by J. L. Wyer
Her words are like hot daggers to my heart. Even though I'm cringing inside, I refuse to let her see it. “Do you always have to be such a vapid bitch?”
Samantha steps toward me and then steps away. I'm guessing by the direction of her gaze behind me, the cavalry has arrived in the form of three very large males.
Ryder is the first to speak. “I assume that you guys are not having a kumbaya moment. Do I need to tell Fallon you're messing with Elizabeth when he specifically told you to stay away from her?”
What is he talking about? At the mention of Fallon’s name, both Jacinda and Samantha back off and turn away to retreat to the safety of their group. Okay, that’s weird.
Ryder looks down at Maria. “Come on, Maria. I’ll walk you to class.” Without saying bye to me, Maria follows Ryder into school. Jayson takes my hand and Julien takes my bag.
“Jayson, what did Fallon do?”
“Nothing for you to worry about. Come on or we’re going to be late.”
“Julien?”
“Uh uh. Nope. We are not playing good parent, bad parent.”
I snort. “Seriously?”
I’m met with silence.
We get to my my locker and once I drop stuff off and lock it, Jayson walks me to my first class which Julien and Ryder are also in. We find four seats next to each other and sit down. Mr. Carmichael walks in and tells us to get our textbooks out. I'm already looking forward to the end of the school week.
Chapter 17
Elizabeth
Ryder: Jamie’s car broke down and I have to go get her. I’ll try to meet up with you guys at the party. Tell Jules I’m sorry I missed the game.
Me: He’s doing great. Already scored 2 goals. Haven’t seen Marshall. Did he drop his team? Not that I’m complaining.
Ryder: Don’t know. Don’t care.
Me: BTW, where’s Maria? She hasn't returned any of my texts.
Ryder: Sorry, Liz. Got 2 go. Catch up with u later.
“Ryder’s got to get Jamie and will probably miss the entire game,” I tell Hailey and Jayson who are sitting on either side of me on the bleachers. Not that Jayson is paying any attention to me. He's been closely watching the college scouts who are sitting three rows down from us.
“They haven’t taken their eyes off Julien the entire game,” he says excitedly, most of that excitement coming from the fact that he found out one of the scouts was from Carolina University.
Hailey leans back and pulls Jayson over toward her, “Want me to go sit behind them and cheer loudly for Julien and scream how awesome he is?”
“Don’t be silly,” I say as Jayson says, “Yes.”
“Absolutely not Jayson Jameson. Leave them alone. Julien would be mortified if you did that. And you, troublemaker of a sister,” I poke her in the side, “don't—” I stop talking when Hailey flinches in pain and jerks away from me. “I’m so sorry, Hales. Did I hurt you?”
She drops her hand quickly from her side. “I’m fine. It’s nothing,” she replies, not looking at me. I try to lift the side of her shirt, but she forcefully swipes my hand away. “I said I’m fine Lizzie. Geesh, stop mothering me.”
Her face falls when she sees my hurt expression. I can’t believe she just smacked me.
“I’m sorry. I ran into the door this morning leaving for school so have a bruise. It’s a bit tender where you poked it. No biggie. Nothing to worry about. Um, I need to go to the restroom. Be right back.” Hailey hurriedly climbs down off the bleachers like her pants are on fire.
“What’s up with your sister?” Jayson asks, and then jumps up to yell something when Julien is tripped by one of the opposing team members. “Thank God,” Jayson mumbles as Julien gets up off the ground, unhurt, and brushes himself off.
After Marshall shredded Julien’s calf during a game with his cleats, we all worry about him getting injured again while playing. Julien worked hard to come back from his injury, and even went to a specialized sports therapist for physical therapy and strength training to help get back in top shape. Even though Jayson doesn’t know it, Elijah played a huge part in Julien's rapid recovery. They told me about it later, explaining that was when Elijah found out Julien had feelings for him and vice versa.
Jayson sits back down and pulls me into his lap, burying his nose in my hair. I realize that Hailey has been gone for a while and look around the rows of people for her. I send her a text.
After five minutes and nothing back from Hailey, I turn to Jayson. “I wonder where Hailey is? Do you mind if I go look for her?”
“Game’s about over. I’ll come with you and then we can meet up with Julien in the parking lot.”
A bunch of students congregate around the unlocked entrance to the school’s gymnasium where the restrooms are located. Our school’s SROs, which are school resource officers that work for our town’s sheriff’s department, usually stay for home games and stand guard at the door and in the gymnasium to make sure students don’t try to sneak into the main school building or damage school property.
“What’s up, Henry?” Jayson fist bumps the older officer. Henry’s been an SRO at our school as long as we have been coming here and Jayson is on a first name basis with him.
While they’re talking, I slip inside to check the women’s restroom for Hailey. Two girls I know from English class are primping in the mirror. “Hey, Beth, hey Celeste.”
“Lizzie girl!” Beth exclaims and gives me a big hug. “Should have figured you’d be here watching Julien.”
Celeste is next to hug me. “Where’s your boy? I’m surprised he let you out his sight for more than a second.”
“He’s not that bad.” They both give me a yeah, right look. “Have you guys seen Hailey? She’s disappeared on me and the game’s almost over.”
“Celeste, didn’t we see her with that guy earlier?”
“What guy?”
“Oh, right. Yeah, she was with some guy in the hallway. Didn’t recognize him, so he must not go here. They looked like they were arguing.” Hailey has got some explaining to do when I find her.
“Do you mind showing me?”
“Yeah, no prob.” I follow them out of the restroom and around the corner to the hallway. The metal accordion gate is up and locked but no sign of Hailey. “Oh, well, they’re not here anymore. But this is where we saw her.”
My phone dings and I pull it out.
Hailey: Met up with a friend.
Me: Hales. Where r u? I want to talk to you before you leave.
Hailey: Sorry. Already left.
Me: I’ll see you at the party then.
Hailey: Not going. Doing something else. Don’t wait up.
Me: Heard you were arguing with some dude. What gives?
I wait for her response. Nothing.
Me: Hales. Answer me.
Still nothing.
Beth and Celeste wait patiently for me. I give up on Hailey and say bye to the girls, get more hugs, and then head out to find Jayson. He’s right where I left him talking with Henry.
“There’s my girl,” he smiles, sliding an arm around my waist. “Catch ya later, man.” Henry pats Jayson on the back, nods at me, and walks off to the other SRO.
“Hailey bailed on us.”
Jayson shrugs, not really caring one way or the other. Groups of people stream by us either heading to the exit or going inside to use the restrooms. I guess the game is over.
“Let’s go wait for Jules and then it’s party time.” As we saunter across the crushed slate of the parking lot to Jayson’s truck, we get stopped several times by guys who want to talk to Jayson. I could care less about what they are talking about, so I leave and pop the tailgate down on his truck and sit to wait for Julien.
Jayson comes to stand between my dangling legs and sits down on the edge of the tailgate, grabbing my thighs. “Sorry about that, babe.” He leans back into me and turns his head to kiss my chin and I place a kiss to the tip of his nose.
While we wait for Julien to come out,
we sit quietly, and I spend the time running my hands over the expanse of his muscular shoulders and down his arms. I love how his body feels, the indent and curvature of his shoulders and arm muscles both hard and smooth. Jayson leans back a bit farther and I wrap my arms under his armpits to clasp both of my hands at the front of his chest. He makes a low humming noise of contentment, the vibrations tickling my fingertips.
“I’ve been thinking,” he tells me in a low murmur. He shifts slightly so he can gaze up at me. “Wherever we go for college, I want us to move in together. Find some place off campus just for the two of us. What do you think?”
I cock a brow at him. “And you’ve been thinking about this a lot, have you? We're not even seniors yet, Jayson.”
“Well, yeah. I think a lot about you and me and the rest of our lives. College will be our first real chance for us just to be about us, if that makes sense. I know Jules and Ryder will be there too, but it’ll be different, you know? You, me, and our own space we don’t have to share.”
“No more climbing through my window,” I tease even though the thought of losing that makes me a bit sad. I have all these wonderful, precious memories of growing up next door to him and Julien, of our tree, our tree fort, my swing, my paper stars. How will I be able to leave home and not be heartbroken from missing those memories? I have to remind myself that no matter where we go or where we end up, Jayson, Julien, and Ryder will give me new memories just as special. It’s still scary to grow up. I don’t think I’m ready.
Jayson reaches back to touch my cheek and the contact breaks me out of my thoughts. “You are my forever, Liz. I want us to make a life together.”
Seeing that he's dead serious, my stomach gets a queasy, uncomfortable feeling. Before I can respond, Julien jogs over, hair damp from the shower he must have taken after the game.
“Mind if we grab something on the way, ‘cause I’m starving,” he proclaims.
I unwrap myself from Jayson and leap off the tailgate into Julien’s arms knowing he’ll catch me. “You did so good our there!”
Julien keeps me locked in his arms. I can tell something is up by the ear to ear grin plastered across his face. He turns us to face Jayson.
“That’s why I'm late coming out. I got an offer.”
“Are you serious?” Jayson jumps off the back of the truck.
“CU is offering me a full ride to college and a spot on their team after I graduate next year. First time in Fallen Brook High history that a junior has been given such an offer.”
Jayson lunges for his brother and I get squished between two very enthusiastic boys. “That’s so freaking awesome! We need to tell Mom and Dad.”
“Guys.” I laugh. “I can’t breathe.”
Julien releases me straight into Jayson’s arms. I’m not going to complain.
“They’ll send everything over to coach next week, and coach wants Mom and Dad to join us for the meeting. Honestly, if everything looks good, I think I’ll go ahead and accept. I don’t care what other offers I get next year. CU has been my dream, so why wait, you know?”
“Julien, I’m over the moon for you,” I congratulate him. Jayson deposits me into the passenger seat of his truck and grabs Julien in a tight hug. “So proud of you, man. I love you, brother.”
“Thanks, Jay. Now, who's ready to go celebrate.”
“Couldn’t ask for a better night to party,” Jayson replies, still beaming at Julien.
The party tonight is at Curtis Mathews’s house. He’s on the swim team with Jayson so I’ve been to his place once before. His family owns a small plot of land near Mr. Jacoby’s farm. After the nightmare that was Fallon’s last party, I’ve avoided all parties and this will be my first one since then.
Me: Game’s over. We r heading over to Curtis’s now. What’s ur ETA?
Ryder: OMW.
Me: Have some great news to share. See u there.
Ryder: Have some news too. Be there soon.
Yep, it’s official. I hate parties. They have been spoiled for all time for me. I’m a paranoid, nervous wreck. I watch everyone around me expecting someone to drop a roofie into our drinks or for Marshall to pop out of nowhere and pick a fight. I can tell I’m irritating the crap out of Jayson by nagging him to death about not drinking tonight. Luckily, he's only had one beer so far. I need to get a grip, but I feel like walls of writhing, dancing bodies are closing in on me and I can’t breathe. Curtis’s party is nothing like Fallon’s, but the need to get out of here before I completely lose it and have a full-blown panic attack claws away at me.
“Jayson, can we leave please?”
“Huh? Hold up, man,” he tells Curtis and looks down at me. “Why do you want to leave? We haven’t been here that long.”
“Can you take me home?” Someone knocks into me from behind and I hear a girl giggle “sorry” as she stumbles across the kitchen to grab another drink. “Seriously, Jayson. Can’t we please just go?”
“Ryder should be here in a bit and I’ll take you home once he gets here. I don’t want to spoil Julien’s night by making him leave now.”
“Fine. I’ll be outside.” Anything to get some fresh air.
Elijah is out of town with his parents so wasn’t at the game and isn’t here now. I understand that Jayson wants to make sure Ryder is here to drive Julien home since Julien is already halfway wasted. I don’t like it, but I understand. I just can’t take another second standing here, a feeling of unease creeping up my skin. I wonder if I’ll ever be able to be in a closed room with large groups anymore without feeling the need to escape and run away. I guess I’m not as over the events of Fallon’s party as I thought I was.
Someone else bumps into me. For Pete’s sake. Get me the out of this house. I find the nearest door that leads outside and burst through it, finding myself on the front porch. Humid air fills my lungs and I take a seat on the bench swing. I push my toe down and start the swing going.
“Hey, kitten. Thought that was you.”
A large shadow created by the glow of the porch and yard lights glides across the side of the house as Fallon emerges from the darkness, something dangling from his mouth. Whatever it is, he tosses it away into the yard and makes his way over to me.
“Hey, Fallon.” Speak of the devil.
He hops up on the porch railing and climbs over to sit on top of it next to where I am on the bench swing. “You here alone?”
“No. Jayson and Julien are inside. I just needed a breather.”
He makes a humming noise and stares at me like I'm a puzzle he's trying to solve. Why? I have no clue. I never know what to make of Fallon. I see him all the time at the Fields, and he and Ryder hang out sometimes, or he’ll bring his cars to Ryder’s dad’s shop. Every time I see him, he usually has a girl hanging off his arm. I guess I get why. He strikingly handsome, dark blond hair and aquamarine eyes, and has an air of recklessness and danger about him that attracts girls to him like moths to a flame. His family is also filthy rich which I’m sure doesn’t hurt and works to his advantage. From what I've been able to piece together from eavesdropping on the twin's conversations, Fallon handled the mess with Marshall after the fight at the party and got the video of it taken down. I wonder if he is also the reason that Marshall wasn't playing tonight for the Highland High soccer team.
“Fallon, if I asked you a question, would you answer it truthfully?”
He tilts his head and his bright blue eyes flit across my face. “Depends.”
“Did you do anything to Marshall or to those other guys to shut them up and not report Jayson? What's the deal you made with Samantha and Jacinda? I also noticed that Marshall wasn’t playing tonight. Know anything about that?” I might as well get all my questions out all at once for him.
His chuckle is low and deep. “That’s three questions, Elizabeth." The way he drawls out my name makes me suspicious that he's either drunk or high.
“Would you mind answering all three then?”
“Why do you want t
o know?” he says, jumping off the porch railing and taking a seat beside me on the swing. The smell of marijuana on him is strong so I get my answer to my earlier suspicion. I scoot over on the bench swing to put more distance between us. Fallon has always been a wild enigma, but right now I wonder if he is someone I should be wary of.
He leans his head back and rotates it in my direction. “A secret for a secret, kitten.”
“What does that even mean? And stop calling me kitten.”
“I will answer one of your questions for every secret you give me.”
“I don’t understand, Fallon. This isn’t a game. I have no secrets to tell.”
“First of all, everyone has secrets. Secondly, everything is a game. It just depends on how you play. And tonight, I want to play with you.” He reaches out and twirls a piece of my hair around his finger. I smack it away and he laughs. “Kitten has some claws, I see.”
“I mean it, Fallon. Stop calling me kitten.”
“Make me, Elizabeth.”
I only wanted some answers to my questions — questions that none of the boys will answer. But something tells me this is not a game I want to play with Fallon.
I stand up abruptly, setting the swing back in an arch. “Screw you, Fallon, and screw your mind games.”
He’s faster than I give him credit for, especially in the doped-up state he’s in. His hands snake out and grab me by my waist to pull me in. “Oh, Elizabeth. How do you know you don't like my games if you won't play them?”
A deep voice booms behind me causing me to jump. “Get your hands off my girl, Fallon.”
My girl. And it’s not Jayson.
Fallon leans to the side and smiles at Ryder. “I see how it is now. Good to know.” Fallon releases his hold on me and resumes swinging back and forth in the bench swing, the squeaking of the chains as loud as the cicadas that are buzzing in the trees. He smirks up at Ryder who's now at my back and taps the side of his head. “Knowledge is power.” This guy is beyond confusing with his riddles and non-answers.
Ryder steps forward and gently moves me behind him. “You okay, Elizabeth?” he asks me, but his eyes are on Fallon.