"Are you fuckin' crazy?"
I had to admit, that wasn't exactly what I expected to hear when I first woke up. But I guess Luke had a point.
"I don't think so, although crazy people don't usually know when they're crazy. So maybe I am." I checked my surroundings. I was in a hospital, Annabelle, Ace, Adonis, Clem, Luke, and Nick by my bed.
"You sound just like your father." Annabelle said, exasperated. He chuckled a little, wrapping his arms around her waist.
"Maybe, but she got her competitive tendencies from you." She huffed, looking frustrated.
"I'm so sorry." Nick blurted. "It was my fault and I really didn't mean to, but I'm so sorry about your arm."
"It's not your fault Nick." I said gently. "You're not the one who decided to dive into asphalt. The only thing that's your fault is that you reminded me of my arm."
My arm was sore, and I could tell I had gotten stitches. There was also the faint burning of fading hydrogen peroxide, but I was much more used to that.
"Did I miss any important homework?" I asked Luke, trying to distract myself.
"Yeah, Mrs. Everett wants us to watch the news, try to discover patterns in the crimes." He shrugged, then turned to Clem.
"It must suck having a mom and dad as a teacher." Nick said, finally losing the redness in his cheeks. I frowned.
"Mr. and Mrs. Everett are your parents?" I asked. Mrs. Everett was our Journalism teacher, and Mr. Everett our history.
"Yep. Well, adopted parents. Lee adopted me when I was eight, after my parents died. A few weeks later, Carley showed up, trying to get us to do a news thing. Eventually Lee and Carley started spending more time together, until they finally started dating. It only took them six months to get engaged, and four months after that to get married.
"Carley decided that she wouldn't get to spend enough time with us with her reporter job, so she got her teaching degree and started teaching here about two years ago." Clem seemed really happy, like she was glad the way this turned out.
"That's so sweet." I mused. They must be a very happy couple. Most couples who had the same job and saw each other almost all the time divorced, or at least didn't have a good marriage.
We all talked a little more, and it was clear that everybody thought I was an idiot. About every two sentences, someone would exclaim, 'I still can't believe you dove!'. Honestly, I couldn't either.
Things were friendly, social even. I'd never been social, ever. It was kind of nice actually, and I couldn't believe how happy I was. Then my thoughts went back to Phoebe, and darkened. Everybody noticed my mood drop, and things were considerably quieter. Still nice, but not as loud and happy.
My arranged meeting with Phoebe was arriving rapidly, too soon to ignore. I was still torn on telling Annabelle and Ace, or just going by myself. I hated to say it, but I was scared. Terrified. Sandra played in my mind, over and over again.
Eventually I decided not to tell Annabelle and Ace. At least not until I knew the facts. I still didn't want to go alone though, and had a hard time trying to figure out who to ask.
"Hey Aurie." Luke said, nervously. Since Nick was absent today, Luke and I were alone in Gym class, Sarah either trying to get me alone with Luke, or not interested of Nick wasn't here. I could tell she had a crush on Nick, and a big one at that.
"Hey Luke." We were on the same volleyball team, I the setter and he the outside hitter. Before answering he had to hit the ball, the ball flying higher than Mrs. Moore liked. He wasn't really great at keeping the ball in the 'control zone'. Thankfully it wasn't out of bounds, so we didn't lose a point.
"Are you workin' on Tuesday?" He asked, obviously not interested in this game. Last week I learned that he had been on the football team last year, and was quite the natural athlete. Apparently volleyball didn't hold his interests as well as baseball, football, or basketball. Either that or he was distracted.
"Nope. I work on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays." I had gotten the job over at Heins and Company, and things were going pretty well. I had never seen anybody under the age of forty enter the shop, but it was a really nice store. Plus, I got discounts on the movies, books, and games there.
"Great! Uh, I was wonderin' if maybe you had any plans at seven, 'cause that movie you were talkin' about comes out on redbox, and I figured I could rent it and maybe we you could come over and watch it with me?" Did he just ask me out on a date?
"I'd- oh no." Of course, he had to pick Tuesday. "Um, I can't really-"
"It's alright." He interrupted, and although he had a smile on his face, it was tight lipped.
"Really, I'd love to! I'm just busy." I really liked Luke and didn't want to screw anything up.
"Okay. Wednesday?" He asked, brightening up once again.
I was about to say yes again, but what if I didn't survive Tuesday? Or got kidnapped again?
"I'll try." I finally answered. Should I ask Luke? He would help right? But I didn't want to put him in a position where he didn't really want to help but felt like he had to. Before I could make a solid decision, he noticed.
"Are you okay?" He asked, concerned. I set the ball quickly, trying to avoid the question. I wasn't really a great liar.
"Fine." I said, paying more attention to the ball than I had the entire game. He rolled his eyes.
"Whats wrong?"
"Nothing. Just enjoying an exhilarating game of volleyball."
"I'll scream if you don't tell me." I looked over and surely enough, he was completely serious.m
"Okay, fine!" I said, he crossed his arms in satisfaction. "I'll tell you after class."
He gave me this big, goofy smile, the kind a little kid gives when he's right. Why did I like him?
After Gym was over with, Luke rushed over to me with an expectant look.
"You have to promise not to tell anyone." I whispered, trying to keep out quiet.
"I promise not to tell." He said, crossing his heart. Bill, who was a few lockers ahead of mine, gave me a suspicious look. I ignored it, and delved into my situation.
"She's a murderer!" He said, almost losing his whisper. "What if she hurts you?"
I shrugged. "I have to give her a chance to explain herself."
"I'm goin'." He looked determined, very determined.
"No you're not!" I exclaimed. Oops, broke my own rule. He looked around cautiously and then back at me.
"Yes I am." He was calmer than me, oddly enough. "What if someone figures out that you're missin' and looks for you? And when they find you, even if your mom ain't there, what's your excuse for bein' at the school at midnight?"
"I wanted to get to know the school's layout better?" I joked.
"If I was there, we could just say that we wanted to hang out in private. Unless that sounds too... date-y?" He looked embarrassed, but I could tell he was serious.
"You did just ask me out on a date, and I did say yes. So I guess we're in the beginning stages of dating."
"That's permission if I ever heard it." He said, a smirk across his face. I playfully shoved his shoulder, and we made our way to our next class. I couldn't help but notice that Lilly, Rebecca, and Bill were standing in a group, whispering and looking at Luke and I the whole time.
"Are you nervous?" Luke asked, his hands in his pockets. I could tell he was, but he had been nervous the rest of last week and yesterday.
"Yes, no, maybe, I don't know?" I said sarcastically. I hadn't seen Malcolm in the Middle for a while, and I wondered if he'd get the reference.
"Do ya need me to repeat the question?" He said, a slight smile forming. I was glad to take some of the anxiety away from him. Honestly I hadn't been all that nervous until Luke started freaking out.
We sat by the tree for a few minutes, barely any space between us.
"Are you okay?" I asked him softly. I wasn't used to being the touch one. He nodded jerkily, and looked over at me.
"I'm just nervous. What if your mom ain't who she seemed to be? What if she tries to hurt you?" His voice was shaking a little. To reassure him, I grabbed his hand.
"You'll be okay, and I'll be okay. If anything gets out of hand, we both have cellphones so we can call someone." His hand tightened around mine, as he looked at something over my shoulder. I followed his eyes to see Phoebe.
I stood up quickly, my stomach muscles tightening. The pit in my stomach was gaping, my anxiety going through the roof. She had died her hair red, and was wearing overalls. The Phoebe I knew wouldn't be caught dead in them.
"Melanie?" She said, a smile on her face. She ran over and hugged me, rendering me frozen. She stiffly pulled back, her eyes narrowing on Luke.
"Who's this?" She asked warily.
"I'm Luke ma'am." He didn't hold out his hand, odd behavior for him.
"Phoebe. Could you mind letting me speak to my daughter. Alone."
He looked over to me for an answer, and I nodded. He walked a few feet away, not hearing distance, but close enough to see if anything was going down.
"I missed you." She said fondly, grabbing a lock of my hair. She ran her thumb over it. "Just like Ace's." She whispered, barely audible.
"You know Ace?" I asked, frowning.
"Of course!" She laughed. "He's your father!"
This was getting very confusing very fast.
"Yes..." I paused. "And Annabelle's my mother."
Her smile transformed into a scowl. "Not that whore. Pretended you were hers the whole time."
"Well, I am hers." I said, my voice cracking. I was nervous. Phoebe had always been light hearted and happy, never acting anything like this.
"No, no you're not! Who took care of you for fourteen years? Me. Who couldn't even take care of you for four? Annabelle." She stepped closer, quickly becoming more hostile. I glanced over at Luke, who was standing right next to us now.
"Stay out of this!" She roared, livid. I had never seen her angry, but I could now tell why Sandra had been killed. Her and Phoebe had been fighting all week, and over a boy Sandra wanted to date.
I put my hand on my back pocket, reaching for my phone. When Phoebe turned back to me and saw my face, her own softened.
"Don't be scared." She whispered. "But we've got to go home. You can't let your mother corrupt you, like she did with Ace. You just can't."
It was obvious that Phoebe had dated Ace, and that she was obsessed. She had to have some type of disorder, and a strong one at that.
"I can't." I said. "They're family." And it was the truth. In just this week I had felt more at home and at ease than ever. I had especially connected with Adonis, and I couldn't leave him. I pulled out my phone, Ace's number on the screen.
She grabbed the phone and threw it on the ground, creating a crack in the screen.
"You are mine. I don't care if they've brainwashed you, I'll get you back to normal." Her tone was not hostile, more motherly this time. She grabbed my upper arm, making me wince, and pulled me into a hug. I did not return the hug, but she didn't seem to notice.
Just as Luke was pulling out his phone, we heard a loud car pull into the schools parking lot. Ace's Camaro, no doubt. Phoebe pulled back and ran, as fast as she could. I frantically looked over at Luke, wondering what to do. I couldn't really tell him that I was here to talk to Phoebe, and as much as I would like to kiss Luke, I'd like to do it on my own terms.
He gently pulled me down so we were sitting by the tree and grabbed my hand. We were sitting like we had been before Phoebe showed up, and I had an overwhelming sense of déjà vu.
"Aurora?" Ace called out, once he saw us. I jerked to my feet, pretending I hadn't heard him pull up. Seeing Luke, he walked over here more quickly.
"Luke Woods?" He asked, putting his arm around me. Luke nodded, a bit nervous. My dad studied him for a second and said,
"Next time you want to see my daughter outside of school, it will be in my home, in my presence. Understand?"
He nodded jerkily, and waved at me, before running to the parking lot. I hid a smile at his performance, considering it was pretty good. Maybe Luke should be an actor. He certainly had the looks for it. Even the name. Luke Woods.
I turned to Ace nervously, pretending I was embarrassed. I figured most girls in this situation would be, but my dad was just smiling.
"You know the best part of you dating?" He asked, walking us to his car. I shook my head. "Getting to terrify your boyfriends."
I chuckled. "You have a very schadenfreude sense of humor, don't you?"
"Do you even know what schadenfreude means?"
"Yes, I do watch the Simpsons." I joked. "It means receiving pleasure from someone else's pain."
"Did you really learn that from the Simpsons?"
"Of course not!" I laughed. "I used to take a psychiatry class, and that was something we focused on for a month."
"That makes more sense. Alright, we got to hurry."
"Why?"
"I told your mother that I took you out to get ice cream."
"And she believed it?"
"Yes, but she's very tired so we're gonna have to go through some questioning tomorrow. Thankfully I bought her a present while out looking for you, so we can just tell her we wanted to give her a surprise."
I looked over at him. He had a kind of mischievous look, one that Adonis wore often.
"You mean you're not telling Annabelle about this?" I asked.
"You're mother would throw a fit. She still disapproves of Adonis dating Clem, and they've been dating for three years. Says boyfriends and girlfriends are just distractions in high school."
I smiled at him, feeling happy he would cover for me. Then I remembered Phoebe, and how she had almost taken me away from him again. I loved my father, and I wasn't going to be taken away from him.
"Thanks dad." I said, giving him a hug. His arms quickly wrapped around me, familiar and unfamiliar at the same time.
"I think this is the first time you've ever hugged me." He pondered. I nodded into his chest, and chuckled.
"It's also the first time I've called you dad."
"Not true." He said. I pulled back and saw him smiling happily. I frowned.
"When did I call you dad?"
"Dad was your first word." I rolled my eyes and got into the car, happy to be with my real dad, and happy to be going to my real mom.
"We've got to tell you something." Lilly said, Rebecca slowly following her. I was alone in my locker, Luke at his own talking to Nick.
"What?" I asked, quickly shutting my locker door. They had no business seeing what was in there.
"We just wanted to warn you about Luke." Rebecca was using a condescending tone, and it was sort of annoying me.
"Look, we know this isn't our business, but Luke is going around the school saying that you guys, um, 'sealed the deal'. Apparently last night."
I rolled my eyes, and crossed my arms over my chest. Did I look like an idiot to them?
"Look, I know you guys were planning something and that you guys aren'tthe greatest masterminds in history, but I really was expecting something better. Next thing you know, Bill is gonna show up and say 'I told you so.'."
"Actually Bill says that Luke is lying out of his ass, but the rest of us are convinced that you're the kind of girl who fucks on the first date." Lilly smirked.
"Alright. Thanks for the advice, but you can go now." I said. Amateurs. They shrugged and walked away. They really needed to work on their skills. Since they didn't seem put down, I was assuming they were going to start working on a another plan. After seeing this plan though, I wasn't all that worried.
Luke and Nick walked over, Nick seeming more depressed than normal. Figuring it wasn't my business, I didn't say anything.
"Why were Lilly and Rebecca talking to you?" Nick asked. His tone was more hostile than usual, but I ignored it.
"Trying to spread rumors." I replied, waving it off.
"What kind?" Luke asked
"They said you were going around telling everybody that we had sex."
Luke and Nick both looked at me worriedly.
"You don't believe them right?" Nick asked, staring at me intently.
"Of course not!" I exclaimed. "If you were, I'd be getting a lot more dirty looks. Plus, I know they've been planning all week. They're kind of crappy evil geniuses."
"This ain't it." Luke warned. "They might not seem it, but they're smart. They have a knack for ruinin' relationships, especially mine."
"Maybe I'm just too smart for them." I joked. I nudged them towards the next class, knowing the bell was about to ring.
"Just don't underestimate them." Nick said. "'Cause if you do, you're in for a world of hurt."
Okay, so I'll be adding another story soon and I'm a bit conflicted on names. Please vote for your favorite out of these: Harper, Parker, Hadley, Finley, and Alabama. In other news, school is starting soon. Good, great, grand, wonderful! Unfortunately, that means that I won't be able to update as much, but hopefully I can write longer chapters. So I was watching the walking dead (the show), because of the suggestion by Driftingawayfromreality. It's surprisingly good! I hadn't watched it because I was afraid it wouldn't be as good as the game or the comics, and I was pleasantly surprised. Daryl is an amazing character, and I'm really trying not to turn him into a Sarita, who I also miss dearly. Anyway please favorite, follow, review, all that crap.
-Love Bella