by M. V. Miles
“Give those back” I yelled, storming after him.
“This junk is clouding your head,” he said.
“No, it’s not.”
He headed out the front door and to the garage. I jumped on his back again, knocking the box out of his hands. Grabbing the box from the floor, I took off running but didn’t get far because he tackled me in the grass. The air whooshed from my lungs. I couldn’t move for a full minute. By then, Stuart had disappeared into the garage.
I hated him with a passion. Inside the garage, I watched in horror as he dumped my mother’s and aunt’s belongings into a tall metal trash can and poured lighter fluid on them, then lit a match.
“No!” I ran toward the flaming trash can, but strong arms held me back and a sweaty hand smothered my hysterical screams. Smoke rose from the trash can and filled the garage quickly. I struggled to free myself from Stuart's firm grip. Mom and Elizabeth needed me. He was killing them, really taking them away. I imagined the pictures curling and turning brown, then black, everything gone.
Stuart dragged me out of the garage where I collapsed to the ground, coughing and crying. I tried to crawl toward the trash can, but he held me back.
“She’s gone. Let her go.”
“No, she’s not!” Staggering to my feet, I whirled and punched him in the chest, forcing him to step back.
Stuart hesitated, a bright red flush burning his cheeks, then he smacked my face. As I fell sideways, he pulled me up and tried to hit me again, but I ducked and yanked loose from his grip. When I kicked at him, he caught my foot and pulled me down. My head hit the brick driveway, and everything faded to black.
I woke up in Stuart’s office with a horrible throbbing at the back of my skull. Waves of nausea rolled up my raw throat. What was going on? Stuart stepped in front of me and smacked me across the face twice before I could catch my breath. When I looked up he was sitting in a chair across from me.
“I know you never had any had consequences from your mother for your bad behavior. But you live with me now in my house and with my rules.”
I narrowed my eyes at him, smelling smoke and remembering what he did. “Number one rule: no parties at my house when I’m not here. Number two; you don’t take anything from anyone else, unless you have their permission, including my alcohol. Petra told me about your little binge. No more. Also, no one is allowed in the house I don’t approve of. Now, do we have an understanding?”
I refused to speak to him and he grabbed my chin softly and made me look at him. .
“You will learn to obey the rules.”
“I hate you! You’re just as crazy as Jackson.” I growled and he released me.
“No I’m not and you can thank him for your current situation. Now if you manage to keep you nose clean and do whatever Petra or I need you to do without a fight, you can go to this party of Carli’s.”
Like I cared about the party now. “I want my mother’s and aunt’s things back.” Tears welled up in my eyes.
“I burned them Addison you saw me. They’re ash now.”
The bad dream from the plane ride when I first came out here ransacked my brain. Somehow Elizabeth knew this would happen. How did she know?
Stuart touched my arm and I lurched away from him.
“Please know that I did this for you. It’s going to help you in moving forward.” He said and left the room.
Instead of rushing to my room I stayed on the couch. Curling up in a ball I cried myself to sleep.
“Hey,” Stuart said softly tapping me on the shoulder. I opened my eyes and realized I was still in his office. It was morning, bright light came through the windows. Getting up, I made it to my room and climbed into the shower. The hot water turned cold and then I felt nothing, which was what I wanted. Back home when things got to be too much I would stand under the shower for hours on end trying to drown out the world. Numb, that’s what I wanted. I dried off and changed into a pair of pajama pants and a long-sleeve shirt. Lexus and Zach were both waiting for me when I walked into my bedroom.
“He shouldn’t have done that to you. Those were your mother’s things,” Lexus cried and wrapped her arms around me. “Oh my gosh, you’re so cold.” She led me to my couch and put a blanket around my shoulders.
“Dad’s crazy,” Zach leaned up against me. It was weird having them around. Did they really care?
Finally, we broke apart. Lexus sniffled. “Don’t do anything stupid, okay? We need you.” she said as she and Zach left. I was alone. Instead of crying I went to my computer and opened up a word file and began to write. By the time I went to sleep that night I had written over ten pages about what I knew about my family, vowing to find out more information when I could.
Most of the following week, I spent in bed. I didn’t bother to get up for meals or to even play video games with Zach. On the day of the party, he convinced me to go with him and Lexus, but wound up falling asleep in the hammock outside.
“Addison, wake up,” whispered Frances.
“Huh?” I asked, sitting up, slightly confused.
“You’re late for dinner again,” she informed me. I snapped awake and went inside, walking right past Mr. Van Buren, who was on the phone in the hallway. He stopped talking and watched me intently. I glanced back at him from the stairs and thought about saying something, but changed my mind and went to my room. He was nothing to me.
After taking a shower, I pulled on the first dress I found in the closet, which happened to be a black mini dress. I didn’t bother fixing my hair. Besides, I was late.
Dinner was being served in the formal dining room. Of course, everyone stared at me as I took my seat.
“Glad you could finally join us,” Stuart said.
Mr. Van Buren’s eyes met mine, but I didn’t speak.
“Addison?” Mr. Van Buren asked.
I frowned. He wasn’t going to leave me alone.
“Are you glad school’s out?” he asked.
“I guess,” I replied, studying my spinach and vinaigrette.
Mr. Van Buren took a sip of wine and nodded. “You should be proud, Stuart. Addison was at the top of her class.”
Stuart glanced at me. “I didn’t know that. Congratulations.”
I ate my salad and stayed out of the conversation. I didn’t care what they thought about my grades, since they didn’t care about me as a person. And Stuart was the worst of them all. After I finished, Frances took my plate and replaced it with vegetable lasagna.
“How is Jackson doing? We haven’t seen him in a while,” Petra asked Mr. Van Buren with an over-eager smile plastered to her face. Dinner was lame.
“He’s doing well, getting ready to start his summer semester at Stanford.”
“What’s his major?” Zach asked.
“Business for now, then law, like me,” Mr. Van Buren answered, chuckling.
“Sounds like he’s doing great,” Stuart said. “Addison’s planning on going there for medical school.”
“They have a good program,” Mr. Van Buren commented. He took another drink of his wine.
“I’ve changed my mind. I’m going to John Hopkins,” I announced. I felt the mood in the room shift abruptly. Stuart squirmed uneasily in his chair, and Van Buren stared at me.
“Interesting choice. We’ll see.” Mr. Van Buren said, breaking the awkward silence.
“No, we won’t see anything. That’s the school I choose.” I waited for someone to jump in and tell me differently, but Petra changed the subject and asked Mr. Van Buren about his wife.
After supper, I played a few video games with Zach. He still didn’t understand how I could beat him when I had played so little. I didn’t know either. I guess I was a natural. “I have to get upstairs. Kristen will be here soon,” I said as I turned off my controller.
Zach made a sour face. “Fine, have fun at your party!”
“Yeah, sure. Lots.” I ruffled his hair. When I walked out of the room, I nearly crashed into Mr. Van Buren. Startled, I backed
away and apologized.
“Honest mistake.” He peered past me and gestured to Zach. “Ready for a challenge? Move over.” Mr. Van Buren settled into the couch as Zach handed him the controller. “I think we should start with the racing game.”
In the downstairs bathroom, I splashed cold water on my face to calm my nerves. What was wrong with me? No one was supposed to know about my college decision until the end of next year. A soft knock at the door disturbed my solitude. “What?” I jerked it open.
Mr. Van Buren stared at me. “I came to see if you were all right. You’ve been in here a while.”
“Five minutes isn’t cause for alarm.” I pushed past him, purposely brushing up against him. Then I went upstairs and called Kristin, who said she would be at my house in 15 minutes. Ducking into the sun room, I pulled out a bottle from my hidden stash of whiskey from behind one of the potted plants in the corner. Stuart hadn’t found everything. The liquor burned as I took a swig and watched the sunset.
The door opened behind me, and I quickly screwed the cap on. As I turned around, Mr. Van Buren approached me slowly. The calm expression on his face made me jittery. What was he doing here? Was he spying on me?
“I didn’t know this room was taken.” I started to walk past him, but he caught my elbow and pulled me back. He removed the bottle of whiskey from my hand.
“Young ladies shouldn’t be drinking,” he teased, tilting the bottle to his lips and taking a swig.
“I don’t see any young ladies here.”
He reached out and stroked my cheek. I felt a rush of adrenaline and licked my lips. I thought he didn’t like me. When he gazed longingly into my eyes, I wanted to kiss him.
Then he stepped back. “I’m sorry. But this can’t happen.”
Pitching forward, I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed up against him. “Not yet, but maybe later,” I whispered, my mouth against his ear. I noticed how still he’d become.
“I should be getting back.” His voice was hoarse as he placed his hands on my hips. He leaned into me, causing me to release him. He wanted to play.
I stared into his eyes and slid my palm over his rock-hard stomach down to his crotch, where I left my fingers rest. “I want you.” He looked nervous, and I felt him shivering.
Removing my hand, he regained his composure. His eyes never left mine. “I think it's best I get back.”
I blocked his path. What was I doing? This was crazy. I planted a quick kiss on his lips before bolting out the front door. Outside, Kristen honked her horn as she pulled into the driveway. Perfect timing.
Chapter Thirty Seven
Kristin talked non-stop about how much fun the party was going to be. It was nice to listen to her excited chatter, but I kept worrying about Mr. Van Buren. Had I made a terrible mistake throwing myself at him? By the time we arrived at the party, I was in the mood to get trashed and forget about what I had just done. I shouldn’t have come.
Carli, dressed in a short white dress and red heels, greeted us as we entered. “Glad you could make it.” She handed us drinks and frowned at me. “Addie, I thought you were going to wear the pink dress.”
“I forgot.” I didn’t know it was going to be this big of a deal.
“It’s fine. I don’t expect anyone important to be here tonight." She grinned. “Drink and be merry." She raised her glass in a toast. “Well, what are you waiting for?” Was I missing something? The way she looked at me gave me the creeps. Kristin had already downed her drink. I peered into my glass. It was the color of red Kool-Aid, but I was almost positive it wasn’t Kool-Aid, and it wasn't just alcohol.
“I’m not in a great mood, and adding alcohol to it is not going to make things better.”
“We’ll be the judges of that. So drink up. All of it,” Carli ordered. What was the worst that could happen? And what did it matter?
“Fine.” Then I chugged the tart liquid, confirming my suspicions that something was off.
“I think we’re going to have a lot of fun.” Carli's voice sounded faint and far way. The next thing I knew everything was moving at warp speed. I was dancing, drinking, and making out with whomever Carli pushed my way.
The world came crashing to a halt hours later when I dunked my face in a bathroom sink of cold water. I came up staring at my reflection. I had dark smudges under my eyes, and my lips were really red. What was I doing here? I almost toppled over, but caught myself on the side of the sink. How did I get here? Remembering only bits and pieces, I stumbled into a dark room.
“Come with me,” Carli beckoned, grabbing my arm.
“What happened?” I asked, but she didn’t answer. Instead she led me outside and to the far end of a balcony. The view was amazing. We must have been on the third floor, because the people below us seemed so small.
“Nice.” I leaned over the railing.
“Hey, hey.” She grabbed me and turned me to face her. Her bright blue eyes mesmerized. “Focus. Now, I need you to understand something.” I couldn’t help but notice her lips: smooth and shiny. Luscious.
I blinked, breaking the spell. “Yes, what?” I shook her hands off me
“I want to ask you something.” She smiled and looked down, playing with something I couldn't see.
“What?” I rested against the railing.
Then she stood in front of me and draped a necklace around my neck. “You’re a Jade now!” To my surprise, she kissed me. Her embrace was gentle, loving, so much so that I felt lost. Finally, she pulled away. "How do you feel?"
“Okay, whatever. Fine.” The alcohol churned in my stomach. I wished now I had eaten more than a stupid salad and fruit.
“Good,” she said as she walked back into the house.
After stumbling downstairs, I stopped in front of a mirror and inspected the necklace: a silver chain with a green jewel hanging from it. Maybe it was an emerald. I shrugged.
“Nice,” Trent said.
I turned around. “What?” My head was spinning, and I felt sick. Why was everyone so happy?
“You’re a Jade.” Trent lifted up my necklace to inspect it.
“Whatever that even means.” Peering over his shoulder, I saw Kristin glaring at me. Her face was bright red.
“It means you’re one of them now. How did you do it? I was supposed to be a Jade,” she cried as she ran off. Then I remembered how bad she wanted to be a Jade and felt horrible. She shut herself in the bathroom and locked the door. "Come on, Kristin." I knocked, but she didn't answer.
Trent came up beside me and tapped me on the shoulder. “It’s cool. She’ll get over it. This is a great opportunity for you.”
“I don’t see how.” I banged on the door again. “Kristin, open up!”
“The sky’s the limit,” Trent said.
“I don’t want the stupid sky. Do you have a credit card?”
He produced a wallet full of plastic, and I pulled a card out and slid it along the crack of the door, popping open the lock.
“Leave me alone!” Kristin screamed as I marched in.
"Hey--" Trent began, but I slammed the door in Trent's nosy face. He didn't need to be a part of this.
I turned toward Kristen, who hunched in the corner like she was in pain. “What’s going on?”
She rose, her face twisting in anger. “I have been dying to be a Jade since I was ten. They’re the meaning of the word perfect. Everyone wants to be a member! And then you come in with all your blond hair and glory and steal it away!”
Who cared if my hair was blond? Hello. I was in California. Everyone’s hair was blond! I removed the necklace and handed it to her. “It’s yours if it’s that important to you.”
She batted the necklace away. “You can’t just give it to me. Carli has to deem you a Jade, stupid!” I wasn’t used to her flipping out like this. “It’s useless now. There was only one opening left. She chose you! I’m such a failure.” She broke down in tears again.
I had to find Carli and sort this chaos out. “I’ll b
e right back.”
“Whatever!”
First, I returned Trent's credit card to him, then went in search of Carli. She was flirting with some older boy in the kitchen. He wasn’t interested in her or else had already had her, but he was obviously annoyed.
“Excuse us.” I grabbed her arm.
“What’s your problem?” Carli snapped as I pulled her toward the bathroom.
Ignoring her, I knocked until Kristin opened, then dragged Carli inside with me and locked the door.
“What are you doing? Are you crazy?” Carli shrieked.
“Shut up!” I yelled at her, and she looked scared. “Now, you tell Kristin you made a mistake by giving me this. It was for her,” I said, picking the necklace up off the floor. She looked from me to Kristin. “Kristin, honey, I didn’t forget you,” she lied, taking off the necklace from around her own neck and putting it on Kristen, who was still sniffling but doing her best to stop crying. Carli faced me, her hands on her hips. “Now, are we finished?”
“For now,” I muttered and opened the door.
She paused as she squeezed past me. “You do that again, and I will ruin you,” she whispered.
“I’d like to see you try.”
Carli answered with a bitter smile and sauntered off.
When she was gone, Kristin ran to me and hugged me. “Thank you,” she whimpered. I helped her clean up, and we rejoined the party. Trent poured two more shots, urging me to drink up. After the second one, everything tilted. Trent, of course, was there to catch me. I shook my head and stood, pushing him away.
“Hey, that wasn’t very nice,” he said. “Come back.” I shook my head, fighting off the dizziness. Kristin was passed out on a couch, oblivious to the two people who were making out across her lap. I shooed them all away and sat next to her. “Where are your keys?” She mumbled something but didn't move. It wasn’t the best idea for me to drive home, but I had to get away from Trent and the craziness of this scene.
“Leave me alone,” I yelled, as I staggered to my feet. Bracing my hands against his chest, I shoved him away. The world spun again, and I blindly grabbed for something solid, anything to keep from falling.