by L. M. Reed
Chapter 14
Dear Diary,
Nick is unbelievable!
CeeCee
I found myself full of excitement and dread at the same time. While I wanted Mark to come, I had no idea how he was going to react when I told him the whole truth about that night.
That he would pull it all out of me, I had no doubt. Mark wasn’t like me…he always wanted to know everything about, well…everything…and then deal with it all accordingly.
Personally, I would have just ignored the whole thing, hoping it would go away, if Craig’s parents hadn’t threatened mine with lawsuits. Once I got Craig to back down on that, I decided to let the whole thing die a natural death. Telling my parents the truth at that point would have just added fuel to the fire. I doubt that they would have let it go so easily.
I knew Mark wouldn’t have.
Craig was playing football for some out-of-state college, so at least Mark couldn’t hunt him down and kill him or break his nose again. That was a relief; Mark had a black belt.
Friday, I asked Mom to wait to give me a ride home after school. I wanted a chance to talk to her before Mark got there. She was full of curiosity, but contained it until we got into the house.
I wasn’t sure exactly how to begin. My throat was parched, I was so nervous. I went into the kitchen to get a glass of ice water, partly to stall and partly hoping that it would help my throat.
Mom followed me.
“CeeCee, what’s wrong?” Mom asked worriedly.
“There’s something I need to tell you and I’m not sure…I don’t know how you’re going to take it,” I said hesitantly.
“Just tell me.”
“I never…I didn’t…you don’t know the whole truth about the dance incident last year,” I finally got out.
“Ah, there was more to it.”
Mom visibly relaxed.
“Yes,” I said, surprised by her lack of surprise.
“I always suspected there was,” Mom admitted. “Even as angry as you were about…things, I didn’t think you would actually break someone’s nose over a goodnight kiss.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“I decided to trust you,” she answered simply. “I have been wondering about one thing, though.”
“What’s that?” I asked dazedly.
“How did you get the Telsons to drop the lawsuits?”
“I caught Craig in the cafeteria at lunch in front of witnesses and told him that our legal advisor had suggested that we fight the lawsuits, and to require all five of them to take lie detector tests.”
“You talked to Mr. Forsythe?”
“No,” I admitted sheepishly, “I read it in a book; that was my ‘legal advisor’. Never underestimate the power of the written word.”
Mom laughed and I joined her.
“If you want to tell me what really happened, I’ll listen, but I want you to know that it isn’t necessary,” Mom said soberly, “I don’t have to know the details. I assumed that Craig tried something with you, and you let him know you weren’t that kind of girl.”
“That pretty much covers it,” I agreed, “he just didn’t know how to take ‘no’ for an answer, so I had to make it loud and clear.”
I grinned at Mom and she grinned back. I was so relieved that she understood and didn’t blame me.
“I was just sorry you and Dad had to be put through all of that.”
“Dad didn’t know anything about it,” Mom informed me.
“You…”
“I never told him,” Mom interrupted me. “That would have…”
She couldn’t finish. I hugged her tightly.
“I’m glad he didn’t know anything.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
“Now if I can just make it through Mark…”
“What does Mark have to do with it?”
“Mark knows.”
“You told him?”
“Not exactly,” I hedged “but he found out and now he’s furious with me for not telling him.”
“I’ll make him leave you alone if you want,” Mom offered, then added smiling “I am the mother.”
“I appreciate the offer, but I’ll take care of it myself.”
“Your call,” Mom conceded.
“Thanks,” I returned gratefully. “Hey, I have an idea. Why don’t we order pizza?”
“Not a bad idea,” Mom said approvingly. “It’s Friday…let’s splurge. Why don’t I invite Adele?”
“Great,” I enthused, “Girls’ night out…or in.”
I called and ordered two large pizzas while Mom went next door to invite Mrs. Murray to join us. After hanging up the phone, I ran upstairs to change into my customary hot weather running attire of shorts and a tank top. I figured I would need to take off running as soon as the movie was over in order to be back in time to call Mark.
By the time I got downstairs, Mom and Mrs. Murray were already there debating which movie to watch.
Mrs. Murray could have given Felicia a run for her money as a movie buff. Her collection of VHS movies was impressive. Eventually her VHS tapes were going to go the way of the 8-track, but she stubbornly refused to switch. She mostly collected old black and white classics. I prayed our VHS machine wouldn’t eat one of her videos.
We finally decided on Bedtime for Bonzo. Mrs. Murray said it had the former president Ronald Reagan in it and was hilarious. That was a good thing, none of us needed a tearjerker; we were already living one of those.
After watching it, I had to agree that it was one of the funniest things I’d seen in a long time. Of course, as few movies as I’d watched in my lifetime, I wasn’t a good judge of such things, but I couldn’t remember the last time I had laughed that hard.
Once the movie was over, I left the two of them crocheting together on the couch while I went out to run. I was a little late getting started, but I made sure I had my cell phone with me in case Mark called before I could get home.
It was hot! I could hardly wait until August was over. During the summer, it didn’t cool off very much in the evenings, so I had to slow my pace and carry a water bottle most of the time. Mornings were more bearable, but still, cooler weather would certainly be a welcome change. I was always soaked in sweat by the time I got back to the house.
Strange Mark hadn’t called. I was already a half hour later than usual. I would probably need to ring him before my shower. That would give me an excuse to shorten the call. I didn’t want to continue the discussion he’d started until we could do it in person.
Opening the front door, I could hear voices inside. Mom and Mrs. Murray were still visiting.
Nice for Mom to have a friend so close by, I thought.
I walked into the living room, smiling, and stood stock-still. It took me a minute to process…it was so unexpected. Mark and Nick were there, sitting on the couch eating leftover pizza. I hadn’t even glanced over at the driveway, no reason to; they weren’t supposed to be there until morning.
My mind was a blank. I was not the type that enjoyed surprises, pleasant or unpleasant, and I never handled them well.
Mark and Nick were both watching me cautiously, gauging my reaction.
Were they expecting my head to explode or something? I wondered crossly.
At that moment, it came to me…I could control the atmosphere. Instead of waiting for them to take the lead, and then simply reacting, I would go on the offensive. The idea appealed to me.
“What? They don’t feed you in Austin, you have to come here and eat my pizza?” I asked indignantly.
Taking his cue, Mark replied, “Hello…poor college students,” with a big grin on his face.
“Well, if you’re expecting me to do your laundry, you have another think coming,” I bantered.
Elbowing Nick in the side, Mark said out of the corner of his mouth, “I told you she wouldn’t fall for it.
Guess we’ll have to do our own.”
Mom came in from the kitchen carrying a couple of glasses of iced tea.
“Oh, CeeCee, good…you’re back.”
“Yeah and I am sweating like a pig, so if you don’t mind, I’m going to jump in the shower,” I said, giving myself a small reprieve, deciding their attack could wait.
Nick spoke for the first time, “Pigs don’t sweat, you know.”
Leave it to Nick to find something to argue about no matter what I say, I thought irritably.
“Fine…a dog then,” I substituted in exasperation.
“Sorry,” he grinned unrepentantly “wrong again.”
“Alright Mr. Future Vet of America, what animal can I use?” I asked sardonically.
“A horse can work up a pretty nice lather,” he suggested in amusement.
“Just forget it…I’m sweaty and in desperate need of a shower not an in-depth discussion on gross animal bodily fluids, so if you’ll excuse me…” I stomped up the stairs.
“Don’t worry, we’ll still be here when you get back,” he called after me.
Only he could make that sound like a threat.
“Oh goody!” I muttered facetiously from the top of the stairs, “Fun times!”
The cold shower was refreshing. I stood under the spray taking deep breaths and trying to calm myself. A list…that was what I needed…a list. I would recite a list of the events of that night in a calm, unemotional tone, ensuring that I could make it through without breaking down and bawling.
1. He knowingly supplied me with spiked punch.
2. He tried to convince me to skinny dip.
3. He unzipped my dress.
Short and sweet…that should do it.
I dressed slowly, stalling had become second nature to me, and considered my list carefully to see if there were any highlights that I’d left out.
Maybe Mark wouldn’t ask how I had gotten home that night. Or maybe that was exactly what he would ask. I sighed; I would only cross that bridge if we came to it.
Taking one last deep breath, I headed down the stairs.
Hugging Mark seemed the logical thing to do first. I hadn’t wanted to get him all sweaty before, besides being totally distracted, so I had foregone the usual hug. I made up for that.
“You definitely smell better now,” Mark shuddered. “I was worried you were going to spread the wealth around.”
I playfully slugged him in the stomach.
“Very gentlemanly of you,” I replied sarcastically. “Where are Mom and Nick?” I asked looking around.
“They tactfully retired to the kitchen.”
“Mark…” I began as I flopped down on the couch.
“No, let me go first,” Mark interrupted, joining me on the couch. “I had a long talk with Nick last night after you and I got off the phone,” he paused for a moment while I panicked.
What else had Nick told him?
Mark continued, “He convinced me to drop it.”
“Nick did?” I asked disbelievingly…ironically, Nick never dropped anything. “So you don’t want to know what happened.”
“Selfishly, I do want to know,” Mark admitted, “but for your sake, I’m not going to pressure you to tell me. Nick made me realize that reliving what had to be one of the worst nights of your life might hurt you more than it would help. I love you too much to want to put you through that.” He added with a hopeful grin, “Of course if you’re dying to tell me, I’m all ears.”
Leaning over, I gave Mark another hug and kissed him on the cheek.
“Thanks,” I whispered gratefully in his ear.
“I just need to know one thing for my piece of mind,” Mark began tentatively. “He didn’t… I mean…you weren’t…”
“No!” I interrupted him, realizing what he wanted to know. “Thanks to you, I was able to ‘take him out early in the game’ as Dad used to say.”
“CeeCee,” Mark said reproachfully, “I didn’t teach you how to break someone’s nose.”
“True, but you got me started. After that, I found every bit of literature I could dig up about incapacitating someone. I found it absolutely fascinating reading,” I added playfully.
“Nick was right,” Mark returned only half teasing, “You are a danger to all mankind.”
“Remember that,” I intoned, “and be afraid…be very afraid.”