High School Lover

by Rose Croft

  Steve flicked a glance at Miley, nodded his head, and sneered. “You’re right. He’s not worth it.” He casually slid his arm around Miley. “Let’s go.”

  As we watched them leave, I glanced up and saw how Andrew’s eyes were narrowed into slits and his jaw clenched. He looked like he wanted to murder Steve. “What was that all about?” I started thinking about what my mother had said about him. Did Andrew seriously assault Steve without provocation? Did he have anger issues?

  He didn’t respond, still fuming in an enraged trance. I touched his arm, trying to soothe his anger away because it had seemed to work the other night. “Hey, what’s going on? Talk to me.”

  I felt a vein pulsing through his skin, but eventually his body seemed to relax. He shook his head and rubbed his eyes, trying to reset himself. He exhaled. “Nothing.” He finally glanced down at me. “You better go. It might ruin your chances with your friends if you’re seen with me.”

  We had already put on enough of a show for the people around us, and I didn’t want to add any more drama, so I gathered my books. “I’ll see you in class.”

  He still seemed bothered and just waved his hand.

  As I was walking out to my car, my phone sounded. I smiled, thinking Andrew was texting an apology or explanation. I checked. It was from Jamie.

  “Hey, girl, graduation party at Mason’s tomorrow night. Be there.”

  Mason was a senior, as were several guys on the team, including Steve, so it was a pretty big deal that underclassmen were invited. Of course, Steve and Miley would be there, and that gave me concern. I didn’t understand how they could be so self-absorbed and hateful. However, I knew I wouldn’t turn Jamie down. Isn’t this what I wanted? To have more of a social life? To be popular? To see Bryan, because I was certain he’d be there, too?

  “I’ll be there. Can’t wait. C u soon!”

  My text sounded more excited than I felt.

  When I got home, I thought about calling Andrew, but I chickened out. Then, I almost texted. I would start to write something then deleted it. Finally, after a few attempts I tossed my phone aside.

  The next morning we greeted each other when we arrived at class, but I didn’t get a chance to talk to Andrew because we began the test immediately. Mrs. Wright told us we could leave when we finished. Andrew finished earlier than I, and when he stood to turn in his test, I glanced at him, and he gave me his signature smirk before taking off.

  I wore a strapless fitted black dress that I had wanted to wear for a long time. I was pleased with the way it looked; before, it had been too tight but now fit perfectly, as I had finally lost the nagging few pounds I’d been targeting. My mom noticed too when she dropped in and told me how beautiful I looked and how thrilled she was for me. She started asking fifty questions about Bryan. I swear she was like Regina’s mom from Mean Girls.

  At last, she left me alone and I gave myself a final review. As I pushed up my boobs in my strapless push-up bra, I thought about what Andrew would think of me in this dress. Why would I think of that? Because the more time we spent together, the more I’d been thinking about him, more than I should. I couldn’t get him out of my mind. Then, I remembered how furious he was at the sight of Steve, and I wanted to know. Why? What made you so troubled, Andrew?

  Once at Mason’s house, I anxiously passed through the party until I spotted Jamie, looking her usual gorgeous self, chatting with a small group. She slipped an arm around me. “Girl, you look hot.”

  “Thanks. You, too.”

  She had a flute of champagne. “You want some?”

  I nodded, and she grabbed another glass and attempted to pour me some, but the bottle was empty.

  “There’s like a hundred bottles of this outside on ice, courtesy of Mason’s dad. Let’s go get another bottle.”

  The backyard was beautifully lit with an open bar and bartender and several ice chests filled with beer and champagne. This was the Disneyland of high school parties.

  Jamie leaned over and grabbed a bottle out of a cooler.

  “Damn, girl, why don’t you back that ass up.” Bryan danced his way behind her.

  She popped up, pushing him away—“Ugh, stop”—and handed him the bottle. “Open this, please.”

  “My pleasure.” Bryan had a cheeky look on his face. He placed the bottle in front of his crotch and started stroking the bottle. “Oh, Jamie…oh, God…yes…harder…oh…oh… oooohhhhh…” He popped the cork and groaned as champagne spewed.

  Jamie rolled her eyes. “You’re so disgusting.”

  Bryan seemed pleased with himself, but when he saw my shocked face, he appeared a little more remorseful. “Hey, Loren. You look pretty tonight.” He poured the champagne in my glass.

  Before I could respond, I heard a haughty voice. “Hey, waiter, give me some champagne.” Miley held her glass out like he was her servant.

  Bryan, usually happy-go-lucky and never without a grin on his face, was…pissed. His eyebrows knitted together and his lips thinned into a red line. He set the bottle down and walked away without sparing her a glance. “Get it yourself.”

  She shrugged at Jamie and grabbed the bottle. “What crawled up his ass?”

  She then noticed me. “Wow, Loren. Why do I keep running into you?”

  I wondered the same thing, wishing I’d never have to see her again.

  “How’s your boyfriend?”

  “Boyfriend?” Jamie asked and looked at me.

  “I don’t—” I began.

  Miley cut in. “Yeah, she has a boyfriend. Andrew McKeon. They were in the library yesterday huddled together, and his arm was around her. It looked like they were about to get it on when I got there.”

  “Really?” You would’ve thought I’d stolen money from Jamie by the way she looked at me.

  “We have a class together and were studying for an exam.” I glanced at Miley. “He’s not my boyfriend.”

  She ignored me. “Then that thug stood up and wanted to have a fight in the library. It took an act of God to stop Steve from beating the shit out of him. Luckily, I was able to talk him out of it.” As Miley spoke, she drunkenly waved her arm, spilling champagne everywhere.

  I was beginning to shake because I was so furious. I was also nonconfrontational and I’d heard in the past about what happened to girls who decided they wanted to take on Miley. She could make your life miserable. I remembered a girl, Jenna, in my world history class who kept openly flirting in class with Steve. Miley heard about this and confronted Jenna in the hallway in front of a huge crowd, who stood around like spectators on Jerry Springer. She publicly humiliated Jenna and threatened to ruin her life if she ever talked to Steve again.

  If the party couldn’t get even more awesome, Steve’s drunk ass ambled up, groping his girlfriend. They began kissing and slobbering all over each other. The only good was that it shut Miley up for a minute.

  “Can we go back inside?” I asked Jamie quietly, and she nodded.

  We made a move toward the back door. Then I heard “Damn, Loren, you’re looking good tonight.” I whipped my head back as Steve’s teeth scraped over his bottom lip and his heavy-lidded eyes ran over my body, undressing me inch by inch. Cold chills scurried up my arms.

  Miley huffed and pushed Steve, and he teetered back, grabbing her as they both toppled over. This turned into them making out on the ground.

  Ignoring the drunken display of affection, Jamie and I continued inside. “What’s going on, Loren?” We found a seat on the couch in Mason’s living room.

  “Nothing. Andrew and I had a class together, and we were studying for our final. That’s it.” Why was it such a big deal? “I know you think he’s weird and you don’t like him, but he’s very smart and helped me out big time in this class. You know how important it is to maintain a high GPA. Every point counts.”

  She nodded finally. “I see your point.”

  Why was I having to explain myself in the first place, and why was I so concerned with her opinion? I wanted
to know what she knew about Andrew and Steve because, if anyone would know, it would be Jamie. She seemed to know everything. “Do you know what happened between Andrew and Steve?”

  “Uh, yeah,” she said, as if I were an idiot. “You don’t remember that incident two years ago?”

  “I heard about it. I just didn’t know many details. What happened?”

  “Andrew liked this girl, Amanda; I think that was her name. She was only here for about a year. However, she apparently liked Steve more, and Andrew was very jealous. One night at a party, Andrew waited out in the dark by Steve’s car and jumped him.”

  Wait. What? Her story sounded like my mother’s. “Were you there when it happened?”

  “No. But I heard Andrew had him on the ground, kicking his face, breaking his nose, and almost shattering the bones in his face. He’s lucky Steve didn’t press charges against him.”

  “Who told you this? Were there any witnesses there?”

  “Steve told me what happened. I don’t know if anyone else was around.” She looked at me with concern. “I already told you how he was in my art class. I’m not psychic and I don’t read auras or anything, but Andrew seems like he’s surrounded by darkness and very troubled. Who attacks someone like that? Not a sane person.”

  I rubbed my temples because I didn’t know what to believe. But I also understood a little more where Andrew’s disdain for this group came from. Andrew had been nothing but thoughtful and kind to me. Yes, he could be sarcastic, but to me it was more of a defense mechanism. I was struggling to see Jamie’s point of view. She seemed tolerant and friendly to everyone except him. Maybe there was some truth to what she said. But I just couldn’t see it, although now I’d heard the same thing from both Jamie and my mother.

  I took a sip of champagne, wanting to change the subject. “So, are you seeing Bryan?”

  You would’ve thought I’d asked her if the Easter Bunny were real. “Um, no. We’re just friends. He’s like a brother to me.” That was an interesting tidbit of information that now made sense, as they seemed very familiar with each other.

  The music was blaring in the living room and people started dancing. “Come on. Let’s dance.” She pulled me up, and we bounced around with the rest of the crowd.

  After dancing to several songs, Jamie wiggled her empty flute. “I’m getting some more champagne. Do you want some?”

  I’d had one glass over an hour before, but I decided not to drink anymore. I remembered Andrew’s words about not getting trashed in front of these people. And the way Steve had looked at me earlier filled me with unease. I also didn’t want to make a fool of myself in front of Bryan again either, if there was by chance another encounter with him.

  “No, but go ahead.” I had no desire to risk seeing the couple from

  Hell. So, I moved around the living room visiting with some of the senior girls from our basketball team.

  Sometime later, I saw Jamie. “I think I’m gonna head out.” Outside I saw Bryan and some guys hanging out by the cars parked in the driveway.

  “You leaving?” Bryan trotted up to me and fell in step.

  “Yeah, I gotta get home.”

  “Well, have a kick-ass summer. Maybe we can get together soon. Preferably before the school year starts again.” We were both going to be seniors the next year.

  “I’d like that.” We’d both stopped and were facing each other. I wrung my hands together. He tapped his thumb on his thigh as if he were…nervous? I’d never seen Bryan so quiet. The guy always had something to say. If anyone was nervous, it was me.

  Suddenly, he flashed his gorgeous smile, remembering who he was. “C’mere, beautiful.” He pulled me into a hug.

  My heart raced as I held him. He gripped me tightly as we stood cheek to cheek for several seconds. We pulled apart. “Don’t be a stranger.” I smiled and nodded. I should’ve responded back but it was like my mouth had forgotten how to work.

  He watched me with a lopsided grin as he took a few steps backward before turning around. I think I let out an audible sigh as I moved in the direction of my car down the street.

  A few steps later, I felt an arm drape over my shoulder and nearly drag me to the ground as if a drunken polar bear had latched onto me. Steve. “Where’s my hug, Loren?” Shouldn’t he be passed out by now?

  I steadied myself. “Hey, Steve.”

  “Where are you going, sweetheart?” he slurred. His blond hair that was always perfectly styled was disheveled, and his shirt was unbuttoned.

  “Home.” I kept walking, but he stopped suddenly, causing my body to crash into his. He was sweaty and smelled like someone had dumped alcohol and cologne over his head.

  I slipped out from under his arm. “I have to go.”

  He grabbed my wrist and pulled me around to face him. Lacing his fingers in mine, he asked, “Don’t you want to stay and have a little party with me?”

  He swung my hands back and forth and had a cocky grin on his face. Fear and uneasiness crept up my spine, but I tried to act calm. “I’m sorry, but I’m really tired. Maybe another time.”

  I tried to disengage my hands, but he jerked me up against his body. “God, when did you get so fucking hot, Loren?” He inched his face closer to mine, breathing heavily, smirking as if no girl could resist him.

  Frightened was an understatement as I was dwarfed against his imposing, bulky, and very drunk frame. And, no one was around us. The fear was overcoming me, making my body tremble. “Steve, stop. I really have to go home.”

  “Stop fucking playing hard to get. You know you want me.” He grabbed the back of my head and planted a drunken, sloppy kiss on my lips and stuck his tongue down my throat, nearly suffocating me, while his other hand dove down the top of my dress.

  I twisted my face, fighting for air, and shouted, “Get off me!” I shoved him as hard as I could.

  He fell to the ground on his ass. I frantically adjusted my dress.

  “You’re a fucking tease!” he barked and pushed himself to a wobbling standing position.

  I watched him with part terror and part fury. As I swiped my hand over my mouth, I thought of how I could kick him in the nuts if he came at me again. Bryan, however, had run over and clamped a hand on Steve’s shoulder.

  “Loren, are you okay?” Bryan’s wide eyes held mine, and his voice was both grave and apologetic. I nodded.

  “Fuck her, man. She only sleeps with losers.” Steve ran a hand over his shirt, smoothing it out as though I were the one who had attacked him.

  Bryan closed his eyes momentarily collecting himself and gripped Steve by the back of the neck, forcefully steering him around. “Come on, let’s go back to the party.” His voice was harsh.

  When Bryan twisted his head back, his eyes were clearly filled with concern and remorse. The bump in his throat bobbled. “Loren, get to your car. I’ll handle this.”

  Shaking, I made it to my vehicle and frantically opened the door. I closed it and started the car. As I heard the doors automatically lock, I took a few deep breaths to calm down before I drove home.

  As I lay down in my bed, sleep was elusive. I kept replaying the nightmare scene in my head. Then I thought about what could’ve happened if Bryan hadn’t been there.

  My phone rang and I saw a local number. “Hello?”

  “Loren, it’s Bryan.” He’s the last person I’d have expected would call me. “Jamie gave me your number. I hope that’s okay.”

  I sat up in my bed, bringing my knees to my chest and tucking them under the oversized T-shirt I wore. “Sure. What’s up?”

  “I just wanted to check on you.” His voice sounded serious but hesitant like he didn’t know how to handle talking to me.

  “I’m good. Thanks.” I tried to sound like it was no big deal, although I couldn’t get it out of my mind. When I thought about what could’ve happened…I stopped myself from thinking about it. I couldn’t go there right now.

  Silence. Then he cleared his throat. “I didn’t want you
to think I was a dick because I walked off with Steve. I was just trying to deescalate the situation. He’s…uh…an asshole when he’s drunk.”

  “Yeah, he is.” That was what we were calling him? An asshole? He was a sexual predator, not to mention a piece of shit human being. I rarely got angry over things, but then again, I’d never been attacked before, either. I was having trouble reining in my emotions.

  “He didn’t hurt you, did he?” Bryan’s voice held a mixture of gruffness and scratchiness. “I’ll beat the shit out of him if he did. Hell, I almost did anyway, but he was so trashed he could barely stand up.”

  His words triggered my thoughts of Andrew. Maybe Steve deserved whatever Andrew did. However, I was relieved that Bryan was taking my side. “No, he didn’t, but who knows what would’ve happened if you hadn’t shown up when you did.”

  “I know.” He exhaled again; his tone sounded almost tortured. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “I’m fine. I’m just tired.” I didn’t want to discuss it anymore, and I hoped Bryan hadn’t called me out of pity. That’s the last thing I wanted from him.

  “Okay. I’ll let you go.” He paused and asked, as if he were unsure of himself, “Can I call you sometime?”

  I gripped my knees tighter to my chest, holding my excitement in, and bit back a smile. “Yeah, sure.”

  “Okay, awesome.” I could hear his voice lightening up. “Good night, Loren.”

  “Good night.” I held the phone to my ear a few seconds longer although he’d hung up. I finally laid my phone down and fell back on my pillow.

  Eight Years Ago

  Monday, I sat in my room, listening to music on my iPod, glad that I didn’t have school. Yay. I had one week to sleep in and do whatever the hell I wanted before I started my summer job as a babysitter for a family down the street. I hadn’t heard from Bryan, but I was trying not to read anything into it. He’d said “sometime,” not “the next day,” and it’d only been two days since we spoke.