Phone Calls From a Rock Star (20 page)

“
Two weeks?” I asked,
totally confused.

“
The show at Seth’s
school,” he reminded me. He squatted so he was eye level with me.
“You’re coming, right?”

I grinned. “Of course.”

He gently gripped my chin and kissed me.
Every nerve in my body woke and stood at attention. His lips moved
tenderly over mine, and my mind instantly went blank. I held onto
his jacket to keep from falling out of the car, concentrating on
his mouth on mine. Kissing Lance had never been this pleasant.

Finally, as my jaw started to ache, he broke
the kiss, his breath as uneven as mine. “You better get going,
angel. It gets dark so early this time of year.”

I gave him one quick kiss before he stood
and slammed the door shut. I waved as I drove away, heart still
thumping wildly in my chest.

***

All the way home and then all the way back
to school, my mind was constantly on Jake. I couldn’t believe he
was actually mine! My heart cartwheeled every time that particular
phrase ran through my head. And as much as I thought about him, my
heart got quite the cardiovascular workout.

The parking lot was full by the time I
returned to school Sunday night. I spotted both Cammy’s and Annie’s
cars and my stomach turned at what I might find when I got to my
room.

I struggled with my wheeled suitcase, a bag
thrown over my shoulder and a box full of concert loot as I made my
way down the icy sidewalk to my building. I set the luggage down
and balanced the box carefully in my hand so I could dig my keycard
out of my pocket. As I was about to insert it in the slot, the door
flew open, slamming into me and knocking the box from my hand.
Cursing, I grabbed it before it could come open and spill its
contents in the snow.

“
So sorry about … oh, it’s
just you,” Alicia Phelps remarked. An evil grin danced across her
face. “Lance’s little plaything.”

“
Bite me,” I snarled
viciously, using Ronnie’s favorite phrase.

She snorted out a hollow laugh. “Hardly. Who
knows where you’ve been?”

I rolled my eyes and glared at her. She
stood with her arms crossed, thinking she was cool. Well, she was a
bit cooler than I as I tried to handle two pieces of luggage and a
box while opening a stupid door.

“
How can you show your face
around here?” she asked.

“
Just shut up and leave me
alone,” I stammered. Okay, not the snappiest of comebacks, but I
couldn’t think at that moment. I was cold and hurt and angry. I
just wanted to get to my room and call Jake.

“
You pushed your friends
away for Lance. How’d that work for you?” she continued, aiming, I
assumed, to further humiliate me.

“
I think we both know the
answer to that, wouldn’t you say?” Much better comeback—maybe there
was hope for me yet.

Alicia laughed and pushed away from the
door. She walked off in the darkness, and I scrambled to catch the
door before it shut. Of course I was too late. I groaned and
performed the keycard dance all over again.

I finally made it to my room and deposited
the luggage on the floor and the box on my bed. I took a good look
around, thankful Annie hadn’t moved everything out entirely. Maybe
that was a good sign. I hoped it was, anyway.

I unpacked my suitcases and placed the box
on the shelf in my closet where it would be fairly safe—I would
look through it later. I was hungry and irritated when I inspected
the mini fridge only to find it empty. I decided to run to the
Student Center and buy a bunch of junk and sodas from the vending
machine. I tugged on my coat and ventured out in the cold. I hated
January with its blistery wind and constant onslaught of snow.

I yanked the Center door open and grimaced.
It was pretty full since there’s not much else to do on a Sunday
night. Kimberly and Lance were huddled together on a sofa and Dean
wasn’t too far away. I ignored them all, keeping my chin up like
the guys told me to do, and walked past them to the vending
machines. I just pictured Jake and smiled, vowing to call him when
I got back to my room.

I ignored the whispers, some loud, and the
snickers as I made my selections. I stuffed my pockets with treats
and moved on to the soda machine. I guessed Krysti hadn’t
exaggerated when she said Kimberly had told most of the school
about the bet Lance and Dean had made. I kept telling myself I
didn’t care.

Turning away from the machines, I headed for
the door, my arms full of soda cans, when someone, Dean Gold most
likely, immaturely stuck out a leg in an attempt to trip me.
Luckily, I spotted the leg. Unluckily, I wasn’t exactly in time,
and I stumbled, falling against a table. Two cans spilled out of my
arms and rolled across the floor. I located one but the other was
lost, and I suddenly had no desire to find it. I reached for the
doorknob just as something hit me hard in the hip. I bit down on my
lip to keep from crying out in pain. I looked down to see what had
hit me and saw my missing soda can spinning on the floor near my
foot. I took a deep breath, kicked the can away from me and left,
slamming the door—and the laughter—behind me.

***

Two weeks couldn’t pass fast enough. I
missed Jake and the guys terribly and longed to see them again.
Trying to sleep at night without Jake’s warm body beside me was
torture. But the humiliation and the harassment I endured during
the day was almost as bad.

I honestly tried to keep my chin up, but it
grew more and more difficult. Especially when my classmates
switched from the name calling and the pointing and laughing to
trying to trip me while I walked down the hall. After a couple
tumbles to the hard floor and some smacked elbows, I grew wise. I
kept my head down and watched out for obstacles.

The cafeteria was worse, so I stopped going
there after breakfast on Monday. It was hard to eat when little
bits of food sailed through the air and landed in your juice or in
your hair. I just ate whatever I had in the mini fridge when I grew
hungry enough. I knew it wasn’t healthy but it was the only
alternative.

My only haven was play rehearsal. None of
the Drama Club members cared much for the gossip going around
school as they pretty much stuck together in their own world. I was
the one exception. I did like the people in the Club, but I enjoyed
life beyond acting to center my entire world around it. Or, well, I
used to.

Toward the end of my first week back, Ms.
Norbert noticed the dark circles under my eyes and even went so far
as to ask if I was losing weight. I denied it, of course, claiming
I’d suffered from a bout of the flu over Christmas break and my
appetite wasn’t up to par just yet. She swallowed my explanation
but told me to see the nurse if my appetite didn’t return soon.

I talked to Jake every night and sometimes
to the other guys, too. I never let on what was happening, though.
I didn’t want to worry Jake. Besides, I would figure it out myself
and stop it somehow. There wasn’t anything he could do anyway.

Seth, who was the only person I’d told about
me and Jake, called one evening to find out if I was coming to the
concert. I told him that I was, and that Jake would get me in so I
wouldn’t need any of his tickets. I also, awkwardly I might add,
told him that I wasn’t staying with him, that I was staying in
Jake’s hotel. I had agreed to let Jake get me an adjoining room,
though it was really a waste. I would end up sleeping with him,
anyway. Just sleep. I knew I wasn’t ready for anything more than
that but I needed to be close to him.

My first Friday night after the break, I
left play practice late and slowly walked back to my dorm. Practice
wasn’t mandatory on Fridays, and we mostly just built sets anyway,
but being the social outcast that I was, I went.

I figured since it was Friday night most of
the older students had already left campus, and I was free to do
whatever I wanted. The underclassmen hadn’t started in on me yet so
I had that going for me. Scrunching deeper into my jacket, I slung
my bag over my shoulder. All of a sudden, I was face first in a
snow bank. I sat up, spitting out mouthfuls of snow, and turned to
see who had pushed me. Sandra and Sarah Petersen loomed over me,
superior smirks on their twin faces.

“
Leave me alone,” I groaned
as I got to my feet and shook the snow off my bag.

“
What’s the matter, you
little tramp?” Sandra, or was it Sarah, asked. “Are you sad because
Lance dumped you?”

“
I could care less,” I
said, teeth chattering. I was cold, wet and very tired. “Lance is
pretty pathetic. I guess that makes Kimberly pretty pathetic, too,
huh? She’s the one dating him now.”

I really needed to learn to control my mouth
sometimes but I kind of liked my comeback.

Sarah, or was it Sandra, didn’t however, and
took a swing at me. She hit me in the shoulder, rather weakly, but
I wasn’t expecting it and I fell into the snow again.

“
Leave her
alone!”

I closed my eyes in relief at the sound of
my savior—I’m not much of a fighter. I jumped to my feet as Annie
and Cammy stormed toward the twins, eyes blazing. Cammy grabbed my
bag and handed it to me while Annie chased the twins away.

“
Thanks,” I
muttered.

“
We’re still very mad at
you,” Annie stated, her eyes angry. “But we weren’t about to let
those girls hurt you.”

She turned on her heel and stomped off in
the darkness. Cammy offered me a feeble smile before following in
Annie’s wake. My heart fell, though not as far, and reached out for
the little bit of hope the girls had just offered.

Chapter Fifteen

The weekend flew by faster than I wanted and
before I knew it, I was enduring more whispered insults as I walked
to my classes. I was getting better at ignoring it, but it was
starting to get to me—burrowing into the thick skin I was trying to
develop. And class was no safe harbor either—especially the two I
shared with Lance. He didn’t join in with the others but he
definitely didn’t try to stop it. He just sat back at his desk,
smug smile on his lips while he trained his eyes on the
teacher.

Several times I considered calling my
brother, just to vent. He’d attended this school and knew how nasty
people would be. But, when the few times that I’d managed to pluck
the courage to call him, I’d get his voicemail. I just left a
generic message, telling him I’d call him back later.

Wednesday afternoon, as I made my way to
play practice, Alicia Phelps and Cindy Kinsey followed close
behind, whispering loudly and laughing at my stupidity. I wondered,
and not for the first time, when everyone would grow bored with me
and move on to the next scandal.

“
I bet she’s doing drugs
now,” Alicia laughed. “She brought that rock star to the dance, you
know. I heard he and his friends are all strung-out drug
addicts.”

Peals of laughter followed her comment, and
I could stand it no more. The last week of humiliation mixed with
the hurt at my friends’ absence came to a head. The snip at Jake
and the guys was the last straw. I clenched my hand into a fist,
whirled around and took a swing at Alicia, nailing her in the chin.
Stunned, she took a couple steps back, but it didn’t take her long
to recover. She charged, ramming me into a snow bank. Her elbow
caught me in the nose and I saw stars. Really bright stars. She
took advantage of my star gazing and grabbed a handful of my hair,
yanking it hard. About that time, Ms. Norbert came around the
corner with two guys from the play, carrying a bunch of boxes. She
dropped hers and pulled Alicia off of me. The boys rushed forward
and one of them helped me out of the snow. Ms. Norbert grabbed my
left arm and Alicia’s right and frog-marched us into the Arts
building. She took us to her office and made us both sit. She
handed me a box of tissue and I dabbed at my nose, sopping up the
blood flowing over my lips.

She glared at us while she formed her words.
“I will not report this incident, but I am telling you both that I
want this stupid, immature behavior to stop right now!” She turned
her hard glare on Alicia. “I’ve heard the names and the insults and
I don’t like it. It stops immediately.”

Alicia lifted a nonchalant shoulder and Ms.
Norbert excused her. Once the door closed behind Alicia, Ms.
Norbert eyes softened as she looked at me. “Bella, you don’t look
so good. Are you eating? Sleeping?”

“
I’m fine,” I said, holding
a tissue to my nose. “Really.”

“
If you’re having problems
with your fellow classmates, you need to speak to the Dean. You
don’t have to put up with this.”

I smiled gratefully and dumped my bloody
tissues into her wastebasket. I snatched another and dabbed at my
nose, happy to see the blood flow had decreased.

“
It’s nothing,” I told her.
She and I both knew that no teacher or Dean would be able to stop
this. It would either have to wind down on its own or I’d have to
endure until the school year ended.

“
Would you like me to take
you to the nurse?”

“
No,” I said. “It stopped
bleeding. It’s okay.”

She nodded, lips pursed. “I’ll excuse you
from practice tonight. Why don’t you go to your room and get
started on your homework?”

I nodded my thanks and escaped her office as
quickly as possible. Once I reached my dorm and changed out of my
wet clothes, I went into the bathroom to check my nose in the
mirror. The bleeding had stopped, and it didn’t look particularly
swollen. That cheered me some. I could imagine Jake’s reaction if
my nose was blown up bigger than a clown’s. I’d have an awful time
explaining that.