CODY
My parents were seated at the table sipping their morning coffee when I walked in the kitchen. Classical music played lightly in the background, and the serenity almost made me forget I was about to lie to them.
“Hey, Bud. You’re up early.” My dad was usually gone when I came downstairs, my mom close behind, but she liked to at least see me before she left. Our five-minute catch up session in front of the refrigerator had become a tradition.
I focused on that fridge, not wanting to meet his eyes. “Yeah. Blake needs a ride, so I’m gonna head out.”
My parents exchanged a smile. They loved Blake. Gave him credit for the change I’d made over the past year and a half. If they only knew the truth. But truth wasn’t what parents wanted. They wanted to believe their kids were happy and adjusted. Or a least that’s what my parents wanted. They wanted reassurance that my days of listening to music for hours and hours, without friends or a social life were in the past.
My dad stood, dumped his cup in the sink, and walked over to the couch. “It’ll be a late night for me. We’re still waiting for those contracts to drop.” My dad did something with the government. Something boring. Something that kept him from attending most of my wrestling matches.
“That’s probably good. I’ve got a stack of invoices to sort through, anyway.” My mom sounded partly disappointed and partly relieved. “What do you say, Cody? Chinese take-out for dinner?” She stood and turned off the coffee pot. “You can tackle calculus, and I’ll tackle my four page spreadsheet.”
My mom was a CPA. Another boring job, but one she secretly loved. They were simple, my parents. Drama-free routine was their idea of a perfect day.
“You okay?” She asked when I said nothing.
I thought about it—telling both of them that I was struggling. That I’d worked the last year and half to be a part of something I was starting to hate. I opened my mouth to answer, but stopped. They were the types to dig until they had the entire story. I’d never told them about that horrible day in the boys’ locker room and never wanted to.
“I’m fine. Chinese sounds perfect.” I grabbed my keys and gave her a quick hug. “See you tonight.”
“Bye, Bud,” my dad called from the living room. “Work hard.”
I resisted a snort. I’d be working all right. Working to keep Chugger and the rest of the team from drowning in Lake Lure.
*
I leaned against the wooden post on Jimmy’s pier and assessed the group lounging on the sand beach that ran the length of his property. Blake had said the group would be selective, but I didn’t realize he meant the junior and senior wrestlers and every hot girl they knew, including a few from other schools. Senior skip day had turned into a meat market, and Blake was sampling every piece of the goods.
Lindsay’s glaring absence made it clear Blake had chosen today to announce his bachelor status.
Bass from Chugger’s stereo was loud enough to rattle windows, and I wished for the fiftieth time that my friends had better taste in music. I knew they’d never appreciate the classics like Pink Floyd, Def Leppard or Skylar Wyld. But at this point, I’d even take Fall Out Boy or Maroon 5.
“You look lonely.” Jill said as she brushed against my arm. Her presence bugged me almost as much as the music.
“Hey.”
She’d gone all out today on the lack of clothing. Two triangles covered her ample chest and her swimsuit bottoms weren’t much more than a string. I glanced at the ground wishing I had as much control over my body as I did my eyes.
“I brought you a drink.”
A cold bottle of beer appeared in my line of sight. I took it and set it at my feet. “Thanks.” I wanted to move, but I was trapped between the boat and Jill’s very appealing body. She must have known this because soon it was pressed against mine.
“Jimmy said the rooms are open. We could go…talk.”
Talk? Yeah, right. Jill wanted to talk as much as Chugger wanted to remain celibate through high school. I inched away, tying to focus above her neck. “Nah. I’m good out here.”
“Jill, baby! Leave Saint James alone and come play with me!” Chugger yelled across the water. He’d passed drunk and into sloppy over an hour ago. Their theory to get wasted before lunch and sober up by practice was asinine.
Jill stiffened and gave a very unladylike gesture. “Chugger’s such a pig. So, did you hear about Blake and Lindsay?”
“Yeah.” I’d managed to put a foot between us and could finally take a deep breath of air. Jill was a lethal mix of cobra and siren. “You know, Blake’s always up for talking.” I cringed. My hope to reiterate my non-interest came out sounding like a first rate pimp.
She crossed her arms, pushing even more skin out of her top. “Blake’s been in love with Lindsay since freshman year. No way those two are over, and I’m not about to end up a casualty in that triangle.” She glared off in the distance, looking almost vulnerable. “Did you ever think that I might actually have feelings for you?”
“Why? Seriously, Jill. We have nothing in common.” And we both knew what she did two years ago even if we weren’t saying so. She saw me run into the boys’ locker room. She could have helped. She didn’t.
Jill bit her lip and her eyes sparkled with tears. For the first time I didn’t know if they were genuine or just another ploy. “Tom Baker hurt me, too.”
My stomach twisted into a familiar knot. That name. That stupid name should not still affect me like it does. I turned around, focused on the lake water and on pushing air in and out. Her hand touched my shoulder. It was hot. Hotter than the sun scorching the back of my neck. I shrugged Jill’s hand away, but I still felt its lingering burn.
“You think you’re the only one playing the game here? You’re not. Everybody at Madison wants the same thing.”
I spun back around. “And what’s that?”
She blinked. “To get out.”
“Yeah, but I don’t hurt people in the process.” I’d never be one of them. Surviving wasn’t the same. Wanting to coast my senior year didn’t make me a bad guy. It made me smart. It ensured I’d never be the guy on that locker room floor ever again.
She backed away. “Sure, Cody. Keep telling yourself that.”