Red Ridge Pack 1 Pack of Lies (2 page)

“The rules are different for guys like your brother. Let me be honest with you,” she said sitting back in her chair. “I promised myself I would never say this to a student, or my own children, for that matter. In fact, it’s one of my pet peeves, but in your case I think it’s actually true. They’re jealous. All of them. Every girl and probably even a few teachers in this school. Jealously can do strange things to people.”

I just stared at her like she had lost her mind, she continued, “Alli, you are taller, stronger, and more beautiful than any other girl in this school, and let’s face it child, you have a killer body too. And to top it all off, you seem to be a genuinely nice person. Girls really hate people like you. You are their ultimate competition, and they know they don’t stack up, so instead, they’ve evidently chosen to make your life miserable.”

Wow, this woman was really nuts. How was I supposed to respond to that?
Yes, Mrs. Parker, I have noticed how hot I am and how great my tits and ass look lately. Jeez!
I always thought it would be great to be
that
girl, but for the record, it sucks.

“So what am I supposed to do about it?” I asked, hoping she just might have the answer I’ve been looking for.

“Well, there’s not much you can do, dear. Hmmmm, let’s see. Why don’t we start with not hitting anybody?” she suggested with sarcasm oozing from her pores.

Yeah, now there’s some advice I could use.

So I guess when some hussy is accusing me of trying to hit on her man, I’m just supposed to ignore it. Well, that was unlikely to happen any time soon.

Parker’s you-know-I’m-right smirk was starting to piss me off. How could she think it would be that simple?

“But it’s not my fault. They push me and push me until I can’t take it. I seriously think they are trying to get me kicked out or something.”

“Well, don’t let them win. I know it sounds cliché Allison, but you need to be the bigger person and just walk away.”

***

When I wandered out of Parker’s office, the school secretary gave me an unsympathetic look as she informed me that my mom was here and had just gone in to see Principal Murphy. I could only imagine how that was going. I just hoped that I was still a student at South Shore come morning and not a new member of the Creek Alternative Education School.

Not wanting to sit in the office with the school secretary’s opinionated glare, I politely requested that she let my mom know that I would be waiting in my car. The dismissal bell rang, and as I walked out to the parking lot, I carefully avoided all eye contact, trying to “be the bigger person” and all. With my eyes on the ground, I didn’t see anyone coming until I ran right into the last person I wanted to see. I looked up startled, only to find, Julie, my ex-best friend. Her eyes shot up from her iPhone, and she said, “Oh… hey.”

“Hey Julie. How ya been?” I asked, hoping she might stop to talk, but instead she just kept walking and finishing her text. I turned to watch her pass, feeling the familiar sting that still gets me even after all this time. How could she just forget how close we once were? It was by no means the first time I had tried to rekindle our friendship, and the outcome has always been the same.

I got in my car and turned the A/C on full blast. Leaning my head against the window, I closed my eyes and tried to focus on cooling down. It has been hotter than hell lately, everywhere I went, which is not entirely unusual in Texas, but it was weird. I didn’t sweat. It was like I was hot on the inside. A fever maybe?

The more I thought about it, the more I was convinced that I was definitely coming down with something. It was not just being hot; my vision had been a little funny too. Not blurry or hazy or anything, just different. And on top of that, I kept getting these waves of nausea from all these funky smells in the air. I swear some people don’t wear enough deodorant, and if I smell one more girl with vanilla body spray, I might just have to hurl.

Really… could life get any suckier? Not only was I a social pariah, but a sick one at that. There should be a rule or something that everything is not allowed to go wrong all at once. Right?

I was half-way to dreamland when my brother, Aiden, started pounding on the windshield.

“Yo, Balboa! I heard you kicked Tiffany Hades’s ass. When are those dumb broads gonna learn not to mess with my little sis, huh?”

I opened the car door and got out, glad to see a friendly face, the only friendly face I knew lately.

“Tiffany is a dumb-ass, and she had it coming,” I replied.

“Well, I can’t exactly argue with that,” he said as he threw his arm over my shoulder, leading me toward the gym.

“Come on, Al. Walk me to practice.”

We walked in silence for a minute or so, and then with a heavy sigh, Aiden asked, “So, what are we gonna do about you? You can’t keep beating up all the pretty girls. Who will I take to prom?”

“That’s not funny, and it’s not my fault. Her loser boyfriend grabbed my ass in the hall, and she just happened to be standing right there. Apparently, Tiffany saw that as my fault.”

“Thomas? Thomas did what? What an asshat! He should know better than to mess with my little sis. I may just have to kill him now,” Aiden said with a tough-guy smile.

I couldn’t deny that Aiden had taken pretty good care of me since I went from something to nothing in no time flat. He was well aware that people talked mess about me constantly and have written me off the who’s who list, but he didn’t care what they thought. And he certainly didn’t let anyone bad-mouth me when he was around. Honestly, I didn’t know what I would do without him. He was the closest friend that I have ever had, and currently my only friend, though that hadn’t always been the case.

But as close as we are, Aiden and I are polar opposites. He’s funny and outgoing, and of course, the most popular guy at every high school in the greater Houston area. There was even a rumor that he was nominated for homecoming king at our rival school, Bay Creek, which I had no doubt was true. He plays every sport, makes straight As, has more girls after him than he can handle, and is a good four inches taller than me, and I’m five foot ten. He has green eyes and dark brown hair instead of my hazel eyes and blonde hair, but we both have an olive complexion, yet somehow, I’m hated and he is adored.

Again, Aiden took a deep breath and said, “I don’t know what to tell you, Al. Just don’t let them get to you. Tiffany’s an idiot, and everyone knows it.”

“I know, but…”

“Just do me a favor? Don’t get kicked out of school. Okay?”

He smiled at me, and took off into the locker room before I could tell him that it might be too late.

I turned around and headed back to my car, just in time to see one very angry mom heading straight toward me.

Chapter 2

ALLISON

Since arriving home, I had only one goal in mind—completely avoid my parents at all costs. Mom didn’t say a word to me. Instead, she just stomped along with down-cast eyes until we arrived at my car, and then without a word, she stomped away toward her own. Not too sure what to think of that. She looked as though she had plenty to say, but for some unknown reason, evidently decided to hold off for a bit.

I, in turn, took it as an opportunity to race home before Mom could get there, and rush up to my room before I had to face her.

I had been shut in my safe-haven for over an hour without so much as a peep from anyone, which made me even more nervous. Mom rarely lets me do the whole leave-me-be-thing, and she was obviously upset after speaking to the principal. Maybe she was taking some time to cool off. Mom can be good at that sometimes.

Although, more often than not, when she’s acting all patient she has an ulterior motive. Nine times out of ten, she’ll leave me alone just long enough to make me think that maybe I got away with whatever it was that I royally screwed up, and then POW! She’ll let me have it. I had no reason to believe that this time would be any different. Especially since this wasn’t her first conversation with the administration about my behavior.

Trying to keep myself occupied, I grabbed the
US Weekly
from my nightstand and cranked up my iPod.

I had just taken my mind off of my impending doom when Aiden eased my door open and peeked inside. “Hey Al, just so you know I
was
knocking. Anyways, dinner is ready,” he said, attempting to sound causal, as if I didn’t realize I was about to have to face the wrath of mommy-dearest.

I looked up at him with a blank stare, even though I had clearly heard him, and put my iPod down.

When I didn’t respond, he repeated, “I said dinner was ready.”

“Great. I can’t wait,” I said sarcastically. “Did Mom say anything to you?”

He looked down at the floor without answering. What did that mean?

“Aiden! Did she say anything or not? You’re freaking me out,” I said as I slammed my magazine down on my bed.

“No, but I have a feeling that it’s not going to be good. I mean this is your third fight. What do you think Mom and Dad are going to say?
Great job, Honey. Third time’s a charm!
”

“Don’t be a smart-ass, Ad,” I said, and jabbed him in his ribs with my elbow on my way out the door. “Come on, let’s get this over with.”

***

I sat down at the dinner table with my eyes glued to the floor and waited for the fireworks to begin, but they didn’t come. Instead, my dad acted like nothing happened. He even asked me nicely if I wouldn’t mind helping him set the table, which, for some reason, made me feel even lousier about the trouble I had caused.

With the table set, there was nothing left to do but sit back down and endure whatever Mom had coming for me.

Is Principal Murphy going to kick me out of school?

What if my parents kick me out of the house?

What if they send me away to some school for screwed up teens, like the reform schools you see in movies?

I sat there, waiting, but no one said anything. We all ate dinner in what could only be described as a seriously uncomfortable silence. Five minutes, ten minutes, fifteen? No one spoke. Aiden hadn’t even looked up from his plate.
What the hell?

Dad had made steak, my favorite, and I couldn’t even find it within myself to enjoy it. Maybe this was some new method of parenting Mom read about; make the kid feel so bad about herself that she never gets in any trouble at all.

Finally, the silence was broken.

“We are all going to have a talk after dinner, okay?” Mom said sounding a bit nervous.

Dad reached over to pat Mom’s arm as if to comfort her, which made my stomach churn.

Shit! I am definitely going away. They are so kicking me out of school! I know it! Military school, here I come.

My mind reeled as I watched my parents talking with their eyes. I glanced back and forth between the two of them, and when I turned to Aiden to see how he was taking all of this weirdness, as usual, he seemed completely unfazed by any of it. I felt like shouting, “Hello? Earth to Aiden! Are you seeing this? Your sister is about to be booted out of school! Do you even care?”

I pushed the food around on my plate, no longer able to stomach it with the tension mounting in the air. The longer we sat at the table the more anxious I became. Finally, I couldn’t take the suspense any longer and belted out, “Can we please just get this over with? I’m not really in the mood to puke up my steak and baked potato, and if someone doesn’t tell me what is going on, it just might happen.”

Mom and Dad froze and both suddenly looked as though they may puke as well. Their silence was all but killing me.

Aiden put down his fork and cleared his throat. “Ummm, should I leave? Do y’all want to talk to Al alone?” he asked.

Thanks a lot Ad. Way to be there for me, big bro.

Mom and Dad looked at each other once more. Then their eyes darted back and forth between Aiden and me before finally landing on the floor.

I stared at them both unable to believe that it had come to this. They couldn’t even look at me.

“Just tell me!” I shouted. “You’re sending me away, aren’t you?” I asked, sure my number was up.

Finally, Mom opened her mouth to speak.

“No Alli, we are not sending you away. God, this is so hard. I’m not sure where to start,” Mom mumbled under her breath.

Dad poured her another glass of wine and reassured her, “You can do this Lillian. They’ll understand. They can handle it.”

“Just say it, Mom. Whatever it is, I can take it,” I said trying to sound convincing. Honestly, I wasn’t ready for it. Whatever it was.

Mom scooted her chair out from under the table and turned toward Aiden and me, suddenly seeming a lot more confident. Taking a deep breath, she began, “Okay, several months ago, we started to notice that you were both changing. Physically. And obviously from what’s been going on with Alli, emotionally too. God… I should have told you this a long time ago. Maybe you would have taken it better, especially you Al. I’m so sorry.”

“What are you talking about Mom? You aren’t making any sense.”

“Just let her finish, Alli. This is important,” Dad said.

Mom again looked back and forth between Aiden and me and finally admitted, “Okay, I’ll just say it. I’m a werewolf and y’all will be too very soon. There, I said it. It’s out.”

Aiden and I looked at each other and busted out laughing. Had she lost her ever-loving mind?

“Hey Mom! Grrrrrrrrr! Maybe you should lay off the wine before you sprout some back hair,” Aiden somehow managed to say through his laughter.

I was doubled over, almost in tears, when Mom got up from the table and left the dining room without a word. Our laughter ceased when Dad threw his napkin on the table and stood up to surely chastise us, but his speech was cut short when an enormous, dark-brown wolf wandered into our dining room and bared its teeth at Aiden.

“Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr!” the wolf growled with fury.

Now it was Dad’s turn to laugh as Aiden high-tailed it on top of the dining room table, screaming, “Holy shit! What the hell is that?”