18 Hours To Us

by Krista Noorman

  She didn’t know how to reply to that.

  “So, stop telling me what’s going to happen. Because you have no idea.”

  Natalie stared out the window as Colton cranked the radio volume up too loud. A part of her wondered what it would be like to actually be in a real relationship with him, not just the two-day road trip relationship they were in now.

  She took out her phone and noticed a bunch of text notifications from Olivia.

  Livvy:

  What happened between you and Colton last night?

  Natty:

  Nothing. Why?

  Livvy:

  You’re such a liar.

  Natty:

  Why do you say that?

  Olivia’s next text was a screenshot of a photo from Colton’s Snapchat posted early that morning. Natalie’s mouth fell open at the picture of her asleep on top of the sleeping bag in the tent. The caption read “Sleeping Beauty.”

  “What the heck?” She turned the volume down on the radio and held the phone out to Colton, who simply smirked. “Why would you post that?”

  He shrugged his shoulders. “It was true.”

  “You’re trying to start drama, aren’t you?”

  “Maybe.”

  She grumbled and opened Snapchat to see the post for herself. There were a zillion messages to her account from Lexi and friends demanding she stay away from Colton and calling her every horrible name in the book. This was definitely not what she wanted. They were less than a month away from graduation, and all she wanted was to finish out the year quietly as she had managed to do for the past four years. “You have no idea what you’ve done, do you? I told you I don’t want any trouble with Lexi.”

  “What’s going to happen, really?”

  “She and her friends will target me and make the next few weeks unbearable.”

  “I won’t let them.”

  She rolled her eyes. “You know, I thought there might be a little backlash from coming on this trip with you, but I never expected it to end up like this. I never expected to be back on Lexi’s radar again.”

  “Was it really that bad before?”

  “I almost left school. My dad was ready to homeschool me. She and the Hannahs just would not stop. I couldn’t walk down the hall without them giving me dirty looks or calling me names or throwing things at me. And whatever pranks you could come up with to do to someone, they came up with worse.”

  “Such as?”

  Natalie would rather forget every horrible thing Lexi had ever done to her, but Colton needed to know who his girlfriend really was. “The worst was when they poured urine all over the inside of my locker.”

  “What? No way!”

  “It was bad. Everything was ruined, including a project for English class I had been working on for weeks.”

  “Lexi did that?” His shocked expression was enough to assure her that he truly knew nothing about Lexi’s pranks. A tiny part of her had worried that he might have had some part in them.

  “I could never prove it, and the school wouldn’t do anything about it despite a bunch of complaints from my dad. I kept meeting with the counselor to tell her what was happening, and Lexi and her friends would be called in too, and they would act all sweet in front of her, like they loved me and had done nothing wrong. It was pathetic. And in the end, I felt like I brought it on myself or something, or like I was actually making it up like they were saying. It was very confusing. I cried myself to sleep every night, and I cried every morning when I got ready for school.”

  “I can’t believe that. The school should’ve done more for you.”

  “I think their no bullying policy can only be enforced when they have actual proof of the bullying. Lexi and her friends were clever, and they never got caught. So, I was screwed.”

  “I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

  “I made it through.”

  “Honestly, when I posted that picture this morning, I wanted to make Lexi mad.”

  “Why?”

  “So I wouldn’t have to be the one to break up with her.”

  Natalie stared at him in silence until he looked at her.

  “I’ve wanted it to be over for a while now.”

  Her initial feeling of hope at his admission was quickly replaced by anger as the truth sank in. “So, you’re using me to get rid of her. Great.”

  “Not really.”

  “That’s exactly what you’re doing.” She was fuming. He had gone too far this time.

  “So maybe I am. Sort of. So what. Don’t you want to help me get her out of my life?”

  Colton deserved better, but she couldn’t help him with this. And her heart broke a little thinking maybe he didn’t really care about her after all. Maybe he only wanted to use her as an excuse to end things with Lexi.

  “Why can’t you just be honest with her? Being a part of all this makes things worse for me.”

  “You’re right. I’m sorry. I didn’t know it would make her post that stuff.”

  Confusion crossed Natalie’s face. “Wait, what did she post?” She flipped her phone over and scrolled down to Lexi’s name on her Snapchat list. There was a selfie of her holding someone else’s phone showing the Sleeping Beauty picture. She was wearing a devilish expression, her tongue sticking out, her middle finger pointing at the camera. Natalie tapped the screen and a picture from one of her gymnastics meets popped up—most likely acquired from her YouTube channel, where she had posted videos of all her routines for college scouts to see. The caption stated some not very nice things about how Natalie looked in a leotard. She shook her head. “That’s just great.” It was ridiculous how immature Lexi and the Hannahs still were after all this time.

  “I'm sorry.” Colton gazed at her with sad puppy dog eyes. “How can I make it up to you?” He reached into the bag of snacks and held a Twizzler out to her, as if that made everything all right.

  But he didn’t get it. No matter how sorry he was, no matter how he looked at her with those gorgeous eyes of his, it wouldn’t change the fact that he had posted that picture. It wouldn’t fix things for either of them with Lexi.

  She shook her head. “Damage is done.”

  15

  Friends

  They rode in silence for a while after that. Natalie didn’t know what to say, and she wouldn’t know how bad things were until they actually reached their destination. As much as she dreaded facing Lexi, a part of her heart still hurt from the loss of their friendship. They had known each other practically since birth. Lexi’s mother and hers had been best friends growing up. They lived two doors down from each other on the cul de sac where Natalie still lived. Their parents spent a lot of time together. So it was inevitable that they would be friends. And they were, for a long time—Natty and Lex, best friends forever.

  And then Lexi’s mother became ill and the evil cancer took her from them when Lexi was five.

  After that, she spent most of her time at their house while her dad worked. Natalie loved having her there. Being an only child, it was like she had a sister. They did everything together, including gymnastics, and the girls spent a lot of time with Natalie’s mom—when Mom wasn’t having one of her days, that is.

  She still wasn’t sure exactly why things had changed, but Lexi had suddenly pulled away. She no longer came to their house. She got new friends. She started hanging out with more guys than girls. She quit gymnastics. And the things they’d always had in common, the things that had kept their friendship strong, seemed to slip away overnight.

  She lost Lexi. Then her mom split. And then the bullying started.

  If it hadn’t been for her dad, things might have been worse for her. Their relationship had helped her through the anxiety and depression. She had dealt with so much without a mother around, but she never felt completely alone. Her dad and her faith had gotten her through some of the worst days of her life.

  But there were others—like Colton’s brother, Chris, and other classmates—who had been rid
iculed and picked on, who struggled with depression, who had no support system in place. Others who had chosen to end it all.

  Natalie had never reached that point. But with all the mean girl texts that morning, the anxiety monster had begun to rear its ugly head once more. The tight knot in her stomach was back, and the uneasy feeling would not go away. Her usual slow breathing and prayer helped, but it all hung over her like a dark cloud. And it didn’t help that it had started to rain again.

  She watched the wipers glide back and forth over the windshield.

  “I’m sorry.” Colton broke the silence. “I know you’re mad at me right now.”

  “I don’t appreciate being used. I thought …” She wasn’t sure she should even say it.

  “What?”

  “I thought we were friends.” She couldn’t look at him.

  “We are.” He squeezed her hand.

  “I’m just worried about what’s going to happen when we get there. I wanted a nice quiet vacation with my friends, and now I have to deal with the wrath of Lexi.”

  “I’m such an idiot.” He wound his fingers through hers. “I’m going to make sure you have the perfect vacation. Trust me, OK?”

  She nodded, but she wasn’t sure she believed it.

  Natalie’s phone rang then. “Hey, Liv.”

  Colton’s hand slid away from hers and back to the steering wheel.

  “Hey yourself,” Olivia replied. “How’s it going?”

  “Fine.”

  “Looked like more than fine to me.”

  “I was asleep. Alone, if you didn’t notice.” She caught Colton’s smirk out of the corner of her eye.

  “Yes, but Colton took the picture and posted that cute caption.”

  “You’re reading way too much into things.”

  “Yeah, well, so is the rest of the school.”

  The knot in Natalie’s stomach squeezed tighter. “Everyone should just mind their own business.”

  “I didn’t mean to upset you,” Olivia said.

  Natalie hadn’t meant to snap. “I’m not mad at you, Liv. I’m glad you told me. It’s just, I’m getting all this crap from Lexi and the Hannahs already. It’s not good.”

  “Yeah, she was so ticked that you guys didn’t make it to the hotel last night. She was snapping at everyone and complaining loudly about it at the hotel pool. And she keeps asking me if I’ve heard from you and what’s going on with you two. I told her you’re just driving to the beach, that’s it.”

  “Thank you. That’s the truth.”

  “I don’t think she believed me. Especially after the pictures.”

  Natalie groaned.

  “Is that all there is to it? Really? You can tell me.”

  “If I could, I would, but we’re in the car right now.”

  “Man, I can’t wait until I see you. This sucks, you not being able to tell me what’s happening. Can I ask you yes or no questions?”

  “No.”

  “Come on. Pleeease.”

  “Fine.”

  “Was it Colton’s idea to sleep in the tent?” Olivia asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Did you two sleep together?”

  Natalie coughed. “No, of course not.”

  “I mean, did you sleep together in the sleeping bag?”

  “Sort of.”

  “That’s not a yes or no answer.”

  “I can’t elaborate at this time.” She spoke as quietly as she could, but there was no hiding her conversation from Colton.

  “Did he kiss you?” There was no mistaking the girlish excitement in Olivia’s voice.

  “Almost.”

  “What? What do you mean ‘almost’?”

  “I can’t elaborate,” she repeated.

  “Natalie!”

  Natalie couldn’t help but laugh at Olivia’s reaction. She glanced over at Colton, who was smirking again in that cute way of his. Maybe he could hear Olivia’s questions. She was talking kind of loud.

  “Is he as nice as you always hoped he would be?” Olivia asked.

  “Yes.” She peered out the window at the passing signs. “Are you on the bus?”

  “Yeah, we just left the hotel.”

  “So how long until you get there?”

  “We’re supposed to get there at like two o’clock.”

  They passed a sign for Shanksville just then, and Natalie pointed to it. “Oh man, we should go see the Flight 93 Memorial.”

  “Next time,” Colton replied.

  Olivia giggled on the other end of the phone. “Did I hear him right?”

  “What did you hear?”

  “Did he just tell you next time you would go to the Memorial?”

  “No.”

  “Yes, he did. Oh my gosh, what is happening with you two?”

  “Stop asking that.”

  “I’m sorry, but this is like one of those books or movies where the characters get stuck together in some unexpected circumstances and end up falling in love.”

  “It is not.”

  “It so is.”

  Natalie rolled her eyes. “I gotta go.”

  “Call me if anything interesting happens.” Olivia giggled.

  “Goodbye, Liv.”

  “Livvy out.”

  She groaned as she hung up. “Even my best friend is giving me a hard time about us.”

  He didn’t reply.

  She noticed him grinning. “What’re you grinning at?”

  “You said us.”

  “So.”

  He kept grinning.

  Natalie’s phone rang again, and she tapped her screen without checking to see who it was. “What now?”

  “Hey, Sleeping Beauty,” a deep voice answered.

  “Who is this?”

  “Someone who wants to be your Prince Charming,” he replied.

  Natalie heard laughter as the guy on the end of the line shushed whoever was with him. “How did you get this number?”

  “The only thing that matters is you and me, baby.”

  She hung up.

  “Who was that?” Colton asked.

  She didn’t reply.

  “Who?” He looked concerned.

  “I don’t know. Some guy messing with me.” Her phone rang again. Same number. She tapped “decline”, but moments later it rang again.

  Colton snatched it from her hand and answered. “Who is this?”

  Whoever it was hung up.

  He glanced at the screen. “Hey, grab my phone and open up my contacts.”

  “What for?”

  “Just do it.”

  She did as he asked.

  “Scroll down to Grant’s name and tell me his number.”

  She read the number off to him, and of course, it matched.

  He tapped her screen to dial the number then put the phone on speaker. It rang three times before the guy picked up.

  “Baby.” He held out the e sound. “I knew you couldn’t deny the connection between us.” More laughter in the background.

  “Grant, this is Colton.”

  “Oh, man, Colton, that girl is fine. Tell me you hit that last night.”

  Natalie tensed up at his crudeness.

  “You’re on speaker,” Colton replied.

  “He put me on speaker,” he whispered to his friends, which made them all erupt into more laughter.

  Colton rolled his eyes. “You guys are idiots. Stop calling her.”

  “Take me off speaker,” Grant said.

  “No way.”

  “It’s about Lexi.”

  Colton paused as if asking permission from Natalie, who simply shrugged. He pressed the speaker button and put the phone to his ear. “What about her?”

  Natalie watched Colton’s eyes narrow a little at whatever Grant said to him.

  “I’m hanging up now.” And he did. He handed the phone back to Natalie. “Sorry about him. About all of them. They really are idiots.”

  “Is everything OK with Lexi?” she asked.

  He rol
led his eyes again. “He said she was crying at the hotel last night.”

  Natalie didn’t like being a source of tension between Colton and his girlfriend—even if that girlfriend was Lexi. “Maybe you should call her.”

  “I don’t want to deal with her drama right now. I’ll talk to her when we get there,” he replied.

  “If you think that’s best.”

  He glanced over at her. “What, you don’t?”

  “It sounds like her feelings are hurt.”

  A look of surprise crossed his face. “Are you seriously worried about her feelings? Even after the horrible way she treated you?”

  “Just because someone’s wronged me doesn’t mean I have to do the same to them. Once upon a time, Lexi was my best friend, and I still care about her. She’s obviously hurting over you, and it’s because of me, and I feel bad about that.”

  He shook his head, his eyes narrowing, his forehead scrunching up. “I can’t figure you out, Natalie Rhodes.”

  “I’m a pretty straightforward kind of girl. Not a lot of mystery here. What you see is what you get.”

  He slowly moved his head from side to side in disbelief. “I think there’s a lot more to you than meets the eye.”

  She shook her head. “Nah.”

  “One minute you’re telling me about being bullied and the next you’re so compassionate toward the one who bullied you.”

  “I try to be kind and follow the Golden Rule—do unto others and all that.”

  “Don’t you just want to hurt her like she hurt you?” he asked.

  “I admit, there were times when I wanted to get back at her. But that was my anger getting the better of me. I would never set out to hurt her intentionally.”

  “Knowing some of the things she did to you back then, knowing what she and her friends have been saying to you since yesterday … I want nothing to do with her right now.”

  “She didn’t do anything to you.”

  “I don’t want to be with someone who’s capable of that behavior.”

  “Really?” She was the one who was surprised this time. “Because you’re a part of that group. You all stick together. You laugh when your friends laugh at someone. And when I saw you with Lexi and all your friends standing near my locker that day, laughing, all I could think was that you were all in on it.”