Hickville Confessions: A Hickville High Novel (13 page)

On the way to school, Ryan thought about her plan. She couldn’t tell her sisters yet—they were too close to the situation—but the first thing she wanted to do was run it past Braden McGuire. He’d spoken so passionately at the last Purity Club meeting, she figured he’d be her litmus test. If he thought the idea sucked, then she’d drop back and regroup.

It didn’t take her long to find him. He was on the yearbook committee and she figured he might be hanging around the journalism department before school. She was right.

He was leaning on the wall close to the door talking to a couple of guys she didn’t know. “Hi, Braden. Do you have a minute?”

“Sure.” He pushed off the wall with his shoulder and made his way to her. “What’s up?”

“I found information on the group that teaches about dating. It’s called Dating Respect. The focus is on healthy dating relationships and helping people who are caught in abusive relationships.” She could tell he was turning the idea over in his mind. “I thought we could take it to Mrs. Bettis.” She pulled some paper from her backpack. “I printed this stuff from their website. Check it out and let me know what you think.” He took the papers. “If we form this group, we could get community service credits.”

He gave a shrug. “Do you think there’s
that
much dating violence in this tiny school?”

“It’s not just violence. It’s everything from a slightly unhealthy relationship to the violent.” The five-minute bell rang and students began moving into the classrooms. “Take a look and I’ll meet you after class.”

“Okay.” He took a step back. “Why are you doing this?”

“Because it’s important.” She turned and headed to her Calculus class.
Very important
. If she could save one girl from what had happened to her in Chicago, then everything that had happened to her since would have had a purpose.

*

Justin’s heart pounded as they neared Garden Oaks. His mom sat in the front seat next to his dad. She hadn’t cried since they’d picked her up from the hospital, or even spoken. She looked too tired to do either. She just sat in the passenger seat twisting her hands together.

His dad had brushed her hair while they waited for the discharge papers. It reminded Justin of when he and Chelsea were little. On the days his mom worked and his dad was off, his dad would struggle to brush Chelsea’s long, curly hair. He usually managed to get it into a ponytail, but it never looked as good as when Mom did it.

His mom’s hair didn’t look quite right either. But then, nothing about her looked normal. Her face was pale, with deep circles under her eyes and wrinkles at the corners. Her eyelids looked as if they were too heavy for her to hold open. She was frail. Bones covered by skin.

His dad parked in front of the single-story building and Mom let out a long sigh.

“Are you okay, Mom?”

She gave a slow nod.

Justin and his dad helped her out of the car and together, as a family, they walked through the doors of Garden Oaks Psychiatric Hospital.

She signed a billion papers before they were escorted to her room, which looked more like a hotel than a hospital room. There was a regular bed and a bedside table. A dresser stood against a wall across from the bed. Two chairs and a small table were nestled in the corner and a love seat was centered under a window.

“This is nice, Sandy.” Dad helped her to the love seat.

She nodded.

The girl who had brought them to the room smiled. “Dr. O’Malley will be down to talk to y’all in a few minutes. But you have time to put your things away first. We don’t want our residents to live out of suitcases.” She pointed to a closed door across from the bed, next to a chest of drawers. “That’s the closet. The bathroom is on the other side of the dresser.”

Justin sat next to his mom and took her hand. “You’re going to be okay.”

She patted his hand and leaned her head on his shoulder. “For you, son.”

“No, Mom. For you.”

His dad paced around the room. “How about I get your bags from the car?”

It was obvious that he was anxious to get out of this place, and that pissed Justin off. “I’ll get them. You can have a few minutes with Mom.”

His dad jangled his keys. “I’ve got it.” He practically bolted from the room.

The muscles in Justin’s neck and shoulders tensed and his mom lifted her head from where it rested. “I’ve made a promise to get better. Now I need you to make a promise too.” His mom’s voice was gravelly and weak. It sounded like it had been transplanted from an old person.

“Anything.”

“Go easy on your dad.”

His gut contracted, along with every muscle in his body. It was all he could do to keep from jumping up and pacing around the room.

His mom sighed deeply. “I can’t stand the anger between you two.”

Then Dad needs to man up and be around.
“I promise I’ll try.”
Will he?

She patted his thigh. “You know, you’re just like him.”

“I’m nothing like him.” He blurted it out before he caught himself.

“When you set your mind to something, you’re like a freight train racing down a track until you get it. I see your dad’s mannerisms in you. The way you stand and the expressions on your face. The way you’re struggling not to pace. It’s not a bad thing. He used to be your hero.”

Justin nodded. “That was before he decided work was more important than we were.”

His mom didn’t say anything, but gave a weary sigh.

I shouldn’t have said that—even if it is true.

His dad returned with a bag. “I didn’t know what to pack. I tried to pick some comfortable clothes.”

“It’s fine.”

Justin helped his dad put her clothes away.
See, Mom? I’m playing nice.

They’d barely finished when Dr. O’Malley entered the room. He looked a little older than Justin’s parents, but he was thin and as tall as Justin’s six-one frame. His thinning dark hair was cut short, but not military short. He smiled and shook everyone’s hand. “I don’t believe in wasting time. I’d like to get started right away. I want to spend a few minutes with everybody individually first. If you’ll follow me, I’ll show you my office.”

Justin wasn’t sure what he’d expected, but this wasn’t it. There were a few people milling around, but the only one with a white coat was Dr. O’Malley. Everybody else was dressed in regular clothes. They passed a lounge, where several people watched
The Price Is Right
on a flat-screen TV.

Dr. O’Malley punched buttons on a keypad next to a door. A click sounded, a green light came on, and he led them through into his office. It looked like any other office waiting room. Chairs lined the walls and a coffee table sat in the center. “Have a seat. Sandy, I’d like to start with you. Is that okay?”

She nodded and he led her through a second door.

Justin sat next to his dad and stared at the floor.
Wow, this is real. Mom is in the nut hut, the loony bin.
He squeezed his eyes shut and repeated silently,
please get better, please get better, please get better…

*

Ryan sat next to Braden McGuire and tried not to focus on Mrs. Bettis’s expressions as she perused the Dating Respect information Ryan had printed. She hadn’t had to talk Braden into being on board. She practically ran into him after first period.

Her idea was to get a group together to talk about the organization. But he’d expanded beyond that. He leaned forward when Mrs. Bettis lowered the papers. “We could run a series in the school paper leading up to February—it’s Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. We could even have a Dating Respect Valentine’s dance.”

Mrs. Bettis put a hand up. “Slow down. Great ideas, but I’ll have to run them by Mrs. Johnson.” She stood. “I’ll be honest—it might be a hard sell after what happened to the Purity Club. But it’s a great idea.”

Ryan stood too. “Should we get a petition going or something?”

Mrs. Bettis smiled. “Let me see what I can do first.”

With that, they were dismissed. As they left the office, Ryan looked at Braden. “Thanks for coming with me.”

“It
is
a great idea. And if Mrs. Johnson doesn’t listen, we’ll make her listen.”

They walked together until they reached the intersection where the junior lockers and the fine arts hall met. Braden smiled at her. “This is where I split.”

“Thanks again for your help.” Ryan was anxious to get her stuff and check her phone for a message from Justin, but Braden wasn’t leaving.

His face flushed. “No worries.” He slow-blinked and shifted his weight nervously.

“Is there something else?”

“Um. I was just wondering… is Mackenzie dating anybody?”

Ryan grinned.
Go, Kenzie!
“Nope. Not at the moment.” She walked backward down the junior hall. “But you’d better hurry.” She didn’t wait for him to answer before she turned toward her locker. She pulled her phone from her pocket. No text from Justin. She tried not to let herself be disappointed, but she missed seeing him.

She met up with her sisters in the parking lot and together they walked to the truck. She nudged Mackenzie. “So, Braden McGuire.”

“Who?” Mackenzie munched on a Twizzler.

“You know, the guy who couldn’t keep his eyes off you at the Purity Club meeting?”

“What about him?”

Ryan bumped shoulders with her. “He asked me if you were dating anybody.”

Mackenzie stopped and pulled the red licorice from her mouth. “Why would he ask that? I don’t even know him.”

Kelsey waggled her eyebrows at Mackenzie. “Maybe you should.”

“No. I shouldn’t. He’s not even my type.”

Ryan starting walking and Mackenzie and Kelsey fell in step. “What’s your type?”

“Not him.”

Ryan shrugged. “Okay. It’s nice to know somebody is interested, though, isn’t it?”

Mackenzie stuck the licorice back in her mouth. “I guess. What made him tell you, anyway?”

Ryan told her sisters about the Dating Respect program, and by the time she finished, they’d reached the truck. Kelsey climbed behind the wheel. “It’s a great idea. I’ll help in any way I can.”

Mackenzie climbed behind Kelsey. “Me too. That’s so much better than PC.”

Ryan sat shotgun and closed the door. “I hope so.” She checked her phone again. Still nothing.

Kelsey pulled out of the parking lot. “Justin wasn’t in school today. Everything okay?”

Ryan shrugged. “As good as it can be. They’re moving his mom to the psych hospital today.”

“Wow, that’s major.” Mackenzie spoke up from the back.

Ryan twisted sideways in her seat. “Yeah. I can’t imagine what he’s going through.”

Kelsey didn’t say anything, but she gave Ryan a look that said she wanted to.

Ryan looked back. “What?”

“Nothing.”

“Obviously, you have something you’re struggling not to say. So say it.”

Kelsey put a death grip on the steering wheel and gazed straight out the windshield.

Ryan flipped her cell in her hand and waited.

Finally, Kelsey took a deep breath and said, “I know you think he’s different with you, but he’s still crazy. He might hide it better with you, but he has anger issues. It’s just a matter of time before it’s aimed at you.”

At that moment, Ryan had so many
anger issues
it was all she could do to keep from chucking the phone at her sister. “He doesn’t have anger issues. He doesn’t like Austin, but can you blame him?”

“You weren’t there when he jumped Austin in the parking lot. He was crazy.”

“Look, Kelsey, I know Justin. And if he tackled Austin, there was a reason.”

“Yeah, so you’ve said. I’m telling you, he’s screwed up in the head.” She glanced at Ryan and sighed. “You’ve been through so much. I just don’t want to see you with a guy who doesn’t treat you right.”

Ryan’s face burned with anger. Kelsey just couldn’t look past that one moment in the parking lot. “You’re judging him on a narrow view. He’s so much more than that.”

Kelsey bit her lip. “Just be careful. Sometimes it’s hard to see past the nice things they do. When I was with Drew, I couldn’t see how controlling he was. It took getting away from him to open my eyes.”

“Justin is not Drew and I’m not you.” God, she wanted to scream. How dared Kelsey compare Justin to Drew? Kelsey had dated Drew when they lived in Chicago. He’d had everything in life handed to him, from the A4 he drove to a summer in Europe. Yeah, nothing like Justin.

She didn’t speak to her sister the rest of the way to the store. When they got there, Ryan went straight to work, which consisted of fiddling with a clothing display at the front of the store to take her mind off Justin.

When he called, it was all she could do to keep from doing one of those cheerleading jumps right there in the store. “Hey, Justin.”

“Hey. Are you busy?”

Something’s wrong. I can hear it in his voice. “
We’re about to close. What happened?”

“I just need to get away from here. Can we go for a drive?”

“Can I call you back?”

“Yeah.”

She found her mom plinking on her computer in the back room. “Can I have the truck this evening?”

“Maybe. We can ride home with Dad. What for?”

Ryan bit her lip.
Please don’t read more into this than there is.
“Justin called. He wants to go for a drive.”

Her mom shook her head. “The whole thing is just so sad.” She leaned back in her chair. “You have to be pretty sick to put your kid through that. I heard that Justin found her.”

“He wrestled the gun from her.”

“Holy cow. Where was his dad?”

“Work? Can I have the truck?”

“Well, I don’t think he should drive upset. Where are you going?”

“I don’t know—probably just to Sonic.”
Just give me the keys already.

Mom pulled her purse from beneath the kitchen cabinet and dug out a set of Ford keys and a twenty from her billfold. “Here. Be home by ten. It is a school night.”

“Thanks, Mom.” She turned to bolt from the room.

Her mom tapped her shoulder. “Wait.”

Great. Here comes the lecture about my behavior.
She spun around. “What?”