Chapter 1
I let loose an annoyed snarl as the roaring in my left ear began again. Cursing, I rubbed my earlobe, as if it would cure the problem. But it wouldn't. I bit my lip and glanced around the cluttered kitchen that was in need of a good sweeping. Rowan had already left for work, and Kevin and Sadie were still in DC. This meant that I'd have to call Daisy for a ride. It was depressing to rely on others to drive me around. But what could I do? I was a seventeen year old without a clean bill of health. But it felt tempting to hop into a car, roll down the windows, and speed on the highway. Thinking of the wind smacking against my face alone made me wish that I was careless enough to put others in danger. But then I reminded myself that causing a pile up on the highway because I passed out would have sucked. I had to stop thinking about driving. What did it matter that I didn’t have a car? Cars were unnecessary because I lived in Clearwood, a town that bordered Boston. That’s what Uncle Calvin said every time I showed so much of a hint of frustration about the situation.
The doorbell rang, shoving me into action. I nearly tripped over my feet on my way to the door. When I pulled it open, I had to leap back to avoid the hurricane that entered my house.
“Hey, Lena,” Cora greeted, her eyes red and puffy. Crap, what’s she doing here? It was too early to deal with Cora Lynch. But I had to go to school somehow. When I wasn’t dizzy, I walked the five blocks to school. Along with the dizziness, my head felt heavy atop my spine, as if it were the weight of a wrecking ball.
“Cora… I…”
“Pat and I broke up.” Her thin shoulders shook, and her auburn hair started sticking to her tear soaked face. Cora fell into one of the oak kitchen chairs that surrounded the island. She put her head in her hands and I knew that we were going to be in my house for a while. She needed me. I yanked some napkins from the flower patterned napkin holder and handed her some.
“What happened?” Please don’t tell me what happened. Just cry silently so that the pounding in my head can decrease.
“We are no longer speaking to Daisy," she sniffled. I patted her shoulder in a way that said, “of course we are going to talk to Daisy. You two have fights every week.” This was exhausting. I needed to sit down, but didn’t dare.
“What happened?”
“I mean it, Lena. We aren’t speaking to Daisy.” Something in Cora’s tone alerted me to trouble. She was serious this time.
“Why?” I stayed calm not bothering to argue that I could speak to whomever I wanted. Daisy had been my best friend since I moved here. Cora and I had a symbiotic relationship, she vented to me and I got driven places. The fact that she was trying to ruin a process that had worked for years irked me. Then again, any type of change pissed me off. That tended to happen when you were abandoned as a child.
“She hooked up with Pat behind my back. I…” Her quiet crying turned into full on sobbing. “My best friend just stole my boyfriend.” She had a point. Talking to Daisy would be tricky, but I wasn’t ready to toss our friendship away just yet. Maybe, Cora would find another boyfriend and move on.
“When did all of this happen?” I asked.
“Last night at Jen Waverly’s party.” She paused and looked up at me with horror in her misty green eyes. My friends were cheerleaders, which meant that they often were invited to parties that I wasn’t. On that night, I wanted to go to a movie, then go back to my house and eat the home made French onion soup that my cousin Rowan had slaved over. But my two BFF’s both ditched saying that they had a lot of homework.
“So you two lied to me?” It made sense why they had to lie if they didn’t want me at the party. But why did they bother? I wouldn’t have gone if they invited me. When someone had seizures, fainting spells, or became nauseous at the drop of a hat, parties were the worst place to be. Something wasn’t right.
“It was only for cheerleaders. I…”
“Go on with the story.” I was starting to lose patience. To busy myself, I slipped into my black peacoat and wool gloves that were slung over the back of one of the chairs. It was the beginning of October, and the weather had been unusually cold. I considered grabbing my scarf, which was in my bedroom, but it wasn’t worth the effort.
“They were making out in Jen’s room,” Cora said as she took the hint and followed me out of the house. She stepped aside so that I could lock up, and my hands shook so badly that I kept missing the keyhole. Cora snatched the keys from my grip, shoved me aside, and locked it. After she slipped the keys into my coat pocket, we made our way down the stairs. Our destination was the pale pink house across the street. Her Ford was parked in the driveway.
“What did you do when you caught them?” I asked, but the squeal of tires distracted Cora. A sleek burgundy hummer pulled up to the curb, and the passenger side window lowered. Christina Johnson, a girl with a hawk-like face and a large rack, peered out of the window.
“Get in, Cora.” Her order made me frown, merely because Cora had been my ride to school.
“Sure,” she answered. Oh crap, it didn’t seem like I was invited. A glare from Cristina validated my fears.
“Cora, I thought that you were giving me a ride to school,” I softly told her. Her eyes flashed with anger, and she glared at me.
“Find your own way to school, Lena. I’m not responsible for you.” Oh no, she didn’t. My face muscles were protesting, but I still managed to glare. With my head held high, I quickly went around the front of the car and jaywalked. As soon as I began walking down the sidewalk, my foot caught on something, and I tumbled to the ground. I tossed out my hands to catch my fall and was fortunate to be wearing gloves. But making sure that I didn’t have a make out session with the concrete took a lot out of me. I ended up sitting on the cold sidewalk and watched as the Hummer flew down the street, disappearing after a sharp turn. My heart was racing, and I felt nauseous. If I were a normal kid, this would have been a sign that read “stay the hell home.” Since this was an everyday occurrence, I only missed on the rare days that the migraines were so bad that it hurt to breathe. Deciding that I should get a move on before I was late for home room, I picked myself off the ground, dust myself off, and began walking to school.
The first three blocks were troublesome but bearable. Many of the students on that block either took the bus or had cars, so I didn’t have much company. Taking the school bus wasn’t an option for me. If I needed to puke, I could hardly tell the driver to stop and wait for me while I got sick on the sidewalk.
“Are you all right?” someone shouted. I was one block away from school, and sweat was literally pouring down my face. “Lena, are you all right?” I jerked in surprise and stared at the person that was talking to me. Though, it was difficult to bring him into focus. He was really blurry and my eyes were stinging from my demands to make them work. I blinked once, twice, a third time, and my vision cleared enough for me to see an outline of a car idling by the curb. Where had the speaker gone? I promptly lost my balance for the second time in ten minutes. This time, someone caught me before I suffered a terrible landing. I gasped in surprise and shot out of my savior’s hold. When the surprise I felt turned into curiosity I swallowed and slowly straightened and turned to face the person that saved me from colliding with a trash can. He was a complete stranger.
“How do you know my name?” I asked, confused.
“You’re welcome,” he teased, his blue eyes twinkling with familiarity.
“Oh, um, thank you… I…”
“You volunteer at the community center. I was the one who printed the new access passes.” He remembered my face from a session printing ID’s? Most people would have been disturbed by that fact. But I felt calm around the stranger, as if I was sure that he wouldn’t harm me.
“It’s amazing that you remembered my name.” Compared to the busty volunteers that wore low cut shirts to get better assignments I was nothing special. My frame was delicate and I had a round face and dark eyes that were too big. My skin was my bes
t feature. It was a beautiful medium brown without a single blemish. The stranger was exceptional. His eyes were blue, his raven hair falling into ringlets, and his skin was the color of copper. He was probably six feet tall and despite the weather, he wore a black t-shirt, black jeans, and black boots. His eyes were the only soft thing about him.
“I have a good memory. You go to Clearwood High, right?”
“Yes.”
“Want a ride?”
“Um…”
“It’s my first day. I’m a senior.” He announced in a dreadful tone. It was obvious that he was the type that hated school.
“Um. I’m a senior too,” I mumbled.
“Lena, it’s all right.” I was suddenly very tired. I blinked and nearly tumbled again, but the boy wrapped an arm around my shoulders and hustled me to the car. I stared in wonder at the black Beamer.
“You must be rich.” The words came out in a yawn.
“It depends on the day,” the stranger said before helping me into the back seat.
“Guys, this is Lena. Lena, these are my brothers Calim and Ryan.” A man with bright red hair and gray eyes peered at me from the driver’s seat. They must be adopted. My cousins Rowan and Kevin were adopted, and I often had to explain why they looked nothing like me to plenty of curious people. My Aunt and Uncle did have one biological son, Jeff, who left home before I moved in with his parents. He was a cop in New York City.
“I’m Ryan,” Another boy said from the front seat. His skin was a shade darker than mine and he had a fro.
“Hi. Thanks for the ride, Calim.”
“You’re welcome, Lena.” He pulled away, and I rested my aching head on the window. The cool glass combined with the smooth ride made me drift off. A gentle shake of my shoulders jolted me awake.
“Um… Uh…” I glanced around and realize that I had just fallen asleep in a stranger’s car. My brain told me that sleeping in a stranger’s car was a stupid thing to do. But the calm I felt outweighed the logic. I glanced out of the window, and relief filled me when I noticed that we were in front of the two story brick high school.
“We let you sleep for a few minutes,” Calim explained. I peered at the dash, relieved that there was still ten minutes before the bell rang.
“You snore,” the boy beside me pointed out and I glared at him.
“No, I don’t.” My denial was lame because I snored like a car without a muffler. But I wasn’t about to admit that. It was too embarrassing. He chuckled.
“Since we’re new, do you mind showing us around?” Ryan asked, in a hopeful tone. I forgetting that he couldn’t see me nodded, and that’s when it occurred to me that my headache was gone. In fact, so was the roaring in my ears and the dizziness. Something about that made me uneasy. It often took hours for the symptoms to retreat. “Well?” Ryan asked, distracting me.
“Sure,” I responded before getting out of the car. I felt great when the frigid air slapped my face. As soon as Ryan and the ill-dressed boy joined me on the sidewalk, Calim waved at us and drove off. Ryan wasn’t as small as I first estimated. He must have been slouching because he was a foot taller than me. I was five feet, which probably wasn’t saying much. It seemed like everyone towered over me. I pushed through the crowd of hyper students and walked up the stairs and through the doors, nodding at people that acknowledged me and trying not to look for Daisy Sanchez. She would have flirted with Ryan or the stranger for the fact that their brother drove an expensive car. Daisy was also a cheerleader, but Cora’s popularity exceeded hers. I rushed into the main office, gesturing to Mrs. Franklin, a plump woman with thinning black hair who sat behind a desk piled high with folders. I smiled and said, “This is Mrs. Franklin. She’ll get you everything you need.” The boys nodded at me, and I scurried away, wanting to get rid of my gloves and coat before the bell for homeroom rang. Daisy’s locker was beside mine, and I wasn’t surprised to see her there, staring at me, her foot tapping anxiously.
“I didn’t make out with Pat. He forced himself on me and Cora happen to walk in. But she won’t listen to me,” Daisy firmly said. Figures, a big misunderstanding. I stored my stuff in my locker, packed my bag for the day, and rushed over to Daisy and gave her a tight hug. My head only reached her shoulder, and my friend was curvy and very developed. I didn’t want my face to be squashed against her boobs, which happened whenever she initiated a hug. I pulled away and smiled at her.
“I knew that you were innocent. You would never have done that to Cora. She’s your best friend,” I lied. I hadn’t at all been concerned about her innocence. But Daisy didn’t need to know that.
“No. You and Sadie are my best friends. Cora and I are over.” Sadie was a sassy girl with a feisty attitude. And she was most certainly not Daisy’s best friend. Sadie couldn’t stand her. After the hug ended, Daisy gently tugged on my peasant top, straightening it. She frowned down at me, her dark eyes growing concerned.
“How are you feeling, Lena?”
“Great!” There was no need to worry her. Besides, what was I supposed to say? “I’m disturbed by the fact that my symptoms went away so quickly? Not likely.
“Really?” Her eyes narrowed in suspicion, but the corridors began to fill with hordes of students heading to homeroom and we rushed to the cafeteria and signed in with Mrs. Stern. She was a short pixy- like woman who had the curse of having sign in duty. For seniors, homeroom was unassigned seating, so Daisy and I chose a table near the back. The girls sitting there automatically stood and rushed off to a new table. In fact, it seemed that all of the girls around us gave us the stink eye before relocating. The guys didn’t care; they weren’t the catty species. Daisy, who was fun loving and enjoyed talking to people let out a soft whimper.
“Everyone freezing her out was beginning to be too much. Jerome Campbell, the quarterback of the football team, swaggered over to us. He was followed by Tommy Williams, his sidekick.
“Daisy,” he began, in a soft, rich tone. He was hot with chocolate brown skin, deep brown eyes, and a smile that flipped stomachs. “Want to go for a drive? I’m in the mood to get lucky.” Jerome was the kindest person I knew. So his comment through me off. Daisy put her head down, as people with in ear shot began staring at us. I was unsure of a good comeback. So I settled on my go to. “Daisy’s not that desperate,” I responded, which made a few people chuckle. Jerome smiled at me, as if entertained by my words.
“Good one,” his sidekick laughed and they walked away. That message was abundantly clear. People were siding with Cora. No wonder Cora had made her way to my house on that morning. She wanted to tell me what happened in hopes that I would also side with her. Had she not made the last comment about not being responsible for giving me a ride, I would have.
Homeroom went on painfully slow. It was as if time had tripled in length. Everyone glared at my friend, pointed at her, or whispered. But as soon as it was over, we linked arms and traversed the crowd of gossiping students. I had honors English while Daisy had chemistry, so we parted. As soon as I walked into the classroom, I went to the seat closest to the door, in case I got sick. I would have thought that Mr. Adams was thoughtful for assigning this particular seat if he hadn’t explained his logic in front of the class at the beginning of the year. I pulled out my notebook, having the feeling that this was going to be one of the most boring lectures of the day. Ten minutes into the old man’s class, I regretted not playing hooky. I forced myself to take notes on the various themes in “Othello” and silently hoped that we got past the Shakespeare unit, quickly. The door opened with a creek, and I glanced up and smiled at the guy who had caught me when I fell. He glanced at me, his blue eyes looking relieved to see a familiar face. He sat beside me. People stared, and Mr. Adams cleared his throat, annoyed.
“Elias Hayden?” he asked, glaring at the newcomer. Instead of answering, Elias simply nodded, and the old man went on with his lecture. After class, I packed my bag, and Elias stood. He didn’t even have any notebooks wi
th him. He glared down at the thick English Literature textbook that he was forced to carry.
“Ready for Spanish?” he asked.
“How did you know I had that class?”
“We have every class together,” Elias responded as we walked down the hallway.
“How did you know that?” This guy was seriously starting to creep me out.
“Because Mr. King told me. He said, Jessalena Lake is an awesome person. You should get to know her. She is an exemplary student.” His impression made me chuckle. Mr. King was the vice principal and sounded exactly like Mickey Mouse. I wasn’t sure why. But at least the man was kind and always gave out candy. We pass my locker on the way to class and I abruptly paused, causing the person behind me to slam into my back. Elias caught me before I fell.
“Is this your locker?” he asked softly. Speaking was made impossible because the overwhelming anger that I felt burned me. I wanted to shout, punch someone, and maybe rip out Cora’s pretty red hair because I knew that she was behind this terrible act. I glanced over at Daisy’s locker and saw the same word spray painted on it. “Slut!” It was evident that I had chosen the wrong side.
“Suddenly, I tore my eyes away from the hateful words and glanced up at Elias. When our eyes connected, the anger fled me. I felt as calm as could be. Cora pulled this stunt because she knew that starting a false rumor about me wouldn’t have been effective. It wasn’t like people took an interest in me. I could just go to class, hold my head up high, and just hope that this day would go on without a hitch. Maybe, I could survive it. Everything would be all right. I believed that up until Elias pulled his gaze from mine. Then I felt a terrible sense of foreboding that didn’t settle well in my stomach. It wasn’t like I was afraid of silly girls with spray paint. Something else was going to happen. I felt that in my core. And I knew with certainty that it had nothing to do with the bullying that I was scheduled to receive.