“What do you do there?” he asked, slipping into the passenger seat.
“Well, for my newspaper, I’m the editor in chief. Today I have to talk to my adviser to see if my article was okay. And in drama club we work on our lines for our play coming up. Kind of like acting. I bet if you wanted, you could come up on stage with me,” I said, shifting the car into gear.
“Really?”
“Yep. I already talked to my teacher, and she said she might have small part for you.”
He grinned, revealing several missing teeth. “That would be awesome. Would I have to talk?”
“No. She’ll probably just have you walking around in our fake town that we built on our set.”
“I can do that. Oh, and I have some homework tonight. Mr. Darvis said I have to read a chapter in my book before tomorrow.”
“You can sit in the audience and read while we work on our singing parts.”
He nodded. “Okay.” He stared at me for a second then said, “Me and Luke get to move in with our dad now.”
“That’s what I heard. Are you excited?” I couldn’t imagine going to live with someone I didn’t know, let alone a parent who hadn’t been around much.
“Yes. But I’m kind of nervous, too. What if he doesn’t like us? Sometimes I’m messy or forget to brush my teeth. Do you think he’ll get mad about that?”
“He’ll love you, Landon. Don’t worry about anything. Just be you.” I reached across the seat and patted his arm. It tore me up to hear him worrying about stuff like this. My eyes blurred, but I kept my head straight forward.
When we got back to the high school, Landon grabbed his bag and followed me inside. “Okay, can you sit out here in the hallway for me while I meet with Mr. Leaver? It should only take a minute.”
“Okay.” Landon slid to the floor and held his backpack in his lap.
When I got inside, Mr. Leaver glanced up from his computer. “Ayla, glad you stopped in. So I read your article on the vandalism, and, well, it wasn’t all about vandalism. You managed to sneak some things in there about other crimes, like sex trafficking. You did a great job, however…Mr. Fairchild wasn’t impressed. He said that the school paper is not an actual local or national newspaper, and he doesn’t want to see big issues in it.”
My fist tightened. “I don’t get it. It’s like he has blinders on to everything outside the world of high school. People need to be educated on real issues…not just what sport’s star scored the most points this week. It’s bullshit,” I said.
“It is, and unfortunately, Mr. Fairchild has decided to move us to online only. He said he needs the funds for other things…”
“Wait, he can’t do that. Not yet. The election’s not even over…what if I could get outside funding?”
Mr. Leaver stood and came over to me. He placed a hand on my shoulder. “I can try to stall him, let him know we might have other means to fund it, but I tell you what I’m going to do, just in case this falls through. I’m going to print this issue of your paper anyway. Any punishment that comes down will be mine. You’re a great writer and deserve to have your stories read. So do the other writers. You’ve all worked your tails off. And I know what’s on the line for you, Stacy, and Holly.”
My eyes widened. “Mr. Leaver, you can’t do that—”
“It’s about time I took a stand with you. If the paper’s going down, I guess we all are. Get a hold of the other newspaper staff, let them know that if they have a story they want out there to get it to me by midnight tomorrow. We’re going to have at least one real-issues paper. We may not get another opportunity. Besides, this will look great for your scholarship competition at Columbia, don’t you think?”
My throat constricted. This might be the end of my scholarship dreams. But like Mr. Leaver said, at least we’d go down fighting…and I’d get to do one meaningful piece, which I could send to the university. Maybe they’d like that I’d fought censorship—at least Mr. Leaver could give me a good recommendation.
When we finished talking, I got Landon and headed to the auditorium.
Several people were already on stage running lines and working on musical numbers.
Mrs. Parkins glanced up from her place at the piano. “Ayla, good, you’re here.” She stopped playing and met us at the front row of seats. “This must be Landon.”
He nodded shyly. “Yes.”
“Ayla said you were going to come hang out with us today. And you know what, if you’d like, I think I have a small part for you in our play.”
I took his backpack from him and put it on one of the seats, then grabbed his hand and led him up to center stage.
Mrs. Parkins walked behind the curtain, then came back holding a big red ball. “You won’t have any speaking lines, but if you want to take a place next to our store, over there”—she pointed at the fake storefront—“you can bounce this ball around. We need a few kids like you to be playing around during some of our songs.”
“I can do that.” He took the ball from her, and she helped him find a spot.
So for the next two hours we went through lines and songs, and Landon got to learn firsthand about putting on a musical. By the time practice ended, we were both wiped and it was already getting dark. Once I got Landon settled into the passenger seat, we headed for my house.
When I pulled in the driveway, I spotted Mr. Pressler’s fancy SUV.
Luke came out onto the porch as we climbed out of my car.
“Luke, guess what? I get to be in Little Shop of Horrors. Ayla’s teacher gave me a part.” Landon tugged on his sleeve, trying not to drop his book bag on the cement.
“That’s what I hear. Guess I’m gonna have to go watch it now, huh?”
“Yes. But you were going to go anyway for Ayla, right?”
Luke peered at me. “Yeah.”
Landon moved to the porch, where my dad held the door open for him to come in, leaving me and Luke alone.
“Thanks for taking care of him today,” he said, reaching for my hand and tugging me closer.
My heart skittered against my ribs with a loud thud-thud. “He’s a good kid. And I’m glad I could help. These past few days have been hard enough on you guys.”
He stroked my cheek, bending down slightly so his lips brushed against mine. My hands slid up around his neck. Tiny electrical bolts swirled through me. I’d never imagined in this lifetime that I’d be kissing Luke Pressler. That he’d be my boyfriend. Now I hoped I didn’t do anything to screw it up.
Chapter Twenty-One
Luke
Brady sat across from me in my bedroom at my dad’s. Familiar blue-painted walls still held the old basketball posters and spaceship models from when I was in fourth grade. The only thing that’d been updated was Dad had gotten me a bigger bed and new bedding. But everything else was as I’d left it when Mom had hauled us out of here.
“Damn, it’s strange being in here again,” Brady said, leaning back in his chair.
“Tell me about it. Part of me thinks I’m dreaming. Except you’re here—so I know I’m not, because I’d never dream of your ass.”
Brady chuckled. “Love you, too, man.”
“I’m still not a hundred percent sure about this. It’s like I keep waiting for the ball to drop. My dad comes back into the picture, but why now? Just because the courts got involved?”
“Maybe it’s like he said it was. Look at everything your mom put you through.”
I shrugged. “I know. It’s just, what if he’s putting on a show? What if this all falls apart? Then what?” And even though my mom had put us through so much, a part of me still felt bad for her. I wanted her to get help, to maybe straighten out and be the parent she was supposed to be. The judge had ordered that whenever she was released from jail she was to be sent to a safe and sober program for her drug and alcohol addiction.
“Then we’ll figure it out, man. Either way, you’ll have a place to go. You and Landon, okay?”
I nodded.
Brady’s brow furrowe
d as he watched me, and he brought his chair level again. “Look, I think Jack is suspicious about Ayla—he and Jenna have seemed really intense about her. I think they’re up to something.”
“As in?”
He stood, pacing the room, his hand gripping tight to a tuft of hair at the front of his head. “I’m not sure. But Jack was being a dick to Ayla today. So I stepped in.”
“If I’d been there, I probably would’ve punched him in the face,” I said.
He sighed. “It’s just, you guys need to be careful around him.”
“She said she was deleting the video, so there’s nothing those two are going to be able to figure out. Besides, Ayla and I are together now.” My pulse thundered beneath my skin. Fuck. What if Jack and Jenna put two and two together? Of course, I’d deny it. How Ayla and I got together was none of their business.
“And you think this is going to make him be nicer to Ayla?” Brady asked.
“If he’s smart he will. If he’s going to treat her like crap, then I don’t need him around.”
“So you’re really into her? Even after all she’s pulled?”
My cheeks burned. “Yeah. She’s been there for me. With all the stuff that went down with my mom, taking care of Landon when I needed her to…I don’t know, I just feel different when I’m with her.”
“What’s going to happen after the election, then? What if she doesn’t feel the same?”
I sighed. Those very thoughts had run through my mind more than once this week. Did she plan on letting things fizzle out after the election? We’d been spending so much time together lately, I didn’t want to her to go back to ignoring me in the halls.
Damn, I was screwed up in the head. Who actually fell for the girl who’d wanted to destroy him only weeks ago?
“We’re dating now. Everything’s changed. After all this is said and done, she’ll still be around.” Or at least that’s what I told myself.
“For your sake, I hope so. I guess I should probably head home now. I’ve got a ton of trig homework.” Brady made his way to the door. “It’s good to have you back up on the Hill.”
“Trust me, it’s good to be back.” I walked him out then wandered into the kitchen. Opening the fridge, I stared at all the food. My mouth watered. It’d been so long since we had so many options to choose from, if we wanted, we could have more than one thing.
“You hungry?” Dad said from behind me.
I shut the door and spun to face him. “No, not really.”
“If you want anything, just go ahead and take it. This is your house, too.” His gaze met mine. After visiting Mom’s house today, he knew exactly the type of life Landon and I had been living. How many things we’d been forced to go without. But I didn’t quite trust him yet. He didn’t really have a choice but to take us—I mean, CPS always looked to place kids with their families first. Maybe he just didn’t want to look bad by letting us go into the system.
Fuck. I hated this. Hated doubting every damn aspect of my life.
But Dad’s jaw had been clenched almost the whole time we were packing up my things and Landon’s. When he’d seen the bare cupboards and nearly empty refrigerator, he’d broken down, apologizing—on the verge of tears. But was it an act?
“Dad, I’m fine. Really.”
He patted me on the back. “Your life is going to be different now—you have my word.”
The pressure between my shoulder blades seemed to release, and for the first time in a long time, I felt the stress melt away. “I know.”
Or at least I hoped things would work out. But I still couldn’t afford to lose my scholarship, even if my dad was back in the picture, because what was to stop him from leaving again, too?
“Well, I’ve got to be up early for work. I’m going to head for it. Try not to stay up too late,” Dad said.
“I won’t.” Wandering back to my room, I stopped off to peek in on Landon, who was snuggled up beneath a heavy blue-and-white comforter. He had his stuffed Yoda tucked beneath his arm. For once, he didn’t have a night-light on. Maybe it was because things were less scary here. He wouldn’t have to worry about Mom coming in drunk in the middle of the night or hear our shouting matches, though I’d tried to shield him from those. Here, he could just sleep.
When I got to my room, I shut off my light, fell back on the bed, and stared up at the ceiling. Tiny green glow-in-the-dark stars pushed back the darkness. I was surprised they still glowed. I found the Big Dipper near the corner of the room, then Orion’s Belt. Back when I’d first put them up, I’d been obsessed with space and constellations. I’d wanted to be an astronaut like pretty much every other kid in my grade.
Tonight their familiar light brought me comfort. Covering up, I fought to keep my eyes open but soon ended up drifting off to sleep.
…
Ayla stood in the lounge waiting for me when I got to school the next morning. Her dark hair was pulled back in a messy bun. Her nerdy glasses sat perched on her face, and she wore a May the Force Be With You T-shirt with a black lace skirt, galaxy leggings, and a pair of white Star Wars Vans.
I grinned. That’s one thing I loved about her. She dared to be different and embrace who she was.
“Hey,” I said, catching her hand as I joined her.
“Hey, yourself. So, how did the first night home go?”
“Good. It’s strange, but it’s like I never left. All my stuff I left behind as a kid was still there.” My thumb brushed against the back of her hand. “Including my awesome collection of glow-in-the-dark stars.”
She laughed. “Are they better than sitting up in my tree house and staring at the sky?”
“Almost.” We stopped at my locker first so I could grab my books, then we headed over to hers. “So, I was thinking that maybe tonight after play practice, we could hang out for a while. Maybe celebrate all the good things that have happened for us lately.”
Ayla’s palm rested against my chest as she stared at me. Her brown eyes soft, searching. “I’d like that. What did you have in mind?”
“Maybe Paris or Rome,” I teased.
“On a school night? I just don’t think I could swing it.”
“Fine, how about your tree house? I could pick up a pizza…”
“Hmm…you know my weakness. How does eight sound?”
I bent down until my lips brushed her forehead. My fingers traced her chin. “Sounds perfect.”
“Do you think you could grab some cheesy garlic bread, too? I freaking live for that stuff,” she said.
“Anything you want.”
“You might not want to say that to a girl, because trust me, I can think of lots of things I want.” She pulled back, reaching for my hand so we could walk to class.
“Is that so?” I raised my brows at her.
She snorted and whacked me with her blue folder.
As we turned the corner, I noticed Jack and Jenna watching us. My gaze narrowed. I wanted to go up to Jack and ream him out about how he’d been treating Ayla, but that’d only fuel the fire with him. And I didn’t want to bring anything up in Jenna’s presence.
But later, he and I were going to talk—because Ayla and I were together now, and he’d either accept it or he was out of my life.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Ayla
With my sweatshirt in hand, I headed for the front porch to wait for Luke to show up. Before I got there, Mom stepped out in front of me.
“Where are you going? You haven’t been home from play practice for very long.”
“Luke’s coming over, we were going to hang out in the tree house and eat pizza.”
Her arms folded across her chest. “Why can’t you just eat in the house?”
“Because I don’t want you hovering. You and Dad always hover. Then hovering turns into talking, and talking turns into you joining us. I wanted to have a chance to talk with him for a while.”
“But the tree house? It’s not big enough.”
“Oh. My. God. This is
because Luke is my first boyfriend, isn’t it?” I rolled my eyes. “It’s not like there’s any room up there to do anything but sitting anyway, if that’s what you’re going for here.”
Mom blushed. “It doesn’t take much room to do things, Ayla.”
“Can we not get into this now? You and Dad let him stay the weekend here. News flash, nothing happened. The most we might do is hold hands. Besides, you know me and pizza. I’ll be too busy scarfing food down to even think about anything else.”
Which was half-true. But Mom had no idea what seeing Luke’s smile did to me. The way one crooked grin could set my insides on fire. How much I loved it when he took my hand or caressed my face. He made me feel special. That was one of the many things I liked about him. He didn’t try to change me or turn me into something I wasn’t. He just let me be me.
Right then, I saw Luke’s headlights cut through the curtains as he pulled into our drive. I raced out the door before Mom could stop me.
Luke climbed from his car, his blond hair messy. He grinned, holding up the pizza and a box of cheesy garlic bread. “Are you racing out here to see me? Or do you just want my food?”
I hopped down the stairs. “Both. I mean, I have my two favorite things right in front of me!”
He kicked the door shut with his foot. When I reached him, he bumped me with his hip. “So I’m one of your favorite things now?”
I swallowed hard, trying hard not to free-fall into his sky-colored eyes. “Yes.”
He shifted the boxes into one hand and pulled me into his arms with the other. “You’re one of mine, too, Ayla. I seriously don’t know how I survived before you.”
My mom peeked out the window, and I gave a wave, quickly maneuvering Luke toward the backyard gate before she could descend upon us. When we got to the tree house, I climbed up first, then reached down to help grab the food. I’d already laid a blanket out earlier, after I’d first gotten home.
“Did Brady tell you that Chloe’s cousin made me some awesome pins, key chains, and posters to hand out tomorrow for the candidate meet and greet during both lunches?”
“No, but Chloe showed me the key chain with you holding a light saber that said ‘Vote for me, I’m your only hope.’ Clever slogan, by the way.”
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