"Quit it!" I moaned.
"Then turn around and talk to us!" J whined.
"I have to finish this so I can, uh, go home?" I groaned, even though I didn't really want to go home.
"Look at mine." Jason pointed to his sheet of paper. It was blank.
"You're an idiot who's going to have to stay longer." I rolled my eyes. I saw Cameron had done nothing also.
"That's not how it works." Jason told me in a sing-song voice.
"You're such a girl." I prodded him. As a retort, he held up his even more now, heavily bandaged fist. "So, how does it 'work' in detention?"
"If you do nothing, and refuse, they send you home because they can't be asked to wait around for you." J told me.
"What bad teachers." I tutted. I noticed Cameron just sitting slightly facing away from us, frowning and resting his chin on his hand.
"Dude, Farrah's checking you out." Jason nudged him. I hit him hard on the shoulder- but I was also grateful to him. Cameron finally started talking to me again.
"Farrah, I know I'm awesome but...well, you like Tanner." He winked, though his eyes didn't match his smirk. I didn't know why, but that made me annoyed.
"I don't." I burst out.
"You don't?" Both boys questioned simultaneously.
"I...I don't think so." I mumbled, looking away and blushing. Cameron's big green eyes were staring at me, and I suddenly felt self concious. Stupid emotions.
"You don't think so?" Cameron repeated, narrowing his eyes at me.
"Um, no. After he...um..." I trailed off, catching a look from Jason. Right. Don't mention the kiss.
"After your date?" Jason supplied.
"Uh, yeah. I just didn't feel anything. I'm over him." I stammered. Both boys grinned at me.
"Well, good." Cameron grinned, more to himself than me.
"Good?" I echoed.
"Yes. That was bad taste, like Brody said. Tanner's a player." Cameron told me. I was tempted to point out he was too, but I decided against it. He was only just talking to me again.
"Right." I nodded. "What are you guys doing after school?"
"Coming to your house." Jason informed me.
"What? When was this arranged?" I asked, bewildered.
"Now. You look so glum. We can be your brothers for the day." Jason smiled. My Cameron dream came, once again, to mind.
I love you...
"It's okay, you can just be my friends. But thanks." I replied, grinning.
"I heard Troy moved out." Cameron stated. "How come?"
I pondered my answer, unsure what to say at first. Then it hit me.
"I don't know..." I said slowly. "But you two are gonna help me find out."
Chapter 25
"Sneaky Farrah...I'm liking it." Jason winked.
Cameron looked at him for a moment, as if trying to read his face, before turning to me. "How exactly are we gonna help you find out?"
"I don't know...but we could go through her stuff and find clues!" I cried like a little kid. "This is gonna be so fun!"
"One problem." Cameron interrupted.
"Don't put a downer on my ideas!" I whined.
"You sound like a fourteen year old- actually, you sound just like Brody." Jason chuckled.
I frowned at him, then steered it away and directed it at Cameron. "So what is this, 'problem'?"
"Won't your Mom be in the house? She'll see us." Cameron pointed out.
My eyebrows knitted together in concentration. "Hm..."
"Okay, ready?" I asked the two boys, as we stood outside my front door, wearing ski masks.
"I love these masks!" Jason high fived me.
"You're so dramatic." Cameron rolled his eyes at me, but he was grinning and he had a twinkle in his eye. He was excited to find out why my family were acting so strange as well.
I pushed down the handle of the door, and opened it quietly. I ushered the boys into the hallway, where I repeated the first step of our plan.
"Come on, slowly and quietly." I told them in a low voice. "If we sneak in, she'll never know-"
"Farrah?" Mom called from the living room. "Is that you?"
Crap.
"Abort mission, abort mission!" I hissed, shoving Cameron into Jason, who got squashed into the door, sliding to the floor from the impact. It was like some kind of bad spy movie.
"Farrah?" Mom called again.
"Uh...yeah?" I replied, my words a bit muffled by my mask getting caught in my mouth.
"You need to come in here, please." She told me. I realised her voice was shaking a little. I tugged off my mask, Cameron and Jason following suit.
I walked into the living room, hiding the mask behind my back. I nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw who was there, sat in our armchair.
"Hello, honey." My Dad greeted me. "Oh, I see that boy is still hanging around. Who's this other one?"
Jason raised his eyebrows slightly at being called, 'the other one'.
"That's Jason, Farrah's friend." Mom spoke for me.
"What...what's going on...? I don't understand...w-why are you here?" I choked out, regaining my voice.
"He came to talk to me about Troy." Mom sighed.
My mind raced. "T-Troy?"
"Yes." Dad nodded grimly. "I wanted to know why he has moved out, and where to."
"And he's calling me a bad Mother because I don't know where hs is." Mom told me quietly.
"Well it is bad! You drove him out of the house!" Dad barked.
"W-why do you...even care?" I asked my Dad. Cameron and Jason both moved to my sides, as they were ready to restrain me if I went crazy.
"I know I've been a bad Father to you and Troy, but...I do care about you both." Dad admitted.
"So why did you hit him?" I growled.
"Farrah, this isn't the time. Do you know where your brother is?" Mom interrupted.
"Do you honestly think I'd be here if I did?" I snapped. Mom's face fell, and Dad held up a hand to me.
"This is the time. I know it's too late to apologise, but I am sorry. I care very much about you both. I was a bad man before, I shouldn't have hit Troy." Dad shook his head at himself.
"You're right." I nodded.
"About?" Dad cocked his head at me.
"You shouldn't have hit him. And it is too late to apologise. What happened to the new baby? What happened to it being better than us? Replacing us failures?" I raged.
"I..." Dad began.
"Where's Hannah? Surely you need your back up to make Mom feel down?" I cut him off. "Don't you?"
"Do you want us to leave?" Cameron whispered in my ear. I jumped, I had forgotten they were there. But something told me not to make them go.
"No, stay and witness the mess that is my family. Go on Dad, answer me." I said coolly.
"Hannah and I have broken up." Dad muttered.
I opened my mouth to retaliate, but stopped. That wasn't what I had expected. I was shocked into silence. For a second, anyway. "Broke up? What do you mean? Why? What about the baby?"
"Hannah had a miscarriage. She blamed it on me and she left." Dad told me, his voice shaking.
"What, did you hit her too?" I glared at him, not feeling his pain.
"Farrah!" Mom snapped. "That is enough! You're beginning to sound exactly like Troy. Speaking of which, we need to find him. That's why your Father is here. So tell me. Are you sure you don't know where he is?"
"No!" I shouted. "Like I said, I wouldn't be here if I did. Why were you arguing anyway?"
"Because...he found out about something that I was going to tell you together, as a family." Mom answered.
Tell us?
Tell us what?
Holy shit.
My mind was about to explode, when Dad cut in.
"Oh, you mean your little boyfriend?" Dad rolled his eyes.
"Boyfriend?" I gaped at her.
Mom nodded. "I'm sorry, I am. I know it's not the best time...I have been a bad Mother, haven't I?"
"From my perspective, n
either of you have been good parents recently." Jason butted in.
We all turned to look at him.
"Right. Family moment, sorry." He backed out of the room. "Come on Cameron, let's go...uh, um, explore the house."
They both sloped off, Jason speed walking, and we all heard Cameron ask Jason just how old he was. I would have laughed, if I wasn't having a family crisis.
I slowly sank into the couch next to my Mother.
"Is that what the fish magnets were about?" I asked.
"Yes." Mom answered, not looking at me.
"So Aunt Tessie knew?" I questioned.
"Yes." Mom replied with the same answer, in the same, quiet tone.
"Who else did?"
"I did." Dad waved at me stupidly.
"Anyone else?" I raised an eyebrow, not breaking eye contact with my Mother.
"No." Mom sighed, long and loud. "Troy found out because..."
"What?" I demanded, now wanting to know the details of how my brother found out- it might have been the reason he made the drastic decision of moving out.
"Yes, do tell, Lucia." Dad agreed, leaning on his fist with his chin, facing Mom. Mom swallowed, not liking the attention.
My Mom had always been the shy girl. With Tessie for a sister, she had already learned that some people were meant to rule, with their loud voices and bossing around. She seemed to think she was the other kind of person. The kind that let people walk all over them, the kind that were once slaves.
All through high school, my Mom was quiet and hard working, the teachers loved her. All though she was called a goody two-shoes, she was nice to everyone, and they loved her. We were quite similar.
One day, a boy who was two years above her, selected her from a crowd of people, and was extra nice to her. He broke her out of her shell, and she became less quiet, less careful. They began to date. After a year, he had to leave to go to college. Mom was so disappointed. That boy, was my Dad. So, two years later, when Mom had finished school, she set off to find him. It was then she learned, that to get stuff done, you had to get moving. A further two years followed, and she became pregnant with Troy. All though my Mom was breaking out of her shell as many said, my Dad was slowly pushing her back in over the years.
It had been like it ever since.
"Well?" I demanded.
"I've been having him come to our house at night." Mom admitted, breathing out heavily as she did, rushing her words.
This guy had been coming to our house? At night?
"What?" Dad asked incredulously, reading my mind.
"No, no!" Mom shook her head. "Not like that!"
"Good!" I sighed.
"Phew." Dad agreed.
It's none of your business anyway." Mom narrowed her eyes at Dad.
"So what, Troy just...walked in on you?" I quizzed Mom, still confused.
"Yes, basically." Mom shrugged. "He was drunk too- he'd just come back from a party. It was around, oh, midnight? We were talking in the kitchen and your brother burst in, swearing and screaming..."
"Well it would be strange to walk in the house at midnight and find your Mom talking to a stranger in the kitchen." I told her coolly.
"He was drunk?" Dad gaped at mom. "It's not even legal for him to drink!"
"All teenagers drink." I rolled my eyes.
"That's not the point." Mom said quickly, changing the subject. "We need to find him."
"Yeah." I nodded. "I'm going to find him now."
I called upstairs for Cameron and Jason, and began walking to the door when Mom ordered me back.
"Cameron and Jason aren't coming." Mom informed me.
"Excuse me? They're my ride!" I snapped.
"Don't be like that. This is a family issue. Besides, I'll drive you around to find him." Mom told me.
"They've been more like family to me in the past month." I raised my eyebrows at her. Yeah, go me!
Mom was about to reply, when something clicked in my mind. A month. I had known Cameron and Jason a month. What was it Jason had been saying to Cameron the night they crashed my date with Tanner?
"You know what else it explains?" Jason muttered, tracing circles on our table.
"What would that be?" I asked, smiling from ear to ear. Teasing Cameron was fun.
Jason's eyes left the table, trailing up to Cameron's. "Why you haven't been on a date with a girl in nearly a month."
Cameron hadn't been on a date since he had known me. Weird.
"Look I know it's not the best, but they can't-" Mom started. She was silenced by the thumping of two teenage boys feet, scrambling down the stairs.
"Woo! Let's go find Troy!" Jason cheered.
"Actually boys, this is a family matter." My Dad told them.
"You what?" Jason asked.
"I'm sorry boys, we want to talk to Troy as a family. You guys can't come." Mom agreed with my Father. As much as I wanted them to agree for once since their divorce, this was completely unfair.
"You're so mean!" I cried, stamping my foot and waving my hands around. "They are Troy's friends! They don't keep secrets from him, like you, Mom. They don't hit him, like you, Dad. They have every right to-"
"Farrah I don't hit him anymore!" Dad bellowed.
"Because that makes it all okay, doesn't it?" I retorted.
"Farrah, not now. Get in the car." Mom sighed, pushing me away from the guys.
"No!" I cried. Mom looked like she was about to cry- she hated confrontation.
"Farrah-" Jason started.
"Come on." I cut him off, dragging him and Cameron out of the front door. I slammed it behind us, and started to storm up the path away from the house, to Cameron's car. He had driven us home from school.
"Farrah, wait." Jason sighed.
"What is it, J? I need to find my brother." I whipped around, tapping my foot impatiently.
"Maybe we'd best not go." He told me.
"You...w-what?" My voice cracked. I didn't want to be left alone with my parents for God knows how long, searching for my brother. We wouldn't even know where to start. Probably his other friends' houses.
"Your parents are right. This is a family thing." Cameron told me softly.
"But..." I trailed off, expecting one of them to cut me off with something. When no one said anything, I let out a small sob.
"Don't cry!" Jason wailed.
"We can still come and see Troy, wherever he is, after your family have talked to him." Cameron told me.
"I guess." I sighed, my shoulders drooping. I felt a pair of strong arms wrap around me, and looked up to see Jason, his tangled, messy hair in the way of his eyes.
"You'll be fine. I'll talk to you later, okay?" He said to me, letting go. I nodded, realising that they did have a point.
I began to walk back to the house, but someone caught me from behind.
"If you ever need anything, call, okay?" A voice that could only belong to Cameron, muttered into my hair. I nodded again, shocked. Cameron was being really sweet and something strange happened when he put his arms around me. They were warm, very warm on my body. It must have explained why I felt a little buzz.
Like a spark.
Tanner pressed his lips to mine, his extremely warm, while mine were probably frozen. I was too shocked to react- but one thing ran through my mind. Wasn't there supposed to be sparks?
I shook myself out of my daydream, and slowly pulled myself out of Cameron's arms.
"I will." I whispered. "Thanks."
With that, the two guys walked away, just in time for my parents to come out and find me, standing alone, in the cold, waiting for them, my mind about to explode.
"Come on sweetie, let's go and find your brother." Mom said softly, pulling me into her side with one arm. I had a feeling she just saw everything.
Maybe she could explain what was happening.
***
The other end of the phone rang for the fifth time, before telling me again that Troy's phone was off. I grumbled and hung up, before redialli
ng the number, with some pathetic hope that he would turn on his phone and ring me back.
"Honey, leave it now." Mom told me.
"How else are we going to find him?" I reminded her. "I'll try Facebook."
I flicked on my phone, going online to Facebook. Troy wasn't online from what I could see. I quickly went onto his page, scrolling down it for any hint as to where he might be. A picture came up, of him and a girl with blonde hair. It had been taken a hour ago. I didn't recognise her, and I felt stumped. I switched my phone back off, sinking down into my seat, pressing my phone to my mouth as I frowned in concentration.
"Mom...do you know any of Troy's friends that are blonde? Girls?" I asked her.
Mom tried to think of someone, but couldn't. Dad pulled over, sighing.
"Maybe we should call around his friends?" He asked.
"Tried it." Mom told him.
"We could always go home, see if he's there?" I tried.
"No. He wouldn't be. We have to keep looking." Mom fretted.
"You're right." Dad agreed, turning the engine back on.
I was about to agree as well, when I saw a familiar sign. Golden arches- McDonalds. Troy's favorite fast food restuarant. I shoved the car door open just as my Dad pulled away, falling face first out of the car. I scrambled upwards, trying to ignore the splitting pain coming from my knee.
I burst in, searching for Troy. I had no idea why I thought he'd be in there, but he wasn't. I practically freaked when I saw someone I did recognise though.
"Hey! Hey, you!" I yelled, running over to the blonde girl from Troy's picture. She was standing in the queue, now looking baffled. "Girl I don't know! Hi!"
"Uh...me?" She pointed to herself.
"Yes, yes, you." I panted.
Her mouth turned up slightly in the corners. "Are you Farrah, by any chance?"
"I am!" I nodded enthusiastically. "Please tell me you are a friend of Troy's, and you know where he is!"
Tame Page 25