My Lucky Charm (11 page)

Lea
h

The morning drags on, and I’m having trouble concentrating in my classes. If Brandon is ha
ving even half the trouble I am, then I might be a hindrance to his education rather than helpful. He texts and tells me to wrap up lunch a few minutes early, so he can steal more kisses at my locker. I can’t help but smile and agree.

My
calculus teacher steps out of class, and I soon feel the kick to my chair. I guess the happiness I’m exuding is too much for the mean, snotty girls of this school to bear. I turn to them as they sit behind me.

One is Nicole, of course, and I don’
t know her friend’s name. She’s beautiful, but like I say, that’s only if you think witches are pretty. She has light brown hair with blonde highlights throughout and big boobs. Her dark brown eyes and long lashes stand out, even over the ugly scowl on her face.

“
I hope you know that Bran will use you and toss you aside. I was his girlfriend for quite some time, so I seriously doubt he’s going to go backward. I mean, do you honestly think you’re even in the same class as us?” She lets out a sinister, short laugh. “Honey, you’re barely a bottom feeder.”

“If that’s the case, I guess it’s only up from here for me, but unfortunately for you
, you’ll only get older and fatter, and you’ll wake up one day to the realization that no one gives a shit who you were in high school.”

I reach in my purse and whip out a tampon before laying it on her desk.
“You’re bleeding bitchiness, and there aren’t enough tampons in this world to soak that up, but this should get you started.”

The class erupts into laughter, sending Amber out of the room in tears. Nicole follows behind her, and only a fraction of me feels satisfied. I refuse to be bullied, but
two wrongs don’t make a right, and that was wrong. I definitely went too far.

I walk into the
cafeteria, and my eyes immediately flash to Bran’s table. He smiles at me, but I can’t smile back. Only one seat across and down from him is Nicole, and next to her is his ex. How could he have dated her? He’s kind and she’s so not.

I can’t believe he calls them his
friends. Although, there are those who I once called my friends, and I wouldn’t give them the time of day now, but he’s still associating with those he supposedly doesn’t respect anymore. Will he honestly not cave to the pressure he’s going to receive to dump me?

I knew from the beginning
this was a bad idea. I hurry to my table where Sierra is waiting. Gabe, Troy and Jarred are now sitting with us, too. The tears begin to fall, and I hurriedly wipe them away. My emotions defy me as more rain down on my cheeks. Shit.

“Leah, what’s wrong?” Sierra asks.

“Don’t. I already can’t stop crying.” I throw my hand out, giving her the signal to shut it.

“Is this about the words you had with Amber? Everyone is talking about it,” she adds.

My elbows go onto the table, and I bury my face into my palms, trying to soak up the tears. I feel an arm wrap around my shoulder.

“Leah, you only dished back what she had coming to her,” Jarr
ed says near my ear. “She’s evil, and you showed her what it’s like to be humiliated. You’re not the first person she’s treated like shit. Maybe she’ll think twice about it from now on.”

“No, Jarred. I stooped to her level. I’m
not that mean person. It’s just–I don’t even know who I am anymore. I didn’t want to believe what she was saying, but part of me did so I snapped.”

“I can’t promise Brandon Jennings won’t do that to you, but she only said it to get under your skin,” he says.

I feel him stroking my hair, and I know if Brandon witnesses this, it’s going to be disastrous, but I have little sympathy for Brandon at the moment when he’s sitting with those assholes. Can this day get any worse?

Brandon

Cole’s talking to me about practice and our next game, but I can barely focus on what he’s saying. I keep wondering why Leah looked upset when she walked in a few seconds ago.

Cole’s rambling in my left ear, and Anthony’s
hitting my chest. I whip my head toward him. “What, man?” I ask aggressively.

“Dude, I’m sorry, but I think you’ll want to see this,” he replies, pointing to the table Leah sits at.

“What the fuck? Why is Jarred Bowling touching her and what’s wrong?” Everyone at my table shuts up and doesn’t move. “I have this strong suspicion that something went down today, and I want to hear what it is right now.”

No one says a word, so I slam my fist on the table. All the girls jump, and I feel bad about it for all of two seconds,
but then I remember what girls I’m sitting with. Nicole’s eyes nervously dart around the room, and I can tell she’s guilty as hell.

“Nicole, w
hat did you do to Leah?” I ask angrily.

“I didn’t do anything
,” she spouts, throwing a hand on her hip.

My ex
begins crying, and now we’re getting somewhere. “What, Amber?”

“I said something to her, but she was so mean to
me, Bran. You would’ve been pissed if you heard how she treated me,” she says, crying big tears.

“
She couldn’t be meaner than you, and I wouldn’t be pissed at her for standing up for herself. This is bullshit. I told you two to leave her alone.”

I jump from the tab
le and storm over to Leah. Jarrod’s stroking her hair, and I feel like my veins are going to rupture at any second from the fury coursing through them.

“Get your hands off of her. I guess you haven’t heard that we’re dating.”

“I heard, but being you’re over there, and she’s here, obviously upset, I took it upon myself to comfort her. I’m not going to let her sit here and cry while you sit with the bitches that caused this,” Jarrod says, glaring at me, his hand still on Leah’s hair.

He doesn’t want this showdown; t
hat I can assure him. Leah finally lifts her head, causing Jarrod to have to move his hand. She wipes her eyes and looks up at me.

“Bran, please go back and sit with your friends. We’
ll talk about this after school.”

“No
way. We need to talk about it now. I know Amber hurt you, and I can’t believe you think I could walk away from you when you’re upset.”

I see out of the corner of my eye that someone is barreling toward
the table. I glance up and see Parker coming straight at us. He has the most shocked yet pissed look on his face. He’s also carrying some kind of paper. What now?

Leah

We’
ll see how the day goes … take it day by day. Yeah, that’s working out great for us. I hear Jarrod and Brandon arguing, Sierra raising her voice, chairs pushing back, but what stuns me the most is when my bicep is grabbed, and I’m literally plucked from my seat. I look to see who has me and it’s Parker.

“Parker, what
do you think you’re doing?” Brandon yells.

“I have to have a little chat with Leah, alone!”

Oh, shit. This doesn’t sound good.

“No way, Parker! Get your hands off my girlfriend.”

“I swear it will only take a minute,” he says, pulling me toward the doorway of the cafeteria. I look back and see a couple of lunch monitors approaching the table, preventing Brandon from following us, but he looks furious, so I’m sure he’ll find us shortly.

Parker drags me down the hall
away from the doors of the busy cafeteria. He lets me go and studies me for a minute. He’s looking at every inch of my face and it hits me. He’s figured out who I am.

He throws open a standard sheet of typing paper that has
an old picture of me on it. It looks like something he printed out, and it has a headline that reads, “Maxwell Lane’s ex-wife and daughter are suspected to still be in hiding. Could Boulder, Colorado be where they’re now calling home?”

“What do you have to say about this, Leeza Lane?”

“Parker, I can explain everything.”

He folds the paper up and slips it into his pocket, which gives me hope that he doesn’t plan on ratting me out. He then nervously rubs his forehead.

“I’m in study hall doing what I always do, which is surf the internet for all the latest Hollywood gossip and fashion trends. I stumble upon this, and the name catches me first. It’s so similar to yours, but then Boulder, Colorado jumps out at me.

“I knew you l
ooked familiar, and I’m disappointed with myself for not figuring it out sooner, but you went to great lengths to prevent that.”

Parker flips my hair with his hand, and for the first time, he calms a little and actually smiles. “I can’t believe I made friends
with Leeza Lane. Now, where do we go from here, sister?”

I hear my name
and see Brandon and Sierra both headed toward us. I was so wrong when I thought this day couldn’t get worse.

“What the hell’
s going on?” Brandon asks, waving his hands in the air like a crazy person, his attention mostly on Parker.

Parker looks to me, waiting for me to answer.

“Calm down, Brandon. Remember this morning when I said I needed to tell you something about me?”

“Yes, what is it?”

“I can’t tell you here.”

“Leah, what the
freak? You two are acting bizarre,” Sierra says.

“Would you three be willing to leave school right now? If so, I’ll tell you everything.”

“Fine, we’ll take my jeep,” Brandon says, grabbing my hand. “Come on before a teacher stops us.”

The fou
r of us make our way out a door, and when we round a corner to where the parking lot is located, we see the chaos. There are five vehicles pulled up at the front of the school, a cop car with lights on, and several paparazzi. I spin around and basically push all three of them back around the corner against the brick wall.

“Parker, did you call someone and tell?” I ask anxiously.

“Tell what? What’s all that about?” Brandon asks, pointing in the direction of the reporters.

“Leah, I’d never do that to you. We’re friends, at least that’s what I thought, but now the lies make me wonder.” Parker’s getting stressed again, and I’m beyond that. I have to get hold of Paul.
Think fast, Leeza.

“Brandon, can you get to your j
eep and bring it around to the back of the building? I promise I’ll explain everything, but first we have to lose the paparazzi.”

Brandon throws a hand
in his hair.

“Paparazzi!
”

“Leah, what the freak?” Sierra asks again, the only words she seems capable of finding. She’s dancing around, nervous as ever.

“Please, Brandon, go and get the vehicle, but do it slowly. Don’t look at them. They can’t suspect you know anything about me.”

He shakes his head. “Dammit, Leah. Fine
.” He casually walks around the side of the building and heads toward his jeep. Parker, Sierra and I hurry to the back of the school. I get out my phone and call Paul.

“
Paul, the paparazzi are at my school. Have Mom call the office here and tell them that I’m safe. I don’t need cops out looking for me, and I sure as hell don’t want Maxwell finding out about this. Brandon’s getting his jeep now and picking me up.”

“They’
re outside the house, too, so I don’t know if you should come home.”

“Martha’s car is at Brandon’
s. I’ll go there and call you.” I hang up the phone and look at my friends. Their mouths are hanging open.

“I know who Maxwell is, but who’s Paul and this Martha?” Parker asks.

“Shut it, Parker. I’ll explain soon.”

Brandon comes tearing around the corner to the back of the school. Right as
we’re climbing into the seats, school security and a teacher come out the door, yelling and trying to stop us.

“Are you going to g
et us expelled from school?” Brandon asks. “If so, you owe me a whole lot of trouble in my room, Lucky Charm.”

There’s a gleam in his eyes as he grins at me. I can tell that even though he has no clue what’s hap
pening, he finds it thrilling, and I can only hope he keeps that attitude.

Brandon

I have no clue what’s happenin
g, but I know it’s something significant and exciting. I can only hope it doesn’t interfere with my relationship with Leah.

“Where are we going?” I ask
.

“Back to your place. Is that OK?”

I squeeze her thigh. “As long as you’re going to tell me what’s going on when we get there.”

“I promise.”

“I can’t believe I’m going to Brandon Jennings house. You never know what a day will bring,” Sierra says from the back seat. “Gabe is probably freaking out since I left without saying anything to him.

“
You’re someone famous. I feel it. That’s why the paparazzi are at our school, and it’s only a matter of time before every student knows we’re missing together.”

Sierra is still rambling, and I can’t blame her. We’ve never even had a conversation before now, and she’
s riding with me to my home after we’ve ditched school.

Leah shifts her bod
y and peers out the back window. “Shit, shit, shit. There’s a van following us.”

“Is that bad?” I ask.

“You have no idea how bad that is,” Parker replies. “Your world is seriously about to change. I hope you don’t mind a little fame.”

“Parker knows your secret
?” I ask angrily.

“I’m sorry, Bran. I was going to tell you first, but he figured it out. That’s why he dragged me from the cafeteria.”

“How is my life going to change, Leah?” I am glancing over at her, the anxiety evident in my voice.

“Can we please talk about it when we get there?” She throws her head back against the seat. “I think I’m going t
o be sick. My purse is in my locker. That’s a really bad thing. Paul will have to get it, and he can’t track me now. This is not good.”

“If you’r
e not going to tell me anything, then please keep your thoughts in your head,” I say.

We make
it to my house, and when we get to the door, a van pulls up, tires squeal, and a man has a camera on us.

“Hurry, Brandon! Get us inside,” Leah shouts.

“I’m trying!” I fumble with my keys but finally open the door. We go in, and Leah begins shutting the blinds and curtains as if this is some kind of drill she’s practiced many times.

“Go shut every curtain and blind, and make sure every window and door is locked. We need to stay where no one can see in.”

“This will by far be the most exciting thing to ever happen in my life, and it figures I’m not wearing my best khakis today,” Parker says between several squeals.

I run upstairs, doing as Leah asks. I better not end up
trapped in this house with Parker for any length of time, and she so better make some trouble in my room after all this.

“OK, it’s done. Let’s go sit in the family
room,” I say after I get back downstairs. The three of them follow me. “Tyler is still at school, so I have to know what’s going on,” I say as I take a seat on the couch.

Parker sits on the other
end, and Sierra takes the recliner. Leah fidgets with her hands as she paces in front of me. “Who are you, Leah? Is that even your name?”

“
I’m Leeza Lane.”

“I don’t know who that is,
” I say.

Sierra throws her hand over her mouth, so I’m guessing she knows.

“I’m Max
well Lane’s daughter. The Maxwell Lane who created Lane Drive Technologies.”

“So everything’s been a lie? What all have you lied about
Leeza
?” I ask pissed.

“
Please call me Leah. I haven’t lied to you, Brandon. That’s why when you wondered if I had siblings, I asked if we could discuss it later. I had every intention of telling you, but I had to know I could trust you with this kind of news.”

“I can’t believe this is happening,” I say.

“I hadn’t planned on the paparazzi finding me, so I was going to tell you today and then Parker and Sierra tomorrow but that blew up. Sierra, I’m so sorry. I did lie to you but only about a couple of minor things.

“
Paul is not my big brother; he’s my bodyguard. Also, my stylist, Casey, she’s my cousin. I had the money to pay for your hair because I have an endless amount of it.”

“But w
hy in the world are you living in Boulder?” I ask.

“Because Maxwell Lane is scandalous,” Pa
rker says, holding his hand out. He’s really loving this.

“What does that even mean, Parker?” I ask, running my hands down my face.

“Her dad cheated on her mother with a seventeen year old. Well, she was eighteen when it came out. That’s pretty much it.”

“
Remember when I told you about my father? Well, it was in every paper, on every television station, and all over the internet. My mom and I were humiliated. She divorced him, and in July, we moved here to start over.”

“I remember hearing about that, but h
ow is it no one recognized you until now?”

“B
ecause she doesn’t look or act the same,” Sierra says. “Why did you even want to hang out with me?” she asks, pointing to herself. “You used to hang out with … I don’t know, people more like Brandon.”

“That’s not who I was inside, Sierra. It was forced on
me because of our wealth. I really like you and feel more real with you than I have with any of my old friends. Same with Parker.”

Leah h
as a pleading expression on her pretty face as she tangles her fingers in front of her and moves nervously around my family room. This is too much, and I have a bad feeling my heart is getting crushed. I’m beyond confused.

“Can I talk to you alone
in my room?”

She nod
s, so I take her hand and begin to walk, but she stops us and throws her other hand out, pointing at Parker and Sierra.

“Whatever you do, don’t open that door for anyo
ne. I mean anyone, and don’t peek out the curtains. They
will
get pictures of you.”

Sierra and Parker both hold their hands up in surrender. “Oh, and don’t tell anyone on your phone where you are.”

Sierra scrunches her forehead. “I’m sorry, but I texted Gabe. I knew he would worry.”

“No one else,” Leah
says, still pointing.