A Proscriptive Relationship (50 page)

“
Holly, I—”

“
You know it was Jeremy’s idea to make me try to make you confess first. That’s why I’ve been trying to make you jealous all night. But no, you have to be all cool and composed and handsome as always!”

“
Handsome?” Mr. Heywood repeated, raising an eyebrow.

I stared at him in annoyance, throwing my hands up in the air. “Mr. Heywood! Ugh! Just . . . never mind!”

Mr. Heywood chuckled and I pushed away from his car, intending to go back into the restaurant. For some reason my eyes were beginning to burn and soon I felt them become moist. Mr. Heywood was stupid. Jeremy was stupid too for coming up with that stupid plan which made me do stupid things and—

My thoughts were abruptly cut off when I felt his hand pull me back to him. Too embarrassed to look him in the eye, I focused on his black dress shoe. The moon made it shine.

“
Holly, look at me.”

I ignored him, keeping my eyes locked on his shoe. Suddenly his hand was at my chin, forcing me to look up at him. His gray eyes pierced into mine again, this time the usual glint of amusement was replaced with something else. Something I didn’t recognize.

“
You know the phrase ‘actions speak louder than words’?” Mr. Heywood asked me.

I nodded my head.

Mr. Heywood brought his head down closer to mine, stopping a few inches away. “Want to hear something?”

“
Yes,” I whispered, my heart pounding so hard I thought it would burst out of my chest.

Mr. Heywood moved closer again, his lips not even a centimeter away from mine now. “Good, because I’m about to tell you how much I love you.” With each word his lips just gently brushed against mine, and his breath caressed them.

My head spun already, just by hearing those words. I closed my eyes, waiting expectantly. As soon as I felt the gentle touch of Mr. Heywood’s lips press against mine I jumped. Not because of the feeling, but because of someone shouting my name, then his. He pulled away and let out a frustrated groan. My face grew so hot I thought it was going to catch on fire as I stepped away from him. I looked to see where the shouting was coming from and saw the silhouettes of my mom and Jeremy by the front of the parking lot.

For people who wanted to help Mr. Heywood and I get together, they sure couldn’t have picked a worse time to come looking for us. We hadn’t even got to kiss!

“
I’m going to kill him,” Mr. Heywood muttered.

“
We’re . . . we’re over here!” I called back, surprised at how shaky my voice sounded.

Mr. Heywood let out a deep sigh as Jeremy and my mom began to move towards us. “I’ll have to prove it to you later.”

“
Prove . . .?”

“
How much I love you,” Mr. Heywood told me, his eyes smoldering with emotion. “That wasn’t even a fraction of my feelings. I’m going to make you drunk off my love.”

I blushed from his unequivocal tone and words. I swallowed nervously, encouraging myself to speak. “Promise?” I finally managed to force out.

 
Mr. Heywood looked surprised for a moment, but then a smirk spread across his features. “Promise.”

LESSON thirty-four

“
Maybe you ate some bad steak last night.” My mom gave me a worried look as she stood over my bed. She pressed her hand to my forehead and frowned. “You don’t have a fever . . .”

I shook my head. “No, I don’t think I do. I just have a stomachache . . . and cramps,” I made up quickly.

Immediately my mom smiled with realization. “Ah, I understand completely. I’ll call the school and let them know you’ll be absent today.”

“
Thank you.”

“
No problem, honey,” my mom responded with a smile. “Rest up though. I’m sure Lance and Casey will be very disappointed if you can’t go to the festival tonight.”

“
Oh crap! I forgot about that,” I responded with a frown. “Yeah, I’ll rest then.”

My mom chuckled. “Okay. Make sure you eat something too. I’ve got to go to work now, so have a good day.”

“
You too, be careful,” I said as she headed out of my room. “See you later.”

“
Bye.”

As soon as she closed my bedroom door I fell back on my bed and pulled the covers over my head, feeling my face heat up. I was such a chicken! Eventually I’d have to go to school and face Mr. Heywood in class. But after last night, how could I? How could I act as if he was only my teacher and nothing more? Surely it wouldn’t be any different than before . . . except now I knew he thought of me as more than his student.

Why did Mr. Heywood have to be my teacher?

A small groan erupted from me as I pressed my comforter harder into my face. Mr. Heywood and I didn’t even have a chance to talk about what happened last night. We took the food from Osaka home to eat at our house, but everyone wrapped up quickly since it was a school night and my mom and Jeremy never left Mr. Heywood and me alone again. Besides, after our conversation in the parking lot, I hadn’t even looked at him again—I was too embarrassed. I shook my head violently, trying to dismiss my thoughts. I needed more sleep, I could think about this later.

My phone ringing woke me up. It was a muffled sound I could barely hear. I glanced at my side table, wondering why my ring tone was so quiet. Then I remembered my phone was in the living room where I accidentally left it last night after eating. Pushing myself out of the warmth of my bed, I stomped down the hall way and down the stairs to where my phone was.

“
Hello?” I mumbled sleepily, not bothering to check the caller ID.

“
Holly! It’s my first day back in school and you’re not here?” Lance demanded at once.

I pulled the phone away from my ear in surprise. “Ow, you don’t need to yell.”

“
I’m not!”

“
Sure.”

Lance sighed. “Why aren’t you in school?

“
Um,” I hesitated. “You know . . . girl problems.”

“
Say no more,” Lance responded quickly.

I laughed. “Okay.”

“
Are you still going to the festival?”

“
Yup.”

“
Okay, just making sure. Are you getting a ride, or should I pick you up?”

I shrugged, but then remembered he couldn’t see me. “I don’t know. I’ll probably walk. The fair grounds aren’t that far away and—”

“
I’ll pick you up,” Lance interjected before I could finish. “It’s too dangerous for you to be walking alone at night.”

I frowned slightly. Now he was starting to sound like Mr. Heywood. And he didn’t even know about the whole attempted kidnapping situation. “I can handle myself, Lance.”

“
If they shoot you?”

“
Lance! Don’t say things like that so easily! Who are you with?”

I could imagine Lance rolling his eyes. “I’m by myself, outside. No one can hear me.”

“
Still,” I growled. “Okay, what time are you picking me up?”

“
Seven,” Lance told me. “Be ready.”

I nodded, once again forgetting Lance couldn’t see me. “I will.”

 
Suddenly I heard another voice that wasn’t Lance’s on the other side of the phone. I thought he said he was alone! I heard Lance and the person arguing quietly, then a weird noise before the new person spoke.

“
Holly?”

My breath caught in my throat and my eyes widened. “Mr. Heywood?”

“
Yeah, it’s me. Why aren’t you in school today?”

Suddenly my palms felt sweaty and I looked around wildly, not knowing what to say. I didn’t want to lie to Mr. Heywood, but there was no way I could tell the truth!

“
I just don’t feel well, but I’ve got to go now, bye!” I said in a rush before pulling the phone away and snapping my phone shut.

My heart was pounding as I stood stock-still, feeling embarrassed again. Why did I hang up so quickly? I hadn’t even said goodbye to Lance.
Wait. How could Lance have called? He didn’t have his phone.
 

My recent calls showed that Lance had used Mr. Heywood’s phone to call me. I frowned, feeling bad for hanging up now. Clicking on his name, I started a text message and quickly wrote an apology for hanging up. I hit send and quickly stuffed my phone in my pocket.

Not even a minute later my phone buzzed in my pocket. After a brief moment of hesitation I pulled it open and read the text message from him.

We need to talk.

For a moment I panicked, thinking something was wrong. But there couldn’t be. I didn’t do anything, nor did he. Anyway, he was right: we did need to talk. I hit the reply button and wrote
I agree
before tossing the phone onto the couch.

I could really use a long, warm shower.

After I had showered, I passed the time passed curled up on my couch with a book. When my stomach started to rumble, I decided it was time to get something to eat. Going back downstairs, I passed the living room, glancing quickly at the couch where my phone still lay. I’d check it after I ate.

After a steaming bowl of chicken noodle soup I trudged to the couch and picked up my phone. One new text message. I opened it; already knowing it was from Mr. Heywood.

 
Are you going to the festival tonight? Maybe I’ll see you.

My brows furrowed in confusion. Did I tell him I was going to the festival? I couldn’t remember. When I clicked reply, I noticed that it was not Mr. Heywood’s number who sent the text message. It was Lance’s.

Instantly my heartbeat increased and I gripped the phone harder. What did Shawn mean by that? Was he going to the festival too? Was he going to try something? Suddenly I felt sick. I collapsed onto the couch, staring dumbly at my phone. Should I tell someone? Or was Shawn just trying to mess with me?

I snapped my phone shut. Shawn was just trying to play games. Why would he try something right after one of his followers was thrown in jail? It was too risky. If I didn’t reply to his messages, he’d eventually figure out I wasn’t going to play along. Smiling, I went back to my book. I had nothing to worry about. But there was a knot in my stomach, an increase of my pulse, a whispering voice in my head . . .

Seven o’clock really needed to come faster. I needed to have fun and take my mind off things.

Five knocks on my front door made me jump violently, dropping my book. I quickly grabbed my bag and headed to the door, opening it to reveal Lance grinning at me. He quickly pulled me into a hug and I laughed.

“
Excited much?”

“
Hey, you try sitting in a hospital for nearly three weeks. It’s awful,” Lance retorted, nudging me in the side with his elbow. “Let’s go. Casey’s already in the car.”

Lance started down my driveway as I locked my front door. Casey grinned at me as I approached the car, waving from the back seat. I walked around to the other side of the car and climbed in the back with her as Lance slid into the driver’s seat.

“
You’re not sitting up front?” Lance asked, looking at me through the rearview. “Great. Now I feel like a chauffeur.”

“
Technically you are,” Casey pointed out.

Lance rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Put your seat belts on.”

I did as Lance commanded and snapped my buckle. He pulled out of my driveway and onto the main road, heading towards the fair grounds. Casey continued to grin at me as the three of us sat in silence in the car.

“
What?” I finally asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

 “
Nothing,” she responded, still grinning. “Nothing, nothing!”

I pursed my lips at her. “Obviously it’s something, otherwise you wouldn’t be grinning like an idiot.”

Casey laughed. “I’m just thinking. That’s all.”

“
Oh, that’s new,” Lance joked from the front. “I’m proud of you, Case.”

“
Shut up, Lance,” Casey said, rolling her eyes. “I’ll have you know I’m smart.”

“
Really?”

“
Smarter than a person who gets himself shot by gang members,” Casey snapped, raising an eyebrow. “You can’t deny that.”

Lance and I quickly exchanged apprehensive looks. Unfortunately, Casey caught it. Her smirk fell, and was replaced by a frown. “Wait, there was a reason why Lance was attacked, wasn’t there?”

My eyes shot open and so did Lance’s. Another look was passed between us, once again caught by Casey, who narrowed her eyes.  “Tell me,” she demanded.

“
Dime,” I joked.

She didn’t think it was funny.

“
It’s nothing,” Lance assured her, his eyes flicking to her for a split second before returning to the road. “It was purely—holy shit!”

Suddenly I was flung against the door and my head made contact with the window. A small groan of pain escaped my lips and I pushed myself back. There was the blaring of a horn, the squeal of tires, and constant swearing from Lance. It felt like we were spinning, but I didn’t have the courage to look out the window to find out for sure.

“
Lance!” Casey screamed, pushing forward in her seat. “Go forwards! Go forwards! Car!”

I turned to look at Casey and my eyes flew wide when I realized there was a truck heading straight for us. Lance slammed on the gas pedal and I was jolted back in my seat. The truck missed us by inches. Casey and I let out relieved sighs, but those were cut off when we were suddenly jerked forward and our seat belts dug into our chest. I heard the engine cut off.

“
What the hell happened?” I demanded, falling back against my seat. “Lance?”

Lance turned around in seat, looking worried. “Are you guys okay?”

“
I’m okay,” Casey said shakily.

“
What happened?” I repeated.

Lance shook his head. “Some asshole cut me off, just switched lanes at the very last second . . . Hey, here they come”