49. Chapter 49
Chapter 49
Sloane
April 1993
S pring break marked the downhill point in our senior year, and the halls are abuzz as those in my graduating class look forward to all the festivities that come along with our last quarter of school. My skin is almost back to normal as I plop into my chair in French class the Monday after spring break. Next up is prom and I am so excited!
Kurt is right behind me, and I can tell he has gossip for me today. His face holds some kind of secret. "Hey!" I smile brightly. "What's up? You look like the cat that ate the canary."
Kurt's eyes are serious, and this makes my pulse race. "Sloane," Kurt whispers, "there's a rumor going around that you and Tyler Finlay got together over spring break."
"What?" I say a little too loudly and feel my eyes bulge in their sockets. "No way. Maybe in my dreams."
"Seriously," Kurt says, "apparently someone saw you leaving his room Saturday night."
I exhale and lean back in my chair. "Oh, that? No, that was nothing." Kurt's eyes search mine, and I don't want to spread gossip about Amber and what happened to her, but I also want my friend to know why I was seen leaving Tyler's room that night. I lean in and explain to him what happened, leaving Amber's name out of it to protect her.
Kurt's face washes with relief. "I knew you wouldn't do something like that,” he says almost triumphantly. "Man, kids in this school have got to get a life."
Amber saunters into the room, and I give her a soft smile but am dumbfounded when she looks right at me and makes a face as if she's just smelled something foul. She then proceeds to roll her eyes and sits in her seat, turning her face away from me and toward the front of the room.
Kurt sees it too and looks at me, "What's her deal?"
"I guess it's just Amber being Amber," I say quietly to him as I shake my head. I can't believe she would still be so rude to me after what I did for her on the beach that night. Graduation simply can't get here fast enough.
***
By the time marine bio rolls around, the rumor about Tyler and me has permeated the entire school, and I'm so mad, I could spit nails. I have a boyfriend. He has a girlfriend. I would never do that, and we were doing something nice for someone. I feel mad, sad, and irritated all at once. I make my way to class and hope to see Tyler and Sara in the hallway since she usually walks with him to class, but I don’t. I toss my backpack down as Billy says, "Hey Sloaner-"
I cut him off. "Sorry, Billy. Be right back." I march out to the hallway and wait for Tyler and Sara. Kids pass me, left and right, but there's no sign of either of them. Occasionally, kids pass by me and whisper to each other, and I feel my face grow hot. I want to cry, but I also want to scream. The bell rings, and I go inside and slump down in my chair.
"What's the matter Sloaner?" Billy asks.
"Come on, hurry up, Romeo," Coach K says, and I look up to see Tyler rushing into class.
When he sees me, there's the slightest pause in his steps, but he continues forward and sits in his seat next to me. "We need to talk."
"Yeah, I know," I whisper. "I cannot believe what people are saying."
"Me neither," Tyler says as he pulls out his book and notebook. "It's insane."
Okay, that kind of hurt, but I try to brush it off. "How's Sara?"
"Pissed," he whispers.
Coach K gives us a look, and I don't want to draw any more attention to us, so I keep my mouth shut and my head down. While I try to focus on my book and taking notes, all I can think about is how to make this right. I've known Sara since the sixth grade, and I hope she knows the kind of person I am. I decide that the only way to fix this is to talk to Sara, if she'll hear me out.
***
After class, Tyler tells me that Sara isn't talking to him, but suggests that I come to the table that they sit at for lunch outside. Of course, I know which table this is, and of course, it's in the middle of everything and everyone. Maggie and I walk outside together, and nervous butterflies fill my stomach as I look out at the picnic tables where the cheerleaders, football players, and their popular friends eat lunch. It's far from the little piece of shady sidewalk where my friends and I eat lunch. I inhale deeply, trying to still my nerves.
"I hate confrontation," I say to Maggie.
"Me, too," she says softly. After a beat, she adds, "Do you want me to come with you?"
I know Maggie is only offering to be polite. I turn to her, "No, thanks." She looks more nervous than I feel. "I'll join y'all in a few." I take in another deep inhale, then exhale slowly as I see Tyler walk up to the group and sit next to Sara who promptly turns her back and talks to the girls on her right. "This is ridiculous," I say to myself and march over as my heart feels like it's going to beat out of my chest. Obviously, my body is much better at flight versus fight.
I walk up to Sara's right side and smile. "Hey, can we talk for a second?"
Sara opens her mouth and is about to say something when Amber sits across from her. "I don't think she has anything to say to you, Sloane." She says my name as if it tastes like a bitter pill.
I feel my eyebrows raise and notice Tyler shifting out of the corner of my eye. I can't believe I'm not dropping dead of a heart attack right here, right now. I'm the worst at confrontation and feel my eyes prick with tears. Like a scared dog, I'm using avoidance, wishing I had the courage to stand up to Amber.
"Sara can think for herself, Amber," Tyler says. "You, for one, know this rumor isn't true." I look at Tyler whose fierce gaze is focused on Amber. I've never seen him look angry like this.
I look back to Sara. "Please?" I plead. "It's not what you think." I look at Amber. "At all."
Sara looks from me to Amber, whose mouth hangs open as if she's stunned and can't speak, then back at me. "Okay," she says as she stands up. She glares at Tyler, "Come on."
Tyler stands up, and I swear he looks like a puppy who realizes he's no longer in trouble for chewing on a shoe. Relief washes over him, and he looks anxious to be heard.
We follow Sara to the pine trees where no one sits at lunch. She stops and crosses her arms over her chest and looks at me. “Tyler has told me what he says happened, and I want to hear if your story matches."
"Sara, the reason I was seen leaving Tyler's condo the night of the bonfire was because he offered me some water after he saw me helping a girl who had been drugged at the bonfire." I search her face, seeing if she believes me. "I was at the bonfire with Maggie, Beth, and Annalise, and they were all dancing with guys." I shift uncomfortably as I say, "I felt out of place and didn't want to be disrespectful to my boyfriend, so I went to sit down by the water and just watch the waves. I heard A-," I stop myself as I still don’t want to say who the girl was. "I heard a girl who was being groped by two guys, so I sprang into action. I grabbed her and started heading toward The Summit because I had to get her out of there." As I'm telling the story, I turn to Tyler. "Wait, didn't you tell her all of this Saturday night after it happened?"
Tyler says, "I told her a girl had been drugged with a spiked drink, but I didn't go into all the details." He looks at Sara, and I can't help but feel like there's something going on between them that I don't understand. "The bonfire had just been busted and all."
Sara nods for me to continue. "So, I was dragging this girl down the beach when I saw Tyler. He grabbed her and carried her back to The Summit because he knew she was staying there." I search Sara's eyes.
Sara turns to look at Tyler. "How did you know that?" she snaps.
Tyler looks at me, and I nod. "The girl goes to Dunwoody."
Sara's eyes open wide. "Is she in our class?"
Tyler and I exchange glances again, and I say, "Yes, we agreed not to say anything to protect her privacy."
Sara's eyes soften and so does her tone. "So, what happened?"
I continue. "I searched her pockets and found a key with her room number on it. Tyler carried her while I opened the door to her unit. Her mom was there, watching TV. We got her settled into her bed and let her mom take it from there. Tyler asked if I was thirsty, which I was, so we went to his condo and grabbed some water. Once the adrenaline wore off and I realized what had just happened, I broke down crying. Tyler gave me a hug— totally non-romantic, and we walked back toward the bonfire. He wasn’t sure if you would be there, but wanted to make sure that if you were, you’d be safe. And, of course, I wanted to alert my friends about what had happened. That's when we saw kids running and police lights. We saw my friends, and they told us you were right behind them, so Tyler dashed off to find you. That's the last time I saw him since marine bio today." I look at Sara as she processes all of this, then I add, "And, if it makes you feel better, I was pining away for Ky the whole time I was at the beach and talked to him every night on the phone." I smile and this causes her to smile, too.
"That's the same story Tyler told me," she says. "Except he also said he gave you some wet paper towels to wipe your face with." Sara offers Tyler a slight smile and relief floods through my body.
I laugh. "Yes, he did do that. I'm pretty sure I freaked him out by breaking down." I think about the whole scene which still unsettles me and won't leave my memory. "It was just so scary because if I hadn't grabbed her…" I shudder. "It would have been bad."
Sara nods her head and says, "I'm so glad you were there for her." She gives me a giant bear hug, squeezing me tightly. When she releases me, she turns to Tyler. "Sorry I doubted you."
Tyler smiles tightly at Sara. "Thanks." As Sara turns, his gaze meets mine and his smile turns soft and feels genuine. He stuffs his hands into his pockets as he turns to head back to their table. "I wonder who started this rumor anyway?"
The three of us start walking out of the little pine forest with Sara in the middle. She says, "I don't know who saw you guys, but Amber's been telling anyone who will listen."
I stop dead in my tracks, and so does Tyler. His eyes meet mine. "What?"
Sara stops, too, nodding her head. "Yeah, she's been telling people." She looks between me and Tyler. "Why would she do that?"
I look at Tyler and shake my head in disbelief. I can't believe Amber did this to us after what we did for her, but I decide to take the high road. "Amber has had it out for me for a while, and I have no idea why," I say.
"Well, I'm going to have a word with her," Sara says as she picks up her pace.
"Yeah, me too," Tyler says as he follows Sara.
"Good luck," I say to them. "I've had enough of her for the rest of my life." They laugh as I wave then turn and make my way over to my friends on the shady sidewalk. I will keep what happened to Amber a secret because I won't let someone like Amber Gates drag me down to her level. "Prom, then graduation," I say to myself. I think I will be the happiest person in my class when we throw our graduation caps into the air in June.