Disclaimer: I don't own these characters – Brenda Hampton does. No profit is being made from this fic.

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Chapter 3

Adrian's POV

'Chica blanca, I'm sorry,' I said to Grace. 'I…I had a bad night.'

Grace had actually tried to call me last night, but the fight with Ricky had rendered me unable to talk to anyone about anything afterwards. Words had been the very cause of my pain, so why give conversation another shot?

Admittedly, I had craved silence after the argument. But the joke was on me in the end - I'd been so excited about having a great, big house that I'd failed to notice how empty it could feel. And oh how I felt that emptiness last night. All I did was lock myself in my room and cry over a tub of Ben & Jerry's ice-cream. And even when I retrieved the ice-cream from the freezer, I had to force myself not to look over in the direction of Amy's house.

That was where Ricky had gone…to Amy's house, and to Amy by extension.

'What happened?' Grace asked, all concerned. She casually leant on the locker next to mine. 'You look like you didn't get any sleep.'

She refrained from doing that thing where she got all doctor-y and invaded my personal space. I appreciated that, but at the same time (though I wouldn't admit it to her face) I wanted her to hug me. I wanted someone to hug me. Maybe if someone hugged me tightly enough, I would forget what Ricky had revealed to me last night.

'Ricky and I…we fought,' I told her, sounding pained.

I didn't want anyone else in the hallway to overhear. The last thing I needed was the gossip mill to get wind of the argument. I didn't have the strength to fight any battles today. If no one knew the truth, then no one could twist it.

'Oh no, Adrian,' she said sympathetically, putting her hand to her heart. 'What did you fight about?'

I couldn't even say it. I just looked at Grace and hoped that somehow she would be able to read my mind. It was possible that Christians didn't even believe in telepathy or ESP or whatever. I just didn't want to have to explain.

The whole school thought I was the one who started that rumor about Ben not wanting Amy anymore. The stupid thing was, if you knew me then you'd know that the last thing I'd want is for Amy and Ben to break up…

'Adrian, you can tell me,' Grace prompted. 'You know I'm capable of discussing Ricky with you. It's not uncomfortable, and you know I can be trusted.'

'I know you can be trusted,' I told her, hoping the sadness in my voice wasn't as obvious as I thought it was. 'It's just that I don't know whether I want to talk about it. I'm really hurting. It's kind of embarrassing to be this upset about something. About someone.'

Grace nodded in understanding and I shrugged my shoulders in an attempt to appear more nonchalant. I was sure she saw straight through me, but whatever. I didn't want to talk about the fight. I had gotten so upset and so angry that I had even slapped him.

What the hell was wrong with me?

Love. That was what's wrong with me. Love makes people go crazy. Maybe love itself is crazy.

I slapped him! I had turned into one of those telenovela girls. Add a bit more lip gloss and some Spanish swear words and I'd be cast straight away. Ugh. It was just that…when it comes to Ricky, I go into overdrive. If you want something badly enough, you'll do anything to get it. And when you do get it, then you have to do anything to keep it.

'Um, so is that why Ricky isn't here today?' Grace asked me, bringing me out of my reverie.

'What? I haven't seen him this morning but I thought that was just because he's probably avoiding me,' I replied, grabbing a book out of my locker.

'So, his truanting ways aren't a result of your fight?

'No, I don't think so. I mean, it's possible that he's more upset than I thought…but…'

Grace bit her lip.

'What, Grace?' I asked in suspicion.

'It's just that a few people seem to be missing this morning,' she said innocently, touching her hair as she spoke.

I knew she wasn't telling me the whole story. Grace didn't have to act innocent. Other than the fact she lost her virginity, which was something we all regretted, she was still pretty innocent.

'A few people?' I asked, raising an eyebrow. 'I am so out of it this morning. All I've noticed is Ricky's absence.'

'Maybe there's a field trip that we're not a part of…'

I was struck with an intuitive feeling, but I didn't want to voice my guess as to what was going on. Besides, my instincts were often wrong. Or maybe I was just an avid subscriber to all things denial.

'Grace, what's going on?'

Grace held her books to her chest and gave me a sheepish look.

'Amy's not here today either. And neither is Ben. '

I felt my stomach drop.

It's always about Amy.

Amy. Amy. Amy.

'Well, I should've known Ricky's absence had something to do with her,' I said in renewed anger.

'It could be a coincidence,' Grace said doubtfully.

I slammed my locker door shut.

Who am I kidding? Haven't I always known…

I told my intuition to shut the hell up. I then tried to swallow my bitterness. My pulse had quickened from the rush of anger so I took a few deep breaths in order to calm down. Grace was polite enough not to comment on how worked up I had gotten about Amy.

'It's not just them. Jack's not here either,' she added. 'Not that I'm looking out for him or anything. Sometimes I just can't help but notice certain things.'

'Yeah,' I nodded. 'I know exactly what you mean.'

Jack's POV

'Dude, explain to me what we're doing again?'

Ricky rolled his eyes in annoyance. The guy was really worked up. Like, really worked up. Had I known this was a 'seek and destroy mission' then I wouldn't have offered to come along. Well, I still would've come along, but I would've at least asked how long the mission was going to be.

'It's a stake- out, Jack,' he pointed out, voice on edge. 'Don't you watch any action movies?'

'I'm not sure if I'm okay with this,' I admitted.

'Is it because you're a Christian?' he asked sarcastically. 'God spies on people all the time, you know.'

'He doesn't spy. He just happens to be everywhere.'

'Sounds like spying to me.'

'It's not spying if you have the right to be all-knowing,' I argued half-seriously.

'Whatever.'

As much as I hated to admit it, I would rather be here than at school. Ricky had had band practice, but the instant he found out that Ben was likely to be a no-show at school today, he was out the school doors before first period began. I ended up bumping into him in the parking lot. I had been in my SUV, freaking out about the possibility that Grace had found out about what I had done with Madison.

Madison had called me last night. It was a messed-up situation. I didn't want Grace to find out – really, I was just waiting it out for her at the moment. Surely she would come around with a little time. But right now…well, helping Ricky spy on Ben was better than dealing with everything. This stake-out was Ricky's problem, not mine. I was literally just along for the ride (though I suppose I was the one driving). And Ricky needed me, you know. Ben would totally recognize Ricky's car if he peered out the window and looked far enough down the street.

'Ricky, we've been here for ages. I'm getting hungry.'

'He's gotta come out sometime.'

'Not really. He could stay inside all day. Maybe he actually is sick.'

'Nah, he's not sick. Trust me.'

Ricky craned his neck to try and spot any movement in or around the house. We were parked on the other side of the street, about one house back (hey, the houses on this street were pretty big).

'Half an hour tops,' I insisted. 'We'll get food and come back, if you want.'

'Shut up, there's a cab coming this way. Act natural!'

'Act natural…'

I trailed off when I saw the cab stop directly outside of Ben's house. The cab driver got out and walked around so he could open the back passenger door for whoever the visitor was. I looked back at Ricky and saw he had a determined look on his face. He narrowed his eyes and when I looked back at the cab, I saw why.

It was a girl! And she looked to be about our age. Not that I could see properly from this 'spying' distance, but she looked pretty from here. Long brown hair, slim body, tall. She was wearing a yellow short sleeve top and a grey skirt. The girl got out of the cab, but made no move to pay the driver or get luggage out of the trunk. Instead, she walked around across the front lawn and went over to the front door of the house. She must've pressed the doorbell because soon enough, the front door opened.

Ben emerged and by the looks of things he seemed to be pleased to see this girl. She motioned back to the cab and beckoned him to follow.

'Get down,' Ricky ordered. 'We don't want them seeing us.'

'Have you done this before?'

'My life practically depends on how well this confrontation with Ben goes. So concentrate, if you can.'

'Okay, okay.'

The cab driver held the back door open for the girl, and then she must have scooted over because Ben also got into the cab.

'Don't start the engine until they're a couple houses away,' Ricky ordered.

'We're going to follow them?'

'No, we're going to sit here arguing like a married couple, discussing how hungry you are.'

'So, we are going to follow them?'

'What do you think?' he replied harshly.

'I don't know what I think.'

He gave me a sidelong glance.

'And to think Grace slept with you and not me,' he muttered.

'Hey!'

'Kidding! And keep it down.'

I then heard the slam of the driver's side door. The cab was about to leave.

Before I started the ignition, I asked yet another question:

'Who is that girl, anyway?'

Ricky paused for a few moments before answering.

'That my friend, is the girl Ben had sex with in Italy.'

***

Author's note: Back to Amy's POV in the next chapter