Reason and Romance (River Valley Book 1) (17 page)

She put a hand on her heart. “I thought you loved me, Quentin!” she wailed with a heartfelt passion that had her voice soaring above the rapt crowd who didn’t want to miss a single minute. “Why are you talking to her?”

Surprise flickered in his eyes, then he grinned. A born entertainer couldn’t pass up that opportunity, and he didn’t.

“Baby, don’t be like that,” he entreated.

Adrian burst out laughing. She heard someone laugh from behind her, and even without turning around, she knew it was Alex. The slow delicious warmth that had pooled in her stomach during their brief dance flushed her face.

The teachers put a stop to the fun, but not before large crocodile tears rolled down Vaughn’s cheeks (somehow not marring her makeup) and certainly not before the crowd was chanting Quentin’s name. “Maxwell! Maxwell!”

It capped the dance. People started leaving the gym in a steady stream, talking about what they’d just witnessed. Most of them would be heading out to the after-parties. And if it hadn’t been for Nicky, Adrian would have joined them. But even as she thought of it, she knew Nicky was only a convenient excuse.

Justin escorted her outside. The heat was no longer blistering at this hour, but sleepy and languid instead. She drew a deep breath, tasting the fresh air.

“Did you have a good time?” Justin asked.

She nodded and then smiled in surprise.

For once, it wasn’t a lie.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Adrian drove early to school on the following Monday. On the way, she listened to music, and only then did she smile at the realization. Normally, she preferred to drive in grim silence, mentally preparing herself for the hellish torture that was Varner High, but things were better. No one had gotten out the pitchforks lately.

Oh, people still stared or whispered when she passed them in the hallways, but by then, it was the same old crap. White noise, that’s all it was.

A familiar blond head popped into the edge of her vision, and she hesitated. Should she say hi? Vaughn wasn’t exactly someone she enjoyed talking to, but the girl had come to her rescue at Homecoming dance, and Adrian Blake paid her debts.

Adrian stopped by Vaughn’s locker. “Hey,” she said. She watched the other girl’s face for any involuntary grimace or muscle tic. The second she saw one, she was out of here.

Vaughn looked up from her backpack. “Oh hey,” she said, pulling out a tube of lip gloss. “Did you know I’m secretly pregnant with Quentin’s baby?”

“Is that what they’re saying?”

“No, that’s what I am saying.”

Now she had to laugh. “Yeah, well, that sounds like you.” She shifted her weight. “Why do you love spreading rumors about yourself?”

It was just a question she’d asked for no particular reason, but now she was suddenly curious. How could someone enjoy that kind of thing? Back home, the gossip mill hadn’t been so kind to the Blake family. People had whispered about her mother’s scandalous behavior. Well, they’d whispered at first, but then they’d openly talked about it. Adrian had no idea how her father had been able to hold his head high.

“Why not? I mean, it’s not like we do much around here. If I can get half of the school to believe I’m having threesomes with Quentin and Mandy Fitzpatrick, so much better, right?”

Something about that breezy answer irked Adrian. “It’s one thing to spread rumors about yourself, but you talk shit about other people. How can you justify that?”

Even she could hear how pointed her voice had become.

The blonde looked at her sidelong. “Some people ask me to do it on their behalf, actually.” She lifted a hand when Adrian snorted. “No, I’m serious. Sometimes a person will get together with someone else, and they want the whole school to know. Or there’s a party, and they want the word to get out.”

“That doesn’t sound so bad,” Adrian conceded, “but that’s not what I’m talking about, and you know it.”

Vaughn shouldered her locker shut. She leaned against it, so that they were facing each other directly. “I don’t know how they did it at your old school, but …” Her lips pursed. “All right, here’s the perfect example. Have you heard about what happened between Alex and Lindsay Melbourne? She was Mr. Melbourne’s daughter.”

“Justin told me a bit.”

“Honey, that was intense. When Lindsay announced she was late—”

“What?” Justin hadn’t told her this part of the story. “She missed her period?”

Vaughn’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh, you didn’t know that? Yes, she was late, and oh my God, it was the biggest piece of gossip we had. You had Mr. Melbourne who was so furious and so ashamed that he couldn’t look at Alex without wanting to kill him. You had his wife—well, his ex-wife now—storming into the school. You had Alex’s parents involved! Listen, it was huge. And that’s my point, Adrian. How can you not discuss something that juicy? Admit it, you’re curious. You want to know how it ended for Alex and Lindsay, even though it’s an old story.”

Adrian crossed her arms. “It’s fun to talk about other people until you are the person being gossiped about. Have you ever been the object of scorn? When it happens to you, you want to tell them to fuck off, but you can’t because that’ll add to the gossip, so there’s nothing you can do, but smile. And that’s just—”

She was actually ranting, and that was something she didn’t do, so she stopped before she could embarrass herself any further.

Vaughn gazed at her for a long moment. Her habitual smile faded from her lips until there was only a keen intelligence in those brown eyes. No, this wasn’t a stupid girl, and Adrian had the feeling Vaughn saw and understood too much.

“Why did they talk about you at your old school?” Vaughn said finally.

Adrian’s lips turned up into a humorless smile. Oh yes, the other girl had seen more than Adrian wanted. “My mother was the reason. And that’s all you’re getting from me.”

“I’m sorry—”

“No. I do
not
want your pity—”

Vaughn grabbed her arm. “God, Adrian!” she said with the first trace of irritation Adrian had ever heard. “If you had only let me finish! I don’t feel sorry for you, and you know why? You slap down people who try to be friendly. Me, Justin, Quentin, and oh, just about everyone else. Travis Cates is the only one who can get through to you, and we would all like to know how he did it because otherwise you’re this big black hole of bitchiness.” She released her grip. “Not everyone is out to get you, so here’s my advice. Grow up, Adrian!”

The outburst was so unexpected that Adrian could only stare. What did Vaughn know about Adrian’s life? She’d never experienced having a whole town talk about her dead mother, so she didn’t have any right.

But before Adrian could retort, Vaughn stalked off.

A sick buzzing sensation was rattling inside her mind as Adrian looked after the other girl’s retreating figure. Vaughn wasn’t a friend, so it wasn’t like she was important. God.

“That was rough,” Grant said from behind.

Adrian closed her eyes briefly. She hadn’t heard him approach, but his deep voice was unmistakable. For such a big guy he could move like a ghost.

“Didn’t your mother ever tell you it’s not nice to eavesdrop?” she said nastily.

“No. She’s dead.”

“Oh. I was being sarcastic, obviously.”

“And I obviously let it slide by.”

“What the hell do you want?”

She heard him move this time. When she opened her eyes, Grant was standing in the spot Vaughn had vacated. At least there was one good thing about his size—no one was standing near them because he took up so much space by himself. Just as well since Adrian didn’t want any eyewitnesses repeating her words.

“I’m here to do preventive control,” Grant said. His blue eyes shifted over the crowd in the hallway. “I don’t want the school going down in flames.”

“I’m not going on a psychotic murder spree.”

“You should talk to Vaughn. It would be a start.”

“What are you, my keeper now?”

Grant shifted his gaze back to her. His voice was as calm as ever, as if her tone didn’t bother him. “I’m not going to argue with you, Adrian. So don’t pull that shit on me. Now, the way I see it, you have two choices. You can go on and be immature. Or you can talk to Vaughn and make nice.”

“Why should I? She’s a gossip vulture.”

He lifted his eyebrows. “And you’re a bitch,” he said mildly. “Who are you to pass judgment on someone else?”

“And who are
you
to judge me?”

A glint of humor warmed those neutral eyes until they lightened. She’d always thought Alex was far more attractive—and that opinion still hadn’t changed—but if Grant ever smiled, it would be a dangerous thing for the Varner High girls.

“Your keeper. Isn’t that what you called me? Someone has to keep the system running.”

“Who died and left you in charge?”

“Who else wants the job?”

His calmness was so maddening, so infuriating that she inhaled sharply. But before she could say anything, he walked away. Great! Vaughn had figuratively slapped her in the face, and Grant was finishing the job by kicking the chair out from under her. And neither of them would oblige her by fighting with her.

Her shoulders slumped. The day had started with so much promise, but now all she wanted to do was to crawl into bed and pull the blankets over her head. Every time she thought she’d found her footing, she lost it again.

She trudged to AP English. At least Mr. Melbourne would be there. It was almost sad how much she wanted to fight with him, just so she could relieve her black mood, but when she took her seat, there was a young, pretty woman behind his desk instead.

“Mr. Melbourne has taken a leave of absence,” the woman said, “so I’ll be substituting for him until this semester ends. Fortunately, he left his lesson plans behind, so we won’t lose any time.”

A surprised murmur ran around the classroom as Adrian’s classmates digested this piece of news. “Did something happen to him?” Justin called out. “Is he sick?”

Trust Justin to be concerned about the teacher’s health.

“I’m afraid I don’t have anything to share. What you know is what I know. Shall we begin with the class attendance?”

Adrian lowered her eyes, so her confusion wouldn’t show, but her thoughts were swirling madly. Mr. Melbourne had spoken to her at Homecoming dance and told her that she didn’t need to go to detention anymore. Had he prepared for his leave of absence in advance—yes, he must have done so. From the sound of it, he was gone this whole semester and she wouldn’t see him for a few months.

This was what she’d prayed for. She’d hated the man for so long. Or rather, she’d hated him for a handful of weeks, but these weeks had been torturous. She’d geared up for battle every time she walked into the AP English classroom, but now she didn’t need to do it anymore.

She was … free.

And she couldn’t even rejoice.

She murmured “here” when the substitute teacher called her name. The woman’s gaze slid over her face for one or two seconds before she called out another name. By then, Adrian knew Mr. Melbourne hadn’t left the woman any notes about her, not even a warning footnote.

It was by far the most pleasant class she’d ever had, or at least it should have been, but she sat in her seat like a frozen slab of ice. She might as well have been invisible because no one seemed to remember she was there. The teacher didn’t pick on her; the kids didn’t talk to her or glance her way. They were too busy speculating about Mr. Melbourne’s absence and swapping stories about Homecoming dance.

She doodled in her notebook.
I was there too!

The sharp bite of resentment took her aback. She’d
owned
them at the dance and she’d made a splash, but now it was as if nothing had ever happened. No one was saying hi or reminiscing about the delicious Quentin-and-Mandy-and-Vaughn faux fight with her. Even Justin, who usually greeted her, was huddled with Alex and others, trying to figure out what had forced Mr. Melbourne to take time off.

Quentin’s voice was the loudest, of course. “Maybe he needs a triple bypass, courtesy of Alex,” he suggested. “Or maybe he has Alex-itis.”

People laughed, and Adrian couldn’t resist looking over her shoulder. Alex and his friends always sat together, their desks grouped in the same vicinity. Sort of like a formidable phalanx, a bastion of arrogance even, but it meant they always had each other. No matter what happened, Alex could be sure to count on Quentin, Justin, and Grant as backup.

And Adrian had only Travis.

Even as she thought of him, she knew it wasn’t quite true. Yes, they talked every day at school and they ate lunch together, but she’d never been over to his house. She didn’t even know where he lived. She hadn’t even invited him to hang out after school. So what kind of person did that make her?

Her eyes burning, Adrian stared at the whiteboard. She wasn’t a bad person; she really wasn’t! She’d only done what she had to do in order to survive. They’d attacked her, and she’d responded in kind.

What else could she have done?

And yet Vaughn’s words were on a feedback loop.
“Oh, I don’t feel sorry for you, and you know why? You slap down people who try to be friendly. Me, Justin, Quentin, and oh, just about everyone else … not everyone is out to get you, so here’s my advice. Grow up, Adrian!”

She pinched the bridge of her nose. Oh, it didn’t do any good to think about this. The blonde wasn’t her friend, so it wasn’t like the outburst meant anything.

Travis intercepted her after the class ended. “Dude,” he said sagely, when he saw her in the hallway. “Who stole the last watermelon?”

“I’m sorry?”

“My neighbor grows watermelons, see? And we trade him bread or sunflowers for them, but a lot of other people want them too, so sometimes we don’t get anything. And I don’t think I’m making any sense,” he concluded. “So why do you look so sad?”

“You can tell?”

“Mm-hmm. It’s you, dude!”

Suddenly Adrian couldn’t take it anymore. She leaned her head against his shoulder, drawing comfort from his familiar presence.

“I feel like shit,” she said quietly.