A Bolder Version of Me (The Destiny Clark Saga Book 3)

by Cindy Ray Hale

“He was in a car accident after school.”

  “I had no idea. Is he okay?”

  “I don’t know,” I said, and even to my ears, my voice sounded tiny.

  When we got into the classroom at the church, I sat by Megan. Preston gave Michael a questioning glance, but Michael only shook his head. Had he already told Preston last night he suspected I’d broken up with Isaac? Preston’s mouth formed a hard line.

  “What happened last night?” Megan whispered. “Brinlee said you were upset.”

  “There aren’t any secrets around here, are there?” I asked.

  “Not when you’re hurting. What did he do to you?” Preston asked.

  “He didn’t do anything to me. He’s in the hospital unconscious, okay?”

  Preston and Megan sat back in their chairs, with matching stunned expressions. Michael gave Preston an I-told-you-not-to-go-there look.

  “I’m sorry,” Megan said. She gave me a hug. “I hope he’s okay. I know you care about him.”

  “Thanks. That means a lot,” I said.

  Preston looked away and didn’t speak to me for the rest of the morning.

  13

  Isaac

  A beeping noise like an alarm clock from Hell assaulted my ears relentlessly. My eyelids fluttered, and my head throbbed with a massive headache. I opened my eyes, and blurry shapes came into focus. I was in a hospital room.

  Mom rushed to my side. “Stephen, get over here. He’s awake.” She took my hand and pressed it to her mouth as a sob shook her body. “We’ve been so worried about you.”

  “What happened?”

  “Hi, my name is Dr. Morris,” said a female voice to my left. Wincing, I twisted my sore neck to see a small woman wearing a lab coat. Her salt-and-pepper hair was pulled back into a long ponytail at the base of her neck. “I’m afraid you were in a car accident last night.”

  “What?” I pushed up to a sitting position in the bed and grimaced. My head hurt so badly that the room spun a little. “What are my injuries? What time is it now?”

  “One thing at a time,” she said in an even tone. She checked her watch. “It’s two-thirty on Thurdsay afternoon. You have a mild concussion from hitting your head against the side of the car. You should be aware it’s normal to experience some temporary memory loss after a head trauma like this.”

  That means I’d been out for almost twenty-four hours.

  “What’s the last thing you can remember?” Dad asked, his face tense.

  I closed my eyes and scrunched my face in concentration. “Football. It was pouring rain. I don’t even remember getting in the car.” Dad relaxed a little. Why did that seem to calm him down?

  After Dr. Morris left, I said, “Dad, get some rest. You don’t look so good.” His hair was rumpled, and he had dark circles under his eyes.

  “He’s been so worried about you. He didn’t sleep all night,” Mom said.

  “Well, at least he wasn’t hurt.”

  “He was very blessed,” Mom said.

  “Start from the beginning,” I said. “I want to hear the whole story.”

  Dad cleared his throat. “We were driving down Acorn Creek Road coming up on the ravine, and the road was flooded over so deep I had to slam on my brakes. The person behind us rear-ended us, causing us to spin into the other lane. A car came down the hill. They tried to swerve, but they still hit the back corner of the side you were on. You were very lucky. If the car hadn’t swerved, it would have T-boned us. Either that, or we would’ve been thrown into the ravine.”

  “Let’s just say you had some guardian angels watching over you last night,” Mom said.

  14

  Destiny

  Gripping the padded straps of my backpack, I walked down prep hall with a heavy heart. I avoided the vicious stares Aspen and Sydney gave me as I passed. When I turned a corner, I found Hannah standing at her open locker, pulling books out of her backpack. The halls were abuzz with talk of Isaac’s accident. There were all kinds of rumors flying around the school. Some people were saying he’d broken an arm. Some said he was in a coma. Some said it was only a mild concussion.

  “Hey. I’m guessing that since you haven’t texted me, you haven’t heard anything,” I said to Hannah.

  “Nothing new,” Hannah said, her face solemn.

  During Primus, we were working on Christmas songs again. I kept glancing past Josh to Isaac’s empty seat. I couldn’t get him out of my head. Was he going to be okay? Would he be in a lot of pain when he woke up? What were his injuries? As class came to a close and I was putting my folder in its cubby, Mr. Byrd said, “Destiny, can I have a word with you?”

  “Ooh, busted,” Josh muttered as he walked past.

  I followed Mr. Byrd into his office. He shut the door and then sat on the edge of his desk. “I understand you’re dating Isaac.”

  Isaac and I weren’t dating. We were over. The pain was so intense I couldn’t even contradict him. All I could do was stare at him, unable to speak.

  “His father came to me about it yesterday. He made it clear that he disapproved of your relationship. He was so upset about it he… ah… demanded I relieve you from your role as Éponine.”

  Anger lashed through me, intensified by the pain. Our breakup was mostly Dr. Robinson’s fault. If it weren’t for him and his stupid bigotry, Isaac and I would still be together.

  “Why?” I said. “What would that accomplish? Taking the role away from me just because I’m dating the headmaster’s son would be wrong on so many levels. He can’t hold that over your head.”

  Mr. Byrd studied me and nodded. “I agree.”

  I let out the breath I’d been holding.

  “Out of all my students this year I’ve seen the most growth in you. You’ve improved drastically since your audition. But even if that weren’t the case, I still wouldn’t be changing the cast.”

  “Thank you so much.”

  Mr. Byrd’s gaze grew solemn. “Be careful though. I’ve seen a lot of young romances in my years here, and well, I see a lot of opposition to your relationship with Isaac. You two are what you might call star-crossed lovers, to take a line from Shakespeare. You and Isaac are some of my best students, and I’d hate to see you kids getting hurt.”

  I knew all too well about getting hurt. Isaac and I had let our guards down and where had it gotten us? Tears threatened, and I studied my chipped purple nail polish, straining to control my emotions.

  Mr. Byrd seemed surprised by my sadness. “I don’t have a problem with your relationship. More power to you. Call me a silly romantic, but I rather like Marius and Éponine being secretly in love.”

  I gave him a weak smile.

  He scratched his head. “I have a concern, though.”

  “Yes?”

  “If this romance doesn’t work out, will you still be able to perform as Éponine and Marius?”

  His words twisted and jabbed inside me. I imagined singing with Isaac onstage, his face only inches from mine, and frowned. It would be hard to be so near him without being his girlfriend. Could I do it? Would the pain be worth it?

  I thought of the countless hours I’d spent pouring over every detail of the musical I could find on the internet. I thought about the countless hours I’d sat at the piano, committing words and notes to memory, until my back ached from sitting too long. I thought about all the voice lessons and the time it had taken to drive across town when I could have been studying or relaxing in the woods.

  “I can’t speak for him, but I will do everything in my power to be the best Éponine I can be.”

  No matter how hard it would be to sing with Isaac, performing the music I’d worked so hard to perfect would undoubtedly be worth it—not to mention the chance I still had ahead of me to learn more in the rehearsals to come.

  “I’m glad to hear that. It sounds like we’re on the same page.”

  “I still can’t believe Dr. Robinson tried to get me kicked out of the musical.”

  “Honestly, this job isn’
t worth it to me if it means I have to compromise my integrity,” Mr. Byrd said. “That’s not what we’re supposed to be standing for at this school. When I accepted this job, I took it because of the values they found Bethel upon. We’re here to teach the students about God’s Love—not spread bigotry and hatred.”

  Mr. Byrd’s words struck me like a lightning bolt. He was right. No. He was beyond right. What had I been thinking? By breaking up with Isaac, I was enabling Dr. Robinson to practice the bigotry and hatred Mr. Byrd had mentioned.

  When I came out of art with Hudson, he gave me a hug. “I’m sorry about Isaac.” His blue eyes were sad and serious.

  “Thanks, Hudson.”

  “Maybe he’s okay, right? He’s probably just waking up.”

  Josh walked up to us. “Actually, he is. I just got a text from my dad.” Dark circles sat under his eyes, and his hair was disheveled. For the first time, the hardened outer shell of cockiness had peeled away, revealing the vulnerable younger brother hidden beneath.

  “How’s he doing?” I asked.

  “He’s in a lot of pain, but he’s been talking to our parents. He doesn’t remember the wreck.”

  “Did he ask for me?” Normally, I wouldn’t have asked Josh such a question, but I couldn’t help myself.

  The old glint of anger flashed in his eyes. He shook his head. “Nope.”

  Hudson and I walked past Josh and turned into the hallway with the choir and band rooms.

  Aspen and Will were walking up to a group of cheerleaders clustered in prep hall. “We’re taking donations to get balloons and flowers for Isaac,” Aspen said. “We’re meeting in the student lounge to make get-well posters, and then we’re all going over there after school to cheer him up. It will be a good way to show him that even though he’s been turning his back on God, we’re still here cheering him on in his journey to come back.”

  I balled my fists at my sides and resisted the urge to scream at all of them. These were the same people making his life miserable yesterday. Where did Aspen get off thinking she could organize something like this for him? It was like she thought she could step right back into her old role as girlfriend. And there was Will, right beside her, acting like he was still Isaac’s best friend. If Aspen and Will showed up, Isaac would only feel worse. I needed to be there by his side to cheer him up, not her.

  “Are you going to make posters with Aspen?” Hudson asked with a teasing smile.

  “What do you think?” I said with a snort.

  “I’m going to guess no.”

  “You guessed right.”

  I realized why Aspen was doing all of this. She was jealous. Of me. She didn’t care about Isaac’s salvation. Heck, she didn’t care about her own. This was all an elaborate plan to break us up. She didn’t want him for herself, but she didn’t want me to have him either.

  I remembered seeing the raw pain on his face the day we ate omelets in Hannah’s kitchen. He’d poured his heart out to me about how much the breakup had hurt him. It had been his own personal ‘Empty Chairs At Empty Tables’ moment. She had so much power over him to crush his heart. It was part of why I’d dated him in the first place: to protect him from her.

  He needed me, and I would do everything I could to be there for him. But would he want me back?

  15

  Isaac

  News travels fast at Bethel Baptist Academy. At about six-thirty, there was a knock on the door to my hospital room. Mom opened it and said, “Aspen! Will! It’s so good to see you! And you brought some friends.”

  Within seconds, my room was crowded with football players, cheerleaders, Primus singers, all the other student body officers, and a couple of kids I didn’t even know.

  Aspen came into the room with a huge smile and hugged me like we were still dating. I pushed her away. What was her problem? She pretended to not notice.

  “The whole school’s been so worried about you!”

  Will cleared his throat, and she stepped back a little. He put his arms around her like he was defending his personal property.

  He could have her. I was done with her manipulative personality.

  The group of students stayed on and on, long after my head had pounded again and I’d dropped several hints I’d wanted them to leave. Most of them weren’t even talking to me. They were using my room like a hang-out spot. Normally, I joined in on the sports banter and teasing, but my heart was still so heavy from Destiny’s last words to me. I kept hoping she’d show up, but she hadn’t.

  Mom and Dad didn’t even seem to care about the people overstaying their welcome. At one point, Dad said, “It’s good to see you back with your old friends again.” I bit back the sarcastic remark threatening to shoot from my mouth.

  Dinner came, but I only ended up picking at the soggy meatloaf and limp green beans.

  Aspen sat on the edge of the bed, close enough that I could smell her perfume. Her smell used to be such a turn on. Now it turned my stomach. Why couldn’t she just back off?

  “You shouldn’t have to eat that garbage. Come on everyone. Let’s go get him some barbecue.”

  Green remained sitting, but she tugged on his hand.

  “No thanks, Aspen. This is fine.”

  “Don’t be silly. Smokey Bones is just down the street. We’ll be back in ten minutes, fifteen tops.”

  Why was she doing this? Didn’t she get it? Even if Destiny didn’t want to tough it out with me, there was no way I would go back to Aspen.

  Ever.

  Her mere presence nauseated me.

  Whatever. She’d figure it out. In the meantime, why not cash in on some free barbecue? The hospital food was disgusting.

  When Aspen and Green left with their friends, it was like the entire room had gotten bigger, and I could breathe easier.

  Ten minutes later, Hannah and Evan came into the room.

  “Isaac!”

  “Hey, Hannah.”

  “Isaac! You’re alive!” Evan said with a grin as he gave me a gentler-than-usual fist pound. “So when you gonna bust this joint, Bro?”

  “They just came by with my CAT scan results. They want to do a few more tests, and if all goes well, they said the earliest they could release me will be tomorrow morning.”

  “Good to hear. Good to hear.”

  “So… have you talked to Destiny?” I asked Hannah. I glanced over at Dad to see if he’d heard me.

  She rolled her eyes at me. “You did hit your head. Of course, I’ve talked to Destiny. What kind of question is that?”

  “Where is she?” I asked.

  Hannah glanced around the room, her eyes focusing on Dad deep in conversation with Mom and Josh on the other side of the curtain.

  “Hannah is that you?” Mom asked.

  “Hey, Aunt Julie!” she said in a chipper voice.

  Hannah leaned closer to me and whispered, “Destiny’s hiding around the corner. She wasn’t sure you’d want to see her, so she sent us in here to feel you out.”

  “She’s here?” Destiny still cared? She must have risked so much to show up here. I ached to feel her arms around me again, to hold her close to me, to smell the wildflower scent of her shampoo.

  Dad let loose a loud belt of laughter behind the curtain to my right, interrupting my thoughts. Panic jolted through me. If Dad saw her in here, he would only make things worse and push her further away. I had to warn her to leave before he saw her. I swung my legs over the side of the bed. “Ugh… ow.” My head throbbed, even with the painkillers.

  “Whoa, down boy,” Hannah sang, mistaking my panic as excitement. “Evan, tell her to come in here. I’ll go be a distraction.”

  Hannah moved to the other side of the curtain, launching into her explanation of why she thought the Georgia Bulldogs would smash the Vols in the upcoming game. I shuddered. How could she allow those traitorous words to come from her mouth? For the first time all day, I chuckled. That ought to keep them busy for a while.

  I looked up and sobered. Destiny stood in t
he doorway with worry creasing her brow.

  Could Dad see her from where he sat behind the curtain? I winced as I imagined the verbal attack he’d launch once he discovered her presence.

  She stood by the bed, twisting her hands around the straps of her brown leather purse. A set of vulnerable blue eyes fixed on me. “Isaac…” she whispered.

  “You shouldn’t be here. My dad…”

  “I had to come. I was so worried about you.” Had she come as a friend, or was she interested in rekindling our relationship?

  She got down on her knees and brought her face close to mine. I ached to run my fingers through her hair and tell her I wasn’t going anywhere, but I didn’t dare.

  Would we ever be okay?

  I reached out a hand to her face, but hesitated. Would this ever work, or would she just reject me again?

  Josh let out a raucous laugh from the other side of the curtain. “You should go.” The desire to be with her was intense, but it wasn’t worth the risk. Sparing her feelings, protecting her from the threat of his attack, was more important.

  Destiny’s face went white as she took a small step back.

  “Please,” I whispered. “I don’t want him to know you’re here.”

  Her eyes went wide. “Are you ashamed of me?”

  “No.” I wanted to tell her I needed her by my side as my girl, but I said, “I just don’t want him getting upset.”

  She stared at me, her face void of emotion, before turning and disappearing through the door.

  I let out a heavy sigh. A strange mixture of relief and fear went through me. I felt relief because Dad was still laughing and chatting with Mom and Josh on the other side of the room like nothing significant had just happened. I felt fear because of the look on her face. Did she think I was sending her away because I was bitter over the breakup? Was I?

  No. I couldn’t blame her. Dad had been so horrible to her.

  Did I really want her to leave because of Dad, or was that only an excuse? Maybe I was too much of a coward to face her. Why, oh why, did they have to be here? If they hadn’t been, would I have had the courage to make things, right?