Riley's Secret (A Moon's Glow Novel # 1)

by Smith, Christina

  I raised my eyebrows at her, wondering how much she knew.

  “People talk,” she said with a shrug of her shoulders, leaning against the big red, silk fluffy pillows on Lauren’s bed.

  “How much do you know?” I asked, voicing my thoughts out loud.

  “That you were with the people who set the fire on Elm. And since you won’t tell the police who did it, you were arrested and have to do community service.”

  “No one really knows for sure who you’re covering for, but most of us can guess,” Lily said, avoiding my eyes, picking at the ivory duvet under her.

  “So, are you going to tell us who did it?” Allison narrowed her eyes at me.

  I stood up, feeling restless and began to wander around Lauren’s room, looking at the pictures on her dresser. “I can’t. If I tell you, they could put you through the same thing I’m going through. First my tires got slashed and now this.” I picked up a picture of Lauren and a boy that was about eight. He must have been her brother, but there was something about him. His hair was blond, a shade lighter than Lauren’s, but while Lauren’s eyes were hazel, his were a piercing blue. There was something about those eyes that were so familiar. It was strange since I had never seen her brother before. I held the photo up close, trying to figure out what it was that I recognized about him.

  “Megan,” Lauren called sharply.

  “What,” I asked, startled, dropping the picture back onto the dresser with a thud.

  “Uh…come on; forget about the fire and what happened tonight. Let’s watch a movie. I’ll make popcorn and we can watch something scary and squeal like little girls.”

  “That sounds fun.” Forgetting the picture, I grew excited about the evening. It had been so long since I spent time with real friends.

  “Do you do this with Mandy and Jenny?” Lily asked once we had all settled onto the sofa with the popcorn between us and a plush duvet covering our laps.

  I leaned back against the cushions, stretching my feet on the coffee table next to Lauren’s. “With Mandy, yeah. But Jenny isn’t really the slumber party type.”

  “I never understood why you hung out with her. She’s kind of a witch,” Lauren remarked as she reached her hand inside the bowl, pulling out a handful of heavily buttered popcorn. Her fingers were greasy as she popped the popcorn into her mouth.

  We all laughed. Even though I didn’t know Lauren all that well, I knew she was usually more impartial when it came to others. She didn’t judge people for their actions or their circumstances. Apparently even saintly Lauren had her limits when it came to Jenny.

  “I’ve been friends with Mandy for a long time and for some reason she likes Jenny, so I tolerated her for Mandy’s sake. But now that doesn’t matter. I don’t think any of them were ever truly my friend.” It was obvious that their curiosity was piqued, but since I didn’t elaborate, none of my new friends pushed any further.

  “Oh hey, do you want to go to Manic with us tomorrow night?” Lauren asked, opening her can of soda. Bubbles foamed up on top of the can.

  “What’s Manic?”

  She took a sip of her drink and swallowed before answering. “It’s a club in Montaview Heights. It’s so awesome. It’s where all of the high school bands play. I can’t believe you’ve never heard of it.” Lauren stared at me in surprise.

  “Lauren, she’s not like you. No offense,” Allison added with a quick glance in my direction. “I doubt any of her crowd would step foot in Montaview.” She rolled her soft blue eyes.

  Lauren gazed down at her legs, picking at her jean skirt with her free hand, suddenly uncomfortable. “Ally,” she warned.

  “No, it’s okay, she’s right. I let my friends dictate what I did and who I hung out with. Not because I agreed with them, just because I didn’t know any better.” I glanced at Allison and Lily, a warm smile playing at my lips. “I’m sorry.”

  Lily grinned. “You’re forgiven. I’ve always known you weren’t evil like Jenny. You might not have spoken to me, but at least you smiled.” I was beginning to realize that Lily wasn’t one to hold a grudge. Her bubbly attitude was almost contagious. “So are you coming tomorrow night or what?”

  I thought about it. I had never been to Montaview Heights. Not quite in the east side, which was where most of the people who were underprivileged lived and where Eddie grew up. It was more in the middle-class area, where people made a comfortable living, but weren’t rich. I remembered Mona’s words when she said I needed to branch out and get to know normal people and stay away from my old friends. “I’m in,” I answered, suddenly excited.

  Lauren and Lily squealed. “You’re going to love it,” Lauren said, grabbing my leg and squeezing it. I glanced at Allison, expecting her to be scowling, but she just nodded her head with a slight smile.

  “Are we going to watch this horribly revolting movie or not?” Lily asked, stealing the remote from Lauren. We all agreed and turned our attention to TV.

  The movie was terrifying and probably not the right choice after what I had been through on my drive here. By the time it was over there was no way I was driving home alone. I called Mona to tell her that Lauren had asked me to stay the night. Then I lay down on the couch with a blanket and pillow, while the other three shared Lauren’s oversized bed. I could hear the faint whispers and occasional laughter, but since it had been such a long night, I fell asleep almost instantly.

  I woke some time later to the sounds of whispering in the hallway. I was sure I heard my name, but was too tired to get up and see who it was. Light poured into the room as the door creaked open. I could hear light footsteps heading to Lauren’s bed and another set that stopped beside me. Was I dreaming or was someone watching me as I slept? I felt a presence next to me for a few seconds and then heard footsteps leading away. The door shut softly, leaving only the sound of breathing coming from the girls in the bed behind me. I opened my eyes and saw the shadow of feet walking away from under the crack of the door. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to forget the feeling of being watched.

  The smell of popcorn drifted into my nose when I woke the next morning. I opened my eyes to see the bowl sitting on the table in front of me where we had left it the night before. Dust motes floated in the strip of light that escaped through Lauren’s red silk curtains. I lifted my hand and waved it through the light, stopping the beam in my palm.

  There was the sound of a gurgle behind me. I sat up and looked over at the canopy bed. Lauren, who was in the middle, was lying on her back. Her head was tilted slightly, mouth wide open and a strange gurgling snore erupted from her. I laughed softly. She didn’t look like the snoring type.

  Lily was lying facing her, curled up against her shoulder, leaving about two feet of open space behind her. Allison, lay on the other side, huddled right up to the edge of the bed. If she moved even a sliver, she would tumble to the floor. Her lips were moving but if she was saying anything, I couldn’t hear her. As much as I could have sat and laughed at them all morning, I needed to get to the shelter. I felt guilty about ditching community service last night, so I wanted to go today. But first I needed stop at home for a quick shower.

  I moved around the room quietly, folding the blanket and pulling my jeans on. With a quick look in the mirror above Lauren’s dresser and seeing that my hair was somewhat tame, I snuck out the door.

  I was tiptoeing down the stairs when I saw someone coming out of a room at the end of the hall. He turned around and I saw Nate staring at me with surprise. He was dressed casually, wearing a white T-shirt and jeans. His sun streaked hair falling over his forehead.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked, taking the last few steps to the bottom. The smell of pine drifted around us.

  “Mr. Riley asked me to come over this morning to talk about the shelter. Why are you here?”

  I repressed the urge to hold back, still hurt and angry at him. “I came over to hang out with Lauren and her friends.”

  “Why didn’t you come to the shelter last nig
ht?”

  I tried to look indifferent, which wasn’t easy with him standing in front of me. “I didn’t feel like it. I have to go.” I stepped around him, heading to the entrance.

  “Megan,” he called after I opened the door. Rain from outside blew in my face.

  “What?” I stopped, but didn’t turn around.

  “Are you all right?” His voice was so tender and soft. He seemed so genuinely concerned. I wanted to jump in his arms and tell him all the gory details of my dramatic drive over here. And yet, I couldn’t. If I did he would be sweet, caring and helpful and when I was just about to be comfortable with our new friendship, he would pull away.

  “I’m fine, now I need to go.” Before I gave in to my urges.

  “Mr. Riley told me there was some kind of problem on your way here.”

  I turned my head slightly wondering how Laurens father had known. He wasn’t here the whole time we were up. “It’s not your concern. You’ve made it clear that you don’t socialize, so there is no need to trouble yourself.” I walked out and ran to my car. I didn’t know why I was so upset. He’d never made me any promises, but I had let myself believe that he liked me and I couldn’t take his rejection again.

  The ride home was wet. The rain must have started in the night. At some point I had to turn the wipers on full blast, but no one followed me, so it was a step up from the drive over.

  Chapter Nine

  Manic

  I met Julia in the shelter parking lot, noticing that Nate had arrived already, but of course, I wasn’t surprised. “Do you need some help?” she asked, opening her umbrella and holding it over both of us.

  “No thanks, I got it.” I picked up the two loaded bags that I had packed when I went home to shower and change. We walked quickly together into the back door, out of the rain.

  Instead of the usual clanging sounds of the pots and pans, the buzz of the blender floated out from the kitchen.

  “So, where have you been the last few days?” Julia asked as she hung up her rain coat and then took mine to hang it up next to hers.

  “Oh, I’ve been busy. But I brought DVDs for the kids to make up for it.”

  She glanced inside, fingering a few of the movies. “Oh, they’ll love it. Thanks, Megan.”

  We stepped into the kitchen where Nate and Theresa, Natalie’s mother, were blending what looked like fruit smoothies. I said hello to Theresa, but ignored Nate before he could ignore me.

  I followed Julia out to her work space. “So what do you need me to do?” I leaned my arm on her desk and picked up a picture that must be of her family. She sat in the middle with three kids ranging in ages from five to fifteen. A man with red hair stood behind her with his arms on her shoulders.

  She took the picture from my hand, placing it back on the desk. “Uh-uh, you know you need to ask Nate. I don’t know why you’re ignoring him, but you’re just going to have to suck it up. He’s your supervisor.” She yanked the bags from my hand. “I’ll hand these out, you go make nice.” She gestured with her head in the direction of the kitchen.

  “But he’s the one who has a problem with me,” I whined.

  She held her hand up. “No, I don’t want to hear it. Go.”

  I stomped my foot. “Fine,” I huffed, storming off back into the kitchen, knowing I was acting like a child. “So what needs to be done?” I asked, not looking at anyone in particular.

  “Eddie’s cleaning the dining room and Patti’s cleaning the bedrooms, so you can either clean the bathrooms again, or help me make lunch,” Nate answered as he unloaded burgers and hotdogs out of the fridge. Theresa was chopping lettuce and trying to look uninterested in our conversation.

  It was obvious what job I was going to pick. I wanted to be around him as much as possible. And even though the last time wasn’t as bad as I thought, cleaning the men’s urinals gave me nightmares for days. “I’ll clean the bathrooms,” I said, surprising myself. I turned around before he could respond and headed to the supply closet.

  “What the heck did they eat last night, beans?” I grumbled to myself as I sprayed about a bottle and a half of air freshener in the men’s bathroom. After I closed the door behind me I let out the breath I’d been holding.

  “Hey, Megan, where’ve you been?” Natalie asked as she made her way down the long hall towards me. She was wearing one of my vintage off-the-shoulder tops.

  “Oh, just some personal issues. What have you been up to?” I moved the cleaner caddy from my right hand to my left, so I could brush hair out of my eyes.

  “Packing. Mom got a job at Riley’s Department Store and our apartment is finally ready.”

  “That’s awesome.” I gave her a one-handed hug. My heart swelled with happiness for them. “You’re going to come back and see us, aren’t you?”

  “Yes. Part of the deal of staying here is helping out when you can, even after you leave. But I’m okay with that, I’ll really miss everybody. Want to help me pack?”

  “Sure, just let me stash the cleaning supplies and I’ll meet you in there.”

  About an hour later I found my way back downstairs to help with lunch. “Where’ve you been? I needed your help.” Nate scowled at me as soon as I stepped into the kitchen.

  “I was helping Natalie pack.” I rolled my eyes. “All you had to do was come up and ask.”

  His face unclenched a little. “I’m sorry, but I was a little shorthanded this morning and after you didn’t show up last night I thought you weren’t taking this seriously.”

  “I didn’t show up last night because of your atti—”

  “Nate, where do you want this?” Mia asked, interrupting me. She stood behind him holding a tray filled with condiments.

  He glared at me for a few seconds and then slowly turned towards Mia. “Out in the dining room. Megan, go help serve,” he ordered, still facing Mia.

  I did what I was told, taking the empty spot in the middle between Eddie and a new guy, who smelled of mothballs.

  When it was time to leave at the end of the day, Nate stopped me just as I was about to pull out of the parking lot.

  “I’m going to follow you home,” he stated as he headed for his car.

  However, I no longer wanted his help. “No thanks, I’m fine.” He didn’t have a chance to argue before I spun out of the lot. I laughed to myself at the small victory. I knew I was being petty, but I just didn’t care.

  I was singing along to the radio when I noticed headlights shine in my rearview mirror. Icy claws of fear gripped ahold of me and my heart sped up at the idea of Shane in his SUV following me again. I relaxed a little when I noticed the lights were lower to the ground and the car kept a safe distance. However, by the third turn and they were still there, I knew who it was.

  I pulled into my driveway extremely ticked off. “Do you not understand the words ‘I don’t need your help’?” I yelled before Nate even got out of his car. I was standing against mine waiting, arms folded in front of me.

  “I just wanted to make sure you were okay.” He slammed his door in frustration.

  “Why do you care?” I shouted at him. “You’re nice one minute and a total ass the next. I don’t know how to take you. So I’m done. I’m giving up trying with you. If you can’t have a friendship with me without blowing me off every other day, I definitely don’t want your help.”

  He took a deep breath, glancing away from me in the direction of the woods that bordered our yard. “I’m sorry if I’ve been giving you mixed messages. It’s not that I don’t want to be around you… it’s just that I shouldn’t.”

  “What does that mean?” I wasn’t sure why I was yelling, but it felt good.

  “Will you tell me what happened last night?” he asked, ignoring my question.

  I sighed, giving up and began to replay the events of the night before in detail. When I finished, he leaned against my car beside me. His hand brushed mine, but I refused to read anything into it. “Let’s agree to call a truce. I won’t be an ass and yo
u will let me help you when it’s needed, okay?”

  Nowhere in the compromise was anything about being more than friends. But I decided it didn’t have to be, as long as I could be near him. “All right, you can help me. Does that mean I can eat lunch with you?”

  He frowned, a crease forming between his eyes, but the look quickly faded as he smiled. “That’s fine,” he said eventually, even though I could tell it wasn’t.

  With the agreement made, an awkward silence fell over us that only ended when he made an excuse to leave, muttering something about paperwork.

  Lauren pulled into my driveway just as I was finished getting ready for our night out.

  “Don’t we need ID?” I asked once I was seated in the back seat beside Lily, inside Lauren’s compact car.

  Lauren pulled out and headed in the direction of Montaview Heights. Even though I’d never been there, I knew the way. It was a twenty-minute drive. Nate had told me not to go with Lauren when he asked me my plans earlier. At first I was shocked at his attitude. He didn’t want to be with me, but had no problem telling me what to do. After the last two weeks I had come to expect it. I might have implied that I would do what he said. As soon as he left though, I changed into my denim miniskirt and black halter top. I straightened my hair and pulled it up at the sides, leaving some of my bangs hanging in my eyes, to which I had added black eye liner. I looked in the mirror, happy with my reflection. I looked dangerous. Since I was going to a part of town that I was unfamiliar with, I needed to look the part.

  “No, I know the bouncer. As long as you flash him something and you’re with me, you’re good.” Allison answered, bringing me back to the present. I watched her take out her makeup mirror to touch up her lipstick. The dark purple made her already pale skin almost glow. Her raven hair, blue eyes and light complexion made her appear mysterious. The short black lacy dress she wore only added to the look.