AN: As promised, the sequel to Can You Save Me is here. I'm still blown away by the response to my first 90210 fic and I hope you all enjoy this as well. As you'll see fairly quickly, Who Will You Run To picks up right where we left our favorite West Bev students and you'll recognize some storylines from the show. Two storylines you won't see are Liam's Insta!Brother Charlie and Teddy coming out. The former because, well, Charlie bores me to tears and while I could probably squeeze him in here somewhere, I really don't want to devote the necessary time to his character. For similar reasons Teddy will not be coming out of the closet. I think they're doing a fine job of it on the show, but again, at its heart, this is an Annie/Liam story and while other characters will play huge roles, I don't want to devote the time required to do justice to Teddy's sexual awakening. ;p Hope that doesn't bother anybody.
If you haven't read Can You Save Me you'll probably be able to follow this just fine, but I think you'll get more out of this if you've read that. Enjoy! M
Who Will You Run To
Chapter 1
The Los Angeles County Courthouse loomed large, filling the entire passenger window of Debbie Wilson's SUV as she pulled up to the curb. Her daughter Annie stared at the building, doing her best to ignore the tendrils of anxiety licking at her stomach. A mere three months ago, she'd been forced to climb the same stone steps and pass through the same glass doors to stand before a judge and relive what had been the most horrific night of her life. Vividly, she recalled the thunderous pounding of her pulse and the phantom vice that had gripped her heart as she'd waited to learn her punishment for the drunken hit and run that had ended a man's life.
So much had changed since then. Annie felt older, wiser and infinitely less alone as she prepared now to face yet another judge. Never in her most vivid nightmares could she have imagined a night worse than the one that left a man dead at her hands, but a month and a half ago, the impossible became reality. Jasper Herman, her lamentable ex-boyfriend, had finally shown his psychotic true colors. Turning the tables on Annie's own plans to bring him down, Jasper had trapped her beneath the Santa Monica Pier at gunpoint; the culmination of a yearlong plot to seek retribution for his uncle, the man she had unwittingly killed. What began as a game of cat and mouse had escalated into an obsession that put Liam Court on the receiving end of a bullet.
Briefly, Annie closed her eyes against the images accompanying the memory. The light beneath the Pier had been dim and yet in her mind the bright red of Liam's blood glowed against his white shirt. Although they'd only officially been a couple for a few days prior to the incident, Annie had already been hopelessly in love with him and every night, when dreams she kept secret forced her to relive the entire horrific experience, her heart stopped at the thought of what could have happened, of losing him. Testifying at Jasper's sentencing and doing her part to ensure he received the harshest punishment possible, promised to be Annie's cathartic revenge. At least…that's what she kept telling herself.
"Are you sure you want to do this alone?" Debbie asked. Annie's eyes fluttered open and she turned to her mother. Concern etched deep lines into the older woman's brow. "My meeting isn't that important. I can cancel. We can drop Dixon off at school and be back here in half an hour."
"Thanks, mom, but no," Annie shook her head and flashed a bright smile. Gripping the door handle and maneuvering awkwardly in her form fitting skirt, she tried to exit the car as close to gracefully as possible. "I'll be okay. I need to…clear my head so some time alone will be good. And anyway, Liam, Silver and Teddy will be here soon."
Dixon was already climbing out of the back seat to switch places with her and he offered her a hand as she stepped down to the sidewalk. "Good luck, sis."
"Yeah, you too," she tried to sound sincere even though the jealousy was practically eating her alive. Wistfully, she watched her brother take her spot up front. "First day of senior year. Have fun for me."
"The first day is always overrated. You're not missing anything," he said with a dismissive wave and flashed a wide grin that made Annie roll her eyes even as she felt her own lips curve. The first day may be overrated, but this marked their last first day and the excitement was palpable. Still, she appreciated Dixon's indifferent façade.
"I'll be back as quick as I can," Debbie promised, checking her mirror for oncoming traffic. Lingering at the curb, Annie watched her family drive away until the SUV disappeared around the corner before turning to face the courthouse. The stone steps stretched upward, appearing to double in length as she stared at the imposing building. The bravado she'd summoned when her family was right there with her wavered. Sending Debbie away suddenly didn't seem like such a bright idea.
Rallying the sheer stubborn will that had led to her current situation, Annie set her jaw and shoved the anxiety aside. The last time she'd been here her own future had been on the line. This time, Jasper was the one in the spotlight. All she had to do was testify to his crimes. In truth, she looked forward to telling the court what had happened that night if it meant her ex-boyfriend would be out of her life permanently.
That 'if', however, was another stab to her confidence and made her stomach turn with nagging doubt. The assistant district attorney in charge of the case had promised that Jasper's confession would lead to more than adequate punishment, but her ex-boyfriend was a master manipulator. If the judge failed to be compelled by her testimony – or that of Liam, Silver and Teddy – Jasper could receive little more than a slap on the wrist. In no time at all he could be free to return to West Beverly High. A chill crept up Annie's spine at the thought of seeing him at school again, feeling him watch her from across the courtyard or around a hallway corner. If things didn't go well and Jasper once again became a part of their lives, it would be all her fault. After all, she was the one who'd killed his uncle in that hit and run and then fallen for his charms when he'd targeted her.
So deeply entrenched in that endless cycle of recrimination, Annie started in surprise upon finding herself at the top of the stairs, mere feet away from the glass doors. Distraction had carried her far, but now her resolve faltered. All the bravery in the world couldn't prepare her to face this alone. Crossing her arms, she shifted nervously from foot to foot and stared at the imposing entrance.
"Annie," Even though she recognized it, the low baritone made Annie jump and whirl around. The seldom worn kitten heeled shoes she'd chosen specifically because they looked responsible and mature, slipped on the smooth stone and she would have fallen if Liam hadn't been quicker. Grasping her shoulder and slipping a strong arm around her waist, he steadied her easily. "Whoa. Hey, I've got you. Everything okay?"
Annie expelled the breath she'd unknowingly been holding and gazed up at her boyfriend. Liam's icy blue eyes that had the ability to cut so deep they drew blood held nothing but concern as they narrowed to study her. All at once she felt both foolish and utterly relieved. Without speaking, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pressed her cheek against the stiff fabric of his suit jacket. Liam needed no further encouragement to return the embrace, slipping a hand beneath her long, loose hair to squeeze gently at the nape of her neck. After a few all too brief moments of sharing his strength, Annie pulled back far enough to meet his eye.
"Everything's fine," she promised, kissing him quickly on the lips. "Now. I'm so glad you're here."
Liam glanced around, but kept his arms securely around her. "I thought your mom was gonna be here."
"She had to go to a meeting and I promised her I'd be okay," she explained, channeling her nervous energy into straightening his collar and tie. "I had the bright idea that I needed some time to myself to collect my thoughts."
He lifted a brow and glanced down at her hands at his collar. "Yeah? How's that going?"
"Oh, fantastic," Annie replied with an eye roll as she forced her hands to be still. "Can't you see how calm and collected I am?"
"Totally," Liam agreed as he guided her toward the entrance with an arm draped over her shoulder. The weight was reassuring and when he opened the door, crossing the threshold into the bustling lobby was easy.
As usual, despite the flurry of activity, the expansive space was oddly quiet. Much to her surprise nothing within had changed. The leather benches scattered about the perimeter still looked deceptively comfortable. Ficus trees still seemed to grow right out of the marble floor in custom built pots. At the back of the long room, a reception desk was flanked by two identical looking wooden doors that she knew from experience led to the actual courtrooms.
"Where's your mom?" Annie inquired after they had checked in and claimed one of the benches tucked against the wall, neatly hidden between two tall marble pillars.
"She couldn't make it," Liam replied, offering her a shrug of genuine nonchalance that thankfully hid no pain over coming alone. With Colleen and Liam, one never knew which snubs left a mark and which didn't matter and more than anything, Annie hated seeing her boyfriend hurt. Despite the general assumption that the rebellious bad boy had no feelings, she knew how easy it was for the people he cared about to break his heart.
Most days, though, Liam was cool to the point of being aloof – or anti-social if Silver had anything to say about it – and to her secret relief today seemed to be one of those days. Bracing his elbows on his knees, he gazed at her steadily. "So, what's going on? Last time we talked you were cool with this. Now you're freaked out."
"I'm not freaked," she argued in token protest.
"I said your name out there and you almost jumped out of your skin," he argued tipping his head back toward the entrance. Reaching out, he touched her bare knee, the gesture both comforting and erotic as every nerve in her body became acutely attuned to that places where his skin contacted hers. "Nobody would blame you if you backed out."
Contrary to their initial assumptions, the letters they each received were merely a request, not an iron clad subpoena. The prosecutors on Jasper's case had met with her, Liam, Silver and Teddy in turn explaining that since there'd been a confession the burden of proof no longer demanded their presence. Their testimony, however, before the judge could assure a stiffer sentence. Although Annie wanted nothing more than to keep her ex firmly in her past, a sense of responsibility wouldn't allow her to take the easy way out.
With effort she tore her gaze away from Liam's hand on her knee and tried to ignore the way his thumb was brushing absently over her skin. Slowly she shook her head. "You know I can't do that."
"I know you won't," he clarified. "But you definitely can."
She searched his face, feeling herself easily sway to the idea of forgetting the whole thing and going home. "Do you want me to? Back out I mean?"
"Hell yes. I don't want you in the same building as Jasper Herman," Liam replied as if the thought had been on the tip of his tongue all day and he was thrilled to finally say it out loud. "I want that psycho out of your life starting yesterday. But I know you and I know no matter how scared you are, you're going to get up on that stand and tell the judge everything."
"What if it's not enough?" she asked after a brief pause, voicing the concern that had been plaguing her nonstop and somehow managing to ignore the way her resolve melted in the face of Liam's fierce protective streak toward her.
"What do you mean?"
"What if I get up there on the stand, what if we all get up there, and the judge…doesn't care? What if Jasper works his manipulator magic and somehow gets off with a slap on the wrist? He could be back at West Bev tomorrow."
"Annie, that's…that's not gonna happen," he insisted, sitting up and turning on the bench to face her fully. "Where is this coming from?"
"I don't know," she sighed, suddenly sick of hearing her own panicked questions. "I guess I've just been thinking a lot about him ever since we got the letters."
"You've barely mentioned it," he noted with a frown.
"Yeah, well, you're very good at distracting me," Annie admitted with a coy smile. A month ago she would have turned red to the roots of her hair admitting how easily he turned her on. Now she could tease him almost as mercilessly as he did her. Liam had removed his hand from her knee and now the absence of touch plagued her acutely. Needing the contact, she laced her fingers through his. "I keep remembering all the times I tried to end things with Jasper. Every time he'd remind me what I'd done and how everything I said would be weighed against that if I tried to tell anybody about him."
"Wait, you're worried about your credibility?" Liam raised a brow skeptically.
"Yeah, I…I am," she admitted. "I want him gone. I want us to just…be without worrying about Jasper. I don't want my record to be the reason he walks out of here free and clear."
Anybody else would have worked to assuage Annie's fears, making empty promises without qualm, but that wasn't Liam. Too often he'd experienced firsthand how arbitrary and unfair life could be. So, rather than offer her pretty lies, he said nothing at all and simply put his arm around her. Closing her eyes, Annie dropped her defenses and allowed herself a moment of complete vulnerability as she melted against him.
"No matter what, I'm not going to let anything happen to you," Liam said quietly. Annie craned her neck to meet his eye and found him incredibly near. So close, in fact, that she could feel his breath fan against her lips. "You know that, right?"
A few months shy of eighteen, most adults would have said he was too young to make that kind of promise, but she knew better. Smiling, she murmured. "I love you."
"Good answer," he replied with a grin that disappeared as their lips met. Annie sighed with contentment, her fingertips dancing delicately over his jaw. Liam knew a thousand different ways to kiss her and every one had her aching for more. At the moment, he went for slow and deliberate, coaxing her lips apart one millimeter at a time. His hand settled at her waist, clutching her tightly as he managed to pull her even tighter against him.
Because of their very public location, Annie was determined to reign in the passion between them that was always simmering just below the surface, waiting for the slightest excuse to boil over. The ficus trees and pillars artfully hid them from most of the lobby, however, a fact that she'd noticed the second they sat down. Knowing full well she was fighting a losing battle, she continued to resist.
"There you go again. Distracting me," she said between kisses.
"You're welcome," he said absently, sinking his teeth into her swollen bottom lip.
"Liam!" Annie squealed in surprise. Placing her hand on his chest, she laughed as she delayed his advances. "We're in a courthouse."
"So?" he challenged, his hand dropping lower to squeeze her hip. "No one can see us and I guarantee we haven't done anything illegal…yet."
He was teasing her, but underneath lurked the promise that he was game for whatever she'd allow. There were less than five people on the planet who's opinion mattered to Liam and only one of them was in that courthouse lobby. Annie kissed him again, her lips parting and granting the access he'd been after. As her pulse began to race, she wondered with amused horror what would happen if Liam knew how easily he could get her to do anything he wanted.
"You two seriously need to move out of this honeymoon phase before I just throw up all over you," Erin Silver's indignant snort of disgust cut through the lust fueled haze. Flushing a brilliant shade of red this time, Annie pulled away from Liam and brought a hand to her bruised lips. Silver was eyeing them with mock disapproval, hands braced on narrow hips as she bit back a smirk. Standing just behind her, rolling his eyes at the entire exchange, Teddy Montgomery waited patiently with his hands in his pockets.
"Oh goodie," Liam said dryly, his attention still focused on Annie. "Silver's here."
"Honestly, it's annoying," she continued, needling Liam. "Nobody is supposed to be that happy."
"Don't worry. I'm over it now," he promised, glowering in the brunette's general direction while winking at Annie. "You have that effect on me."
"Ew," she wrinkled her nose in distaste. "I don't want to have any effect on you."
"Okay, then I'll just start pretending you don't exist," he shrugged and turned his attention back to Annie, gaze dropping to her lips as he leaned closer. "Where were we?"
"Hey, Silver," Annie laughed and eluded Liam's advance as she managed to rise gracefully to her feet despite her heels.
"Hey," she greeted with a genuine smile, shaking her newly cropped hair out of her eyes. Glancing around, she took a deep breath. "You ready for this?"
With a look to Liam, who had risen from the bench as well, Annie managed a smile that only felt a little forced. "Ready as I'll ever be. What about you?"
"Oh, you mean am I ready to tell the judge how I pretty much stood around and did nothing while the rest of you got beat up and shot by Jasper?" she quipped, offering an overly simplistic summary of her role that night at the Pier. "Yeah. Yeah, I think I've prepared my ego to take that blow."
"Hey, I didn't get beat up," Teddy argued, speaking for the first time. "Court gets to take all the glory there."
Lifting a brow, Liam casually slung an arm over Annie's shoulders. "Chicks dig scars."
"So he's heard," she shot back, twisting away playfully as the easy way her friends discussed the events of that night back in July soothed her nerves. The jokes kept coming and, macabre as they may be, buoyed her confidence, reminding her that she wasn't in this alone.
"Uh…oh," Silver stammered suddenly as her hand shot out to grip Annie's wrist. The only one facing the entrance, Silver had a perfect vantage point of those coming and going from the courthouse. Following her gaze, Annie's smile fell, her fragile good mood shattered. Flanked by a small cluster of grim faced, somber suited adults, Jasper arrived. The last time she'd seen him, he'd been handcuffed and in the custody of police. Immediately, she searched for similar restraints but discovered his hands were jammed nonchalantly in the pockets of his black dress pants, his shoulders hunched and head bowed in that familiar way that screamed disenfranchised youth. Annie knew that, even though he was too far away for her to see his eyes, he was sweeping the lobby, judging and writing people off, as natural to him as breathing.
As the small entourage passed their group, Annie felt it the second her ex-boyfriend's gaze found her. Real fear closed her throat tasting metallic and acrid, proving the dread she'd experienced up to this point had only been the warm-up. The main act took the stage and she was suddenly petrified. For the second time that day, Liam saved her from ending up on the floor, this time by pulling her tightly to his side as she swayed, firmly grounding her to the here and now. Jasper's gaze swept over her, weighing and measuring, but the expression on his face never changed. Whatever he'd been through in the past month, he hadn't lost his ability to mask his true feelings.
They watched in silence as Jasper's group checked in and was immediately ushered through a large wooden door to the right of the reception desk. Somehow the soft click of the well-oiled latch carried across the lobby and collectively, Liam, Silver and Teddy breathed a sigh of relief. Annie did her best to fake one of her own, but her chest was locked up tight, her lungs trapped in a vice once again.
Silver shot a look at the sleek onyx faced clock directly above the desk. "I think that's probably our cue. Ready?"
"You guys go ahead, we'll catch up," Liam tipped his chin toward the door. Annie felt his hand locked around her waist squeeze with nearly bruising intensity and covered it with her own, wishing he'd hold her tighter. Silver opened her mouth to protest, but took one look at Annie and thought better of it. Nodding, she flashed a bright, but tight-lipped smile before succumbing to Teddy's guiding hand on her elbow.
Once their friends were out of earshot, Liam ushered Annie behind one of the pillars flanking their bench. Completely hidden from the rest of the lobby, he wasted no time. "I don't want you to do this."
"I have to," she said, but her voice was weak and lacked any kind of conviction. As her knees threatened to give out on her, she leaned against the cool marble pillar for support. She should have known better than to think she could fake anything in front of Liam.
"No, you don't," he insisted, bracing a hand above her head and hemming her in. He was angry, fighting against a flaring temper that flashed behind his eyes. Strangely enough, it actually made her feel better. "They have more than enough to nail him with the rest of us testifying."
She shook her head, still tightly gripped by fear. "I can't let him win."
"Annie-," he choked out her name in frustration and swallowed the rest of whatever he'd planned to say. Jaw set so tight she thought it might shatter, he stared at the floor while reigning in his temper. For several long, quiet moments she watched his chest rise and fall at her eye level, trying to ignore the tears pooling along her lash line.
Finally, he uncurled his fist and gently gripped her shoulder. "You don't have to prove anything. Not to me. You already beat him at his stupid mind games. Don't give him another chance to get inside your head."
"He's already in my head. I've been having nightmares since it happened. Can you feel that?" she asked quietly, guiding his hand so his palm lay flat over her pounding heart. He dropped his gaze, transfixed on her hands covering his. "I'm afraid of him and he knows it."
"Annie," he said her name again, a desperate and helpless plea that tore her apart.
"I know you hate this. I hate this, but I have to face him. I can't rely on him being sent away," she said, each word another brick in the wall she was building to block out her terror. "Even the harshest punishment won't be forever. Eventually, he'll come back and if I don't show him I'm not afraid, he'll come after me again. You've been trying to tell me how psychotic he is for months. Well, I believe you."
"I picked a great time to be right," he muttered after a moment, straightening to his full height and wrapping his arms around her in a fierce hug. Annie returned the embrace with equal strength, hiding her face in the crook of his neck as she struggled to regain her composure. The depth of her trust in Liam was both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, she could let her guard down with him completely, unafraid to hold anything back. On the other, she hated being such a basket case.
After another handful of all too brief moments, she finally trusted herself not to break down. Sniffing, she pulled away and took a deep breath, squaring her shoulders and wiping away the few tears that had slipped through her lashes. "Okay, enough. Let's get this over with."
"Hold on," he ordered gently as he cupped her face and swiped the pad of his thumb so softly over the sensitive flesh just under her lower lashes it almost tickled. Then the grip changed and he dragged his knuckles down her cheek before dropping his hand. When he lifted his gaze to meet her eye, they gleamed with determination. "Okay, now let's go."
Naomi Clark eased her silver BMW convertible into a parking spot in the student lot unusually far from the West Beverly High School main entrance. With the top up and flanked on each side by oversized SUVs, she felt invisible and for once appreciated it. Pulling her sunglasses down her nose, she peered over the rims at the landscape that appeared at once familiar and foreign. She hadn't laid eyes on the school in three months, not since the night she ran from the building with tears streaming down her face.
Closing her eyes, Naomi fought against the memories of her rape at the hands of her teacher, Mr. Cannon. That night, and everything that happened in it, was part of a past she planned to pretend didn't exist. Only three people knew the details – herself, Mr. Cannon and her sister Jen – and none of them were talking. Although Jen still threatened to have Cannon castrated on a weekly, if not daily, basis.
Smiling faintly, Naomi had to admit that the rape had brought about one non-horrible thing. Obviously stricken with post traumatic stress or temporary insanity after the encounter with Cannon, she had driven aimlessly around Beverly Hills for most of the night before arriving at her sister's near dawn. Apparently, the sight of her baby sister collapsing on her front step, body wracked by violent sobs, had convinced the older Clark sister that something was very serious and very wrong.
To Naomi's surprise when the inevitable fighting began it wasn't over whether or not she'd deserved what happened, but Jen's insistence they go to the hospital and report it. Only the onslaught of more desperate tears broke through her older sister's righteous indignation. Even when she explained why she couldn't go to the police, Jen was amazingly supportive.
"Nobody would believe me," she murmured, a mantra that had been on her lips many times over the past three months. Whenever the smallest urge to come forward whispered in her ear, she remembered that her predicament was completely her fault. Lying about sexual harassment and then proving a real rape, all against the same man, was the stuff of pathetic 90s made-for-tv movies. The idea of telling the world only to watch as Cannon got away with it because she'd been a vengeful, spiteful brat sickened her.
The only course of action that made her feel better was ignorance. Pretending nothing had happened. That the Pass the Torch Party had ended fabulously and she'd been in such high spirits about finally being a senior, she'd sought out her sister and made amends. They'd celebrated the reconciliation by a three month sojourn through all the most decadent locales in Europe before returning triumphantly to Beverly Hills.
The fantasy was only half a lie and it bolstered Naomi's spirits. As she lay awake at night, plagued by demons of the rape, she'd rehearsed her story, learning it backwards, forwards and inside out so when the nosey, jealous wannabes at West Bev begged for details to live vicariously through, she wouldn't miss a beat. Smiling outwardly as a spark of the old Naomi Clark confidence flamed into a steady burn, she pushed her sunglasses back up her nose, grabbed her newest Gucci bag and slipped, cat-like, from the BMW.
The weight of a dozen curious eyes followed her as she sauntered through the parking lot, faltering only slightly when the recently repaired school sign caught her eye. Somehow, through the tears, humiliation and pain, she had registered its smashed and broken state during her frantic escape that night. Lifting her chin defiantly, she ignored that thought as well.
The sight of the familiar corridors presented her with the first real challenge to her resolve. Somehow, in all of her late night obsessing, she hadn't considered what the sight of the long, locker-lined hallways might do to her. First, her feet froze to the terra cotta tiles as her brain juxtaposed images of a dark, empty tunnel with the bustling, brightly lit thoroughfare it was now. Closing her eyes behind her sunglasses, she tried to block the mental picture and swayed, stumbling backward into a cool granite pillar.
Clutching the straps of her bag tightly against her shoulder, she cursed the huge flaw in what she'd considered a perfect plan. Why hadn't she thought to do some kind of dry run? She never wore an outfit without testing it out for movement restrictions, unflattering lines or weird bunching issues and yet it failed to cross her mind that actually going in the school where she'd lived through the most hideous night of her life might be a necessary step in successfully returning.
"Hey, Naomi!"
One at a time, she pried her eyes open, the exuberant greeting reaching through the mild panic attack and giving her focus. An entirely too perky brunette she vaguely remembered stood in front of her with a 1,000-watt grin. With a hand that only shook a little, she lowered her glasses and frowned. "I'm sorry. Do I know you?"
"Of course you know me, silly," the brunette rolled her eyes and brushed her long hair over her shoulder. "But I did look a little different the last time you saw me. It's Stephanie."
Naomi continued to draw a blank.
"Your chemistry partner last semester!"
"Oh…oh my god!" Naomi exclaimed, removing her sunglasses completely and gaping in shock. No wonder she hadn't recognized her. The slender girl in the trendy Jimmy Choos with the lustrous hair that would make a shampoo model jealous had been about fifty pounds heavier and clearly loving the softer side of Sears when Naomi had last copied her answers off a chemistry test. "Wow! You look so much better."
Stephanie's grin faltered slightly under the backhanded compliment, but only for a second. "Th-thank you."
A few moments passed. Naomi raised her brows expectantly, waiting for more, but the other girl just continued to smile. "Okay, then…Bye."
Pushing off the pillar, Naomi strode purposefully down the hallway, the initial shock of seeing the inside of the school diluted by the strange encounter with her former chemistry partner.
"How was Europe?" the other girl asked in a breathless rush, falling into step beside her.
Mentally cursing Facebook, Naomi answered dryly. "Awesome."
"Wasn't it?" Stephanie practically squealed. "I was there, too. In Switzerland mostly, but I did take a couple trips to Prague and St. Petersburg. The sightseeing was amazing."
"But the shopping sucks," Naomi declared.
"True," she agreed, barely pausing for breath. "I wish I could have gone to Italy. Milan sounds awesome."
"It is," Naomi agreed, arriving at her locker and twirling the combination.
"Is that where you were?"
"No," she replied, offering no other information as she pulled a few items from her bag and placed them on the single shelf.
"Oh. Where were-."
"Look, Stephanie," Naomi cut her off with an icy look as her patience fizzled. "I think it's great that you went all extreme makeover on yourself. Obviously, the place you stayed in Switzerland has excellent doctors because I can't see a single scar. But we're not bffs, so is there something specific that you wanted or did you just want to make small talk until my ears fall off and I bleed all over my Prada skirt?"
Most people would have crumbled under a full frontal attack of Naomi's acerbic wit, but she noted with exasperation that Stephanie was either too brave or too dumb to let the harsh words burst her happy little bubble.
"You're right, of course. I'm so sorry," she apologized, rolling her eyes presumably at her own foolishness. "I just wanted to thank you."
Naomi blinked in surprise. "Thank me?"
"Being lab partners with you was…a challenge," Stephanie confessed. "But all the scathing judgment about my hair, clothes, weight, etcetera was the best motivation I've ever had. I spent the past three months looking forward to this moment so I could tell you that to your face. Without you I wouldn't be the person I am today."
"O-Oh," Naomi stammered, the short speech leaving her unsure how to react. Accepting gratitude for shamming a girl – probably one who had a perfectly acceptable personality to begin with – into a whirlwind transformation didn't feel right. Especially when even now she could barely remember a handful of their conversations. But Stephanie was beaming so brightly Naomi could only smile in return. "You're…welcome. I think. Forget what I said about that scar comment. I didn't mean…I'm sure you worked very hard the past three months."
"Pfft, are you kidding?" Stephanie waved a hand. Leaning in she whispered conspiratorially. "The Swiss have amazing techniques. The money was totally worth it. When my mom saw the results she booked herself into the same clinic and got the works."
"Oh. Well, I've heard that…about the Swiss," Naomi agreed with a forced smile, returning to her locker. Textbooks wouldn't be handed out until later and she'd spent the past few days being pampered, not shopping for notebooks, so she really had nothing to rummage through, but she faked it anyway. There was only so much chagrin she was capable of so early in the morning.
"Oh, by the way," Stephanie interrupted her own soliloquy on the miracle of liposuction and lowered her voice. "I heard what happened. I'm so sorry."
Naomi's heart leapt to her throat, strangling her as her skin went ice cold. She knew about the rape! How could she know? Eyes wide, she turned to the brunette and hissed. "What are you talking about?"
Stephanie started and glanced at the other students bustling by her as if they might be of some assistance. "I'm talking about your best friend hooking up with your boyfriend. The whole school knows. Neither one of them had the decency to keep it a secret."
For a moment, Naomi heard nothing but the rush of blood between her ears as she struggled to digest the words. "I-I'm sorry, what-."
"Annie and Liam," the other girl explained, as if addressing a small child. "They're together. Like really together."
Naomi deflated as relief flowed from the top of her head to her toes in one hot, then cold wave. Stephanie Whatshername didn't know about the rape. The secret was still safe as was her reputation and position in the school. She wouldn't spend her days dodging pitying looks from classmates who only pretended compassion when deep down she knew they thought she got what she deserved. Leaning her almost feverish head against her locker door, she smiled faintly.
"Naomi, are you okay?" Stephanie wouldn't allow her a moment's peace. "I'm so sorry if I upset you. I thought you knew."
"Hmm? Oh! Annie and Liam, right," Naomi rolled her eyes and shrugged. "I really couldn't care less."
"Seriously?"
"Oh yeah," she scoffed, finally deciding she'd done enough pretend locker spelunking and shouldered her bag. "If Annie wants Liam, she's welcome to him. I was done with him months ago."
"I didn't know."
"We broke up right before school ended," she explained casually, despite the bitter taste the words left in her mouth. Now that the euphoria of her secret still being intact had passed, reality began to sink in. Liam had moved on and not with just anybody. With Annie. How disgustingly ironic. Without thinking, she continued. "I dumped him."
"Really?" Stephanie asked, aiming for aloof but landing closer to desperately curious. "Why?"
"Are you kidding? I was going to Europe for the summer. Why would I waste my time with a Beverly Hills boy when I was going to be surrounded for three months by European men?" she smirked, giving Stephanie a wave over her shoulder as she swept into the ladies room. Holding the plastered on smile, she ducked into the first open stall, secured the lock and sagged against the door. Once again, bile churned in her empty stomach and she eyed the toilet, wondering if she should just throw up and be done with it. Betrayal and humiliation washed over her in ever strengthening waves as the news fully registered. Why hadn't she seen this coming? Sure, she hadn't expected Liam to pine for her for three months, but at most she'd figured she'd have to deal with some sort of summer fling. Another surf bum with zero fashion sense like Ivy that he just hooked up with to pass the time. All it would take was one particularly skimpy bikini and she'd catch Liam's attention, dragging him away from…whatever he'd used to replace her.
But Annie wasn't a surf bum. She wasn't Ivy and Liam hadn't just been passing the time. Naomi could lie to herself about a lot, but no amount of self delusion could make her believe that whatever Liam and Annie had was a summer hook up. Even if she broke out of her prudish mold, that girl just didn't do casual.
"Oh, god," she moaned as her stomach heaved. She should have known. Liam had been after Annie since he'd come to town and Annie couldn't uphold the Girl Code to save her life. Hot tears burned behind her eyes, but Naomi refused to cry. She'd done enough of that over the summer to last a lifetime. Instead, she focused on the anger that accompanied the betrayal of her supposed best friend.
Drawing a deep breath, she tilted her head back and stared at the bright lights, blinking back the tears. Hysterics were pointless. Only action would get results. Annie Wilson might be a pro at stealing other people's boyfriends, but she was Naomi Clark. Those who stood in the way of what she wanted got tire tracks up their backs for their trouble. And what she wanted right now was everything to be like it was before. That meant, Annie or no Annie, Liam Court was hers.