Betraying Innocence (17 page)

“So, what do you want to do first?” Mom asked, jingling her keys as they walked through the paid parking area. “Breakfast? Or do you want to go home and shower first?”

Her mom’s idea of chosen
clothes
consisted of black slacks, that were too tight, and a purple, satin blouse that made her swelter in the heat. They were outfits Ana reserved for things like church or some really fancy dinner, not getting out of the hospital after bashing her skull in.

“Shower.”

Ana

At home, her dad was waiting on the porch, dishrag in hand. He beamed when they arrived, scooping Ana up in a tight hug when she reached him.

“How you feeling,
Turnip?”

Ana wrinkled her nose at the loathed childhood nickname. “God, Dad!”

He chuckled. “You’ll always be my turnip-eating weirdo.”

She elbowed him playfully and then stepped around to walk inside. Dad had cleaned the floors. The scent of pine cleaner was overpowering and was an instant reminder of the hospital. Ana held her breath as she jogged upstairs.

Twenty minutes later, she was showered and dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. She covered the faint purple rings around her eyes with cover up and took great care not to go over her stitches with the brush before accepting herself as presentable.

Downstairs, her mom was in the living room, rifling through her purse. Dad was
nowhere in sight. Mom glanced up when Ana hit the bottom of the stairs.

“Ready?”

Ana nodded.

Leading the way, Mom’s icepick heels clacked against hardwood as she got to the door. They walked through and started for the car. No one spoke as they strapped in and pulled away from the house.

“So, how do you like Chipawaha Creek?” Mom asked as they turned at the stop sign.

Ana shrugged. “It’s all right.”

“Not Ontario,” Mom mused, wistfulness coloring her tone.

“No
, not Ontario,” Ana agreed, giving her own sigh.

Her mom’s long, red nails clicked against the wheel as she drummed in time to some music only she could hear. “It’s not so bad,” she
decided. “I’m sure you’ll fit right in once everyone gets to know you.”

Oh they know me
well and good now,
Ana thought bitterly.

“So,” Mom continued, straining the O to an inch of its life
. “How are the kids at your school?”

Ana jerked a shoulder. “Fine.”

“I met your friend yesterday.”

“
Which friend?”

“Jack. She brought your
books to the hospital. She wanted to see you, but you were sleeping.”
Click, click, click,
went the nails. “She seems like an interesting individual.”

“I like
her!” Ana answered, a bit defensively.

Her mom put up a hand. “I’m not judging! Jack certainly isn’t Chelsea, but then, this isn’t
Ajex either. I accept that you’re making new friends and that they might not be what I expect.”

“
She’s really nice,” Ana said, feeling the need to make sure her mom knew this. “She doesn’t treat me like I have leprosy.”

“Well, that’s good
.” They turned down the street with the only streetlight in town. “I like you having friends who are nice. How are your classes? Do you like your teachers?”

Ana groaned. “Mostly.” She told her mom about Mr.
Voronin and Miss. Burke and their complete polar opposite-ness.

“It’ll get better. It’s only been two days.” She pulled into an empty parking spot in front of Booty Craze, a hair and nail salon that specialized in helping with tax returns
, and they climbed out. “If we have time, we should get our nails done,” her mom mused, gesturing to the
We-Do-Nails,
sign on the window.

Ana didn’t comment
. She let herself be led down the street. Several people stopped and glanced in their direction. Ana wondered if they all knew, or if they were wondering why she wasn’t in school.

The diner, a
50s style Malt Shop, was nearly empty save for the elderly couple in one corner chatting over sandwiches, a bored waitress behind the counter flipping through a magazine and a middle aged man stirring his coffee while staring off into space.
Chuck Berry
crooned from the jukebox. The smell of freshly baked apple pie, roasted meat, grease and Windex filled the air. No one glanced up as they made their way to a table in the middle of the restaurant — her mom refused to slide into a booth for any reason. Pink and green seemed to be the theme of the place, because it was painted on the walls, the tiles, even the counters had the two colors splattered across the otherwise white surface.

“This is nice!” her mom exclaimed, peering around.

Ana just nodded, reaching for the plastic menu tucked between the ketchup bottle and the napkin dispenser that in bold, red colors along the side, suggested she try Coke. Mentally she wondered if anyone else found that amusing.

The waitress arrived a moment later, smiling at them a little too brightly, a little too glassy-eyed. Ana felt a
pang of sympathy for the girl. “Hello! Welcome to—”

The bell above the door jingled and a tall, ridiculously handsome man stepped into the diner. He smiled pleasantly at everyone present, reminding Ana a lot of a toothpaste commercial model
come to life. His familiar green eyes swept over the room like a man entertaining guests in his own living room.

“Hello Mayor Andrews!” the waitress, no longer glassy-eyed, chirped
excitedly.

Andrews?
Vinny’s dad? It couldn’t be, but how many Andrews lived in Chipawaha Creek?
Shit!
Ana sunk a little in her seat. But no amount of ducking and covering was going to help her. Those unfathomable green eyes that were so much like his son’s had roamed and settled on their table like a homing beacon.

“Hello, Wanda! You look especially lovely this morning
.” He strolled casually over to them. “Is that a new apron?”

Elated as if she’d just been elected homecoming queen, Wanda giggled, actually swaying from side
to side, holding the corners of her apron like a ball gown. “Isn’t it nice? Mr. Ebel had them shipped in only last week from Alberta.”

The man beamed. “Just lovely!”

Ana couldn’t see what the big deal was. It was a white apron, the kind with pockets in the front. There was nothing remotely special about it. But the two were going on about it as if it were the biggest thing in Paris fashion.

As if reading her mind, Mayor Andrews dropped his gaze and met Ana’s. His eyes widened.

“Well, hello!” he said. He swung his gaze over to her mother. “You must be the French family!” He chuckled when Ana narrowed her eyes warily. “I make it my mission to know all the families in Chipawaha Creek. A new face is always exciting.” He tipped his head to the side, squinting as if trying to make something out on Ana’s face. “You must be … Ana! My son, Vincent, is in your class at school. He’s told me so much about you.”

Ana had no idea how that was possible. She’d only met Vinny twice, and the second time, she’d had a conniption and knocked herself unconscious. She didn’t want to imagine
that conversation.

“And you
.” He swung his gaze over to her mom. “You must be Ana’s sister.”

Oh
. Dear. God … he so did not just say that!
But he had, and her mother
actually
giggled like that wasn’t the corniest line in the world. Ana wanted to crawl under the table and
die.

“
Caroline French,” her mom tittered, offering Mayor Andrews her hand. “You have such a lovely town.”

Mayor Andrew
s smiled. It was the kind of smile that required a warning sign, something that said:
Do not look at directly. Blindness may occur.

“Why, thank you! I like to think it’s a group effort. Everyone does their part. I merely stand around looking important.”

He and Mom shared a laugh. Ana stole a glance towards the waitress, wondering if it would be rude to ask for some service now. But the woman seemed to be completely engrossed by the Mayor and his shiny, white teeth. It was like waving tinfoil in front of someone with ADD.

“My wife and I were actually going to swing by and say hello, but
Krissie wanted to wait until you had settled in. Perhaps we could have a barbeque at our house this weekend and you can tell us all about how you are liking our fair town.”

Her mother gasped like that was the best news she’d heard
…
ever!

“That would be wonderful! I will discuss it with my husband, but I don’t see why not.”

Mayor Andrews continued to smile. “Fantastic!” He reached into the lapel of his blazer and removed a card. “Just give me a call and we can sort out the details.” He then turned his green eyes on Ana. “I know Vincent will be delighted to see you again.” His smile faded and it was like someone had turned off the sun. “Especially after that unfortunate incident yesterday.”

And there it
was…

“Yes, that was terrible,” her mom said, smile vanishing
as well. “But Ana is fine. It was just a case of stress. The doctors are confident that she will make a full recovery with some rest.”

The smile was back, wider, brighter if possible. “Oh that is wonderful news! I know Vincent
has been distraught over the incident.”

Her mom’s gray eyes swerved and pinned Ana
. Her perfectly plucked eyebrow lifted. “Vincent sounds like a very nice young man.”

Mom, don’t!
She pleaded with her eyes.

Mayor Andrew
s chuckled. “Oh I like to pretend he gets that from me, but unfortunately, that’s entirely his mother.”

H
er mother was still staring at her, the cogs turning behind her eyes. “Are you and Vincent friends, Ana?”

Ana balled her fingers beneath the table. “He’s my
Chem partner,” she said through gritted teeth, letting them draw their own conclusions.

Mayor Andrews nodded. “Vincent has taken quite a liking to Ana
. I think he mentioned something about asking you if you would like him to stick around for the next few days, just to make sure your healing progresses without further incident. He could pick you up and drop you off before and after school and keep you company during school hours. I know it’s not easy being new and Vincent has some very nice friends who would be happy to take you in.”

Like a lost puppy?

“That would be wonderful!” her mom exclaimed. “Ana has been having some trouble catching the bus in the mornings. Another classmate has been kind enough to drive her.”

All signs of humor died on Mayor Andrews’ face. “
Yes, I’ve heard. Raphael Ramirez, am I correct?”

Ana felt herself stiffen
at the way he said Rafe’s name, like it was dirty. It reminded her of the way Principal Finnegan had said it on her first day.

“Y
es,” her mom answered for her.

The Mayor pinched his lips, practically oozing with his disappointment now. He sighed heavily.

Her mom’s enthusiasm died. Her hands dropped into her lap. “Is something wrong?”

Shut up! Shut up!
Ana thought, trying to telepathically send those signals to the Mayor.

But he didn’t get them. “Well, I consider it a badge of honor that I personally know every person who lives here in
Chipawaha Creek and have the greatest respect for most of them and I do not encourage gossiping, but Mr. Ramirez…” He rubbed his jaw, staring off somewhere into space as if searching for the adequate words. “Comes with a very disturbing past. It would be best for Ana if she was a little choosier about her friends. The girls who associate with Mr. Ramirez have a certain …
reputation,
in town for their loose morals and I would really like for Ana not to join that list.”

“Is he dangerous?” her mother gasped.

“Oh yeah, in a
big
way!” Wanda laughed, still making no attempt to take their order or go away. “The boy could make a nun sin! Just looking at him will melt your clothes—”

“Wanda
…” Mayor Andrews frowned at her.

Turning a pretty pink, the woman dropped her gaze. “I’ll just
… get some waters.”

They watched her turn and hurry through the doors behind the counter.

Mayor Andrews turned back to the table, his smile pleasant all over again. “But I am positive that you have nothing to worry about!” He gave Ana an encouraging wink. “Ana looks like she has a good head on her shoulders.” His gaze was penetrating as he bore into Ana with the look of a priest gazing upon a sinner. “I am confident that she will make the
right
sort of friends.”