Chapter 4
Things started to go very smoothly after the first day of school. I started fitting in with people; something that I had not achieved over at the Academy, and my teachers were somewhat enjoyable. Mr. Halloway, my English teacher, was the best teacher I had ever had in all of my years of schooling. He was fun, humourous, and we connected because of our interest of writing.
"Miss Clairmont, would you stay after class for a few minutes?" Mr. Halloway asked me. I nodded, instantly starting to worry. Had I done something wrong? I always started to worry like this, because every time that I had been held after class, it was because something was wrong. I waited until the bell rang and then walked up to Mr. Halloway's desk. He looked up and smiled and waited for the rest of the class to leave.
"I read your paper," he announced with a soft smile. I chewed on my lip nervously.
"I did that bad?" I asked, putting my hands behind my back. Mr. Halloway leaned back in his seat and let out a hearty laughed. I flashed a confused look over in his direction.
"Far from it," he said when he was finished with his laugh. "Rose, this is the best paper out of all of my students. You have an incredible writing style; I thought I was reading a excerpt from a novel!" He cried, his smile bright and wide. My heart beat faster and I grinned. "Have you ever considered writing?"
"Yes. I have some unfinished novels at home," I said, rocking back and forth on my heels. Some of the students for the next class started to empty the room, but Mr. Halloway paid them no attention.
"Would you bring them in for me? I would love to read them," he asked, folding his hands underneath his chin.
"Sure. They're fiction though," I pointed out. He shrugged.
"I'm looking for a new read anyway," he said with a bright smile. I grinned and nodded.
"You know, we actually have a writing club that meets after school. The next one is this Friday. Why don't you come? It'll be fun," Mr. Halloway said. I nodded, knowing that I didn't have any plans that day. "Great. I'll write you a pass so that you're not late to class." I sighed, glad that I wasn't going to be reprimanded for a bad grade or something of the sort. Mr. Halloway handed me a late pass and I slowly walked to my next class, passing Stephen on the way. We both gave each other smiles as we walked past each other, and my heart thumped nervously in my chest and my cheeks felt as if they were on fire. Everyone was commenting on how good we looked together, or that we should be going out. I was still to shy to break out of my shell and ask someone to be my boyfriend, but my new friends were helping me gather my socials skills together. I walked into American history, handed the teacher my late pass and slipped into my seat, Nicole questioning where I was.
"Talking to Mr. Halloway," I mumbled as I started the assignment he had given us. Nicole shrugged and continued to work.
"Are you going to ask Stephen out today?" Nicole asked later with a coy smile on her face.
"I don't know," I whispered harshly, trying to concentrate.
"I think you should ask him at lunch. I can tell you guys really like each other," Nicole whispered back, keeping her eyes on the teacher.
"I don't know how. I'm too shy," I replied, turning the pages in my textbook. I heard her exasperated sigh behind me.
"It's really not that complicated. 'Stephen, I really like you a lot. Would you be my boyfriend?' See, that wasn't hard," Nicole answered as the class started to talk.
"It is for me. I'm not like that," I said impatiently. I wish I could be more open with my feelings, I thought with a sigh.
"Well, if you don't do it, I will," Nicole threatened, and I spun around in my chair to face her.
"No, please don't do that," I pleaded desperately. If I had learned anything about boys and relationships, it was to never let your best friend do the asking. "I'll do it," I mumbled.
"Good," Nicole said. "It was about time." The teacher yelled at the class for being so loud, and I returned to my assignment. Stephen was now on my mind, and I couldn't get him out of it. By the end of the day, I could be his girlfriend, unless he likes someone else, I thought desperately. I pushed the thought out of my mind and finished the work.
Lunch approached quicker that I would have liked, and I found that Stephen and I were sitting together, eating lunch and watching Andrew do some stupid dance around the table. Everyone erupted into laughter, and suddenly without realizing, my head was resting onto Stephen's shoulder. What am I doing!
"Stephen," I mumbled, mustering up enough courage to say a few simple words. "Do you want to be my boyfriend?" I could hardly manage saying the words, but they came out of my mouth, and there was nothing that I could do now.
"Sure, I guess," he said, biting into his peanut sandwich. I blinked. Had he said yes? I sat up, looked at Nicole, and I smiled. I had a boyfriend now.
The end of school approached, and I sighed, waiting up for Zach after school. I was thinking about Stephen once again, when Zach zoomed toward me.
"Hey," he said, out of breath. "I wanted to tell you before I left. There's this really important fight after school, so I'm not going to be riding home with you today. Are you going to be OK with that?" Zach asked, trying to catch his breath.
"Yes, it's fine. I'm not your mother, you don't have to run things by me," I answered. He smiled, gave me a brief hug, and then ran off in the direction. I sighed and pulled out my phone which Nicholas has recently purchased for me and decided to call Richard. I told him that he didn't have to pick me from school today; that I would be walking around.
"Are you sure miss? Bad things happen around there," Richard said with some concern in his voice.
"Yes, I'm sure. I'll be fine. Can I call you when I'm ready to be picked up?"
"Of course miss," he said, and I hung up the phone. I wanted to walk around where the school was located, to get to know the area, and to clear my head. I started walking down the street, seeing a pizza place at the end of the street, and suddenly, I saw Stephen run next to me.
"Hi," he said with a smile, readjusting his backpack.
"Hey," I said with a big grin.
"I didn't know that you walked."
"I don't, I just decided to get to know the area around the school and stuff," I said with a shrug. "Do you walk?"
"No. I walk up to the end of the intersection and wait for the bus to pick me up," Stephen said.
"You take the bus?" I asked.
"Yeah. I'm not one of the richest kids in the school," Stephen said with a little resentment. I felt bad because I had a driver to pick me up and take me wherever I wanted. There were a few seconds of silence between us, and I turned to him.
"Do you have Mr. Halloway as an English teacher?" I asked.
"No, I don't. I have Mrs. Armenta. She's not the greatest. Why?"
"Oh, I was just wondering about this writing club that's after school, that's all," I said, staring down at my feet.
"Why? Are you in it? I haven't seen you in those meetings before," Stephen questioned.
"No. Mr. Halloway mentioned it to me today. He wants me to join."
"It's actually pretty cool. I didn't know that you wrote."
"I don't tell everyone that. And besides, I'm not that good," I replied, a tint of pink flushing into my cheeks.
"I'm sure you can. Maybe afterwards, we could go get lunch or something?" He asked. I looked into his eye and I could tell that it was his first time asking someone out on a date, and I smiled understandingly.
"That would be great," I said with a broad smile. He seemed to relax after that and we started talking about writing. Once we approached the intersection, he said goodbye.
"I'll see you tomorrow," he said, stepping onto the bus. I waved at him and watched as the bus pulled away from the stop, and I went into the pizza place to buy something to drink. I couldn't stop grinning because of what Stephen and I were talking about. We had a common interest, and my heart melted at the thought of that. After enjoying my soft drink, I called Richard to have him come and pick me up.
"Have a good day miss?" He asked as I entered the car. I was the only person that Richard would ever start a conversation with, and I smiled.
"Wonderful," I said dreamily, thinking of Stephen's soft smile. Richard nodded and sped down the street.
"Mr. And Mrs. Fugue are home. They've been wondering where you are," Richard announced. I panicked inside.
"Have they been worrying?" I asked.
"I believe so. They started to get into a scuffle about it," Richard said, and I groaned.
"Great," I muttered. We arrived at the house, and just as Richard was turning off the car, Nicholas and Annabelle ran out to greet me.
"Where have you been?" Annabelle cried with frustration. I looked at Nicholas, who looked grim.
"I wanted to take a walk around the area, that's all," I said. "I called Richard and told him not to pick me up."
"We know that," she snapped. I looked at Nicholas, who just side. Annabelle grabbed my arm and pulled me inside.
"If you're going to do something like this again, you either call me or Nicholas," Annabelle hissed, her dark eyes burning.
"I'm sorry. I wanted to call Richard before he left the house."
"Don't worry about him, we're your guardians," she screeched. "Now go upstairs and start on your schoolwork," she ordered, releasing my arm and pushing me toward the stairs. I tried to fight tears back and I ran upstairs into my room to start on my schoolwork. Like the first day I had arrived here, Nicholas and Annabelle were arguing downstairs.
"This will not happen again," she said threateningly to Nicholas.
"Annabelle, you're overreacting. She called someone, and she let them know that she was going somewhere."
"Yes, but she didn't call us! Her guardians!" She threw back at him. "You and your charity," she spat.
"She's not charity," Nicholas roared.
"Oh, she's not? You picked her up off of the streets, offered her our home, our life. Everything we have!" Tears formed in my eyes, and I wanted to stop listening to this conversation, but I couldn't drag myself away from the door. "She's going to be a typical run down teenager. She's going to rebel against us, and if she does, I will have her thrown out onto the streets when she came from."
"Annabelle, if you say one more mean, hurtful thing about her, I swear to God, I'll cancel every credit card you own and freeze your accounts," Nicholas threatened. I heard Annabelle's sharp gasp and there was silence.
"You wouldn't," she finally said.
"I would."
"I should have left you years ago, after what you did to me!" she sobbed, running up the stairs. I flew away from the door a buried myself into my homework, listening as I heard Nicholas' heavy footsteps walking past my door. I sighed, my heart sinking into my stomach. Somehow, I was always causing trouble where I lived, and I had a feeling that this wouldn't be the last time that I would be. I finished my light load of homework, and started to write in one of my novels. It was about a young girl who was psychic and tried to prevent the deaths of her friends. The Blood Path was one of my greatest works yet, and I was extremely proud of it. I heard a knocking on my door a few minutes later, and Zach stepped inside of my room.
"What happened today?" Zach asked, somehow knowing that a scene had happened in the Fugue household.
"I called Richard after you left to tell him that he didn't need to pick me up, that I was going to be walking around the area. Apparently I needed to call Annabelle or Nicholas to let them know where I was going and who I was going to be with, and now I'm a typical rebellious teenager," I said bitterly, hearing Annabelle's words inside of my head. Zach chuckled.
"What's so funny?" I questioned, sitting up straighter.
"My mother gives empty threats all of time. You shouldn't take her so seriously. You don't know how many times she's threatened to throw me out of the house because I was a few minutes late or I did something that she didn't like. She's a drama queen, don't mind her," Zach advised. I suddenly felt stupid for believing her, but inside I could tell that she was serious. "So, what happened with Stephen?"
My head snapped up and I looked at him. How did he know?
"Word travels fast with my friends," Zach announced.
"I asked him out today," I mumbled, and Zach smiled.
"That's nice. I could tell you guys like each other. My friends are a little sad about it though," Zach announced with a sly grin on his face. I couldn't think of anything to say, so I stood up.
"I'm going to go talk to Nicholas," I said, walking past him. Zach laughed from behind me and went down to his room. I found Nicholas in the kitchen, ferociously chopping an onion.
"Nicholas," I said softly, and he raised his head, dropping the knife on the counter.
"Rose," he said softly, plastering a fake smile onto his lips. I could tell that he was furious about the argument and I hoped that he wasn't mad at me. "Did you overhear the argument?"
"Yes," I admitted. "That's what I came down here for, to talk about it," I said, sitting on one of the bar stools.
"Don't listen to her, she says things that she doesn't mean," Nicholas said, chopping another onion.
"I know that I shouldn't, but sometimes I can't help but think that I've entered your lives, and I've changed them," I admitted, looking down at the floor.
"Rose, don't think that at all. Of course, with you being here, things have changed, but for the better, not for the worst." Nicholas explained, as he chopped away. I thought that there was going to be nothing else to chop.
"You're right," I said softly, looking down on the floor. "But I have one question, and you don't have to answer it if you think that it's too personal...but what did Annabelle mean when she said 'I should have left you years ago, after what you did to me'?" I asked. He paused, looking down at the onion he had chopped into pieces, and sighed.
"Oh," he said, looking up. His eyes were out of focus, as if he were reliving a memory. "When Annabelle and I were first married... about 4 years into our marriage...I had an affair with a woman. It lasted almost 5 years, until Annabelle found out," Nicholas said, staring off into space.
"What happened?" I asked softly, feeling his pain.
"Annabelle paid her a million dollars to never see me again," Nicholas answered.
"Why did you..."
"Have an affair?" Nicholas asked, finishing my sentence. "Annabelle was cold. She was beautiful, sexy and wonderful, but she was cold in the bedroom. She wasn't intimate with me. I had to plead her," Nicholas said. I thought that it was odd he was sharing some of his most personal secrets with me, but I'm sure he needed someone to talk to. He went into the fridge and pulled out a head of broccoli and started to chop it. I chewed on my lip, thinking about all of this. There were many secrets in this household, and something inside of me was telling me that I should discover them. I made a quick conversation change, realizing that this was bringing pain to Nicholas.
"Oh, I wanted to let you know that I have a writing meeting on Friday after school, and I don't know long it's going to take. Is it OK if I go?" I asked. Nicholas nodded.
"Sure, it's fine," he said numbly, concentrating on his work.
"Just wanted to check and make sure that it was far enough ahead in advance," I mumbled sarcastically, but Nicholas didn't catch my sarcastic tone. He nodded, deep into his thoughts, and I stood up and let him concentrate on his work. It was still relatively early, so I decided to hop into the pool and go for a quick swim. I started doing laps around the pool, and as I was underwater, I heard somebody jump in. I lifted my head to see Danny, Andrew, Daryl and a few more of Zach's friends jumped into the pool and started splashing around. I pulled myself onto the deck and watched as they all nearly killed each other.
"Rose!" Andrew said, swimming over in my direction. I flash him a smile and watched the other boys. He pulled himself up next to me and put his arm around my shoulder. I chuckled nervously and tried to push his arm away unnoticeably. "I like that bathing suit. It looks good on you," Andrew complimented, and I could feel his gaze running up and down my body. I shrugged and tried to dive into the water.
"Hey, where are you going?" Andrew asked as he dove into the water. Andrew was on the swim team and he caught up to me quickly. He pulled me into his embrace and I pushed him away.
"What's the matter? Stephen on your mind?" He asked as he chased me around. I tried to get away from him as quickly as I could, but I didn't have much experience swimming, so it was hard to get away. He kept coming at me, thinking that I was playing a game with him, and suddenly I was so tired and out of breath that I stated to sink to the bottom. Zach caught me drowning out of the corner of his eye and dove toward me, pulling me up toward the surface. I gulped for air and Zach dragged me out of the pool, laying me on my side and making sure that I was alright.
"What the hell were you doing?" Zach yelled at Andrew.
"We were just fooling around in the pool..." Andre said, looking at me desperately. I coughed up more water and started to sit up.
"Don't you know that she can't swim?" Zach roared. I stood up, a little bit wobbly, and looked around.
"No, how the hell was I supposed to know? What are you, her big brother?" Andrew sneered, and I could see that Zach was shaking with rage.
"Get the hell out of here. Now," Zach said quietly, pointing to the back door. Andre got out of the pool, threw a dirty look at Zach, and left. He turned to me, and I could see that he was very angry.
"Are you alright?" Zach asked me. I took a deep breath and nodded.
"Yes," I said, looking over at the other guys. They had started to play around again. "I'm going to go inside," I said, reaching for my towel and drying myself off. I went upstairs into my room, changed into my pajamas, and decided to rest for a little bit. Instead of dreaming of my future with Stephen, I had a nightmare about my past.
I woke up in a dark room, the only light source being a lamp sitting in the corner. I sat up, realizing that I was sitting on a warm, comfortable bed, and realized that I was in my room. Grandma was sitting beside me, silently crying. She saw that I was awake and she smile.
"Hi honey," she said, grabbing my hand. I was instantly confused. Why was grandma crying? What was going on?
"Why are you crying?" I asked, feeling a big headache settle in. She sucked up her tears and smile.
"Grandma's just sad," She answered, wiping away a few stray tears.
"Why?" I asked.
"Because Grandma misses mommy," Grandma said, and she lightly squeezed my hand.
"What happened to Mommy?" I asked, feeling nervous. My head was feeling worse, and I laid back down.
"Mommy is gone now. She had to go to heaven," Grandma announced. I could see relief was in her eyes, but worry as well.
"Mommy got very sick, and God wanted her to be with him because she was so beautiful," Grandma answered. I understood now. Mommy was gone and she was never coming back. I could hardly remember her, for some odd reason.
"My head hurts," I announced, putting my hand over my forehead. Grandma stood up and left the room to fetch some aspirin. She came back with a glass of water and two tablets, and I swallowed them quickly.
"Grandma, I don't remember some things," I said, hugging my blanket. She smiled comfortingly and smoothed back my hair.
"Like what?" She asked.
"Like where we live, and what happened to Mommy, and how I got here. How come I'm dressed?" I asked, looking down and seeing that I was wearing some jeans and T-shirt.
"You were outside playing, and you wanted to take a nap. You must have been really tired," Grandma said. She then explained where we lived and brought up memories of Mommy.
"Go to sleep now. You must be tired," Grandma insisted, standing up.
"But I was sleeping already," I said as she pulled the covers out and I slid under them.
"Yes, but it's one in the morning," She said as she tucked me into bed. I sighed as she leaned over to kiss my cheek.
"Goodnight," she said. My eyes were starting to close and I murmured a goodnight to her.
"Grandma?" I asked as she was leaving the room.
"Yes?"
"Is Mommy in Heaven?" I asked. She looked over at me.
"Of course Rose. Why wouldn't she be?" She asked, leaning against the door.
"Because I have a feeling that something bad happened to her."