Playing With Fire (4 page)

About an hour after her disastrous encounter with Jessica and Bruce in the woods, Elizabeth had seen them take off in his gleaming black Porsche. She had been disgusted enough to suppress her concern and enjoy the rest of the party, but once Todd brought her home her worries returned—stronger than ever. Brooding over Jessica's whereabouts in the silence of the predawn hours was becoming almost unbearable.

On top of everything else, Elizabeth was angry at Jessica for forcing her to lie to her mother, whom she'd run into in the upstairs hall. Lying was something Elizabeth never did, except when it came to her sister. Hoping her mother wouldn't double-check, Elizabeth had told her that Jessica was already in her bedroom. The last thing in the world she wanted to do was to sneak into Jessica's bed and pretend to be her, a routine she'd gone through more than once before. Oddly enough, her mother didn't question the lie. In fact, she didn't even ask Elizabeth about her date. She seemed preoccupied with something else, Elizabeth thought.

Just as the sun was about to make its appearance, Elizabeth heard the sound of a door close. Convinced it was Jessica, she crawled out of her bed and tiptoed through the bathroom to Jessica's adjoining room.

Jessica didn't see Elizabeth until she was nearly on top of her, and she almost woke up the entire Wakefield household with a startled gasp. “You making a habit of sneaking up on me?” Jessica fumed, trying to keep her voice down. “What gives, Liz?”

“Sorry, Jess, I didn't mean to scare you. I couldn't sleep. Where've you been?”

Jessica smiled sweetly. “I don't have to give you my itinerary, Liz, but I'd think even
you
could figure out the answer to that one.”

“Bruce. You've been with him all this time?”

“Oh, yes,” Jessica said blissfully. “And it was wonderful!”

“I was afraid of that,” Elizabeth murmured.

“There's nothing to be afraid of,” Jessica said. “Bruce is everything a girl could ever hope for.”

“How could you tell? He's got you so worked up you can't even think straight.”

“And what's that supposed to mean?”

“You were following him like a little puppy dog all night long. That's so unlike you, Jessica.” Elizabeth lowered her voice to a whisper. “And don't think I'm not upset about the way you treated me in the woods. You've never brushed me off like that before.”

“I'm sorry,” Jessica said, “but you did interrupt a private moment.”

“I guess I did. But for some reason I felt afraid for you, and I just couldn't control myself. I'm sorry for that,” Elizabeth added truthfully.

“Afraid? I can handle myself just fine,” Jessica retorted, ignoring her sister's apology.

Elizabeth was doubtful. With false lightness, she asked, “Anyway, what did you two do after the party?”

“Nothing to be ashamed of. Talk mostly.” Dropping her guard for a second, Jessica confided with pleasure, “Bruce said he was angry when he lost out at being king 'cause he wanted to share the throne with me.”

Elizabeth was astounded that her normally perceptive sister would fall for such an obviously phony remark. “I wouldn't believe a line like that if he took a lie detector test,” she blurted.

“Oh, come on, Elizabeth. Why can't you get it into your thick skull that Bruce likes me!”

“It takes more than a few kisses to prove that.”

“A lot you know. The truth is, we really have tons in common.” She sighed wistfully. “Oh, I hope I'll see him again real soon.”

“You mean he didn't ask you out again—after all that?”

“No,” Jessica admitted, “but I'm sure he will.”

“I wouldn't be,” Elizabeth muttered under her breath.

“I heard that.” Jessica's patience with her sister was nearing the breaking point. She flounced into the bathroom and briskly ran a brush through her long, silky hair. When Elizabeth followed her, she added, “I've had just about enough of your badmouthing Bruce. I don't know what you've got against him. You never tried to stop me from making a play for him before tonight.”

“I never had to—he was never interested before tonight.”

“Look, if there's something specific that you have to tell me about him, go ahead. Otherwise, shut up.”

“He's arrogant and self-centered. He'll hurt you.”

Jessica snorted. “Just what I thought. You don't have any real reasons—just your own opinion. Sorry, Liz, but you're going to have to do better than that.”

“Look how fast he dumped Lila Fowler and Heather Morgan. Even your good friend Cara Walker. Why believe
you'll
do any better? He doesn't hang on to anyone for very long.”

Jessica put down her brush and faced her sister. “Liz, don't you understand? They meant nothing to him.”

“How do you know?” Elizabeth pressed.

“He told me.”

“And you believe him?”

“I have no reason not to. Now, are you finished?”

Elizabeth eyed her sister silently, aware that in the end Jessica would have to figure out the truth herself.

“You had your chance, Elizabeth,” Jessica said angrily. “Don't you
dare
say another bad word about Bruce in front of me, or you'll regret it for eternity.”

“Jess—”

“You heard me, Elizabeth! That's all!”

Before Elizabeth could recover, Jessica stormed out of the bathroom and locked the door behind her. Elizabeth stood alone in front of the vanity, her eyes brimming with tears. Despite all of the petty disagreements they'd had over the years, she couldn't remember Jessica ever going to bed angry at her. Elizabeth didn't like it one bit, especially since she was sure that the cause of their argument—that arrogant jock, Bruce Patman—was just playing another game with her unsuspecting sister. And she was almost as sure it was a game Jessica couldn't win.

*   *   *

Sunday morning found Elizabeth at the breakfast table, nibbling idly on a piece of toast, only half listening to her parents' conversation.

“Says here that George Fowler's expanding his plant.” Alice Wakefield put down the Sunday paper as she spoke to her husband, Ned. “I'm going to call him first thing tomorrow and show him my portfolio. I could come up with some wonderful designs for him.”

So that was it, Elizabeth decided distractedly. Her mother had been thinking about this Fowler project last night. That's why she'd been too preoccupied to notice Elizabeth's cover-up for Jessica.

Ned shook his head. “I don't know, honey. I hear he's already negotiating with a big design firm from San Francisco.”

Alice lifted her brows in surprise and distress. “How do you know? And why didn't you tell me sooner?”

Ned's face assumed that slightly bemused expression that always came over him when they discussed his wife's career moves. “I found out from Marianna on Friday,” he said offhandedly. “It didn't seem important at the time.” Marianna West was a partner in his law firm.

Alice held her breath for a moment. She was unhappy with her husband's lack of interest in her work, but she had no desire to make an issue of it on this bright, clear Sunday morning. Exhaling slowly, she changed the subject. “What were you and Marianna talking about, dear?”

Elizabeth tuned out the rest of her parents' conversation and barely heard the phone ringing in the other room. Still upset about Jessica, she could hardly even concentrate on finishing breakfast.

Alice couldn't help noticing her daughter's glum mood. “What's the matter, Liz? Did you and Todd have a fight last night?”

“Oh, no, Mom. We had a good time.”

“So why the sad face?”

“It's nothing.” Elizabeth attempted a halfhearted smile. “I'll be all right.”

“Sure you don't want to talk about it?” Alice asked.

“I'm sure, Mom. Really, I'm fine. I just didn't sleep too well last night. Pass me the cartoons, OK? Maybe a little
Peanuts
will help.”

Elizabeth was busy trying to lose herself in the comics when Jessica breezily entered the kitchen.

“Good morning, people!” She was as bubbly as a newly opened bottle of soda despite a mere three hours' sleep. “How are all of you this morning?” Without waiting for an answer, she planted a firm kiss on everyone's forehead.

Elizabeth was stunned. She couldn't remember the last time her sister had been up so early on a Sunday morning.

“What's gotten into you, Jess?” her father asked, a chuckle in his voice.

Mrs. Wakefield smiled. “Can't you tell, Ned? Obviously she had a great time at the dance.”

“That's right, Mom,” Jessica said, pouring herself a glass of orange juice. She leaned against the tile counter and stared dreamily off into space. “I think I'm in love,” she announced at last.

“With Winston?” Her mother threw her a surprised look.

“Absolutely not! Winston's a nerd, Mom. I'm talking about someone extra special.”

Elizabeth groaned, but no one heard. All eyes were on her twin.

“Who's that, dear?” Alice asked.

Jessica paused for dramatic effect. “Bruce Patman.”

“The Patman boy, eh,” her father noted approvingly.

“But, Jessica, what happened with Winston? I thought you went out with him last night,” her mother asked a little suspiciously. She was well aware of her daughter's tendency to go after what she wanted with total disregard for other people.

“I did, but he had his eye on someone else,” Jessica hedged, shooting a quick, hard look at Elizabeth. “We agreed to go our separate ways at Ken's party.”

Elizabeth wanted to challenge the lie, but she held back at the last moment. From Jessica's behavior Elizabeth knew that her twin was no longer mad at her, and she didn't want to upset the equilibrium. At the same time, though, she wasn't sure if she could stand to sit through her starry-eyed sister's retelling of her night with Bruce. It was like listening to someone who'd been hypnotized.

“… and he told me we were
made
for each other. Isn't that the most romantic thing you've ever heard?” Jessica directed the question at Elizabeth, who remained unusually silent. Getting no reaction, Jessica shrugged and pranced out to the hallway to fetch her red nylon jacket from the closet. Swinging it over her shoulder, she returned to the kitchen. “Don't hold up dinner for me, OK?”

“Where are you going?” Ned asked.

“Bruce just called. He's taking me sailing on Secca Lake today. I don't know how long we'll be, but I don't want you to wait.” She glanced at the wall clock. “He should be picking me up any minute now.”

That was all Elizabeth needed to hear. Unwilling to watch her sister fly ecstatically out the door, Elizabeth pushed her chair away from the table. “May I be excused? I've got a big chemistry test to study for.”

“Sure, dear,” her mother answered.

“Say, what's the big rush, Liz?” Jessica asked. “The test's not till Wednesday. That's practically eons from now.”

“So call me a Girl Scout,” Elizabeth shot back. “I believe in being prepared. A little advance studying wouldn't hurt you, either.”

“I won't even dignify that remark with an answer,” Jessica countered. She hurried out of the kitchen and into the foyer to wait for Bruce and his slick, shiny, black Porsche.

Four

“Liz! Liz, I've got to talk to you!”

Emily Mayer caught up with Elizabeth at her locker the following morning. Emily looked quite different from the way she appeared when performing. The petite drummer was dressed for school in a plain navy blue skirt and sweater, her wavy hair tied back neatly. “Liz, it's happening,” she said excitedly. “It's really happening!”

“Slow down, Emily. What are you talking about?”

“The Droids. We're going to the top of the charts!”

It took Elizabeth a second to remember. “You mean, that guy … what's his name?”

“Tony.” Emily nodded excitedly. “He's everything he says he is, Liz. Guy even found pictures of him with some of his other bands in some back issues of
Music Madness.
I always thought it was dumb of Guy to save those magazines, but now I'm glad he did. Oh, Liz, Tony has such great plans for us.”

“So when's the first record coming out?”

“Come on, we're not ready for that yet. Tony's planning to book us into some local clubs first and maybe get us some dates around the state during Christmas vacation. With a little luck and a lot of hard work, he says we may be good enough to break into L.A. clubs by next summer. But he's not promising anything. Not yet, anyway, though he did say he's going to bring around lots of record-producer friends of his to meet us as soon as we sound a little tighter.”

Elizabeth smiled warmly at Emily. She took her music very seriously, and she deserved to have good things happen. “I'm so happy for you, Emily,” Elizabeth bubbled. “I bet the others are just losing their minds with excitement!”

“You bet they're excited—and tired,” Emily was saying as the first bell for the next class rang. The two of them began walking to class. “We were up half the night practicing.”

“Seems the only thing you're missing is some publicity.”

“Do you have anything in mind?”

“Yes. I'd like to chart your progress in a running series of stories in
The Oracle.
I'll have to get the go-ahead from Penny, the editor, but I know she'll love the idea. I'll begin with how you met Tony and what your plans are. Then I'll follow you from your first club date all the way to your number-one hit record.”

Emily was overjoyed. “That's fantastic. Oh, Liz, you don't know how much all this means to me.”

“I think I do, Emily. Being a rock star is just a fantasy for most kids, but you're actually going to live it!”