Chapter Nine
It was Thursday, two weeks later and Bray lay asleep on the open pages of his geometry book. The day before had been a nightmare. Right after school he'd gone to work, only to have to stay late and close. He'd missed basketball practice and was sure he was going to get an earful from his coach. Waiting at home for him was his annoyed mother who'd received another call from the alternative school his brother was in. Apparently Martin was again raising hell and their mom was considering sending the kid to military school. After spending nearly an hour talking her down from the ledge of parental insanity, Bray attempted to tackle his homework only to pass out mid Shakespeare. His grades were slipping, his jump shot was losing it's bounce and in a sleepy stupor he'd already once offered Brady coffee instead of formula.
Worst of all was Trudy. Ever since she'd come back to school, she clung to him like a tattoo. There seemed no end to her needs and she was always asking for one thing or whining about another. Bray did his best to be patient for he knew she was just as exhausted as he was. At least Bray could go home while Trudy was stuck when Brady pulled her screaming all nighters. The doctors said it was colic and would most likely end by the time Brady was three months old. For the young parents this was not comforting and triggered much stress between them.
From across the library Amber watched Bray's slumbering form with conflicting feelings. It annoyed her how the entire school treated him like a super hero just because he was helping Trudy with the baby. It was his kid after all and Amber didn't believe he deserved a gold star for doing what was expected of him. No one was giving Trudy pats on the back for committing to motherhood at such a young age. Instead she was still given stares of judgment and curiosity. But seeing Bray zonked out during study hall Amber did feel some compassion for him. She'd seen the dark circles under his eyes and witnessed the small spats between he and Trudy in the halls. She felt sorry for him. Both of them.
At the table with her Jack and Dal argued quietly about some scientific theory. Amber didn't understand a word of what they were saying and chose to ignore them. She didn't understand why the two boys, who clearly didn't see eye to eye when it came to science, chose to work on projects together. Like an old married couple it appeared that they enjoyed bickering and got more efficient at it over time.
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Elsewhere in the school Zandra was skipping her study hall with a few of the older girls on her cheer leading squad. While the others stood around gossiping and smoking in the locker room bathroom, Zandra was leaning against the door frame. She appeared to be looking for someone as she sneaked peeks out into the hall. Though she wasn't listening to the other girls she smiled and occasionally nodded at whatever was said. Zandra was well aware of how privileged she was to be included in the "it" crowd at school. Especially being a Freshman. Suddenly her face lit up as Lex rounded the corner.
"I'll see you guys later." Zandra waved at the others who already knew what had stolen their friend's limited attention.
Lex looked up with a pleased smirk as Zandra sashayed her way in his direction. The two of them were on good terms (for now) since she'd made him apologize for mistreating she and Ryan. Lex had of course said sorry without the slightest thought of his implied crime.
He found that Zandra was an intriguing paradox. Being both incredibly hard and amazingly easy to please depending on her mood. She was also different from any of the other girls at school and it was impossible to group her in with any one crowd. While she was popular and beloved by almost all boys who laid eyes on her shapely frame, she was also one step away from being a complete prude. Lex hadn't even been able to get a kiss out of her yet and he wasn't sure if that fact infuriated or enticed him more. There wasn't a girl to date that succeeded in making him jump through hoops. But Zandra was pretty close.
"What are you doing out of class?"
"Oh just talking with the girls." Zandra lied for she knew full well she might run into Lex here. This area of the school was infamous for those skipping classes. Lex glanced at the hint of smoke wafting from the bathroom.
"I didn't know you smoked."
"As if." Zandra made a face as Lex slipped his arm around her slim waist. "It stunts your growth. I was just catching some gossip."
"Yeah?" He pulled her daringly close, causing the young girl's breath to catch in her throat. "Since when do you skip class?"
With a slight shrug Zandra pretended not to be enthralled with his attention. The truth was almost everything about Lex made her want to melt into a puddle of pubescent girl. He was handsome, strong, didn't give a flip about authority and was the kind of bad boy that attracted naive, upper middle class girls such as herself. Despite hearing the stories, and there were many, she didn't care what the other girls thought about Lex. She was going to have him and she was going to tame him. Lex wouldn't know what hit him.
"So where you heading?" Zandra teasingly turned her head to keep Lex from kissing her.
"No where that can't wait." He surveyed her curves with a lustful glint in his eyes. "You?"
Zandra caught his look and began to gently pull from his grasp. "Actually I have to go." She knew it was best to leave him wanting more.
"Go where?" He tightened his grip.
"The bell's about to ring."
"So what was the point of you're being here?"
"I told you. I was just hanging with the girls."
"My foot." Lex pulled Zandra closer and nuzzled her neck in a way that made her both excited and uneasy. "You knew I'd be here."
"Yeah right Lex." She rolled her eyes. "My life revolves around you."
"And why wouldn't it?"
"Please let me go." She asked sweetly with a look that could melt ice.
He pressed his forehead to hers, their lips only millimeters from touching. "And if I don't?"
Zandra's heart was pounding against his chest. "I'll scream." She whispered as butterflies fluttered in her stomach.
"I don't mind." Lex whispered back. "I tend to have that affect on women."
Zandra sighed. Just the mention of his many conquests killed the mood for her. Leave it to Lex to ruin a perfectly, raw and erotic moment. His actions were no longer arousing and she just wanted to get away.
"I really have to go." She said her voice back to normal. Lex answered by kissing her hard and Zandra pulled away in annoyance. "Jerk!" She pushed him off in a huff.
"What's with you?" He narrowed his eyes at her, careful not to lose his temper.
Flushed and now fussing with her hair, Zandra glared at him. "You don't kiss me unless I want you to. Got it?"
"Like you didn't want it." He muttered under his breath. She answered with a death stare and realizing he was close to ruining what had taken weeks to accomplish, Lex feigned remorse. "Come on Zan. I'm getting desperate. Even Ryan's starting to look appealing."
"I'd go for him if I were you." She replied while checking her makeup.
"Whats wrong? Don't you fancy me anymore?" He reached over and teasingly stroked her face.
"I know guys like you. After they get what they want, they split."
"Not me Zan."
"And leave the girl pregnant." She looked at him seriously as she was now addressing her true concerns. "I know where I've been. I can't say the same for you."
"I'm clean. Clean as a whistle."
The bell suddenly rang and Zandra put on a fake smile for her friends who were now leaving the bathroom. Turning her attention back to Lex she saw he was already walking away.
"Lex!" She called annoyed that he would walk away from her in the middle of conversation. He turned back and smirked at her.
"You better grab me babe. Before one of the others do."
She watched him round the corner and stamped her foot. Just when she thought she had control of the situation he went and turned the tables on her. It was like a perverse tennis match and the ball was always in his court. Lex had just proved that it might be impossible to ever put a noose around that neck of his. With determination Zandra turned on her heels. She was going to get Lex. Yes, she was going to make him chase her until she caught him.
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"Trudy would you just drop it?"
"No. Not until we discuss this."
With great annoyance Bray shoved his books into his locker. He'd failed to finish his math homework because he'd slept through study hall. With his afternoon itinerary it didn't look like he was going to have time to do it before class tomorrow. He was in absolutely no mood for one of Trudy's tantrums right now.
"I told you. I can't come over tonight. I've got a lot of important things to do."
"More important than Brady?" Trudy snapped at his heels as he started down the hallway. "More important than me? Did you forget what you promised? Am I supposed to take care of her by myself?"
"Hey I do my fair share." He snapped back. "I spend more time at your place than mine. I've already been chewed out for sleeping there and I'd like to have one night of peace for a change."
"Well I'm sorry if Mommy dearest can't handle the fact that her baby boy has to handle his responsibilities."
"I handle my responsibilities!" Bray raised his voice in uncharacteristic anger. "I even handle those that aren't my own!"
From across the hall Amber watched the proceedings along with the other kids who were walking by. These fights between the golden couple were becoming more frequent and much louder. Sometimes she felt for Bray as she could see Trudy was draining him of everything he had with her unreasonable expectations. Then at other times, such as this, she felt Bray had better suck it up and deal with the issue. It wasn't as if Trudy got pregnant on her own.
"Can you believe his ideas for a water purification system?"
"What?"
"Jack." Dal shook his head in annoyance. "It's Earth science and he wants to build something out of steel."
"Uh huh." Amber answered distractedly as she watched Bray and Trudy pass, their argument still going full steam for all to see.
"He doesn't get it." Dal shut his locker and winced as he caught his finger. "His ideas come from the moon."
"He's a scientist. Most of them are space cadets."
"I guess." Dal nodded and followed Amber down the hall. "Still all he ever has is ideas. And almost all of them are completely impractical."
"It's people like him that built the space shuttle." She said in Jack's defense.
"Yeah and they also built the atom bomb." Dal countered.
Amber frowned. "Good point."
"Not all science is good. Just cause you can create something doesn't mean you should."
"I know." Amber agreed her eyes still on the feuding couple ahead.
"And what's worse is I'm going to end up being the one who builds the thing." The short boy rolled his eyes. "You know Jack, great with inventions but he's terrible at working out the details. He leaves that to me, the handyman."
"I thought you liked building his creations."
"Eh," Dal shrugged. "Sometimes I do."
"Come on." Amber nudged him playfully. "You know you love working with him. The two of you are like mad scientists bustling away in a lab."
Dal chuckled. "I guess so."
As they passed through the front doors of the school Amber spotted Bray and Trudy down the steps. Their yelling had ceased but the tension between them could be felt from where she was standing.
"Bray I'm sorry." Trudy's voice had gone from irritating and whiny to small and pathetic. "I'm just so tired I don't know myself anymore."
With a heavy sigh Bray stopped in his tracks. He'd considered just walking away but that voice always pulled his heart strings. He slowly turned to see her angelic face staring mournfully at him and sighed once more. He climbed back up to Trudy and offered her a weak smile.
"I'm sorry too. But you got to understand Trude, I'm doing the best I can."
"I know." She nodded. "I don't know what I'd do without you." Trudy tentatively reached for his hand and he accepted this peace offering as they laced fingers. "I'm sorry I got mad about Basketball."
Bray nodded. "I know."
"Do you think you'll get into much trouble tonight? Because of yesterday?"
"Most likely I'll spend the whole of practice doing laps."
"Maybe you should think of quitting your job."
"I can't afford to." Bray shook his head. He didn't add that having a job that kept him out of the house helped preserve his sanity at home.
"Right." Trudy squeezed his hand thankful that his voice was gentle again. "Look I know you're exhausted and everything but couldn't you stay tonight?" Bray cringed at this request and Trudy did her best to appear as vulnerable as possible. "Please Bray. Mom and Dad are away and Brady's been horrible. She's only happy when you're there. I won't sleep a wink."
Amber watched their exchange from the landing with curiosity. Though she hadn't heard their words she could read the conversation through body language. Just then Bray looked up and their eyes connected. Amber wasn't sure why this made her stomach flutter. His face looked so melancholy and there was an invisible weight on his shoulders. He wore the stature of a wounded animal or a reluctant hero. For a moment she wanted to smile if only to bring a little light to his clouded existence.
"Please Bray, I need you." Trudy pleaded sincerely. "We both need you."
He was disappointed when Amber broke eye contact and walked away. Odd how that girl filtered into his universe and touched him so deeply. He didn't even know her but he felt as though she understood him. There was something in the way she carried herself that made him want to follow her. Finally he turned back to Trudy's beautiful but endlessly needing face. His fate was sealed.
"Okay," He nodded reluctantly. "I'll be there."