“I know you won’t tell anyone this, because…well, because.” Monica wrinkled her nose and laughed. “I just know you won’t.” She stopped laughing but her face stayed twisted as she continued. “Something’s wrong with Ash. I think he has Jon as his prisoner or something.”
Lexi staggered to the side, her head spinning as she tried to make sense of that ridiculous statement. “What are you talking about?”
“Ash.” Monica grabbed Lexi’s arm. “He’s messed-up, and he has Jon.”
“What do you mean ‘he has Jon’?
“He’s kidnapped him, he’s holding him somewhere.”
She jerked her arm away and started walking again. “That’s insane.”
Again Monica was right behind her, matching her stride step for step. “No, it isn’t. Not if you stop and think through everything that’s happened. After you consider it all, you’ll see it even makes sense.”
The girl was worse off than Lexi realized. “You don’t even know Ash.”
“Yeah, I do. I know him a lot better than you. We were in science club together.”
Lexi threw her a doubtful look. “Science club? Oh, yeah. So the two of you were best friends for five minutes while you washed out some beakers together.”
“I’ve been following him.”
The girl was totally unstable.
“Something is seriously wrong with him. He drives around, acting weird. He spends hours and hours in there,” she said, pointing to the small square building next to the school they had used for science club. It was a brick structure, something anybody could easily overlook. But just because it looked boring didn’t mean something sinister was going on inside. Monica was obviously trying to stir up trouble in the weirdest way possible.
“He goes in there. I’m telling you, it’s true. I have pictures.” She pulled her phone out. “I’ll show you.”
“I don’t want to see them.” Lexi flicked her wrist at the phone in Monica’s hands. “You don’t know what it’s like to lose someone. If he does go in there, he probably does it because he misses his dad.”
They were nearing the edge of the school parking lot and Monica was staring at the little building, her gaze skimming across the three small windows. “It’s more than that. Ash’s dad pushed people, he gave us something to work toward. With him gone, it’s like nobody knows what to do next. All that energy and thinking, without direction, it isn’t a good thing. Not at all.”
Something wasn’t adding up. “Explain this to me. Because you were in science club together you decided to follow Ash, and because he went into that building a lot you decided he has Jon.”
“No. I decided to follow him because I knew you were going to try to get him to sign, and I wanted to figure out a way to screw that up.”
At least that sounded honest.
They were into the school parking lot now, and Lexi scanned the area. She really didn’t want to be seen talking to Monica, and she was surprised Monica wasn’t worried about being seen with her. After all, if they were going to be spotted, this was the most likely place. Still, she couldn’t simply walk away. “Why are you telling me this?”
“You need to know so you can decide what to do.”
“I want to go to the cops and tell them what we know about Jon and be done with it.” That’s what she wanted, but now thanks to Zeke that video camera crap was resurfacing. Could she take the chance of coming forward, drawing attention to herself? Admitting she’d known some things all along but stayed quiet was going to make her look suspicious—and with good reason.
“Don’t go, Lexi,” Monica said, her eyes suddenly soft and pleading. “Wait. I can prove Ash knows something.”
They were walking side by side now. Lexi looked over, shaking her head. “Ash doesn’t know anything.”
“Wait. One day. That’s all I need to prove it to you. If you wait, I’ll go with you to the cops. We’ll tell them together. Everything, all of it. Or whatever you want to say. Okay?”
Chapter Thirteen
Why Do You Want to Go?
The next night, Lexi sat on her bed, staring into her closet, looking from one hanger to the next.
Too boring.
Too loud.
Too middle school.
Nothing was right for going out with Ash. She checked the clock—twenty-five minutes until he’d be there. She had to pick something—the breezy tailspin skirt or embroidered Hopscotch jeans?
From the gray look of the sky, she couldn’t tell if it was going to rain or if the clouds were going to blow off in the heavy wind. Stupid Midwestern weather. Made it impossible to know what to wear.
She also had her mom and Dale to deal with. Downstairs, snuggled on the couch as if they were the most ideal couple ever. Obviously her mom had decided to forget the driveway scene with Dale and that touching heart-to-heart conversation they’d had in the kitchen afterward.
The idea of her mom contentedly wrapped in Dale’s wiry arms frustrated the hell out of Lexi. It also hurt way more than she could handle.
Less than an hour ago he’d sat at the dinner table, covering his plate with huge wads of tuna casserole and cucumber salad. He’d gone on about the baseball team’s suffering morale, how he’d run into Ash and how Ash had gone on and on about Zeke, the amazing catcher who was going to fix everything now that he was in the clear.
Then he’d started in on Lexi.
Who did she eat lunch with?
What did she do after school?
How were the other boosters doing?
She wanted to hate her mother for just sitting there while she got picked apart. Her entire life would be easier if she managed to get it through her head that her mom was always going to pick Dale over her, but no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn’t give up on wanting to be close to her again.
Lexi flipped open her phone and clicked to the shot of Ash she’d taken at Coach’s funeral. Even bummed out, he looked in control. Like the whole world could fall apart and he’d still be there. But looks could be deceiving, and you can’t ever believe people are who they say they are. She’d learned those things the hard way.
Did that mean Monica could be right?
The idea that Ash had kidnapped Jon was ridiculous, obviously. But if Monica had been following him, what had she seen? There was also the very real possibility the girl was simply saying that stuff to mess with her. She was probably jealous that Lexi had gotten close to Ash while she had nobody.
She clicked to the shots she’d taken that day they’d gone for coffee. They made a perfect couple, happy and relaxed with plenty of simmer zipping between. They both knew more closeness was going to happen. It was only a matter of when. Lexi had no intention of waiting any longer than necessary. Once they got through all this mess she was definitely going to do something about getting closer to Ash.
She flipped through a couple more pictures from that day they’d gotten coffee. Her favorite was one of Ash smiling straight at her, his eyes clear and honest.
Integrity.
That’s what made him different from everyone else.
Each time he’d acted strangely, like that day in the gym when he was being really hostile about Monica, he’d had good reason. And he believed in her, he’d never blow her off the way her own mom had, or be a complete jerk like Dale.
Dale. The never-ending pain in her ass.
Even though the cops had found alcohol in Peter’s body, so they didn’t have to worry about some serial killer on the loose, it had still taken forever to get Dale to agree to ‘let her go out’. The cops had even done a press conference, telling everyone in Cherry Grove that it was time to stop being afraid and “go back to the business of living” but Dale thought he knew better. He’d only finally given in because she was going out with Ash and she’d implied that since she and Ash were going to be a couple, and Ash and Zeke were friends, well, she had some influence. Influence that she could use as she saw fit. Oh yes, then all of a sudden he’d decided
the cops knew what they were talking about.
Thank God her mom and Dale hadn’t heard the rumor that Monica was missing. Taylor was going nuts, texting everyone, asking if they’d seen Monica but telling them to keep quiet at the same time. Like asking the question too loudly could make the worst-case scenario true. The strategy didn’t make sense to Lexi, but she knew nothing bad had happened, so she wasn’t worried. The real reason Monica was in hiding—that twenty-four hour agreement. Time was up, and after her night with Ash, she’d decide whether or not she was going to wait for Monica to come out of wherever she’d run off to or go to the cops alone. She smiled. Until that time, she had Ash to take her mind off everything. That and lay the groundwork for what she wanted to make happen with him once everything settled and she was no longer in the spotlight. After curling her hair, she shimmied into her jeans and a no brand, sky blue, mohair sweater. An actually decent thing her mom had brought home from a garage sale. The soft fur collar caressed her chin and the neckline dipped low enough that when she bent over Ash would be able to see the edge of her push-up bra.
By seven-forty Lexi was dressed.
Waiting downstairs was out of the question—they were down there. So she stood at the top of the stairs, her heart thumping as she listened for the roar of Ash’s Mustang.
Her mom’s laughter floated up the stairs. Dale’s know-it-all low rumble followed. Lexi was glad she couldn’t hear whatever Dale was explaining. He thought he was so brilliant.
Hurry, Ash.
Time passed. Edgy nerves tightened her skin. She checked her texts then scrolled through Facebook. Took a quick look at Twitter and Instagram.
Hurry up, please.
He was late.
Maybe he wasn’t coming.
No, he was late. That’s all.
“Come on in, Ash!”
Crap. She’d been too distracted to hear his car. She scrambled down the stairs, taking them two at a time and using the handrail to hop quickly.
Still she didn’t get there fast enough. Ash was already handling Dale’s Welcome Wagon routine, shaking hands and answering stupid questions about the upcoming season and how his strength training was coming along. When Dale finally let go and stepped back, Ash stood tall and shoved his hands into the back pockets of his jeans.
From the bottom of the stairs, Lexi cast him an apologetic glance.
He nodded, telling her he got what she was saying.
“Hi, Ash,” her mom said from the couch. “Do you really think it’s a good idea? Going out, I mean.”
Ash offered a parent-friendly nod. “We’ll be fine, Mrs. Welks.”
Lexi stepped over to stand beside him, moving close enough for her shoulder to brush his arm. He smelled great. A mixture of spicy freshness. The scent was deep enough to be good for a guy but not overwhelming like some of the sprays other guys used. Being so near him made her that much more anxious to get out of there. But now her mom was fussing over Ash, asking him pretty much the same questions Dale just had.
After Ash answered them all, she looked over at Dale, a frown replacing the too-friendly smile she’d had just seconds ago. “I don’t know,” she said. “What do you think?”
“Ash is going to be the team captain this season,” Dale said, being his usual asinine self by assuming that if a guy was a jock he could do anything. But for the first time ever, Lexi didn’t care about Dale’s stupidity, and actually found herself hoping her mom would do her usual thing and accept what he was saying. Dale grabbed Ash’s shoulder, shaking him so vigorously that the room started to smell like burnt solder instead of Ash. “He’ll look out for our girl. No worries at all.”
“I don’t know. Something doesn’t feel right,” her mom added softly, picking at the hem of her lemon-yellow cardigan. “Why take the chance? You two could stay here, watch a movie or something. Dale and I can go upstairs. How’s that sound?”
Dale didn’t give her the chance to reply. He turned his know-it-all face to Lexi’s mom, slicing his wiry arms through the air as though he could dismiss her concerns just like that. “With the curfew back in place, everything’s fine.” Then, glancing at Ash, he added, “And it looks like she’s showing some sense for once, sticking with Ash instead of tramping around with a different guy every week.”
Her mother leaned forward, directing her words to her husband. “Dale, it’s not like that. Lexi’s a good girl and you know it.”
That was the first time she could ever remember her mom defending her. She almost smiled, until she spotted the angry red flush creeping up Dale’s neck. Her mom shrank back into the cushions.
Ash tapped her arm, tipped his head toward the door. She got the message. As she gently pushed the front door closed, Dale’s words cut clean through the wood. “Don’t you realize I know that girl better than you do?”
Ash’s jaw flexed as he turned his car’s ignition and started down Cedar Street.
Who could blame him? It was like he’d walked onto the Jerry Springer set.
How totally embarrassing.
She should apologize or something.
But, as always, he was one step ahead. “Parents are freaks,” he said, looking away from the road to give her a quick smile. “Forget it.”
After the way she’d blurted out her feelings about Dale to Mrs. Howell, there was no telling what she might say to Ash. Plus, she didn’t want her dysfunctional family setup to be the focus of their night. So she just said, “Yeah. Thanks.”
They drove along in silence for a few minutes. Just like she had after the disaster of Zoë’s party, she relaxed into the seat and watched the world go by. It seemed that most of the people around Cherry Grove weren’t ready to follow the police chief’s advice about getting back to normal because the streets were empty. Lexi didn’t mind. For a while at least, it was going to be just the two of them.
He braked at the corner, right in front of the school, then turned. When he accelerated, shifting through the gears with ease, the humming engine made the car vibrate. The square, white houses across from the football field whipped by, glowing beyond the mostly bare trees lining the street. Most of the houses were dark, except for the occasional porch light casting a thin bright pool across a lawn. It would have been cool looking if it weren’t kind of creepy. When Ash hit the gas again, she asked, “Where’re we going?”
“Someplace quiet. So we can be alone.” He took a left onto Grove, slowing only a little as he cut through the intersection.
The milk carton houses disappeared and the bigger trees surrounding Morgan Lake took their place. The thinning limbs reached for the sky, grabbing the darkness, holding it away from the thick pines in the back that blocked the view of the park from the road. Finally Ash eased off the gas and slowed to turn onto the narrow gravel road that led back to the park surrounding the lake.
The crunching of Ash’s wide tires stopped when he parked in the far corner of the empty lot. He looked over, raised his eyebrows and made a spooky ghost sound, then laughed at his own silliness. “Kind of Blair Witch, huh?”
Lexi laughed lightly as she smacked his arm. “Oh, shut up, I’m not afraid of a bunch of trees.”
“Good.” He stretched back, reaching for a heavy green blanket on the back seat.
The nasty-smelling thing rubbed against Lexi’s cheek as he yanked it between the two front seats. Its musty scent filled the air inside the car and its dust made Lexi sneeze. “Sick!” She sniffled as she pushed it away from her onto Ash’s lap. “What is that thing?”
He laughed, swinging open his door then shoving the blanket out. “It’s an old army blanket. Guess they didn’t worry too much about whether or not it felt good. It’s super sturdy—really warm. Great for all kinds of things.”
Lexi climbed out, then pushed the door closed with a solid thud. Outside the car, he hit the key fob to lock the car then tossed the dark stinky mass over his right shoulder. “Come on, let’s go over by the lake.”
From the back of her mind, something
nagged at her. It was a faint thought, half-formed but persistent, like she was trying to remember something. Uncertainty distracted her, filling her mind with questions. What was it? Who was it about? Monica? Jon? Zeke? Something her mom had said? Maybe it was just a homework assignment she needed to finish. Or some lingering aggravation from Dale’s dumb comments. Never mind. She wiped her mind clear. She wanted to be with Ash, and he wanted to be with her. That was all that mattered, and whatever it was, she’d remember eventually.
They started to walk toward the lake. The breeze had completely died down. Each footstep was crisp with the sound of leaves crunching underfoot. She fell into step beside Ash, he wrapped his left arm around her waist, and they passed the silent trees. In the distance cars hummed, but other than the distinct thud of their feet, not a single sound came from nearby. Not even the rustle of a twig.
For now it was just two people alone. Together.
She eyed the coarse blanket bunched across Ash’s shoulder with new insight. She knew he’d felt the zing of chemistry between them, but she’d been assuming he’d been thinking what she had—they needed to wait until things calmed down before they acted on it.
Then she realized—as far as the citizens of Cherry Grove were concerned, things had calmed down. Back to normal, that was the public message.
Acting on her feelings for Ash might be tricky, with the lingering stress about Jon and that idiocy with Monica and the back room videos, but going with what she wanted would be more natural than fighting it. If she held off, how would she explain it to Ash? And if she rejected him, she might not get another chance.
When they reached the lake, Ash tugged her over to one of the benches.
Lexi pulled away and took a step back. “Isn’t this where Coach died?”
“Maybe. I guess I don’t know for sure,” he replied, spreading the blanket across the seat. “It’s still a decent spot. Away from everything, everyone.”
He came over and took her hand, and she let him pull her to the bench. When he set his palms on her shoulders and pressed, she went down willingly.
Best Friends Never Page 13