A New Hope (The Second Chance Series Book 2) (18 page)

Rylee sat there in silence for what seemed like forever. When the lunch bell rang they walked to class together, but she still didn’t say anything. “Ry?” Dominic asked softly when they stopped in front of her class.

“I’m okay, Dom.” She said and gave him a sad smile. “Get to class before you’re late.” She told him then kissed his cheek and walked into her class.

Throughout the rest of the day Rylee was unusually quiet and Karla was worried about her. On the way to Karla’s house Callie tried to pull Rylee into the conversation about the project, but she just sat there and nodded her head in response to everything they said.

Once they got to Karla’s they went into the kitchen and started working. Karla was assigned the task of writing the script since she knew the book almost word for word and the others were going to work on the report together. When Dominic arrived Rylee finally opened up. “I can’t believe you’re moving.”

“I couldn’t believe it when dad came home Friday and told us. I was going to call you then, but I didn’t want to upset you before your competition. Then on Sunday mom roped me into helping look online for a house in the area. I thought it’d be better to tell you in person rather than on the phone anyway.”

“So, when is your last day here?” Rylee asked him softly.

“September 25
th
. We have almost two weeks to get everything packed up and moved.”

“We have less than two weeks together.” Rylee said softly and laid her head on Dominic’s shoulder.

“Yeah.” He responded and wrapped his arm around her.

“We’ll figure something out.” Rylee said and looked up at her friends. “Right now though, we have a project to work on.”

“Ry’s back.” Conner said with a smile.

They all opened their books and got to work. By the time Leslie, Andrew and Elliot got home they had the written report outlined and Karla was almost finished with the script. They had also decided to shoot the scene they were doing in Karla’s backyard and they were going shopping for costumes in a couple of days.

“Oh my gosh. Elliot, are you alright?” Karla asked as soon as he walked into the kitchen.

“I’m fine, sis. Just a cracked knuckle and some bruises.”

“Care to tell us what happened?” Conner asked him.

He sat down at the table and repeated what he told Andrew and Leslie earlier. When he was finished Karla was seeing red. “You mean to tell me she let him do this and get away with it?”

“Calm down, sis.” Elliot said with a grin. “She did, but when Andrew and Leslie showed up it was a different story. Mrs. Pence is no longer principle and she may be going to jail. Mr. Jennings showed up and said he was going to file the papers to have her charged with Criminal Negligence by an Authority Figure and the lady from the school board said she was launching a full investigation because this isn’t the first time something like this has happened.”

“Wow. You had an eventful day.” Conner said with a grin. “Mrs. Pence was principle when we were there too and I remember a couple times when something like this happened.”

“Like that time when Mark Sanders and his friends beat up Jace for standing up for Rylee.” Callie told them. “We tried to tell her what happened, but she didn’t want to hear it. We went to our parents and told them, but when they went and talked to her she brushed them off too.”

“Brian Sanders is the boy I fought with today. I was alright until he grabbed Maddie, then I just lost it.”

“I remember Brian. He was in sixth grade when we were in eighth. He was a trouble maker then too.” Conner told them.

“Well I’m just glad it’s been dealt with.” Karla said and hugged Elliot. “I was worried little brother.”

“It’s over now, sis. Well, almost over. Maddie, Mallie and I are going to have to testify in front of the school board about today, but after that it’ll be over.”

Andrew and Leslie stood in kitchen doorway and listened to the conversation as they watched older kids gather around Elliot. When Andrew heard what Conner and Callie said he knew he’d have to talk to Mark and see if he remembered the incident. If he did then that’d be another mark against Leigh Pence. He was already going to bury her for today, but proof of other incidents would make it that much worse for her.

“Okay, Elliot.” Andrew said as he stepped into the room. “Why don’t you go get some rest while we fix dinner and Karla will come get you when it’s time to eat?”

“I’m alright, Dr. Peterson.” Elliot said with a small smile.

“You called me Andrew when you were talking to them so why don’t you call me by my name when you’re talking to me? You’ve been here for three months Elliot, and I think it’s time you started calling Leslie and I by our first names.”

Elliot’s smile grew and he nodded his head slightly. “I think I can do that, Andrew.” He said and winced a little.

“Are you hurting, Elliot?” Karla asked in a concerned voice.

“A little. I didn’t want any pain pills in the ER.”

“Why don’t I get you some ibuprofen and some water? That should help a little.” Karla offered and when he nodded she took off into the other room.

“I think you should rest until dinner.” Andrew told him. “And since I’m your doctor you should listen to me.” He grinned.

“Andrew, are you playing the doctor card with Elliot?” Karla asked when she walked back into the room.

“Well it always works on you so I thought I’d try with him.” Andrew answered and she laughed at him.

“Honey, she just lets you think it works on her.” Leslie said from behind him. “You put her on bed rest and, even though she stays in bed, she doesn’t rest. She’s always reading or doing school work on her laptop. Or texting one of these three.” She pointed at Callie, Rylee and Conner.

“So much for doctor’s orders.” Andrew said with a grin. “Okay Elliot, you can stay up, but I don’t want you overdoing it. That knuckle needs at least a week to heal properly.”

“Deal.” Elliot said and he pulled out his phone. “I’m going to text Mallie and let her know I’m okay. I know her and Maddie were worried.”

“There he goes.” Leslie said with a laugh. “He’s as stubborn as Karla.”

“Like sister, like brother I guess.” Karla said and everyone in the room erupted in much needed laughter.

The next few days passed in a blur of activity. Callie went on her date with Daniel and they had a great time. They did their video project and were ready to submit it the next day. Tomorrow was Dominic’s last day in school and he was leaving on Sunday afternoon. Tonight they were all meeting at Karla’s after practice and were throwing him a small going away party because Saturday they have another competition.

“Daniel, do you want to come over after practice and join us?” Karla asked him. He had been hanging out with them for the past week and he had gotten to know Dominic.

“Sure. I don’t know him well, but I can tell he means a lot to all of you.” Daniel said and stroked a hand down Callie’s hair.

“He does.” Callie responded. “He’s like another brother, which I so didn’t need, but I got one anyway.”

Karla laughed a little at her, but knew what she said was true. Dominic was like family and losing him was hurting them all, but it was ripping Rylee apart inside.

“Ry needs us all there.” Conner said sadly as he looked at the lost expression on her face.

“That she does.” Callie agreed and walked over to her best friend.

“Ry? You okay?” Callie asked when she stopped beside her.

“Yeah. I’m just thinking. I need to talk to you and Karla after this and before Dominic’s party.” Rylee said and Callie nodded.

“Of course. You know we’re both always here for you.” Karla said as she walked up to them.

“I know you are. I love you both.” Rylee said with tears in her eyes.

“We love you too, Ry.” Callie said and pulled Rylee into a hug. When Karla’s arms wrapped around them Rylee relaxed a little.

When Jake called them to order they broke apart and joined their teams. “Okay, this is the last practice before Saturday and I want to see everyone, and I mean everyone, working as a team. We can’t afford to have anyone questioning anyone else’s abilities. We are a team and as a team we must work together.”

After he was finished talking the practice went by quickly and by five they were all tired, but confident about their chances of winning Saturday.

“Leslie’s here to get us.” Conner said as he wrapped an arm around Karla. “We’ll meet you at Karla’s, Daniel.” He said and pulled Callie away from him. He still wasn’t sure he liked her dating Daniel, but she was old enough to make her own decisions and he wouldn’t interfere. He would watch though.

Once they got to Karla’s they headed to the dining room. Andrew had taken the big table out and set up a couple of smaller tables while they were at school so they had room to walk around and dance together. Leslie had snacks ready and was ordering pizza later, but basically they would have the privacy they wanted so they could say goodbye to their friend.

“Dominic will be here at six, but we all have to be home by ten because it’s a school night.” Rylee said with a false smile on her face. “Karla, Callie, can we go upstairs and talk for a minute? I need to tell you two something in private.”

“Sure.” Karla said. “We’ll be back in a few minutes.” She said to Conner and kissed him on the cheek.

Once in Karla’s room Rylee locked the door and sat on the bed. “What I’m about to tell you two cannot leave this room.”

“Duh.” Callie responded. “You know you can tell us anything and we would never tell anyone.”

“I know, but this is pretty serious.” Rylee said and took a deep breath. “Dominic and I had sex last night.”

“WHAT?!” Callie said loudly.

“Callie, shut it.” Karla said and turned to Rylee. “Are you okay?”

“I’m better than okay. I was something both of us wanted to share with the other one. We had talked about it before, but we had decided to wait. With him leaving we changed our minds.”

“So you had sex because he’s leaving?” Callie asked.

“No, we had sex because we both wanted to have sex. We were safe, Cal.”

“Was it his first time, too?” Callie asked. She was worried for her friend.

“It was. We wanted to experience our first time together. I have no regrets.”

“I’m glad you don’t.” Karla told her with a smile. “I’m not sure if I’ll ever be completely ready for something like that.”

“That’s understandable, Karla, and I know Con will never pressure you, but most boys want it.” Callie said with a hint of sadness in her voice. “I’m not ready either though.”

Before anyone could say anything else there was a knock on the door. “Dominic’s here.” Conner said and Karla got up and unlocked the door.

When Conner walked in followed by Daniel, Dominic and Elliot, Karla walked into his arms and laid her head on his chest. “I love you, Conner.”

“I love you, too, Karla.” He said and kissed the top of her head. “Now let’s get this party started.”

For the next couple of hours they talked, laughed and cried together as they said goodbye to Dominic. When everyone left for the night Karla sat at the table lost in thought. “Karla, honey, is everything alright?” Leslie said as she sat down beside her.

“Callie said something earlier tonight that has been on my mind since she said it.”

“Want to talk about it?” Leslie asked hopefully.

“Yes.” Karla answered and looked around the room. When she realized it was just her and Leslie in there she started talking. “Before Dominic got here Rylee, Callie and I were in my room talking. We were talking about sex and Callie said that most boys want it. Before you ask, no, Conner hasn’t mentioned it at all.”

“Okay, that’s good, but the subject may come up soon, honey. Callie’s right, most boys do want it.”

“How old were you when you lost your virginity?” Karla asked bluntly.

“I don’t know why that question surprises me.” Leslie murmured to herself. “I was sixteen. I had been dating this boy for about a year and on the night of my sixteenth birthday he took me to the movies and after the movie was over we went for a drive. He parked in a deserted parking lot and we had sex. It was clear that he knew what he was doing and I wasn’t sure if I was ready, but I never tried to stop him. I wish I had waited, because he broke up with me the next week. Two years later I met Andrew and I knew that I should have waited for him.”

“I don’t doubt for a second that Conner is the right one, but I know I’m not ready. I just don’t know what I’ll do if he starts mentioning it. He knows my past and I know he would never pressure me, but I also want to show him how much I love him.”

“I understand that, sweetheart. Conner isn’t like most teenage boys though. I don’t see him even mentioning sex unless you do. I just hope I’m right.”

“Me too, Leslie.” Karla said and slipped back into her thoughts. After a few minutes she looked over at Leslie again. “I’ll know when I’m ready right?”

“Yes, sweetheart. You’re the only one who will know when you’re ready. Just remember that and everything will be okay?”

“Thank you for listening and not going all parental on me.”

Leslie laughed softly. “Believe me I wanted to go parental, but I knew that’s not what you needed. You needed a parent, but you needed a friend, too.”

“Thank you for always being here and knowing just what I need.”

“I always will be, Karla. Never forget that.” Leslie said and wrapped Karla in a loving embrace.