Back to You (17 page)

“
I think Brady is cheating
on me.” I blurt out before I can stop myself. I slap my hand over
my mouth. Sarah comes to sit on my bed next to me.

“
I was actually talking
about the visit with you and dad. But damn, really?” I nod
mechanically, unable to speak. She lets out a loud breath, then
says “You know, I can’t say I’m not surprised.” I glare at her and
finally find my voice.

“
What’s that supposed to
mean?”

“
Oh come on Abby, you know
guys are only after one thing, at least high school guys. You
wouldn’t give it to him so he finds it elsewhere. It’s not a hard
concept. It doesn’t make it right of course but that’s a teenage
boy for you.” I slip under my covers to get comfortable and lean
against the headboard.

“
I saw him and Brooke
together, earlier. I think they’re sneaking around. I haven’t heard
from her since, well for two days now.”

“
Wow, some friend you’ve
got there.” She shakes her head in disgust.

“
But really, what does it
matter? You’ve got Lucas now, you should be happy. Fuck them! Let
them have each other.”

“
Sarah I feel like shit
for what I’ve done and plan on telling them about Lucas and me. But
they’re still my best friends so of course it matters. Besides, it
hasn’t been confirmed. Those were just suspicions.” We are both
silent for awhile, lost in our own thoughts.

“
Abby?”

“
Hmm?” I say closing my
eyes feeling sleepy.

“
Did Lucas force you to
have sex or did you willingly give it up?” My eyes fly open and I
stare at her in surprise by her question.

“
Uh, Sarah when have I
ever done something I didn’t want to do?” She shrugs.

“
I just don’t want you to
feel like you have to compete with anyone. You willingly kept your
innocence all this time. I don’t want him putting pressure on you.”
I gently lay my hand over hers in assurance.

“
Believe me, it was my
decision. He even asked if I was sure. He was sweet about it.” I
smile at the memory of our night together. “I love him.” She smiles
back at me and pats my hand. “You look like a pathetic puppy in
love. It’s pretty sad.” I laugh at her and nudge her shoulder with
mine.

“
You’re just jealous.” She
throws a pillow at me and I toss it back at her.

I walk to my locker the next morning in
hopes of not running into Brooke or Brady. I do feel compelled in
finding out the truth and, if they are indeed sneaking around. I’m
not sure how I’d feel about them two, even though I would be happy
for them. It would make it easier for my confession about Lucas and
me.

“
Hey, any word on the love
birds?” Sarah sneaks up behind me. I cringe at her
comment.

“
Can you please not call
them that?” I reach in and grab my History book for class. The
first bell rings signaling ten minutes before tardy.

“
Sorry, I think it’s
funny. Brooke always seemed like she had a thing for Brady. Well,
catch ya later sis.” And she’s gone before I can add a retort. I
let out a sigh and check my phone.
Nothing
. Disappointment settles in
my belly. I was hoping to have a sweet text from Lucas. I then spot
him down the hall and my heart leaps out of my chest. He looks sexy
all up in a pair of khaki shorts, which sit past his knees; a dark
blue polo shirt that fits snuggly and accentuates his upper
body.
Damn!
He
winks, as he walks by and I melt inside, feeling my organs drip
like butter.
He’s mine
. I think to myself.

“
What are you looking at?”
I hear Chelsea’s voice behind me.

“
What is it with everyone
sneaking up behind me today?” I turn around, close my locker and
look at her. “What’s up?” I ask her.

“
I was wondering the same
thing. You had this goofy grin on your face. Where’s Brady?” I
start walking to class, Chelsea right beside me.

“
He’s been busy. I haven’t
seen him much lately.” It’s not a complete lie. We’ve both been
busy. I laugh inwardly, as I realize how ironic it is. We walk into
class together and take our seats. I see Brooke walk in and when
she sees me, she just walks right past me. Guilt written all over
her face.

I can feel my blood boiling, and I need to
know why she’s acting up like this. It’s killing me. Instead I
ignore her and face the board, remaining quiet during class. I find
Brooke’s behavior extremely unsettling. I feel a tap on my
shoulder. I ignore it, until I hear Chelsea’s voice calling my name
quietly.

“
What?” I ask a little too
loudly turning to look at her. She shushes me and I turn back
around. Apparently she had nothing of importance to say. What the
Hell is going on with the world today?

When the bell rings I jump out of my seat
and head for the door. Brady is at my locker and my heart beats
faster.

“
Hey Abby.” He says as he
gives me a kiss. I don’t respond right away, I just open my locker
and forcefully shove my books in it. He looks from me to my locker
then back at me again.

“
Is everything okay? I’ve
missed you.” I turn around and glare at him.

“
Have you now? Is that why
you avoided my texts, because you miss me?”

“
Sorry babe, I’ve been
sick. I really did miss you. What have you been up to?” He tries to
kiss my neck but I dodge him and wind up on the other side of my
locker.

“
Seriously, Brady cut the
shit. I’m not in the mood for your hanky panky bull shit. I’ve got
to go.” I hear him call my name as I speed walk down the hall. I
grab my phone out of my bag and text Lucas.

“
I miss you. Sit with me
at lunch?”
I don’t have to wait too long
for his response and my pulse races.

“
Are you sure?”

“
Yes. We are still friends
you know…for now at least. ;)”

“
Okay, you twisted my arm.
See ya then!”
I close my phone and head to
my next class with a smile on my face.

“
So, let me get this
straight…Brooke is avoiding you and now Brady is trying to be all
‘lovey dovey’ and said he’s been sick?” Lucas asks as we eat lunch
together. I’m not worried about them seeing us anymore. We are
friends, there’s nothing wrong with eating lunch with your friends.
Besides, it’s not like they are acting like my friends right now.
If they’re going to avoid me, I’m going to hang out with
Lucas.

“
That’s correct. It’s
bizarre. Brooke didn’t even talk to me in History. She walked right
by, with a guilty conscience. They’re up to something. I just know
it.”

“
Hello lovebirds. I’m so
glad to see you both together.” Lucas laughs.

“
Hi Sarah. It’s nice to
see you too. When’s the big move?” I moan inwardly, forgetting
about my sister leaving me for my father. Ugh, it seems my life is
falling apart.

“
Well, I’m not sure but
probably in a couple of weeks.” Lucas nods and smiles.

“
I really hope it works
out for you.”

“
Thanks Lucas, me too!” I
eat ignoring their conversation.

“
Have you seen them yet?”
Lucas kicks me under the table and I snap out of my
daze.

“
Huh?”

“
I asked if you’ve seen
them yet.”

“
Oh, yeah Brooke is
avoiding me and Brady acts like nothing’s going on.” I take a sip
of my Gatorade.

“
I think you should spy on
them. I’ll bet you’ll catch them in the act soon enough.” Lucas
nods in agreement; he’s engrossed in his pasta bowl.

“
Look, I will talk to
them. I don’t really want to spy on them. It feels
wrong.”

“
Really? And cheating on
your boyfriend isn’t wrong?” My eyes go wide and I’m momentarily
stunned by her audacity at pointing out my fault. Haven’t I felt
bad enough? The look on her face tells me the she wishes she could
take the comment back.

“
Sorry Abby, that slipped
out. But don’t feel bad; what they’re doing isn’t any better. I
just think you should catch them in the act and then they’ll feel
like shit and come clean and then you can reveal your secret and
everyone can go back to being friends again. Once it’s all out in
the open, everyone would have had time to yell and shout and be
angry or resentful or whatever. And then, you can all start acting
like a couple instead of sitting here and pretending that you are
just friends, and not lovers.”

I finish my salad and push
my tray away, leaning back in my seat. Lucas looks at me; his eyes
are warm, showing a little concern. I reassure him by giving a
small smile. I wish he would sit next to me and wrap his strong
arms around, to comfort me. But I know he’s refraining for my
benefit. He doesn’t want to be pushy and that’s why I love him. I
look around the cafeteria for Brady or Brooke but see neither of
them. Yeah, that’s not obvious, since they’re both missing. Then I
think maybe they are having trouble telling me the truth afraid I’d
flip out so they’re trying to avoid me altogether so they don’t
look suspicious.
Too
late
. I dump my tray and sit back down for
a while.

“
So I heard on Facebook
the other day that the party y’all went to-“ She gives me a pout
and continues. “Well there were cops everywhere. Apparently it got
out of hand.” I look at her in confusion and shake my head. “I
guess we just missed them. Too bad we missed the drama eh Lucas?” I
give him a sexy grin.

“
Yeah, it’s too bad. But I
have to say, it was worth missing.” He winks at me and my heart
skips a beat. My sister snorts and says “You guys make me sick. Get
a room already.”

“
Oh believe me, we will.”
I retort and Lucas raises an eyebrow in astonishment. I laugh at
him. “We will, just not now.” His face drops and I gently kick him
under the table.

“
I’d love to stay and chat
with you two sex fiends but I’ve gotta scram. See you at home
Abby.” She gets up, and dumps her tray and waves, leaving me with
Lucas. Somewhere during that, he begins rubbing my leg with his. I
swiftly move my leg to the other side to end the flirting. He takes
the hint and returns to his food.

“
You’re a really slow
eater.” I observe. He looks up and smiles his sexy smile that melts
every bone in my body. “Could you not look at me like that
please?”

“
Why? Does it bother you?”
I ignore him and look around for any sign of them.

“
And I’m not slow; I just
like to enjoy my food. You on the other hand inhale everything you
eat.”

“
I do not.” Embarrassment
washes all over me. Yeah, I do look ridiculous while eating. I
can’t help it, I inhale the food down.

“
It’s okay. I still love
you.”

“
Shut up. Jerk.” I can’t
hide my smile. Suddenly, the seat moves slightly with the added
weight of another body.

“
Hey babe, I’ve been
looking for you.” I hear Brady’s voice beside me. I suddenly can’t
move. He places his arm around my shoulder and squeezes. I look at
him and force a smile.

“
Hey, I’ve been here.
What’s up?” I look at Lucas and see irritation in his eyes. I
silently plead to him that he says nothing. He looks away. Brady
kisses my cheek.

“
Have you seen Brooke?
She’s acting weird. Is she okay?” I ask, trying to catch him in a
lie. I’m a total hypocrite and I can’t help it. He shakes his head
and rubs his neck.

“
No, not lately. She seems
okay as far as I know. Did y’all have a fight? Did something happen
when you spent the night on Saturday?” Wow, he’s really good at
this.

“
Nope, nothing happened.
Hmm.” We both stop talking and I move my eyes over to Lucas and see
that he is staring right at me. We lock gazes, and clearly the
intensity is visible to those around us to see, but neither of us
can look away.

“
Oh hey Lucas, I didn’t
see you there. I thought you’d be off with Sarah or something.”
Lucas looks at him, clearly peeved that he interrupted our intimate
moment to talk about my sister. “We’re not together anymore.” He
replies through gritted teeth.

“
Oh well that’s a shame. I
never understood why you were with her in the first place but hey
it’s none of my business.”

“
You’re right, it’s not.”
Lucas fires back.

“
Okay, we need to go
Brady.” I get up and attempt to take him with me but he just sits
there, eyeing Lucas like he’s the devil.

“
So what are you doing
here?” Brady asks Lucas and my mouth drops open. Oh shit, this
could be bad. I pull on his arm. “Brady, seriously let’s go.” He
looks at me innocently.

“
I’m just having a
conversation with Lucas here. What’s the problem?”

“
You’re interrogating him.
Lucas is still my friend, so he’s allowed to sit with me.” I’m
pissed off now. He wasn’t there for me when I found out about Sarah
leaving or when my dad came back suddenly. No he wasn’t, instead he
was more than likely in bed with my best friend. Okay, I cheated on
him. I get it, I’m guilty as charged. But he’s not any better. No
matter what though, Lucas is still my friend and I can hang out
with him.