.” He exchanged a look with Randy, and then they both snickered.
Lane squinted at them. “What’s so funny?”
Gabe waved away the question. “Nothing.”
Something was up, but Lane didn’t have time to figure it out. He had to go talk to Coach. “Whatever.” Lane slammed his locker shut. “Principal Brown just told me I’m back on the team.”
Gabe fist pumped the air. “Yes! We’re going to slay East High on Friday!”
Randy pumped the air as well. “Yes.”
As Lane suited up for practice, thoughts of Trudy slipped back into his mind. He’d been so devastated by what she’d done that he hadn’t allowed himself to think about her all week. But now he wasn’t sure what was going on.
If she hated him, why was she taking the time out of her day to do something to help him? What would be the point? Did she have an ulterior motive?
Lane couldn’t figure it out. Trudy had said she was acting like she liked him when she hadn’t really. But did he believe that? He had his doubts about the whole thing. How could she have responded to his kiss like she did when she was just pretending to like him? That felt real.
And what about their talks? And how she shared with him personal things. A person who was pretending wouldn’t do that.
It bothered Lane the entire time he practiced. Something wasn’t right about the whole situation, and he needed to figure out what it was.
After practice, he showered and headed home. His phone rang as he walked in the door. It was a number he didn’t recognize. “Hello?”
“Yes, my neighbor said I should call.” Her voice
sounded elderly. “I found a cat in my yard a few weeks ago. I think he might belong to you.”
Lane gripped the phone and pressed it hard to his ear. “You have Jasper?”
“Well, I don’t know if he’s the same cat, so I don’t want to get your hopes up.”
There was an easy way to tell. Lane crossed his fingers. “Does he have three legs?”
“Yes, the poor thing is missing a hind leg. This is your cat then?”
“Well, not my cat. But I know whose cat it is, and she really needs him back. Can I come get him from you?”
“Of course, dear.”
The woman gave him her address and Lane hung up the phone. He put her address in his GPS and got in his car, his heart suddenly hammering in his chest. He’d found Jasper. Trudy was going to be so happy. She’d been so distraught after he ran away. All Lane could think about was reuniting Trudy with her cat.
He knocked on the door and the woman opened it. Her gray hair and wrinkled hands were about what Lane had expected from her voice. “Come on in.”
He followed her into a living room that looked like it had been decorated in the 1950s. She crossed the room and entered a kitchen which was in desperate need of a new linoleum floor. “Come here, kitty,” she said, bending down.
A white cat raced into the room, but Jasper quickly followed after. The woman picked up Jasper. “He’s been a very good boy. He loves the food I bought him.”
She walked to Lane and handed him over. Jasper snuggled into his arms. The woman picked up a cat carrier. “You can take him home in this, and then bring it back later.”
She opened the door and helped him get Jasper into the cage. When the door was locked, Lane said, “Thank you for taking good care of him. His owner will be ecstatic to see him again.”
The woman nodded. “I’m glad my neighbor saw one of your fliers.”
“Me too.”
Lane said good bye and climbed back into his car. He set the cat carrier on the passenger seat and Jasper meowed at him. “It’s time to go back home.”
As he drove, the cat settled down, curling up inside the cage. When he got to Trudy’s house, he picked up the cage and carried it. “Come on, little guy.”
Apprehension rose in him as he walked up her sidewalk. What would he say to her? After all that had happened, he wasn’t even sure how he felt about her anymore. He thought she hated him after her public display, and he gladly returned the sentiment. But now, he didn’t even know if that was true anymore.
He pressed the bell and waited on the steps. When the door opened, Trudy stared a deathly glare at him. She didn’t open the screen door. “What do you want?”
He held up the cat carrier and Trudy’s eyes widened. She threw open the screen door and crouched down to look inside the cage. “Jasper!” She opened the carrier and pulled Jasper from the cage, hugging him to her. “Oh my gosh, I never thought I’d see you again. You poor sweetie, where have you been?”
She hugged on her cat for a moment before her gaze connected back with his. A shadow shuttered her eyes and she took a step back from him. Conflicting emotions played across her features. “Where did you find him?” she asked, her voice betraying her strong emotions.
How was he supposed to answer that? He looked down at the pavement. “A woman called me. She’d found him.”
Confusion pulled her eyebrows together. “How did she know to call you?”
He shrugged. “I used that photo you sent me to make fliers. I hung them around the neighborhood. I guess someone saw one and recognized Jasper.”
Trudy stood there frozen, holding her cat and staring at him. “You did that for me?”
A sudden awkwardness settled on Lane and he set the cat carrier down and shoved his hands into his pockets. “Yeah.”
“Why?” she whispered. Her brown eyes shone with unshed tears.
She was hurting, and Lane’s arms ached to hold her. To pull her close and breathe in the smell of her coconut shampoo that was always on her hair. He hadn’t realized how much he missed her until standing in front of her. A lump swelled in his throat. “Because I care about you.”
Jasper wiggled and Trudy set him down inside her house then pulled the door shut. She rubbed her arms against the chilly evening air and looked back up at him. “No, you don’t,” she said, hurt lacing her words.
“Why would you say that? Of course I care. Haven’t I proven that to you?”
She closed her eyes and the tears that had been brimming fell down her cheeks. “I saw what you texted to Gabe.” Her voice broke and she looked away.
Lane tried to think back to what he had texted. It hadn’t been bad, at least, he hadn’t thought it was. “What are you talking about?”
“The texts where you said you couldn’t wait until the bet was over. Where you said everything you did was an act so you would win.” Tears continued to fall as she spoke. Seeing them broke his heart.
Anger rose in him. “I never said any such thing.”
Trudy didn’t meet his gaze. She stared at her front door, her arms wrapped around her body protectively.
“Trudy, I swear.” He stepped closer, his breath catching. “I wouldn’t have texted that to Gabe because it’s not true. Yes, I made a bet, but that quickly became unimportant to me. You were the one whom I fell for. You were the one whom…” He forced the words out. “I love.”
Trudy turned away from him as if his words caused her physical pain. “I saw the texts myself. Gabe showed them to me.”
“Wait a minute.” Things were falling into place now. Gabe hanging out with Randy, the geek whom he loathed. Randy, the water boy who brags about all the things he can do on his computer. “You saw texts that said I was faking that I liked you?”
“You don’t have to pretend anymore. The bet is all done.”
He reached out and gently turned her to face him, his hands on her shoulders. “Will you do me a favor? Will you look at my texts to Gabe and tell me if they look like what you saw?”
“What would be the point of—”
“Because. I think you saw a fabrication. Gabe didn’t want to lose the bet, so he got someone to make it look like I said those things.”
Trudy’s eyebrows pulled down, but she nodded that she would look. He pulled out his phone and opened up his conversation with Gabe and then handed it to her.
She scrolled for a second then turned wide eyes on him. “You’re right. This is similar, but all different. Gabe made it look like…” She swallowed then her hand flew to her mouth. “Oh, no.”
“What?”
“I said such awful things.” Tears once again filled her eyes. “I was horrible.”
His heart leapt. “Are you saying you lied when you got up on that stage?”
Trudy nodded, her face draining of color. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered.
Lane pulled her into his arms, relief pouring over him. “I am happy to hear that.”
“Oh, Lane. I was terribly mean.” She buried her face into his chest. “I can’t believe I did that. And after telling you what a jerk move it is to bully someone.” Her voice fell. “I did it to you.”
“You were hurt.” He clung to her, reveling in the feeling of her in his arms once again.
“I’m a terrible person.” She looked up at him.
“No. You’re not. Gabe is a terrible person. And when I see him again, I’m going to kick his a—”
Trudy put her finger on his lips. “Don’t. Let’s end this. Your happiness will be the best revenge.”
“My happiness? What are you talking about?”
She stood on her toes and pressed her lips to his. The kiss was urgent. Passionate. All his feelings surged in him at once and he closed his eyes and deepened the kiss. She made him feel alive. Free. And she was right. Happy.
When the kiss ended, he put his forehead on hers. “Now I see what you mean about happiness.”
“Let’s forget about Gabe. What he did was sucky. But violence isn’t the answer.�
��
“All we need is love? Like the Beatles song?”
She giggled. “Yeah.”
He rubbed her back as she snuggled into him. “This last week was torture without you.”
“Yes. I thought I was going to die.”
“Promise me you’ll never believe another bad thing about me.” He touched her cheek with the backs of his fingers.
“I promise.”
“I love you.”
She blinked up at him, a smile forming on her lips. “I love you too.”
Epilogue
Jessica picked up her banana and pinched the end so she could peel it. She longingly looked at Trudy’s pizza. What she wouldn’t give for a bite, but it would make her balloon out like a friggen blowfish. Plus the grease would give her pimples. She pulled apart the yellow peel and took a bite of the soft fruit.
Trudy sat so close to Lane, she was practically on his lap. She leaned over and he kissed her. Jessica tried not to roll her eyes. “You guys are disgusting.”
Trudy kissed Lane again then sat up. “You’re just jealous you don’t have your own man.”
Ha. That was so far off, Jessica had to smirk. “That’s the last thing I need right now.”
“And what is it you need right now?” Lane asked, his eyebrow quirked.
She was about to answer when Christian walked into the cafeteria. He wore a black leather jacket and his dark eyes connected with hers for a brief moment before he scowled and looked away. “Just a second,” Jessica said, jumping up.
Christian hadn’t been in class all week, and she desperately needed to talk to him. She sprinted, curving to avoid tables. He must have seen her coming because he changed directions, but she was undeterred. She picked up speed and caught up to him just before he got to the doors. “Christian. We need to talk about our science project.”
He turned to her and her breath caught. His gaze was heavy, his brown eyes stunning with flecks of gray and gold. She felt pinned to that spot. His high cheekbones and strong jawline gave him a striking look. How had she not noticed before how good-looking he was? She struggled to take in a breath.
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