Chapter 7 #2
“Well?” Bethany said as she spun in a circle in front of my desk. “Do you like my hair?”
She had picked the up-do out of the three styles she had sent me. Marco threw his bag down and stared at Bethany. “Did you do something new to your hair?”
She threw her pen at him, and he laughed.
Phoenix took my hand for a second and linked them between the desks. “I’m sorry.”
I already forgave him, if I was honest, as I squeezed his fingertips. I just wasn’t sure what to do about it after such a long night.
The announcements rattled through the speakers, wishing another person a happy birthday, followed by the pledge and some school news. The minutes passed, then Ms. Collins stood and moved to the center of the class.
“Today, we are going to speak about intentions and setting goals. All of you can be successful…if only you would try a little harder.”
I listened to her ramble on happily enough, since I didn’t have to read aloud.
By the end of class, I was happy that Phoenix managed not to snore. His eyes drooped until they closed and he was out cold at his desk. Fortunately, he remained quiet, and Collins only seemed to notice when someone made noise or was disruptive while she explained how we were all failures.
The bell’s chime couldn’t come fast enough for me. I put my hand on his arm to wake him the second it was over.
“Phoenix, time to get up.”
He lifted his head, blinking blearily at me. “Shit. Did I fall asleep?”
I smiled at him. “Yep. Maybe you need a bedtime.”
After giving him a parting smile, I popped the earbud back in, hoping to make it through the rest of the day unscathed.
By lunchtime, I found my normal school rhythm, keeping my head down and my personality unobtrusive. Unlike other years, though, everyone seemed to want to stop and talk to me.
Because of the Lents. I might not understand the fascination, but I was sure it would pass.
I stepped into the courtyard and got yanked into an alcove where they stored extra chairs. Phoenix tugged me into a hug.
His body shook against mine—probably from exhaustion and whatever he took that day. He muttered into my hair, “I am so fucking sorry. Please.”
I closed my eyes, inhaling him into my lungs and enjoying his warmth wrapped around me. “I forgive you, okay? I just feel a little bit wounded. I’m still learning how to do this, and I won’t bother you again about coming home or anything.”
“Yeah, well, I’m going to come home. Every night.” He whispered the promise in my ear, then kissed my neck. “I do have a bedtime—whenever you want to go to sleep. I don’t know why I sometimes fuck things up for myself, I just do it.”
I would be happy to stand there all day and let him hold me. “You matter, okay? A lot.”
He kissed my neck on a space where my skin was exposed. “Forgive me?”
“I have.”
Phoenix nodded and pulled back. “Sorry, I just needed to hold you for a second.”
We joined the table already rapidly filling up with all the same people from the day before. The female water polo team joined us at the next table, and Bethany seemed to have brought two new people, too. They looked me up and down but then actually smiled.
Two empty seats remained near Jeremy, one across from him and one next to him. I took the one to his left while Phoenix slumped himself into the one across. He then dropped his head onto his arms, muttering something about needing a nap.
Julian slid into a seat at the table, but not before whacking Phoenix on the head. “Get some sleep at home then you can make it through the day.”
Their youngest brother lifted his head but didn’t otherwise respond. Laughing people surrounded us, and Jer put his arm around me. “How is today going?”
I sighed, feeling part of a group, a strangely satisfying sensation. “Fine. Nothing today of note, not even Collins.”
He nodded once. “Glad to hear it. We have practice after school.”
I knew because I memorized their schedules like it was my job. I hated the idea of not knowing where all four of them were, proving that maybe I was more than a little bit needy.
With that thought, I pulled out my phone and texted Barrett. How’s today?
Groan, he texted back and I smiled. He sums things up so well.
“Hey, Al.” Sarah walked over to me. “Good job yesterday. How’s your soreness?”
I wasn’t focused on it, but since she mentioned it, I noticed my discomfort. “My arms hurt the most.”
“Yep. They will. That’ll stop.”
A girl marched out into the courtyard, and I gasped when I recognized Maggie, the shower screamer. I tensed and Jeremy squeezed my shoulder. “Don’t be scared.”
“Alatheia,” she said then pursed her lips. “I’m sorry for my behavior yesterday. I’m on some medication, and it has strange effects on me.”
I blinked, startled. What is happening here?
She put her hands behind her back. “Can you forgive me? Maybe we can even be friends.”
Jer shook his head. “She isn’t going to be your friend. Not ever.”
Maggie visibly swallowed. “Can you forgive me?”
Julian cleared his throat, and Phoenix shifted in his seat, glancing between us. “What did I miss?”
“A lot of stuff.” Julian shook his head. “Later.”
The courtyard had fallen silent, everyone apparently curious if I would forgive her. Maggie stared at me, her pretty blue eyes rimmed red and puffy. What happened to her since we last met?
I shrugged. “Sure, let’s just let it go.”
She nodded and then stared at Jeremy. “Won’t happen again.”
“I’m sure it won’t.” He squeezed my shoulder.
After she exited the courtyard, it exploded in volume, everyone talking at once. Bethany grabbed my arm. “How did you get Maggie to fucking apologize to you and what did she do?”
“I…I did nothing.” I would ignore that second part, since I didn’t want to discuss the shower incident.
Sarah crossed her arms over her chest. “That you, Lent?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Jeremy went back to his lunch.
For their part, Phoenix and Julian whispered together and Phoenix widened his eyes. “She did what?”
Jeremy explained, “Yeah, I know, really bad. Normally, you would handle it, but if you’re going to go non-communicative at Joe’s place, then you’re going to miss things. It got taken care of.”
Phoenix grinned at Jeremy. “I forgot how brutal you can be.”
“Not me.” He shook his head, but I didn’t believe him. Not even a little bit. Once the buzz moved on to other topics, like a pep rally and an upcoming homecoming dance, I nudged Jeremy.
“Tell me the truth,” I whispered.
He chewed on his bottom lip then answered me in the same low voice. “I can’t tell you how much I want to kiss you right now. I don’t think I ever appreciated the amount of restraint in my family.”
He was being deliberately obtuse, so I scowled at him before admitting, “Same, I promise.” After kissing Julian last night, I planned to be more honest about it. He widened his eyes, and I kicked him under the table. “But you know that wasn’t what I meant.”
He sighed. “Daniel filters a lot of money to people trying to start high end businesses. Her father opens men’s fashion houses, high end stuff.
I texted Daniel that I needed him to intervene on something, because Maggie went way out of line and needed her rope tugged.
He tugged her dad. Then her dad tugged hers. ”
I closed my eyes. “She is going to hate me even more now. She might have publicly apologized, but she won’t forget it. Trust me.”
“No, maybe that’s how it was in other places. But we learned how to defend ourselves with a good offense. We always have to be the biggest predator in the room. Julian might pretend he doesn’t know it sometimes, but Phoenix and I never forget it. And Barrett? With him, it depends on the day.”
I closed my eyes, knowing it would blow up in my face regardless of his assurances. I might not know when or how, but it would. “She was pretty convinced you were hers,” I pointed out.
He snorted. “Well, like she said earlier, she is on a lot of medications.”
Lunch ended, and I didn’t manage to eat a bite. Everyone got up, and Julian leaned over to whisper in my ear, “Baby, don’t worry about the Maggie thing. You’re with us now. You’re all good.”
He was wrong, but I would figure out how to handle it when it happened, just another ghost I would drag around until it exploded. I shook my head, realizing Julian’s play was going to resonate with me for a while.
Sarah nudged my shoulder. “It’s sweet they did that. I’m not surprised, since you seem to be good friends with the Lents, but someday I want the story. You’ll have to tell me how you managed to befriend the most unfriendly group of people ever.”
I shook my head. “Don’t talk about their family like that.”
She lifted her eyebrows, beaming at me. “I like that. You’re loyal, too.
No problem. I’ll be loyal to you, you be loyal to me, and I won’t speak about the Lents like that again.
” She shook her head, glancing around as if afraid to add, “You know girls like Maggie don’t go away forever.
They’re like the plague. They flare up every so often. ”
Phoenix watched us but gave us some space.
“How do you avoid it?” I asked her. “How did you manage to be you and not get swept up in this world?”
She shook her head. “My family is a plow our way in, ask questions later setup. You’ll find your way, too. In the meantime, you’ve somehow managed to make friends with Bethany and Tiffany, who absolutely don’t run in the same crowds. Not to mention us. Not bad for your first day.”
I laughed. “You know I don’t ever have friends. Not usually.”
“Well, you’ll have to let me know which way you prefer it.”
One day in and my life is already hardly recognizable.
School ended and I made my way outside, since the twins had practice.
Barrett wouldn’t be home until very late—he might have even gone home and come back already.
I could probably check on the app, but regardless, he wasn’t near me.
I didn’t know where Phoenix was or if he would be coming home.
I certainly wasn’t doing the dance again in my own mind.
As if I conjured him, he appeared next to me, skateboard in hand. I wondered if he kept it in his locker, or where he kept it all day, since I hadn’t seen it since morning.
“Going home?” He looked so hopeful, so I almost laughed.
I lifted my brows. “We’re not supposed to say things like that here.”
“Red, we’re skirting breaking all the rules with you.
Jeremy’s arm was around you all through lunch.
I guarantee it garnered some questions, especially after the Maggie apology, but most people already think you’re dating me.
So, yeah, you’re right, but I’m wondering how long we can do this without utterly screwing it up anyway.
” He cleared his throat. “Are you, though? Going to the place That Shall Not Be Named?”
I thought about it, because although it was my plan, we didn’t have to head right home. “Are you exhausted?”
He probably should be, but he shook his head. “I took something an hour ago, so I’ll be wide awake for a while.”
I hated that. So much. I didn’t even know where to put all the hate, so I swept it away by blowing out an annoyed breath.
I couldn’t fix the situation on the sidewalk—hell, I might never be able to fix it at all.
“Okay, you have the board with you. Why don’t we go somewhere where you can skate and I can watch? Doable?”
I didn’t feel like doing my homework. I wanted to watch Phoenix skate, and I didn’t want to overthink it.
“Really?” He shook his head. “For real?”
I laughed, because he sounded as if he truly couldn’t believe it. “Yes, so where can we go?”
“There’s a place below the Manhattan Bridge. We can take the subway, then we’ll have to walk. You up for that?”
I nodded. “Are you?”
He dropped the skateboard, putting one foot on it and offering me a hand. “Jump on, Alatheia. I can’t wait to show you.”
I stepped onto his board like the day when we chased the PI through the streets together.
I held on to him and let him lead us away from Pullman.
Phoenix didn’t think he could make it through another year of school, but I wasn’t sure either.
Maybe we just all needed to make it a different kind of a year?