Life as We Know It: A Treasure Key Novel

by Sarah Bates

  Usually when we were at school she and I went everywhere together, as we had the same schedule, and our lockers were so close. But as soon as we’d arrived, she’d disappeared before I had even met up with Hayden.

  When I got to homeroom I frowned, because she wasn’t there, and as I headed to my usual desk I paused by Demi’s. “Have you seen Kat?” I asked her.

  She glanced up from the doodle she’d been drawing on her notebook’s cover and shook her head. “Not this morning, sorry.” She cocked her head and some of her bangs slipped free from the barrette she’d used to pin them back. “Did you really kick Neal in the balls on Saturday?” she asked, just as Jenny had. “I mean, I know I was there, but I missed a lot of the conversation, as I was trying to keep Alec from puking in the back of my car,” she added.

  I sighed and wondered who else had been told. “Actually, I used my knee, but yes,” I replied.

  “Did you make it count?” she asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “Good.” She shifted in her chair just as the final warning bell rang and nodded toward the door as Kat hurried through it. “About time someone did,” she added.

  I opened my mouth, then simply nodded, and went to my desk as our teacher stood from his desk and began to give the day’s announcements.

  As I sat, Kat hurried by me to take her seat as well, and I couldn’t help but notice that her cheeks were flushed, and her lip balm was a little smeared, not to mention that the top two buttons of her sundress – which I knew for a fact had been secured when we’d left the house that morning – were undone.

  I lifted my eyebrows over that, and when she caught my gaze, she blushed even more, and cleared her throat.

  Okay, so now I was really intrigued.

  Biding my time until I could ask her about it, I turned my attention forward to listen to the rest of the announcements.

  Despite my best efforts, though, Kat remained tight-lipped whenever I asked her about what she’d been up to that morning. And with whom. And I asked her about it every chance I got between each of our morning classes. Because of this, I’d given up by lunch.

  Then I saw the look she and Leo exchanged as we entered the cafeteria, and my eyes widened.

  Of course.

  Leo.

  Grinning, I tugged her into the line forming at the lunch counter and handed her a tray. “So, Leo, huh?”

  She looked up from the salad selections and gave me a perfectly innocent look. “What’s that?” she asked.

  I studied her for a moment, then glanced at the table, where Leo was sitting with several of the others. When I looked back to her, she blushed.

  “Your secret’s safe with me, but I want details, cousin,” I told her in a low voice as we each reached out to grab a slice of cheese pizza, adding them to our trays, along with our salad bowls.

  Her blush brightened and she simply nodded as she added a dish of banana pudding to her tray as well. “Later,” she said, clearing her throat.

  Happy for her, I smiled and bumped her shoulder with mine, then grabbed a bottle of water.

  Once we’d gone through the register, we started across the cafeteria to join the others. We were almost to our table when someone stepped into my path, blocking my way. I stopped short of walking into her and adjusted my hold on my tray as I lifted my gaze to the girl standing in my way.

  I didn’t recognize her immediately, as I hadn’t seen her before, but by the way she looked at me with utter contempt on her face, her arms folded at her chest, she clearly knew who I was. Then Neal was suddenly standing behind her, and I saw enough of a resemblance between them in their features that I realized she must be his sister, Ava.

  Behind them I heard several chairs scrape along the floor as some of the others stood up.

  “So, this is the little bitch who ruined our party?” she asked, and the look she gave me suggested she found me seriously lacking, in something.

  “Excuse me?” I scowled at her in return. “I didn’t,”

  “Oh, please.” Margo appeared beside me, almost as though from thin air, and hooked an arm casually over my shoulders. “Your party sucked before Chloe even showed up. And anyway, I’m pretty sure that it was the cops busting your party that ruined it, not my cousin fending off your asshole brother when he got handsy without her permission,” she added, and she sneered at Ava, who glared, seething, at her in return, then turned her gaze to Neal. “You’re pretty damn gutsy. I would have thought after Saturday’s encounter you’d want to keep your balls as far away from Chloe as possible.” Her sneer sharpened when Neal glared at her. Apparently since Saturday Margo’s infatuation with Neal – and his money – had taken a sharp one-eighty turn straight into disdain.

  Knowing that actually kind of made me feel better, in a strange sort of way.

  “I was actually leaning more toward stupid, myself,” Demi drawled as she joined us, her arms folded at her chest. “After all, Coco did inflict some pretty harsh trauma on the only head he’s capable of thinking with.”

  Margo snorted and grinned at her, then arched one of her sleek golden eyebrows as she looked back to the Humphrey siblings. “Move along.” She waved her hands at them in a shooing gesture.

  “Unless you want a refresher course on the lesson on boundaries that Jamie and Leo gave you on Saturday, I’d walk away if I were you,” Demi said when they remained standing there in front of us.

  Neal narrowed his eyes, one of which was still so darkly bruised that even concealer wouldn’t have been able to cover it, but he didn’t comment as he stepped out of the way and reached out to nudge his sister.

  Ava, clearly not as concerned by the others’ show of solidarity as her brother, took a step closer, shoving my tray out of my hands so that it crashed to the floor.

  I jolted in surprise and took a step back from her, even as the others closed ranks around me.

  “You better watch yourself,” she hissed, leaning in close so that her nose nearly touched mine. “I’m not someone you want to mess with. I won’t go down as easily as my brother did.” She stepped back from me, and sneered as she looked me over. “Hayden will get tired of you quickly. Trust me. You’re not even remotely his type.” She flicked a lock of her long blonde hair over her shoulder, then stepped around me and the others and headed toward her usual table.

  She paused, though, just a few feet away as Hayden came through the door. He stopped, taking in the scene with a dark look of anger on his face.

  “When you get bored with your new little toy, you know where to find me,” she said, lifting her voice to be sure I heard her, and she gave him a flirty smile as she reached out to touch his shoulder.

  He stepped away from her, a look of disgust on his face. “My brother might not mind sleeping with my sloppy seconds, but I’m not in the habit of doing the same,” he said.

  Her flirty smile vanished, replaced by a look of pure venom, but before she could slap him – which she’d lifted her hand to do – Neal caught her hand in his and pulled her toward their usual table.

  Apparently, Neal Humphrey could learn a lesson after all.

  Hayden watched them go, then turned toward me, his expression filled with concern now. “Are you all right?” he asked as he crossed over to me.

  “I’m fine,” I said, though I wasn’t one-hundred percent sure this was true. I’ll admit, Ava’s viciousness unnerved me.

  He frowned worriedly as he studied me, then sighed and leaned forward to kiss me softly. When he straightened, he brushed a hand over my hair.

  “Come on, Coco, let’s go get you something to eat,” Kat said, still standing beside me.

  “I’ve got it. You guys go eat,” Hayden said to her, Margo, and Demi, and he nudged me gently out of the way, even as he crouched and gathered my dishes and ruined food from the floor. I tried to help, but he gestured for me to stay put, and then once he had loaded everything onto my tray, he straightened, cast a dark look toward the Humphreys’ and their table. He didn’t say any
thing, though, just led me over to the trash and recycle bins before returning my dishes and tray to their proper stacks.

  I wasn’t much in the mood to eat after all this, but he insisted on buying me at least another slice of pizza – and I was grateful that at least my bottle of water had survived Ava’s wrath, because then he would have insisted on a drink as well.

  At the table as we all settled down for what was left of our lunch, Hayden held me close, and no one said a word.

  ☼

  Understanding Kat’s assessment at the end of last week concerning Ava much better now that I’d met her, I did my best to avoid her for the rest of the day.

  I’d never had to do that at my school back in Minnesota. Suddenly aware of how fortunate I’d been, I was profoundly grateful when my last class of the day ended, and I grabbed my stack of books and shoved them into my backpack, even as I stood along with everyone else.

  “Coffee and cookies?” Kat asked as she fell into step beside me on the way out the door.

  “Coffee and cookies,” I agreed, and I sighed, feeling more relaxed the moment I saw Hayden standing along the opposite wall, waiting for me. “Hey.” He had walked me to each of my classes following my encounter with Ava at lunch, and even though I should probably be used to it by now, I still got a warm and fuzzy feeling in my chest whenever I saw him.

  He leaned forward and kissed me softly. “Hey.” When he straightened, he reached up and brushed his hand over my hair. “How are you doing?”

  “I’m okay,” I said, as I had each time he’d asked. “Do you have to work today?” I asked as he walked Kat and me toward our lockers.

  “I do,” he replied. “But I get off around seven and should be home around seven-thirty. Maybe, if your mom doesn’t mind, we can meet up somewhere and do our homework together while we enjoy some dessert.”

  I smiled and rested my head on his shoulder. “I’d like that.”

  “Me, too.” We paused at Kat’s locker for a second, and I realized he did a quick survey of the hall. Knowing he was likely looking for Neal or Ava, when neither of them came into view, he and I moved on to my locker, leaving Kat to gather her books.

  Hayden waited while I gathered the rest of my books, then, once I had, he hooked his arm around me again, and we headed for the front entrance, with Kat in tow.

  Margo heaved a dramatic sigh as soon as we stepped out the door, and pushed away from the railing she’d been leaning against. “It’s about time,” she said, and she hooked one of her arms around me, the other around Kat. “I feel as though I’ve been waiting for ages.” She glanced around me to Hayden. “I’m stealing her from you,” she added, then she simply started down the steps, tugging Kat and me in her wake.

  I opened my mouth to protest, but she kept going, and knowing her well enough now to know it was pointless to try to talk her out of whatever it was she had planned for us, I simply looked over my shoulder, back at Hayden. “I’ll call you later!” I shouted to him.

  He grinned, clearly amused by my abduction, and waved in farewell.

  “You know, you could have at least let him kiss her goodbye,” Esme said when we reached the van, where she was standing with Maddie, Aly, and Jenny.

  Margo rolled her eyes. “Absence makes the heart grow fonder,” she said, finally letting Kat and me go. “He can lay a good one on her later. Right now, it’s girl time.”

  Judging from the wary look Kat got on her face, I had a feeling this meant that Margo wanted to go shopping, yet again.

  “I have to work tonight, so girl time better mean ice cream while lounging on the beach,” Esme said, giving Margo a bland look.

  “I’ll second that,” Jenny said.

  Margo scowled at them, then rolled her eyes when Kat poked at her. “Fine.” She turned when Jamie and Zach came to a stop beside her. “Find another ride, James. We’re taking the van.” She held her hand out for the keys.

  “Oh, for crying out loud, Margo, the Courtyard’s just across the street,” Kat said, and she reached up and put her hands on Margo’s shoulders and turned her in that direction. “It won’t kill you to walk.” To her twin brother she added, “Good luck at work. If you even still have a job after last Saturday,” as she pushed Margo toward the sidewalk.

  Jamie made a face. “He’s not going to get me fired,” he said, adjusting his hold on his backpack. “Because he knows very well that if he does, I’ll tell his father why I beat him up.”

  “Maybe someone should tell his dad, anyway,” Jenny said as she turned to follow Kat and Margo. She met my gaze and lifted her eyebrows. “If you don’t there’s no saying he won’t do it again to someone else, and maybe someone less capable of defending herself.”

  “I told my mom,” I told her. “As well as both of my uncles and aunts, and my grandfather and his wife, too. And I’ll make sure Neal knows that.”

  Though she didn’t look fully appeased by this, she did nod and then followed my cousins.

  Aly and Esme both frowned as they watched her go, then Aly turned to Jamie. “Good luck at work. Call me later.” She pushed up on her toes and kissed him quickly, then hurried to catch up with the others.

  “Well, I’m going to go catch up with Britt and the others,” Maddie said as she headed in a different direction. She glanced over her shoulder at Zach. “We’re going for pizza, if you and the guys want to come with,” she told him.

  “Sold.” He jogged to catch up with her, tugging his phone from his back pocket along the way.

  “When did pizza become an after-school snack?” Esme wanted to know, watching them go.

  “Pizza is one of those things you can eat at any time,” Jamie told her as he climbed in behind the wheel. “You know, like nachos and chili cheese fries.”

  Esme rolled her eyes, and we turned together to follow the others. “And guys wonder why they always have indigestion,” she muttered.

  I snorted – it was a common complaint from Zach – and adjusted my hold on my backpack.

  Though it wasn’t coffee and cookies, the ice cream cone I got from the Creamery was a nice way to round out the otherwise stressful afternoon I’d had, and I found that sitting on the beach was a nice way to unwind, too. Especially when I got to do it while hanging out with my cousins and our friends.

  Even after Esme and Jenny had had to leave to go to work and Margo proceeded to drag Kat, Aly, and me around to all her favorite shops, I couldn’t think of anything else I’d rather be doing – especially since I knew I was going to be meeting up with Hayden later.

  With our final stop being Aunt Nora’s boutique, Kat let out a relieved breath and dropped down onto one of the stools behind the counter. “Thank God.” She dropped her backpack to the floor and rolled her shoulders. “I thought the torture would never end.”

  Margo rolled her eyes as she set her book bag and shopping bags down behind the counter. “Dramatic much?”

  “After spending the past hour and a half getting dragged around the mall, I’ve earned it,” Kat muttered, taking one of her sandals off and giving her foot a good, hard rub.

  “If you hadn’t wanted to come, you could have simply said so,” Margo told her, examining the new bracelet she wore.

  “Wait, was that really an option?” I asked, looking from her to the others, only half joking. I might not have minded, necessarily, going from one shop to another, but I also would have liked to have gotten a jump-start on my homework, so that I could spend more free time with Hayden.

  Both Kat and Aly shook their heads, their expressions filled with resigned humor, and Margo ignored them.

  “While it’s been a blast, I’m going to head out,” Aly said as she hefted her backpack from the floor. “See you guys later.” She waggled her fingers in a wave as she stepped out from behind the counter and turned to head toward the front door. “Hey, Mrs. Griffin and Ms. Courtland,” she called out when Aunt Nora and my mom both stepped out of the backroom.

  “Alyssa,” Aunt Nora called back cheerfu
lly. “Has my son been behaving himself?”

  Aly turned to face her as she continued toward the door, walking backward, her whole face lit up prettily with her grin. “Of course not,” she called back to her. “But that’s okay, because I like it when he doesn’t,” she added, then she turned around again and pushed the door open.

  My mom’s eyes widened, even as Aunt Nora made a face, and Margo dropped her head back and laughed. Aunt Nora gave her a bland look, then simply snorted out a laugh and shook her head.

  “Well, I suppose that answers that question,” she muttered as she and my mom crossed over to join us behind the counter.

  “I think that ship sailed a while ago,” Kat told her mother as she put her sandal back on.

  “Oh, really? And what about your ship?” Aunt Nora asked, folding her arms at her chest as she studied her daughter.

  “Still in harbor,” Kat replied, hopping off her stool when the front door opened with a jingle of bells and a couple of customers came in. “Where it’ll be staying for the foreseeable future,” she added as she stepped out from behind the counter.

  Aunt Nora hummed at that and watched her go to tend to her customers, then glanced at Margo and arched an eyebrow. “And you, missy?”

  “Oh, my ship’s already halfway to Fiji,” Margo replied, grinning smugly. When Aunt Nora and my mom both gave her a bland look, she shrugged. “What can I say, Wes’ geek glasses do something for me.”

  Though I hadn’t spent a great amount of time around Wes, I had to admit that his glasses did add something to his overall appeal.

  Without waiting to see what either of her aunts had to say to that, Margo hauled her book bag and shopping bags up from the floor. “See you ladies later,” she said, heading for the door.

  My mom and Aunt Nora watched her go, then both glanced at me.

  “What?” I asked, looking between them.

  “And your ship?” my mom asked.

  “Oh.” I blushed self-consciously and cleared my throat. “Still in harbor,” I replied, repeating what Kat had said. “Like, it hasn’t even cast off from the dock, in harbor.”