Candid (True Images Series)

by Michelle Pennington

  “No, not the games. She says I can’t take pictures anymore if you’re spotting for me.”

  “Wow! What is her problem? Does she think I’m going to have my evil way with you right there on the sideline?”

  “She doesn’t want us to spend any time together. She’s says we can’t control the passion we feel for each other.”

  “Passion, huh? Why do I feel like a character in one of my mom’s romance novels?”

  I couldn’t help it. I laughed a little, though it sounded pretty soggy. For a moment, though, it eased the tension that was choking me. “It would serve her right if I didn’t cover the games. Mr. Greeley would have to do it and it would mess up her love life too.”

  “Yeah, well, I was going to talk to you about that. I was hoping you’d get Mr. Greeley do it anyway.”

  “But why?”

  “Here, come sit down.”

  I followed him back over to the couch and perched on the edge. He didn’t sit down with me, but paced in front of the fireplace for a minute. He was obviously worried about something. Finally he figured out what he wanted to say and came to sit next to me.

  “Ok, remember the threat you got? That note in your locker?”

  I nodded, remembering the other reason my life really sucked right now.

  “Well, I showed it to Principal Duncan. I wanted it to be documented in case something happened to you. He was as concerned as I was because he knew what a hornet’s nest you’d stirred up at school. When you were out sick on Monday and I got your locker combination, it was really so I could check your locker. Sure enough, there was another one.”

  “What did it say?”

  “I don’t remember exactly, but it mentioned the football game and how you were going to eat turf or something. I showed that one to the principal too, and we decided that we needed to find out who was dropping off the notes. I was sure it was Caleb, but nothing could be done without proof. So, Mr. Duncan agreed to turn one of the hall security cameras to your locker and keep an eye on it.”

  “Wow. Did you find anything?”

  “Well, since you were out sick all week, there wasn’t a single note left. I had almost given up, but I checked one more time today before I went to practice. There was a note, and there hadn’t been one an hour before, so I knew about when it had been dropped off.”

  “What did that one say?”

  “It said, ‘You’re safe for now, but you’ll get what’s coming to you.’ Principal Duncan played the security video back and saw the guy who stuffed the note inside. It wasn’t Caleb.”

  Great. Someone else had it out for me. “Who was it then?”

  “He said it was a kid named Billy Hammons.”

  “The water boy?”

  “Yeah. I think Caleb put him up to it, but once again, I have no proof. Duncan questioned Billy, but he just said someone had been leaving the notes in his locker in an envelope with ten bucks and a note to drop them in your locker. He never read the notes and had no idea who they were from. But I’m as sure as anything that it was Caleb.”

  “Did I really mess up his life so bad?”

  “Well, think about it. He’s lost his girlfriend, the whole school knows he’s a douche bag, and his coach is hacked off about how he treated his daughter. Yeah, I’d say you messed his life up pretty bad. Of course, it was really all because of his choices, but like you said before, he doesn’t see it that way. So, I would love it if you wouldn’t take pictures at the game anymore, especially if I can’t be there to keep you safe. From his notes, I think he plans to get his revenge there. He’s probably realized how easy it was to run you over at that game early in the season.”

  “I can’t believe he’d do that. Don’t worry, though. I don’t even want to shoot the games anymore. I don’t want to do anything anymore. I just want to curl up in a hole somewhere and wait till graduation.”

  Lee smiled at me, just a gentle lifting of his lips. “Well, if you do that, you might not graduate, which is the only way we’ll ever get to date each other. Now, since I’m guessing your mom doesn’t know you’re here, how about if you get on home before she comes over here with that shotgun of hers?” He pulled me up off the couch as he spoke, and I didn’t resist because it gave me an excuse to wrap my arms around his neck.

  “I don’t want to go. This is the last time I’ll be able to see you like this.”

  “It won’t be the last time. You’ll see.” He ran his hands slowly up and down my back in a way that he probably meant to be comforting, but which ignited a completely different response in me.

  “Kiss me. Please,” I begged.

  He looked doubtful, but tempted. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes. I’m tired of trying to get my mom to trust me. She never will, so why should I try?”

  “I’m sure there’s a good reason somewhere, but I can’t think of one. Not with you looking at me like that.”

  When his lips found mine, I was furious that we’d been denying ourselves this magic for so long. What could be wrong about this? His lips were tender as he pressed slow, lingering kisses on mine. It was the sweetest feeling imaginable, but I wanted more. I kissed him back with an urgency I didn’t fully understand.

  He pulled back and looked down at me, thoughtfully. I saw a storm of emotion in the deep brown pools of his eyes, and longed for it to crash over me. Unfortunately, he was stronger than I was. “We should stop, Sienna. Your emotions are pretty intense as it is.”

  “You just don’t like kissing me,” I sulked, though I knew it wasn’t true. But I was disappointed and needed reassurance. He laughed softly at me and I hid my face against his chest so he wouldn’t see the telltale smile pulling at my mouth.

  “You know that’s not true,” he said. “ I’m so crazy about you I can’t think straight.”

  “I’m having the same problem, but I thought it might have been because of all the meds I’m on.”

  His raised my head so he could see my face and considered my drowsy eyes for a moment. The torrent of emotions I’d just been through had left me with no strength to fight the fatigue that was closing down around me.

  “You can’t drive like this. Let me get my mom.”

  A minute later, Lee was driving me back home in my mom’s car while his mom followed behind us. When we pulled up in the driveway, my mom was sitting on the porch, holding both her phones. Her expression had been lined with worry, but when she saw who was with me, it darkened with anger.

  Both of us would have gotten blasted with the lecture of the century right then, if Lee’s mom hadn’t gotten out and walked up to the porch ahead of us. Our moms were talking, and I cowered in the car, watching.

  “Here are the keys,” Lee said, holding them out to me. I took them reluctantly and he dropped his hand onto my knee, squeezing it in reassurance. “I’d better stay out of the way. Get better, Ok? I want to see you on Monday.”

  I nodded and said, “If I’m still alive.”

  “Relax. My mom’s pretty good at calming people down.”

  “She’s wonderful. You’re so lucky.”

  “So are you, Sienna. Your mom loves you. She’s just overprotective, and after that kiss you gave me, I kind of think she has reason to be. She’s obviously got a wild child on her hands.”

  I slugged him half-heartedly and we both got out of the car.

  Lee went and got in his mom’s car. I walked slowly up to the porch, my mom’s glare weighing me down with every step.

  Mrs. Franklin rubbed my shoulder and said, “Feel better, Sienna.”

  Then she was gone. I was left alone to face my executioner.

  When the door was shut behind us, my mom said, “Well, I guess you’ve proven how little I can trust you. There will be consequences for this Sienna, but I need time to consider what would be appropriate.”

  “I’m sure you do. What is there left for you to take away from me that I even care about? And by the way, the only motivation I ever had for trying to keep your rules was
that I didn’t want to lose your trust, but I realize now that I never had it. Don’t you think I understand what you’ve been trying to tell me all these years? Why can’t you let me prove that I am a strong person who can make good decisions instead of treating me like a susceptible weakling who’ll do whatever a guy wants me to? Guess what mom - I’m not you!”

  I grabbed my blanket off the couch and went to my room, dragging with weariness. I ignored whatever my mom was saying behind me, and fell onto my bed. I pulled my blanket around me and over my head, hoping to stop existing for a while.

  My mom followed me into my room, still letting off steam. I wasn’t able to follow everything she was saying, and eventually, my lack of response must have been the last straw. She yanked my blanket off of me and said, “I don’t want you to have this anymore. The comforter on your bed is sufficient. Now stay in here and think about how you’re going to get over this ridiculous and juvenile crush of yours.”

  When she was gone, I buried into my comforter and refused to think. For a while, I shook with anger as tears ran hot from my eyes, dripping sideways over the bridge of my nose and soaking my pillow. I felt like howling and sobbing out my heartache, but I suppressed it so my mom wouldn’t know I was crying. The effort exhausted me until I no longer had the energy to cry anyway. Eventually I fell asleep and escaped from the nightmare that my life had become.

  Chapter 17

  They say time heals everything. I don’t know if I completely believe that, but I was feeling more optimistic. Mom and I were still mad at each other, but three weeks wasn’t enough to fix that. After all, I still wasn’t allowed to see Lee outside of school. She’d also kept my blanket, demanded that I delete all my pictures of him, checked my phone every night to make sure I wasn’t calling or texting him, and constantly kept an eye on me to make sure I wasn’t sneaking around with him.

  It was pretty extreme, but she probably figured that I was feeling pretty rebellious over this whole thing. She was right. I was. Especially since my birthday was tomorrow and I couldn’t celebrate it with Lee. Usually, mom and I made a big deal over all my birthday, but I was feeling less than enthusiastic about it.

  But when you’re young, it’s kind of hard to feel down for too long. After all, even if we couldn’t hang out, call each other, or text, Lee was finding plenty of ways to cheer me up. He left notes in my textbooks, put little pre-birthday presents in my backpack for me to find later at home, and watched over me like a bodyguard whenever he could.

  I personally thought he was taking this too far. I mean, Jordan and Caleb had left me completely alone, except for the occasional dirty look in the hall. Maybe it was because Lee made sure either he or one of his friends was always with me though. Of course, Brittany and Alyssa were doing a great job of making my life miserable even if they didn’t try to start a fight or anything.

  They made mean comments, made fun of the way I looked on a daily basis, bumped into me whenever they could manage it, and one time Alyssa knocked into me when I was getting a drink at the water fountain. It made me soak the whole front of my shirt, so I looked really great until it dried again.

  I knew they were basically Jordan’s goons, so hopefully she was getting her resentment out of her system and would move on soon. I was mad at Jordan and Brittany, but I understood it coming from them. Somehow, it continued to bother me that Alyssa had turned out to be such a fake when I’d been nice to her.

  I was surprised when Mr. Greeley asked me if I felt up to taking pictures at tonight’s game, but I didn’t hesitate. He’d been covering the games for the last three Friday’s, and I knew it had been hard on him. Today, he was coming down with a very bad cold, and the weather was not going to be exactly tropical tonight.

  “Sure, I can do it. No problem.”

  “Actually, there’s a big problem,” Lee said. “I can’t spot for you tonight.” He gave me a very speaking glance and said, “And you know it will be dangerous for you to do it on your own.”

  Mr. Greeley spoke up. “Well, maybe I can use a little of my influence to convince Sienna’s mom to let you spot for her. I think I could persuade her if I tried really hard.” He wiggled his eyebrows in a suggestive way and grinned.

  “Yeah, but I couldn’t make it anyway. I have my first game tonight, remember?”

  “Oh yeah,” I said, remembering. Lee’s coach had set up a last minute game with a team outside the conference. He wanted to give them some playing time before jumping into the tournament they had scheduled for Thanksgiving weekend.

  “Well, I’ll just have to find someone else to spot for me.”

  Lee’s eyebrows almost met he was scowling so hard. “Sienna, can I talk to you for a second?”

  I followed him to the other side of the room, glancing back at Mr. Greeley. He was watching us with a puzzled expression. I’m pretty sure mine matched his. “What’s up?” I asked. “What are you so worried about?”

  “Do I need to remind you about the threats you were getting a few weeks ago?” he said, leaning close so I could hear what he was saying. He was talking so quietly I leaned in even closer. Not that I really needed to, but it was a good excuse.

  “I remember, but like you said, it was weeks ago. I haven’t had any threats since then.”

  “Yeah, but that’s probably because they got caught. Plus, Mr. Greeley’s been doing all the photography since then. I wouldn’t put it past Caleb to see his chance and take it tonight if he saw you standing there.”

  “Last time was an accident. I’ll watch out for him, and it’s not like he can make the play go my direction on purpose. He can’t just run over me. There has to be someone for him to tackle. Besides, I’m sure he’s moved on.”

  Lee rubbed his forehead like I was giving him a major headache. “Sienna, guys like Caleb don’t get over things until they’ve had their revenge. I won’t be able to concentrate on my game because I’ll be worrying about you the whole time.”

  “Look, I need to do this. It’s the first game of the playoffs, and they’ll be traveling to play from then on. I can’t go to away games unless it’s close anyway, so Mr. Greeley will have to go to those. Look, I can survive one game without you. I’ll get Parker to spot for me, and I’ll keep my eyes open too. I’ll be really careful, I promise, so don’t worry about me.”

  “Well, I will, but I can tell I’m not going to talk you out of this.” He put his hands on my shoulders and gripped them gently. “Please be careful.”

  “I said I would.”

  “I know, but I’ve seen you when you’re taking pictures. You get caught up and forget everything else.”

  “No. Actually, you’ve always been kind of distracting. I won’t have the same problem with Parker, so I’ll have more attention for watching out for Caleb.”

  “Let’s hope so.

  After school, I caught my mom and told her that I was going to take pictures at the game that night and that I was going to hang out with Marisol until then.

  “You don’t have work today?”

  “No, Mr. Foster gave me a paid day off today as a birthday present.”

  “Well, that was really nice of him. Who’s spotting for you at the game?”

  “Don’t worry. It isn’t Lee. I’m going to ask Parker.”

  “Ok. Well, be careful and I’ll see when you get home.”

  It was the most normal conversation we’d had for weeks. She seemed to be lightening up a little. Maybe Mr. Greeley could have talked her into letting Lee spot for me. Oh well.

  I met up with Marisol in the parking lot. I hadn’t talked to her about my plans yet, but I was sure it wouldn’t be a problem with her. I was wrong.

  “Uh, Sienna, I have a game too. We’re leaving at 5:30.”

  “Oh. Well, flip. What should I do?”

  “You can hang out with me until then, but I have to be at the school ready to get on the bus by 5:15. Tell you what. After I’m gone, you can borrow my car. Then you can go wherever you want until the game starts.�
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  “That would be great. Thanks.”

  “Sure. Now let’s get going. I need to go home and shave my legs.”

  I laughed and climbed in her car. Back at her house, we both had a snack and then I chilled in her room while she got ready for the game. While she was fixing her hair in a ponytail, I used her phone to text Lee. I told him that I would be at the school before the bus left to wish him luck. He was pretty excited about it. So was I, so I got kind of frustrated that Marisol took so long to get ready.

  We got back to the school later than planned, at 5:20. Most of the players were already on the bus, but Lee was waiting for me by the locker rooms. Marisol waved goodbye and ran up the bus steps. I turned back to Lee, feeling strangely awkward. He looked different in the warm-up suit he wore over his uniform, and there was a sort of pulsing anticipation hanging over him.

  “Are you excited?” I asked.

  “Yeah. It’s going to be great to play again. I’m kind of nervous too though,” he confided quietly into my ear.

  “Why? You’re going to be great.”

  “I hope so. It’s just that so much is riding on this season. My college chances, Coach’s job, and we really want to change how this school thinks about basketball. We want to make it as big as football.”

  “Wow. I see what you mean. Tonight’s just kind of a warm up game though, right? So don’t sweat it.”

  “I wish you could come.”

  “Sorry. There won’t be much chance of Mom letting me go to the away games. Nothing will keep me away from the home games though.”

  “I’m counting on it. I have a feeling you’d be good luck. Speaking of which, I’ve gotta get going. Come here a sec.”

  “Why?”

  “You’ll find out.”

  He took me by the hand and pulled me around a secluded corner. It made me laugh for some reason, and when he kissed me, I was still smiling. It made him laugh in the middle of the kiss, so of course we had to try again a few times.

  “You seem totally ok with this,” he said, looking happy but a little puzzled.

  I smiled up at him and nodded as I wrapped my arms around his waist. “I can’t make my mom happy anyway, so I’ve decided to make myself happy.”