Pivotal Moments (In Time #1) (26 page)

Teagan: I won’t be there this weekend. Something’s come up. I’ll call you later.

The back of my nose burned, and tears rose. I swallowed hard. I would not cry. He wouldn’t call, I already knew that in my gut. The asshole was avoiding me. I snatched my purse and got out of my car, slamming the door.

Screw him. I had shit to do.

Chapter 22

I found myself in my car after school with no clear memory how I’d gotten there. I sucked in a deep breath and tried to put the key into the ignition, but my hands were shaking too badly. Tears pooled in my eyes, but I held them back. I refused to be the weak-willed girl who bawled her way through life.

I didn’t even know why I wanted to cry. I wasn’t sad. I was pissed as hell. I sat in my car, chasing my thoughts around in circles. Finally, I took a deep breath and started home. Then, shaking my head, I located my phone and quickly dialed Penny’s number. She picked up on the second ring.

“Yo, my woman. Whassup?”

I giggled, almost against my will. “Where are you?”

“I’m home. Why?” There were voices in the background, and what may’ve been cabinet doors opening and closing.

I jerked the wheel, made an illegal U-turn, and drove toward her house. “Would it be okay if I came over? I really need to talk to you.” I stopped at a four-way intersection and turned on my blinker.

“Hold on.” She spoke to someone, her voice muffled. Then she came back. “Sorry, Grandma didn’t take her meds this morning.” The eye roll was clear in her tone. “Anyway, sure, come on over.”

I exhaled in relief. “Okay. I’ll be there in a couple of minutes.”

As I drove, I debated how much I should tell her—how much I could get away not telling her.

When I pulled up to her house, I shut off the car and took a moment to relish the silence. There would be none in the Sutters’ household. Penny’s parents had refused to put Grandma Sutters in a nursing home, saying it was their privilege to take care of her. I wondered if their conviction ever wavered. Especially when the old woman ran through the backyard in her underwear, wearing a pot on her head and screaming that Penny’s mom was selling her to human traffickers.

I chuckled under my breath, grabbed my purse, and got out of the car, heading up the walkway to the house. Before I’d even reached the door, I made out raised voices and banging coming from inside. I bit back a smile. Sounded like Grandma was in fine form today.

I knocked on the door and waited until Penny’s mother answered.

“Ash, it’s been ages. Where have you been?” Mrs. Sutters demanded, pulling me in for a hug. I smiled and closed my eyes. Mrs. Sutters gave some of the best hugs, second only to her daughter.

I returned the hug and then stepped back. “There’s been a lot going on. I missed you, though!”

“Well, c’mon in!” she exclaimed, moving back from the doorway. “You’ll have to excuse the madness. Mom hasn’t taken her medications and she’s a little off right now.”

I walked in and grinned. “It’s not like I’ve never seen it before, Mrs. S.”

She laughed and gestured for me to follow her into the kitchen. Penny was sitting with her grandmother, bribing her to eat. Judging by the mess on and around the table, her efforts were less than successful.

Penny looked up and flashed me a grateful smile. “Hey, Ash.” She turned to Mrs. Sutters. “Mom, we’re heading upstairs. If you need me, just holler, okay?” She grabbed my hand and pulled me out, up the stairs, and into her room.

Once inside, she all but slung me onto the bed. Moving to stand in front of me, she planted her hands on her hips. “All right, chica. Spill it.”

Now that I was here, I wasn’t sure I wanted to tell her. I stared at the green shag rug covering her hardwood floor.

She smirked. “You might as well just tell me. You’ll only make this harder on yourself.”

I leaned back and braced myself on my hands. “Okay, you’re right. It’s just, I don’t even know where to start.”

“The beginning is usually a good place.”

I sighed and sat up, running my hands through my hair, then letting them rest on my thighs. I contemplated how best to explain. Finally, I spat out, “I think Teagan’s seeing someone else.”

Penny’s jaw dropped, and she took a step closer. “What do you mean, you think he’s seeing someone?” she demanded.

Oh, God. That was so not the way I’d wanted to tell her. “Look, I don’t know anything for certain, okay?” 

“No. Not okay.” Penny pointed at me. “There’s a reason you said that. I wanna know what it is.”

I bristled. “Wow. Seriously, Penny?”

She narrowed her eyes at me, but sighed and relaxed. “You’re right. I’m sorry.” She huffed and started pacing the length of the room. “Look, I…it’s just…I just need to know if he’s done something, okay? I put a lot of faith in him—for you.” She wouldn’t meet my gaze.

I softened. No one loved like Penny did. Nodding, I said, “I get it.”

She gave me a grateful smile. “So…what’s going on?”

I told her everything. I explained how things had been fine that day at the mall, the texts back and forth. Then how he hadn’t called that night. I told her about when he excused himself from coming for the weekend. I told her about the silence and the odd texts.

“If it were just one of those things, it’d be different,” I said. “But when it’s all of it together, it’s too much. Does that make sense?”

She grunted and scratched her nose. “You’re right. This doesn’t look good, but it’s also possible he has something going on. I’d wait and see.” She tilted her head for a moment, then shrugged. “I could always ask Connor—he’d know if Teeg is up to something. Do you want me to?”

I frantically shook my head. “No. Please, no. I don’t want Connor involved at all.” That would be bad, very bad.

“Okay. It was just a suggestion,” she said. She started to say something else, when a loud crash came from downstairs.

“Penny!”

“Shit,” Penny muttered, then jumped toward the door. “I’ve gotta see what’s going on. You wanna hang around? Have dinner?” Another crash sounded, followed by Mrs. Sutters yelling—something about how no one was trying to strap anyone to a car like a trussed up deer.

I laughed and nodded. If nothing else, it’d be a welcome change from what I normally dealt with.

***

The next day rolled around, and I went to school, only to be incredibly bored throughout the day. I hadn’t slept well, and since senior year was winding down, there wasn’t much to do in classes. It was a struggle to keep my eyes open. The only thing that kept me awake was waiting for some word from Teagan. By the end of the day, there was still nothing but radio silence from him.

By the time I went to bed, it took everything I had not to break down into a puddle of tears. I missed Teagan. The sour feeling in the pit of my stomach wouldn’t go away. His silence said a lot.

I reached over to turn out the light. Hadn’t he said he wouldn’t devastate me if I didn’t wreck him? There was a reason for all this. I just needed to be patient, concentrate on other things.

With that, I forced myself to settle and go to sleep.

***

I blinked and rolled over. The clock on the nightstand read 2:04 in the morning. Scowling, I blinked. What woke me? I rubbed my eyes and checked my phone. My seared retinas protested for a moment, then returned my vision. I had a new text. From Teagan. I bit my lip, and finally tapped the icon.

Just a picture. I pressed my hand to my mouth. Bile rose in the back of my throat, and I squeezed my eyes shut. Maybe the picture would change…?

It didn’t.

Sprawled in the middle of Teagan’s unmade bed was Renee. She wore nothing but Teagan’s t-shirt, the one that matched mine. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what had happened in that bed.

My vision went blurry as tears filled my eyes. I turned my phone off and stared blankly into the darkness. Where had we gone wrong? Tears rolled down my cheeks, and I didn’t try to stop them.

I guess that answered why he hadn’t come for the weekend. Hands shaking with rage, I turned the phone on and furiously typed out a response.

Me: Not a bad picture. The lighting is all wrong, though. It makes her look washed out in that shirt of yours. You know, the one that matches mine? You also might want to clean your room before your next photoshoot.

Me: And by the way—you’re an asshole. In case you didn’t already know.

I turned off the phone and wrapped myself up in my blanket. Curling up around a pillow and burying my face in it, I cried like I never had before.

I hadn’t wrecked him. But he had definitely devastated me.

Chapter 23

I woke up with a splitting headache, sandpapery eyes, and when I stumbled into my bathroom, the reflection in the mirror made me groan. There had to be dead animals on the side of the road looking better than I did. I decided if I was going to feel like crap, I would dress the part. Foregoing a shower, I threw my hair up in a ponytail and pulled on some old sweats, considering my duties for the day done.

When I reentered my bedroom, my eyes went to the phone on my nightstand. Part of me wanted to turn it on, just to see if Teagan had responded. But did I want him to? Probably not.

I wandered downstairs and peeked into Mom’s room. Her bed was made, which meant she hadn’t slept in it. I grimaced. Her date must’ve gone well. My chest tightened. I wanted Mom to be happy, but I wanted to be happy too.

With a sigh, I turned and went into the kitchen. Shuffling around the island, I made my way to the pantry and grabbed a box of cereal. Then I went into the family room.

I threw myself on the couch and began channel surfing the TV, eating cereal directly from the box. I made a face. Saturday morning television royally sucked. After an hour of flipping channels every three minutes, I gave up. I chucked the remote onto the chair beside the couch and groaned. I was bored, and I’d just been dumped. Not a good combination.

I grabbed my tablet and started playing a game. I became so involved that I barely heard the house phone ringing. By the time I registered what I’d been hearing, the answering machine had taken the message. I jumped up and snagged the closest handset, flipping through the caller ID. The most recent caller was Mom. I called her back, and couldn’t help smiling when she answered with a happy greeting.

“Hey, Mom. So…where have you been?” When she gave an embarrassed laugh, my smile grew. “Were you with Logan?”

There was a long silence. Finally, she said, “It isn’t like that, Aislinn.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Oh? What was it like exactly?”

“You wouldn’t understand,” she said with a sigh. “It’s complicated.”

My jaw clenched, and I forced my hand to loosen before it could crush the phone. My emotions were all over the place—that wasn’t Mom’s fault. I closed my eyes and counted to ten. I was a little more in control when I attempted conversation again. “I’m sorry, Mom. But you do realize I’m not a little girl anymore, right?”

“I know, honey,” she replied. “This is just…more than I was expecting. I’ll talk to you about it later.”

I shrugged. To be honest, I didn’t want to stay on the phone anyway. “Okay, I guess I’ll see you when you get home.”

“Ash, are you all right?”

I was so far from all right it wasn’t even funny. I couldn’t tell her that, though. I pinched the bridge of my nose to control the urge to break down and quickly ended the call, tossing the phone aside.

I could’ve called Penny, but I discarded that idea immediately. She would be in my room, pacing and swearing, before I could even get off the phone. Then she’d want to retaliate, which would then involve Connor.

There was no way I’d bring him into this.

This was my problem. Teagan was my issue to deal with. I may’ve sent a scathing text, but I’d definitely taken the coward’s way out. I’d turned off my phone and wrapped myself in a cocoon of silent agony. But sooner or later, I’d have to pull on my big girl panties and face whatever reply was waiting for me. For now, though, I would enjoy my backstrokes in the pity pool.

***

Sunday evening, I got a text from Connor. I wanted to tell him about the picture I’d gotten from Teagan, but all hell would break loose if I did. Sighing, I opened the text.

Connor: I miss you.

I blinked. Connor hadn’t sent me a text like that in…well…ever. Messages like,
‘Hey squirt—You’re not messing with my shit, are you?’
or,
‘Yo, brat! I’m going to Tampa this weekend with (insert name of this week’s ho). Tell Mom I’m studying for a big test,’
were the most common.

There had to be a catch. This wasn’t Connor’s style. I stared at the message, trying to figure out how to respond.

Me: What do you want, Connor?

Connor: Nothing! I just miss you.

Me: Who are you? This is not my brother.

Connor: Dammit, Ash, stop being a pain in the ass.

Me: Okay, maybe you are my brother.

We texted back and forth for a bit. I hadn’t realized until then just how much I’d missed him. Then I remembered running into his friend Jace a few days prior.

Me: So…I ran into Jace at Mona’s Diner the other day.

Connor: Yeah? What was he doing home?

Me: Helping his parents clean out the house. Said they’d sold the house.

Connor: No shit! Didn’t see that one coming.

Me: I know, right? Anyway, he sat with me and we hung out for a bit.

There was a pause.

Connor: You hung out together? Why?

Me: Why not? I’ve known him practically my whole life.

Again, it took him a moment to reply.

Connor: You’re my little sister. There’s no reason why he should want to hang out with you.

I chewed on my lip for a minute, then punched the call button. Connor answered right away. “Is there something you’d like to tell me?” I demanded.

“What are you talking about?” Connor’s tone said I’d caught him off guard.

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe something concerning Jace?”

Connor was silent.

“Why did you never want him coming over, Connor?”

Again, silence.

“You’re unbelievable!” I shouted. “Why would you do that?”

“Look.” He paused and cleared his throat. “I had my reasons. Let’s leave it at that.”

“No, we’re not leaving it at that. God, you’re so… Ugh!” I scowled then muttered, “You can’t protect me from everything, you know? What were you thinking?”

“I had my reasons,” he muttered again.

I dropped my head back with a groan and stared at the ceiling. “You’re killing me here, Con.”

“Yeah, well, you’re killing me.”

“Connor…please?” I pleaded in a small voice.

He heaved a sigh. “Jace was…is a dick, Ash. He fucks and goes. He was like that in high school, and he’s like that now. I won’t see my little sister treated like that.” He heaved a deep breath. “I’d beat someone’s ass over you, sis.”

I floundered for something to say. It had been a long time since Connor had been so…sentimental.

He shocked me again. “I don’t ever say it, but I do love you, Ash.”

I grinned. He was probably sitting there squirming with a giant frown on his face. “That one hurt, didn’t it?”

“You have no fricking clue,” he groused.

“Breaking out in a rash yet?” I teased. “I know you’re allergic to being nice and all.”

“Whatever. God, you’re such a pain in my ass.”

I giggled at his tone. This was the big brother I missed. “I love you too,” I said.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” he grumbled. “Are we done with the chick moment?”

I burst out laughing. It felt good. Leave it to Connor to make me forget about everything for a few moments. He’d texted just when I’d needed him the most. I sighed.

“Okay, apparently not,” he said. “What’s up? What’s wrong?”

I raised my eyebrows. It wasn’t like him to be perceptive. I didn’t know what to say, but I damn sure wasn’t going to tell him the truth. But I’d have to give him something.

“Nothing major,” I said. “Just high school crap.”

“I don’t miss that,” he admitted. “Who was backstabbing who, the constant drama…it was exhausting. What’s going on?”

“Just Brody being a pain,” I griped. “Well, that and Tracey being special.” I rubbed my forehead with a frown. “He thinks he likes me, and she’s decided I’m trying to poach on her territory.”

Connor snorted.

I scowled. “What?”

“I had wondered how long that one would take. He’s been sniffing after you for years.”

“Yeah, right,” I scoffed.

“Think what you want. But he was a pain in my ass when I was there. He’s just like his brother. There was no way in hell I would let that little turd near you,” he said. “Anyway, I need to get off. But will you do me a favor?”

I frowned. “I don’t know. Depends.”

“I was a dick about you and Teeg,” he said. “I was trying to look out for you, given how he’d acted before. I was wrong.”

It took every ounce of will power I possessed not to snort at that statement.

“But I’m not wrong about Brody. And I’m not wrong about Jace, either. Would you please stay away from them?”

“I guess,” I conceded. “I’m already avoiding Brody.”

“Good. I gotta go. I’ve got stuff to do. I’ll talk to you later, yeah?”

“Yeah,” I said, smiling. “I love you, jerk head.”

“Love you too,” he returned, then he hung up.

I shook my head. My brother was never going to change. It was a comfort, actually.

***

I sighed and glared at Amber. She must’ve searched high and low to find me in the library, and the interruption was less than welcome. “What?” I snapped.

Amber’s eyes widened. “You never got back to me about monitoring the votes at prom.”

Crap. I’d forgotten all about that. The thought of watching over a ballot box—at prom, nonetheless—was less than appealing, but Amber’s expectant expression had me nodding. Besides, it was my senior prom. That was a memory I should have, whether it was with Teagan or not.

“Yeah, I guess,” I said.

She clapped her hands and gave a little hop. “Thank you! I really appreciate this.” With that, she scurried off.

I shook my head. Her level energy was annoying. I, on the other hand, was exhausted. Sleep had not been my friend recently. It was Wednesday now; it had been four nights since The Incident.

I still hadn’t heard back from Teagan. The silence hurt more than the cheating did. I wanted an explanation, but there wouldn’t be one. Connor hadn’t been wrong after all. And that irked the ever-loving hell out of me. When he found out, he’d kill Teagan, and I’d never hear the end of it.

“It’s funny,” Penny said, plopping into the seat across from me, “but I almost think you’re keeping something from me, Aislinn Munroe.”

I dropped my gaze to the book on the table, and I shrugged. “I’m not.”

“Really?” she drawled. “Because I think you’re lying.”

I kept my eyes glued the page. “Believe what you want.”

She reached across the table and slammed the book shut. “What’s going on? You’ve avoided me all week.”

I jumped, then scowled at her, but she was right. I had been avoiding her. “I’ve been busy,” I hedged. “Finals are coming up. I want to make sure I don’t screw up my scholarship.”

That was the truth. My scholarship was contingent upon my final grades, and I was a little concerned. Concentration and I were not currently on speaking terms.

Penny studied me. “Yeah, okay. Now…the truth?”

She knew me so well. Teagan was right, I needed her friendship. I sucked in a shuddery breath, suddenly fighting tears. Penny’s annoyed frown melted into a look of concern, which made the tears start to fall. I quickly wiped them away, the thought of someone seeing me like that almost paralyzing.

“What the hell is going on, Ash?”

“I was stupid,” I mumbled.

“What? What are you talking about?”

I just shrugged again. My chest hurt so much it was hard to breathe. Admitting my mistake made it all real.

“Aislinn, look at me!” Penny ordered. “God damn it, what’s going on?”

“Teagan cheated on me,” I whispered, more tears falling.

“What the fuck?” she shrieked.

“God, Penny…not so loud,” I begged her, glancing around.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she turned to meet my gaze once more, a myriad of emotions swirled in her eyes—anger being predominant. “How do you know?”

I reluctantly dug my phone from my purse and pulled up his message. I flinched when the picture came up, quickly handing her the phone.

Penny took the device from me, and her face went pale, before it turned bright red. Her eyes flew back to mine, her jaw clenched. “When did you get this?”