by Caity H.
"They're my friends," he argued. I rolled my eyes. They weren't his friends. There was no such thing as "friends" when it came to the popular group. "You just don't understand friendship because you only have one."
I resisted the urge to slap him. He was one of the reasons so few people spoke to me. Everything he told them made me an even bigger joke. They couldn't take me seriously, or see my face without remembering one of the many things they'd heard about me. "You're such a jerk." I bit my lip.
"And you're oversensitive." He stood up, walking past me. "See you tonight."
In the calmest possible mindset I could muster, I nodded and walked in the opposite direction. He would see me tonight. Hopefully the constant torment I put myself through wouldn’t lead to my going insane.
When I found Bethany, she was pacing in front of one of the other buildings on campus. As soon as she saw me, she slapped her forehead. “Olivia, I’m so sorry.” She walked over toward me.
“It’s fine,” I promised. “What happened?”
She sighed, running a hand through her hair. "I just got held up. First, I had to help my partner figure out the math problem before we could turn in our work. Then Jeremiah said he had something to give me and told me to wait here," she explained.
Jeremiah was on the football team, and had lately been trying to win the attention of my very own Bethany Bridges. She was so far out of his league, but he was popular so everyone thought it was weird he gave her any attention.
"I'm starting to think that maybe he isn't really going to get something from his locker, but is just biding his time to see how long an idiot like me will stay and wait for something that's not going to happen." She frowned.
"If he did, it's his loss," I told her, pushing my glasses farther up on my nose.
"Let's go." She looped her arm through mine and we walked back toward where she'd parked her car. The car had sat in the sun for the past seven hours and felt like a sauna when we got in. It was stifling and hard to breathe. As soon as the car was turned on, we rolled our windows down. "So how was your day?" Her pointed brown eyes moved in my direction.
"Lex talked to me after my last class," I revealed.
"Do tell," she encouraged, laying her arm edge of her window. The sun soaked into her already tan skin, one of the pluses of living in California.
"It wasn't really a big deal. We argued a little, and he invited me over to his family barbecue tonight." I laughed when she slapped the steering wheel, her jaw lowered. "No biggie."
"Yeah right! That is the epitome of a biggie," she retorted. "Are you going?"
“Duh,” I scoffed. "Even if my mom wasn't making me go, which she probably is, I would still go."
“Can I come?” Her eyes had a mischievous gleam to them. "You know I'm a joy at parties. And your mom loves me!"
I raised an eyebrow, and a smirk flitted across my lips. “She does, but last time you came to one of these parties you threw a cup of punch in Lex’s face.”
“I was only defending your honor. Excuse me for caring.” She gasped.
“Well, you know what I mean. I don't want you to get in trouble on my behalf," I laughed.
“Tsk, tsk. Minor details,” she replied. She stopped the car at the intersection, waiting for me to gather my things. My house was at the end of the street, not very far away. I snatched my bag off the bottom of the car and got out of the car. I shut the door and leaned in the window.
"I'll see you at my house in a half an hour, Livie. Don't you dare forget your bathing suit or there will be a very angry Bethany for you to deal with." she smiled sweetly.
"I would never." I winked. "See you then." With a wave, I headed down the road to get my things.
Chapter Two – Word Games
Ten minutes later, I was walking toward her house, a tank top covering my navy bikini top and leopard print boy shorts. My towel was draped over my shoulders. It was nearly four o'clock and the sun was still shining brightly in the sky. I pulled my long blonde hair up into a pony tail, feeling it bounce from side to side as I walked.
The sound of a car engine reached my ears, but I didn't think much of it. When the car honked, I jumped. My hands flew to my chest, as if to contain my heart from beating its way out of my chest. As I turned, the beat of my heart only intensified.
The cherry red shine of the jeep was almost blinding in the sun. Lex sat in the front seat, sunglasses over his eyes and a smile on his face. "Honeybee!"
"What do you want, Lex?" I muttered, turning to continue toward Bethany's.
"Where are you going?" He continued to drive by my side, his car moved slowly to match my pace. "Swimming?" He eyed the towel.
I held in my growl and nodded. "Yeah, what's it to you?" There was a stop sign not too far from where I was. Perhaps I could start sprinting when I got there and reach Bethany's house before he could torture me anymore. Not that his talking to me was really that torturous, but it wasn't helping my heart calm down.
"Do you want a lift?" Lex gestured to the passenger seat. I eyed it with disdain. "It's not going to kill you." He laughed. That’s what he thought, but how could he even know that?
"No thanks." I kept walking. "I don't want to damage your reputation."
He laughed, shaking his head. "No one's around to see us anyways. Get in, Honeybee." Now I didn't even have a choice?
"I don't want a lift," I said again.
"It's not going to turn into a transformer and eat you, if that's what you're worried about."
"Goodbye, Lex." I turned down Bethany's street and was happy when the silence captured me again. But then it hit me. Lex never listened to me. I pushed away the fear that something was seriously wrong with him and kept walking.
When I got to Bethany’s house, her mom let me in.
“Hi, Olivia,” Karen Bridges greeted. Her rusty brown hair and blue eyes were a stark difference from Bethany’s looks. Of course that made sense considering Bethany was from China, and adopted by the Bridges when Bethany was two years old.
“Hi,” I replied.
“Bethany’s in the back,” she told me, closing the door after me. I nodded my thanks and moved through their house toward the patio door that led to the pool. Their house was large, with white couches in the living room and a hardwood floor in the kitchen. Glossy countertops gleamed in the sunlight that streamed through the window.
I pushed open the glass door and closed it gently behind me so Bethany wouldn’t realize I was there. She had her back to me, sitting on the edge of the pool with her feet in the water. I snuck toward her, holding in my laughter.
Just as I was about to grab her shoulders and push her in, her head swiveled toward me, eyebrow raised accusingly. “You can’t sneak up on someone in flip flops.” I frowned. “What took you so long? I was about to call the cops,” she joked.
“I couldn’t find my towel, and then Lex stopped me on the side of the road,” I informed her. I shaded my eyes against the glare off the pool. Where did I put my sunglasses? They were in my bag somewhere.
She wrinkled her nose. “Did he offer you candy if you got in the car?”
I chortled. “That would make more sense than him actually being nice to me.” I let my towel and swimming bag drop to the ground beside me. “Something is seriously wrong with that boy.”
“Maybe he’s dying, and has to right his wrongs before he goes!” She said cheerily.
My expression dropped and I held in the eye roll. Only Bethany. With a swift shove, I sent her into the pool.
A few seconds later, her head shot up, and she coughed. “You jerk,” she hissed, rubbing the water from her eyes.
“You were happy about Lex dying, you kind of deserved it.” She swam back toward the edge of the pool. I moved away so she couldn’t reach me.
“To think! A boy is coming between us!” She exclaimed pulling herself out of the pool. She shook water at me.
“You hate him, and I love him. It automatically makes him come between us.”
<
br /> “Yeah, yeah, whatever,” she mumbled, wringing her hair out. “I'm just annoyed that he is the boy that is coming between us.”
“If it wasn't him, it would be someone else.” I said, glancing at the pool. The Bridge’s backyard was fenced all around, with a few lawn chairs were around the pool, a towel draped over one of them. I’d always wanted a pool, but having a best friend with a pool was a good substitute.
“I thought we were going to go swimming.”
“I did,” she said dryly. I grinned. “But by all means, go get your swim on.” She waved her hand toward the pool. The water seemed to be calling out to me, and the heat only made it more inviting.
“I might have, too,” I murmured. I stood up and shed the tank top, laying it on the chair.
“You know, dressed like that I can kind of understand why Lex would offer you a ride,” she noted. I raised an eyebrow. “You’re gorgeous, Olivia. Most boys would want to offer you a ride.”
“Yet they never do,” I pointed out, sitting on the edge of the pool.
“Considering the things I’ve heard from some of the guys, Lex makes it like you’re off limits. My friend Ron thought you were cute, but Lex talked to him and convinced him to leave you alone,” she told me.
I turned around and looked at her, my legs dangling the water. “Really?”
She nodded and stood up. She struggled out of her wet green t-shirt, the wet material clinging to her body. “Yeah.”
“That doesn’t make any sense,” I mumbled, leaving the safety of the ledge and slipping into the water. I shivered slightly, letting my body adjust to the water temperature.
“It’s Lex. Since when does anything he does make sense?” she laughed, jumping into the pool. I turned away, avoiding being splashed in the face. When she resurfaced, she floated on her back. “But honestly, what do you think is going on?”
I shrugged, treading water. “Maybe he really is sick.” I bit back a frown. “What if he really is trying to right his wrongs?” I wondered.
“I don’t know,” she murmured.
Me either.
Taking a deep breath, I slipped under the water. It comforted me in a gentle caress. The chlorine stung my eyes when I opened them, swimming toward the shallower end of the pool. My lungs were burning by the time I got to the other end and burst through the surface, gulping in the air. Water trickled down my face, I insistently wiped it away.
“Olivia,” Bethany mumbled. I glanced at her, wiping away water before it could fall into my eyes. She was still lying on her back, eyes closed.
“Yes?”
“Do you think Lex likes you?” At her words I burst out laughing at the absurdity. She turned over in the water to glare at me. “I’m serious,” she claimed.
“Beth, there is no possible way in this world that Lex has any romantic feelings for me,” I told her, laughing still. “This is Lex we’re talking about. The guy who took my first kiss and walked away, the same guy who embarrasses me for fun, and tells other guys to stay away. If this is his way of showing he likes me, he is seriously messed up in the head.”
“Boys always get messed up in the head when it comes to girls,” she assured me, still seemingly convinced that Lex liked me. As much as I liked the idea, it made my heart beat faster, I couldn’t think that way. Lex didn’t like me. If I let myself believe otherwise, I would only end up with further heartbreak. He had caused me too much pain already. I wasn’t going to let him hurt me anymore if I could help it.
“Jeremiah seems to have the right idea. He was bringing you presents!” I threw my arms up dramatically, water splashing. “I’m a terrible friend for not letting you stay.”
She chuckled, rolling her eyes. “Yeah, you are. What do you think he was bringing me?”
I shrugged carelessly, swimming toward the edge. “Just an engagement ring and some famous singer to assist him in the proposal.” I pulled myself from the water and laid down to work on my tan.
Bethany laughed and got out as well. “Of course. What else could he possibly have for me?” I smiled and let my eyes close, fishing my sunglasses out before relaxing into the sunshine.
“Call me after the party is over,” Bethany said, waving as I walked out the front door.
“I will!” I waved the tank top at her, droplets flying from the ends and slapping her in the face. She glared, but I could see the smile dying to break free. It was her fault for throwing me in the pool before I was planning to leave. All because I stole a few chips when she wasn’t looking. The punishment didn’t seem to fit the crime at all.
Walking home, I felt kind of exposed in my bikini top and boy shorts out there for anyone passing by to see. My mother wouldn’t have approved, but hopefully she wouldn’t have to know. My wet hair was in a messy pony tail, dripping down my back occasionally. Sunglasses shaded my eyes, though the sun was starting to set so it wasn’t as bright. It was nearing six o’clock, and a text from Mom told me the barbeque started in an hour. I wasn’t looking forward to it.
I was nearing the neighborhood when I saw the devil himself. Well, almost. Lex and a few of his friends were walking toward me. I prayed that they wouldn’t recognize me. Maybe they would be too preoccupied with each other to notice me.
One of his friends was the first to notice me. His eyes traveled up my body, and a grin appeared on his lips. I almost wanted to scoff. Of course, the first guy to really take an interest in my looks was one of Lex’s low-life friends.
The creeper hit Lex and the other guy, who both looked up to see me. I willed my cheeks too stay a neutral color. I wanted to gasp when Lex seemed to be checking me out as well. There had to be something wrong with his brain.
“Hey baby, where have you been all of my life?” the first guy asked. I rolled my eyes. They weren’t even creative. How pathetic.
“Hiding, obviously,” I muttered. Lex raised an eyebrow in my direction, his eyes seemingly raking over my body even closer. I resisted the urge to shudder, and moved on.
“See you tonight, honey,” Lex quipped as I passed. I stopped dead in my tracks, his friends snickering. He knew it was me? And he didn’t say something?
A strange sensation filled me and made me turn around. “Can’t wait,” I cooed. The two guys smirked, glancing to see what Lex would do.
He simply grinned. “I’ll be sure to set an extra place at dinner.”
“What time should I come over?” I smiled back.
He raised an eyebrow, like he hadn’t expected me to continue the charade. “Seven?”
“Is there a dress code?”
He eyed my body again, sending a shiver down my spine. “What you’ve got on now is perfectly fine,” he answered. I didn’t know how to respond to that. “I’ll see you tonight,” he winked, clearly thinking he had won. “Maybe I’ll show you my bedroom,” his lowered his voice seductively.
My breath hitched. Did he really just say that? Had he forgotten he had a girlfriend? My heart was racing, and my mind was spinning, trying to think of a comeback.
“Cat got your tongue?” he chuckled.
Pinching myself mentally, I shook my head. “No. I’m just surprised. What makes you think I would want to see your room?” I turned my head, noticeably checking him out. “Okay looks, below average intelligence…” I shrugged. “I think I’ll pass,” I sneered. With that, I turned on my heel and walked away before he could say anything else.
“You’re losing your touch, bro,” one of the guys laughed
A smile flitted across my features. I had never beat Lex at one of his games before. First time for everything.
Chapter Three – Barbeque
When I walked in the house I could smell baked beans. No doubt Mom was making food for the barbeque tonight. I dropped my stuff by the door. I would deal with it soon enough.
I glanced around. Wood flooring ran throughout the entire house except the upstairs, where tan carpet covered the floors. Pictures of family and friends adorned the sky blue walls. Dark tan couch
es occupied the living room, and a matching wood table and chairs were in the dining room, covered with business papers and bills. Mom worked at a law firm as an assistant.
“Mom,” I called out, heading toward the kitchen. She was leaning over a pan on the stove top. She had changed from her work clothes to a pair of shorts and a white blouse. She turned as I came in. She scowled, noting that I wasn’t wearing anything to cover my stomach.
“Bethany pushed me into the pool today.” It was better to play the defensive part before she could get mad at me for wearing so little in public.
She frowned, shaking her head. “Sure she did.” She always sided with Bethany. I didn’t understand why she was more trustworthy than I was. “I would chew you out, but I’m in a hurry. I’m helping Patty and Steve set up.”
Nodding, I plucked a grape from the fruit bowl and popped it in my mouth. “The Diamond’s and their parties,” I murmured. “What time does it start?”
“Seven,” she answered. “And you had better be there on time.”
“I will,” I promised, giving her a hug. “I’m taking a shower. I’ll come over when I’m done.” She waved and I walked out of the kitchen and upstairs to get some clothes to wear.
My bedroom was the second door on the left. Mom’s was on the right, and the upstairs bathroom was next to my room. I pushed open the door and looked at my room in disdain. It was a tragedy I wasn’t the neat freak that Mom was. My room was left in utter chaos most of the time, including today. Clothes were strewn about; homework pages littered my desk along with graded assignments and dishes.
My full size bed was unmade, the black comforter haphazardly thrown on, big pillows pushed against the headrest. The nightstand near my bed had a half full glass of water and a bright green lamp.
“I really should clean this up,” I mumbled, stepping around the pile of clothes to get to my dresser.
“Livie, you can’t leave this stuff in the entry way!” Mom yelled from downstairs. I would’ve replied, but the door slammed so I knew she had already left for across the street.