by McKayla Box
“Fine,” I say, maintaining my smile. “Just spaced out for a second.”
His arm flexes around my waist and that security and comfort washes over me.
Dammit.
I have to fix this.
I need to tell him.
And I can't wait.
I wait until Brooke's parents are done and then I take his hand and we walk toward the far end of the pool as Dylan and Aiden go to take their pictures. The butterflies in my stomach feel like bats.
“I need to tell you something,” I says. “Like, now.”
“Is this going to be more about how you want to rip my clothes off?” he asks, smiling. “I don't think Brooke's parents will be cool with that. But if you really want—”
“Stop,” I say, laughing despite the overwhelming dread I feel. “That's not it at all.”
“Good,” he says. “I think I'd be a little embarrassed. At least until they went inside.” He nods at the pool. “I guess we could jump in there if you want.”
I laugh again. “Seriously, stop. I really want to tell you something.”
He puts his hands around my waist. “Okay, okay. I'll stop. What's up?” He leans down. “And you smell like tequila.”
“I might have had a shot while we were getting ready,” I tell him. “Or two.”
He laughs. “You really are fired up about tonight.”
“I am,” I tell him. “But I need to tell you something first. It's…important.”
“You sound kinda serious,” he says. “What is it?”
“It's...about my mom,” I say, trying not to choke on the words.
“Your mom?” he says, his brow furrowing. “Okay. You mean about maybe going to see her?”
I shake my head. “No, not really. It's different than that.”
His frown deepens. “Okay. Then what?”
“Yo, Archer!” Aiden yells. “Time for dude pictures! Come on!”
He looks back over his shoulder. “Hang on.” He turns back to me. “Okay, what about your mom?”
But my nerve is gone.
“Go take your pictures,” I say. “I'll tell you when you're done.”
“You sure?” he says. “They can wait.”
I push him in their direction. “No, go ahead. Totally fine.”
“Okay,” he says. “I'll be back.”
I watch him walk over to Nick, Aiden, and Jake. I take a deep breath. The butterflies are still swarming inside of me.
I know the moment is gone. Whatever courage I'd worked up, it's gone now.
Maybe that's a good thing for the moment.
At least that’s what I try to tell myself.
I walk around the pool toward the girls, my movement slow. It’s like I’m wading through a bog.
Mercy touches my elbow. “Everything cool? Looked like maybe you guys were having a serious conversation over there.”
“No, no,” I say quickly. “Totally fine.” I force a smile. “All good.”
“Okay, good,” she says. She looks at the boys. “Jake looks better than I thought he would. I’m moving in the direction of hooking up.”
“He looks great,” I say. “And you should do what you want. No guilt.”
“I know,” she says. “I just don't usually do that.”
“It doesn't matter what you usually do,” I tell her. “No one gets to judge. You just need to be the decider. Fuck everyone else.”
She throws her arms around my neck. “I don't know what I did without you before you moved here.”
I hug her back. “Me neither.”
The boys finish with their pictures and Archer immediately comes back to me. He pulls me away from the girls.
“Now tell me,” he says. “About your mom.”
I wait for a beat, to see if I can work up the nerve again.
But there’s nothing there except the desire to preserve this moment.
I put my hand on his cheek. “It's nothing.”
“It didn't seem like nothing.”
“I just...I just wish she was here to see this,” I say.
And it's not a lie. There is a part of me that wishes she was here to see him and to see my friends and to see what my life has turned into.
To see that things are better.
At least for me.
He leans down and kisses me lightly. “I know you miss her. Make sure and send her pictures.” He smiles at me. “And maybe figure out a time to go see her.”
I smile back at him, hating the tears that are threatening to form. I quickly look away and murmur, “Yeah. Maybe.”
Chapter 32
The gym at school no longer looks like a gym.
It looks like a winter ballroom.
We drive from Brooke's house to the high school, and it's disconcerting to walk into the gym and like homecoming in the fall, have it no longer resemble a gym. The floor is covered, there are tables set up on one side, and the DJ is at the far end. The lights are dim and white fairly lights twinkle everywhere. There's a photo booth set up near the food. I'm not sure what I'm expecting, but this totally exceeds whatever I thought it was going to look like.
We all make our way to the photo booth and take turns getting photos as couples, then boys and girls, then all of us as one big group. We find a table big enough for our crew and the boys take off their coats.
Archer looks around. “What the hell are we supposed to do now?” He smiles at me. “Never really been to one of these for the whole thing, you know?”
I take his hand. “We can go dance.”
“Slow songs only,” he says. “I think I'd look like a broken puppet if you tried to get me to dance to a fast song.”
“And it would blow your super cool reputation,” I say.
“Exactly.”
I pull him out to the dance area and the DJ is playing a slower song, so he doesn't object. We move slowly to the music. I love having his arms around me and that we can naturally fall into an easy rhythm.
“If you've never been to one of these, how do you know how to dance?” I ask, looking up at him.
He smiles. “Charm school.”
“What school?”
He laughs. “Charm school. I believe it was technically called finishing school, but someone called it charm school at one point, so that's what I always think of it as. Eighth grade. My mom made me go. It was once a week for a couple of months. We had to learn all of this fancy shit. What silverware to eat with, how to shake hands the right way, how to dance. It was all pretty dumb, but I guess we learned stuff. There was a party at the end where you had to show off everything you learned.” He smiles. “I passed, so I guess I got most everything right.”
“I would like to see some pictures of that,” I tell him. “Or video.”
“Not a chance.”
“You're no fun,” I say.
He laughs and shakes his head as we move in slow circles.
I look around to see where everyone else is.
Nick and Brooke are dancing. Her head is on his shoulder and he's whispering something in her ear.
Mercy and Jake are dancing, too, and having a conversation.
Dylan and Aiden are dancing.
And making out.
“Holy shit,” I say.
“What?” Archer says, looking down at me.
“Look at Dylan and Aiden.”
He scans the floor until his eyes find them. “Holy shit.”
“Uh huh.”
“His life's gonna be all downhill from here,” he says.
I laugh. “Stop.”
“Seriously,” he says. “Nick and I weren't kidding. He's had a thing for her since we were kids. Every goal in his life is now accomplished.”
I laugh again. “Don't be mean.”
“I'm not,” he says. “I’m just telling you that if he were to die tomorrow, he'd go happy.”
I hug him because so would I. I'm happy to be with him. I'm happy to be dressed up and dancing with him. And I'm happy to be surrounded
by my friends.
I rest my head against Archer's chest and I close my eyes for a moment as we move. I don't want any of this to ever change. I want it to stay this way forever. I take a deep breath and sigh. Maybe it will be okay. Maybe it will all work out.
I open my eyes, ready to visually drink in more of the perfection of this moment.
And my stomach drops.
Because over near the photo booth, I see Reese McClure. She's in a pale pink sequined gown and her hair is done up on top of her head in a way that had to cost a fortune.
But it's not really her that gets my attention.
It's her date.
Her arm is entwined with his, and she's whispering something in his ear.
And Ricky Lowe is nodding as she talks.
Chapter 33
I've never seen them together before this moment.
Never.
I watch them. She's talking in his ear, he's nodding. He's in a tuxedo, and I don't think I've ever seen him without his baseball hat on. A mop of tight, black curls sit on top of his head. He's standing upright, almost stiff, like he's uncomfortable. His eyes are sweeping the gym and so are hers.
Until they settle on me.
And a big smile spreads across her face.
And I realize that I am fucked. So royally fucked.
She says something to Ricky and he nods again.
I look up at Archer. “Hey.”
He looks down.
“I love you,” I say.
He smiles. “I love you, too.”
“Just remember that.”
He frowns. “Remember that I love you? Uh, okay.”
“I'm serious,” I tell him. It’s almost hard to breathe. “Just remember that. Don't forget it.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Just know that I swear to you that I would never hurt you,” I say, tears clouding my eyes. “You are the best thing that's ever happened to me and I would never, ever do anything to fuck that up. Not on purpose.”
He puts his hands on my arms. “Nola. What the hell is wrong?” There is an edge to his voice.
I shake my head because I can't find any other words.
And then it starts.
Phone screens start lighting up in the dark.
People are reaching into their pockets and purses as their phones vibrate.
I feel Archer's vibrate in the pocket of his pants.
“Nola,” he says. “What's going on?”
I look at him. “I am so sorry. I know I should've told you. I know I should've. But I just couldn't. Because everything she did was so terrible.”
He's looking at me like he's never seen me before. “Who? What are you talking about? You're freaking me out right now.”
I look around the gym.
And people are starting to look at me.
I look toward Reese.
She is grinning, this coy, sickeningly sweet smile, like it's the happiest day of her life.
Ricky is standing next to her, a grim look on his face.
Everything is coming to a sort of standstill as people stare at their phones. Their mouths open, they're pointing at their screens, they're rushing to their friends to make sure they got it, too.
In the back of my mind, I've tried to convince myself that this moment wasn't going to happen.
But I should've known better. I'm so dumb.
“Nola,” Archer says. “I have no clue what you're fucking talking about, but you know I love you. Just tell me what's going on. It'll be fine.”
Tears stream down my cheeks.
I can't find the words.
He reaches into his back pocket. “And what the fuck is going on with my fucking phone?”
I can feel the air being sucked out of the gym.
Out of my life.
And then I see a blurry version of Mercy walking toward me, hesitant at first, then closing the distance.
“Nola,” she says, confusion in her expression. “Is all of this true?”
Archer glances at her. “Is all of what true?”
Mercy holds out her phone. “This.”
Chapter 34
Think you know Del Sol High's newest homecoming queen?
Think again, peeps!
Yes, that girl you all voted for to be our homecoming queen last fall? That girl who moved here from Florida and everyone just seemed to fall in love with?
She's not who you think she is.
No, Nola Murphy has a few secrets she's been keeping.
And we're here to share them with you.
Some of you heard about the story she made up about her dear old absent dad. But, hey! That's not her fault. No one would be happy if their dad just disappeared into thin air, so hard to blame anyone for maybe fudging the truth a little bit, right?
But what about Mom?
We've heard stories that Mama Murphy is doing just fine and misses her daughter oh so much, but was willing to sacrifice sending her daughter out to Del Sol so that our little Queen Nola could find herself a better life.
But turns out that's just one big lie.
Mama Murphy, aka Jolene Murphy, is actually doing a little time behind bars, and you won't believe why.
Well, yes, you will because we're going to tell you!
Turns out that Mama Murphy likes to drink and rob the cradle, and those two things definitely do not mix. You can check out the link down below but here's the TL:DR version:
Mama Murphy was an office aide at Queen Nola's old school in Florida, good old Truman High. And, one day, she had a wee bit too much to drink (actually, it looks like it was one night) and, after emptying whatever her bottle of choice was, she went for a little drive.
And drove straight into a telephone pole.
Now, dear reader, we know what you're thinking. How terrible!
And it is.
But it gets much worse.
Because you see, dear reader, Mama Murphy wasn't alone in her car the evening she went headfirst into that telephone pole.
She had a passenger.
A seventeen-year-old passenger named Todd Grisham.
Who was a student at Truman High School, where Queen Nola attended and Mama Murphy worked.
And who was getting it on with Mama Murphy.
What? No, that's impossible!
I'm sorry to inform you, dear reader, that's not only possible, it's the truth.
Mama Murphy was engaged in an affair with the young Mr. Grisham when she drove them both right into that telephone pole.
And killed her young lover.
It's sad, we know. There's nothing funny about drinking and driving or sexually assaulting a minor or ending another person’s life. It's sad for everyone involved.
Especially for our Queen Nola.
The good news is that Mama Murphy has been brought to justice and is currently serving a fifteen-year sentence for her crimes. We hope that means she's also getting the help she needs.
So we guess it's not a surprise that Queen Nola might not have been so forthcoming about the true story behind her mother's whereabouts.
We just think it's disappointing that she felt like she had to spin some fairytale about her.
Don't you, dear reader?
Chapter 35
“Is it true?” Mercy asks again.
She’s all I can see. Her face is inches from mine, blocking everything else from view.
She’s giving me no choice but to answer her.
To answer for my mother’s crimes.
I hesitate, then nod. “Yeah. It's true.”
“Your mom is in jail?” she asks. Her shock is written all over her face. “And she did all of this?”
I nod again. “Yes. She's in jail. And yes. It's all true.”
Mercy looks at me like she doesn't recognize me. “But that's not what you told me.”
“I know,” I say.
“You told me...all of this other stuff about her,” she says. She holds up her phone. “Not this.”
>
“I know. I'm sorry.”
“You made it sound like she was just at home,” she says. “Like you just left there to come here for school. But that's not it at all.”
“I know,” I say. “I know.”
“Why didn't you trust me, Nola?” she asks.
I shake my head because I don't have a reason to give her.
She looks at me, like she's sorry she's ever met me. She backs away slowly, disappointment on her face, then she turns and walks away.
I look past her and see both Dylan and Brooke with similar expressions on their faces.
“Well, well, well,” a voice says behind me. “This has to just be devastating for you, doesn't it?”
I don't have to turn around to know who it is.
Chapter 36
“I told you I'd find out,” Reese says, coming around to face me, her heels clicking on the floor as she circles me like a vulture. “I told you.”
I don't say anything.
“I knew it was too good to be true.” She looks me up and down. “I knew you were full of shit. I just had to put a little plan together and do a little digging. And I needed a little help from my friends.”
“Ricky,” I whisper.
She laughs. “Yep, you guessed it. I really thought you were gonna stonewall him, but then you caved. I knew you would. You were too dumb to keep your mouth shut. You gave him the name of your school and the name of an old teacher and we were off and running. I made him write up the details and then I went ahead and added my own special touch. And then I just had to get access to that emergency phone list the school uses when they need to send out one of those dumb messages. Took me all of five minutes to get my hands on it”
I think about the interview with Ricky. My instincts were right all along.
“I mean, I had to convince Ricky to help me,” she says. “He didn't just agree right off the bat. He's a good negotiator. I had to come with him to the dance, and he'll be getting lucky later tonight.” She grins. “But it's totally worth it. To see this. To see you.” She laughs. “I was thinking I was going to have to close my eyes and just get it over with, but now I think going to give that kid the best night of his life.”