Chapter Sixteen
Amy
I had never been so mad in my life. As I watched Luke drive away, I found it harder and harder to push down my anger. Turning, I marched back into the house or at least tried to march while hobbling around on crutches.
When I got to the kitchen I slammed to halt as I glared at my father.
“That was very rude,” I said while I leaned on my crutches. I wanted to stomp my foot and put my hands on my hips, but an evil glare would have to do.
“He’s not the right boy for you,” my father said as he took a sip of coffee. That calm, know it all demeanor sent me over the edge. How dare he pretend to know what was right for me.
“What? You mean the boy who saved my life? The boy who is sweet and kind and a gentleman. He is not right for me?”
“No, the boy who isn’t going anywhere. The boy is a criminal for god sake.”
“You don’t know anything,” I yelled. “You don’t understand. You could never understand.”
He smiled slightly and shook his head. “Believe me, I know what a boy thinks. And what made you think it was okay to have him here when I was gone?”
My stomach clenched a little. I might have pushed that a little too far but no way was I admitting that to him.
“You never told me I couldn’t have friends over when you were gone.”
He stared at me, “There is a difference and you know it.”
I rolled my eyes and screamed as I turned to leave. This was ridiculous. I was arguing with a Neanderthal.
“Don’t you leave,” he called after me. “We aren’t done talking.”
“We are so done,” I yelled over my shoulder. “I refuse to be treated like a little girl.”
“Amy,” he yelled with an angry tone that surprised me.
My insides tightened up. This was too important. This was too emotional to let him win. If I didn’t stop it now, he would try to run my life forever.
So, without thinking it through, I turned back on him and uttered the words that should never be said allowed.
“Mom would understand.”
As soon as the words left my mouth, I knew I had crossed a line. I’d used a kill shot in a sparring match. I’d brought a machete to a Princeton Debate match.
His eyes grew big and his jaw dropped. But even though I had gone over the line, if I apologized now, he’d win.
Turning back, I scrambled upstairs as fast as I could and threw myself onto my bed. All I could think about was how Luke must hate me because of my father. All I wanted was to sink into his arms and know that everything was okay between us.
The next morning, my father dropped me off. We hadn’t spoken a word to each other since my parting shot the night before. My insides were all scrambled up with stress and worry. I still managed to slam the door on my way out of the car.
I was pretty sure we’d work it out eventually. But I wasn’t positive. That was new. Never before had I ever doubted our bond. But now? Who knew?
Of course, as soon as I saw Jenny, my anxiety level climbed about a thousand percent. Great, Not only did my dad hate me, Luke probably regretted everything. But, my best friend was going to think I betrayed her and dump me like a bad idea.
She smiled at me, then looked over my shoulder as her smile grew even larger. I turned and saw Chip headed towards us. Of course.
He looked at Jenny and smiled, the two of them forgetting the rest of us mere mortals even existed.
“Hey, speedy,” Luke said as he came up next to me.
My heart melted when I saw the tenderness in his eyes. He didn’t hate me. He didn’t blame me for my stupid father.
The two of us held each other’s stare for a long moment, then, as if by mutual unspoken agreement, we pulled our eyes away from the other. A bolt of regret and loss flashed through me. Oh, how I wished I could have his arm around my shoulder. A kiss to greet the day. Something to tell me that everything would work out.
Instead, an empty chasm opened between us. A separation that I had insisted on.
Glancing at Jenny, I checked to see if she had noticed the loving glanced shared by Luke and me. But no, the girl was oblivious. All she saw was Chip walking towards us.
Luke laughed next to me, he had seen the same thing. Shaking his head, he waited for Chip to join us.
“What you so happy about?” Luke said to Chip as he walked up. “You look like you just defeated the dungeon master.”
Chip shot him a scowl. “I AM the dungeon master, and I never lose.”
Both Luke and I laughed.
Chip ignored us as he looked at Jenny. Her cheeks grew red, he was unable to hold her stare. All I could do was roll my eyes.
“Come on,” I said. “If we don’t hurry, I’ll be late and I can’t afford another tardy slip.” The words had no sooner left my mouth than I held my breath waiting for Luke to tease me.
Luke laughed. “Yes, heaven forbid Amy Jensen spend a minute in detention. The universe as we know it would stop working.”
I smiled inside. The world was back on an even keel. He was going to play along and keep Jenny in the dark. For the first time, I was able to relax. At least that terror was delayed. I couldn’t deal with it. Not that morning. I had enough drama dealing with my dad.
“Hey, Prescott,” Willie Dawson called as he walked towards us. A cold chill ran down my spine. I really didn’t like this particular person. When it came to the dregs of our society, Willie Dawson was at the bottom.
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Chip step closer to Jenny. At the same time, Luke frowned as he turned to deal with this intruder.
“We need to talk,” Willie said to Luke, but his eyes lingered on Jenny longer than they should have. I knew I didn’t like this guy. He made the word creep seem inadequate.
“I’ll see you guys at lunch,” Luke said as he nodded towards the door.
Every alarm sprang to life. Luke should not be left alone with this person. I could see that Jenny thought the same thing. But Luke stared at us, silently insisting that we leave.
I swallowed hard then twisted and nodded for Chip and Jenny to join me. As I got to the door, I turned to give Luke one last look of warning.
He stared at me and I could tell he was trying to tell me not to worry. Or at least that was what I thought he meant. But it was useless. Of course, I was going to worry. This was Willie Dawson we were talking about. The scum of the earth.
.o0o.
Luke
I watched the front door close behind Amy and the others then turned to Willie and raised an eyebrow.
“That Amy chic, she’s getting hotter all the time,” he said as he turned back to me. He too had been watching the others. “I can get you warning me off your sister. But you can’t say anything about me going after Jensen. You don’t control all the girls around here.”
I laughed which shocked him. He hadn’t expected that response.
“Amy is so far out of your class that she isn’t even aware of silly boys like you. I wouldn’t try it if I was you.”
“Hey, nothing ventured, nothing gained,” he said with a shrug.
An anger was beginning to build inside of me. See, this was the whole problem with keeping us a secret. Guys like Willie didn’t know the truth. They didn’t know enough to stay away. That was how people ended up getting hurt. Serious hurt. Like hospital type hurt.
But I couldn’t say anything. Instead, I just had to pretend like it was no big deal. But of course, if he did try anything, I would have to put an end to it, fast.
“What did you want?” I asked him, trying to pull his attention away from Amy.
He turned back to me and studied me for a moment. “Have you thought any more about what I asked you the other day.”
I frowned as I tried to figure out what he was talking about then remembered his stupid idea about me introducing him to some of the guys I had known inside, or to their contacts on the outside.
What an idiot.
“No, I haven’t thought about it,” I told him. “Because I said I wasn’t getting involved, remember.”
Something strange flashed behind his eyes. Almost a scared look. What was that about, why was he scared?
“I really need you to do it,” he said as he glanced around to make sure no one was listening. “I’m getting pressure, you know what I mean.”
“No, I don’t,” I said. “That’s not my world, remember. It stopped being my world two years ago.”
He grimaced then sighed heavily, “Listen, man, I really need some help. We’ve got some … Product, shall we call it and I need to find someone to help us move it.”
I knew exactly what he meant and I knew I wanted to stay as far away from that side of life as I could. I shook my head.
“Sorry, I can’t help you.”
He looked at me and I could swear he was trying to figure out some way to force me. About as stupid an idea as the idiot ever had.
I decided that enough was enough and left him without even saying goodbye. Maybe that would get it through his thick skull.
Besides. I had bigger problems. Like how was I going to keep my feelings about Amy a secret from my little sister? Knowing me, I was probably going to screw it up pretty soon. The only question was how and when?