Sweet Harmony

by A. M. Evanston

  Mrs. Carmichael's jaw tensed. "At the time, why didn't you come to me? You'd be looking at detention instead of expulsion right now if you'd asked for help."

  "It was because I was scared," she said. "My father hates having the family name sullied. I knew you'd call him and he'd…"

  For a moment Bridget didn't speak. Annamarie was surprised by the fear in her eyes. I whine about my family a lot, but I guess I'm lucky to have a dad like mine. Her dad had never made her wear such a terrified expression, not even once.

  "Well, continue," Mrs. Carmichael said. "There's no use prattling on about what might have been if you'd used your brain a little more."

  "I don't know why, but Nathan ended up going mad. He pushed Annamarie in the pool at the dance. I didn't realize until I heard the story from him that she almost drowned because she's terrified of water." Bridget looked down at her feet. "We started arguing again in the gym when I thought nobody was around. I said I was going to tell Annamarie everything. I half meant it and half didn't. I knew that if I told her, she'd go straight to you and then I'd end up getting in trouble with my father. Nathan sensed my weakness. He started laughing and calling me pathetic for not being able to do what he could. We were halfway through the argument when I heard something fall over. When I checked to see what it was, I saw that blond boy who got pushed standing by a bunch of mops. The kid ran away and I knew he'd heard it all. I was sick inside, but a little relieved too. I thought it was all over. But that's when…that's when…"

  "That's when Owen got pushed down the stairs," Annamarie finished for her. "That's why you were crying so hard when you ran into me."

  "I thought the boy was dead." Bridget swallowed. "I didn't even have anything against him. I tried to find Nathan, but he was gone."

  "Think carefully," Mrs. Carmichael said. "Do you have any idea where Mr. Dawson might be now?"

  Bridget shook her head. "I don't know. We didn't part ways still allies."

  "Ms. Winters, you'd better be telling me the truth." Mrs. Carmichael regarded her coldly.

  "Don't you think I'd tell you where he was if I knew?" Bridget wailed. "I've seen the crazy look in Nathan's eyes. I want you to find that lunatic and throw away the key."

  If Bridget was calling him a lunatic, he must be really bad.

  "Very well, Ms. Winters," Mrs. Carmichael said. "Tomorrow morning I'll call yours parents. You may return to your dorm room now. I would recommend that you start packing immediately."

  "Thank you, Ma'am." Bridget bowed her head, more tears trickling down her nose.

  Bridget was three steps to the door before she paused and glanced over her shoulder at Annamarie.

  "Watch out for Nathan," Bridget whispered. "Just because I'm done with this mess doesn't mean he is."

  A chill ran down her spine.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Annamarie sat across from Daniel and Jaiden in a family diner. Boris had opted to take the table to her right to better survey the area. Like always, Daniel was intense and wrapped up in playing the ultimate protector. The guy leaned toward her, his blue eyes glistening.

  "Toilet girl, you can't go anywhere alone, do you understand me?" Daniel said.

  "Do you really need to stick to me like glue?" she asked. "Won't Nathan be more worried about running away than coming after me?"

  "Wrong!" Daniel pointed his fork at her.

  "Didn't anyone ever tell you it's rude to point?" She raised an eyebrow.

  "Yes." Daniel nodded. "But what's the use of trying to be polite to you?"

  She flicked a piece of paper at him.

  "I hate to break it to you, Annamarie, but I agree with Dan on this." Jaiden nudged his tablemate. "If Bridget said that Nathan is nuts, then he must be."

  "Bridget has been on the crazy train for so long she'd recognize her cabin mates." Daniel nodded sagely.

  "But campus security is so tight right now." Even to leave for breakfast, she'd been ID'd by a guard.

  "I've scaled the fence of the school more times than I can count," Jaiden said. "It really isn't that hard to sneak in unnoticed. This school has never had a need for security cameras either because the student body has always been respectable."

  "Great. Just what I need." She blew out a sigh. "No offense, but I'm in desperate need of some alone time."

  Especially now that I have to come to terms with the fact my dad is coming to get me.

  "I know it's hard," Jaiden said kindly.

  "It's for your own good," Daniel said. "Why wouldn't you want to spend time with me, anyway?"

  "It's not like a certain someone has a habit of being arrogant or anything," she muttered sarcastically.

  "Hmph." Daniel gritted his teeth.

  Jaiden ignored their bickering and dug around in his backpack. He pulled out a piece of paper.

  "Daniel and I made this while you were napping this morning." Jaiden slid the piece of paper over to her.

  It was a chart of who was going to guard her and when. Daniel would look after her in the later afternoon and in the evening. Jaiden would look after her in the morning. Both of them would stay in her room at night.

  "What about Boris?" she asked.

  "You can never have too many people with you," Daniel said. "He'll stick by you all the time."

  "Doesn't the poor man have a family?" She glanced at the rough-and-tumble guy.

  "Would you want to be with him?" Daniel asked.

  Fair point. The guy's eyes were dark and hooded. She spied a flaming corpse tattoo on his right bicep. During the last couple of days, "Yes, sir," was the most articulate words she'd heard him say.

  "I see your point," she grumbled.

  She pieced a napkin with her fingers as the waitress, a thin brunette with a nametag that said Diane, walked over with napkins stuck under her arm. The woman froze when she saw the gorgeous, golden-haired Daniel and the bright-eyed, brown-haired Jaiden. It took the woman a full thirty seconds to realize she was supposed to do her job, but even then, her cheeks were the color of ripe cherries.

  "Shall I start you off with drinks or are you ready to order?" she asked.

  "We're ready to order," Daniel said without asking anybody else.

  "What can I get you?" The waitress looked at Daniel in a way that suggested she was offering things not on the menu—like her lips.

  "Eggs benedicts and a glass of orange juice," Daniel said, completely missing the waitress's simpering gaze. "But make sure you properly poach the eggs. At the last cheap place I went to, the eggs were boiled and were served on biscuits instead of English muffins. I want my hash browns crispy, not greasy. As much as eating at a place like this suggests otherwise, I don't want to die of a coronary at a young age."

  "R-right." Diane's cheeks grew paler as she scribbled the words on a notepad.

  Annamarie kicked Daniel in the shin.

  "Ouch," Daniel said. "What was that for?"

  "For being a spoiled brat," she said. "Take your hash browns greasy like every other person in here."

  "Do you want me to die of a coronary?" he asked.

  She gave him a deadpan stare.

  "Real nice." Daniel crossed his arms and looked away. "I'm wounded. My own girlfriend wants me to die. Well, when you're my wife and I die of a heart attack, see if you're in my will."

  "What?" She gaped. "I'm not your girlfriend and I'm not going to marry you."

  "Guys," Jaiden said.

  "Not now, Jay." Daniel waved him off. "Toilet girl, you say that now, but after we've been together a few years, you're going to be begging me to marry you."

  "Not on your life." She'd never begged and never would. "You're the one who is going to be begging me to marry you."

  "Guys!" Jaiden cried so loud it made her jump.

  "What?" Daniel groused.

  "The waitress." Jaiden rubbed his temple. "Annamarie needs to order."

  The waitress looked at her with a befuddled expression on her face. Probably she was wondering how she managed to end
up with two handsome guys when she was such a Plain Jane. Well, that was a mystery to her too.

  "I'll have the Belgian waffle with extra whipped cream," she said.

  "Maple syrup?" the waitress asked.

  "Of course." Who didn't want maple syrup?

  The waitress wandered off still looking perturbed. Jaiden crossed his arms, his expression sullen. The mood change had come swiftly.

  "You okay, Jaiden?" She cocked her.

  "Mmm-hmm." He nodded but still didn't smile.

  "What did you get, Jay?" Daniel asked. "I didn't hear your order."

  "Why?" Jaiden asked. "Do you want to steal my bacon too?"

  "What?" Daniel looked perplexed.

  "I need some air." Jaiden stood up, jostling the table.

  Even though Daniel looked puzzled, she knew exactly why he was upset. The exchange between her and Daniel had set him off. She let out a groan.

  "What are we going to do about Jaiden?" she asked.

  "He's just being grumpy about the bad service," he said. "I wasn't too happy myself."

  The idiot really thought Jaiden was upset because of the waitress. She kicked him in the shin again.

  "Ouch, ouch, ouch." Daniel clutched his knee. "Why did you kick me again?"

  "Because you have the emotional depth of a teaspoon," she said.

  "I do not."

  She groaned a plunked her head on the table. How did she ever get involved with this guy?

  ****

  As Annamarie paced in her room, her head throbbed. Jaiden sat on her bed, flipping through a magazine. Meanwhile, Boris leaned against the wall, his dark eyes leery and vigilant. How is that guy not bored out of his mind? she wondered, shaking her head. A moment later she returned to pacing again.

  "You're making me nervous," Jaiden said. "Sit down or something."

  "I can't." She always moved around a lot. "If I sit down, I'd feel like my legs are going to explode."

  Jaiden sighed and lay on the bed. The guy sounded miserable.

  "What's the matter?" she asked. "If you're bored, you can go. I have Boris to make sure I'm safe."

  "It's not that I'm bored." Jaiden squeezed his eyes shut.

  "Then what is it?" She touched her thin stomach. "Is it constipation? I get constipated after going out to breakfast sometimes."

  "How do you talk about things like that so casually?" Jaiden's muttered, his cheeks coloring.

  "I have a little brother," she said. "Before he learned about manners from the governess, he thought talking about bodily functions was funny."

  "Well, I'm not constipated," Jaiden said.

  "Spill the beans then." She leaned against the wall. "They say that a person's worries are cut in half when shared with someone else. So share. Let me help you karate chop those woes of yours."

  A sad smile crossed Jaiden's face.

  "I doubt that you can help." For a second he glanced at Boris nervously, then shrugged. "You like Daniel, don't you?"

  The words made her freeze.

  "I d-don't know what y-you mean." Darn her stammering. It was giving away her position.

  "Don't lie." Jaiden hung his head. "I can see it on your face when you're with him. You can't even talk to him about everyday things without being impassioned."

  "You mean like how we can't talk without biting each other's heads off?" She wasn't sure that was something to be envious of. "We're pissed at each other all the time."

  "I don't see it that way," Jaiden said. "You tease each other and bicker, but it doesn't really look like arguing."

  She sighed.

  "Maybe I'll sit down after all." With her shoulders slumped, she took her place on the bed.

  "You know, I constantly find myself wanting to pick a fight with you to see if you and I could bicker like you and Dan," Jaiden said. "Whenever I want to, I hesitate. It's because arguing for fun isn't me. The truth is you and Dan are a lot more suited for each other. Gavin was right. Dan needs you."

  "Jaiden…" She bit her bottom lip.

  "That's why I've decided I'm not going to interfere anymore," Jaiden said.

  She'd never seen Jaiden liking her as interfering.

  "You said that you couldn't be around Daniel if you knew he was with me." Her stomach hurt from all of the stress.

  "That's still true." Jaiden nodded. "I'm going to transfer abroad. Maybe go to France or something."

  The words were a punch to the face.

  "Do you want to do that?" she asked.

  "No. I just don't want to hurt Dan by getting in the way, yet seeing you with him hurts me too." Jaiden blew out a sigh. "I don't want to leave behind my best friends—no, my brothers—but I don't have another choice."

  Her whole life, she'd had a bad habit of messing everything up—concerts, houses, fancy parties. This was the first time she'd ever messed up a friendship. She couldn't let Jaiden lose Daniel.

  "Don't leave," she whispered.

  "Why?" Jaiden asked.

  "I'm going to fix everything." She hung her head.

  "How?" He stared at her.

  I'm going to leave with my dad and not come back.

  "Just trust in me, okay?" She placed her hand on his chest. "I'm going to make it so you never have to leave Daniel."

  ****

  Annamarie lay in bed as Daniel slept on the floor, snoring up a storm. Boris was crumbled in front of the door, blocking the path. Even though it went against the schedule, Jaiden had opted to sleep in his own room after their tense discussion.

  Despite the fact it was two o'clock in the morning, she couldn't sleep. She pulled out her cell phone and saw she had three missed calls from her dad as well as over fifteen texts. Instead of bothering to read them, she wrote him a message.

  Call me tomorrow morning at ten AM my time. I'll tell you everything then.

  Her dad didn't text back. She wondered if he'd already booked his flight to come get her. With a groan, she rolled over and glanced down at Daniel who lay on the floor. Sure, he was an overconfident, pompous pinhead at times, but there was something magical about him too. He never gives up and refuses to take no for an answer, she thought, realizing she liked those things about him. His surface beauty was only the tip of the iceberg.

  She blew out a sigh. Why was she thinking like this?

  "Toilet girl, don't eat that…" Daniel muttered in his sleep. "It's mine. I want it…"

  He let out a massive snore, but he smiled at the same time.

  She laughed, shaking her head. Unfortunately, the smile slid right off her face again. Her heart ached at the thought of leaving him, but she knew she was strong enough to do it. This was what being an adult was about—making a choice for the greater good, even if it hurt her. She wondered how he'd react when she just disappeared. Probably he would flip out and start turning tables. That was so like Daniel.

  Even though it's for his own good, he's going to be hurt, she realized. Despite all the arguments and punching, she didn't want that to happen. Maybe she'd never wanted to hurt him, not even in the beginning when she truly believed she loathed him. At that moment, she wanted to be closer to him, a fact which surprised her. She wasn't a touchy-feely person. She'd never be the girl who gave random hugs or even the person who enjoyed receiving them. Still she didn't have much time left with Daniel. She wanted to enjoy the last few days she had with the first boy who'd managed to make her heart beat faster. In order to do that, she had to get over being a chicken about her own emotions and just let go.

  "Daniel," she said, touching his arm.

  The guy let out a nasally snore.

  "Hey, Daniel," she said a little louder, some of the sweet romanticism she'd felt for him fading.

  The guy was muttering about stealing food again.

  "Wake up, you idiot!" She hurled a pillow at his head.

  With a grunt, Daniel flew into the sitting position, his golden blond hair askew.

  "What's the matter?" Daniel rubbed his eyes, then glanced at her, his mouth thin. "Is
something wrong?"

  All hopes of being sweet like a normal girl flew out the window.

  "Get in." She pointed at the bed. "I'm cold."

  "What?" Daniel's eyebrow rose.

  "I said, I'm cold." She was so embarrassed her cheeks were hot. "I want you to come up here."

  "You're asking me to sleep next to you to keep you warm?" Daniel looked at her like she'd sprouted an arm out of her forehead.

  "Fine." She was humiliated enough already. She wasn't going to ask again. "Don't sleep next to me. Whatever."

  "No, I will." Daniel scrambled into the bed and wrapped his arms around her.

  Being in somebody's arms was a little awkward at first. She could smell his breath and could hear his heartbeat when she placed her head on his chest. We're so close right now, she realized. She shut her eyes and listened to the music his body made.

  "Hey, are you okay?" Daniel's voice was surprisingly soft.

  "Yeah." She swallowed. "Why?"

  "I'm not complaining, but this is unlike you," he said. "I thought I'd have to sell my soul in order for you to request to be close to me like this."

  "I'll tell you what." She propped herself up on her elbow. "I'll let you sell your soul to me. How about that?"

  She'd meant the words as a joke to ease her own tension, but Daniel didn't take the bait.

  "My soul is already yours," he murmured.

  What was she supposed to say now? Daniel's words were so intimate. She'd never been close enough to someone to speak like that. The most romantic words she'd ever uttered had been to a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on a day she'd been really hungry.

  She laid her head on his chest again and fell silent. He held her so close the breath was chased from her lungs. Being enveloped in Daniel made her feel warmer than she'd ever been in her entire life. To her horror, she realized she just might cry. To conceal her emotions, she pressed her face against his chest and heard his heart's rhythm yet again.