Glass Girl (A Young Adult Novel) (11 page)

There were so many kids packed into the cabin, the air got thick. I stood up, marveling at how shaky my own legs felt, to open a window. I took a tentative step and trampled a couple wrapped in a blanket next to the couch. A hand appeared from under the blanket, grabbed hold of my ankle and squeezed, hard. I whispered an apology, and pulled my foot back. I tried not to stare as I leaned gingerly over them to crank open the window.

The room cooled down immediately and I parked myself back in my chair. If I knew where the stereo was, I’d turn down the obnoxious music. If it weren’t so cold outside, I’d go for a walk. If I knew how to hotwire cars, I’d take Tennyson’s and go home.

My phone in my pocket buzzed and I turned it on to read a text from Thanet.

Why are you at Taylor’s cabin?

I stood up and turned in a circle, looking for Thanet. I was both thrilled and angry at the possibility that he was there. I saw no sign of him, though, so I texted back.

Where are you? How did you know?

Haha. I have eyes everywhere. Do you have a car there?

I looked around the room again for clues about who might be feeding Thanet information. Tennyson was occupied, passing something around to smoke. It was ten o’clock and I should be getting home, but my ride was drunk and most likely high. And…walking with Matt toward the back of the cabin.

I’m here with Tennyson and she’s drunk. No wheels.

Falling back into my chair, I waited for Thanet to respond. I briefly considered calling my dad, but logic ruled. Either he’d ground me for being here in the first place and I’d never get to leave the house again or he’d wind up lost in the desolate Wyoming wilderness trying to find me and I’d never see him again. My phone buzzed with Thanet’s response.

I’m on it. Hang tight.

I smiled. Of course he was on it. He probably had a whole network of spies here and he’d bribe one of them into helping me. Hanging tight until then was my plan.

“Hey, Meg, what are you doing here?”

I glanced up to see Taylor’s brother, Luke—shiny, perfect, basketball player. At the moment, though, he was having trouble standing and his eyes were glazed. I laughed under my breath at how drunk he was, even though I was probably in grave danger of being puked on.

“Maybe you should sit down, Luke. Is the room spinning a little?”

He grinned and sat cross-legged on the floor next to me, using my leg as a brace and my lap as a pillow. “It’s just I didn’t really think you were the type. Quiet girls like you are usually disgusted by these shows of debauchery and passion.”

“Well, I was lured here under false pretenses.” I pushed his head toward my knees a little.

“Yep, you’re here with Tennyson.” His breath was hot and moist on my jeans. “She’s drunk.”

“I noticed. I’m learning a lot about her impulse control tonight.”

He grinned lazily. “Tennyson has always colored outside the lines. She’s been in love with Matt for a couple of years. He strings her along and sees her when he’s in town. She’d do just about anything for him. I tell her all the time, ‘whiskey is risky and it makes girls frisky.’ She probably lied to you so she’d have a DD to get her home.”

He glanced over his shoulder and snorted. “Matt and I have been friends since we were kids, but he’s not the best guy in the world. I’ve warned Taylor to stay away from him. But Tennyson? She’s always looking for trouble. Her older brother was a hellion.”

“She’s not as bad as you’re making her sound,” I said. “I like her. She’s smart. But this is a side of her I haven’t seen before.”

“You know what bothers me about girls like Tennyson?” He shifted a little and it knocked him off balance again. “They don’t get the whole ‘maybe you should be more subtle if you want a guy to honestly fall for you’ thing. You, on the other hand, seem to get it.”

I stared at him. How was he able to express himself like that when he was so jacked up? And was he making a play for me, really, or was that the alcohol talking?

“Well, little, tiny sister, I’d offer to drive you home, but I’m really not in any shape to get you there safely. I get the feeling most everybody here plans to stay the night. How would your folks feel about that? I could sleep next to you to make sure no one bothers you. Since it’s my cabin, I get an actual bed in the back.”

“Are you kidding? My dad will put out an Amber Alert on me any minute now. And if he knew that you used the word ‘sleep’ in the same sentence as me, he’d rearrange your pretty face.”

Luke grinned and laughed under his breath. “You think I’m pretty?” He attempted to stand, but it took him several tries. “Your dad’s right, by the way. Remind me to shake his hand one day. I’d give you the keys to my truck, but you’d get lost trying to get back to town. I know somebody that’d flog me like a mad rooster and it
ain’t
your daddy.”

Luke stumbled through the room, slapping guys on the back and hugging girls. He was a sloppy drunk, but at least he was nice. He disappeared outside, but ten minutes later he leaned through the open window, talking on his cell.

He caught my eye and held up his finger to tell me to wait a minute. He mouthed, “This is so worth it,” to me. Or to himself. Or to an alcohol-inspired vision behind me. Pointing at his cell, he said, “Thanet.” So Thanet’s “eyes” at the party were Luke’s.

I started flipping channels again and found a show to watch. I grabbed the blanket thrown over the back of the couch and covered up. I must have dozed off because I dreamed someone rubbed the back of my hand.

“Wake up, sleeping beauty,” Henry whispered. “I heard you could use a ride home.” He spoke low in my ear and his warm breath sent a chill down that side of my body.
Not a dream
.

I sat up quickly, rubbing my eyes clear. Henry sat on the floor next to my chair. He laughed at my confusion, and probably at my hair, which I tried to smooth back out of my face.

“Hi,” he said.

“Hi.”

“How in the heck can you sleep through this?”

“Through what?” I raised my eyebrows. “You mean Jim Morrison screaming ‘Light My Fire’?”

He smiled so I smiled.

“No, I mean the normal party mingling. Of course, I mean Morrison. And I mean the choking air and the…well, this…did this not wake you?” He pushed at the couple making out next to my chair with his boot. “And this
…
was this not a problem?”

He pointed to the small smoke alarm above me that was, at that moment, warning anyone who would listen about the hazardous air quality in the room. No one even heard it above the yelling and The Doors’ first album set to repeat.

“And this?” He motioned toward the crowd that had tripled since we’d arrived.

“I can sleep.” I shrugged. “It’s my gift.”

“Lucky girl.” He managed to stand up using the miniscule amount of space around his long frame.

“Have you been here long?” I said.

“Just arrived and now I’m ready to leave. Let’s get you some fresh air.”

I couldn’t even describe how relieved I was to see him. He took the blanket off, folded it up, and laid it on the back of the chair, then pulled me up. I followed him through the cabin. He paused to thank Luke before tugging me gently through the kitchen and out the door.

I took a huge breath of clean, pine-scented air. How many years had I cut from my life from inhaling smoke in that cabin? The lights of his truck were on and the engine rumbled, promising warmth and escape. He opened the passenger door for me and then walked around to get in the driver’s side.

He drove for five minutes without saying a word. I could see the muscle in his jaw tensing and releasing over and over. Wyatt always did that when he was worried about something. Finally, I broke the silence.

“Okay, I give up. How’d you know I needed a ride?”

He took his sweet time answering. “Thanet called me. Luke texted him wondering why you were there. They couldn’t find anyone who was in any shape to get behind the wheel and Thanet had a feeling I might be willing to help out.”

He glanced at me and laughed. “Luke told me you threatened to get your dad to hurt him if he touched you.”

“That’s totally out of context!”

“It’s okay, Meg.” He took his eyes off the road and looked at me. “So, a party girl from Pittsburgh, huh? I knew you were hiding something when we talked last night.”

“Me? No. It was supposed to be a nice quiet evening in with the girls. I’m an idiot.”

He suppressed a laugh. “You’re not an idiot, Meg. I warned you about Tennyson, didn’t I? She’s as stubborn as a lop-eared mule, and I can’t believe she took you to a party and then deserted you. Matt and his little frat boy friends…did they leave you alone?”

“It’s like I wasn’t even there.”

Henry’s face softened when I said that.

“I never go to those parties,” he said. “Too much work to do and I don’t have time to waste. Plus, there’re a million other ways to have a good time.”

I nodded at him, unable to stop this simple crush from turning into a full mind and body slam. I could keep it a secret, but I couldn’t stop it from ruling my thoughts anymore.

“Thanks for coming to get me.”

“Anytime.”

He messed with his CD player until some soft country played. “Better?”

“Yes. My eardrums were bleeding.”

We didn’t talk again until we hit the city limits, but it wasn’t awkward at all. It was the opposite of awkward. He even sang along to a song for a minute and I couldn’t look away.

“What’d you tell your parents about camping?” he said.

“That I loved the company and the stars and the campfire and the dog, but I could’ve used a bed.”

“City living makes you soft, doesn’t it, Pittsburgh?”

“You’re funny, Buffalo Bill.”

When we neared my street, I pointed and told him my address. He parked in my drive, cut the engine, and sat hunched over, fiddling with his keychain. “Don’t forget about coming to the stables for a ride. Maybe next Saturday?”

“I want to. I’ll check with my parents.”

“Don’t be afraid,” he said. “I mean…of the horses. Okay? Tell your folks they’re all gentle trail horses. We put kids on them all the time.”

“I’ll tell them.” I messed with my bag to keep from reaching for Henry. “I really appreciate your help tonight. And last night. I’m sorry Tennyson keeps doing things that wind up involving you. That must be annoying.”

His eyes gleamed with amusement. “Nobody forced my hand, Meg. Either night. I’m glad I could spend some time with you. You can call me anytime you find yourself stranded at a drunken soiree. Or, better yet, call me if you’ve been invited to one, and I’ll come over and take you out instead.” He reached toward me and I thought he wanted to hold my hand. Instead, he tugged my phone out of my palm and keyed in his number. Then he hit send and let it ring through to his phone. “You’re whistle bait, so I’d rather you be with me than around a bunch of drunk punks.”

“What’s that?” I took my phone back and added Henry’s name to his number.

“Whistle bait or drunk punks?” He smiled knowingly. “You’re beautiful so you attract a lot of whistles.”

“Okay, flatterer. Does that work on all the Chapin girls?”

“Don’t know.” He chuckled. “Never tried.”

But then, the best thing that had ever happened to me, happened. Henry Whitmire walked me to the door and kissed me on the forehead before he said goodnight.

And instead of feeling confused or weird, I felt new and light. Old Meg would’ve worried about what everyone thought. Was I helping him cheat on Brooke? New Meg didn’t really care.

I’d been a straight-A student since kindergarten, but darn if I could figure out why I couldn’t form an intelligent thought at that moment. One thing I knew for sure, though, was that I would definitely be going to Henry’s stable on Saturday.

C
losing the door with my back, I leaned against it and listened to Henry’s truck crunching over gravel as he backed out of my drive. The only light in the house came from my parents’ bedroom, where I could just make out my mom’s voice. It rose and crashed again and again in the cadence that meant she’d lost it. My dad was losing it, too. When Mom stopped to breathe, he let her have it.

“I don’t
want
you to go,” he said. “But if you do, you aren’t taking Meg. She’s finally acting like a normal teenage girl. You’re not ruining that for her.”

Something glass crashed against the wall, the shattering so loud that I grabbed my ears and cringed.

“You can’t expect me to leave her here. I am her
mother
, Jack.”

“Really?” Dad said. “Then act like it, Adele.”

The door opened, slamming against the bedroom wall. My dad walked out, pinching the bridge of his nose, and trying hard to maintain control. He stopped when he saw me frozen in the living room. He tried to hide the misery on his face by rubbing his cheeks with his palms.

“Where have you been?” he said, on a released breath. “You didn’t leave me a note or anything.”

“I told Mom I would be with Tennyson.” I swallowed against the rising bile in my throat. “She said it was fine.”

A sound escaped his throat that was a cross between a laugh and a sob. “I need to know where you are. You have to tell me directly from now on.”

“Okay,” I whispered. “I’m sorry, Dad.”

He nodded and walked past me out the front door, slamming it behind him. The headlights from his truck bounced over me and around the walls of the room as he sped away from the house.

I tiptoed to the bathroom for a shower, feeling trapped in smoky clothes that would prove where I’d been. I washed the evidence out of my hair and used half a bottle of shower gel on my skin. By the time I turned the water off, I was red like a lobster from head to toe, but still filled with dread.

My mom was on my bed when I walked into my room. She raised her head and tried to smile. I stepped into my closet and shut the door so I could dress for bed in private.

“I’m sorry you heard all that, Meg,” she called. “But it’s probably for the best because I didn’t know how to tell you.”

Hidden in my closet, I leaned against the wall, closed my eyes, and steadied myself for whatever came next. As soon as I opened the door, she made room for me and patted the mattress next to her.