A Proscriptive Relationship (31 page)

I shook my head. Now wasn’t the time to be thinking about Mr. Heywood.

“
You’re a very cute girl,” I told Jenna, smiling.

“
Well, thank you,” she responded, grinning at me.

Her grin reminded me of Jeremy’s. It was scary how much these siblings were alike. “What about me?” Jeremy asked, nudging my back with his elbow. “Admit it. You think I’m cute.”

“
I do,” I responded honestly.

He smirked. “I’m going to tell Chris.”

“
Chrissy is here?” Jane spoke, re-entering the conversation. “I want to see him!”

Jeremy shook his head at her. “Not today.”

Jane’s expression fell instantly and a smile came to my face.
Chrissy?
I looked at Jeremy with a questioning expression.

“
Chris sometimes comes over to keep me company when I babysit,” he explained. “Jane is very attached to him. I don’t know how ‘Chrissy’ came about, but it’s hilarious.”

“
Agreed,” I responded with a grin. “She’s so cute.”

“
Sure, until she asks you to make him come over every five seconds,” Jeremy said with a shrug. “But anyway, I want to show you something so follow me.”

“
See you later,” I said to Jane, ruffling the hair on her head.

“
Bye, sissy,” she responded and then turned to Jenna. “Will you play video games with me?”

“
Sure,” I heard Jenna respond as I followed Jeremy down the hallway.

He led me all the way to the other end and opened up the door. I went in first, and stood still, waiting for Jeremy to turn on the light. When light flooded the room, I noticed I was in another bedroom.

“
This is my old room,” Jeremy told me, walking over to a dresser. “Take a seat on the bed.”

I did as ordered and watched as Jeremy shuffled through the top drawer of the dresser before pulling out a large black book. He came back over to me and sat down on the bed as well. I peered over his shoulder to read the cover of the book.

“
A yearbook?”

“
Yep,” Jeremy responded, opening it up. “I only have Chris’s senior-year photos because that’s when I arrived at the school.”

“
How do you know each other, then?” I asked as Jeremy opened the yearbook.

“
Mostly through the gang,” he responded. “But he was also dating my cousin.”

 “
Who’s that?”

Jeremy either didn’t hear me, or ignored me, because he didn’t reply. I stayed quiet as he continued to flip through the yearbook. Finally he came to a page that had the word “seniors” in large, fancy writing. He flipped two more pages then grinned, pointing down.

“
Here’s Chris’s senior page.”

Jeremy pushed the yearbook onto my lap and I stared down at the page. At least ten photos of Mr. Heywood in his younger days stared back at me. A blush made its way across my face as I stared at the pictures. He was so handsome.

“
Thinking something naughty?” Jeremy teased, his face inches away from mine. “Hmm?”

“
No!” I denied, shaking my head quickly. “He’s just so handsome.”

“
He was popular with the ladies even when he was two years younger than them,” Jeremy told me, moving his head away again.

“
Was your cousin two years older than him when they dated?”

Jeremy nodded. “Everyone he dated was older than him, or so I’ve heard.”

“
So then he likes older girls.”

“
Probably.”

I glanced at Jeremy quickly, a look of surprise passing on my face. Jeremy agreed? Shouldn’t he deny that and tease me? Or did that mean it was the truth? Did Mr. Heywood really only like older women?

Jeremy suddenly started laughing and I frowned. He continued to laugh for a few moments, putting his face in his hand. When he was done, he cleared his throat and looked back up at me.

“
Sorry,” he apologized, a grin on his face, “I was kidding. You just have cute reactions.”

I blushed, scowling at him. “You’re just like Mr. Heywood.”

“
Want to see a picture of Topher and my cousin?”

I hesitated for only a moment before nodding my head. I didn’t even know why I hesitated. This was a past girlfriend of Mr. Heywood’s, not a current one. But for some reason I was still feeling jealous.

“
Here it is.”

I followed Jeremy’s finger down to a small color picture of a pair of people with their arms around each other. Mr. Heywood was about a foot taller than the girl, and I almost laughed out loud at the girl’s face.

“
Nice red-eye,” I commented, smirking at the picture. “I thought yearbook editors were supposed to fix things like this?”

Jeremy grinned, tapping the girl’s face with his finger. “I bet they kept it like this for amusement.”

I nodded, looking back down at the picture. Mr. Heywood’s old girlfriend was actually really pretty, if you excused the red-eye. She had light nut-brown hair that went to just past her shoulders and a pale complexion.

“
She’s got the same hair color as me,” I commented with a smile. Did Mr. Heywood like my hair color?

“
Um, yeah,” Jeremy responded, taking the yearbook away. “Enough of that, let’s move onto another memorable picture of Chris.”

“
Would he kill you if he found out you were telling and showing me all of this stuff about him?”

“
Probably,” Jeremy responded casually. “This is senior prom.”

I glanced down at the yearbook and the younger Mr. Heywood in a black suit and deep red tie stared back at me, a huge smile on his face. His hair was gelled back the tiniest bit.

“
He looks like a model!”

“
Don’t let him hear you say that,” Jeremy responded with a snort. “You’ll boost his ego too much. And trust me, it’s big enough.”

“
How come Mr. Heywood never smiles like this anymore?” I asked, turning my gaze to Jeremy, a frown appearing on my face.

He gave me a small smile. “Holly, I told you. Chris changed a lot after the accident.”

“
What accident?” I demanded, my irritation growing again. “I’m so sick and tired of being left in the dark!”

He sighed. “I’m sorry, Holly.”

“
It’s okay,” I grumbled, swallowing my frustration. “I shouldn’t take it out on you anyway.”

“
I’m sure Chris will tell you when the time is right.”

“
I don’t know,” I responded skeptically. “He seems pretty dead set on not letting me know.”

“
There’s a small . . . complication,” Jeremy started slowly, as if choosing his words carefully. “I don’t think he wants to have you get the wrong idea before he can fully explain things.”

I raised an eyebrow. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“
I’m guessing he’s afraid of you getting hurt, emotionally.”

“
Why?”

Jeremy shook his head. “I can’t tell you. I’ve already said too much.”

“
But now I’m more curious than before,” I complained, a frown pulling at my lips.

He chuckled and closed the yearbook, tossing on the bed. “Come on, Holly. Let’s go round up the girls and watch a movie.”

“
But—”

“
Which movie should we watch?” he pondered while moving towards the door. “
Final Destination
?”

“
A seven-year-old shouldn’t be watching that,” I responded, following Jeremy out of the room. “How about something a little more PG? Or at least PG-13.”

“
Those movies never have sex scenes them.”

I rolled my eyes. “Why am I not surprised at that comment?”

He chuckled and opened a door to our left, sticking his head in. “Do you two want to watch a movie with Holly and me?”

“
Yes!” I heard Jane squeal, soon followed by the sound of light footsteps. She emerged looking at me with a big grin.

“
Hi there,” I said to her, squatting down to her level.

“
So what were you and Holly doing all alone in your old bedroom, hmm?” I heard Jenna ask Jeremy as Jane grabbed my hand.

“
Adult stuff,” Jeremy told Jenna, a smirk on his face.

I rolled my eyes. “Don’t listen to him, Jenna. He’s delusional.”

A low rumble of thunder suddenly filled the room and Jane flinched. She looked terrified. I held onto her hand tighter and gave her a comforting smile.

“
What would you like to watch?” I asked.

“
The Brothers Grimm
,” she responded, and began to tug me down the hall. “Let’s go.”

I followed her, hearing Jeremy’s and Jenna’s footsteps behind me. We entered the living room and I sat down on the couch with the girls while Jeremy got the movie started. I could hear the rain pounding down on the roof as it continued to grow heavier. Jeremy flicked off the lights and plopped down on the chair adjacent to the couch, using the remote to start the movie. I settled into a more comfortable position, Jane clinging to me.

By three quarters of the way through the movie, both girls were passed out. I looked at Jeremy in amusement only to find out he was half-asleep as well. A small chuckle escaped my lips as I shook my head. The movie wasn’t that boring.

I reached into my pocket and grabbed my cell phone to check the time. When I flipped it open, it showed I had ten new text messages, thirteen missed calls, and three voice mail messages. I clicked on the new text messages first. Nine were from Casey and one, the first one in my inbox, was from Lance. I decided to read his first.

Tell me how the British boy is when you get this message.

I stared at the message in confusion and re-read it a few times to make sure I had read it right. What was he talking about? I didn’t know any other British people besides him! I sighed, hitting the up button to read the ones from Casey.

The first four were telling me to pick up my phone; the fifth was saying to get in contact with her ASAP; the sixth was telling me again to pick up my phone and so was the seventh; the eighth message told me to check my voice mail, as did the ninth. The tenth said,
It’s about Lance
.

I frowned deeper, uneasiness beginning to set in. What was about Lance? Did something happen to him? My stomach twisted uncomfortably as I went back to my cell phone’s home page, trying to get to the voice mail messages. Before I could press call, however, my phone started vibrating in my hand. The caller ID read “Casey.”

I immediately pressed the talk button. “Hello?”

“
Holly!” Casey cried, sounding panicked. “Why haven’t you picked up your phone?”

“
I must not have had service,” I told her, my eyes widening at her tone. “Casey, what’s wrong? What about Lance?”

I heard Casey sniffle and my pulse spiked. My hands became clammy and I struggled to think straight.

“
Casey?” I finally started, grasping my phone tightly. “What happened? Is something wrong with Lance? Tell me!” I demanded.

“
Holly, Lance was shot!”

LESSON TWENTY-TWO

The phone dropped to the floor with a thud. Jeremy woke up and I looked at him in horror, unable to form coherent words. He immediately got off the chair and stumbled towards me.

“
What’s wrong, Holly?” he asked, bending down to my level. “Seriously. Something in the movie?”

I shook my head frantically, feeling my breath starting to come in shorter and shorter gasps. His expression turned to alarm and he shook my shoulders gently. I took another deep breath, this time forcing myself to let it out slowly.

“
Lance,” I choked out, my eyes starting to water. “He . . .he . . .”

“
Breathe, Holly.”

I nodded, taking another deep breath, and letting it out slowly. I repeated the process until I felt slightly calmer. Jeremy nodded, keeping his hands on my shoulders.

“
Now tell me.”

“
Lance was shot!” I told him quickly, blinking back tears. “We need to get to the hospital. Now!”

“
Who’s Lance?” Jeremy responded with a look of confusion. “And, shot as in?”

“
With a gun!” I responded impatiently, standing up. “I need to go!”

“
Holly, wait!” Jeremy grabbed my wrist and pulled me to a stop as I attempted to leave the room.

I turned to look at him with wide eyes. “What?”

“
Holly, even if you go now I’m sure you won’t be able to see your friend until he’s stable.”

“
I don’t care!” I responded, my tears starting again. “Lance is like my brother! I have to go!”

Jeremy turned to the girls. “Jenna, I need you to watch Jane for a little bit.”

Jenna was rubbing her eyes sleepily and looking up at Jeremy.

“
Why?” she asked.

“
I need to take Holly somewhere quickly,” he told her, pulling his keys out of my pocket. “It’s very important and I need you to watch Jane for me. I’ll be back as soon as possible!” We hurried downstairs and outside to the car. I yanked the door open and slid in. He started the car, and before I even buckled, pulled out into the street.

Watching the windshield wipers go across the glass in swift motions, a feeling of nausea came over me and I held my seat tightly. I glanced at Jeremy, who was focusing intently on the road. I silently begged for us not to crash.

The sound of a phone vibrating filled the car and I reached for my pocket to grab mine. When I couldn’t feel it I panicked for a moment until I realized I had left it at Jeremy’s house. I cursed myself quietly.

“
Hello?” I heard Jeremy say and my head snapped to him.