by Jo Cassidy
Halfway during the song, I started singing. I'd never sung in public. I had no idea if I was good or not. But Jenna stopped investigating to look at me in awe. Brendon's worried eyes changed to wonder. Sydney looked up from her phone.
And a smile. A real, genuine smile landed on Daddy's lips.
When I finished, everyone clapped, including Daddy.
"That was amazing!" Jenna squealed. "You have to teach me to play, Dalton." She gazed longingly at him, and if I wasn't sick to my stomach, I would have smiled and been happy for her.
But my eyes were on Daddy and his sudden change.
The calm before the storm.
Chapter 34
With shaking hands, I gave Dalton back his guitar. What was Daddy going to do? My dinner churned in my stomach, and I hoped it would stay down.
"Mr. Snow," Jenna said. "Since you've already given Cora your present, can she open ours?"
Daddy smiled, so natural and normal. "That's an excellent idea."
Jenna clapped her hands. "Mine first!" She placed a large, pink bag in my lap, bright fuchsia tissue paper spilling out.
"It looks like it threw up," Sydney said, glancing up from her phone.
Jenna glared at her. "Just like your face."
Taking the tissue paper, I tossed it at Dalton. It piled on top of him. No matter what was inside, I had to pretend to be happy. Jenna was overly excited, and I didn't want to let her down. Daddy would be upset regardless, so my focus was on Jenna.
I pulled everything out. Glitter pens. A pink journal with a C on it. Lip gloss. Breath mints. Spearmint gum.
"You can thank me later for the gloss, Brendon," Jenna said. "It tastes like strawberries!"
"I'm allergic," Brendon said, his eyebrows furrowed together. To everyone else, he probably looked upset, but to me, I could see the sarcasm behind his eyes.
Jenna frowned. "To artificial flavoring?" She threw up her hands. "I can get another flavor."
Brendon smiled. "I was kidding, Jenna."
She let out a long breath. "Whew! Good. It tastes so good, trust me." Her gaze landed on Dalton. He used some of the tissue paper to cover his bright red face.
I picked up the journal and flipped through the pink pages. Something lay between two pages near the middle.
Jenna knelt next to me and whispered. "Get that later." Her eyes were urgent. Warning me of something, but I had no idea what.
Dalton moved the tissue paper and looked over my shoulder, opening the journal. "What is . . .” His face burned bright. "Oh." He glanced at Brendon and then sat back against the couch, creating a distance between me and him.
"Well, now you have us all curious," Julien said. "What's in there?"
"Later, Cora," Jenna said through clenched teeth. "When there's a smaller audience."
Daddy stepped closer to us. "Are you hiding something in there?"
"Just a girl thing," Jenna said, her laugh strained. "Who else got Cora a present?" She glanced around at everyone, her eyes begging for someone to take the focus off the journal.
Julien reached over and snatched it from my hands before I could react.
"No!" Jenna said, falling forward, scrambling to get to Julien.
Julien held up a piece of thin, red material. "Oh, this just got good."
"What is that?" I asked.
Brendon's face flared, matching Dalton's. Sydney glanced up from her phone for a second, but then snapped her head up when she saw what Julien was holding. She took a picture with her phone.
Daddy yanked it from Julien's grasp and took it into the kitchen, throwing it away in the garbage.
Jenna frowned. "That was expensive. I was trying to hide it so you'd find it later." She patted my leg. "Sorry. I didn't mean to get you in trouble."
"What was it?" I still had no idea, but everyone else in the room seemed to know.
Jenna leaned in close to me. "A thong."
"A what?" I asked.
Dalton stood and moved far away from us.
Jenna tilted her head to the side. "Are you being serious right now?"
Everyone in the room, well aside from Julien and Sydney, were completely embarrassed, but I had no idea why.
I shook my head in confusion.
Jenna darted a glance at Daddy, who fumed in the kitchen, and then turned back to me. "It's underwear."
"That was underwear?" There had hardly been any material. Not enough to cover me or to make it useful.
Julien leaned toward us. "You've never worn a thong before?"
Sydney held up her phone. "This is so great. Everyone keep on talking."
"Are you recording this?" Brendon asked.
When Sydney shushed him, he grabbed her phone and pressed a button.
"Hey!" Sydney reached for her phone, but Brendon held it away from her, scrolling through it. I assumed he was trying to delete it. She huffed. “I was live streaming. Can’t erase what the world has already seen.” Her eyes lit up. “I’m going to get so many new followers.”
Live stream? What did that mean?
"Seriously, where are you from?" Jenna asked. "A convent? It's sexy underwear. For your man."
"Brendon's supposed to wear it?" I whispered, the heat finally flooding my cheeks.
Jenna's eyes went wide. "No! You are! For him." She shushed Julien, who had busted up laughing and clapping his hands. Tears trickled out of his eyes.
"What did she say?" Sydney asked. She was still trying to wrangle her phone from Brendon. "My followers are missing all the good stuff!"
I helped Jenna onto the couch next to me and whispered, trying to keep everyone else out of the conversation. "What's going on?"
Jenna patted my hand. "You wear it when you're alone together. Just you and him. When you're ready for that phase of your relationship."
That phase? I'd never reach a phase of a relationship where I'd want to wear only a tiny strip of material on my body. My cheeks and neck burned, putting Dalton and Brendon's embarrassment to shame.
"I said when you're ready," Jenna said. "It doesn't have to be tonight. I wasn't sure where you two were at in your relationship, but now you'll be ready when the time comes. I almost got the matching bra, but I couldn't stuff it in the journal. Plus, it was too expensive."
"Did anyone else get Cora a present?" Daddy stood near the coffee table, his arms folded and back straight. His chin was tilted up.
All the laughter in the room cut off.
"I did," Dalton said, his body tense. "But I'm afraid to give it to her now."
Sydney finally yanked her phone away from Brendon and sat down. "Did you get her lingerie too?"
Dalton shook his head a little too vigorously. "Nope." He handed me a small, wrapped box. "Nothing awkward, I promise."
With shaking hands, I tore back the wrapping paper and opened the box. Guitar picks with the initials C.S. for Cora Snow.
"Thanks, Dalton," I said.
He flushed. "No problem."
Julien smiled sheepishly from the couch next to me. "Sorry, Cora. I didn't get you anything."
"Neither did I," Sydney said with bored eyes. Or maybe they were annoyed. Or both. “But I’m not sorry about that.”
I smiled at them. "That's okay. You didn't have to."
Brendon handed me a small box. He glanced at Daddy. "Totally appropriate."
"I'm really sorry," Jenna said. "It was just a joke." She waved her hand in a casual manner, trying to downplay the situation.
Sydney chuckled. "Way too late to lie about it."
I took the box from Brendon, my fingers brushing against his. My cheeks flared, and Brendon snatched his hand away and hid it behind his back.
"Wow," Jenna whispered. "I really ruined things."
I gave her a soft smile and opened the box. Inside was a gold chain. A flower pendant hung from it, an emerald in the center. "My birthstone."
Jenna gasped. "It looks so expensive!" She whispered in my ear. "You've so reached the level. Dig that thong out of the trash and
wear it for him."
I pushed her away, making her laugh. I pulled it out of the box and held it up. Jenna clasped it around my neck, the chain cold against my burning skin. My fingers brushed along the flower laying against my chest. A real present that was all mine. "Thank you, Brendon."
He wet his lips. "You're welcome."
Clouds blew through Daddy's eyes, quick and fleeting, like the time we met Brendon at the pizza parlor for the first time and Brendon knew my name. Daddy was upset but trying to hide it.
Jenna put her arms around me, squeezing tight. "You're so lucky."
Sydney suddenly stood, snapped a picture of me and Jenna, and tucked her phone into her band. "My mom's here. Happy Birthday, Cora. Thanks for dinner, Mr. Snow." She trudged out of the house, knocking into the coffee table as she passed it, not noticing what she did. It had shifted on the floor, and Daddy hurried to put it back in its proper place. Something inside me snapped. I needed answers, and I couldn’t believe she’d come to my house just for the party. With all her questions at dinner, she had to be the blackmailer.
I pushed out of Jenna's embrace and ran after Sydney, careful not to bump anything on the way out. I stopped her outside her family's minivan.
"Did you take it?" I asked, setting my hand on her arm to get her attention.
Sydney swung around and put her hand on her hip. "Yes, I did."
I hadn't expected her to admit it so easily. "Why?"
Brendon and Dalton jogged out of the house. Brendon went close to Sydney, looking down on her. "Why did you take it?" Anger stirred in his eyes. Different from Daddy’s, but anger nonetheless.
Sydney backed away from him with an annoyed huff. "What's the big deal?"
"The big deal?" Brendon clenched his fists. "How could you put her through that? Threaten her?"
The passenger side window on the minivan rolled down. "Syd, dear, let's go." Her mom tapped her fingers along the steering wheel, eager to leave.
Sydney sulked to the van and put her hand on the handle. "It's a picture. Get over it."
"How . . .” Brendon pulled back in confusion. "What? What picture?"
"The one I took of Jenna and Cora hugging," Sydney said. She pulled her phone out of the band and showed me and Brendon the picture. "I didn't know you'd freak out about it so much. I won't make a meme, okay?"
"A what?" I asked.
Sydney scoffed. "You're seriously so weird."
"Why did you come?" I asked. "You obviously hate me."
"I don't hate you." Sydney pointed at her band. "You're pretty talented and can be funny at times. You're just weird. I almost said no when Jenna invited me, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to see your home life. I wish I could have live streamed the whole thing, but my fans will just have to deal with my play by play tonight." She looked past me at Daddy, who'd come outside with everyone else. "Your dad kind of creeps me out."
"What about the journal?" I asked through clenched teeth. The more she spoke, the angrier I became. I was a joke to her.
Sydney furrowed her eyebrows. "What journal?"
"My journal," I said, stepping up to her. "That you stole."
Sydney backed into the van. "You keep a diary?" She laughed. "I shouldn't be surprised."
Brendon leaned forward. "So, you didn't take it?"
"Why would I?" Sydney asked. "Like I'd want to read about her boring, weird life." She opened the van door, got in, and snapped at her mom to drive.
Dalton lingered at my side, his eyebrows furrowed. "Your journal was stolen?"
If it wasn't Sydney, Dalton was next on my list. I wanted to find out the truth.
"Was it you?" I asked him.
Surprise passed over Dalton's eyes. Then hurt. "You think I'd do that to you?"
"You knew I wanted to learn to play the guitar." I stood tall. "I never told anyone that. It was in my journal."
Out of habit, Dalton lifted his hand to brush hair out of his eyes, but then remembered it was gelled. "Like I've said, I can't remember who told me. I just overheard it somewhere." He put his hand on my shoulder. "I'm telling you the truth." He lowered his hand and his lips curved into a smile. "I'm not really into reading girls' journals. It's not my thing."
Should I believe him? Every emotion on his face, in his eyes, told me he was being genuine and truthful. "So, who did?"
Daddy clapped his hands together, jolting me. I whipped around to see him standing just a few feet away. I'd dropped my guard. Dropped everything. He knew the truth. Knew I kept a journal and it had been stolen from me.
But he only knew of the one. I somehow had to burn the others before he found out there were more. Although, none of that mattered if I didn't get the journal back from my blackmailer.
"Time for cake!" Daddy said. The lightning behind his eyes flashed.
Chapter 35
Once we were all back inside the house, Daddy held out his hand and motioned for me to join him. The focus and determination that settled in his eyes told me he'd finally decided what he wanted to do. I wondered if the whole party had been some sort of test and I'd failed miserably. I smiled at him and went to Daddy's side. He took my hand in his and whispered in my ear. "You have a journal?"
"I did," I said. "Someone took it."
"This is all your fault. Remember that." He cleared his throat, speaking loud for everyone to hear. "Thank you all for coming to celebrate Cora's birthday. It's nice to see she has so many friends." His tone twinged on the last word, but I was probably the only one who noticed.
Daddy dished out the cake and ice cream, plastering on a fake smile the entire time. The only one who seemed wary aside from me was Brendon. As they were eating at the table, Daddy pulled me off to the side.
"I'm going to leave it up to you," he whispered.
"Leave what up to me?"
He nodded his head at the table. "What we're going to do with your friends. They know too much now. We obviously can't stay here. Do we let them go, or get rid of them? Carbon monoxide poisoning would be a clean, simple route."
My eyes widened, surprised he’d suggest such a thing. I didn’t want to believe him capable of murder. "Don’t hurt them, Daddy. They don't know anything. They aren't the ones who look my journal." At least I hoped that was true. Sadness gripped me tight to the point I had to force the words out. "We'll just leave and never look back."
He put his arm around my shoulder. "You really believe that? None of them took it?"
I watched my friends, Julien, Dalton, Jenna, and Brendon, eating their cake and ice cream, all smiling and laughing. Even Brendon has loosened for the moment. He laughed at something Julien said, and I smiled, though it hurt.
"They're innocent," I said. "If they disappeared, the cops would come after us. We'll leave.” We could go back to how things were at the beginning when it was just me and Daddy. They'd stay here, go on with their lives, and forget about me.
Sorrow tugged at my heart. I never thought I'd miss anyone, but I would miss Jenna and Brendon. They really had become my friends. But they deserved to live and have a free life to be whoever they wanted.
Daddy stayed tensed next to me, probably mulling over my decision. Killing all of them would cast a bigger spotlight on us. If we just disappeared, after some time, no one would remember us. No one would remember me.
Like I never existed.
"Just know," he whispered, "I'll never forget that you did this to our family." He cleared his throat and took my hand, his cold skin rough against mine. "Cora and I are moving."
Stunned silence filled the room. I wished I could tell them it would be good for everyone. I'd be out of their lives, and they'd be free from danger.
The only one who'd suffer was me.
If it meant saving them, then it would be worth it.
Jenna completely deflated like a popped balloon. "What?" She frowned as her shoulders drooped. "You can't move! Why are you moving?"
"Where are you moving?" Dalton asked. Surprisingly, he looked sad as wel
l.
"I got a job opportunity out of state." Daddy waved his hand out in a nonchalant manner. "We leave next weekend."
Brendon’s eyes were unfocused on his plate. His whole body went rigid for a few seconds before he started shaking. He rushed to his feet, the chair sliding out behind him, and he bolted outside, slamming the door behind him.
I wanted to follow him, but Daddy's hand held mine tightly to the point my blood circulation cut off.
"Did you know this?" Jenna asked me. Tears welled in her eyes.
The only thing I could do was shake my head, letting her know I hadn’t.
"Worst birthday ever," Jenna mumbled. She pushed her unfinished piece of cake away from her. "I mean, I'm happy for you, Mr. Snow. But I don't want to lose Cora."
Julien waved his phone with hope in his eyes. "Technology. We can stay in touch."
Jenna clasped her hands together in a plea. "This means you'll get her a cell phone now, right Mr. Snow?"
Daddy squeezed my hand, which I didn't think was possible with how tight he was already holding it. "Unfortunately, we're moving to a place with limited coverage. You'll have to say your goodbyes tonight."
Tears trickled down Jenna's cheeks. "This is the worst news ever!" She stood and ran at me, throwing her arms around me.
It hurt. So bad. Everywhere. My body ached from the lashings and sleeping on the cold, cement basement floor. Jenna squeezed way too tight. I wanted to scream out in pain, but instead I wrapped my arms around her and took it. Pain I could manage. Losing the only friend I'd ever had would be much more difficult.
Dalton walked by, patting me on the shoulder. "I'm going to talk to Brendon." He sulked out the front door, closing it quietly behind him.
Julien gave me a hug like we’d been friends forever. "Good luck, Cora!" He waved at Daddy. "Thanks so much for dinner. I wish you both the best."
Daddy’s eyes lingered on the stripes shaved into the side of Julien’s head, but he gave him a friendly wave in reply.
Outside, I found Brendon and Dalton huddled near the old crabapple tree on the park strip. Brendon had his hands on his head like he was trying to hold himself together. Dalton looked up when I cautiously approached, my hands gripping the sides of my dress.