The Academy - Friends vs. Family (15 page)

I clutched a hand over my heart, and leaned against the wall,
counting off my heartbeats for every moment Nathan was gone.

Silas glanced over at me, frowning. He held his arms out to me. I
stumbled across the floor to him. He enclosed an arm around me, a hand moving
behind my head to hold me against his chest. I hugged him, my fingers rubbing
absentmindedly at his back.

He separated the blinds with one hand to keep a look out as he
held on to me. I didn’t mean to be in the way. I didn’t have the courage to let
go.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered against his chest.

He bowed his head, breathing against my hair. “What for?”

“I should have been more careful,” I said, pressing my face to his
chest to avoid his eyes.

His hand shifted, petting my hair. “It isn’t your fault.”

“But I...”

“No,” he said. He pushed me away from him until my back was
against the wall. He held his fingers to my lips to stop me from speaking. “No
more blaming yourself. You’re doing your best. If you had normal parents, we wouldn’t
have to sneak around and do all this. If you want to blame anyone, blame them.”
He bowed his head closer to my face, his deep brown eyes gazing into mine. How
they treat you isn’t your fault. Anyone with half a brain would never neglect
you like they do.”

“Silas,” I mumbled against his fingers.

He grunted, pressing his nose to my forehead. His breath warmed my
face.

My eyes closed.

“You shouldn’t have to do this at all,” he whispered. “You’re too
sweet to be stuck there. Say the word, Sang. Tell me to take you. I’ll do it.
I’ll do whatever you want.”

I couldn’t find my voice to reply. Was he serious? Was he just
trying to make me feel better? Part of me wanted to say something, to ask him
just to see how far he took this. What did he mean? Where would he take me?

His fingers clutched my chin, lifting. It forced my eyelids open
and I was lost in the concern and yearning in his face.

“Say it,” he commanded.

“Silas...” I whispered. My mind was in a frenzy. The words teased
my tongue. How easy would it be to tell him, but how was I going to? How could
I do that to him? I didn’t even understand what he meant. Those dark brown eyes
were begging me to just tell him anything and I didn’t know how.

What scared me the most was how badly I was tempted to say what he
wanted.

The sound of the front door opening had me stiffening against the
wall. Silas grunted, turning with his hands clenched into fists. I could only
pray it was Nathan and not my father or the police having snuck up on us. It
frightened me to think of what Silas might be preparing himself for if it were
the latter.

Nathan popped his head in from around the corner. His eyes caught
mine and he seemed confused, tilting his head. “He’s packing a suitcase,” he
said. “He left a note on your door.” He held out a neon yellow note stuck to
his fingertips. “I checked in on your mom after he left the bedroom. She’s
asleep and doesn’t know anything.”

Silas crossed the room before I could, taking the note from his
fingers. He glanced over the writing before frowning and slowly passing it back
to me.

Business trip.

“Another one?” I wondered. I swallowed, taking the note from
Silas’s fingers. I folded the paper. Relief flooded through me. I wasn’t in
trouble. He’d gotten up early because he had to leave. “Thank goodness. We’re
not caught.”

Silas continued to frown, and Nathan joined him, shaking his head.

I didn’t understand. Wasn’t this a good thing that we weren’t
discovered or that she wasn’t calling for me? “What?” I asked.

“Not even a fucking goodbye,” Nathan mumbled.

Silas grunted again in an agreeing tone. He marched off, grabbing
his bag and heading to Nathan’s bathroom.

I still didn’t understand, and it scared me that I didn’t.

T
hick
i
n
t
he
N
ettles

It was Thursday. School was quiet. No fights. Any note passed to
me in class was intercepted by North or the others, or I handed one to them the
moment I got one. I wondered when they would ever learn that I didn’t get them
or read them and I wasn’t interested. Part of me wondered if it was some sort
of joke now. Pass the strange girl a note. Maybe it was a game.

That afternoon, Kota said he was going to the Academy with Victor.
Silas and North had their first football practice. Luke and Gabriel joined
Nathan and I on the bus for the ride home. I was under orders from Nathan to
check in at home, with Luke as my shadow. We were going to hole up at Nathan’s
house for the evening.

Marie walked with me to our house. The swelter made the thin
hoodie I wore today feel heavy against my skin. Luke took the back trail around
Nathan’s house. He’d wait for Marie and me to enter before he scaled the house
to my bedroom window.

I waited until Marie went into her room before closing and locking
my door. Luke slipped quietly into my room, dashing into the attic. This was a
critical point. Marie could barge in any minute and I didn’t know how my mom
was doing.

When the attic door closed behind Luke, I thumped down the stairs
louder than necessary to give Luke an idea of where I was. I peeked in at my
mom. She was awake but her eyes drooped as she gazed at the television blaring
the news. She didn’t notice when I was standing there so I pushed the door
against the wall to make some noise.

She turned her head to me, her dull eyes focusing on my elbow, my
shoes, at the frame of the doorway above my head. “What?” she grumbled.

“Just letting you know I was home,” I said.

“Go clean your room,” she demanded. “I don’t want to hear a peep
out of you today.”

“Can I bring you something to eat?”

She picked up a cup of soup from her night stand to show to me.
“Get out of here.”

I ran back upstairs. I tapped on the attic door before crossing
the room to pick out a pair of short blue shorts and a thin t-shirt. I checked
on Marie before I got to the bathroom to change. She was gone. I suspected she
was on her way to Danielle’s house. It occurred to me that our mother hadn’t
asked about her. I dismissed it. Maybe she would never have asked for me at all
today. Popping in to check on her just set back the unseen timer on when my
mother thought to actually check on us.

After I dressed, I poked my head into my room. Luke was ready at
the window. He shuffled out onto the roof and I took the back stairs. We met in
the garage and we took off for Nathan’s house.

I knocked just so we weren’t scaring them and because it was
awkward to me to just walk in.

Luke held my hand, grinning at me and shaking his head. “You’re
too nice.”

Gabriel answered the door wearing a pair of jeans and a bright
neon green tank shirt. He smirked at me, crossed his arms over his chest and
leaned against the frame of the door. “Oy,” he said. “Hey there, Trouble.” His
eyes went to my hair. “Nope, nuh uh.” He held out his hand. “Give it up.”

I felt my eyebrows pop up. “Why?”

“Pay the toll. You can come in if you give me the clip.”

I sighed. “It’s too hot to have my hair down.”

“Stop it,” Luke said. He slipped off the blazer he was still
wearing, undoing the tie at his neck.  

Gabriel rubbed at his head. “I’ve been looking at that thing all
week and I haven’t said anything. I hate it. I want it back. I was gonna do her
hair anyway.”

Nathan appeared at the door. He was in running pants, sneakers and
a red Nike shirt. “Oh good, you’re here.” He held a few water bottles in his
hands. “Come on, we’re going out.”

“Let me get this stupid uniform off first,” Luke said, chucking
off his shirt as he trailed into the house.

Ten minutes later, Luke had changed into a pair of jeans,
shirtless and with sneakers. I followed Nathan through Kota’s backyard. Gabriel
and Luke trailed behind us. We all carried water bottles. Bees buzzed around
the dandelions in the grass. It felt more like a summer day and I half forgot
already about school and homework.

“Why are we going into the woods?” Gabriel asked, sounding more
curious than concerned. He had his arms up over his head, resting his forearms
on top of his hair. With his arms up, his shirt lifted to reveal the red edge
of his boxers above the hem of his jeans and a little bit of his tan skin at
his hip.

“I promised to take Sang,” Nathan said. He leaned into me to
whisper close to my ear. “I really needed to get out of the house.”

“No worries,” I whispered back. I didn’t mind. We’d been cooped up
at school and with hiding from my parents at home.

“Stop talking about me,” Gabriel whined. When I looked back, he
was pouting but as he caught my eyes he winked and smiled.

We stood at the edge of Kota’s yard. The trees behind his house
thinned out at one spot and there was a brown dirt path between two palm trees
that crossed above our heads. The palm trees seemed out of place to me. I
forgot how far south my family had moved sometimes.

Nathan led the way under the two trees. There was a broad, cleared
path just behind the tree line, the ground flattened wide enough to perhaps
make a paved road in the future. Or maybe someone had wanted to but changed
their minds and left the spot abandoned. The grass was overgrown, up to our
mid-calves.

Nathan headed east and was lifting his knees to crunch down on the
grass. I wished I had worn jeans this time, but I fell behind him so I could
follow along in his trail. Luke shadowed me. Gabriel blazed his own trail to my
right.

“Hey wait up!” A girl’s voice shouted from behind us. My heart
stopped in my chest. For a moment I was worried it was Marie.

Instead, Jessica was running up, following Gabriel’s trail in. The
edge of her glasses had fogged a little and her cheeks flushed.

“What’s she doing?” Nathan asked, wiping his hand against his
cheek.

“Maybe she wanted to come along,” I said.

“I don’t know about that,” Nathan said. “I didn’t think she was
the outdoor type.”

“She can go, can’t she? It’s Kota’s sister. Let her come.” I had a
warm spot for anyone in Kota’s family. They were always so friendly to me.
“Hey,” I called to her. “You wanted to come with us?”

She slowed when she got close. She was wearing khaki pants and a
rose colored blouse that suited her shoulder length dark hair. She glanced at
the guys, hesitating.

I wondered if she was as intimidated as I felt when I was around
them. I smiled to her and stretched my hand out. I knew I had to make an effort
to be friendlier. It felt a lot easier with Jessica. Maybe because she looked
like Kota and she was younger. “Come on,” I said.

She reached out to take my hand and I helped her over until she
was standing behind me.

We set off again, letting Nathan lead the way. At certain points
the grass was up to our thighs. With Nathan’s persistence, we weaved our way
through.

We soon got to a part where the grass had thinned out
considerably. The main path curved northward. There was a small dirt road to
the right that twisted away, shaded in an archway of walnut trees.

Nathan pointed to the dirt road. “Don’t go back there,” he warned.
“There’s a big pile of sawdust they never came back to clear. That’s pretty
much it. It’s dangerous so stay out of it.” He glanced back at me, making his
point clear. He was specifically telling me. I hid an eye roll at his
assumption that I would do anything dangerous on purpose.

Since the grass was short here, it was easier to walk beside each
other. The boys moved ahead of us and Jessica and I tailed them. They hovered
at the entryway to the dirt road, talking about a good way to post a sign or
block it so no one would go in there. Academy boys were always working.

I struggled with something to talk to Jessica about. There was
little I actually knew about her other than being related to Kota. We’d been so
busy that I didn’t have a chance to get to know her when I was over at Kota’s.
I forced my lips apart to start talking. “How do you like your school,
Jessica?”

“It’s okay,” she said. “I wish we didn’t have to wear uniforms.”

I blinked at her. “Do you go to a private school?”

“Yes,” she said. “Not to the Academy though.”

“Why not the Academy?”

“Kota won’t let me.”

I perked up. He didn’t want his own sister going, just like he
didn’t want me going. “Why not?”

She shrugged. “I don’t think I want to go anyway. They are always
working and always at the school. They never get a real break. They’re there
during the summer, too. I like school, but not that much.”

I struggled with the idea of Kota not allowing his own little
sister to go to the school he went to. Was it because of the things they were
doing now? Was getting beaten up and being subjected to crazy situations like
helping Ashley Waters a requirement? I wondered how the others felt. They
hadn’t objected to Kota’s request.

Crunching sounds and voices filtered to my ears, noises that
didn’t belong to us. I wasn’t quite sure where it was coming from. The guys
continued to argue about what to do and didn’t seem to have noticed.

“Guys,” I said softly.

Luke was saying something about a barn. “Let’s show it to her.”

“There could be wasps,” Nathan said. “I don’t want to take her
there until I’ve had a chance to clear it out.”

“Guys...” The sound of footfalls was getting closer but I still
couldn’t locate the direction.

“Sang doesn’t want to see some old barn,” Gabriel said. He
splashed some of his water in his face. “Let’s go swim.”

“Guys!”

They all turned to me. I held a finger to my lips to indicate they
should be quiet.

Once they stopped talking, they caught on to what I was hearing.
Their heads turned but it was Nathan who turned around, looking down the dirt
path.

We watched as Derrick emerged from further down the dirt path. He
was wearing jean shorts and Converse high tops, but was shirtless. Following
him were two boys who looked to be about Jessica’s age. One had straight blond
hair cut to his shoulders, was gangly, and shorter than Jessica. The other one
had dark curly hair, was thin but taller than her and deeply tan.

We stared at each other for a moment. Both groups seemed surprised
the other one was there.

“Hey,” Derrick said, waving.

“Hey,” Nathan said. “What are you doing back there? It’s
dangerous.”

“We were checking the surrounding woods to see if there was more
than one saw dust pile,” said the blond. His face was pale, his eyes dark and
he wore jean cutoff shorts and a white t-shirt and glasses. I couldn’t be sure
but it looked like he was scowling.

“Who’s that?” shouted the curly haired kid asked. He pointed to
me. He was shirtless and wearing camo shorts that looked ripped and old. His
ribs stuck out. He wasn’t sickly, just thin.

“That’s Sang,” Nathan said. “She’s with the family that moved into
the new house.”

“Yeah,” Derrick said, his dark eyes lighting up. “Are we allowed
to come over and play basketball yet?”

I blushed. I glanced at the others. Little did he know he couldn’t
ever come over.

“We’re working on it,” Nathan said, his hand finding mine and he
squeezed gently. “Her mom’s a little shy.”

Relief washed over me. At least they weren’t going to tell
everyone about what happened.

“I know. Her sister mentioned it,” he said. He pointed toward
where we had come from. “You all heading this way?”

“We were thinking of seeing where this main path ends,” Nathan
said, nodding his head in the opposite direction.

“There’s nothing out there,” Derrick said. “It goes on for about
two miles and then cuts off against a line of trees.”

Nathan looked disappointed. “Why build this thing in the middle of
nowhere?”

“Why clear out the trees and leave that saw dust hazard?” Derrick
asked and shrugged. “Who knows? They probably meant to make more developments
but ran out of money.”

We started heading back the way we came. I wondered why Derrick
wasn’t part of their circle. They seemed friendly enough with each other and he
was our age.

The younger boys were talking to each other in hushed voices.

“Who are the other two,” I asked Jessica quietly.

“The blond is Micah and the dark haired guy is Tom,” she said.
“They live in the houses across the highway.”

“Do they go to your school?”

“No, they go to the public school.” Her eyes kept drifting to
them. “They don’t really like me, though.”