“Then I’ll ground you from sports.”
“Yeah, sure, except you forget, sports isn’t my life. It’s just a way to get into college. And unless you have the money to pay for my college education, then you can forget about grounding me from football.”
“I don’t have the money, but I will take you out of football if you don’t obey me.”
“You’d actually take away my one opportunity to go to college?”
“Yes.” Her voice was a hoarse cry. “If that’s the only leverage I have, I’ll do it.”
My blood ran cold. How could my mother be so cruel? “The day you take away my only chance to go to college will be the last day you’ll ever see me.”
She got up from the table and walked to the sink. “At least you’ll be alive,” she said over her shoulder.
“You think Lisa will kill me? Do you hear yourself? Do you know how crazy you sound?”
She kept her back to me. “She may not kill you, but she’ll get you killed.”
“How?” When she didn’t answer, I repeated it, only louder.
“I don’t know, but she will. Just call it mother’s intuition.”
I shook my head as my frustration grew. Maybe Mom was crazy. She turned abruptly and headed out of the kitchen. “Before you leave,” I said to stop her. “Just one thing.”
“Oh, dear lord.” Her head dropped. “You sound just like your father.”
My spine stiffened. Why would it upset her that I sounded like my dad? Wouldn’t she be happy that I took after him? “Is that good or bad?”
“You tell me,” she said over her shoulder. “Your dad would say, ‘I have a good job and make decent money. Just one thing, I have this little hobby.’”
“What was wrong with Dad having a—”
“Let me finish.” She kept her back to me. “‘Just one thing, my hobby might kill me one of these days.’”
“His hobby was dangerous?”
““I love you and want to marry you, Ellie. Just one thing, I might get us all killed some day.’” She sniffed back a sob. “It did kill him. All the weapons, the knives and guns with special bullets he used couldn’t save him.”
A chill ran up my spine. Had I actually heard her correctly? Guns and knives? I walked up behind her. “What kind of hobby did Dad have that he needed a bunch of special weapons?”
“I won’t tell you so don’t ever ask me.”
“Mom.” I put my hand on her shoulder. “You make it sound like he was some kind of a hit man, or something.”
She made a noise like a laugh. “You don’t know how close to the truth you are.”
The room seemed to tilt. I grabbed a kitchen chair and sat down. My dad was a hit man? I rubbed my hand over my face to wipe away the sweat while I tried to recall the man who was my father. He coached my little league team. He sat with us in church. He took me to see Santa Claus. Maybe hit men did all these things with their sons, but my dad was not a cold blooded assassin. I jumped out of the chair so fast that it tipped over backward on the floor.
The crashing chair made her jump. She turned and looked at me. I stared directly into her eyes. “I don’t believe you. My dad was not a murderer.”
“I didn’t say he was.” One hand swiped at her face.
“Then what was he?” I shouted.
A shake of her head was her only answer.
“At least tell me how my father died. What killed him?”
Her head continued to shake.
“You were there, Mom. You saw him die. How? Was he shot? Stabbed?”
“I don’t know.”
“Why is it so hard to get a straight answer from you?” My mind searched for a precise question that would receive a direct response. “What does his death certificate say?”
She closed her eyes. “I never got one.”
“Then I’ll get one. I’ll write to the health department and find out for myself.”
“Good luck with that.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing.”
Mom’s nothings meant there was something. I tried to second–guess her. In my mind, I went back to the time of my father’s death. Stevie remembered lightening. I remembered fire. Sirens. Men in uniforms, firemen, police. Times and events blurred together in my brain. We left for California the day after the funeral—except I didn’t attend. I grasped her shoulder and turned her so she had to look at me. “Why wasn’t I allowed at Dad’s funeral?”
There it was—that flinch. She tried to pull away, but I wouldn’t let her.
“You were too young.”
“Try again, Mom. Stevie went to Grandpa Nelson’s funeral three years ago when he was only seven.”
“All right, I’ll tell you.” She shrugged out of my grip. “There was no funeral.”
She looked at me, her head cocked to one side, as if waiting for me to put the pieces together. I tried. No funeral, no death certificate, and no cause of death. The completed picture made me stagger back a step. “Dad isn’t dead?”
“Oh, no, Brendon, sweetie.” She wrapped her arms around me and hugged me to her. “Your father’s dead. They just never found his body.”
Chapter Twenty–Two
“You look like crap, X–man.” Carson turned down the volume on the radio. “You still having those scary dreams?”
I must’ve of dozed off because his voice rattled me. I sat up straighter in the pickup seat. “Yeah, but I can deal with the nightmares. It’s my mom.”
“What about her?”
I swiped one hand over my face to remove the fuzz from my brain. Last night’s conversation with her had left me even more confused. She’d refused to answer any more questions, so I’d given up and gone to bed. When morning came, only one thing stuck out in my mind. “My mom hates Lisa.”
“Dude, that doesn’t sound like your mom. She likes everyone.”
“I know, but she threatened to pull me out of football unless I broke up with her.”
“Wow, that’s harsh.” Carson pulled the pickup into the school parking lot. “So what are you going to do?”
I caught a glimpse of Lisa standing on the sidewalk next to the street. Warmth zinged through my body. She burned like a light in a raging storm, offering me a ray of hope in a crazy world. “I’m going to keep seeing her.”
Carson hadn’t come to a complete stop when I opened the door and hopped out of the rolling pickup. I flung one strap of the backpack over my shoulder and hurried to Lisa. Her bright yellow tee shirt made her stand out in the crowd of other kids.
Her lips curved into a marvelous smile as I approached. I slipped my hand around her neck and pressed my lips against her forehead for a quick kiss. As I pulled back, I gazed into her sparkling blue eyes. “You have no idea how much I needed to see you this morning.”
The sparkle dimmed and her smile faded. “Are you all right?”
I slid my arm around her shoulders and pulled her beside me. “I am now.”
Her smile returned. “I’m glad to see you too.”
“X–man, before you jump out of the pickup, you ought to at least wait until I shove the gearshift into park. I almost clipped you with the open door.”
“Sorry, man. I was in a hurry to see my girlfriend.”
He nodded to Lisa before continuing with the lecture. “Yeah, well, that’s no excuse. Next time, I ought to run over your sorry butt.” His angry scowl vanished as he shot a glance over my shoulder. His eyes lit up like a Christmas tree.
I looked behind me. Sherry hurried down the steps from the school entrance.
“Hi, guys.”
“Morning, Sherry,” Carson said. “You and Paul must have got here at the crack of dawn.”
“Paul didn’t bring me.” She stopped next to him. “My mom dropped me off on her way to work.”
“Why didn’t you wait for Paul to bring you?” I asked.
She glanced down. “Paul and I decided to take a break from each other for the rest of
the week.”
“A week?” Carson twisted his lips together and his forehead wrinkled. “Then, you’re not going to the dance with Paul?”
“No, we’re still going, but Friday night at the dance is when we’ll get together for the first time and see how we both feel about continuing our relationship.”
Now Carson looked away. “I hope things work out for you the way you want.”
“I hope so too.” She glanced at Carson, but he stared at the sidewalk. “Whatever happens, I’ll have my friends for support. You’ll be at the dance, won’t you?”
“I doubt it.” He gave her a brief glance. “You and Paul will be together, and X–man will be with Lisa. I don’t want to end as a spare tire.”
He probably meant a third wheel, but I wouldn’t correct him in front of everyone. “You might as well come to the dance, Carson. I don’t know how much time Lisa’s mom will let me spend with her. We could still hang out.”
“Friday seems like a long ways off. I’ll decide when it gets here.”
* * *
For me, the week flew by—at least the days. Lisa and I spent lunch together, as well as Spanish class and the few minutes in the morning before school started. Carson and Sherry were our constant companions and joked about being chaperones. I didn’t mind because they both made a point of getting to school extra early so the four of us could hang out together in the mornings.
The nights were a different story. Between hot dreams of Lisa and scary nightmares of a large, ugly creature tearing me to shreds, they seemed to drag on for an eternity. When Friday finally arrived, I was so ready for a fun time with Lisa.
Carson and I made it to the Burger Barn before the girls. While he placed his order at the walk–up window, I grabbed an empty table. I unwrapped the ham sandwich carefully to make certain Grandma had prepared it to my specifications: no mustard or mayonnaise. I didn’t want to take the chance of dripping anything on the front of my new shirt.
Custom dictated that all football players wear school colors on game day. Carson had been with me when I bought the long sleeved, blue shirt, so it had a western cut with white pearl gripper snaps down the front, but Lisa loved it. This morning when she caught sight of me wearing it, she said the color would go well with the blue party dress she planned to wear to the dance tonight. Just as I was about to take a bite of the dry sandwich, cold fingers pressed against my eyes.
“Guess who?” a girl asked.
The voice didn’t belong to Lisa. I grabbed at the wrists and pulled her hands from my face as I turned on the bench. “Regina.” I tried not to act surprised. “What’s up?”
She walked around to the side of the table. “I was wondering when we were going out on our second date.”
“Sorry, but I’ve got a girlfriend now.”
“You mean Lisa.” A snotty tone tinged her voice. She leaned her butt against the edge of the table. “What do you see in her anyway? She’s nothing but a little tease. I heard how she got you all excited at the minimart, and then took off and left you standing there with a big problem.”
“You don’t know anything about her, or what happened at the minimart. Besides, it’s really none of your business.”
“Maybe, but I could make it my business.” She put her foot on the bench beside my hip. “I could do a lot of things for you.” She slipped off her sandal and put her bare foot in my lap. “Does this give you a hint of what I could do for you?”
“If you mean, make my crotch smell like your foot, then no thanks.”
“How about if I take care of your problem like a woman and not like a little tease?”
I didn’t want Regina to take care of anything for me. I grabbed her ankle, but her toes dug into me. “Move it, or I’ll flip you onto the ground.”
She put her hands on my shoulders and leaned closer. “Ooh, are you going to get rough? I might like that.”
“Am I interrupting?” a voice asked from behind me.
That voice I did recognize. I tossed Regina’s leg aside and jumped off the bench. “Hey, Lisa. You’re here.”
“Would you prefer I come back later after the two of you have finished your discussion?”
I stepped toward her. “We’re through talking.”
“Right. We’re through—for now.” Regina forced her body between us and stroked her hand across my chest as she walked past. “Call me when you want to go out on our second date.”
I knocked her arm away with the back of my hand. “Don’t hold your breath.”
She glanced at Lisa. “Your boyfriend is a really great kisser. But then I guess you already know that.”
Lisa’s mouth dropped open. My mind did a quick recap. I’d told her about Regina, right?
“You dated her?” Lisa asked, but from the tone of her voice, it didn’t sound like a question.
“Yeah, once. It was before I knew you.”
“Once is apparently all it takes with her. I heard she puts out on the first date.” Her lips twisted into a grimace. “And you kissed that skanky ho on the mouth?”
“It was just a kiss.” I didn’t see what the problem was, so I tried for a lighter approach. “I’ve brushed my teeth since then.”
“Don’t joke about this, Brendon.”
“Then quit making such a big deal about it. All we did was kiss.”
“You liar,” she shouted.
“I am not lying.” My tone matched her angry pitch. “Besides I went out with her before we ever met, so it’s not like I cheated on you or anything.”
“But you’re still a liar. You said you never slept with her.”
“And I haven’t.”
“Haven’t what?” She raised both hands and made sky quotes. “Slept with her? I suppose you’re going to say that technically you didn’t because you were both wide awake.”
“Don’t be stupid. You know what I mean.”
“Stupid! You think I’m stupid?”
Wrong word. I knew that the second it came out of my mouth. “I didn’t mean you.” I reached for her, but she slapped away my hand.
“The only one who’s stupid here is you. I catch you with that skank’s foot rubbing all over your…your lap, and you expect me to believe nothing happened between the two of you.”
“Yeah, I do expect you to believe me.”
“Just the other day you swore to me you’d never gone out with her.”
“I never swore any such thing. All I said was that I never slept with her. And I haven’t. So it all comes down to this. Do you trust me or not?”
“Not.” Her lower lip quivered. “Maybe you’re not a cheater, but you are a liar. And the only thing I trust right now are my instincts.”
She turned and walked away. I wanted to run after her, beg her to believe me, but I didn’t think it would help.
“Sorry, man.” Carson laid his food on the table. “I should have given you a skank alert, but I didn’t see Regina until it was too late.”
“It’s not your fault Lisa doesn’t believe me.”
“Do you want to go after her?” he asked. “I’ll keep an eye on your lunch.”
“What’s the use?” I flopped down on the bench. “If she doesn’t trust me, then we shouldn’t be together.”
* * *
I took my time getting to Spanish class. Carson went in ahead while I paced the length of the hallway. Seeing Lisa after she just dumped me wasn’t something I looked forward to. I half considered skipping class, but playing coward wasn’t in me. I walked into the room and glanced around. She sat at the usual place. Her head was down and her hair covered her face. The only empty desk I spotted was directly behind her. I’d be damned if I’d sit there. She probably expected me to beg or grovel for her forgiveness. If she did, she’d have a long wait because I’d done nothing wrong.
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