Unbound (13 page)

“Night.” I’m glad that was over with. Marie is one of my best friends and I love her to death, but sometimes she makes me want to slap her. Hard.

Chapter 4 Money Talks

“Why is everyone staring at me?” I asked Laney while we walked to photography.

“I don’t think they are.” She looked around. “Ok, maybe a few of them are, like that guy over there.” She nodded towards a small red head that I’ve never met before.

“Told you. Is there anything on my face or something?”

Laney looked me up and down. “You look fine, I promise.”

We sat down next to each other at a large wooden table. Almost everyone was looking at me, and I could hear them whispering. Maybe I was being paranoid, but I felt the same thing in my previous class.

“Ok, now this is weird,” Laney said.

I nodded in agreement. But before we could discuss the cause further, Mr. Jancovich began talking about our photo projects. The one I liked the best was a project to take pictures of something old. We would be graded on our creativity and of course the quality of the photo. Though it wasn‘t due until right before Thanksgiving, I wanted to get started on it right away. It would have to wait though; it was bleak and cloudy today and I wanted good lighting.

Jewelry class was full of whispers and stares too. I was truly starting to feel like a circus freak. Econ wasn’t any better. Luke kept looking at me like he wanted to say something.

“What?” I asked, tired of his unspoken question.

“Have you seen your brother today?”

“Of course. I saw him this morning, why?”

“No, I meant like, have you seen him at school?”

“Not yet. Why?”

“He told me to tell you that he needs to talk to you.”

“About what?”

“Don’t know. I’m just the messenger.” He spread his hand out in front of him to show that he really didn’t know anything.

“Ok, thanks.”

That was puzzling. I really didn’t like not knowing something. What could Harrison want to talk to me about? Maybe it was about tonight, since his new girlfriend was coming over. I’ll find out soon enough at lunch. The rest of econ drug on for what seemed like two class periods instead of one.
 
When I was finally at my locker, Harrison rushed over.

“They know,” Harrison said.

“Who knows?” I had no idea what he was talking about.

“Everyone.”

“Now who sounds like the crazy one?” I asked.

“I’m serious Annie. Everyone in the whole school knows about you inheriting all the money.”

My mouth fell open. I looked at Laney and saw that she looked just as shocked.

 
“Who did you tell?”

“Just you guys, Marie, Leslie and of course Mom and Dad.” We all exchanged looked and said “Marie” in unison.

“No way,” Laney said. “I know she’s mad at you, but she wouldn’t do that.”

“Unless she told her new boy-toy,” I suggested. “Marie does have a bad habit of trusting everyone she dates.”

“Well, I doubt she did it purposely to hurt you,” Laney said.

“Why are you defending her?” Harrison asked. “She obviously can’t keep a secret.”

“Guys,” I said. “Let’s just go talk to her, ok? And it’s really not that big of a deal. So what? The cat’s out of the money bag. It was only a matter of time anyway.”

Laney and Harrison looked at each other with equally skeptical looks. “If you say so, sis.”

“Yea,” Laney agreed.

Natalie was even more nauseatingly cheerful than normal. If she was in an ass-kissing contest, she would have taken home the grand prize. Marie smiled guiltily as I sat down next to her.

 
“I’m really sorry, Anora. I didn’t know so many people would overhear.” As much as I’d like to make her beg for my forgiveness, I knew it was a good idea to keep my friends close right now.

“All is forgiven.” I smiled. The rest of lunch went by pretty normally. I had to deal with Natalie’s incessant plan making. I guess being really rich made me friend material for her again. At least I could be sure she would be nice to me and anyone I was friends with for the rest of the year. I still had sociology, poetry and American history left. People whispered and pointed, but nobody asked me straight-out what had happened, or if I would confirm the truth, which was so high school. Rumors flew, and instead of finding out the real story, everyone just speculated behind your back. I really wanted today to be over.

***

I saddled up Neptune with lightening speed. I wished I hadn’t wasted so much time arguing with Mom after school about going to Indiana on my own. Now I had to rush to get everything done in time so I could go home and get cleaned up for dinner. Even though I had no reason to want to impress Jenny, I wanted to at least make a good impression. It had started raining, which forced me to ride in the indoor arena. It was big and well lit, but I’d still prefer to ride in the open air. Neptune was well behaved and lazy as always. I brushed her and then Mystery. I had to find Leslie before I left.

                                                                                                                                               
“I’m bringing a surprise up here tomorrow around five,” I told her.

                                                                                                                                               
“What kind of surprise?” she asked.

                                                                                                                                               
“You’ll see!” I said with a smile. “I’ve got to go though, Harry’s bringing his girlfriend over for dinner tonight and he wants me to meet her.”

                                                                                                                                               
“Oh, sounds fun,” Leslie said sarcastically.

                                                                                                                                               
“Oh, it’ll be loads,” I agreed with the same amount of sarcasm.

The worst part about riding in the indoor arena was the dust. Deciding I’d like to not look like a dirty mess when Jenny came over, I quickly showered, dried my hair, and reapplied my makeup. I yanked a shirt off a hanger with too much force; the hanger bounced up and hit an old jewelry box that precariously sat on the top shelf I my closet. I moved out of the way just in time for it to come crashing down, narrowly missing my head.

I scooped up the discarded necklaces and bracelets. Most of this stuff had been sent by Aunt Estelle. Though I knew it really couldn’t hurt her feelings, I felt too guilty to part with it. Instead, they all stayed shoved away in the jewelry box in my closet. I lumped a tangle of necklaces back in the box. The golden glimmer of a stripe of Tiger’s Eye sparked my interest. It was pretty, and the smooth stone felt right in my hand. The chain was tangled. I wasted a few minutes trying to unknot it before I shoved it in my pocket, giving up.

 
I made it down at the table just minutes before Harrison and Jenny walked in. My parents smiled brightly and were super polite. Jenny smiled back and was just as polite. She was small, probably only five two or five three. And she was too thin for my liking. Her dark blonde hair looked like it was her natural color and it was pulled into a ponytail. The green and white ribbons tied around the band told me she was a cheerleader. I was already sitting when she and Harrison sat down.

“You must be Annie,” she spoke softly, her voice high pitched and girly.

“Anora,” I automatically corrected before it dawned on me that Harrison only refers to me as Annie, so she might not have even known that I had a full name. Still, Annie was my nickname, and not just anyone can call you by your nickname. That right has to be earned. “Your necklace is really pretty.” I quickly added, hopefully covering up my bluntness.

“Thanks.” She reached up and touched the large purple gemstone.

“Amethyst?” I asked.

“Yea, it is.” She smiled sweetly.
 
My parents joined us at the table. The conversation was directed at getting to know Jenny. Her parents are Catholics and she went to church almost every Sunday with them. She had an older sister at NYU that she really looked up to. She even organized volunteer work for her cheerleading squad. She seemed like a nice girl, which was a nice change from the girls Harrison usually dates.

“Oh, Harry,” I said rather suddenly. “Is it ok if I ride with you to school on Friday? I’m going right to the airport and I won’t have time to come home.”

“Uh, yea. That’s fine.”

“Where are you going?” Jenny asked as she pushed her salad around on her plate. She ate maybe two bites.

“Indiana,” I said a bit hesitantly. Before Jenny could ask any more questions Harry switched the subject.

“So when do you want to see the horses?”

“Oh, whenever it is fine for your sister. I don’t want to impose,” Jenny said with a smile. I was liking her more and more.

“Anytime next week should be fine,” I told her. Her smile widened.

“That would be wonderful! I’ve always loved horses. They are just so powerful and majestic.”

“They are,” I agreed. After a few more minutes of small talk, I excused myself from the table and went up to my room. I had a lot to do before Friday. I pulled my hair up in a tight pony tail and changed into my pj’s. Tonight I decided to just finish my homework for the rest of the week. I could pack tomorrow. After a few hours I was ready for a break. Plus, Hunter needed to go out. On our way down the hall I could hear Jenny laughing. Hunter growled at the strange noise. I grabbed his collar to lead him down the hall. Harrison’s door was closed. Gross. I walked faster.

It was still rather warm for fall. I took in a deep breath of fresh air and tried to relax. The stress of leaving for the weekend was starting to make me feel anxious. As silly as it sounds, I was worried about leaving the animals. Mystery and Neptune would of course be taken care of, but I would still miss them. Laney and Leslie would give them extra attention too, so they wouldn’t feel neglected. Hunter would be lonely; he’s glued to my side whenever I’m home. Maybe I could convince Harry to let him sleep in his room. But I knew Hunter, too, would be taken care of.

 
It was Romeo that worried me the most. I was worried no one would let him out and that my family would forget about him and not feed him. And I’d really want someone to clean his cage. A whole weekend without cleaning his cage would really make it smell.

Hunter didn’t seem on edge tonight. Oddly, I felt a little disappointed. I didn’t want to admit it to myself, but I wanted to see that ghost-boy again, if that was even what he was. I hopped down the deck stairs and walked towards the back of the yard. It didn’t take long for my bare feet to get cold in the dewy grass, so I decided to go back inside. I suddenly realized how tired I was. I quickly brushed my teeth, washed off my makeup and snuggled into bed.

I’m not normally a screamer. It’s just not a reaction that comes naturally for me. That, and what good does it really do? But when I was almost asleep and felt a cold hand press against my back, screaming seems like a good idea. Several things happened after that.

 
“I can’t keep you hidden for much longer,” the ghost-boy whispered. He looked over his shoulder and then back at me, his eyes so fearful he could have been staring death in the face. Hunter, reacting to my scream, was on high alert and was pacing the room barking a very fierce bark. I reached for my bedside lamp so fast that I accidentally knocked it off my nightstand, causing it to crash loudly on the floor. Harrison ran in first; Mom and Dad came in soon after that.

“Annie!” Harrison yelled as he burst through the door. He knew I wasn’t a screamer and that something must really be wrong. I was shaking. Harrison rushed over and put his hand on my trembling arm. “Are you ok?”

I was still staring at the spot by my bed where the boy had been. I didn’t even remember jumping out of bed, but obviously I had. “He was here, Harry. In my room.”

“Who was here?”

“The boy from before, but I don’t know who he was.”

“Ok.” Harrison didn’t know what else to say.

“Is he here now?”