by Addison Jane
Heath seemed relieved by my answer, but in fine Heath form, he laid out the truth. “This is probably not the end, you know.”
I did know. There was no doubt in my mind that this was just the beginning of the games that were about to be played. But what these kids didn’t know, was that no matter what they did or said, I’d been through worse and survived. Maybe I didn’t have my friends beside me, helping me stand up when I was thrown to the ground, but I had Heath and Braydon and their family, and I had a whole new dream to work toward. And that was far more important.
“I can’t believe you left me at school and took off,” Braydon called, strolling into the living room with his hands in the air. “Both of you. I thought we were family. But no, let’s just leave Braydon there, and not include him in our defiant protest.”
“How long did it take you to come up with that little speech?” Heath laughed dryly.
“I worked on it the whole way home. Which I had to walk, by the way, because you…” he jabbed his finger at Heath, “…took the damn car.”
“Braydon Alexander Carson,” Helen growled, stepping into the room behind him. She had changed into a high waisted soft pink pencil skirt and a white business shirt. “What are you doing home?”
Braydon’s nose crinkled before he slapped on a wide grin and turned to his mother. “Heyyy Mom. I thought you had a flight out at lunch time.”
She frowned at her youngest son. “I changed it so I could show Fable a new project.”
“Oh, awesome, tell me all about it.”
“I’m going to be away until Monday. If I get one message about you boys skipping school or practice…” she moved her eyes between Braydon and Heath, the look of a mother who was not to be messed with, “…you will both be grounded. Understood?”
Braydon saluted his mother with a beaming smile, but she was not impressed.
“We’ll be fine, Mom, I swear,” Heath tried to reassure her.
“What about Fable, doesn’t she get the Mom threat?” Braydon whined.
Helen rolled her eyes. “Fable’s a smart girl. You, on the other hand, have your father’s genes.”
“I’m gonna tell him you said that.”
Helen smirked. “I dare you.” Braydon slumped, obviously knowing that his threat had no substance, and he’d been outdone. “I’m going to the airport, call me if there’s any trouble and I’ll come home. Your father will be back on Friday night for your swim meet Saturday morning, Heath. But he leaves again that afternoon.”
“We’ll be fine, Mom,” Heath repeated again, standing up and walking over to give her a hug. She kissed his cheek, but when Braydon held his out and waited for the same show of affection she tapped it softly and smiled.
Bray laughed, and I gave a small wave as she said goodbye.
The second we heard her car start and disappear down the drive, Braydon’s eyes brightened. He rubbed his hands together like an evil mastermind conducting a devilish plan.
“Shots anyone?”
Heath laughed, but I couldn’t tell if he was joking or not, so I just shook my head and smiled.
Braydon only seemed a little disappointed.
Heath held out his hand to me, and I let him pull me from the sofa. “Come on, I’ll help you with that homework.”
We grabbed our backpacks from where we’d both tossed them at the bottom of the stairs and carried them upstairs, spending about an hour going over my geography homework and some of my math. While Diamond Cross had decided to keep me back a grade so I could catch up, I’d found even with just one full day of classes that I wasn’t too far behind.
School had been the only thing that I’d enjoyed growing up. I would spend hours doing math’s problems or writing English essays, feeling disappointed when I ran out of work to do. It kept my mind occupied and let me drift into another world for a short amount of time.
“You ready for tomorrow?” Heath asked, his back against my headboard and his legs stretched out over my bed. Books filled the space between us, as I lay on my back at the foot of the bed.
“As ready as I’ll ever be.”
The next couple of days were tense.
Other kids looked at me like I was going to pull out a knife and jump them in the hall, some just blatantly turned in the other direction and scurried away. There were no more scattered pieces of paper with my face on them, but instead, the taunting had become more subtle. Wednesday morning I found a small knife wedged in the door of my locker with ketchup dripping down the front onto the floor, I assumed it was meant to look like blood. I laughed that one off pretty easily.
Thursday brought business cards with the names of therapists and psychologists and even a few posters that named other schools in the city that were for children with special needs or disabilities.
Heath and Braydon were both visibly upset by both. No one had owned up to the acts of torment just yet, and despite the Carson brothers power in the school, they still couldn’t figure out who was doing it or get them to stop.
But I knew. I just hadn’t decided how to deal with it just yet.
By the time it got to Friday, I’d noticed a lot of the students I’d passed in the hall seemed to be indifferent. They didn’t stare or whisper, they continued with their day as though I wasn’t there.
I’d gone from being the talk of the school, to completely invisible in just over forty-eight hours. I guess that’s just the way high school worked, though. Remembering when I was at junior high, there was always a new rumor floating around about someone. People argued, some even got into fights, but a couple days later they were friends again, and the gossip train was full of a whole new set of stories.
Friday’s locker surprise was different, though, and it finally confirmed my suspicions.
There was a note, nothing extravagant or well thought out. A simple scrap of paper that had been slipped inside. Heath and Braydon were distracted by their friends, so I rushed to open it before they could see.
You don’t belong here.
Leave before things get much worse.
Stay away from Diamond Cross and stay away from Heath.
“Fable,” Heath called.
I scrunched the note into a ball and tucked it up the sleeve of my sweatshirt before plastering on a smile and slamming my locker door.
“Nothing?” Heath asked, his eyebrow raised. Braydon and Sam waited expectantly to see what exciting form of passive aggressive abuse I might encounter this morning.
“I guess I’m old news,” I told them with a shrug as I tucked my books under my arm.
Braydon and Heath’s small group of friends had been the only kids in the whole school to not stare at me like I was a freak. I wasn’t sure if it was because Heath had words with them, or if just because the boys were okay with me, that they just went along with it.
I remembered Heath telling me that they respected him enough to know that he knew what he was doing. This just showed me how very true that was.
“So we can hit the party tomorrow night?” Braydon’s eyes brightened.
“There’s a party?” I asked as we moved down the hallway.
“I’m turning eighteen.” Sam grinned, holding his shoulders a little squarer. “It’s going to be epic.”
“Like an entire hotel floor epic?”
Braydon snorted as if the idea was simply preposterous but Sam just smirked. “You wait, man.”
Heath walked ahead, and I quickened my pace to catch up with him. “Are you going to the party?” My arm brushed against his and I had to tell myself not to reach out and take his hand. Heath may be open with his affection when we’re at home, but I’ve noticed that at school he holds back.
“Maybe. Do you want to go?”
My lips pursed. “It might be fun?” I felt like I might actually enjoy going with them. The vibe at the hotel party was crazy and exciting. Everything was new, and even though I’d just sat with Heath and watched on, it had felt good to relax and enjoy being a teenager for once.
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He stopped outside his classroom, and we stepped to the side to let the other students file in. “We’ll go if you want,” he said as he leaned against the wall.
“Yes!” Braydon pumped his fist in the air and continued off down the hall.
Heath shook his head. “We go, you stick with Bray or me the whole time.”
I shuffled my heavy books into the opposite arm to relieve some of the weight. “Heath, it’s done. People are moving on now. I’ll be fine.”
Lie. It’s not done.
I wouldn’t tell him about the letter, not yet. He didn’t need to know, and I needed to stop letting him stand in front of me, protecting me from the angry mob. People respected him, maybe even feared him, I guess. But if I was going to stay here and survive, I needed to earn my own respect.
“Hey, Fay.” Flick sat down beside me as I scanned through the pages of my history book during a study period in the library.
I forced a smile. “Hey.”
Her eyes scanned the room cautiously before she leaned in closer. “I need to talk to you about something.” Her cheeks were flushed a little, and she refused to meet my eyes.
I closed my book and gave her my full attention. “Sure, what’s up?”
“Eli asked me to go out with him this weekend.” I’d learned from a few brief conversations that Eli was the guy that she’d been chatting to. She said he wasn’t really her boyfriend, but they were getting pretty close.
“You and I both know that neither, Heath or Bray, are going to agree to that.”
She screwed up her nose. “They’re so annoying sometimes. But that’s why I need your help.”
Here it comes. “Okay, I’m listening.”
“Eli said he can get a friend to come with him, and if we tell the boys we’re just going out for like some girl time, they won’t question it.” She grasped her hands tightly on the table, and her eyes were wide and pleading. “Please Fay, please.”
Lowering my voice, I dipped my head in closer to her. “You want me to lie to your brothers so that you can go out on a date.”
“Eli and his friend are both your age, so it’s not like it’d be uncomfortable for you.”
“You’re dating a senior,” I gasped.
Flick grabbed my hand and shushed me, checking around to see that no one had heard. “He gets me, Fay. Please. If you don’t like it, we can leave. I just want to see him.”
My palm pressed against my forehead, and I groaned quietly. “If they find out, I’m going to be crucified.”
“They won’t, I promise,” she assured me excitedly.
“Okay, when?”
She could barely smother the sound of joy that came from her mouth, and it made me smile to see her so happy. “Sunday afternoon.”
“What’s on Sunday afternoon?”
We both jumped, and Braydon’s grinning face appeared on the other side of the small table. Flick stuttered, and I squeezed her hand. “Flick and I are gonna do some girl stuff. You’re not invited.”
“Eh…” he shrugged, pulling out a chair and making himself at home, “…more than likely I’ll be sleeping off an epic hangover anyway.”
“Thanks, Fay,” Flick whispered, kissing my cheek, moving around the table and doing the same to her brother before she bounced off down the aisle of books, with a new spring in her step.
“She loves having you around,” Bray said thoughtfully. “I think she was kinda over the whole, two overprotective older brothers thing. But now she has you to look after her too, and it doesn’t seem so intrusive.”
I swallowed back the guilt that filled me. It wasn’t exactly the same, sure I would watch out for her, but I was also helping her sneak around, and that didn’t feel so great. “She’s a cool kid. I like hanging out with her.”
“Do you need a ride home after school? Heath has training and I need to go to this meeting with the football coach.”
“Didn’t football end in December?” My football knowledge was very limited, I didn’t know much about the sport, but Braydon was obsessed with it so I wanted to learn.
Braydon grinned, his smile never failing to light up a room. “Dedication means never taking a break. I’m already starting to plan my training schedule. This body doesn’t come naturally, and I need to keep training if I’m going to pick up the ladies during summer.” He gave me a little wink, and I couldn’t stop myself from giggling.
“I’ll be fine. I packed my blades today. Walking home the other day wasn’t so bad,” I admitted. “Well, the walking part was, but with my blades it’ll be nice.”
He gave me a quick salute and disappeared just as quickly as he’d appeared.
The trip home was slow. I enjoyed just rolling along, taking in the air. The sound of my skates against the concrete path was one that I loved. It was familiar.
Car tires screeched to a stop next to me, and I lost my balance, falling onto the soft cut grass next to the path. A bolt of pain shot up my spine as my ass connected first with the ground, and I let out a soft whimper.
“Hey, street kid.” The high pitched taunt came from the street followed by several car doors slamming.
I gritted my teeth and forced myself to my feet even against the protesting of my legs. My back still buzzed from the impact with the ground, but I wasn’t about to face the queen bitch looking up at her from the ground.
They stepped onto the path, all three with smug smiles on their faces. One of the girls behind her had blonde hair in a cute pixie cut, the other with light brown hair pulled back into a tight pony. Liza and Kelly, I’d discovered their names were, Jay’s sidekicks who were never far behind her.
Jay looked me up and down, criticizing my torn black jeans and white T-shirt with a sneer. “Why are you still here?”
“I live here.” The sarcasm came naturally as I gestured to the Carsons’ driveway which I could see clearly just up the road a little.
She was unimpressed with my tone. “You don’t belong here.”
“Oh, so the little love note in my locker was from you.” I’d suspected as much. Jay was the only one bold enough to make her disgust for my presence well known. Others were just happy to sit back and enjoy the show, and the role of the villain just seemed to fit her so well.
Jay was your typical stuck up snob, the kind you thought you only saw in movies like Mean Girls, but that didn’t actually exist in real life. I suppose I couldn’t really blame her, though. This town and school seemed to breed children who were entitled.
She folded her arms across her chest, her sparkly bracelets glimmering in the soft sunlight of the afternoon. “Go back to your gutter.”
The laughter from my mouth came unexpectedly. “Really? That’s all you’ve got? Am I meant to run now?”
She flicked her head and Kelly opened the back door of Jay’s little VW bug and pulled out a baseball bat. I tried not to act surprised, but this was a new development and for a second I was scared. Jay held out her hand, and Kelly placed it in her palm.
“Did you know I play baseball?” Her voice was casual, but the threat was obvious.
I scoffed. “No. Now ask me if I care.”
“I’m our lead batter and the captain of the team.”
“Congratulations. Would you like a gold star?” My voice managed to hold steady, but it was a desperate struggle.
The grin that appeared on her mouth was frightening. It was like staring into the eyes of the devil herself. It was sadistic and cunning, and I finally realized that maybe Heath was right. At first, I’d just thought of Jay as a dumb rich girl, but I’d underestimated her. She was smart, and she knew she held the money and power to bring down anyone she wanted.
“Stay the hell away from Heath.” She took a step toward me, and her face brightened in pleasure as I rolled away from her. “You aren’t the only one who can make someone disappear.”
I’d faced addicts and gang members, but the look she had in her eyes seemed so much more dangerous than either of them. There was on
e huge difference between the two, she had absolute confidence that whatever she did to me, she would get away with it because of who she was.
She may or may not be wrong, but the fact that she believed it was seriously dangerous. She stared at me as if waiting for some kind of reply, an excuse to come at me. It was like being back in the room with my father. The standoff, the tension—I was transported right back to that frightened girl, but this time, I had no weapon, I had no backup plan or way to protect myself.
She held all the power.
A noise came from behind me, and Jay quickly dropped the bat, resting on it like a walking stick. Her face switched in a second, turning to a smile, and making it look like we’re were having a casual conversation.
“Fable?” My body sank in relief as I heard Liam’s voice call to me. I looked over my shoulder to see him standing at the corner of the street with his skateboard in his hand. “You ready to go? The boys are waiting at the park for us.”
He was giving me an out. And while I debated whether now was the time to show weakness to these girls, I knew that I needed to take it and get out of here as fast as possible. I was rattled, and now was not the time to try and be brave.
“Yeah.” I gave them one last look. Jay tapped her glittered nails against the wooden bat, the sound chilling me. I turned and skated toward Liam, trying to keep my speed slow and not like I was fleeing. Giggles flowed through the air behind me as they climbed into their car, pulling a U-turn in the street and speeding past us with a casual wave out the window.
My heart was racing.
How did I get her so wrong?
She put on a good act, seeming like a harmless bitch who liked to throw her weight around. But she was so much more.
She was cunning and vicious, and those traits mixed with the fact that she thought she was completely untouchable, could be deadly.
“You sure can pick an enemy,” Liam said as I finally reached him. “Jay Crowler? Really?” He shook his head.
“You know her?”