In My Father's Shadow (17 page)

“It’s okay,” Jamie said, looking away, drinking in
Cole’s words. “Cole’s right. We can’t do this.” He took a deep
breath. “I’m going to go talk to Ally.”

“No,” RJ said, getting to his feet. “Let me. I’m the
one who owes her an apology.” Jamie nodded as RJ opened the door.
He paused and looked back at the other two. “If I’m not back in
thirty minutes, come save me.”

Cole pushed him out of the room and shut the door. He
sighed and walked to his bed. He reached over to straighten the
sheets and got a whiff of Ally’s strawberry shampoo still lingering
on his pillows. His heart wrenched as he thought about the way he’d
treated her. She was scared and confused and hurting both
physically and mentally. She was worried about her family and what
would happen if her father did part with the band. He was willing
to bet she was even worried that if Jay did leave the band, maybe
it would affect their friendship and the friendship of their kids.
Maybe she was worried she’d lose them all.

Sure, she panicked. So, what? They’d figure out what
was going on sooner or later. Until then, he had to make it up to
her.

“Hell,” he muttered falling to his freshly made bed.
“We certainly didn’t do right by Ally this morning at all. I can’t
blame her, man, she’s worried. I know how much the band means to
her and the extended family that goes along with it. It would kill
her if Jay left.”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean we all won’t still hang
out,” Jamie said.

“I know, but she’s an emotional wreck right now,”
Cole said, his heart falling. “Her ankle is killing her, she can’t
play volleyball, she’s worried about basketball season and now
this. I owe her an apology, too.”

“Maybe and man, I don’t envy you at all,” Jamie said
gravely.

Cole hoisted his body to his feet, pulled on a pair
of jeans and a sweatshirt then grimaced at Jamie. “Come on, man,
let’s go apologize. RJ probably needs rescuing by now anyway.”

Jamie snorted. “You just want me to go to protect you
from the wrath of Ally.”

“So,” Cole mumbled. “What’s your point?”

Jamie laughed and shoved him out of the room. “You’re
never going to survive this relationship, bro.”

Chapter Fourteen

Ally fumed, fighting tears of rage and pain, as she
dropped to the desk chair, vaguely pondering where Jeana had gone
off to so early. She glanced at her clock, mostly as a means to
help her get her mind off recent events, and realized that it was
well after nine, close to ten, and Jeana most likely went down for
breakfast.

Her intercom buzzed and she sucked in a breath, not
ready to be further berated by her so-called friends. She knew
she’d messed up – knew she’d panicked. But she was in no mood to
listen to them now. She wanted to figure out a way to fix it – to
get information from her parents and set not only her own mind, but
the minds of her friends at ease.

The intercom buzzed again and again in quick
succession. She groaned and hobbled to the door to press the TALK
button.

“Go AWAY!” she yelled, her voice not nearly as stern
and angry as she’d like. Too much pain had filtered through to
sound even remotely threatening.

“Let me in, Ally,” RJ pleaded. “Come on. I came to
apologize.”

She pressed the button again. “Then apologize
already. I’m listening.”

“I’m not going to do the over the intercom. Just let
me in,” he asked.

“Fine,” she sniffed. “But I swear I’ll hit you if you
say the wrong thing.”

“I realize that and I’ve come anyway,” he said in his
most valiant voice.

She cracked a smile and hit the button to unlock the
door. She unlocked her room door and fell back to the desk chair,
her ankle throbbing.

He rapped lightly before entering, his hazel eyes
apologetic and his face on the verge of angelic. “I’m very sorry,
Ally. I’m an idiot, you know that.”

She nodded and smiled, gesturing for him to bend down
so she could hug him. “I’m sorry, too. I didn’t mean to blurt
anything out,” she mumbled into his neck.

“Yeah, well, at least we know they are aware of the
rumors,” he said with a sigh. He straightened and frowned at her.
“I know you slept a little in our room this morning but have you
been sleeping otherwise?”

She shrugged, not sure she could form a sentence
without crying. “The pain meds knock me out for a little bit.”

His frown deepened and she turned her head, trying to
hide her tears. “You need to be in bed with that ankle
elevated.”

“I was working on that,” she said, sucking back a
sob, pain etched around her mouth. “It just hurts right this second
and I’m summoning up the courage to move.”

“I got you covered, babe,” RJ said with a wink. He
bent and scooped her in his arms just as the door opened, admitting
Jamie, Cole, and Jeana.

Cole’s eyes darkened and narrowed as he stepped into
the room, his posture stiff. “That’s a hell of an apology.”

RJ’s cheeks pinked and he set Ally gently on the bed.
She grimaced as she lifted her leg to arrange her pillows. RJ
flashed Cole a dirty look before returning his attention to Ally,
helping her to prop her leg. He didn’t say a word as he strode into
the bathroom and returned, reading the label of her prescription
bottle and a glass of water. “It says 1-2 every 4 hours. When’s the
last time you took this, Ally?”

“Around 5:30 this morning,” she said, trying to gauge
Cole’s mood. She wasn’t sure if he was still angry with her or not
– his face was so dark.

RJ shook two capsules out in his hand and gave them
to her. She swallowed them and sat back, white as a ghost. “I
thought the pain would be somewhat better by now,” she said, eyes
squeezed shut.

“It’s not going to happen overnight,” Cole said
quietly.

She opened her eyes just enough to glare at him.
“Thanks for the reminder.” She closed her eyes again. “And if
you’re here to beat me up some more for the mistake I made this
morning on the phone, then just leave. I already feel horrible
about it.”

“Not at all,” Cole said. “You know what you did was
stupid.”

Jamie sighed. “Leave her alone, Cole.”

“I honestly didn’t mean it like that, James,” Cole
pleaded, his hands in the air.

“Don’t worry about it,” Ally slurred. “It’s over and
done with. Just because the band may be falling apart doesn’t mean
we have to. Now what do we do?”

Cole sat on her bed and studied her tired, pale face.
She kept her eyes closed and her head started to droop. He helped
her to scoot down in a lying position, adjusting her pillows. “We
wait until Thanksgiving and see what they have to say then.”

“What’s going on?” Jeana asked.

Cole sighed and looked up at the other two boys for
help.

“Rumors going around about the band again,” Jamie
said. “We talked to Aunt Liz this morning and she said it’s not
true. It just upset us all a little bit.”

“Oh,” Jeana said with a slight smile. “The one about
Uncle Jay going solo? I heard that one at breakfast. I always
ignore rumors about Uncle Jay’s band.”

“Good thinking,” RJ told her with a wink. She blushed
and got up off her bed.

“I’m going to Candace’s room. I’ll see you guys at
the dance, right?” RJ and Jamie both nodded. Cole shrugged and
glanced at the dozing Ally. “Well, call me if you need any help
with her.” She waved and left.

“I forgot you two actually have dates,” Cole
smirked.

RJ plopped on Jeana’s bed and turned on the TV. “What
are you going to do tonight?”

Cole sighed. “I don’t know. I might make an
appearance. I don’t think we should avoid people. Jeana said people
were talking about the rumors at breakfast. Did you go to the
cafeteria at all today Jamie?”

He shook his head. “Nope. I have a stash of breakfast
bars in my room.”

Cole looked at Ally again. “We should probably go
there at lunch, huh? We don’t want anyone to think we’re hiding
because the rumors are true.”

***

Cole knew he’d been right on the money as soon as
they stepped inside the cafeteria that afternoon. He kept his eyes
on his tray, and the tray he was preparing for Ally, as the buzz
around them heightened.

None of them said a word until they sat at their
usual table and started to eat lunch as if nothing were affecting
them at all. Except Ally.

“You know most of these idiots probably wouldn’t care
if it wasn’t for us going to school here,” Ally stated sullenly.
She pushed her fries around and nibbled on the corner of her
cheeseburger.

“You’re right,” Cole said as he glanced over her
shoulder and caught Jennifer Mansfeld glaring hatefully in Ally’s
direction. He pushed his tray away and walked over to the other
side of the table. He sat down and took her hand. “Al, I don’t
think we should go to the dance tonight.” His heart sank at the
hurt and disappointment that filled her eyes. “How about if I get
us a pizza and a couple movies and we hang out together in your
room?”

She nodded and gave him a small smile. “That’s fine,
Cole.”

“Great,” he said and kissed her cheek. “I have to go
do a few things. I’ll come over later.”

Jamie raised a brow as Cole grabbed his tray and
left. “What’s up with him?”

Ally shrugged and picked at her bun. “I don’t know.
He just asked me if I’d hang out with him tonight instead of going
to the dance. By the way, who are you going with?”

“Tara Sweeny,” he said with a smug smirk.

“She’s nice,” Ally told him warily. “Don’t hurt
her.”

He raised his hands in mock surrender. “Wouldn’t
dream of it, cuz.”

“Who are you taking, RJ?” she asked eagerly, hoping
that he really had gotten over the fuss they’d had that
morning.

“Miley Spencer,” he said with a wolfish grin. He
waggled his brows. “You know, the one with the big…IQ?”

She rolled her eyes. “You’re all pigs.”

RJ leaned forward. “Yeah, and you’re hanging out in
your room with Cole tonight.”

She awkwardly got to her feet, positioning her
crutches comfortably under her arms and grabbed at her tray.
“So?”

“I’ll get it,” Jamie told her, pulling her tray in
front of him. She kissed his cheek.

“Well,” RJ persisted, grin tugging at his lips. “What
does that make you?”

She leaned forward, impish smirk curling her lips.
“Lucky.”

***

Cole arrived at Ally’s room a half hour after Jeana
left for the dance, bearing a pizza and movies. The tantalizing
aroma of garlic and tomato sauce floated in the air, making her
stomach growl like a lion.

Cole chuckled as he cleared off her desk and set it
down, along with cold drinks.

He turned to her, grinning at the anticipation on her
face. “I figured since you weren’t feeling well it would be a
romantic comedy night, huh?” He shot her a wink and dished out a
couple slices of pizza on a paper plate and handed it to you. “Even
if I did feel like an idiot at the rental place.”

She smiled as she settled her plate on her lap. “You
do know the way to a girl’s heart, don’t you?”

“It’s a gift.” He prepared his own plate and,
juggling two cans of soda, scooted next to her. “How’s your ankle
feeling?”

She shrugged, mouth full of pizza, quickly chewing
and swallowing. “It’s okay. I haven’t had to take any pain meds
since earlier.”

He frowned, his dark brows dipping over his eyes.
“Probably because you kept off it all afternoon like you’re
supposed to do. Do you need any pain meds now?”

She shook her head as she wiped her mouth with the
sleeve of her sweatshirt. “No. Not now.”

They chatted politely while they ate; avoiding the
subject of her father and the band, and instead imagining what RJ
and Jamie were up to at the dance. When they finished, he cleared
their mess and held up two DVDs. “Which one?”

“I don’t care,” she said as she fluffed her pillows.
He chose one and put it in the machine before settling next to her.
She burrowed into his side as the opening credits popped on the
screen but the movie could not hold her interest. She fidgeted,
throwing him an apologetic smile when he gave her a puzzled look,
and tried to sit still. She tried not to notice how good he smelled
– like the fresh outdoors, or how the ends of his hair curled
slightly above the collar of his t-shirt.

The movie rolled along and she laughed in the proper
places, maybe a second later than she should have, but she couldn’t
help it – she was far too aware of him. His long legs, sheathed in
denim, were stretched out beside hers; of course, hers were
sheathed in her favorite penguin pajama pants.

“You going to watch the movie, Al or are you going to
keep checking me out?” he asked with a tiny smirk. “I mean, it’s a
little weird.”

“Both,” she mumbled, cheeks pinking.

He chuckled and fumbled for her hand, lacing their
fingers together. He turned his attention back to the
television.

Suddenly, the realization that she was sitting with
her best friend, holding his hand and that they were, for all
intents and purposes, dating, hit her hard and gave her heart a
stir. They’d kissed a few times – she desperately wanted to kiss
him at that moment – but would they ever…do more?

Her heart twisted violently at that thought and she
dug deep in her emotions to see how she felt about it. It made her
nervous to even imagine getting to that point and she knew she
wasn’t ready for it now. But would she get to that point with him?
Would they be able to look at each other as lovers and not best
friends?

She thought they would - eventually. She glanced at
his profile out of the corner of her eye and smiled. She’d always
thought he was handsome with his pretty brown eyes and dark hair,
but now she was attracted to him – his lean frame and hard chest.
He worked out with Nate a lot when they were home on school breaks
and even hit the weight room from time to time at school.