In My Father's Shadow (16 page)

Unless he’s keeping it from you and Alec
, a
little voice inside her head said.

“No,” she said determinedly. “That’s not
possible.”

She stopped in front of the boys’ dorm building and
rested for a moment, a bit of perspiration beading on her forehead
despite the crisp air. She pushed the buzzer for Cole and RJ’s
room, waited approximately five seconds then pushed again,
grinning.

“What the hell do you want?” RJ demanded through the
intercom, his voice heavy with sleep.

“How do you know I’m not Admin?” she chastised.

“Because they don’t need to be buzzed in,” he said as
the door unlocked.

Ally grabbed the heavy door with her right hand,
squeezing her crutch under that armpit and wriggled her way through
the doorway. She hobbled to their room, grateful they were on the
first floor, and knocked twice. RJ opened it, dressed in shorts and
a wrinkled t-shirt, his hair sticking up in odd angles.

“It’s way too early to call the parents,” he murmured
as held the door to let her in. “Go snuggle with your man or
something. I’m going back to sleep.”

Her cheeks flamed as she glanced over to Cole’s bed.
He was stretching and yawning, trying to scoot his body up. Her
cheeks grew hotter when the blankets fell away revealing his bare
chest. “It’s really early, Al,” he said. “You okay?”

The morning was overcast and their curtains were
drawn so the room was dim and extremely conducive to sleeping. But
her mind was whirling, her leg hurting, and her head a bit woozy.
“Ummm, yeah,” she stuttered. “I…umm…couldn’t sleep anymore.”

Cole swung his legs over the side of his bed and Ally
was relieved to see he, too, was wearing shorts. He rubbed his
hands over his face tiredly. “How’s your ankle this morning?” he
asked, patting the mattress beside him, indicating she should sit
down.

She sank beside him, her head wobbling on her
shoulders. “It hurt this morning. Pretty badly.”

He laced his fingers with hers and kissed her hand.
“That’s probably why the doctor wanted you off it this weekend. Did
you take your pain medicine?” She nodded. He got up and pulled the
blankets back. “Get in. I’ll grab something to put under it.”

Her brow furrowed as she struggled to understand his
words. “What?”

“Get in my bed. That pain medicine will knock you
out, which is good because I’m still tired and I’d like to sleep
some more and that won’t happen with you here running your
mouth.”

She set her lips. “I should punch you.”

He rolled his eyes and kissed her cheek. “You know
I’m right, now get in and scoot over.”

She did as he asked, too groggy to argue, and kept a
wary eye on him. He disappeared into the bathroom and when he
reappeared; his arms were burdened with pillows and towels.

“You keep extra pillows in your bathroom?” she asked,
wondering if the pain in her ankle combined with the pain meds were
making her more loopy than usual.

“We have a couple extra pillows we keep in the towel
closet just in case Jamie or Ren crash here.” He gently lifted her
leg so he could tuck the pillow and rolled up towels under it.
“Better?” he asked. She nodded. He kissed her forehead and climbed
in next to her. “Keep the snoring to a minimum, please.”

“I don’t snore,” she snapped, ruining her angry
façade with a giggle.

“Excuse me you two,” RJ said from under his blanket.
“As much as I positively adore you both and think it’s just the
bee’s knees that you two are together, do you think you could keep
it down? I’m still tired.”

“The ‘bee’s knees?’” Ally asked, gaping at RJ.

He peered at her from under his blanket and winked.
“My grandmother’s favorite saying. But that’s beside the point.
Cole, will you kiss her or something so you both will shut up and I
can get some sleep?”

“He’s grumpy when he’s tired,” Ally whispered,
feeling the familiar tugging sensation caused by her pain meds –
warning her she was about to fall asleep.

“Yeah, I know,” Cole whispered back. He tipped her
chin and kissed her softly on the mouth. “But he does have some
pretty good ideas.”

She yearned to roll over and tuck her body into his
but her clumsy cast impeded her. He turned on his side, facing her,
and threw an arm over her stomach. She watched as his eyes shut and
smiled at how vulnerable he looked.

“Sleep, Al,” he mumbled, giving her a quick squeeze.
“Jamie will be here in a couple hours.”

She allowed herself to drift off, the weight of his
arm across her stomach comforting her like a security blanket.

***

“That’s so cute it makes me want to puke,” Jamie
said, yanking Cole out of his slumber.

“Go to hell, James,” Cole mumbled, cracking an eye
open only to find Jamie peering at him with a goofy grin on his
face. He stretched, peeked at Ally, relief seeping through him to
find her still knocked out cold. “And whatever you do, don’t wake
her yet.”

“How long has she been here?” Jamie asked as Cole sat
up, adjusting the blankets around Ally’s slumbering body. Her face
was pale and the purple bruises that she’d skillfully covered the
night before were deeper and now tinged with yellow. He hoped it
didn’t still hurt.

“Early,” RJ said as he strolled out of the bathroom,
looking refreshed and ready to go. “Like at the butt crack of
dawn.”

“I doubt she slept much last night at all,” Cole
frowned, scrubbing the sleep from his face. “Not to mention the
pain in her ankle. I think she took her pain meds before she came
over here and I made her get in bed. It only took a few minutes and
she was out.”

“She’s taking these rumors pretty serious – and the
possibility of her dad leaving the band pretty hard,” Jamie said,
eyeing his cousin’s sleeping form.

Cole yawned and got off the bed, pausing in the
bathroom doorway. “I know. But there’s nothing we can do if it is
true.”

RJ sprawled out on his bed. “It’ll suck.”

A cell phone rang from under Cole’s blankets. Jamie
gave Ally a gentle shake. “Hey, Sleeping Beauty! Answer your
phone.”

Ally shot up and nearly cried out in pain, her face
paling. Cole strode out of the bathroom and sat next to her. “Hey,
Al, calm down.”

“I’m okay,” she said as she scrambled through the
bedding in search of her still ringing phone. By the time she
located it, it had stopped ringing and gone to voice mail. She
flipped it open and rubbed her forehead. “It was my mom,” she said,
shutting her phone. Her dazed, sleepy eyes took in the three guys
staring back at her. Heat crept up her neck and spread to her
cheeks when she realized she was still in Cole’s bed. “Should I
call her back?”

Cole sighed. “Might as well. See what she wants.
Maybe she saw the news last night and wants to talk to you about
it.” He glanced at the other guys.

“Just don’t mention what we heard yet,” RJ said. “If
you do, she’ll blow it off and say that we’ll all talk about when
we’re all home or something lame like that.”

“Yes,” Cole agreed. “We need to figure out how to go
about getting some answers.”

She nodded and called her mother’s cell phone. Liz
answered right away.

“Hi, Mom,” Ally said around a huge yawn. “What’s
up?”

Cole scooted closer as RJ and Jamie dropped to RJ’s
bed, watching her every move as if she was a convict plotting
escape.

“Just calling to see how you’re feeling,” Liz said in
a gentle voice. “How is your ankle?”

“Fine,” Ally said, nibbling her lip. “A little
sore.”

“Have you been resting it?” Liz prodded. “You know,
if you keep it up and ice it like the doctor said it will
help.”

“Yeah, I know. I went to Jamie’s game last night but
Cole took me back to my room after the first quarter.” She sighed
and looked at the boys nervously.

“Honey, I think you need to be taking it easy for a
few days,” Liz said in concern. “You don’t need to be on it at all.
Alec or one of the boys will get your assignments or bring you
meals if you ask.”

“I know, Mom, and they have been. They’ve been real
angels, honestly. And I plan to rest my ankle the remainder of the
weekend. I don’t think we’ll go to the dance tonight,” she rambled,
talking off the top of her head. “I don’t know what we’ll do but I
suppose I should just stay locked up in my room like a
prisoner.”

Cole rolled his eyes while Jamie and RJ grinned.

“Oh, it’s the Fall Festival,” Liz said, a wistful
note in her voice. Ally remembered the stories her mother had told
her of her dad escorting her mom to the Fall Festival dance her
senior year. “Did you have a date for the dance?”

“Ummm,” Ally said, heart beat quickening. “Yeah.”

“Do I know him?” Liz prodded

“Um hmm. Um, Cole.” Ally pulled a face,
wide-eyed.

Cole gave her a questioning look but she shook her
head.

“Cole,” Liz repeated excitedly. “Awww. Are you two
dating now?”

Ally felt the heat rush to her cheeks. As much as she
would love to talk to her mother about this, she was very aware of
the boys hanging on her every word. “I don’t know.”

“Well, you should talk to him about it,” Liz
suggested. “Cole will be honest and straightforward with you. Do
you really like him?”

Panic seized her. She could not go there at that
moment; especially with Cole sitting next to her, listening
intently. “What’s going on with Dad?” she blurted, wincing,
squeezing her eyes shut. She could just picture the faces on the
guys as she did the one thing they asked her not to do.

“What do you mean?” Liz said quietly.

“Is he leaving Tight Control?”

She opened an eye and caught Jamie’s amused look.
Cole and RJ, unfortunately, looked like they were ready to string
her up.

Liz sighed. “I’ve told you not to listen to rumors,
Ally.”

“Mom,” Ally protested. “They were talking about it on
VMTV, not some tabloid.”

“We’ll talk about this when you come home for
Thanksgiving,” Liz said in a stern voice.

“I knew you’d say that,” Ally bit out in disgust.

“Listen, Allyson,” Liz said sternly. “People hear
things and construe them in ways that they see fit. Not everything
you hear is the exact truth.”

“But,” Ally stammered.

“No, that’s enough,” Liz ordered. “Now rest that
ankle and I’ll call you later.”

“Fine,” Ally murmured and hung up the phone.

“Damn it, Al,” Cole cursed. “I thought we agreed not
to do that?”

“She backed me into a corner,” Ally defended.

“How?” RJ asked.

“Never mind,” she said quietly.

“What did she say about your dad?” Jamie asked.

Ally shrugged. “That it’s a rumor and that she’ll
talk to me about it at Thanksgiving.”

RJ swore colorfully. “So much for figuring out a way
to get it out of them. They’ll never tell us anything now; they’ll
be on guard.”

“Sorry,” Ally said, grabbing her crutches. “I told
you, she cornered me.”

“About what?” RJ yelled hotly. “About the stupid
dance? About what color your dress was?”

Ally felt a lump start to form in her throat. She
argued with Cole all the time and once in awhile with Jamie. But
never with RJ. Ever. “No. Something else.” She pulled herself up
and made for the door.

“Where are you going?” Cole asked, voice hard.

“Back to my room.”

“Running out? I think you need to stay and help us
figure out what to do now,” RJ said, eyes cold. “You’re the one who
screwed this up in the first place.”

“I’m sorry,” she said; hunched over her crutches,
hand on the knob. “But it’s not like they would have told us
anything anyway, no matter how clever you think you are RJ.” She
pulled the door open and ambled out.

“Not now they won’t,” RJ shouted.

“Leave her alone,” Jamie ordered, grabbing the door
before it could close. “She didn’t mean to say anything. It’s
obvious Aunt Liz said something to make her panic.”

RJ snorted and plopped on his bed. “Stupid move by a
stupid….”

“Hey,” Jamie yelled, allowing the door to shut. He
strode up to RJ and grabbed his shirt. “Don’t talk about her that
way! What is the matter with you?”

“Jamie, he’s right,” Cole said, coming between them.
Jamie opened his mouth but Cole cut him off. “Not about the name
calling.” He turned and gently shoved RJ into the wall. “RJ my man,
I must say, that was totally wrong and uncalled for. Don’t do it
again.”

RJ just huffed so Cole turned back to Jamie. “We
specifically asked her not to say anything but she did anyway. You
know Liz will say something to our parents and then our parents are
going to be on guard and careful what they say to us. I just think
RJ is right – if we could have figured something out – some way of
questioning one of our dads, maybe we could have gotten a little
truth. Now no one is going to talk.”

“Exactly,” RJ pouted dropping to his bed. “They’re
just going to tell us that it’s all talk and if Jay was planning to
go solo, they’d tell us right away.”

“What if Aunt Liz told Ally the truth, huh?” Jamie
persisted. “What if it is only talk or they were goofing around? If
there’s nothing more to tell then they wouldn’t bother calling us.
They’d just tell us when we got home.”

“If I didn’t know better, I’d think you’re the one
screwing her,” RJ said darkly.

Jamie lunged for him but Cole grabbed him and pushed
him back. “Stop it, both of you,” he said, slightly out of breath.
“This ain’t getting us anywhere.” He glanced between both boys.
“This is exactly why they won’t tell us anything. Look what it’s
doing to us now! We’re already falling apart. What happens if it’s
true and they do split or Jay goes solo? What then? Hell, we’ve
already alienated Ally. She’s probably in her room crying or
planning our deaths.”

RJ hunched over, head in hands. “Damn. Oh, hell,
Jamie, man, I’m sorry.”