“Oh, my God, Franny! I hear Lance’s father is giving him his huge stretched Hummer and it will have a stocked bar and everything. Do you think you can get me and my date a ride on it?”
“What? Huh, I guess. I’ll ask Lance. I didn’t know you had a date for prom, Bambi, who are you going with?”
She is staring after Lance and his friends and I see Jerry turn and wink at her.
“Wait! Are you going with Jerry?”
“Mhm.” She blushes, “He asked me last week, said if I persuaded you to go with Lance, he’d take me.”
“What?” It was all beginning to make sense now. Bambi insisted we eat lunch over here where Lance and his motley crew were waiting and all week, whenever I mentioned Rick, she rolled her eyes and reminded me how he ruined my birthday. I thought it was a little odd as she always thought Rick and I were the perfect couple.
But now I see she is a turncoat. “The same Jerry who supplied pills and drugs at my party?”
“No. I got that wrong. Um, they were nothing. Jerry explained it. They were just Aspirin, um, some people had a headache.”
“Seriously?” I frown at her naivety. “That’s what he told you? Everyone knows he is dealing. It was him and his stupid friends that ruined everything.”
She pouts at me. “Now who’s being naïve? We all know it was Rick and his buddies that cranked the music and brought the moonshine. I don’t know how you can still be moping around after that Prank, Franny Hancock.”
“I-I’m not.” I pick up the roses Lance gave me and bury my nose in them, pretending I am checking out their sweet scent. Though they actually have none, they are cheap forced ones that look the part but have no perfume whatsoever. They are sham roses, from a sham guy and I realize, I am kidding myself just as much as Bambi is.
Lance Gordon is no more a good guy than Jerry—no better than any of these Pricks at this school. They are all playing a part where they appear outwardly respectable but underneath, they’re liars and entitled pieces-of-shit that only care about having good times and getting laid.
I shudder, as I know I will need to have my wits about me come prom night because Lance Gordon wants me to be his date for one reason only.
“I’m sorry, Bambi.” It is very nice that Jerry asked you out. Just, um, be careful, and don’t take any of his Aspirin, will you?”
“Oh, don’t worry about me. I’m allergic, I have to take Tylenol,” she says. Still totally oblivious to what she is getting herself into, Bambi picks up her books and flounces off.
“Don’t worry, I’ll keep my eye on her.” Krystal smiles and pats my hand.
I sigh and wonder who will look out for me.
“Have you spoken to Rick?” Her concern is genuine and it brings a lump to my throat.
“Why should I? We broke up.”
She follows my gaze across the yard to where my boyfriend—ex-boyfriend—is lifting the logs onto a dolly.
“Why don’t you go over, he’s on his own and no one is about?” Krystal is watching him now and she chews on her lip. “I know I always said differently, but for a Prank, Rick is a nice guy.”
“He is…” my voice tails off as I drift into a daydream about just how nice that Prank could be. No one else will understand how gentle and patient he was.
“Did you guys, um, ever do it?”
Tears sting my eyes. “No. We were planning to on my birthday and then… well, you know what happened.”
Krystal’s smile is apologetic.
“Um, have you and Craig?” Since Lance’s party, Krystal has been dating the captain of the crew team. He is tall and willowy just like Krystal and he follows after her with big puppy dog eyes.
“Yes, at your party. Um, you won’t tell anyone, will you?”
I shake my head and wonder if I will be the last of my friends to lose my virginity. “Of course not. What was it like?”
Her eyes turn dreamy. “Amazing!” she lowers her voice. “We can’t stop doing it, Franny and his thing is sooo big…”
I laugh. “Krystal, that is too much information.” Now my mind is wandering again, and I am wondering what it would have been like with Rick. He’d already explored my body and his touches made me desperate for more and, although I’d been a little hesitant, he placed my hand in his trousers once and what I felt there…
My cheeks are burning hot as I try to dismiss the memory. “Do you think Bambi is still a virgin?”
Krystal is sipping coke and she splutters. “Bambi is working her way around the football team.”
“Really?” I’m shocked.
When I arrive home from school, I try sneaking upstairs with my scentless roses hidden at my side. Most nights since my birthday, I have gone straight to my room because I can’t bear to look at Daddy. Though the welts on my skin have healed, I can never forgive him for what he did to me.
“Francesca.” He is standing in the kitchen doorway beaming at me. “Here she is, Elizabeth.” Mom joins him and they both stare.
“What?”
“Well come on, did he ask you?”
“Who?”
“Lance. His father told me his son was asking you to the prom.”
I sigh. “Yes, he asked.” I pull the roses out and show them the bedraggled bunch.
Daddy claps his hands and Mommy takes them from me. “I’ll put these in water for you dear, how wonderful.”
Daddy has his arm around my shoulder and guides me into the kitchen. “You did say, yes?”
“Of course, I did, Daddy.”
He rubs his hands in glee and I get the overwhelming feeling I just became a raffle prize. “Good girl, Francesca. He’s very sweet on you.”
“Such a lovely young man.” My Mother coos from the sink and I wonder if either of them are talking about the Lance Gordon I know.
“Now, mind you be nice to him, Francesca.” Daddy seems nervous, his neck is red and he is perspiring a lot. “There is a lot riding on this. I was going to wait to tell you, but with your unpredictable behavior recently, I think it is paramount that I make myself clear. Lance Gordon senior and I are in negotiation.”
“What do you mean, Daddy?”
“It’s all hush, hush.” He taps the side of his nose with his index finger. “But, suffice to say, the way you treat Lance Junior will go a long way toward helping me seal this multi-million-dollar deal.”
I’m speechless, my mouth is opening and shutting like a goldfish that is stranded out of water.
“Now, here you go.” Daddy has his wallet open and is pulling out wads of cash. He pushes a bundle of fifties into my hand and closes my fingers around it. “Go to that boutique on Fourth Street, buy something… seductive.”
Now I am stunned. Did Daddy just say seductive? “And Elizabeth, book her into the salon for a manicure, pedicure, hair, makeup—whatever she needs.” He pulls out more bills and shoves them in Mommy’s hand. “And for heaven’s sake, get her a spray tan, she has been looking far too peaky these last few days. No man wants to date someone who looks like they’ve been living in a cave.”
I’m horrified and I can’t stop my mouth from running. “Perhaps you should take me to get a push-up bra, I’m sure Lance would appreciate a little more cleavage and…”
“Good idea,” Daddy peels off more bills and gives them to Mommy. “Make sure that dress has a low neckline, I want this deal pushed through before the end of the month.”
I can’t move and stare at my parents, wondering if they have always been alien beings.
“Oh, and one more thing, your curfew is lifted for the prom.” Daddy winks at me. “We all know you youngsters like to party into the night. I’m sure Lance will have some fun planned for after.”
My hand clamps over my mouth and I’m sure I’m about to vomit all over the kitchen floor. “Can I be excused, I-I don’t feel well.”
I fly upstairs and into my room where I press my back against the bedroom door to close it shut. My mind is sifting through everything that was said in
the kitchen. I feel like a prized cow being sold to the highest bidder! Was Daddy really pimping me out so he can get Mr. Gordon to sign this deal?
For some reason, everything in my room looks gaudy and sordid. Sinking to the floor, I bury my head in my arms. Then it dawns on me, everything Rick ever said about Uptowners is true. They are all out for themselves—users and abusers.
Despite his faults, Rick and his friends are open and real. Even as we argued on the last day together, he’d told me he loved me and that he’d give everything up for me. Though Rick claimed he had nothing to give, I know he has. He was willing to come over to my side of the world, change everything to make me happy. But when I look at the life I have, I find that nothing here makes me happy. My father has my future mapped out for me, I will become my Mother—yes dear, no dear. I’ll have the big house, the ex-quarterback husband that will no doubt cheat on me, or pick up where my father left off and use force to make me conform. There won’t be love in my life and there won’t be passion in my heart, but I’ll have the latest TV and a fresh-from-the-dealer’s car in the driveway.
I regret my parting words to Rick because I won’t miss anything from my life if I chose love, but I will sacrifice love if I cling to what I have.
Opening my phone, I torture myself again by reading Rick’s texts and staring at his face on the screen. My revelation is meaningless. Rick may have loved me once, but I threw that in his face and I can’t ever take back the hurt I caused him. Geographically, Downtown is only a few miles away, but the distance I created between us is unnavigable and there is no compass that can help me find my way back into his heart.
Chapter 17
RICK
Wiping my sweaty brow with my forearm, I can’t for the life of me figure out why I’m still working here. This job at St. Mary’s was supposed to lead to a few easy hustles, bringing in enough cash to help pay to fix my car. But instead, I’m mowing lawns, hauling fifty-pound bags of dirt, and climbing on rooftops to clean out rain gutters for virtually nothing.
Not to mention, before I started this job, I genuinely thought it would’ve been easy to hook up with a few girls, get ‘em to behave naughty with me, and exchange a few oral blows. But of course, the only thing I’ve been blowing on are the sidewalks to clear them of grass trimmings.
It’s all Franny’s fault. If I hadn’t met her first thing on my first day, I might not have gotten involved in that crazy mess that she is. Maybe, I would’ve met someone else. Maybe—
“Hey!” sings a sweet voice from below. I look down from the top of my ladder to see a pretty brunette with squinted green eyes and a beaming smile. She’s got her bottom lip tucked tight between her teeth.
“Hey,” I call back. “Can I help you?”
Her eyes gravitate from my ass, up my back, and then shoulders before she makes eye contact with me again. “Yeah,” she says. “I’m Jess. We haven’t officially met before. Is your name Rick?”
My smile falls into a flat line. I know exactly what this girl is about to ask me and I hate that I’m going to have to let her down as I’ve already let down two chicks before her.
Climbing down the ladder to meet Jess at her level, I see a nerd watching us. He adjusts his glasses, ogling us, as Jess ogles my chest. I tilt my head and wait a second before Jess is finally—actually—making eye contact with me. “Yep, I’m Rick.”
Jess hoists her backpack higher on her shoulder. “Rick, I was wondering, uh...I heard you’re single and, uh...prom is right around the corner. Would you be interested in being my date?”
I smile. I like Jess. She seems a little more down-to-earth than some girls at this school and her proposal is sweet compared to the previous ones in which the chicks made me feel like I should be honored they’d even ask me to be their date to their prom. I honored both those chicks with a “Fuck, hell no,” but Jess, I think, I should let down easy.
I reach out to pat her arm for comfort, to let her down easy, when I see Franny walking past behind Jess. Lance junior has his arm around Franny’s shoulder as he walks her to her car and though I have no reason to be angry anymore, I want to kill him. I just saw Lance yesterday with his arms as well as his hands wrapped all over someone else in a shaded corner of the campus.
“No,” I tell Jess though my eyes cannot wander away from Franny and Lance walking into the parking lot together.
“Well,” Jess is fumbling from the corner of my eye. “You don’t have to worry about expenses. I-I-I’ll pay for everything,” she stutters. “It would be my treat.”
Her treat? Poor Jess thinks I’m turning down prom because I can’t afford it, which I can because I haven’t been buying as many cig packs lately.
I make eye contact with Jess, lifting her chin with a knuckle. “Listen, you’re a beautiful girl and although I’d love for you to take me to your prom, there is unfortunately someone else I believe who seems to be a lot more interested in taking you.” Grabbing Jess’s chin, I turn her head so she’s facing the nerd spying on us and I point at him. “I’m confident that guy wants to treat you to prom.”
“Lionel?” her nose crinkles.
“I have no idea what his name is, but he can’t keep his eyes off you.”
“But he’s a nerd,” she shrugs.
Moving Jess’s hair away from her shoulders, I speak in her ear. “Look at him again, Jess. The guy looks pissed. He looks like he wants to kick my ass just for talking to you. Trust me, that guy is not a nerd. He’s trouble. Trouble with a capital ‘T’. And, you shouldn’t let a little itty-bitty bit of bad eyesight let that distract you. In fact, that guy is probably a lot more trouble than me.”
“Trouble?” Jess’s breath hitches and she licks her lips.
“Go talk to him.” I smack Jess on the ass which forces her to take a step forward. “And you’d better hurry up,” I warn, “before Lionel ends up in a shit ton of trouble with someone else.”
Jess prances away, her shoulders stay square as she steps after Lionel, rocking a sexy sway. Once she’s caught up to Lionel, I watch the two start talking and then smile. In less than two minutes, my heart is leaping small somersaults as I see Jess nodding. She’s just accepted his prom proposal.
Turning around, I see the parking lot emptying as students fall into their cars and pull out to go home from school for the day. A trickle of sweat drops down my brow and I pull my shirt from my back pocket and smear my face clean. As my eyes come clear of the fabric, I see Franny staring at me from behind the steering wheel of her car.
I’m tempted to make a dash for her—apologize again—then snatch her up and plant kiss after kiss on her. But instead, I show her my back because I can’t go there again. It’s too much to feel so heart broke.
Climbing up the ladder, I hear Franny’s car come to life as she starts the engine and I chuckle to myself, frustrated with the irony. There’s an unusual high-pitched noise coming from what sounds like a cooling fan. In about ten minutes, Franny is going to be stranded on the side of the road because her car will overheat. I figure, I’ll leave in five.
“Get out,” I tell Franny, leaning in through her driver window and taking the keys out of the ignition. When I pulled up behind her, she was still trying to start the car which is beginning to smoke. She’s going to blow the engine if she keeps messing with it.
“Don’t tell me what to do,” she pouts, crossing her arms across her chest. She has yet to look at me.
“Who’s coming for you?” I question tossing the keys between my hands before I shove them in my pocket.
“My dad is sending a tow truck compliments of Spin Motors. They should be here in thirty minutes.”
“Thirty minutes?” I cock my head. “That’s a long time to wait. How are you going to get home?”
“I don’t know.” She bows her head. “I guess I could call Lance.”
“Lance. Ha,” I scoff. “Yeah, because that guy is totally available. It’s not like he’s still at school making out with a freshman behind the libr
ary at this very moment.”
“What?” Franny finally makes eye contact and I pull on her door handle.
“Come on. Get out,” I repeat, pulling the door open. “I’ll take you home.”
“Are you sure?” She blinks rapidly. “I don’t want to inconvenience you.”
“Will you get the fuck out of the car, Franny? Damn! It’s not an inconvenience when someone is just trying to do something nice.”
Franny slips her beautiful legs out and pulls on her bag. “It doesn’t feel like you’re doing something nice when you’re cussing about doing something nice.”
I slam the door behind her. “I cuss all the time and since you’re not my girl anymore, then I can be nice however I want to be nice.”
I’m checking out Franny’s legs from behind as she walks towards my Thunderbird but I follow close enough to ensure I’m right there to open the door for her.
“You don’t have to do that,” she says, sliding her butt in and then her legs.
I push on the door. “Put your seatbelt on,” I remind her before I walk around the front and hop in the driver’s seat.
As we pull away from her broken down Mercedes, Franny takes on a new tone. She speaks in a voice that I’m not too familiar with. “How have you been?” She sounds like she’s matured.
“Good,” I answer.
“How’s work?”
“Fine,” I reply.
She hugs her knapsack. “You seem different.”
“Oh yeah?” That’s strange. I’d just thought the same thing about her. “How so?”
“You seem...I don’t know,” she shrugs. “Older?” She flashes me a sly grin. “Or bossier, is more like it.”
“How about wiser?” I chortle.
“Yeah,” she agrees her grin turning into a half smile. “You seem wiser. What’s happened to you in the last few weeks that brought on such a change?”
Heart Broke (Broken Home Book 1) Page 13