Shattered - the Secret Life of Trystan Scott #4 (4 page)

CHAPTER 8

~TRYSTAN~

Seth doesn’t drop it. As soon as Mari disappears from sight he hisses, “I thought you were over her?”

Trystan keeps that distant look in his eye. He never tells Seth much of anything. The guy panics. He wants Trystan’s life to make sense to him, but it doesn’t.
Hell, it doesn’t even make sense to Trystan. How is he supposed to explain anything to the guy?

“Maybe I’m just friends with her
,” Trystan says, “and maybe I don’t want to rehash this whole thing with you tonight. Do me a favor, okay? If you still can’t stand her on Monday, tell me and we can discuss it then.” Trystan says, pushing his hair out of his eyes. “From the way your acting, it seems like you liked Brie better.”

Seth’s eyes get a little too big for his head. “You’re into her, too? Damn man.” He grins. “You think you can get ‘em both at once?”

Trystan’s fingers flinch. Instead of slugging his friend, he smiles and nods. Trystan says things he doesn’t mean, wishing for things he doesn’t want. Mari and Brie. As if that was something to hope for. Trystan shakes off the skeeved layer sticking to his skin and changes the subject. “I heard you were talking about enlisting?”

Trystan couldn’t believe it. When
they were in lab, he heard a teacher mentioning Seth’s lack of teacher recommendation forms. The teacher from across the hall said Seth was enlisting. It was weird to find out that way.

Seth doesn’t look a Trystan. Instead
, he nods and says, “Yeah, I mean, it’s not like I’m a nerd and can get into a good college. Besides, I haven’t got cash for that kind of shit.”

“I know what you mean.” Trystan and Seth weave their way through the school as they
talk, and then exit the front of the building. The air is crisp, like it might snow. There are about two hours until he has to be at Mari’s house. Two hours to kill with Seth. He breathes in deeply and runs his fingers through his hair. “I was going to enlist, but I don’t know anymore…”

Seth gives him a look. “Dude, you’re seriously going to let me enlist by myself? Why do you think I went to the recruiter?”

Trystan gives his friend an awkward smile, “Thanks, but there is no way you should enlist to hang out with me. I’m headed nowhere too fast.”

Seth laughs, “Well, it’s better to have company along the way. I mean, who else is going to be your wing man when they send you to China or some shit?”

“I don’t think we have troops in China.” Trystan glances at Seth and tries not to smile. The guy is about to sign on the dotted line and has no idea about anything, which sounds about right for Seth. “Besides, I might not enlist anyway. I’ve been thinking about doing something else.”

“Like…?” Seth asks, knowing as well as Trystan does that there aren’t many options. Neither of them
is exceptionally anything.

Trystan shrugs. “The hell if I know. I’m just saying
, don’t enlist because of me. There’s a chance I’m not going to do it.”

Seth is staring at a car full of girls in track uniforms.
Seth and the girls are hollering at each other. The man isn’t even listening anymore. The girls pull over to the side of the road. “Hey hotties! Want a ride?” One girl asks and they all start giggling. Seth’s eyes go wide, like he’s being called to the mother-ship.

Trystan grabs Seth’s arm and waves them off, “Not tonight
, ladies.” The car full of girls takes off, leaving behind streamers of white smoke and giggles.

“What the hell was that for? What’d I ever do to you?” Seth whines.

“I want to eat dinner. Plus I gotta be somewhere in an hour, so get your ass moving or I’ll have to eat without you.” Trystan starts walking again. Seth waits a beat, and then follows. Trystan has eight bucks in his pocket. It’s the last of his money from Sam. He’ll have to go bust his ass after school next week and earn more.

“You have something set up?” Seth asks, his voice filled with
innuendo.

Trystan shoves his hands in his pockets and stares
straight ahead, wishing the diner would materialize and suck them through the front doors so he wouldn’t have to take part in this conversation. “Something.”

“Way to be vague, Scott. Come on
, man, who’s the lucky girl? You think she’ll put out?”

Trystan smirks and laughs. That’s the last thing that he expects to happen. The night will probably be filled with Mari’s voice and lips, and maybe if he’s lucky, her dad won’t come home early and beat the shit out of him. Repeating last night is the last thing he wants to do. But still, it’s worth the risk. Deciding to go to Mari’s is one of the stupider things he’s done.

“Come on, Trystan. Give names, man. Who are you gonna nail?” Seth yips like a dog, begging for scraps. He’s relentless and doesn’t stop until they walk into the diner. He scans the booths for girls they know. “Nicole’s over there.” Seth says, hopeful.

“So go sit with her if you want. I’
ll be over here.” Trystan points, and follows the waitress. Seth seems to be stuck. You could see the guy getting pulled in two directions.

Seth
finally follows Trystan to the booth and sits down. He grabs a menu and then something weird happens.

T
he girl sitting across from them says, “If it’s not my two favorite idiots.” Katie sweeps her long hair over her shoulder, tosses a tip on the table and walks over. “How’s it hanging, Trystan?” She places her fingers on their table and cocks her head to the side. “Cuz if you mess with my girl Mari, I’m gonna make you wish—”

“Mari’s at home, and I didn’t do anything to her.” Trystan says
, tightly. He wonders what Katie knows, if anything. She’s Mari’s best friend. They’re always together.

Seth is watching Katie a little too closely. “Hey kitten, y
ou want me to make you purr?” Seth grins at her and sweeps his eyes over her body, lingering way too long on her breasts.

Katie’s mouth falls open. When she snaps back to life,
Katie swings her purse and pegs Seth in the side of the head. He makes a noise like a pig bouncing out of the back of a pickup truck, and then clutches his head between his hands. “What. The. Fuck.” He glares at Katie.

Katie’s pissed. Her jaw is locked and when she talks, she sounds like she’ll rip his face off.
“Don’t talk to me, Seth. So help me God—”

Kati
e is interrupted by the waiter. “Is there a problem over here?” the waiter asks, looking at each of them in turn.

Trystan beams and shakes his head. “Nope. We’re ready to order though.” He goes ahead, ordering three plates of food, fries, and shakes.
When the waiter leaves, Trystan points at Katie and then the booth. “Sit down, Katie Scarlett,” he says with a thick Irish brogue.

She lifts a dark brow at him. Th
e girl could eat them alive. She’d spit out their bones and ask for seconds. There’s a fierce thing going on with her, that’s for certain. “You think I’m that vapid skank from Gone with the Wind? Seriously?”

“No,
” Trystan replies with a smirk on his face. “I just thought you liked big hats. Besides, that’s the only famous Katie I know.”

Seth offer
s, “Katie Couric.”

Trystan inclines his head toward Katie. They lock gazes.
Katie’s expression is telling Trystan to piss off, but that look tells him that he’s right. She’d happily slaughter them both with her purse. Seth got off easy. God help the poor bastard who dates this girl. “Katie Couric doesn’t have the same spunk as Katie Scarlett.”

“Who the fuck is Katie Scarlett?” Seth blurts out way too lou
d. That pretty much sums up dinner. Seth and Katie bicker for an hour and Trystan tries to derail everything by throwing them off their game. It works, but not for long. It’s as though they like fighting with each other. Eventually, he just sits back and watches and develops a deep respect for Katie in the process.

CHAPTER 9

~MARI~

When I get home, I’m blindsided. I walk through the door and drop my book bag on the floor. I expect to be alone. My parents go out to dinner together on Thursday nights, but tonight they didn’t go. Tonight they’re home, waiting for me.

“Mari dear, pick up your school bag and put it away.” Mom’s voice meets me before I find her in the kitchen. I don’t double back for my books.

“What’s wrong? Why are you still here?” I glance around, looking for Daddy, but I don’t see him.

Mother replies, “There was an important development with the lawsuit. That girl you punched in the face came by looking for you. Your father sent her away, but her parents called later.
” She moves through the kitchen getting a lunch bag ready. She puts in a sandwich and pours the coffee into a travel mug. She glances at me. “We worked everything out. If you apologize, they’ll drop the suit.”

“What?” I squeak.
My hackles rise. I can’t stand it. I can’t believe she even said it. “You want me to apologize to her? You realize that this is the same person who bullied me every day for the past three years? This is the same person who—”

Mother gives me a look that makes me stop talking. It doesn’t matter what I say. The
decision was made without me. I press my eyes closed and sigh way too loud. I want to scream at her. I want her to act like she loves me and not like a goddamn robot all the time. She tries so hard to make my dad happy, like he’s the only thing that matters. Why’d they even have me? I don’t understand. I doubt I ever will.

Mother’s voice carries a warning when she speaks. “Go upstairs and apologize. She’s been waiting for you.”

My eyes go so wide that they nearly fall out of my head and roll across the floor. “What? What did you say?”

“She’s in your room, M
ari. You’ve kept her waiting long enough already. Go apologize and you better be nice. If this blows up, your father won’t like it.” She glares at me and wipes down the counter. I stare at her. It’s the only thing I can do. Screaming at Mother doesn’t help. It’s like she’s a hollowed out shell. It doesn’t matter how loudly I speak, she won’t hear me. Mom would let me sign away my own life if it made my dad happy.

Gritting my teeth, I say, “Fine.” I sprint-walk toward my room and fly up the
stairs. When I pull the door open, Brie is standing in front of my desk. She was obviously looking through things.

“Hey
, virgin,” she beams and waves the tips of her fingers at me. “My daddy said you owe me an apology. So let’s have it.” She folds her narrow arms over her ample chest and tilts her head to the side, obviously pleased.

I want to pull her hair out
. I want Brie to go away and leave me alone. I knew she was gunning for me and this is lightweight for Brie. I suppose I should be happy, but I still want to shove her down a well. I manage a fake smile, and say in my nice voice, “I’m so sorry I hurt you, Brie.”

There’s something about the look in
Brie’s eye that tells me that she already got what she came here for. My stomach falls into my shoes when she walks past me, her heels clicking on the floor. Leaning closer, she whispers, “This isn’t over, Mary. I don’t need my daddy to fight my battles for me. Watch your back.” She smiles at me like she couldn’t be more pleased.

My heart pounds harder. My fingers ball into fists at my sides. I’m so close to snapping. I don’t care if my dad gets sued. It’d be worth it. But something holds me back. I don’t
clothesline her and shove her down the stairs. Brie leaves my room. I don’t follow her out. Instead, I sit down hard on my bed and hold my head between my hands. How could they? Betrayal snakes up my throat and tastes vile.

Mother’s voice carries up to my room. The door is open. I hear her thank Brie for her kind, forgiving
, spirit and wish her a good evening. Then, Mother walks up the stairs. I hear her familiar footfalls and I wish so badly that she tried to help me, just once. I need her. I want her, but she’s never there.

“Now, that wasn’t so hard was it?”
She’s standing in my doorway with her jacket on over her scrubs.

“How would you know? You aren’t the one who stood up for yourself and then had to apologize to the ass
hat that was harassing you. Was that you? Because I thought that was me?”

“Don’t be so dramatic, Mari. This will end well, and before it wouldn’t have. Be thankful that she was so forgiving.” Mom
walks into the room, and fluffs a pillow on the bed next to me. She doesn’t sit by me, she doesn’t offer any support whatsoever.

Tears are in my eyes. I shake my head and look up at her. “Yes, I’ll remember how forgiving she is next time she hurts me. I’ll remember how my mother liked Brie better than me, and I’ll thank Brie for kicking my ass and invite her to tea!” I lose it. I’m
standing, screaming in her face. I can’t help it.

Instead of fighting back, my mother rolls her eyes and turns to leave. “Honestly, Mari. You’re almost an adult. Such
juvenile behavior is unbecoming.”

She glances over my outfit, over the cami with no flannel, and scrunches up her nose. “And you are not to dress like this again. You look like a streetwalker in that shirt. The boys will think you’re giving it away and then what will you do? You can’t punch every person who offends you, dear.” She looks back at me and smiles, like one of those TV
moms that always knows best—the one with an apron and a pie in her hand—the one who is there when her children come home—the one who is there when they cry. My mom thinks she is that mother, and that all my cries for help are silly attempts to get her attention. It makes me crazy.

“Good night, mother,” I say through gritted teeth. Too many thoughts race through my head. They are things I should never say,
things I should never feel.

Mom leaves and I close the door behind her. Turning I press my back against the
door and slide down to the floor. My hair sticks to the tears that refuse to stay in my eyes and fall down my cheeks. I push my tangled mess back and slide my palms over my eyes. When I look up, my gaze lands on the wall with the bulletin board. I stare for a moment. Something’s different, but I don’t know what.