Twisted Proposal (29 page)

              “You’re right,” he said. “I guess I’ll head out now. See you soon then?”

              I nodded and didn’t move until he left. Grabbing the box, I threw the bow back inside and stripped off the dress. I didn’t care about his gifts or his attention.
Why couldn’t he leave me be?

Hanging up the dress up, I wished again that my mother hadn’t bailed on me when I was five. Would she be proud of me now? Would she even care? Wiping the tears from my eyes with my night shirt, I started on my homework and didn’t stop until 2:00 a.m.

The next day, Carli was waiting for me as promised and critiqued me immediately. She pulled me to the bathroom to fix my hair the way she wanted it. Then she applied make-up to hide the bags under my eyes and rearranged my shirt so that the first couple of buttons were unfastened. She fixed up Kristin's look next. I wanted to leave but saw how important it was to Kristin, so I stayed, trying not to roll my eyes at Carli's asinine behavior.

That night I went to my first cheerleading practice and introduced myself to the rest of the team, who pretended to like me. As I watched them, I couldn’t imagine ever being a part of something so ridiculous.

              Carli took me home after practice and invited herself to dinner. Lexus seethed the entire time; at least, Carli kept Stuart busy by talking about her father’s business. She left shortly after, and I dug into another grueling night of homework.

I didn’t know how much longer I could do this. I kept telling myself things would get easier when I got caught up, but that never seemed to happen. It was like I was always at least a chapter behind. By the end of the first week, I had written well over fifty pages of notes, five papers, and completed at least twenty worksheets.

Then it was like everything hit warp speed and before I knew it, three weeks had passed, and I was officially a Briarwood student, and popular at that. Every day after school I went with Carli to cheer practice or to the mall. And on the weekends she’d talk me into going to parties or to her house for slumber parties, which usually consisted of her trash-talking about guys or doing home pedicures and manicures, and eating a ton of junk. It was rather time-consuming, and I spent most of my visits with her wishing I were somewhere else.

Hanging out with Zach was pushed to the weekends. We would go to the recreation center with his friends and play soccer, or I would help him with whatever project he had due. It was fun, and I enjoyed every minute. Lexus was still the biggest drama queen ever. Any time she could rub her relationship with Stuart in my face, she did. Stuart fell for her antics every time. But it just reminded me that I was here as a means to get to college. Then I would be free. I was counting the days.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

“Where does Carli go after school on Tuesdays?” I asked Kristen one day when we were lounging poolside at my house.

“She’s a JADE. That’s when they have their meetings.”

“What’s a JADE?”

“I don’t really know, but I know it’s important. Some woman started it a long time ago. Anyway it’s only the most prestigious secret groups in town. They have these meetings and it’s like…” She paused, as Lexus sauntered by with a few of her friends. They acted like we didn’t even exist. I mocked her, and Kristen laughed.

“No. Really, though. My parents would love if I became one. I don’t know how they choose you or anything.”

“Why?”

“Well, because…you get to have a say on most every decision made at Briarwood. There are parties, gifts, and of course, the recognition.”

It sounded stupid to me.
What kind of person would set something like that up?
I definitely didn’t want to be a JADE, but where else had I heard about it? A memory tugged at me, making me uneasy.

“Oh and whatever you do, don’t ask Carli about it. She’ll deny she’s a part of it, but she wears the necklace.”

“That green thing?” I remembered seeing one somewhere, but from where?

“Yeah, it’s so cute!” she squealed, and I splashed her.

When she left, I returned to my room and locked the door. Then pulled out Elizabeth’s keepsake box and found the necklace with the green jewel.
So Elizabeth was a JADE?
That didn’t make any sense. I put it back and decided not to say anything to Carli about it. I’m she already knew about it.

              The landline rang, interrupting my thoughts.

“Did you have to tell my father I drugged you?” Jackson complained in my ear as soon as I answered.

“Uh, I told Stuart and it was like a month ago.”
Why was he bringing this up? That was forever ago. It was as if time had stopped for him.

“You pulled a knife on your dad. You were delusional.”

              “I was not delusional. I was just pissed. There’s a difference.”

“Well, I hope you never pull a knife on me.”

              “Don’t piss me off in the kitchen, and we won’t have a problem.”  He hung up.
Well
, that
was random.

I walked through the trashed bathroom and knocked on Lexus’s door. We hadn’t talked for a while. She opened the door with a frown on her face.  Her eyes were lined with at least a half inch of black eye liner, and she’d chosen a bright red lipstick to smear on her mouth. She was a hot mess.

“Can I borrow your makeup? I ran out,” I lied.

              She sighed. “I guess.” She strode into the bathroom. “Are you having dinner at the Van Buren’s tonight?”
              “Not tonight.”

              “I’m not mad at you anymore,” she said before disappearing into her room.
Gee, it was nice talking to you too?
I changed into a pair of jogging pants and shirt.

“Stuart, can I go for a jog?” I asked as I entered the living room, where Zach and he were watching a football game on the big screen.

“That’s fine. Be back in a few hours.” He didn’t even look up.

I ran to the park, and Kevin was sitting in the same swing. When he saw me, he got up to leave.

“Wait, please,” I called, but he continued walking, so I sprinted in front of him. “Give me a chance to explain myself.”

“There’s nothing for you to explain. You’re one of them now. Don’t think I haven’t seen you in your private school uniform or hanging out with that skank, Carli.’

I didn’t know what to say. He was right. I
was
one of them now.

“You can’t just come around here and use me whenever your boyfriend doesn’t call.”

“It’s not like that.”

“Then what is it like, Addison, because I’ve spent the last three weeks waiting for you to show up again. I even tried calling, but my all of my calls were rejected.”

Instead of saying anything, I hugged him tight and begged him not to go.  He returned the hug, and I started to cry.

“Look, I’m sorry,” he said, and I backed away. “Come on. Let’s talk.” He led me to the swings. “Now, what is really wrong?”

“What isn’t? My dad’s crazy, and I’m the messed-up result of a one-night stand.”

“That blows.”

              “No joke.”

We didn’t talk, just shared a joint, and he dropped me off at home. I promised to keep in touch this time by sending e-mails or text messages if I ever got a new phone. He didn’t care, which was nice. I went to bed that night the most relaxed I’d been since starting Briarwood.

Jackson was waiting outside the school on Friday and Carli, of course, thought he was there for her and immediately climbed inside. I chatted with Kristen and waited to see if I needed to call Stuart for a ride. Minutes later, Carli flew from the car, her face bright red.

“He’s here for you, Addison,” she informed me.

“Why?” I glanced around her to gaze at him. He was staring intently at his steering wheel, obviously upset.

“I don’t know. He’s
your
boyfriend.” She pulled Kristin after her.

This was not how I wanted to start my weekend, but I walked over and opened the car door, expecting to hear loud music, but silence greeted me.

I slid in and he peeled off, even before I shut the door. I started to say something, but the tightness in his jaw stopped me. Instead, I put my seat belt on and waited.

Eventually he turned the radio on, and I began to relax.
Maybe he just needed to vent or something
. I knew he’d just returned from another trip to Europe with his father on business.
Maybe it didn’t go as planned.

He veered off the road and onto a narrow dirt road in the middle of the woods. Part of me wanted to ask where we were going, but I didn’t want to make the situation worse. Ten minutes later, he killed the car and exited.
What were we doing here?
There was nothing but trees around. Nothing screamed modern civilization.

I regretted again having thrown my phone out the window. While Jackson sat on the hood on the car smoking a cigarette, I tapped the GPS system on the dashboard. It glowed to life. We were on some street called Polluck Road, which was about three miles outside of town. It made no sense. Opening my door, I cautiously approached him. “Jackson, where are we?” He didn't answer, so I cleared my throat. "Excuse me, but why are we here?"

He slid off the car, stubbed out his cigarette and walked over to me. Without a word, he grabbed my arms and slammed me back into the side of the car. “Are you trying to embarrass me?”

My breath rushed from my lungs. I fought off a surge of terror. “What are you talking about now?”

“You hanging out with that juvenile delinquent at the park smoking drugs.”

“He’s not a delinquent and pot relaxes me, you should try it. It’s better than that shit you snort.”

He slapped me hard across the face, and I stared back at him. He had a deranged look in his eyes. The same look Elizabeth’s ex-boyfriend had the night he beat me up for money. I needed to get lost and fast.

He backed away. “I went out on a limb for you, put my family’s reputation on the line. I-I vouched for you!” He paced back and forth in front of me.

He was acting totally nuts. Glancing around, I spotted a dirt path up a little ways and took off running for it, hoping I would see some sign of life or find someone who could help.

Jackson tackled me from behind, knocking me to the ground. My right knee scraped on something sharp. A rock? I pushed down with my hands, trying to rise, but in seconds I was flipped flat on my back, Jackson's knees pressing me into the dirt. He punched me across the face, and I returned a punch to his stomach. His hands closed around my wrists like a vise, and he yanked my arms above my head. I couldn’t move or breathe. I tasted copper in my mouth and was pretty sure he had broken my nose or busted my lip.
Heck, he probably did both, given the pain in my face.

“You are such a brat,” he yelled at me, but I don’t think it was about me. He was looking at me, but it was like he wasn’t seeing me. “All I ever do is try to please you,” he said. Then he hit me again.

“Jackson, stop!” I shouted, but he didn’t hear me and bent my left hand backwards until it made a sickening cracking noise.

I howled at the top of my lungs, and he jumped away from me as if suddenly aware he’d been pounding on me.

“Don’t see him again and no more drugs,” he demanded.

“My wrist. You …My grades. You just ….” Pain shot up my wrist as I tried to flex my fingers. Holding my injured arm up, I lurched to my feet and fled toward the car crying.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“I need to go to the hospital.” Tears clouded my vision, and I kept tripping over damn tree roots.

He jerked my hair, pulling me back. “Do you honestly think I would let you go looking like this?”

“Leave me alone, Jackson, please.” I struggled to escape, but he pushed me down. My knees folded under me. “Stop it,” I yelled at him and tried again to rise. Another shove. We were staggering around like a pair of drunken dancers, except I was in unendurable pain, and I knew he would kill me if I didn’t escape. I spied a large rock embedded in the dirt. Hooking my good hand around the stone, I launched it at his head just as he punched me in the side.  His body slumped to the side, and he fell to the ground.

As I jolted to his car, I realized I didn’t have any keys, so I ran back to him and rummaged through his pockets to find his car keys. For good measure I took his cell phone, too. It took me almost five minutes to start the car. The engine kept dying because my good hand was shaking so hard when I turned the key.

Jackson still hadn’t moved. Driving stick one-handed sucked, but I launched the car into reverse and wheeled out there, a spray of dirt fanning behind me.

I drove straight to Kevin’s house and called him from outside. His father’s car was in the lot. I prayed he’d answer.

“Addison, how’s it going?” he asked.

“Where are you?” My voice choked.

“Home.”

Thank God.
“I need you right now. I’m parked out front.” I hung up in case someone was tracing the call. Seconds later, he was knocking on the glass. I unlocked the door and he got in.

“What the hell happened to you?”

“I can’t tell you, but can you take me somewhere. I need help.”

“You look like you need to go to a hospital.”

“Yes.” We switched places so he could drive. I rested against the car door and didn’t look up again until I saw the blue glow of the “Emergency” sign reflected in the window.

The doctor didn’t ask too many questions about what had happened. Kevin hinted that he’d rescued me from an abusive boyfriend but said I refused to press charges. My wrist was broken in three places. And I had a chipped tooth, a couple of broken ribs, and abrasions on my knee. They set my hand in a cast, wrapped my abdomen, cleaned up my cuts, and then sent me home with pain pills along with several crisis hotlines. 

“I can’t go home. Take me someplace safe, a cheap motel will do,” I managed.

He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. “What about the car? If somebody puts a search on the license plate, they’ll find you.”

“Sell it. Dump it. I don’t care.”

Kevin helped me fall into bed in a motel on the outskirts of town and left. He promised to check in later. The pain kills kicked in, and for the next couple of hours, I was out.   

When he returned, he had some stronger stuff and handed me a couple.

“Now are you going to tell me what happened?” He held the glass of water so I could take a sip. It tasted like chlorine, and my mouth ached around the broken tooth.

“No, you don’t need to know. But thank you so much for helping me out.” I closed my eyes and let the pills do their work.

***

              When I woke up, Kevin was watching television and drinking a beer.

              “Some guy keeps calling the cell. He’s left a bunch of messages.”

He tossed me the phone.

I tried to clear my head, but that was impossible to do with the game blaring. I knew Kevin wanted answers, and I would no doubt have to give them to him at some point. I went to the bathroom and sat on the closed toilet seat.

I pulled up the screen. The number belonged to Mr. Van Buren. I hit the “return call” button. 

              “Where’s my son?” he asked smoothly.

              “His favorite spot where he likes to beat women.” I flipped on the light and grimaced at my reflection. My right eye was swollen shut, and my lip looked like I had a bee sting.

“Can you be more specific?”

“Yeah, but it’s going to cost you.”

              “How much?”

              “I want him to stay away from me. Far away. “