Hometown Girls: Beginnings (Hometown Girls Series Book 1) (7 page)

Katie didn’t know how to respond to that, even if she were able to speak. She really liked Daniel. It wasn’t just some passing fling for her. But she loved Marissa Lou. They had been best friends since they were eleven. That wasn’t something she was willing to throw away. But looking at Daniel now, all she could see was him.

“Katie?” he asked sounding hurt.

“I don’t know,” she whispered.

“Was it something I did?”

“No,” she said quickly.

“Is it because of Marissa Lou?” he said after a moment.

She looked away from him, telling him that he was right.

He grabbed both of her hands and pleaded, “You told me that she gave you her blessing. That she wanted us to figure this out. Well we did, or at least we started to. The cats out of the bag now. We can’t undo what happened, but I think we owe it to ourselves to see what we could be. And I think we owe it to her. She was selfless to allow us this chance. It couldn’t have been an easy thing to do. I’m not sure what I would have done in her situation. Do you really want her sacrifice and pain to be for nothing? It’s here, it’s happening, and there’s nothing either of us can do to change that now, whether you and I are together or not. Please, just give us a chance.”

Katie quietly listened to him, staring down at their clasped hands, absorbing everything he’d said. He was right. Of course he was. Marissa Lou made the decision to end her relationship with him, not them, and now that she had, nothing could ever go back to normal. Only now, if she and Daniel didn’t stay together, all three of them would be hurt and none of them would be friends.

Katie’s previous tears dried. She looked up at him and squeezed his hands back, then smiled weakly. “Okay.”

“Okay?” he asked looking at her excitedly.

She nodded her head. “Yes, I want to give us a chance.”

He quickly pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tight. “That’s so great. I promise, it’ll all work out. We’ll find a way somehow.”

After spending the entire day together, something Marissa Lou never would have expected, Randy took her back to school where she left her car.

“Surprisingly, I had fun today,” she said leaning against his truck in the senior lot. “I didn’t know it this morning, but it was exactly what I needed.”

“Good, I’m glad I could help. I am, like, one big surprise, after all. Kinda like Christmas morning.”

Marissa Lou laughed out loud for the hundredth time that day.

“There’s that sexy smile. You should do it more often.”

“Yeah?”

“Yep. You know, there’s no reason to feel down. Not about anything. Life is screwed up enough to sweat the little stuff. Live life, be free and have fun. That’s my philosophy.”

She smiled up at him, feeling surprised and attracted once again. “I like that. That’s going to be my new mantra.”

“There you go,” he laughed. He then bent down and kissed her lightly before getting into his truck. With the window down, he leaned out. “Try to stay outta trouble. Wouldn’t want ya to get mixed up with some bad influences.”

“Yeah well, that would mean staying away from you, and I’m not so sure that’s going to happen. Not so soon anyway.”

“I hear ya. See ya later, girl.”

“Yeah, see ya.” She backed up and stood beside her car, watching him as he drove away and maybe it was the pot, or maybe the excitement of something new, but a new sense of hope fluttered through her. It was the same feeling she had gotten for most of the day. A feeling telling her that she was going to be alright, thanks to a new, unlikely friend. Randy was dark and dangerous, with piercings and a tattoo that she unearthed when his chest was bare after their make-out session went a little further than she had expected.

Even that was different from Daniel. He was rough and controlling, whereas Daniel was gentle and tentative. It surprised her to realize she liked Randy’s way better. He was definitely not what she was used to in any way, but maybe that was a good thing. Maybe a change would do the trick to get her out of her funk. It sure did today.

She nodded to herself and got in her car. She drove home with blissful thoughts, but when she got close to her house her heart began to grow heavy. In Katie’s driveway, which happened to be right beside her own, was Daniel’s car.

Before she got out of the car, she noticed Katie’s bedroom light was on. That was where they mostly likely were and the thought of them in her bedroom together made her stomach flip. There was no telling what they were doing, not that she had any room to be mad after everything she had done that day with Randy. She hoped to get into her house unscathed, preserving the last bit of her dignity, but she knew from experience with Katie, they would have seen her head lights through her bedroom window when she pulled in. Feeling paranoid that they may be watching her through the window, she took a deep breath, held her head high, and walked into her house without a second glance.

Ten minutes later, she was lying on her bed flipping through a celebrity magazine when someone rapped at her door.

“Come in,” she said mindlessly, without breaking from an article about who’s dating who in Hollywood, figuring it was one of her parent’s, probably coming to lecture her about skipping school. After she heard the door open and shut, without someone speaking, she looked up and froze. Standing before her was Daniel and by the look on his face, along with his tightly crossed arms over his chest, she could tell he wasn’t so happy.

“What?” she finally asked when she couldn’t take his silent, judgie stare any longer.

“What was all that about earlier today?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said and turned her attention back to her magazine.

“Bull, Maris! What were you doing skipping school, and with the likes of Randy Farris of all people?”

“I felt like it,” she said stubbornly.

“Seriously, Marissa! He’s a bad guy.”

That was enough to break her composer. She had spent the entire day with him, which was a lot more time than Daniel ever spent with him, so she could safely say she knew him better than Daniel. Feeling defensive she jumped up to her bare feet and stuck her finger in his chest. “I don’t need no superman swooping in and saving me. What I do in my life is my business, not yours, not anymore. I can do and hang out with anyone I damn well please.”

“But him?” he asked, his voice breaking.

“You don’t even know him!” she screamed, then crossed her arms over her chest and fought the urge to cry. She refused to give him the satisfaction. “I’d rather be with him than watch that little humiliating drama scene I witnessed earlier today. If you don’t like it, it’s your problem, not mine. Thanks for that by the way.”

The words stung, she knew, but he knew she was right. He didn’t like Randy, not even a little bit, but most of all, he and Katie hadn’t even thought about her or how she would feel about seeing them together so soon.

“You’re right. I’m sorry,” he said and slowly walked out of her room.

Once he was gone she plopped down on her bed and squeezed her comforter in tight fists. He had some nerve to be jealous. He was the one that moved on first. Then it hit her. He was jealous because he cared. The thought sent electricity through her. The trick was to keep him caring. Apparently Randy was the trigger. Plus she could have some fun with him in the process.

“Live life, be free, and have fun,” she said to herself, repeating Randy’s mantra and that’s exactly what she intended to do.

The following morning Marissa Lou walked through the senior hallway with her head raised high with confidence radiating off her. She knew everyone was talking about what happened yesterday. There was no way to avoid it. Also she knew she would have to see Daniel and Katie today and them she could avoid. She refused to allow the same scene from yesterday happen again. Although, by all the eyes of her fellow classmates, they expected, maybe even anticipated, it.

Today was different. Today she had a new found purpose, a distraction from everything wrong in her world, in the form of Randy Farris; the sexy bad boy that made her smile when she never thought she would again. And the moment she saw him standing by his locker her smile widened. It struck her again how different he was from Daniel. The difference was always there and it always seemed to strike her when she looked at his surface with his dark hair and dark eyes that seemed like he was always thinking up mischievous plans, or the holey jeans and rocker tees he sported daily, but deep inside, past all his rebellious bluster, she knew he was a good guy. Maybe not at the same level as Daniel, but it was there nonetheless.

“Hey you,” she said walking up to him, running her hand down the side of his bare arm as she circled him.

“Hey right back at ya. Nice tee. Is it new?” he said nudging his head at her vintage Rolling Stones t-shirt that she’d borrowed from her mom’s pile of old clothes. She then paired it with a pair of tight black jeans and black knee length boots. Like Randy, the outfit wasn’t her usual girlie style, but she liked it and the change it stood for.

She leaned her back against a locker and stared at him seductively, ignoring the question about her attire. “You heading to class?”

“Yeah, I guess I probably should.”

“You want company?” she asked batting her long dark eye lashes at him.

“Depends on who’s asking.”

“What if it was me?” she asked playfully.

He looked her up and down and smiled a crooked smile. “Yeah, your company will do.” He pushed off the wall and draped his long arm over her shoulder and guided her down the hallway.

All eyes were on them as they made their way, each aware of the stares, and each feeling proud of the display. Especially when they passed by Daniel and Katie who were standing outside their classroom, waiting for the bell to ring. Randy noticed them before Marissa Lou, and before she could tense up or feel any unnecessary emotions, Randy brought her closer to him with his arm and crushed his lips to hers all the while keeping his eyes on Daniel, who in turn burned red with anger. When Randy released her from his spell she looked straight ahead with a cool, mischievous smile playing on her lips, and continued to walk with her new boy.

As of that day, that one moment, the whole school would know that she won the “I’m doing better than you are after the break-up” game and that was what it was all about.

When school was out for the day, Marissa Lou made her way into the gym with her gym bag slung over her shoulder. She was happy to see that the whole squad was there ready for practice. Unfortunately for her that also included Katie. Everyone froze and stared at her as she approached. Katie, who was stretching on the hard wood floor, looked up to find out why everyone stopped talking only to find Marissa Lou standing over her. Her black clothes were replaced with gym shorts and a sports bra, and her long blonde hair was pulled up in a tight ponytail, transforming her back to the Marissa Lou everyone knew and loved.

Katie gasped and hurried to her feet. “I wasn’t sure you’d be here today.”

Marissa Lou crossed her arms tightly over her chest and glared at her. “And why is that?”

“Well, umm, you weren’t here yesterday,” Katie stuttered. “So I thought—”

The words that came out of Katie’s mouth made Marissa Lou furious. She threw her hands up in the air and yelled, “I took a day off. Freaking sue me!” She then walked away from Katie because the longer she was by her, the madder she got, and the madder she got, the more she wanted to punch her in her pretty little back stabbing face. “Alright girls, let’s work on Cheer 1.”

The girls got in their place, with Marissa Lou in the front, and began the cheer. At the end of the cheer, Marissa Lou noticed the girls doing a different movement than she originally choreographed.

“Wait, wait, wait. What are y’all doing? The movement is like this,” she said showing them.

“Oh, well, most of us were having a hard time planting so Katie showed us something else to try yesterday,” Bethany, a junior cheerleader said.

“Oh, is that right?” Marissa Lou asked turning from Bethany to glare at Katie. The overwhelming urge to punch her came roaring back.

“Yeah, we were having a hard time with it and you weren’t here, so—” Katie started, trying to smooth it over.

“Hey! This is my squad,” Marissa Lou said pointing to her chest. “I know you are on some kind of silly quest to be me, but you’re not. You got that? This is my squad, not yours, and if you don’t like it, you can take your boyfriend stealing ass somewhere else. Got it?”

Katie stared at her with her mouth wide open, but she was right. Marissa Lou wasn’t going to make it easy on her, but she didn’t want to give in either. She needed extracurricular activities for her college applications and it was too late to join any other activities. “Got it, Marissa Lou.”

“Good, now get your rears back in your places and do the cheer like I taught you.”

The girls did as they were told and by the end of practice every girl knew how to plant like she wanted them to at the end of the cheer.

Marissa Lou stepped out of line to turn the music off then turned to the girls. “Good job, girls. I think that was enough for the day.”

The girls mumbled something that resembled “thank god” or maybe it could have been “good-bye” but Marissa Lou wasn’t really paying them attention. Not until she heard someone clear their throat behind her. When she turned around, she found Katie a few feet away, staring at her.

“Yes?” Marissa Lou asked unconcerned and turned back around to continue to pick up her things, trying her best to ignore her.

Staying where she was, Katie replied, “I’ve been trying to give you your space, because, umm, I know this has all been hard for you, but I really wanted to talk to you.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, because I’m fine and dandy.”

“Yeah, okay,” Katie said sarcastically. “You need to know, what you said earlier was wrong.”

“Oh yeah, which part was that?”

“The part where you said I was trying to steal your life. I hope you really don’t believe that.”

Marissa Lou stopped what she was doing, faced Katie, and slapped her so hard on the side of her cheek that it made Katie’s head jerk to the side.

Katie instantly grabbed her cheek and looked at Marissa Lou shocked.

“Prove me wrong. History really isn’t on your side. I have my proof. Do you really need a list?”

Katie silently stared at her, so Marissa Lou continued.

“My boyfriend, my friends, my squad, it’s all I have and you are a part of all three. And the worst part is, you are the one that screwed me over, your best friend, and everyone still loves you, yet I’m treated like the asshole. What does that say for me? I must be a really crappy person for everyone to so easily walk away from me.”

Feeling her own fury, Katie pulled her hand back and slapped Marissa Lou back. “I’m so tired of you blaming me. You are the one that gave us your blessing like you were the queen of England or something. You are the one that told me to go for him even after I told you I didn’t want to say anything!”

Marissa Lou closed the distance between them until she was merely inches from Katie’s face. “Oh, so it’s my fault? Y’all were already there. I’m not blind. I could see it! Y’all just needed me out of the way.”

“BS, Maris!”

Marissa Lou slapped Katie again, except this time Katie didn’t comfort her wounded face, instead she struck her back.

Marissa Lou screamed out and grabbed a hand full of Katie’s brown hair and knocked her to the hard gym floor. Katie grabbed Marissa Lou’s hair back and they rolled around on the floor.

“Stop it!” Katie yelled.

“No, you stop trying to steal my life.”

“I’m not! I don’t care about your life,” Katie said and looped her arm around Marissa Lou’s neck and squeezed.

“Fine! You win!” Marissa Lou squealed, then screamed when Katie didn’t let go, “You win!”

Katie let go of her and rolled onto her back.

“You win,” Marissa Lou repeated and sat up. “You can have my life. Everyone loves you more anyway. I’m done with it all.”

“Marissa Lou, stop it!” Katie yelled in frustration.

“Why not, it’s true,” Marissa Lou said, crossing her arms over her knees and rested her head on them, not wanting Katie to see her eyes burning from tears.

“I swear to you, it’s not true,” Katie said sitting up and closing the distance between them. She then grabbed Marissa Lou’s hands, forcing her arms to un-cross. Partly so she wouldn’t hit her again, and partly to demand her attention. “I love you and so does everyone else. We always have. You are Marissa Lou for Christ sakes. That name alone makes people swarm in your direction. I’d be lying if I said I weren’t one of the many that are envious of you. Hell, look at you, but I would never try to steal your life or intentionally hurt you.”

Marissa Lou looked down at their intertwined hands and the tears that she had been fighting began to drip off her long dark eye lashes. Katie noticed the tears when a drop fell on her hand. She quickly looked up at her friend’s bent head and her heart melted in her chest.

“Maybe there is still hope for us,” Katie whispered to herself. “Maris, I miss you so much. Will you please forgive me?”

“I don’t know,” Marissa Lou whispered.

“Marissa Lou, please. I’m begging. Tell me what I can do. I’ll do anything.”

“It’s too late. What’s done is done.”

“So that’s it? It’s over after all these years?”

“I don’t know,” Marissa Lou said again.

“Oh,” Katie replied sadly and dropped Marissa Lou’s hands, letting her own hands fall to her side. “I understand,” she said defeated and got up to walk away.

“Maybe, if you call me sometime, I’ll answer,” Marissa Lou called out to her.

Katie stopped and turned around to face her. “Really?”

Marissa Lou shrugged her shoulders. “Baby steps.”

“Baby steps,” Katie repeated before turning around to leave again.