by Naomi Niles
Taylor did – at a great personal risk to herself. I couldn’t let her down. I couldn’t be the old Dylan that just ran away from things. I had to go back. I had to apologize to Taylor, too.
She’d been right about Barbie. The text conversation had said it all. Barbie hadn’t sent a text to cover my butt. She hadn’t even sent me a text to see how I was. Bitch.
I turned on the GPS and realized how far away I was. I’d never make it home in the next half hour.
Should I call Mr. Dean? Or should I call Cole?
“Hey, Cole,” I said when he answered. “I need a favor.”
“Sure, bro.”
“I need a ride.”
I told him where I was. I sat on a bench, hoping no cops came by. I thought about what Taylor had done. She might have risked her standing in her social group. She might have risked her father’s trust.
All for me. No one had done that. My mother had never done that for me. I’m sure the woman loved me, but she loved her addiction more. As much as Taylor’s mother could be a pain, at least she was the same every day. I never worried if I was going to meet her drunk or stoned.
Her dislike of me had been consistent.
A cop car rounded the corner. I wanted to run. I might have in any other circumstance, but I knew I hadn’t done anything wrong. There was no curfew. I had a ride on the way.
So I sat, looking at my phone, praying the battery would last.
I stared at the text from Taylor. She cared and it warmed me.
The cop parked his car then climbed out.
“Good evening, officer.”
He put his hat on while he looked at me. I couldn’t see his face, but I’m sure he was taking in my appearance. I should look respectable. My tattoos, which seemed to mark me as bad news in this neighborhood, were covered.
“Evening. What are you doing?”
“Sitting here waiting for a ride. I went out for a walk and got lost.”
“Oh?”
He leaned in, probably to smell my breath. I didn’t drink. I’d seen what my mother did when she was drunk. That’s how I came along, after all.
“Yes, sir. I called a friend and he’s picking me up.”
“Can I see some identification?”
I pulled out my wallet and gave him my license. I was eighteen, so there wasn’t much he could do if I hadn’t committed a crime. Loitering was the worst thing I was doing tonight.
He handed it back. “Okay, Dylan. How about I wait with you until your ride gets here?”
“Sure, officer. It should only be a few minutes.”
He sat down next to me. “Did you go to the dance at the high school tonight?”
“I did.”
“Was it fun?”
“Not as fun as I thought it would be,” I said.
He chuckled. “Yeah, teen girls are tough. I have a daughter who is twelve and she’s already starting.”
“I just know them from school, and I don’t understand them.”
“You never will, son. Sorry. Been married fifteen years. Still don’t understand my wife,” he said. He thrust out his hand. “I’m Officer Kenney.”
I shook his hand. “Nice to meet you.”
Cole pulled up at that moment. “Is this your friend?”
“Yes, sir.”
I stood. Officer Kenney spoke to Cole, then let me slide into the car. “Have a good night, son.”
I waved at the officer then Cole drove away.
“Was he hassling you?” Cole said.
“No, just chatting. I didn’t run since I wasn’t doing anything wrong. And, I am eighteen.”
Cole dropped me at the front door to the Dean’s house. I thanked him before he drove off. I took a deep breath before I walked into the house. The only lights on were in the kitchen. I needed food anyway.
Mr. Dean was perched on a stool. He turned to me with a smile.
“Sorry, I’m late.”
“Taylor told me. You were helping a friend home? He or she?”
Shit. Taylor hadn’t specified. “She. It was a little sad. Her boyfriend left her there,” I said as I headed to the refrigerator. My stomach was empty.
I found some leftovers and reheated them in the microwave. Mr. Dean sat with me while I ate, making small talk. I was glad he didn’t press me for further details on my story.
He seemed to believe what I had to say, probably because of Taylor.
“How was the dance?”
“Too much drama. I’m sort of ready to be done with high school.”
“Yeah, I remember fourth quarter was tough. I didn’t want to concentrate. I was accepted to where I wanted to go to college. There wasn’t any reason to go to class. “
“Did you?”
“I did even if I didn’t want to. What are your plans?”
“After high school? I don’t really know. I guess I’ll have to get a job. Maybe go to college online.”
He nodded. “Well, let’s see what I can do for you.”
Once again, someone had my back.
Chapter Thirteen
Taylor
In a word: icy. That’s how everyone greeted me, or didn’t greet me Monday at school. I hadn’t spoken to anyone all weekend, only Helena. Other than her, I was friends with such bitches.
Bailey and Barbie, who had lockers across the hallway from me, turned their backs when I went by. Dylan didn’t look at either of them. I had no idea if he’d talked to Barbie at all.
I walked to my locker to find the word “Bitch” scrawled across it. Guess I was supposed to let Saturday night happen. Dylan had thanked me and we’d come to an understanding that we would listen to each other more often. I might know about some things and he knows other things.
We needed to stick together.
He put a hand on my shoulder. “Don’t let them get you down. It will blow over.”
I wanted to cry at the word on my locker, but Dylan’s words propped me up. That was so sweet of him. He kept walking down the hall to his own locker. I gathered the books I needed and slammed my locker shut.
Cole walked by and gave me a small nod. Was he taking sides, too? What the hell? It wasn’t anyone’s business, but apparent the B girls were really being B girls. I sighed.
Hopefully, my whole social life wasn’t going to hell. I’d give them all a few days to let it blow over.
“Hey, girl,” Helena said behind me.
“Are you talking to me?”
She hugged me. “Of course. You know I don’t get into the drama of it all.” She looked around. “I don’t care what those bitches think of me.”
I hugged her back. “I don’t appreciate you enough.”
“No, you don’t, but I love you, anyway.”
I squealed with laughter. Everyone in the hallway stopped to stare, but I didn’t care. I still had Helena. She walked beside me as everyone gave me a wide berth. Even kids not in my social circle must have heard something.
“Okay, what is everyone saying?”
Helena laughed “That you cock blocked Barbie.”
I stopped. “They used those terms?”
I’d never heard the term before, but I got the meaning of it.
“No, I said it that way. It’s funnier. So, what really happened?”
“Barbie and Bailey were in a contest to lose their virginity to a cool person. Barbie picked Dylan.”
“Why’d you stop them?”
“Because she was just using him and that’s wrong.”
She stared at me for a moment. “Do you have feelings for Dylan?’
He chose that moment to walk past me as we stood outside math class. I guess he didn’t hear Helena’s question. If I’d been him, I would have stopped.
“I don’t know,” I said as I watched him walk away.
He did have a nice butt. I hadn’t noticed that before.
“It looks like you have a crush on him.”
I glanced back at her. “I don’t know. He’s different than I originally
thought.” I shook myself. I wasn’t going to have an answer today. “You want to come over later?”
“Yeah. I actually need some help with my programming class. Dylan is really good at it.”
Another thing that boy could do well. For being a former loser, he was pretty smart. The boy had more facets than I’d ever given him credit for. I would have to give him another look.
“Will you put your tongue back in?” Helena said. “If you don’t know that you like him, then you are pretty dumb.”
I sighed. “I shouldn’t like him. He’s my father’s project.”
“He’s living with you. Just down the hall.”
“Don’t remind me.”
She was right. He was off-limits. I shouldn’t even be thinking about him that way.
At all.
“He is cute, Taylor. Just watch. You don’t know what he’s been through. I overheard them talking in the guidance office and they said he hadn’t had a father his whole life.”
“Probably why he’s drawn to my dad. They spend time talking. I’m almost jealous. I miss having Daddy to myself.”
“Cut him a break, Taylor.”
“I know, I know. I’m being selfish.”
I was. I knew it. Dylan didn’t have a father. My father was willing to step up for him and I should be proud. I should let it happen, but I did miss things with my dad.
“Still, Taylor. Tread carefully around him,” Helena said. She waved her arms. “All this will blow over. Some other kid will do something stupid. You’ll be back with the cool crowd soon.”
The problem was, I had no idea why I was with the cool crowd. I wasn’t any cooler than anyone else in my mind, but everyone else seemed to think so. I hugged Helena again, then walked into class.
Dylan was looking at his phone. I stared at him. We hadn’t talked this morning, but I tried to get his attention. I wondered if anyone was saying anything to him. Or ignoring him. Did it bother guys when people were mad at them?
I had no idea what went on in his brain.
As the teacher came in and everyone settled into their seats, Dylan finally looked my way. I smiled. He smiled back.
“Are you ready to start class, Taylor?” Mr. Delaney said.
I’m sure I blushed. “Yes, sir.”
“Good. Now stop making googly eyes at your boyfriend and we’ll get started.”
The rest of the class laughed. I blushed even deeper. “He isn’t my boyfriend. We’re friends.”
I don’t know why I felt the need to clarify my relationship with Dylan. I realized after I said it how stupid I sounded. Great. I was just making points all over the place. I hazarded a glance back at Dylan. He had that small smile on his face that said he was amused. At least, I’d made him smile. That made my day just a little bit better.
***
Helena was waiting for me after math class. I walked out with Dylan and we both stopped in front of her. I usually didn’t cross her path until after second period.
Her eyes were wild.
“What’s wrong?” I said.
“I heard a rumor. From a good source,” she said.
“About what?” Dylan said.
“About what the other cheerleaders are going to do to you.”
“What?” I said. That didn’t make any sense. I was their leader. Why would they side with the B girls? “That doesn’t make sense.”
“I don’t know the specifics, but something is going to go down this afternoon. They want to get you back for what you did.”
“She didn’t do anything but put a stop to something that I shouldn’t have been doing. These girls are bitches.”
“Sadly, these girls were my friends,” I said.
Not anymore, if they were going to hurt me. I had wanted my senior year to be simple and fun and now it wasn’t.
“You’re sure they are going to do something?” Dylan said.
“Yes. I heard some girls talking in the bathroom. They were laughing about it,” Helena said.
I couldn’t believe this. Why would they do something? I pondered what this might mean. Maybe this wasn’t going to blow over. Maybe I couldn’t just wait it out. Dylan looked concerned. “You don’t know what?”
“No,” Helena said. “They left the bathroom before I could see who it was or ask them anything.”
“It’s easier being a guy,” Dylan said. “We just punch each other and get past it.”
“Well, girls don’t do that. We have to plot the other’s downfall. Why am I the one at fault here?” I asked.
Dylan laughed. “Yeah. I’m not even mad at her and I’m the one who didn’t get laid.”
I punched his arm lightly. “Really?”
He laughed, but didn’t apologize for what he said. I had admire that. He was just being Dylan. “I have a long trek to my next class. Text me if you hear anything specific. Meet me after school, too.”
I watched him go. He wasn’t concerned, but he was new to this social circle. These girls could be cutthroat. I had been that way at one point, until this year, in fact. Helena’s friendship had calmed me and put it all into perspective.
Life had to be better after high school. It couldn’t be worse.
Helena fell into step beside me. “What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know yet.” I saw Barbie, so I stopped by her locker. “What do you have planned?”
Barbie looked at the person next to her. “Do you hear something? I feel like someone is talking to me, but no one is there.”
“Real mature, Barbie. What’s going on?” I said.
Barbie laughed. “Who says anything is going on?” She leaned in closer. “Getting paranoid.”
I wanted to slap her face, but then I’d get in trouble. No reason to do that. I sneered at her. “I would be careful, Barbie.”
“Why? Dylan going to come to your rescue?”
She walked away, laughing. “What did that mean?”
“She’s just being a bitch. I bet she doesn’t’ have anything planned,” Helena said. “What could they do? They’ll get detention. That would mean no cheerleading.”
“Unless they get someone else to do their dirty work.”
“What do you mean?” Helena said.
“Well, there are those fringe people who hang just outside of our circle. They would probably do something to get brought into our circle.”
“People are weird. Just be friends or don’t be friends,” Helena said.
“I guess I’ve been guilty of using them.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
I looked down at my shoes. I wasn’t proud of my actions in the past. I was going to start being better. I guess part of me wanted to improve for Dylan. He made me want to be a better person.
The bell rang. We were late. I ran to my class just as the teacher was closing the door.
“You’re late, Miss Dean.”
“I know, Mr. Carter. I’m sorry. I was dealing with a crisis.”
He eyed me. “I’m sure we have very different ideas about what is a crisis. I will let you in today, but don’t let it happen again.”
“Thank you.”
I walked to my seat. Bailey was in the back; she made her fingers into a gun and pretended to shoot me. Good thing the teacher didn’t see her do it or she would have gotten in trouble. They go nuts for stuff like that.
I had trouble sitting through class. Dylan was outside my classroom when the period ended.
“You don’t have to walk me to every class, Dylan.”
Not that I didn’t appreciate seeing him. I was beginning to like him, wasn’t I? I really shouldn’t.
“I heard a vague threat against youtoo. Nothing specific. I’m concerned, Taylor.”
His gaze was on me as if I were the only girl in the school. The fact that Dylan wanted to protect me made my heart sing. I really doubted that anything big was going to go down. What could they do on school grounds?
I put a hand on his arm. “It’s oka
y, Dylan. I’ll be fine.”
“I’m not so sure, Taylor. If I heard about it, it must be big. I’m not in anyone’s loop.”
He was starting to scare me, but I put up a brave front. If there was trouble, Dylan didn’t need to be around it. “Seriously, Dylan. Girls make threats all the time. Nothing ever happens.”
“Please, meet me after school. Where are you going to be? I’ll be with you so nothing happens.”
As much as I wanted to spend time with Dylan and this white knight behavior was a turn on, I still had a life. “People don’t do things to each other here. I’m more likely to lose my social standing. As much as that sucks, it isn’t life-threatening.”
He stared at me for a few more seconds. “I’m serious, Taylor.”
I patted his arm. “So am I.”
Chapter Fourteen
Dylan
I turned to get to class, not understanding why Taylor was unconcerned about the threat. Then I remembered that she had lived her life in a bubble. She hadn’t seen bad things happen very often. Or at all.
I turned back to her. “This isn’t done.”
She waved a hand in dismissal as I sprinted to class.
“No running in the hallway, Mr. Cabot,” a teacher called after me.
I slowed, but walked fast. I reached the classroom just in time. This was programming, my favorite class. I couldn’t concentrate, though, thinking about Taylor. She really was in trouble this time. At least, in trouble in her world. She wasn’t homeless or hungry, but there are people who could be a physical threat.
I had to protect her.
In the bathroom between classes, I overheard two people talking.
“Did you hear? The quarterback is going to give it to the head cheerleader.”
“Give it?”
“He’s going to do her after school. He’s going to make sure he keeps her underwear and put them on the bulletin board outside the office.”
“With her name on them?”
“Of course. So everyone knows that he fucked her.”
My fists clenched. I knew she didn’t want to have sex with the quarterback. Greg had taken her on a date and been a jerk. Why would she agree to have sex with him? No, that wasn’t the case.
She will be so embarrassed if this happens. What if Greg is rough with her? She doesn’t want this.