In My Father's Shadow (11 page)

Cole rubbed his temple, stood and began to pace.
“Well, sorry to disappoint but we haven’t gotten together or
anything.”

“But you want to, right?” RJ prodded.

“I don’t know. I mean, I do but what if it doesn’t
work? What happens with all of us?” Cole asked as his pacing
increased. He puffed on his cigarette, sucking on it as if it
contained life, not harmful chemicals. He dropped it to the
sidewalk and crushed it with his shoe.

“You mean who gets custody of me and RJ?” Jamie
asked, valiantly fighting an amused grin. “Who cares, bro! So if it
doesn’t work out, we’ll figure it out then. Why worry about
that?”

“Something happened between you two last weekend in
the hotel, didn’t it?” RJ asked, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.
“That’s why she was so mad, right?”

Cole’s hands were trembling as he shook another
cigarette out of his pack. “Not really. I mean, yeah, sort of. She
kissed me, and…” he blushed a bit, grateful for the darkness so
they couldn’t see the heat in his cheeks. “I did kiss her back. But
I stopped it before it got out of control. She got pissed and when
I tried to explain that I didn’t think a relationship between the
two of us was a good idea, she got even angrier.”

“I’m pretty sure she’s liked you for a long time,”
Jamie admitted. “She just didn’t tell anyone. But I could see it by
the way she was acting.”

“Dude you told him she had a crush on Parker,” RJ
reasoned.

Jamie sighed as he plopped on the bench of a picnic
table. “Well, I think she did at one time. But anyway, why would I
tell Cole that Ally had the hots for him? She is my cousin! And
yeah, he’s my friend, I know. That’s why I just kept my mouth shut.
I didn’t know what to do.”

“Okay, okay,” Cole interrupted as he started to pace
again, pinching the bridge of his nose. “You guys would be cool
with it if Ally and I got together?”

“Why not?” RJ said, shrugging his shoulders.

“I don’t care, man,” Jamie agreed. “As long as you
don’t make out with her in front of me.”

“We don’t have to give you the old ‘you hurt her you
die’ speech we gave the last guy she went out with, do we?” RJ
asked with a broad smile.

Cole barked out a short laugh. “Nah man because if
ever do hurt her, you two better kill me.”

***

Ally walked into her room and prepared for the verbal
assault she figured was coming from her cousin. Jeana’s silent
treatment was beginning to grate on Ally’s already fragile nerves
and she knew that Jeana was bound to burst sooner or later. No time
like the present. And if Ally was being honest with herself, she’d
admit she was itching for a fight.

“Hey, Ally,” Jeana called from her prone position on
her bed as soon as Ally entered the room. She was flipping through
the pages of one of her beloved fashion magazines. “Have a good
weekend?”

“Yeah,” Ally said slowly. “It was nice.”

“How are Uncle Jay and Aunt Liz?” Jeana asked, her
eyes still glued to her magazine.

“Good. They send their love.” Ally dropped her bag at
her feet, stunned by Jeana’s lackadaisical attitude. She shrugged
and heaved her bag to her bed and began to unload it, her mind
suddenly sprinting out of the room and back to the past couple of
weeks.

Jeana sat up on her bed and watched Ally unpack.
“Look, I’m sorry I was so…mean…but you know how I am. Megan says
I’m jealous because you’re closer to Jamie than you are to me.”

Ally dropped the armful of freshly laundered socks
and sat down next to her cousin. “I don’t mean to be. I mean, I
wish you and I had more in common.”

“I try to include you in things I do,” Jeana pointed
out. “But you’re always hanging around with the boys.”

Ally gave her a wry smile. “I know. My dad says I’m a
tomboy.”

“You are,” Jeana said with a grin. “But that doesn’t
mean you and I can’t hang out sometimes, huh?”

“Okay, that’d be nice.” Ally gave her a quick hug.
One of the many stones in the bottom of her stomach disappeared.
“Sometimes it sucks when all your friends are boys and you don’t
have a girl to confide in.”

“Oh, speaking of confiding,” Jeana said, eyes shining
in excitement. “Did Cole tell you who he’s taking to the Fall
Festival dance?”

Ally’s heart sank as hurt and betrayal reentered her
system, stirring the pot of anger that constantly seemed to be
boiling just under her skin. “No, he didn’t mention it.”

“Jennifer Mansfeld was telling anyone who’d listen
that Cole invited her last week.” Jeana was beside herself with
excitement. “I thought they broke up last year.”

“They did,” Ally said, getting to her feet. She bit
her lip. “I wonder why he didn’t say anything all weekend.”

“Boys don’t talk about that stuff unless they’re
asked about it,” Jeana said with a careless shrug. “I thought you
of all people would know that.”

“Yeah, you have a point.” Ally grabbed a bunch of
books off her desk and shoved them into her backpack. She needed to
get out of the stuffy room and away from the prying eyes of her
cousin. She needed a little space and a lot of quiet to get her
thoughts and her feelings into some kind of order. She just
couldn’t go on like this any longer. “Listen, I’m going to go to
the library and finish my Chemistry homework. I’ll see you later,
okay?”

“Sure,” Jeana said, her brow furrowed in confusion.
“Um, was I supposed to say anything about Cole?”

“Oh, sure,” Ally said, slinging her backpack over her
shoulder. She smiled at Jeana as she twisted the doorknob. “Like
you said – he probably forgot. They never tell me who they’re
taking on dates unless I ask. Don’t worry about it.”

She flashed another weak smile and fled the room
before the pain could catch up to her.

***

Ally worked in the library all through dinner,
stomach too twisted to even think about food. Finally, one of the
librarian assistants told her she’d have to clean up, the library
was closing. Ally nodded and stowed her homework in her backpack.
She put the books she’d used away and slowly made her way out of
the door and into the dark.

She couldn’t believe Cole hadn’t told her he was
taking Jennifer to the dance. It wasn’t that she expected him to
take her, really, but she thought that maybe if the other boys
didn’t have dates, they’d all hang out together. Maybe Jennifer was
the reason why Cole so adamantly refused to be anything but a
friend to Ally. Maybe he really was lying to protect her feelings.
But how was he going to explain this? Didn’t he know it would hurt
ten times more when she found out on her own? Or did he actually
believe she’d never know?

She ignored the pain pinching her heart and shuffled
her feet along the sidewalk past the very lively Student Center.
She couldn’t believe people inside the Center were happy and having
fun while she was totally falling apart.

Her heart, as well as her feet, stopped at the sight
of three shadowy figures lounging on the picnic tables. She spotted
the glow of a cigarette and didn’t need to guess who it was. She
sighed and trudged on, knowing she’d have to face him sooner or
later.

“Ally,” Jamie called out. “Where have you been?”

“Library,” she said as she plopped down next to him.
She dropped her backpack between her feet. “I had Chemistry
homework to finish.”

“You must be starving, Al,” Cole said, sitting up to
face her. “We didn’t see you at dinner.”

“I’m fine.”

“Come on,” he said, checking his watch as he got to
his feet. “I’ll take you to get something to eat.”

“I said I’m fine,” she told him firmly, her teeth
grinding.

“What’s bugging you, Al?” he asked as he lowered
himself back down to the picnic table.

“Nothing, now can we change the subject?” she said
tersely.

“Sure,” RJ said tiredly from his side of the table.
“What do you want to talk about?”

“Hmmm,” she said, tapping a finger to her bottom lip.
When she’d first spotted them, she hadn’t intended to mention
Jennifer Mansfeld but she couldn’t help it – couldn’t hold back any
longer. “How about…oh…I don’t know… the Fall Festival dance?”

“Oh, hell,” Cole cursed, smacking his forehead. “I
totally forgot!”

“What dude?” Jamie asked.

“I have got to get out of this,” Cole mumbled as he
stood and paced. “Damn it!”

“Why?” Ally spat at him, launching to her feet to
stand in front of him, fists firmly planted on her hips. “I know
she’s been dying to get back together with you. What’s the problem,
huh?”

“Okay, stop,” RJ ordered, squeezing between the two
of them. “What the hell is going on now?”

“I forgot I’m supposed to go with Jennifer Mansfeld
to the Fall Festival dance,” Cole explained sheepishly.

Ally tensed and rolled to her toes, reaching over
RJ’s shoulder to shake a finger at Cole. “How could you forget? You
asked her!”

“I didn’t ask her,” he shot back. “She kept bugging
me about going and I finally just said okay to shut her up!”

“Oh, is that what it takes?” Ally asked, pushing RJ’s
arm out of her way and moving closer to Cole. “I just have to keep
bugging you for you to say okay?”

“Ally,” Cole warned, anger burning in his eyes,
warning obvious in his tone. “It’s not the same thing and you know
it.”

“Anyone got a knife?” Jamie asked as he grabbed
Ally’s arm and pulled her back.

“No kidding,” RJ said, standing in front of Cole.

“What are you talking about?” Ally asked Jamie.

“Nothing, cuz, let’s walk,” he said, draping an arm
around her shoulders.

She shook him off, once again close to tears, and
snatched her backpack strap. “No. Leave me alone. I’m going to
bed.” She shot one last angry glare at Cole before brushing past RJ
and striding purposely down the sidewalk, the sound of her
footsteps fading fast.

“Damn, you got your hands full,” RJ stated.

Cole ran his fingers through his already messy hair.
“Yeah, I know.” He could still hear her stomping down the sidewalk
and figured he only had a few more minutes to catch her before she
made it to the girls’ dorm and out of his reach. “I’ll be right
back,” he told them and tore off after her.

“Oh, man! So not good,” Jamie said.

“Why?” RJ asked in a panic. “I thought you wanted
them to get together?”

“Yeah, I do. I meant he said ‘I’ll be right back’ and
ran off in the dark after a psychotic girl. It’s a horror film’s
dream!”

RJ laughed. “Yeah, we’ll find him gutted and hanging
on the flagpole by the cafeteria tomorrow morning.”

***

His reached her before she could reach the girls’
dorms and she let out a shriek as he grabbed her arm and twisted
her to face him. Her eyes grew when she saw who he was.

“Let go of me now,” she ordered, her jaw
clenched.

“No, not until you and I talk,” he told her, yanking
her off the sidewalk and into the dark near the cafeteria
building.

“I have nothing more to say to you, Cole,” she said,
standing with her feet slightly apart. She yanked her arm out of
his grip and crossed it over her chest with her other one.

“Good,” he smirked. “Maybe you’ll shut up for once
and listen to what I have to say.”

She gasped, astounded, dropping her arms to her
sides. Her backpack slid off her shoulder and fell to her feet.
“What do you mean, shut up for once? I listen to you all the
time!”

“You do? You’re not exactly listening now.”

“I…ugh,” she fumed. “One of these days I’m going to
smack that smirk right off your face Cole Crawford!”

He took a step closer to her, forcing her to take a
step back. “I only told Jennifer I’d go to shut her up, I swear.
I’m going to call her tonight or talk to her tomorrow and get out
of it.”

She glared defiantly in his eyes. “Why don’t you just
go with her?”

He stepped closer but she refused to budge. “I don’t
want to go with her.”

She snorted, turning her head. “So, I suppose you
want to go with me now?”

He grinned and touched her cheek. “Yep, you suppose
right.”

She jerked her face away from him and took another
step backwards. Her back brushed against the harsh bricks of the
cafeteria building. “Well, maybe I don’t want to go with you.”

He paused for a minute, uncertainty flashing in his
eyes. “Why not?”

She smirked at his uncertainty, gaining confidence,
and took a step forward, away from the wall. “Maybe I want to go
with someone who actually likes me and I mean for more than a
friend.”

He stroked her cheek again, calling her bluff. “I
like you more than a friend.”

The confidence she’d gained at his uncertainty left
her like a bullet from a gun and she backed up once again.
“But…what about all the things you said?”

He shrugged. “Maybe I wasn’t right about
everything.”

She blinked slowly, allowing his words to penetrate.
“What about our friends? What do you think they’ll say?”

He stepped closer and gently took her hand, tangling
his fingers with hers. He rubbed his thumb over the top of her hand
and felt the slight shiver rush under her skin. “They’re fine with
it. Matter of fact, I think they were taking bets on us.”

She swallowed nervously, mind turning to mush at his
mere touch. “You…umm…talked to them?”

“Yeah. Today. A little while ago.”

“What about our parents?” she asked as he gave her
hand a squeeze.

“My dad isn’t bothered at all about it and he said he
thought your parents would be thrilled.” He tilted his head,
surveying her carefully.

“You talked to Nate? About us?” She asked,
bewildered. He nodded. “You’ve certainly thought a lot about
this.”

“I have,” he admitted.

“What about our friendship?” she persisted, squeezing
his hand. “What if we don’t work out?”

“I thought you wanted this, Allyson,” he asked, a bit
perturbed.