Bittersweet (24 page)

“Wow, we? Who came with you?”

Zane appeared behind her. He gave me a quick hug.

“You look great, Savannah. I like your hair.”

I needed to modify my last people on earth list. Zane was definitely below Becca. The day was so beautiful five minutes ago, now it sucked.

“Guys, I have to work.” I never thought I’d actually be happy about working open to close.

Grant walked up to us. “Friends of yours?” he asked, leaning against the fence. Candie and Zane didn’t say anything. Probably didn’t want me to get into trouble. How considerate. I rolled my eyes and looked at Grant.

“Yeah, from Albert Lea. They surprised me with a visit.”

“Then you won’t mind going home early tonight?”

I wished I could tell him how badly I didn’t want to spend another moment with these two.

But Candie squealed. “Oh, yay! We can go do something.”

“What time do I get off?” I forced a smile.

“Eight-thirty or so.”

“Why don’t we meet by the Creeping Clowns at nine? I’m going to have to change clothes.”

Candie waved as they squeezed in line for the back car.

“Good riddance,” I muttered under my breath.

“I thought they were your friends.”

“It’s a long story. I don’t really like them. Candie babysits for my mom though, so I have to be nice.”

I didn’t actually get off work until nine, so I hurried over to the Creeping Clowns.

“Hey, do you want to get something to eat?” I asked, hoping they would so we could get out of Haunted Valley.

Zane stood a few inches away from Candie, like he didn’t really want to be there with her. Guess not all was well in Zanedieland.

“Sure, where do you want to go?”

“How about Perkin’s?” I asked.

They both nodded.

“But we want to ride the Screaming Zombie one more time,” said Candie.

“Go ahead. It will take me some time to change and I’ve got to talk to my boyfriend before I leave.”

“Oh, I want the deets.”

“Later. I’ll meet you guys at Perkin’s.”

I changed my clothes, reflecting on the fact that I’d picked this outfit with Dallas in mind, not Zane and Candie. They’d just have to deal.

I knocked on the door to Dallas’s office.

“Hey, I got off early and I have problem.”

“Yeah, the problem is that you look too sexy to be going out in public.”

I smiled. I didn’t think I could ever break up with him. Who else would constantly tell me how hot I looked? My self-esteem would take a huge hit if I wasn’t hearing it every day.

“If only that was my problem. Candie and Zane showed up this afternoon.”

He cocked his head.

“The backstabbing best friend and ex-boyfriend?”

“Yeah. I can’t just leave them hanging because Candie will tell my mom I blew her off. But I’m not going without you. I told them to meet me at Perkin’s. Will you come over when you’re finished?”

“Of course. I’ll be there in a half hour. Will you be okay until I get there?”

“No. But I’ll survive. I can’t believe they drove all the way up here to see me. I haven’t talked to Candie in over a month.”

A phone rang in the background.

“I gotta answer that, I’ll see you later.”

The restaurant was packed. I found Candie and Zane tucked away in a corner booth. They sat on one side, cuddled together. I was still bitter about the whole thing. Candie acted like it was okay for her to have cheated with my ex-boyfriend and still be my friend.

“Hey, guys.”

Zane squirmed away from Candie like he didn’t want to be identified as her boyfriend. Trouble was definitely brewing.

He leaned forward across the table.

“When are you coming home?” he asked.

I couldn’t answer that question. I hadn’t talked to my folks about staying here for my senior year. If I told Candie, she’d tell my mom.

“Probably not until a few days before school starts. I want to work for as long as I can. What have you guys been up to?”

Candie scooted closer to Zane and took his hand. He withdrew it.

“You know, partying and enjoying the summer,” she said.

The waitress showed up to take our drink orders. I ordered water for myself and a coke for Dallas. Where was he? This was awkward.

“Sounds exciting,” I said, after the waitress left.

Zane turned to Candie. “Hey babe, I forgot to order lemon for my iced tea. Could you go let her know?”

“Sure.”

The second she left the table I felt Zane’s hand on my knee.

“I’m so sorry. I want you back. We won’t tell Candie yet, but come home and be my baby.”

Oh gag me
. I jerked my legs back and pushed his hand away. Candie returned before I could find the words to respond. I wished I could feel some pity for Candie but I didn’t. She brought this on herself.

The waitress was back with our drinks and I ordered two Tremendous Twelves.

Zane laughed. “That’s a lot of food for one person.”

“It’s not all for me. My boyfriend will be here soon.” I looked at my watch. He should be here in about ten minutes.

Candie gushed. “Oh, so tell me about him.”

“He works in marketing. Just graduated from college. He’s going to be an English teacher.”

“How long have you guys been together?”

“He’ll tell you since the day he met me, but I’d say it’s been about a month. The days sort of run together.”

Zane snorted. “Sounds stuffy. You should find someone your own age.”

“At least he’s faithful. And he adores me.”

I looked up and saw Dallas coming toward us.

“Speak of the devil.”

He didn’t sit down, just stared at Candie. She looked up at him and her face went white. He took a step back. Candie sat there, shooting glances back and forth between Dallas and me, then she scooted off the bench and ran for the bathroom.

What the hell?

I stood up to follow her, to figure out why she’d act like that, but Dallas grabbed my arm.

He spoke low into my ear. “That’s the girl. Candace.”

I felt the blood drain from my face. I nodded and took my time walking to the bathroom so I could think things through before seeing her. Candie and I hadn’t talked in a while, because of Zane, but she had been my best friend before that. She must’ve moved to Albert Lea right after it happened, and she never told me anything.

She stood at the sink wiping mascara streaks from her cheeks. When she saw me she spun.

“Do you know what that bastard did to me?”

I played dumb.

“No, I didn’t realize you two knew each other.”

“I was fourteen, and he stole my virginity.”

I cocked my head. “Stole as in raped, or stole as in you wish you had it back?”

I didn’t want her to know I had any clue about what had happened. But over the last week, I’d thought a lot about the possibility of what he did. The hard part was that the only person who knew the truth was the girl. And that girl was Candie.

“Well, I was fourteen and he was eighteen, so it was definitely rape.”

“Did he know you were fourteen?”

She shook her head. “Why are you acting like this is all my fault? Sorry to burst your bubble, but your new boyfriend is a rapist.”

“Candie, did you give him any indication that you didn’t want it?”

She glared at me. “Well, no. I was drunk and he was hot. It wasn’t until the next morning that I realized what I’d done.”

I needed to make sure I understood. “So you really never said no?”

“Of course not. Would you have?” She laughed. “You didn’t, did you? Now we’ve both slept with the same two boys. Look, I was fourteen and he should’ve known better. Plus, his mother was loaded.”

I slapped her. I couldn’t help myself. She stared at me, shocked.

“You were at a college frat party, no one knew you were fourteen. Do you have any idea what you’ve done? You falsely accused someone of
rape
. Go home, Candie, I never want to see your face again.”

I stomped back to our table, grabbed Dallas’s hand and pulled him out of the booth.

“Let’s go.”

“Hey, wait,” Zane yelled behind us, but I didn’t listen.

Back at Dallas’s house, I sat on the counter and watched Dallas make food since we didn’t get our fix at Perkin’s. I hadn’t said much on the way here and he seemed overly concerned.

“You okay?” he asked, staring at the eggs he was cooking.

“Yeah, I guess.” Then I froze. Here I was, so worried that Candie and I would never speak again that I’d forgotten the most important thing.

“Candie never said no.”

“What?”

“In the bathroom, she told me that she never said no to you that night. She just wanted your money.”

He paled.

“So I’m not a monster.”

“Nope, definitely not a monster. A little pushy though.” I grinned to show that I was joking, but he didn’t look convinced.

We probably would’ve discussed it more if Paris hadn’t chosen that moment to show up. He plopped down in a chair next to me and stuffed a piece of bacon in his mouth.

“What’s up?” I asked, a little miffed that he interrupted us.

“We’re planning an epic party for Saturday night. You guys in?”

“Where? Mom and Dad won’t let you have a party here,” said Dallas.

“At Angelica’s. The party starts at eight.”

I looked up at Dallas. “I’ve got no other plans, do you?”

“Nope, looks like we’ll be there.”

N
O ONE TALKED ABOUT ANYTHING
except the party. Hopefully Angelica had a big enough place, because it sounded like all fifteen hundred Haunted Valley employees would be there.

Thursday, Angelica came to me while I worked the Demon Drop controls.

“I’ll take your place for a while. You need to go see Grant.”

“Am I in trouble?”

“I don’t think so, he just said that he needed to talk to you.”

I jogged to his office, hoping that no one had died or anything.

“What’s up?” I asked, collapsing into a chair.

“Your mom’s coming.”

Oh. That’s not bad. I had panicked for nothing.

“When?”

“Saturday, and she’ll leave Sunday afternoon. It’s a really short visit. I’m not quite sure why she’s coming or why she didn’t text you this.”
“I’ve no idea. I work until four on Saturday and I don’t have to be at work until four on Sunday, so I can spend some time with her. It just seems weird that she’s coming at the last minute.”

“That’s what I thought.”

“You don’t think she’s going to try to talk me into coming home, do you?”

Grant shrugged.

“Maybe.”

No time like the present.

“Any chance I can stay for my senior year? I don’t want to go home.”

“Does this have anything to do with Dallas?”

“A little. But it’s mostly because I’ve changed so much since I’ve moved here. I don’t want to face the people who know what I’d been and slip back into those patterns. I’m a better person here and I like myself more. Even if things didn’t work out with Dallas, I’d want to stay.”

He looked at me for a long time.

“Of course you can stay. I must say I am pleased with how much you’ve matured since you arrived. You’re right, you’re not the same girl who sat at my desk sulking on the first day. I don’t know how your mother is going to take it though.”

“She won’t take it well. She lost her free babysitter when I got here so she’ll want me back. Lucky for me, I’m eighteen and can make my own decisions, but it would be nice to have her support.”

“I’ve pulled you off the schedule for Saturday. You can spend the whole day with her, but you may want to wait until dinner, when I’m there, to break the news. We also don’t want her thinking that this is about some boy, so it might be best if you don’t introduce her to Dallas at all.”