“I don’t want to talk about that anymore. Just makes me sad,” Gemma sighed. There was already so much in her life that made her sad, knowing she may have lost a friend was too much to think about. “Thank you for still going tonight. Even after I was so mean to you yesterday.”
“You weren’t mean. And I understand why you were upset. I really do.” His fingers squeezed her hand reassuringly. He still felt like an ass, but was willing to drop it for the time being.
“Thank you for finding me.”
A lump formed in his throat. “I’d do anything for you.”
She ignored the emotion she could hear behind his words, ignored what she remembered seeing on her sister’s phone, and just nodded, too caught up to dwell or question. But she did scoot down on her bed so she could rest her head on his shoulder, feeling his arms encircle her in protection. “Thank you for saving my life.”
CHAPTER SIX
Though Gemma remained home the rest of the week, Elliot returned to school on Wednesday. His return to school suddenly found him the most popular kid on campus. While Penny hadn’t actually told Trisha herself of Elliot’s brief crush, as Christie had claimed to Leighanna, she had told as many people as she could, letting her words spread like wildfire amongst the masses. But it wasn’t just a simple story. No, Christie’s destructive friend told a sordid tale of Elliot leaving Gemma mid-coitus, of all things, to run off to Trisha because she had called him one night, claiming she wanted him, and not Jake any longer.
He figured out pretty quickly the story was new, meant to spread the day he returned, meaning Christie was behind the maliciousness since only she knew out of everyone at school when he was going back. When they passed in the hall, he couldn’t even look at her and her sneering smile. By lunch time however, the story was squashed when it finally reached Trisha. To say that she was angry was being kind.
In front of the whole school, for perhaps the first time ever, Trisha Scott was not sweet, and her pretty smile did not paint her lips. She pulled Elliot to her side, their first ever true interaction, that he found he couldn’t wait to get away from ironically enough, and declared to everyone how stupid they were. Sheep, she had called them all. Pathetic, low-life sheep.
“If you believe the lies of one pathetic individual who has nothing better to do than talk about people behind their backs, people they don’t even know, then you are all sheep!” she’d declared, her feet atop a lunch table so she could see the whole of the school gathered. “This is not a game. I am a real person, who would never hurt Jake by being so callous. And this man, Elliot Wade,” she smiled a real smile at him, probably at his shock that she really did know who he was, which made him realize even further, the smile she’d offered at the carnival had just been one to be polite and most certainly not one of romantic interest. “To say that he would hurt his girl so wickedly, that is near blasphemy. Gemmalyn Grady is not even here to speak for herself, and yet you all spread lies about her. You are worse than the cruelty you say we have committed.”
There was a moment when everything faded away, the chatter in the cafeteria vanishing, as Trisha Scott declared to the school Elliot’s affection for Gemma. It was a jolt to the system really. He was standing with his one-time crush, and she was defending his adoration of Gemma. Everyone but he could see it. That was no lie.
“You should know, I do know who it was who started telling these lies, and I won’t let them continue. Keep talking if you want, but you will regret it.” And with that, Trisha stepped down from the table, smiled once more at Elliot, and walked off with Jake.
He didn’t hear anything more about himself after that. It probably had a lot to do with the fact that not only was Trisha Scott normally so sweet and reserved, rarely ever speaking out against anyone, but that Cassie and Penny, as well as Christie, who cried and cried and cried, were promptly kicked off the cheerleading squad with no possibility of rejoining at a later date. It was a harsh punishment, but Elliot learned Trisha felt the only way to get through to the girls was to go swift and hard. People enjoyed talking about them more than anyone else after that. And not in polite or popular terms.
By the end of that first day back, Elliot had even come to learn that Josh had told Christie he couldn’t be with her if this was how she wanted to be. He didn’t need a girlfriend who was not only cruel to her friends, but those who were her family.
“I saw her after Trisha talked to her,” Josh looked stricken, like the memory was too much. “I told her I couldn’t believe she would act the way she was, after everything that happened last year. I told her I thought she was better than that.” Elliot had nodded; glad to see he wasn’t the only one with a problem with how Christie was acting. “I said I’d stick by her no matter what, but only if she was willing to leave those two bitches behind and be the person I fell in love with those years ago.”
“What did she say?” Elliot had asked, sad for his sister, but also glad someone was standing up to her.
“She just cried, which sucked hard to see, cause I hate to see her cry, you know? So I thought about taking it back, but it’s not like this was the first time it happened. And it’s not like it wasn’t that big of a deal. She hurt a lot of people.” Josh just sighed. “I expect there to be some fireworks at your house tonight.”
Josh wasn’t kidding when he made that remark. Not only was Christie grounded indefinitely for the lies she helped spread, her phone, television, and any other electronic devices she had, were taken. All Christie had in her room after Dalton and Grace were done speaking with her was a mattress, blanket, pillow, and enough clothes for the school week. On top of that, she had to spend her evenings after school helping Dalton out at the hospital, changing out bed pans.
Needless to say, Christie said was very sorry for how she had behaved. But it was going to take a lot for people to forgive.
Gemma was glad to have avoided seeing all of that chaos. Caroline took the week off, staying home with Gemma, helping her with whatever she needed. Even if it was just a shoulder to cry on. But after that week home, Gemma knew she couldn’t hide forever. It was bad enough people had been talking about her for something so ridiculous and unrelated to her pain, she didn’t want to stay away and add fuel to any fire. No matter how much going back to school with all the loud noises and close bodies terrified her.
“I won’t leave you alone for a minute. I promise,” Elliot had told her that Saturday as they watched old Johnny Quest cartoons in her room. She’d told him she planned to return to school that Monday and he was more than willing to be her guide and protector.
As the day dawned, Gemma watched the sun rise. She hadn’t slept a wink, her nerves and the nightmares still plaguing her mind. The cut on her lip was a scab now, and her black eyes were more yellowish than anything. In fact, Leighanna and Caroline had helped her with a makeup concoction to keep them concealed so no one would harass her with questions or looks all day. It was her story to tell if she so chose to, her face shouldn’t be the thing that gave it away. Besides, she was sure her reactions to people would be enough to make people take notice of how different she was.
She showered and dressed, and mentally patted herself on the back when Leighanna knocked and she didn’t flinch. “Thought I’d help you with that makeup this morning since I’m sure you’re probably super nervous.”
“Yeah, thanks.” Gemma sat on her bed while Leighanna pulled her desk chair over. For five minutes Leighanna worked in silence. “Are you sure people have stopped talking about me?” Gemma finally asked.
A small smile played against Leighanna’s lips. After hearing from Elliot all that had transpired that Wednesday upon his return, Gemma had pulled Leigh into her room demanding to know everything she knew Elliot had to be keeping from her. In the end, Leigh just confirmed what Elliot knew, while telling Gemma not to worry about her return. People felt bad for Gemma for the way Christie had let people talk about her, especially when she was out sick. More than anything, Leigh had said, peop
le were too busy still gossiping about Penny and Cassie to pay Gemma any serious scrutiny.
“You’ll be fine. If anything, you’ll probably get the sympathy train for being an unknowing victim in those twit’s game,” Leigh laughed sardonically. “With me around though, that won’t last too long. There you go!” Holding up a mirror to her face, Gemma could see her face was clear. Of course she knew where the bruises were, knew that they still hurt, but to everyone else, she looked as normal as possible, if still a little on the sickly side. She could also easily pass off the scab on her lip as just them being too dry due to her illness. It was a good façade. And that was all that mattered. “You look beautiful, you know. Even without the makeup.”
Tears welled in her eyes. “You’re just trying to make me feel better.”
Leighanna scoffed. “When have I ever done that? You know I don’t mince words, why would I start now?”
Gemma just shrugged, her mind remembering Elliot telling her she was beautiful too. “Elliot said that too,” she whispered. “That night, he barely touched my cheek and told me I was beautiful.” Gemma looked at her sister with sad eyes. “I know he didn’t mean it.”
“Oh, sweetie, he meant it. There’s no reason to lie about something like that,” Leigh promised. It sounded like she mumbled something along the lines of ‘bout time that boy figured his shit out’ but Gemma couldn’t be sure. “What time is he picking you up?”
“He said he’d be here at seven-thirty, so in a few minutes.”
“Well, let’s get you downstairs. You know momma is gonna to have a breakfast for you for your first day back,” Leigh laughed. It was true; Caroline always cooked a big meal on the first day back to school from everything.
The two girls walked slowly downstairs, careful of Gemma who still ached in some places. As they reached the kitchen, they could hear their mother talking. Elliot was early, and Caroline had insisted he stay for breakfast, even though he’d said he’d already eaten. So together, the four of them sat at the kitchen table, a mountain of French toast in the center. By the time seven forty-five rolled around, both Elliot and Gemma were stuffed and more concerned about the weight of food in their bellies rather than the weight of what the day meant.
Which they figured in the end, was probably Caroline’s plan all along.
Pulling into the parking lot at school, Gemma watched her classmates walking, laughing, and joking with each other as they headed to their first classes. Everyone was normal. No one noticed Elliot’s car and pointed it out. It was just another day. At least it was for the moment.
“You ready?” Elliot had shut off the engine but made no move to exit. His eyes were intent on Gemma, scrutinizing her form for any sign of distress or panic.
“No,” she whispered, her eyes darting around the parking lot as kids passed by Elliot’s car. She was suddenly ill at ease, and felt as though something would strike out at her. “But there’s no way around it, is there?”
“No, not unless you want to be homeschooled and I really don’t think your dad will be too onboard with that plan. Caroline probably would love it, but the Legal Eagle, not so much.” Elliot smiled wryly, attempting to lighten the mood. “Besides, nothing is going to happen. I’ll stick by you and I know Leighanna isn’t going to let anything happen to you either.” He motioned with his chin across the parking lot where Gemma’s sister leaned against a car, Trent standing beside her.
“He doesn’t know anything, right?” Gemma questioned, trying to keep panic out of her voice. Leigh had left just before Elliot and Gemma, catching a ride with Trent this morning.
“He doesn’t know anything. Your sister has been very careful with her words. He only knows you were out sick.” Elliot squeezed Gemma’s hand in reassurance. “Are you scared to be around him?” The thought hadn’t occurred to him until that moment. There were so many reasons for Gemma to not want to return to school, and she’d voiced many of them the day before. But he’d never considered anyone she knew would scare her. Trent was on the football team. He was an imposing figure, and it was very easy to be leery of him if you didn’t know him already, even if he was really very gentle.
“Not so much scared,” Gemma began, trying to gather her thoughts on the matter. She felt ridiculous for feeling the way she was, especially since Trent was a giant teddy bear who was always around. But because he was so much bigger than her, the logical part of her brain shut off and allowed the panicking side to take over. She knew he would never hurt her, the way she knew Elliot wouldn’t, or her dad, but his size played against that knowledge. “I know Leigh would never let anything happen to me, but it’s just, he towers over me. Those… those guys were so much bigger than me too. I was overwhelmed by them, and I don’t want to look at Trent and think of them.”
She was starting to cry a little, and Elliot did the only thing he could think, he pulled her into his arms and held her close and protected. “I know you’re scared, sweetheart. In a way I’m scared too. But if I know Trent, there’s nothing about him that will have you comparing once he opens his mouth and something ridiculous comes out.”
Gemma laughed a little at that, sniffling her stupid tears away. “I know. I just have to remember.”
“It’s just like you said, Leigh won’t let anything happen to you, and I’m right here too.” She nodded at his reassurance, and then took a deep breath before pulling away. He gently wiped the remaining tears from her eyes, ignoring some stares of passing classmates at the once intimate embrace. “Let’s go get today over with, okay?”
Elliot got out of the car first. He rushed to Gemma’s side, opening the door for her. Once she was standing, he took her book bag from her, lifting it to his shoulder with his own bag, despite her glare at the gesture. Then with a small smile, took her hand in his and walked toward Leighanna and Trent. He could see Gemma’s sister talking to Trent with quick words, and Trent nodding in understanding. He knew Leighanna wouldn’t say anything, but a little warning never hurt anything.
As soon as they reached the two, Gemma let go of the warmth of Elliot’s hand and hugged her sister. “You’ve already done the hardest part, Sissy, the rest is cake,” Leigh whispered so only Gemma could hear. “I love you and I’m here for you. No matter what, okay?”
Gemma nodded to her sister before turning her attention to Trent. She steeled her expression to be one of nonchalance, hoping to avoid looking like she wanted to run as far from him as possible. “Morning, Trent.”
“Heya, Gem. Feeling better?” Trent asked.
“Yeah, thanks.” She was nervous, and it showed in her voice. But she didn’t want to draw attention to herself. “Leigh said you guys played really well in the game Saturday. She said you even sacked the quarterback!” She was proud of herself for saying as much as she did without sounding dumb. And she could still see the smile on Leigh’s face when she talked about how awesome Trent had played, saying he was brought in on both offense and defense when Sanford went down with a twisted ankle.
“Course I played great, had my good luck charm cheering me on,” he smiled pulling Leigh into a hug. “But you should’ve seen it, Gem, me and Craig were all over that field, kicking ass and taking names. Heard there were even some pro scouts watching too. Be pretty cool if one of them was checking me out.”
“Well, you are hard to miss,” Leighanna quipped with an easy smile. “But you settled on Tennessee and we are going to college in the land of Opry!” she said with a wry grin. Country was not a favorite style of music for Leighanna, despite growing up in Texas, but she loved Trent enough to get over it.
Initially it had been hard on Leighanna when the family moved from Austin. She was in her junior year of school, had lots of friends, was in a bunch of afterschool activities, and had her future planned. She wanted to be a biologist even though her then boyfriend, Mark, hated the idea of having a smart girlfriend since he was raised to believe women didn’t work, only took care of the home. But then Andrew was offered a job as partner and he
and their mom thought a new town would be good for the girls, especially Leighanna since no one liked Mark, as well as a nice change of pace for them. After a few weeks of resentment, Leighanna finally gave up her moping and just accepted the things she had were no more. It was time to start fresh. She left Austin and Mark’s beliefs behind.
When she met Trent, her plans rearranged again. They’d met in a government class, debated against each other for two hours, and found love. He wanted to play professional football until he couldn’t anymore, in which he then wanted to try out politics, and she found a love for civil rights litigation-something that made her step-dad smile. Leighanna and Trent were both very passionate and very smart, and together they were golden.
“Yeah, yeah, woman, I know,” Trent laughed. “It’d just be nice to have them already checking me out, make it easier for when I’m ready to enter the draft. Not everyday scouts check out a small school in Thornton, Colorado. This place isn’t like where you two come from.”
“I know, but still, one thing at a time.” Leigh grabbed Trent’s hand and with a motion of her head, the four started walking toward the building. As they passed the front office, Leigh looked over at Elliot, who once again, had Gemma’s hand. “I saw Christie this morning when we parked. Your mom was dropping her off.”
He just nodded. He didn’t really know what to say to that. He hadn’t seen much of her since she got in trouble, and he was okay with that for now. All he knew was her beloved VW Beetle had been taken from her on top of everything else.
“She didn’t look too good, man,” Trent supplied, keeping his voice low around their classmates. “Josh says your old man has her working at the hospital with him, emptying out bedpans. That true?”
“Yeah,” was all Elliot offered.
“Did you hear what Trisha did?” Leigh chimed in. When everyone shook their heads no, she continued. “You know she had the three kicked off the squad and banned. Well, she went to Principal Sloane and made a suggestion on the punishment. Guess after talking with her mom about her job, she got the idea. She gave them an option, get their acts together and volunteer at the shelter her mom works at for the rest of the school year, working with kids who have behavioral problems and no longer have homes, and they can just be suspended from cheerleading for the year. They’d get to try out again, get another shot at being able to make varsity. If they don’t and choose to continue bullying and being degenerates-her words, not mine-then the expulsion stands. She refuses to let that kind of behavior happen.”
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