by Cole Bates
I dragged my fingers through my hair and pulled at my curls. My patience was like a raw nerve right now. “Fine, whatever. Will you call and let me know in the morning so we don’t have to talk about this at school?”
“Will you answer your phone?”
Her sarcastic tone rubbed my raw nerve. I bit back a retort and said, “Absolutely.”
All of that was just the icing on the cake. I got the cake during practice when coach told me if my grades weren’t up after finals I was benched for the rest of the season. Fuck. My. Life.
Chapter Nine
Alex
I had a dress rehearsal on Monday night. It was after nine before I got home and Ryan was already holed up in his room. While I was eating the reheated dinner Mom saved for me I found myself wondering if he was up there studying for his finals…or writing the essay he had due, or doing the rest of the math homework that Mr. Fritz sent home last week. I suddenly realized that I was worrying about him again when he probably hasn’t given me a second thought since he stormed out of our study session on Friday afternoon. I had to stop that. I had too many other things to think about. I didn’t need to worry about a guy that wouldn’t even take responsibility for himself.
After I ate I went up and took a shower. I thought I heard Ryan watching Netflix or something but as soon as I walked into the bathroom, the volume went down. I took my shower and went to bed and woke up the next morning to the sound of his ringing phone. I looked at my own phone. It was only six-twenty in the morning. Who does he know that gets up at six-twenty in the morning? It rang four times and stopped and I closed my eyes and started to go back to sleep for another half an hour or so. His phone started ringing again. Damn it. That time it rang twice and I heard him groggily say hello. I know it’s wrong but my curiosity about him has been peaked for some reason lately. I got out of bed and quietly snuck into the bathroom. I sat on the side of the tub close to his room and listened to him saying,
“I was asleep. I answered it, okay? Are you just going to bitch at me or are you going to tell me what happened when you took the test?” He was quiet for a few beats and then I heard him say, “Sweet! I knew it!” Again he was quiet for just a second and then he said, “Oh Christ Kelly I still did not call you a liar. I just said you were mistaken.” “Okay, well I have to go now, I hear my mom calling me.” His mom? I was pondering that when I heard the board outside the bathroom door creak. Shit! I scrambled on my knees as fast as I could go to get back into my room and into bed. By the time he walked into the bathroom I had my eyes closed. I was laying on top of the comforter and I’d forgotten to close the door, but hopefully he wouldn’t notice all that. I heard him stop and he was really quiet for a long time. I was so tempted to open my eyes and see what he was doing but then again I didn’t want to get my head bit off at six-thirty a.m. I waited him out until I heard him close the door and then I let out the breath I’d been holding. I looked at the closed door while I heard him pee and brush his teeth and wondered what that silence was about. Was he looking at me? He must have heard something and he knew I was really awake. Why else would he be just standing there looking at me? That didn’t make any sense. Of course, nothing about Ryan made much sense lately.
********
I didn’t have dress rehearsal on Tuesday but I stayed after and did my best to organize things backstage. People had just grabbed things for the dress rehearsal the night before and they hadn’t put them back in any semblance of order before they went home. Of course, I was also waiting again for baseball practice to get out and all of the dick heads to disburse to their muscle cars. When Marty and Mom first got married Marty offered to buy me a used car and help me fix it up. I thanked him but told him that wouldn’t make much sense since I never learned how to drive. That shocked him so then he volunteered Ryan to teach me. Ryan had actually laughed and walked out of the room. I thanked him again and told him I didn’t mind public transportation and walking. What I didn’t tell him was that sometimes I think it would be nice to have a car but then I think about it sitting in the parking lot all day and how much damage the dick-heads could do to it. Then I’d have to look Marty in the eye and tell him I was being bullied. For some reason, the idea of that terrified me. It didn’t make any sense, I was the one being bullied after all. But he and Ryan were so much alike that I always wondered if Marty was a bully back in his day. I’d rather stick to walking even though it meant I wouldn’t get home tonight until just before dinner.
I finished up in the back and stepped out front and flipped off the lights. It was about half a second before my brain processed what my eyes had seen before the lights went out. I didn’t believe it though so I switched them back on. Sure enough, there was my step-brother in a white t-shirt and a pair of jeans and with his curly hair still wet from the showers. He was lounging against the front entrance. “Hey,” he said when the lights came back on. His deep voice echoed across the empty auditorium.
“Hey, what’s wrong?”
“You are such a nervous little Nellie. Why do you always think something is wrong?”
I flipped off the lights again and kept talking as I walked toward him. “I don’t know, maybe it’s because you never just show up. When you do I imagine all sorts of things.”
“Oh yeah, like what?” The lights were off and I couldn’t see his face. I could have however sworn that he’d lowered his voice and asked that question almost seductively. What the hell is wrong with me? This is Ryan. No fucking way was he flirting with me.
“Bad stuff,” I said. “What’s up?” I pushed open the door and the fading sunlight illuminated us as we stepped out into the parking lot.
“Just got done with baseball practice and thought you might want a ride home is all.”
“Oh…that was, nice?”
We walked toward his blue Camaro. It was the only one left in the lot. “Was that a question or a statement?” he chuckled.
“It was a statement, with a question at the end. Why?”
He sighed and rolled his eyes as he slid in behind the wheel. I got in the passenger seat and he said, “I owe you an apology.”
“Another first.”
“Can you be serious for a second?”
I tried to look innocent as I said, “I was serious. When have you ever apologized to me?”
“Do you want to argue or do you want to let me apologize?”
“Go ahead.”
He actually laughed as he started the car. “You’re such a little asshole sometimes. I’m sorry okay. I’m sorry I was a douche.”
“Which time?”
He laughed again and said, “Fuck you.”
“That’s more like it. But, apology accepted.”
“Good,” he said, sobering. “I really am sorry. I’m just stressed out.”
“You wouldn’t be so stressed out if you were working toward what you needed to do to fix this.”
“I know. Will you help me?”
“Are you going to keep calling me a little asshole?”
He pursed his lips to the side like he was thinking about it. Damn, he’s hot. “I might,” he finally said.
I laughed. “Honesty, that’ll work.”
Chapter Ten
Ryan
“Hey, man!” I was in the kitchen of somebody’s huge ass ranch house. I’m not really sure how I even got here. I’m not even sure where “here” is. All I knew was that my mouth was so fucking dry that it hurt. I hope I don’t have my car because there’s going to be no way I can drive home. I reached into my pocket to see if my keys were there but I couldn’t find them. It was a drunken, bumbling effort.
“Hey!” I looked toward the sound of the voice. It was Matt Vickers, one of the less obnoxious of my friends.
“Oh hey! What’s up? How’s it going, man? I’m so glad you came.”
Matt laughed. “Somebody’s had a few.”
I looked down at my empty cup. There were more than a few kegs and if I remember right I’ve emptied at le
ast one myself. “Maybe one or two,” I told him with a laugh. “Whose house is this anyways?”
“One of the kids in the drama club.”
“Oh yeah, we crashed this party, right?”
He laughed. “Yeah, and you need to stop drinking.” He took the cup out of my hand. “Go get some air or something. If nothing else happens around here I’m taking off soon. You want a ride?”
“Yeah, don’t go without me.”
“I won’t unless a hot chick shows up and she wants to go with me instead.” He cracked up. If this house belonged to someone in the drama club, that was doubtful. Not that some of them weren’t hot…I guess. Most of them were kind of nerdy though and they had pink or purple hair and lots of piercings in weird places. I don’t necessarily have anything against colored hair and piercings, but not if they’re done distastefully so. I laughed also, just to sociable as I walked through. I found the back door and made my way outside. As soon as I hit the air I felt like puking. Shit. I bent over and held onto my knees for a few minutes until the nausea passed and then I stood back up and looked around. This place was huge. I could see a big barn not far from the house. It looked brand new. There were stables beyond that and horses everywhere. It was really nice. There were a few groups of people here and there. Some of them looked like drama club and others, like us, probably just crashed it.
I walked over toward the fence where the stables were at and stood there for a few minutes watching the horses. The moon was out and the sky was clear and it was really peaceful. I was beginning to realize that’s what was missing most in my life, peace. I constantly felt like my head and body were in chaos. If I wasn’t worried about making it through the rest of this year and getting a diploma so that I could get the hell out of this crappy little town, I was agonizing over my sudden feelings for Alex. What I needed was to just get as far away from here as fast as I possibly could. This town and everyone in it was toxic.
I stood there for a while and then started walking again. My head was beginning to feel clearer and I could hear music coming from the barn. It was weird music, so I was curious. I walked over and pulled the door open a crack and looked inside. The first person I saw was Alex. He had on this weird black hat that made him look like a Pilgrim. There were about ten other people in the barn and they had hay bales set up like chairs around a makeshift stage in the center. “Okay, Maggie come on up and lie down on this hay bale here,” Alex told some girl with stringy blonde hair. Maggie went up front and started to lay down. Alex stopped her and took off his jacket and laid it down on the hay. “So it won’t be so itchy.” The girl looked up at him and smiled shyly. He winked at her. It was funny for me to see him in his element with people he was comfortable with. He’s always so shy around people he doesn’t know and of course scared or ready to fight around the assholes I spend my time with.
I slipped into the barn and leaned against the wall near the door and watched as he got everyone in their places. They must be practicing for their play. The girl on the haystack closed her eyes and another girl sat in a folding chair not far away. Alex turned toward the small audience and in a deeper voice than he usually uses he said, “The village is rife with rumors of witchcraft!” He looked at the girl in the chair and said, “My daughter Betty doesn’t respond to me and a crowd has gathered outside seeking answers. I need you to tell me what is going on my dear niece.”
The girl in the chair feigned a frightened look and said, “I swear I don’t know, Uncle.”
Alex leaned in close to the girl’s face and said, “See here Abigail, I’ll not have a child of mine or a niece that is of my flesh involved in the crafting’s of Satan! You must tell me what has happened at once before that mob breaks into our home and drags both you and Betty to the gallows.”
The girl jumped up and grabbed Alex’s arm. He tried to turn away but she clung on and in a desperate voice, she said, “No Uncle, please! Please, we didn’t mean any harm! Don’t let them take us!”
Alex went on with some more lines and I suddenly found myself caught up in it. I’m not really a reader and I don’t watch a lot of TV or movies so I’d have to say my imagination is not that great. But I could totally picture this mob outside of the house as he talked about it and I could see the girls gathered around in a circle performing the strange rituals he was talking about. I was in awe of how good he was. I’d never attended a single one of his plays and I was beginning to realize that was my loss. I went through life in a self-absorbed fog and apparently I was missing a lot.
I was really into it when the door was suddenly pushed inward and a loud group of people piled in. Alex and his friends stopped what they were doing and looked toward all of the chaos. I was stunned at first because I’d been pushed back by the door, but when I realized who it was I freaked.
“Look who it is, Pretty Penny and his little gay crew! Hi Penny, I like your hat.” Scott had his arm around some blonde in a dress that barely covered her ass and behind him were a few other guys from the team, Lance, Greg, Brandon and Bobby and three other girls, some of them I recognized as being from the “popular” group of “mean” girls at school.
“Get out, this is a private party,” Alex said. Scott took a step in his direction and without thinking I stepped in front of Scott. The look on his face was incredulous.
“Hey Reed, what are you doing in here?” I felt my face go hot. This was my chance not to let my balls shrivel up. This was my chance to be a man and protect my family. If only I could speak. “Move Reed. I want to say hello to Pretty Penny and his friends.”
“No Scott,” I finally found my voice. It sounded shaky to my ears. I hoped they would all just think it was from all the beer I’d drank. “They’re practicing their play. They’re not bothering anyone. Leave them alone.” I had my back to Alex and his friends but I realized that the barn had gone completely silent. Even the music had been turned off. Scott was laughing. He let go of the girl he was holding onto and gave her a little sideways push. She was wearing four or five-inch heels and the hay was slippery. She stumbled and started to fall. I caught her before she hit the ground. By the time I righted her back on her feet Scott and the rest of them had gone up to where Alex was and were now sitting in the front row of hay bales.
“Hey, Lance give me your phone.”
“Why?”
“You remember that music we downloaded on there for those girls at the last party?” I was trying to remember what had happened at the “last party.” While I was racking my brain about that Alex was telling them once again to leave and Scott was scrolling through Lance’s phone. I knew he had nothing good on his mind when suddenly he smiled and said, “Here it is.” He pressed a button and stripper music began to play loudly. “Come on Pretty Penny, show us what you got. Dance.”
Alex was glaring at Scott. He pulled his caramel eyes from the asshole’s face and looked around at his friends. “Why don’t you guys take off, we’ll do this later.” As they all started to file out I went over to where Scott was sitting and reached for the phone in his hand. He pulled it away.
“What the fuck is your problem Reed?”
“Leave him alone!”
“Aw, isn’t this sweet? Reed is protecting Pretty Penny. You gonna fight for your gay brother, Reed? Did he suck your dick for you this morning and did you like it?” That’s as much as he got out of his mouth before I knocked him off the hay bale with my fist. Within seconds the rest of the guys were holding me down and someone was holding onto Scott. I suddenly felt sick and told them so. They didn’t want to be puked on so they let go of me and the last thing I remember seeing before I rolled over and started puking in the hay was Alex’s face. He was smiling at me.
Chapter Eleven
Alex
After Ryan stood up for me and started puking in the hay, his friends left him there. I sat with him until he finally stopped heaving and lay down in his own vomit and passed out. It wasn’t attractive but I couldn’t stop looking at him and I couldn’t
stop smiling. He stood up for me. He punched Scott in the face, for me. My only dilemma at this point was how in the hell I was going to get his big, heavy body out of here and home. I wanted to see if he had his keys on him but I didn’t want him to wake up and think I was groping him and punch me in the face. I sat there and just watched him sleep for a while and then I finally took out my phone and called the one person I knew I could always count on, my mom.
Mom didn’t ask a lot of questions on the phone. That’s one of the things I love so much about her. She trusts me and she knows I’ll tell her things as I need to so she doesn’t really push. The one question she did ask was, “So you and Ryan were at the same party? How did that even happen?”
I laughed. “Odd, right? I don’t know Mom, I’m guessing they crashed it. Is Marty home?”
“No, he’s still at Mike’s for poker night.” That’s what I had been counting on. I got the feeling things wouldn’t go well for Ryan if his dad showed up to help him.
“Good, you know Paulson ranch, right?”
“Of course, Mia had her Halloween party there every year. I miss those days. You used to be so cute in your little costumes.”
“Mom, focus.”
She giggled. “I’m sorry. I’m having pre-empty nest syndrome jitters. Yes, I know the ranch. Are you boys at the house?” I was going to remind her again that we’re men but I glanced back down at Ryan now in a fetal position and snoring and changed my mind.
“No in the barn where the parties used to be. I think you can drive right back here.”
“Okay, yeah. But honey if he’s passed out I’m not sure the two of us can lift him…”
“Just get here please Mom, I’ll figure that out.”
I hung up the phone and looked around the garage. I spotted the water pump and hose they keep out here to spray out the stalls and in case of a fire. I looked back and forth between it and Ryan a few times before I decided him getting pissed off was going to be a better option than leaving him passed out in Mia’s barn. I went over and unwound the heavy hose and then I stood back about six feet from Ryan and turned it on. The hose was huge like a fire hose and when the water came shooting through it I could hardly hang onto it. I managed to douse Ryan though and wash away some of the vomit all over the barn floor. It did the trick too. Ryan was suddenly gasping and spitting water as he used his arms to push the top half of his body up off the floor.