Beneath Our Faults

by Charity Ferrell

Every pair of eyes shot my way awaiting my answer. The last thing I ever wanted to do was be in a car alone with him. I had just watched another girl give him a ride last night so it would be entirely too weird to catch one with him.

  "Sure, that's fine," I answered, nodding my head and hating the fact I was too chickenshit to say no.

  "I'll see you later," he told Sophia and Tommy before turning around towards his driveway. I waved to them, hoisting my bag over my shoulder and trailing behind him until we both reached a black Range Rover. He stepped in front of me, reached out and opened the passenger side door.

  "Nice wheels," I complimented, sliding in between him and moving into the seat before he shut the door behind me.

  He nodded his head and circled around the car to get into the driver's side. The ignition turned on and we started down the street, letting an uncomfortable silence take over the air. When the silence was finally broken, I wanted to punch the asshole in his pretty, perfect face.

  "So have you always been into voyeurism or is it a new hobby you've recently picked up?" Embarrassment and anger shot through my body and I was surprised I didn't catch whiplash from how fast I twisted my head around to glare at him.

  "I am not a voyeur," I hissed, shifting around in the leather seat to look at him. "Have you always been into exhibitionism or did you just happen to pick it up recently?"

  He laughed. "I wasn't having sex in public. I was having sex at my own house. I can't help it if you were spying on me," he shrugged and stopped at a red light.

  His sarcastic tone irked me. "Whatever," I mumbled, turning around to face the window. Our little discussion needed to end pronto. My muscles tensed up as worry set in, wondering whether he was going to spread word at my new school that I was a creeper. I kept my eyes out the window, watching trees and buildings blur past me, wishing I could be anywhere but in that car with him.

  We drove a short distance before he stopped in front of another large white house with huge columns around the front.

  "Quick pit stop," he announced, slamming his hand down on the steering wheel and blaring the horn. I ignored him, keeping my eyes glued at the window that had slowly begun to roll down. A tall, skinny blonde came strutting out from the front of the house. Her bleach blonde hair was curled into large, perfect waves and clipped behind her ears. I rolled my eyes, taking in her outfit. The girl was wearing a white, extremely low cut blouse that was pretty much see-though giving me the perfect view of her bright red bra and a plaid mini-skirt that barely covered her vagina.

  Clueless called, Cher wanted her outfit back.

  I squinted my eyes as she walked closer to the car and it finally hit me.

  Holy crap!

  She was the girl from last night. The moaner. Just when I thought the ride couldn't get any more mortifying. Her feet skidded to a stop when she spotted me in the passenger seat. An angry snarl twisted onto her overly made-up face. "Who the hell is this?" She asked through the window at Keegan. Her manicured hands set directly on her tiny hipbones.

  I could have only guessed that I was in her seat. Leaning over, I started to unbuckle my seatbelt so I could get the ride over with, but a large, callous hand landed on top of mine, stopping me. Keegan tapped on my hand twice like he was giving me some kind of code then looked over at the serious blonde standing outside my window.

  "My new neighbor," he informed her. "Now get in," he gestured his head towards the back seat.

  "Hell no," she screeched, raising her hands. "I am not sitting in the backseat." I didn’t get why she was so pissed. I was fairly certain the girl gaping at me was no stranger to being in a backseat.

  Keegan let out a long, tortured sigh. "Piper, get your ass in the backseat or drive your own fucking ass to school. I don't have time to play your childish games right now."

  The blonde opened her mouth and I prepared to hear her argument, but she immediately shut it, changing her mind. Stomping her high heeled foot down on the concrete, she swung the back door open like a mad woman and climbed into the backseat, huffing. Her bony arm slammed the door shut harshly behind her.

  "Piper, Daisy," Keegan pointed back and forth between us two girls. "Daisy, Piper."

  "Daisy," she repeated and I didn't miss the distaste in her voice, She popped her head in between Keegan and I above the center console. "Is that your real name or your stripper name?" She didn't even give me the chance to answer before she continued on with her insult. "I mean, seriously, who in their right mind names their kid Daisy unless they were just wanting to set you up for disaster. Were your parents hippie stoners or something?"

  I frowned. I had only been in the car with this chick for a few minutes and I found myself fighting the urge to throw her out in the street in front of a moving car.

  "Piper," I mocked, using the same tone she had used with my name and raising an eyebrow. "Who in the hell names their kid after some fairy tale creep who led children to their death?" I usually wasn't a spiteful person, but she hit a sore spot. I adored my name. When my mom and dad were young, he picked daisies from my grandmother's garden and brought them over to my mom to propose. She told me it was one of her most cherished memories of them together. As soon as she found out she was having a girl, she immediately informed my dad that they were naming me after her favorite flower and memory.

  I heard Keegan's chuckle beside me.

  "What are you even talking about?" Piper asked, her face laced with confusion.

  I shook my head at her; choosing to ignore her comment and moving my attention back to the colorful leaves that were beginning their downfall from the branches.

  "Piper, play nice," Keegan warned the brat in the back. His hand hit a button on his steering wheel and Nickelback started playing out of the speakers in front of me. I noticed his thick fingers drumming along the steering wheel from the corner of my eye. Temptation was telling me to turn around and let the tramp know that I could care less if she "played nice" with me or not, but the better person in me decided to just keep my thoughts to myself.

  I heard the pitchy voice of Piper's start to whine but I let the sound of music down her out. I needed to conserve what little energy I had for getting through the day. Not only was I starting a new school, but now I was walking in there with a huge target taped to my back. And the person holding the gun? That would be the bitch in the backseat.

  MY NOSE shriveled up at the potent scent of bleach when I walked into the girl's locker room. Every single girl in the room ignored my presence as I walked down the aisles looking for a locker. It didn't bother me. I wasn't there to make friends anyways. I mentally gave each scowling girl the middle finger as I passed by. Tossing my bag on the bench in front of an isolated locker, I let out a deep sigh.

  "Hey girl." I jumped, whipping around to see a short girl with deep auburn hair pulled into a messy bun throw her gym back in front of the locker next to mine. "I was hoping we would have a class together." Her hands went down to the hem of her shirt and she pulled her shirt over her head, messing her hair up more. "I know being the new girl around this joint sucks major ass, so I just want you to know I'm here for you."

  I definitely couldn't have agreed more with her last statement. I had practically dived out of the car when we pulled into the school parking lot. If I had to hear one more second of Piper's incessant whining, I was going to stick a pen in my eardrums and gouge them out.

  My first two classes I had already had were absolutely dreadful. In both of them, the teachers insisted I stand in front of the entire class and introduce myself like I had just reverted back to my adolescent days. My chemistry teacher was the worst, though. She stood in front of the class with her oversized glasses and ill-fitting sweater, informing me that I needed to share three fun facts about myself to everyone. Problem was, there was nothing fun about me. I almost dared to tell her the first "fun fact" about myself was that I wanted to stick my foot up her ass, but I bit back my tongue. My parents most likely wouldn't have been too happy if I got kicked out
of school on my first day for verbally assaulting a teacher.

  I eyed the girl next to me skeptically. "Uh," I muttered. "I'm sorry but do I know you?" I was trying not to sound bitchy but failing miserably.

  "I'm Gabby," she told me, smiling. I grabbed the hideous, oversized black gym shorts the gym teacher had given me earlier. "My mom works for your Aunt Jamie."

  My body went stiff and my fingers locked around the drawstring of my shorts. A worry lap shot through my nerves, afraid she knew about me. I quickly tied my shorts, reaching down to grab my top when I felt my body sudden jerk into the metal locker beside me. Pain stung up my side and I gasped out for air.

  "Whoopsie, my bad," a newly familiar voice laughed out. I turned around to find Piper standing in front of me with a mini minion to each side of her. One was blonde with curls similar to Piper's and the other had a full head of black hair pulled into a low ponytail. They were both sporting different colored plaid mini-skirts similar to Piper's. The fact that someone was striving to be like Piper was scary and I was worried for their mental health. The three brats burst out in synchronized laughter like they practiced it for sport daily. I looked down at my side noticing the ripped skin and redness where it came into contact with the locker.

  Quick correction: Piper was not like Cher; she was pure Regina George, maybe worse.

  "Leave her alone, Piper," Gabby said tightly, jumping in between the two of us, still in only a bra and panties.

  "I'm sorry, but this doesn't concern you, homewrecker," Piper mocked back. Her little sidekicks giggled in the background like hyenas.

  "Actually it does," Gabby fired back, putting her hands on her hips. "She's my friend so you need to back off." Huh? We had just met, but if she got Piper off my back, we were definitely going to be friends.

  "Why does that not surprise me," Piper muttered under her breath, snapping her fingers. Yes, she actually snapped her fingers like some bad eighties flick. Her little sidekicks scurried away behind her out of the locker room without another word.

  The girl who had just saved me from another Piper verbal smack down sighed beside me, grabbing my arm and raising it up. "Damn girl," she said, eyeing the large, red mark running down my side and whistling loudly. "She got you good. Isn't this only your first day here?" She asked me, pulling her shorts on. I nodded. "How did you already manage to piss off Queen Bitch Face already?" We both pulled our shirts over our heads at the same time. "She usually saves that for girls who hook up with Keegan."

  I paused at the mention of his name. Of course, my pain in the ass neighbor was already causing me problems. Regret set in, I wish I had declined the ride. Piper wouldn't have been on my ass if my uncle took me to school instead.

  "He's my neighbor and he gave me a ride to school today," I told her, rolling my shoulders and slipping on my tennis shoes. "I guess she didn't like it too well that he made her sit in the backseat."

  Gabby's eyes went wide and she burst out in laughter. "Oh my god, I would have loved to see her face when he told her that." She shut her locker grabbing my arm. "Come on, we’d better go. If we are late, Ms. Appleberry makes us run extra laps." I followed her out the same door Piper and her minions left, which meant we were most likely about to have gym together. Yay! More icing to my non-existent cupcake.

  Goosebumps pebbled up my arms walking to the freezing gym. A large group of girls were congregated in the middle of the room talking and laughing amongst one another. I squatted, getting ready to sit down when a loud voice boomed through the room. "Give me five laps, ladies! Get it moving!"

  The group dispersed and everyone around me started to run up the stairs to the left. The overweight gym teacher that had handed me my uniform earlier was standing in front of the room with a huge megaphone clasped in her fingers.

  "Welcome to gym class," Gabby huffed, rolling her eyes. We turned around, following the group of girls taking one stair at a time until we reached a huge, circular track that overlooked the gym. I groaned, breaking out in a slow jog.

  "So what do you think of Atlanta so far," Gabby asked me, pulling her ponytail tighter, while we jogged in sync with each other.

  "It's not too bad. I actually just got here yesterday so I haven't had much of a chance to do anything yet." I could feel my side already beginning to cramp up and my legs were starting to tire from my lack of being in shape. I had worked out with Tanner sometimes, in more ways than one, but all physical activity had been cut out of my life since he left me.

  She looked at me and her smile started to grow until it covered her entire face. "Well, you're all everyone has been talking about since you got here this morning," she informed, eagerly, picking up her pace. "You're new and hot. Today's juicy gossip."

  Chills ran down my spine and I shivered. "Great," I muttered, my voice laced with sarcasm. I had no interest in being the day's juicy gossip. My plan in Atlanta was to just go by unnoticed, graduate to make my parents happy, then figure out what the hell I wanted to do with the rest of my life after that.

  She went quiet beside me and I glanced over at her from the corner of my eye. Her face was unreadable and she slowed down, breathing hard. "So uh," she muttered, stopping completely and looking around the gym struggling to find the words to tell me whatever it was. Girls passed us by quickly without a second look. Her eyes shot back to mine when she was ready. "I know what happened to you," she whispered softly, "at your last school." The chills I already had were magnified by a thousand. "The only reason I know is because my mom had to work extra hours to cover for your aunt when she left to go to the funeral. I'm pretty sure I am the only person who knows and my lips are sealed," she used her hand to zip her lips. "I promise."

  A huge burden of pressure lifted off my back and I exhaled a large breath I didn't know I was holding in. "Thank you," I said, quietly, glancing down at my feet.

  "Nobody has to know anyways," she chirped up. "We can just tell them you are from somewhere else? What about Brazil? You have that whole dark hair exotic look going on."

  My eyes quit studying my shoes and moved back to her face. "You know they have accents and speak a different language there, right? It might be a sure sign I'm lying."

  "Oh," she answered, scrunching up her lips. "Well shit, where do you want to be from? I will totally back up your story." The girl was growing on me already. She reminded me of Tessa and how we always had each other's backs.

  "Might as well tell them where I'm really from. There's so many schools there I doubt they could put two and two together."

  She nodded in agreement. "True and I'm pretty sure half of these people don't watch the news around here anyways. They are too worried about everyone’s business here."

  "Ladies," we heard the booming voice through the mega phone again. We walked over the railing, looked down to see Ms. Appleberry standing in the middle of the gym pointing at our stationary bodies. "This is physical education, which means you need to start moving."

  "Yeah skank, you need to move much faster than that if you want to burn off all that extra ass you have," Piper sneered, running past us and bumping me in my shoulder. She laughed, taking off away from us in full sprint.

  "Don't ever take advice from a girl who bedazzles her gym uniform," Gabby shouted, loud enough for Piper to hear. In return, Piper spun around and flipped her off.

  "Well, let's get moving," I grumbled and we both started jogging again.

  "HEY GABS," I glimpsed up from my salad finding a tall, willowy strawberry blonde with a fishtail braid down one side of her head, lay her try down at our table. She was wearing a white, floral summer dress and had Georgia Peach written all over her. The chair screeched as she pulled it out and opened up her drink. "I'm Cora, it's Daisy right?" She asked, sending a warm smile in my direction. I gave her a quick nod and looked around the lunchroom that was growing busier.

  After we finished gym class and got dressed, Gabby dragged me from the lunchroom, complaining how physical activity made her ravenous. Relief hit me, reali
zing I wouldn't have to be that one awkward new kid who had nowhere to sit during lunch.

  "I heard Piper has got it out for you, girl," Cora said, opening up her fruit cup. "Ignore her, she will eventually get bored and go away. She's like one of those demon creatures in the horror movies that feed on fear. Starve her and the bitch dies," she informed me, shrugging her shoulder and popping a strawberry into her mouth. "Piper is under the impression that she has some claim to Keegan," she continued, "when everyone and their mom knows that Keegan Montgomery does whatever the hell Keegan Montgomery wants. He's practically screwed every girl in this room and then some." Her face twisted into a look that resembled disgust.

  "She's not his girlfriend?" I asked, confused. They both looked at me like I had just grown another head.

  Cora laughed. "Uh no. Keegan will never have a girlfriend or any type of serious relationship," she told me matter-of-factly. "He has major commitment problems and Piper is just his number one booty-call."

  "She is acting way bitchier towards her than usual, though," Gabby chimed in beside me. "Which just shows that she definitely feels threatened by you." She took a bite of her pizza crust and tossed it back on her tray. Threatened by me? I could hardly stand to hold a conversation with Keegan, let alone screw him.

  "Doesn’t matter," I said, waving off her comment, "I'm not interested in Keegan, so Piper has nothing to worry about."

  Gabby choked on her drink, spewing it all over the table and Cora pulled her arm over slapping her on the back a few times. "Who in the hell wouldn't be interested in that?" Gabby screeched when she regained control of herself. She gestured her head to the left and I followed her gaze to a table a few down from us. Keegan was planted into a seat at a rowdy, overly crowded table with Piper's skinny ass plastered in his lap. Barf. I could care less how attractive he was. I wasn’t interested in having a relationship, especially with a player like him. My heart was sealed in a casket stuck in the ground.

  "I would willingly hand over my virginity to that boy with a huge red bow tied around it," Gabby said, pouring dressing over her salad.