Betwixt, Before, Beyond (28 page)

Chapter
Six

"Are you sure you're alright? Maybe I should take you home."

I shake my head.

I know Dale's just trying to protect me. Since my concussion, tiredness and headaches can be a problem. And they often set in after we've had a run-in with the Turd Squad. That's the name I've gifted my ex-friends. I haven't gone out of my way to avoid them, but I don't make an effort to bump into them either. It always happens by mistake, and they always relish the chance to fling insults at me and Dale. I used to give it right back to them, but Dale has helped me chill my kicks and just ignore them.

Sometimes it's freaking hard, but today wasn't as much of a challenge. Today I have other things on my mind.

"Okay." Dale tugs my hand. "So how about some ice cream then?"

"Nah." I wrinkle my nose.

Dale's frown is really mild, but I don't miss it. He must be wondering what my problem is. I usually love ice cream. Any kind. Any flavor. I'm a sucker for the stuff, but I'm too antsy to eat this afternoon. I assume he thinks it's because of the verbal abuse we just waded through, but it's not. I want to tell him that, but I can't. If he knew what I was up to, he'd most definitely put a stop to it. But that can't happen. I've made up my mind that Dale Finnigan will not have to tell his dad about the rejection. He is going to get into Columbia University, and they are going to have a family celebration, damn it!

The problem is
, it's been three days since I spoke to the Sheriff. Not two, but three and the jackass still hasn't called me. I know he has access to every number in this town, so he can't use that bullshit excuse.

Why hasn't he called?

My stomach clenches. He's not going to write that reference. I can feel it. He's going to force me to act, and I really don't want to. Adam might be a coward, but he's only that way because of the ridiculous pressure his father constantly lumps on him. I'm still mad at Adam for not having the guts to own up to everything, but I hate the idea of being a tattle tale.

Dale's thumb
rubs over the outside of my hand, and he pulls me to a stop in the middle of the street. A lady on the phone has to veer around us suddenly, but Dale's too intent on me to notice.

"Babe." He tucks my long bangs behind my ear. "Don't listen to a word those jerks say. You're gorgeous. Your limp isn't even noticeable to me anymore, and it'll be
totally gone eventually."

I force a smile, w
hich I know he sees through.

His head tips to the side in that understanding way I adore. My heart crumbles to soft putty. He's so sweet
....and good to me.

My smile soon becomes genuine as I push up to my
tip toes and kiss him. He grins just before our lips touch so I'm kissing his smile, which just makes me smile. Soon we're chuckling softly against each other, our breath mingling together. I gaze up at him, his deep eyes rich with tenderness.

Maybe he does love me.

I want to entertain that thought, but I'm too scared. If I'm wrong, it's like my worst nightmare, so I swallow, plant a firm kiss on his lips and step away from him.

"You know, what. I've changed my mind. Let's do ice cream." I start tugging him towards our favorite parlor at the bottom of the street. It's more expensive, but the selection is the bomb. I may not feel like relishing its true yumminess, but I'd force myself to do it for the sake of Dale. He's had a stressful week
, and he deserves an afternoon off...not worrying about his girlfriend. Making me feel better makes him feel better, I'm sure of it. I'll laugh my little backside off if that's what it takes.

Dale's just launching into a funny story about his English teacher when I spot the Sheriff in the hardware store.
My breath hitches and I accidentally squeeze Dale's hand.

His voice cuts off. He looks concerned
, and I have to fully force a chuckle out.

"Sorry," I titter. "I swear I want to hear the rest of this story, but I just remembered Mom asked me to grab some light bulbs for her."

"Okay," Dale says it slowly as if he still doesn't quite believe me.

"Why don't you go get us an outside table? It's too nice a day to eat inside."

He glances at the slightly overcast sky and frowns.

"Just go. I'll be there in a sec."
Bright and breezy, Nicky. Stay cool.

"Are you sure you don't want me to come with?" He points at the hardware store.

"No, I'm good. You go." I push his shoulder so he's facing the right direction. "I'll see you soon."

I can feel his eyes on me
, so I spin at the shop door and give him a wave. I throw in a funny face for good measure, which makes him chuckle. Shaking his head, he puts his hands in the pockets of his worn jeans and saunters down the street. Once he's out of sight, I slip down the first aisle where I last saw the Sheriff.

Two aisles later I'm standing right next to him. I come up to just below his shoulder, which is super annoying because I would love to eyeball him right now.

I make do with a very sharp tone. “Where’s the reference letter?"

His steely gaze shifts from the tin of paint he's reading to my fuming head. "I haven't gotten around to it yet."

I want to pry that smirk off his face with my blue painted nails. I clench my fingers into a fist and cross my arms. Fear is making mulch of my insides. I try to not let it show, but can't help muttering, "You're never going to get around to it, are you?"

His unflinching stare tells me what I already knew.

A breath snorts through my nostrils. "You don't think my threat was serious?" I jab him in the arm with my index finger.

He rubs his arm with a sharp frown and towers over me. His voice is a terse whisper, "I think you're a little bug that needs squashing, Miss Tepper
, and I'm going to be the boot to do it." His evil glare and harsh words make my blood quiver. "If you ever cross me, I'm going to finish you and your criminal boyfriend."

Now it's his turn to do the finger jabbing. He pokes me twice in the shoulder before turning with his tin of paint and heading for the counter.

I'm tempted to pick a tin off the shelf and hurl it at him, but I resist the urge. Instead, tears build on my lashes before I can stop them. I'm so angry right now I'm struggling to see straight.

That asshole!

He can't get away with this. I won't let him.

I swipe at my tears and pat my face dry, waiting for the Sheriff to leave before I exit the store.

Shoot! Light bulbs. I scurry to the right aisle and grab two, not even caring if they're the right ones. As I make my way to the counter, my brain starts ticking over.

Looks like I'm going to have to make my idle threat a real one. I know the mayor is my best bet, but I'm going to need more than just my word. Half the stuff I saw was in my ghost form,
so that's hardly going to fly...unless I have someone to verify the story. There's only one someone I can think of, and I bet my entire wardrobe he's not going to help me.

I steel myself before leaving the store. I don't want anyone to see how upset I am. I just have to focus on my next plan of attack. Part of me wants to quit now and start persuading Dale to check out colleges in California, but I can't. I've made up my mind and I won't back down.

My resolve is only strengthened as I get to the end of the street and see my gorgeous man sitting at an outside table, smiling at me. A huge bowl of ice cream is in front of him with two spoons sticking out of it. I grin back, shoving tomorrow's problems into the back recesses of my brain. 

I don't care what it costs me. Dale is worth every tear and every second of effort. I'm not giving up. I don't care what the Sheriff said. I'm not going to let him win this one.

Chapter Seven

It takes me an age to find Mr. Someone the next day. I don't want to skip class again so have to wait until my one and only free period, which falls just before lunch. I want to get this over with so I can sit with Dale in the cafeteria and focus on something other than Sheriff Hutton and his stubborn ass.

There's like twenty minutes until the bell rings when I finally pull open the downstairs computer room door. Mr. Attley, the head of I.T., keeps all his computer junk down here and a few of his favorite students are allowed to come down and potter. It's where Dale and I found Adam the time he took us to my dying body.

The room creeps me out a little.

I walk past the shelves of tangled wires and discarded keyboards, reliving the moment when Dale threw Adam to the ground and demanded to know where I was. My
ghostly-self watched on in surprise.

Falling for Dale happened in small bursts. Like carefully walking down a staircase until you have the courage to yell, "What the hell," and fly down the bannister. That moment. The moment when my five foot eight
-inch Dale took down the towering Adam Hutton was one of the first steps I descended. No one had ever gone so far for me before. Maybe that's another reason why I'm so compelled to do this. Dale doesn't think I owe him anything for what he did. He always says he's the lucky one, because he scored me out of it. But I do owe him. He saved my life...in more ways than one. And now it's my turn to make
his
life better.

I find Adam at the end of the room, tinkering with a motherboard, much like he was the last time. He must find it therapeutic or something. I figure he comes to hide down here when things are bad. I bet he's been spending a ton of time down here since my accident.

Adam confuses me a little. I mean, he's built like Captain America, he is the football team's most valued player as well as being one of the smartest kids in school. He basically has the world at his fingertips... could be whatever he wanted to be, but he's got no confidence. My accident has only made it worse. He's practically become a recluse, much to the girls’ disappointment. No one can figure out why. No one except me and Dale.

The tight set of Adam's broad shoulders and the way his head is hunched over tells me more than any words will ever convey. It doesn't matter how brilliant this guy is, he's too scared to amount to anything.

"Hey Adam." Although my voice is ultra-soft, he still jumps.

His eyes are so bright blue when he turns around they remind me of a cloudless sky. But cloudless skies never look this troubled.

I approach him quietly. Having spent most of the night tossing and turning, wondering how I should play this, I feel confident with my decision to go for a sweet mother-like voice will work. I've also decided to come at this from a whole new angle. I mentally cross my fingers, hoping this will work.

"I didn't mean to startle you." I smile, hoping it looks genuine enough.

Adam's eyes dart to the door, no doubt looking for Dale.

"It's just me."

His nod is shaky and erratic.

Dude! Grow a back
bone. It's only me... little Nicky Tepper.

The guy could trample me in a second if he wanted to.

I lick my bottom lip, silently going over my carefully prepared phrasing.

"I know you don't want me down here. And I know you don't like talking to me. I'm pretty sure I know why..."

I look to him for confirmation, but he gives me nothing. He looks like a nervous kid, his body frozen by my very presence.

"Adam. I told you I wouldn't press charges...and I really, really don't want to, but your Dad
—"

"What'd he do?" Adam's voice is sharp and he looks worried, swiveling his body around so he can face me properly.

"Well, he..." I pick up the Granite dog tags swinging from my long necklace and rub them together. "I kind of asked him to write Dale a reference...and he's refusing."

It takes Adam a second to catch up with all the things I'm not saying, but he's a smart guy and
soon his intelligent eyes are lighting with revelation.

"You black
mailed my dad?"

"No!" I step back and look to the floor.

"Yeah you did. You told him if he doesn't help you, you'll press charges against me, didn't you?"

I nod
; my gaze still locked on the floor. I can't decide if he's mad or not. Why am I doing this? Is he going to pull a gun on me again? The guy's a six-foot-three-inch tank. It would take no effort from him to knock me out and drag me from the building. No one would even notice down in this deserted part of the school.

I'm such an idiot!

I can't do this. Dale will just have to get over the whole disappointing his dad thing.

But I don't want him to have to!

My legs are frozen as all these thoughts rush through my brain, but Adam hasn't moved either. I need to look at him, to gauge what he's thinking, but I'm too afraid.

He chuckles.

Excuse me?

I glance at Adam
, and he's shaking his head with a grin that's dying. He swallows and mutters, "I wish I had balls like yours."

What did he just say?

Did he just...give me a compliment? A slightly gross one, but still.

Tentatively, I reach out to him and lay my hand on his solid forearm. He flinches a little, but let's me leave it there.

"Adam." My voice is shaking, because his one little sentence has given me hope. "Dale really wants Columbia. I know your dad and your uncle can make that happen for him. Please, help me."

"How?" He croaks.

"Help me convince your dad to change his mind."

Adam's eyes are near lifeless. His
head shake is robotic.

"Please." I hate the whine in my voice. I hate that I'm starting to feel desperate. I don't know where else to go from here.

"If Dad's said no, he's not going to change his mind."

I huff and let go of Adam, crossing my arms to contain my frustration. "Adam, I'm getting Dale into Columbia
, and if I have to, I'll go to the mayor."

Adam's skin blanches.

I feel mean and triumphant all at the same time. "I'll tell him what you and your dad did to me. What you guys tried to cover up."

Adam's gone statue still, his
blue eyes going even brighter, if that's possible. My gaze is locked on his tragic expression, especially when his eyes gloss with tears.

"I don't want to do it, but...I'm not sure what else to try." I go for one last appeal. "Dale deserves to go to the college he wants. Don't you think it's stupidly unfair for you to get in and for him to miss out?"

A tear dribbles out the edge of Adam's left eye, breaking him out of his stupor. He brushes it away and sniffs, obviously embarrassed.

"Dale's a good guy," he finally mumbles.

"Yes, he is. And he could have really put you in the shit last year, but he kept his mouth shut. We both did."

"I know." Adam nods. "And I'm grateful."

"How grateful?" I cross my arms and pierce him with a pointed look.

Adam sighs and scrubs a hand over his face.

"Nicole, my dad will kill me."

"Your dad's already killing you." I don't know where that came from. It just slipped out. I swallow and look up at Adam. His white face is now ashen. "I'm sorry. I just mean, he seems to have a real stronghold on you...and I get the impression you don't like it."

"I don't."

I nearly fall over. Did Adam just admit the truth to me?

Well, that was unexpected.

My hand is back on his arm in an instant, my voice ringing with an elixir of desperation and hope. "Then do something about it."

"What?" He spits out a frustrated sigh. "You know I can't challenge my dad...and I can't go to the mayor either."

"You're scared of him, aren't you?" I make sure my voice sounds sympathetic rather than accusing.

It doesn't matter. Adam knows I'm talking about his dad and scowls at me like I'm the Green Witch from Oz.

"Adam." I squeeze his arm. "Please help me. Help Dale. Help
—" I sigh, unsure whether to say the last part. I let go of his arm and pick at my thumbnail. "Do you remember what I told you last year...when you came to see me at the hospital?"

His hand tightens into a fist. "Nicky." He holds his breath then thumps the
work bench lightly. "I can't forget it. I think about it every damn day...because you're right. I don't want to wake up one day and realize that I've lived my dad's life...not mine."

He grabs his blond locks and rest
s his elbows on the bench, looking desperate, unhappy...torn. I almost want to wrap him in a hug. Almost.

"I just...I can't."

"I know that facing your dad is like hell scary. Facing the mayor is probably even worse."

"My dad would find out."

Like duh!

I press my lips together before forging on. "I know it's easier to stay silent, but please. Please just think about it? I won't drag you to the mayor. Let's just start with you asking your dad not
to be such a jackass. If he doesn't listen to you, then I'll have to come up with a plan B."

"You mean giving me up to a higher authority." His voice is dark, but I don't miss the quiver.

I squeeze his shoulder. "I told you I don't want to do that."

"You should."

His bleak look makes me sigh.

"Adam, I have to be honest with you." I bite the edge of my lip. "Your wimpy behavior bugs the shit out of me sometimes and yes, I hate that you haven't owned up for what you did, but behind all the crap... I know that you're actually a really good guy. I won't forget how we used to hang out as kids. You were one of my favorite people back then."

An instant grin spreads across his face. I spot the edge of it from behind his hand. "Do you remember the water balloon fight we had in your living room?"

I burst with laughter. "Oh my gosh, I'd totally forgotten about that."

"I thought your dad was going to kill us." Adam shakes his head.

Giggles ripple through my stomach. "He was so bright red. I was waiting for steam to start coming out of his ears."

"He was cussing up a storm. I'd never heard an adult swear like that before...and then your mom came in
..."

"And threw a water balloon at him
!"

"And told him to
stop cursing at the kids
." We say the last five words in unison and laugh together for a moment.

"That was so epic," Adam mumbles. "I'll never, ever forget it, because I remember even though your dad looked ready to explode, I didn't feel afraid."

My heart squeezes into a tight knot as Adam drops his hands. His eyes are transfixed on the counter top, and I know he's thinking about his dad. He's never going to go for this. Sheriff Hutton has a hold on Adam, and I hate him for it.

I want to tell Adam that I'm going to the mayor this afternoon, but I can't form the words. My pity-o-meter is on overdrive. I blink at helpless tears and can't think of anything else to say. All I can do is grab my bag and silently leave the room.