by Nora Cobb
An assault of thoughts circles through my buzzing mind as I drive. The realization that I have a huge problem unnerves me. A problem I exposed when my father sent Dale Bellman the pictures of Lucas and Natalie in Miami. The fidelity clause between Lucas and me goes both ways. And now, Lucas might have better evidence than I could ever produce.
CHAPTER 23
Natalie
“You really do look comfortable.”
Troy is sitting in the rec room in the back of my house. We rarely sit in here; to keep temptation in check, we spend time in areas of the house where Uncle Phil can see us. We haven’t discussed what happened in Tampa. The only changes in our behavior are the lingering looks we give one another and the touching one another’s hands. I still can’t believe the change.
“Do you want to watch sci-fi or fantasy?” he asks.
“There’s a difference?” I reply.
Troy gawks at me like there is one. “That school is teaching you nothing.”
“Well,” I sit cross-legged beside him on the couch. “Everything I’ve learned that’s vital, I learned outside of the classroom.”
Troy leans towards me, and I take a hint. I kiss him softly, almost tentatively, on the lips. He takes my chin in his fingers and presses a hard kiss against my mouth. The kiss deepens as I wrap my hands around his neck.
My body starts to tingle but I pull away. Troy looks at me, his mouth pink with smudges of my lip gloss. I lean in and kiss him again.
“We haven’t talked,” he whispers. “Are you okay with it? With us?”
I nod. “I am, but I don’t feel comfortable with what people think. I mean the things they used to say about me.”
“But none of that is true,” Troy says. “You’re being honest with yourself. With us.” He pulls me into his strong arms and I feel safe against him. He has my back now. A calmness spreads over me and I don’t want to move ever again. I just want to stay here alone with him and be blissfully happy. But I’m about to throw a rock into the water and make waves. There’s something I need to know.
“What you said in Tampa,” I speak slowly, “Was I really your first?”
Troy lets me go and looks at me pensively. “I talked a good game around Jacob and Lucas in the past. I bragged about a lot of things I didn’t do. I know...” His voice trails off as he looks away. “I know I did some hateful things, but I didn’t want to remember my first time with you like that. You would have hated me forever if I hadn’t stopped. I would have hated myself.”
“You were shitty.” I take his hand and hold it. “Worse than shitty.”
“I know, but I won’t ever be like that again.” He squeezes my hand gently. “You forgave me. Right?”
His voice is soft as he waits for my assurance. Will what happened between us be our past, and not our present?
“Don’t ever change back. Okay?” I kiss his cheek quick. Troy reaches toward me, but before he can kiss me back, long and deep, we’re interrupted.
Uncle Phil hesitates at the door, and I sit up with a straight back, leaving Troy slumped on the couch. Troy looks over and sees my uncle staring at us. Casually, Troy places a hand on my thigh and watches the television again. In a small way, he’s staking a claim.
“Natalie, I’m going out,” says Uncle Phil. “Will you two be okay alone?”
“Phil.” Troy yawns. “I’m so tired. I couldn’t move a muscle.”
Uncle Phil’s frown relaxes into a wide smile. “Excellent game Saturday, Troy. Looking forward to the next. Later, kids.”
Baseball season has started, with a major game played yesterday with one of our rival schools. Troy’s team beat the other team in nine quick innings.
Troy waves and then puts his hand back on my thigh. “I’ll win the next one for you, Phil.”
“Your uncle’s onto us,” he says as soon as the front door slams.
“He prefers Jacob,” I reply, “and I’m not sure if he gets you.”
“What does that even mean?” Troy scowls. “I’m fucking lovable.”
I smack his thigh but jump away from him before he can tickle me. The doorbell rings and I run out of the room to answer it. “He must have forgotten something ... like his keys,” I call back.
But it’s not Uncle Phil. My smile fades from my face as I stare at Anthony on my doorstep.
“Why are you even here?” I ask.
“Please, let me in,” he replies, taking a step forward.
I try to slam the door shut, but Anthony’s foot is in between it and the doorjamb. I lean into it with all my might until he hollers loudly. I’m still pushing the door closed when Troy walks down the hall, heading for the kitchen. He looks confused, no doubt wondering what’s going on. I watch him, desperate to force Anthony out. I don’t want a fight. But Troy can hear Anthony’s voice pleading from the other side of the door, demanding to be let in.
Troy glares at the door. “Natalie, step back.”
“Troy, I don’t want a fight.” I press the door back with all my strength. “My uncle will have a fit if there’s a fight.”
Troy reaches for the door handle. “Natalie, please get out of the way.”
His face is turning red as his nostrils flare, and I literally don’t want to be in the middle of it. I step aside and let Troy step forward. In a flash, he opens the door as Anthony tumbles in. Anthony hits the floor, but Troy has him by the collar of his denim jacket. Anthony tries to stand but stumbles at Troy’s feet.
I run for the door and hold it wide open. “Outside.” My voice is hard. “We’ll deal with it outside.”
I’m furious, but I also want answers, starting with what is Anthony doing here? Troy drags Anthony by the collar out of the house, down the front steps and onto the lawn. Cursing myself, I look sheepishly around to see if any of our neighbors are watching. I would think that by now I wouldn’t care what people think but I do. I look to my left and see Mr. Henderson on his front lawn cutting the grass. He looks over but decides not to get involved. He’s got teenagers of his own.
“Troy, calm down.” I turn on Anthony. “Why are you here?”
He tugs his shoulder out of Troy’s grasp. “I’m here to apologize, dammit.” He scowls at Troy. “For everything, I thought about what you said and ... I’m here to apologize.”
“Good,” says Troy. “You said it. Now go.”
Anthony ignores Troy and continues to speak to me. “I took it hard when you said you didn’t want to see me anymore. At least not in the way I wanted to see you. You had reasons. Some good reasons, and I shouldn’t have lashed out.” Anthony looks hard at Troy and returns his gaze to me. “I hope you’ll forgive me.”
I nod my head. “I will in time but now is not the right time.”
“Good,” says Troy. “You said what you want but you need to go, and if I catch you lurking around here again I’ll beat you to a pulp.”
Anthony stares incredulously at Troy before he looks back at me and asks, “Why him?”
Troy grabs Anthony and I know this is leading up to a fight. Mr. Henderson has stopped cutting his grass, and he and his wife are staring at us.
“Okay, I don’t want trouble.” I push them apart. “Troy, stop. Anthony, please leave.”
“Not yet,” he says. “I have a peace offering. Can we step inside?”
Troy scoffs, but I’m tired of the nosy neighbors looking over at us. “Okay, but you’re not staying.”
They follow me into the kitchen and we sit at the island. Anthony hoists his backpack onto the countertop and pulls his phone out of a zippered compartment.
He pushes it toward us and hits play. A high-res video starts to play of a blonde giving a boy a blow job. The boy isn’t visible from the waist up, but in the next frame, the girl pulls back to take a breath. It’s Arielle. It’s not clear who the boy is though he’s gasping her name. For a moment, the image pans up, and it’s Anthony. And then Arielle says his name before she takes him back into her mouth again.
I hit the scree
n with my finger to pause play. I feel ill watching it, and cover my mouth with my hand as I breathe in deeply. Troy sits in shock, staring at the phone. His face is flushed. His expression is shocked and he seems uncertain as to what to do. In a flash, Troy reaches across the table for Anthony. He grabs the collar of his shirt and the sound of fabric ripping is unmistakable.
He shakes Anthony hard. “Did you drug her?”
Anthony struggles, gripping Troy’s hand and stilling it. “I didn’t. She was willing. It’s all on the video. She wanted to do it.”
Troy lets go of Anthony, and Anthony glares at the damage to the neckline torn partially off his shirt. He looks at me. “I tricked her to help you.”
I take my hands away from my mouth and look at the still image on the screen. It’s like déjà vu. The things this boy has done to me, he’s now doing to another girl. We can never be friends because Anthony will never change.
“How much?” asks Troy. “What’s your price?”
Anthony shakes his head. “Nothing. Lucas shouldn’t be stuck with Arielle. This will end their marriage.”
“Fine.” Troy takes his phone out of his pocket to transfer the video.
“It’s a burner,” says Anthony, “keep it.”
I doubt that’s the only copy of that video.
“I don’t like it,” I finally say. “It’s too much.”
Troy and Anthony look at me, but say nothing. They stop listening to me. The deal is between them, and I’m now a bystander. Troy stands, motions to the door, and Anthony follows him out of the kitchen. I can’t hear their entire conversation. Bits and pieces float in from the other room.
“I’ll talk to her.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“He doesn’t deserve that trouble. He’s a good guy.”
“Nothing’s changed, but well, you did the right thing, man.”
A tear falls down my cheek, and I don’t know why I’m feeling this way. Of course I do. I remember, so clearly the shame I felt when it happened to me. My private pictures displayed on the internet to prove that I was something I wasn’t. I hate Arielle, but I hate this shit even more. I’m about to plummet off the high road and fling dirt with the rest of Montlake.
Troy places his hand on my back, and I start. He wraps his arms around me and pulls me into a hug. “Don’t worry, Natalie. I told Anthony to call me if he needs to speak to you again.”
I push Troy away. “That’s not the problem. We can’t do this.”
Troy looks dumbfounded. “What do you mean? Lucas is free.”
“Can you even understand the humiliation I went through when that jerk leaked pictures of me? Just think of your most shameful experience and times it by a billion. I felt like shit. Before, I could hold myself above the rumors, but when those pictures came out—”
“Natalie, we have to do this.” Troy’s voice is firm. “Arielle is nuts. Her shit is escalating. Think about Lucas.”
I’m torn. I want Lucas freed, but at what cost? Troy, Jacob and Lucas are close and have become closer because of me. Troy won’t be able to let this opportunity go. The boys have a bond that I only just understand.
“What were you thinking when you saw it?” I ask.
Troy sighs and sits down on the stool heavily. “The queen of Montlake and the school dealer. Arielle’s done some awful things but this is the worst low. To use her body like that and give it to that guy.” Troy’s face twists into a scowl. “It’s disgusting.”
“That’s why I don’t want to do this. All the shitty moves Arielle has done, but you are judging her harshly for this one because now you see her as a slut. Your whole opinion of her has changed because she had sex with the wrong boy.”
“True,” replies Troy. “She’s not what I thought she was. Look this can be handled privately by the Bellmans and their attorneys. I would feel better if it wasn’t shared. No matter what Arielle has become, she was a part of us.”
I’m freaking amazed. “Really? Is that the fucking code?”
“We handle our shit privately, Natalie. We don’t toss it around for the world to see.”
My eyes narrow on Troy as my hands tense. “Then what happened to me?”
“You weren’t a part of us back then. Natalie, please put feelings aside and think about Lucas. We have to win.”
I nod. I know it’s hard but this is what Lucas needs. I grab the phone out of Troy’s hand. He doesn’t try to get it back. He watches me with a steady gaze that shows no emotion.
“Let him know. But I’ll give it to the Bellmans with my terms,” I reply quietly. I can’t look Troy in the eye. “I don’t feel well. I’m going to lie down. Let yourself out.”
CHAPTER 24
Natalie
I haven’t been to Lucas’ house in months. The last time I showed up on his doorstep, I met Taylor. I’m only here to help, but the look on his mother’s face in the window is daunting. It’s obvious that I’m not welcome. But I don’t expect the red carpet when I walk toward the front door. My hand is sweaty as I clutch the phone. I refuse to put that video on mine. Troy transferred the video onto his phone as backup before he left. I question if he truly trusts me.
The argument that we had yesterday is in the front of my mind. He knows I’m also right, or at least, I hope he does. I hope he sees that there’s a problem with what we’re doing. Fucking code. It drove a wedge between us before, and now, it’s doing it again.
I want Arielle out of Lucas’ life, but I hoped it would happen differently. I was foolish to think that hosting a party would be enough.
My smile is tense when I see Lucas standing in the front door to let me in. I walk past him and head into the living room where Taylor waits. She looks tired and the concealer can’t cover the darkness under her eyes. But I also notice a change in her demeanor. Her eyes aren’t clouded as she watches me sit down on the couch across from her. She’s alert, and her indifferent manner is gone. She’s ready to protect what’s hers. Arielle may have married Lucas, and I love him to the extreme, but Lucas is Taylor’s only son.
“You have something important to show me?” She folds her arms and looks at me harshly.
“I have to say something first.” I place the phone on the coffee table and push it away from me. I treat it as if it’s poison and vile.
I stare at the phone on the table, instead of looking at Taylor because her unblinking stare will unnerve me.
“My reputation was ruined over a foolish moment that was shared online. I’m only showing you this because ...” I look at Lucas, but the words I want to say catch in my throat. I want to say that I love him, but I don’t dare with her eyes burning holes into me. “... it will help Lucas.”
Taylor picks up the phone and hands it to Lucas. “We’ll have a look at it first before we decide how useful it is.”
“It will be very useful. And damning.” My eyes narrow on hers as I inhale. “I don’t want it shared except with persons involved with the marriage contract.”
Taylor frowns but soon her attention shifts away from me and onto the small screen. Her mouth drops open as her eyes go perfectly round. I want to smirk as I watch her expression shift from aloof to amazement. I feel satisfaction but I also feel fear. The audio is loud, and Taylor can’t look away. Lucas’ mouth falls open and he looks at me with surprise and relief on his face. The video stops playing, and a barrage of questions start from Taylor.
“Where did you get this? When was it taken? Who is the boy?”
I can’t answer her rapid-fire questions. Taylor’s cheeks start to glow as she squirms in her chair. I’m almost afraid something is wrong, as if she’s having a panic attack. Lucas just stares at the phone in his hand.
“Did you know about this?” she asks him.
“No, I had no idea she’d done this.”
“This isn’t a trick?” she shoots back at me. “You didn’t stage this?”
“Taylor,” Lucas cuts her off. “How could Natalie stage this?”
&
nbsp; “It’s too easy.” Taylor jumps up from her chair. “We need something and this falls into our laps.”
“Arielle has become too proud,” replies Lucas. “And that leads to carelessness. She’s hurt a lot of other people who would love to see her taken down.”
I reach across the table and pull the phone out of Lucas’ hand. “I was fooled easily,” I add, “but I did nothing heinous. I was able to pull myself back up. This is an awful thing to put out there. Do you promise me it won’t go public?”
Taylor sputters as her face turns red. “My only concern is for my son.” She looks at the phone, now in my hands, and sits back down in her seat. “I really don’t give a fuck what happens to Arielle Blackwater. Not after everything she has done to our family.”