“Of course she does,” my mother responded, her eyes filling with happiness at seeing me.
“Just like her mother,” my father said, kissing my mother’s cheek.
“Thank you,” I mumbled.
I took the last step and stood in line with my parents greeting guests like we were royalty.
“Why all the glitz and glam for this dinner party?” I asked in between smiles, nods, and waves.
“Didn’t your mother tell you who the guests of honors are tonight?” my father asked out of the corner of his mouth as he absently shook hands with a man who looked kind of familiar
I shook my head and gave out my twentieth smile.
“George Hill and his family will be joining us tonight.” His eyes moved over my face as he gaged my reaction.
“George Hill? As in the mayor, George Hill?” I asked. My father nodded his answer as he shook hands with another passerby.
“Why?” I asked, earning myself a sharp look from my mother. “I mean, we’re not very political people.”
Again, I was given another warning look from my mother.
“George announced that he won’t be running again and said he’d be happy to help profit a campaign if I was interested in running.”
That surprised me and I looked from my father and then to my mother. I had a feeling this had more to do with her than my father.
“Is that something you want, Dad?”
“I’m not sure yet, but that’s why he’s coming over tonight. Your mother seems to think it’s a good idea.”
Of course she does, I thought.
“Why does it feel like you’re both depending on me?” I had the sudden desire to leave the line and run away from all the crazy the night was sure to bring.
My father chuckled, kissing my mother’s cheek. “We’re not, darling.”
“He’s here,” my mother said, pulling away from my father and smoothing her dress.
I looked towards the door where Hilary was giving my mother the signal and rolled my eyes with a sigh.
My father had never been interested in running in anything, so I had no doubt this was my mother’s doing. She was never satisfied with anything. She always wanted more, and my father had always been more than willing to make her happy in any way possible.
My father squeezed my hand and winked at me when I looked over at him. He wasn’t going to argue with my mother and I couldn’t exactly blame him when I didn’t either. Arguing with her was pointless most times and usually led to nothing. She always got her way.
Mayor George Hill walked in with his wife on his arm and moved through the room like he owned the world. And then he moved toward us and my attention focused on the two people following behind them.
My stomach rolled and turned when Josh’s eyes met mine. He smiled like he didn’t have a care in the world, and his eyes moved over my body and down to my bare legs. I felt nauseated just imagining the things he was thinking.
I hadn’t seen him since the first and last time we’d gone out. I managed to avoid him or maybe he was avoiding me. Either way, I hadn’t cared to speak with him since. Plus, I knew Blaine would hate it.
I didn’t know or hadn’t paid attention to the fact that Josh Hill was Mayor George Hill’s son. I guess that probably wasn’t something you really wanted to make public and I wondered how many people actually knew. More than likely everyone knew. I never paid attention to the people around me at school.
My parents left my side to meet the mayor halfway and I just stood there. I wanted to run—flee to the closest hiding spot, but Josh was moving around his parents and coming toward me.
“Well, if it isn’t Chelsey Ford,” he said with a sly smile.
“Well, if it isn’t the mayor’s son,” I countered.
“I guess my dirty, little secret’s out,” he winked.
“I didn’t realize being the mayor’s son was a dirty, little secret.”
“It’s not usually, but I strive to make everything in my life dirty.”
He was making a sexual reference. I would’ve never picked up on that before Blaine, and I wondered how many sexual references had been made toward me before I became enlightened to such things.
“Well you certainly got me dirty the last time I was with you.” I was referring to my four-wheeling accident, which took the wind right out of his sails.
His smile crumbled. “Have I apologized for that night yet?” he asked.
“Nope.” I turned away as if he didn’t matter and plucked a glass from a passing server.
He moved closer, his voice dropping to a whisper. “Look, I know you’re pissed at me for how everything went down at the farm that night and you have every reason to hate me, but I’m really sorry for everything that happened. I never should’ve let you drink and get on that four-wheeler. It was dumb, I was dumb.”
I sighed.
As easy as it would be to hate Josh, he hadn’t been entirely at fault for everything that happened that night. I blamed him for a lot, but I had to take responsibility for my own actions. Truth be told, he hadn’t been pouring the alcohol down my throat. Plus, I could’ve said no and walked away from his dare.
“I don’t hate you, Josh.” I exhaled. “You’re not my favorite person, and we won’t be going out ever again, but I definitely don’t hate you.”
He laughed. And when I repeated my words back to myself, I laughed, too.
“I guess that’s something.” He smiled down at me. “So does that mean you forgive me?”
I contemplated his question. “Yes. I forgive you, but it doesn’t mean I want to go out with you again.” I needed him to understand that. “I just don’t think we’re good for each other.”
“I guess I can live with that. Friends?” He held his hands out for me to shake.
“I can live with that.” I smiled and shook his hand, secretly hoping I wasn’t shaking hands with the devil.
“Oh good, you two have been introduced,” my mother interrupted.
“Josh and I go to school together,” I filled her in.
“You never mentioned that, Chelsey.” I could see through her fake smile she wasn’t happy with me.
“There are over five hundred kids in our graduating class, Mother; I haven’t mentioned four hundred and ninety-eight of them.”
My mother gave me the evil eye and then she was all smiles again as she turned toward Josh.
“You’ll have to excuse my daughter. Sometimes she forgets her manners.”
I rolled my eyes and Josh just smirked, winking at me before my mother ushered him off to introduce him to other guests.
**********
AS MUCH AS I WANTED the rest of the night to pass by in a blur, it didn’t. I sat through countless boring stories and old men jokes, and at some point I zoned everyone out and thought of only Blaine.
It was strange to me to have countless thoughts that didn’t revolve around school and all it entailed. Blaine was never far from my mind, and thinking about him didn’t carry the burden that thinking about my future did.
Checking my phone beneath the dinner table, I groaned loudly when I realized it was only eight. Guests were starting to leave, but I knew my father and the mayor had things to discuss. That meant my mother was going to keep me there until at least ten. Blaine would be coming through my window at eleven, which meant everyone would still be awake when he came. That was going to make things difficult.
My father cleared his throat, and when I looked up everyone was staring at me. I flushed and tucked my phone into my lap with a smile.
“Sorry,” I whispered.
“Everything okay, Chelsey?” my father asked.
“The poor girl is probably bored out of her mind, Henry,” the mayor piped in with a chuckle.
“You know,” my mother chimed in. “I think you’re right, George.”
“It’s not very often I hear a woman say that.” The mayor laughed and everyone followed suit.
The night just kept get
ting better and better.
“I’m fine. Really,” I rushed. I didn’t want to hear where my mother was going with her observation. I could practically see the wheels turning in her head. “This is all very fascinating.”
I was lying through my teeth.
Josh sat across the table and while I could feel his eyes on me throughout the dinner, this was the first time I actually looked at him. I didn’t know how much help he was going to be, but I was hoping he’d see the SOS in my eyes and help a girl out.
“Nonsense,” my mother said. “I know you kids would rather be out doing something young and fun.”
I frowned and shook my head. “No. We’re fine, Mom.”
She batted a hand at me. “Why don’t the two of you go out and do something. Everyone’s pretty much gone and the men still have a few things to talk about.”
“No,” I protested fiercely. When everyone eyed me, I tried to calm my racing heart. “I mean, I’m sure Josh has other plans.”
“Of course he doesn’t,” the mayor said. “I think Josh would love nothing more than to get out of here. Politics bore him to death. Not to mention, he’s failing science, which means all of his plans have been stopped for a while.”
Josh smiled knowingly across the table at me. He wasn’t going to be any help obviously. Going anywhere with Josh wasn’t going to be good. It was the last thing I wanted to do. Plus, Blaine was coming. I didn’t want to miss spending time with him.
Things were moving too fast, and my brain was firing off different ways I could get out of going anywhere with Josh.
“You know… Chelsey’s very good at science. Maybe she could help Josh with his studies,” my mother pushed.
“That would be fantastic. Speaking of studies, I heard you’re a Columbia girl, Chelsey?” the mayor asked.
I swallowed past the dry lump in my throat.
“Yes, sir. I’m hoping to attend in the fall.”
“You will attend,” my father promised with a wink.
“Well, maybe all those smarts your father’s been bragging about with rub off on my son.”
Josh’s smile grew and I knew he was thinking dirty thoughts.
There would be no rubbing of anything when it came to the two of us, I thought to myself.
There was no getting out of it, which meant I needed to go along with everything and get out and back in as quickly as possible.
“Well, I guess if I have no other choice,” I said, tossing my cloth napkin on the table.
“Chelsey!” my mother cried. “That was rude.”
“It’s okay, Mrs. Ford,” Josh said as he stood. “Chelsey likes to give me a hard time. Should we go, Chelsey?”
Josh went to the doorway of the dining room and waited for me to join him, but it was my mother who swooped in behind me to take my arm firmly. Her nails dug into my skin letting me know she wasn’t very happy with me.
“Let me walk you two to the door,” she said.
Josh followed a few steps behind while my mom practically pulled my arm off as we made our way through the foyer.
“You will be on your best behavior, Chelsey Rae Ford,” she growled in my ear. “Be nice to this boy because your father needs all the support he can get.”
I pulled my arm free from her death grip and took my coat from her hands slipping it on. “I’ll do this for you tonight, but this will be the last time you do this.”
Her eyes grew wide at my rebellious tone.
I didn’t wait for her to respond nor did I bother to see if Josh was following me as I pulled open the front door and stomped out. I stood on the steps and waited, pulling my coat tighter around me.
“We don’t have to do anything if you’re that repulsed by my presence,” Josh said as he joined me on the steps.
“Don’t act like your feelings are hurt. You’d rather be out banging some chick right now and we both know it.”
“Not true,” he said, jumping down a step. “Challenges are my favorite, Chelsey Rae.” He mocked my middle name.
I knew inside that he heard my mother, but it was still embarrassing.
“I’m not a challenge, Josh. I’m just not interested.”
“Fair enough.” He held up his hands in surrender. “Let’s part ways here and call it a night.”
He started toward the gravel driveway, pulling his keys from his pocket.
He was calling my bluff, and I wanted nothing more than to go through with it, but I was pretty sure my mother was still watching from the window. It wasn’t like I could leave on my own since I didn’t have my own car yet, which was ridiculous and embarrassing considering who my parents were.
“Wait,” I snapped, following behind him.
I went to his car and waited by the passenger door. I expected him to unlock the doors and get in, but instead he walked around the front and came to my door. I heard the click of the locks before he reached over and pulled it open.
“What kind of gentlemen would I be if I didn’t at least open the door for you?” He grinned.
“What kind of girl would I be if I thought for one second you were a gentlemen?”
I enjoyed the look on his face as I climbed in and shut the door. My night had just gotten longer.
We ended up at a movie, and I spent the entire time checking my phone for the time. The people behind me got mad every time my phone lit up. By the time the credits were rolling across the screen it was eleven.
I practically ran to Josh’s car, and groaned to myself when I saw he picked tonight to follow the rules and go the speed limit. I’d never been so happy to see my house when we pulled up in the driveway.
All the cars were gone, which meant the party was over. I unbuckled my seatbelt and prepared for a quick goodbye, but Josh had different plans. I rolled my eyes when I realized he was going to walk me to my door as if we were on an actual date.
We walked side by side across the drive to the front porch.
“That was fun,” he said, his eyes moving over my face and making me extremely uncomfortable.
“Yeah. It was,” I agreed.
Really I was thinking about how badly I wished he’d leave so I could rush upstairs to my room.
“Well, I guess I’ll see you at school.”
I turned toward the door, but before I could grab the knob, I was pulled into Josh’s arms. His mouth came crashing down on mine—his lips abusing mine and his tongue trying to aggressively press into my mouth.
My fingers pressed into his chest as I tried hard to free myself from him, but his arms were locked around me and he was much stronger than he looked.
Finally, his arms loosened and I was able to move. Pulling away, I broke the kiss and used the back of my hand to roughly wipe him from my lips.
“You asshole!” I shrieked. “How dare you?”
He didn’t answer. Instead, he chuckled softly to himself and smiled. His cocky attitude and devilish grin filled me with so much anger I felt like I was going to explode.
And then I did.
Lifting my hand, I reared back and slapped him right across his face. My palm stung at the connection. His smile slipped from his face as he covered his reddening cheek. I shook my head at him when he started to say something.
The bastard. I should’ve known better than to trust him.
Opening the front door, I slipped inside and slammed door in his face for extra measure. Taking the stairs two at a time, I ran up to my room. I couldn’t wait to see Blaine, and I could only hope he’d be waiting in my room for me when I got there, but he wasn’t.
23
BLAINE
EVERYTHING HURT.
It even hurt to open my eyes, so I kept them closed as I tried to breathe through bruised lungs. Everything was fuzzy, and it was hard to concentrate on anything when all I could focus on was the pain pulsating through my body.
There was a loud buzzing in my ears, as if thousands of bees had come to take me away. Slowly the buzzing subsided and an annoying beeping took its
place. Cracking my eyes open, a bright light above me hummed. Voices I didn’t recognize broke through the beeping and humming, but their words ran together creating a jumbled mess I couldn’t comprehend.
The more I became conscious, the more everything became clearer and the events of the night swarmed my head. My thoughts were dizzying, leaving me gasping for air that wasn’t available.
Memories of the crash assaulted me. The bright headlights through my window in the backseat, the screams of my sister and mother seconds before we were T-boned by a vehicle much larger than ours, and the sickening sound of someone choking on their final breaths from the front seat—all of it moved through my head making me cry out in pain.
My eyes fluttered closed when tears filled them, and when I opened them again I instantly regretted it. The ceiling above me spun making my stomach lunge. I swallowed hard, forcing the bile from rushing up my throat.
I couldn’t just lay there. I needed to get up. I needed to get to my family. And then a new memory of my father and his dead eyes moved in, sucking away the tiny bit of oxygen I could get and sending a massive pain through my chest.
My dad. He was gone. He was dead. There was no mistaking that.
Sitting up, I saw that I was in an empty room. A curtain separated me from the rest of the world, but I could hear the chaos of the emergency room just on the other side. Tubes and wires surrounded me, and an IV dug deep into my arm.
My body was shaking uncontrollably and I wasn’t positive I could stand on my own, but I knew I had to find my sister and my mother. I had to know they were okay. Ripping the IV from my arm, my blood spurted out and covered my bruised skin.
It’s not like it mattered since I was already covered in blood and grime. Looking down, I took in my ripped shirt and jeans and shook my head. This wasn’t happening. None of it felt real to me. It was as if I was in a daze or the fucking Twilight Zone.
I turned and climbed out of the bed. My legs felt weak beneath me as I moved through the tiny room toward the curtain. And then I was pulling the curtain back and staring out at a frantic emergency room. Nurses ran from room to room and the phones were ringing off the hook.
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