Red

by Alison Cherry

  Brent gave a low moan that was one part frustration and one part assent. He kissed slowly up Felicity’s neck, and when he reached her ear, he whispered, “Maybe we could do it on prom night. We could get a hotel room, if you wanted. It would be really romantic.”

  When Felicity heard the words “prom night,” her entire body shut down. She tried to roll away from Brent, but he grabbed her shoulder and gently turned her toward him. “Hey,” he whispered. “We don’t have to, if you don’t want. I just thought—”

  “No, it’s not that.” Felicity struggled to a sitting position. Her shirt was across the room, so she gathered the covers up against her chest. Still breathless, she said, “I have to talk to you about something.”

  “Now?” Brent’s expression was incredulous.

  “I know. I’m sorry, but—” She couldn’t go any further. Brent looked at her, an adorable crinkle of confusion between his eyebrows. He was breathing hard, too, and the waistband of his chili-pepper-patterned boxers was sticking out of his jeans. He was so trusting, so vulnerable, and he wanted her so much. How could she possibly do what she was about to do?

  She reached out and touched his face, and he leaned into her hand like an affectionate dog. “I need you to do something for me,” she said.

  Brent’s worried look disappeared, and a grin took its place. “Ooh, okay. Is it kinky? ’Cause if it is, I’m up for—”

  “No, not that kind of thing.” Felicity took a deep breath. “I need you to take Gabby Vaughn to prom.”

  “What? Why? But I … How am I supposed to take both of you?”

  “No, I mean, I need you to take her instead of me.”

  Brent looked deeply wounded, and he drew back from her. “You don’t want to go to prom with me?”

  “I do. I want more than anything to go to prom with you.” Felicity was suddenly afraid she was going to cry again.

  “Then I don’t get it. Why do you want me to take Gabby? You’re not—Lissy, you’re not breaking up with me, are you?”

  “No. No. Of course not. It’s just … it’s a hazing thing. For the prom committee. I want to be in charge next year, but Madison wants it, too, and I have to prove I care the most by doing something really self-sacrificing.” Felicity looked down at her polka-dotted duvet, unable to lie directly to Brent’s face. “Nobody asked Gabby to prom, even though she’s on the court, and giving you up is … pretty much the most self-sacrificing thing I could think of.”

  “What’s Madison doing?”

  “I don’t know. But I’m sure whatever she comes up with won’t be as bad as this.”

  Brent stared at her, blinking slowly. “You’re still going to come to prom, right?”

  “Yeah, I’ll still come. But Gabby has to be your date.”

  “Do I have to hang out with her the whole time? I don’t have to do the prom court dance with her, do I?”

  “I think you do, babe. If you’ll do this for me, I mean.” Felicity grabbed his hand and held on tightly. “I’m so sorry. I know how much this sucks. I’m really upset about it.” Voicing her emotions out loud made them more real, and a tear trailed down her cheek.

  Brent wiped it away with his thumb. “If I do it, will you get what you want?”

  Felicity thought about all the things she wanted. She longed for a perfect, fairy-tale prom night that would leave her with stars in her eyes and Brent in her bed. But much more than that, she wanted safety. She needed to be certain that Gabby wouldn’t bring her entire redheaded existence to a screeching halt just when the pageant prize money was within her reach. And that meant her secret had to stay a secret.

  “Yes,” she said. “This will help me get what I want.”

  Brent sighed. “Fine. I guess I’ll do it.”

  “And there’s one more thing—nobody can find out I asked you to do this. So if anyone wants to know why you’re with Gabby, tell them it’s a community service thing for one of the athletic scholarships. Okay? Can you do that?”

  He shrugged, defeated. “If that’s what you want.”

  Felicity threw her arms around him, pressing her heart to his, and he cradled her against him. All the breathless, fluttery, expectant feelings from just a few minutes before had faded, but Felicity felt a flood of genuine affection for Brent that was more intense than ever. “Thank you,” she whispered.

  And that was when Andy and Tyler burst through her door.

  Felicity shrieked and grabbed a pillow to cover her chest. “Guys, you have to leave,” she hissed.

  “Why?” Andy demanded. “What are you doing? Why aren’t you wearing shirts?”

  “Um, we were—”

  “—having a wrestling match,” Brent supplied.

  Felicity stared at her boyfriend, surprised by his uncharacteristic display of quick thinking. “Right,” she said. “People in ancient times always wrestled with their clothes off.”

  “Oh.” Her brothers nodded solemnly, filing this information away for later use. Felicity was sure there’d be naked twin wrestling on the living room rug within the week.

  Brent handed Felicity her shirt, and she tugged it on, then knelt down in front of her brothers. “Listen, guys, you can’t tell Mom you saw us wrestling, okay? There’s no wrestling allowed in the house, and I’ll get in really big trouble. I’ll buy each of you a whole bag of jelly beans if you can keep it a secret. But you really have to promise.”

  Tyler looked skeptical. “Will there be lots of red ones?”

  “Tons of red ones. As many as you want.”

  Her brothers looked at each other, then nodded. “Okay.” They ran out the door with their model airplanes and resumed their game as if nothing had happened.

  Brent pulled on his shirt and got up to go. Their romantic mood was utterly destroyed, and he and Felicity had nothing more to say to each other. Though he didn’t seem angry, he was sullen and subdued, and the good-bye kiss he gave her was halfhearted at best.

  It was only when she was alone that the reality of the situation hit Felicity full-force. She, who hadn’t been without a date to a school function since she was twelve, was about to attend the most important event of the year alone. She had done so much thankless work on the prom committee to make sure everything was perfect and magical, and now she wouldn’t even get to share in the rewards. No matter what the decorations looked like or how beautiful her dress was, she would have a horrible evening. Plus, she knew that these humiliating demands would just keep coming until she figured out Gabby’s mysterious endgame and found a way to shut it down.

  She texted Gabby:

  It’s done.

  And then she collapsed on her bed and cried stormy, furious tears.

  A few minutes later, her mom tapped on her door. “Baby, are you okay? Can I come in?”

  “Yes,” Felicity choked out.

  Her mom was beside her on the bed in an instant, rubbing her back and making soothing sounds. “Tell me what happened.”

  “Brent’s taking someone else to prom,” Felicity sobbed. “Now I have to go alone, and I’m going to look so stupid, and everyone’s going to laugh at me.”

  “He’s taking someone else? Did you break up?”

  Felicity sniffled. “No. I don’t think so. It’s all really confusing.”

  “How could he do this to you? Brent adores you. And he’s such a good boy.”

  He was a good guy, and none of this was his fault. Felicity thought of the hurt on his face when she told him she wouldn’t be his date, so similar to the expression on Haylie’s face when she had nominated Gabby for prom queen. Keeping her secret safe had seemed like the most important thing in the world, but she had caused so much pain to the people she cared about. They were the ones who deserved sympathy, not her. Thinking about that just made her cry harder.

  “I’m so sorry, sweetheart,” her mom said, misinterpreting the fresh flood of tears. “I know how hard it is when someone breaks your heart. Is there anything I can do?”

  Felicity was about to s
ay no, but it suddenly occurred to her that maybe there was something Ginger could do. Maybe it wasn’t necessary for her to carry this burden alone. The blackmail was starting to spiral out of control now, and it would be such a relief to tell someone what she was going through, to ask for help. Her mom was smart and competent. She would know exactly what to do, and together maybe they could finally end Gabby’s reign of terror.

  She sat up and faced her mom. “I need your help,” she said.

  “Of course, baby. Anything for my girl.”

  Felicity swallowed hard, and then all the words she’d been keeping back came spilling out in a rush. “I’m being blackmailed,” she said. “Gabby Vaughn—Rose’s daughter—somehow she found out about … about my hair, and she’s been forcing me to do all this horrible stuff, like nominating her for prom queen when I was supposed to nominate Haylie, and hanging her super-offensive painting in the art show, and now she’s making me manipulate Brent into taking her to prom. And I’ve tried to fight back, but nothing works because she doesn’t even seem to care about her own reputation. She has all the power, and I can’t figure out what she wants from me or why she hates me so much, and I have no idea what to do.”

  When Felicity met her mom’s eyes, she expected to find sympathy and compassion there. She was totally unprepared for the cold, hard look of panic she saw instead. “Has Gabby told anyone?” Ginger asked.

  “I … No, I don’t think so.”

  “Oh, thank God.” Her mom took a deep, shaky breath and put a hand to her heart. “How long has this been going on?”

  “Since just after Scarlet Sunday. Two and a half weeks.”

  “And she still hasn’t spread it around. That’s good. That’s really good.”

  “But she’s only keeping it a secret so I’ll do whatever she wants, and … Mom, it’s just been awful. She’s making me hurt my friends, and it’s not like I can explain to them what’s going on, and I never feel safe, and I’m afraid I’m going to lose everyone.” Two more tears trailed down Felicity’s cheeks and dripped onto her jeans.

  Ginger’s face softened, and she took Felicity’s hand. Felicity waited for the soothing words she’d been craving for weeks: This must be so awful for you. I’m glad you came to me. We’ll figure out a way to make it all stop.

  “I know this is hard, baby,” Ginger said. “But sometimes we have to make sacrifices for the things that are really important. You’ve been doing such a good job of handling this … inconvenience so far. You’re my strong girl, and I know you can do whatever it takes to keep Gabby quiet and protect this family.”

  Felicity stared at her mom. “What?”

  “There’s nothing more important than keeping your secret. If this gets out, it’ll destroy our whole family’s reputation. But if you do what she wants, everything stays under wraps.”

  Felicity couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She pulled her hand away. “But … she’s destroying my life, Mom. Aren’t you going to help me?”

  “Baby, I am helping you! I only want what’s best for you. I know it seems like Gabby’s ruining your life, but everything will get so much worse if you give her a reason to expose you. In the long run, it doesn’t matter who you nominate for prom queen or whether you have a date to one dance. But if your secret gets out, nobody will ever respect you again. You’ll get thrown out of the pageant before you even have a chance at that prize money. I could even lose my job—you know how the mayor feels about arties. And then how would I support you? I’m just trying to give you the safe, happy life you deserve, but you have to do your part. And for now, that means following Gabby’s instructions.”

  Felicity felt as if she’d been kicked in the stomach. “For how long? Forever?”

  “Nothing lasts forever. It’ll only be a year before Gabby goes to college somewhere else and forgets all about you. And then everything will go back to normal.”

  A year? There was no way she could survive this for a year—she’d hardly been able to get through a few weeks. “But there must be another way,” she choked. “Some way we can fight her.”

  Ginger shook her head sadly. “I understand why you want that, but you can’t antagonize her. It’s way too dangerous when she holds your entire future in her hands like this. I need you to be strong and find a way to make this work. It’s your job to protect all of us. Can you do that?”

  Felicity wanted to burst into tears again, to throw things, to scream, You’re my mother! You’re supposed to love me! Why won’t you help me? But she knew that was useless. Her mom did love her—of course she did. But she loved the daughter she’d created, the popular redhead and pageant hopeful. She wasn’t about to let the strawberry-blond daughter she’d been given get in the way.

  “Felicity? Can you do that?”

  Felicity nodded, knowing there was no other answer.

  “That’s my brave girl.”

  Ginger reached out and pulled her daughter into a hug. Her arms were warm and strong, but for the first time, Felicity found no comfort in her embrace. Asking for help had been a huge mistake. Nobody was ever going to help her.

  She would have to handle this alone.

  12

  SATURDAY, MAY 22

  The prom committee spent all of Saturday preparing the gym for its night of glory. Felicity and Kendall hung their painted cityscape backdrop and artfully draped the bleachers in red fabric. Topher perched atop an A-frame ladder on a rolling base and hung strings of paper lanterns, belting out “The Red, Red Rose of Love” as Cassie wheeled him from place to place. Savannah helped the yearbook photographers with their photo booth, and the rest of the girls set up clusters of small tables and chairs around the perimeter of the room. Madison spent the entire morning ordering everyone around, unwilling to touch anything in case she chipped her manicure.

  Felicity couldn’t concentrate at all. She hadn’t been able to focus on much of anything since the painful conversation she’d had with her mom three days ago. Plus, she still hadn’t told Haylie and Ivy that she no longer had a prom date, and that secret had been weighing on her as well. Of course, they’d discover what was going on soon enough, when she showed up to dinner alone. And the rest of the school would see Brent walk into this very room with Gabby on his arm just a few short hours later.

  “Felicity!” Kendall was waving a hand in front of her face.

  “What? Sorry, I was thinking about something else.”

  “Obviously.” Kendall gave the fabric over the bleachers a final tug. “I was just going to say that I thought this looked good. What do you think? Should we go get the streetlamps from the drama room?”

  “Yeah, sure. It looks great.”

  “So, what are you guys doing before prom?” Kendall asked as they walked down the hall. “Jeremy and I are going to that French bistro on Thorne Street. We had to make the reservation back in January. They have this thing called a croque monsieur. French food is so classy.”

  “That’ll be great,” Felicity said, trying to sound enthusiastic. She’d had the croque monsieur at that bistro, and she couldn’t figure out how it was supposed to be different from a regular grilled ham-and-cheese sandwich. “I’m going to Mamma Leoni’s with Haylie and Ivy and their dates.”

  “Oooh, I love Mamma Leoni’s! Have you had the pesto tortellini? It’s totally to die for.”

  As Kendall wrestled the first streetlamp onto the dolly, Felicity’s phone beeped.

  HAYLIE: how’s it going? u ok to do photos @ my house before dinner?

  Everything was running smoothly in the gym, and the prom committee would probably be done setting up in two or three hours. But what was the point of taking photos without Brent? Felicity didn’t need her fifth-wheel status documented for everyone on RedNet to see.

  FELICITY: running a little behind. not sure I’ll make it for photos. meet you at the restaurant.

  HAYLIE: :( :( :(

  Felicity stuffed her phone back into her pocket, relieved that her torturous evening would be slig
htly shorter.

  When everyone had finished their assigned tasks, Topher turned off the overhead lights and switched on the lanterns, streetlamps, and Christmas lights around the makeshift stage for a test run. Felicity knew she should be pleased by what she’d accomplished—the gym looked every bit as magical as she had hoped—but nothing about prom felt exciting anymore. As Kendall led a round of applause for her, their esteemed designer, she tried to memorize the expressions of respect on her classmates’ faces. She’d need to remember them later, when she was alone on the sidelines, the object of everyone’s pity.

  Felicity had seen enough prom movies to know that the preparty primping was supposed to be one of the best parts. She went through all the motions, hoping to feel some of that delicious anticipation bubbling up inside her. But now that she had no date, the whole thing just seemed pointless. When she slipped on her vintage thrift-store dress—black with tiny white polka dots and a full skirt supported by frothy red petticoats—it didn’t make her feel playful and vivacious, as it had the day she bought it. At the time, she had imagined how Brent would react when he saw her in it. But now the only one he’d be reacting to was Gabby.

  When Felicity dragged herself into the kitchen to say good-bye to her mom, Ginger gave a dramatic gasp and clasped her hands to her heart. “Oh, baby, look at you! You’re so beautiful!” She grabbed the camera off the kitchen counter and ushered Felicity toward the back door. “Come outside, I need photos!”

  Felicity grudgingly followed her mom into the yard and endured a few minutes of posing, trying to cover her sadness with elegance and poise. When the camera battery finally ran out, Ginger hugged her good-bye. “Have a fabulous time,” she said. “Don’t get drunk, don’t do drugs, and don’t get pregnant.”

  “Mom, who’s going to get me pregnant? I don’t even have a date.”

  “I’m your mother. I have to say it.” Ginger kissed her on the cheek and whispered, “I love you. I know this is hard for you, but you’re doing the right thing. Hold that beautiful head high.” Felicity tried, but it was hard to smile through her dejection.