The Girl Death Left Behind (6 page)

“I miss him. My stepdad and I don’t get along real well.”

“I thought you liked everybody.”

“Everybody under age twenty.” He twisted toward her on the branch. “I wish I
could see more of my real dad, but he’s not around. Still, it’s not like your situation.”

“Actually, I’ve sort of worked out a scenario about my situation,” she said. “I pretend that I’m only visiting my aunt and uncle and that my family is back home, all safe and happy. Sometimes it’s just easier to pretend than it is to remember.”

“I do that myself. Especially after my stepdad and I have a blowup. I go in my room and think back to when Dad and Mom were still married. It wasn’t paradise, but I remember being happier when we were all together.”

“Sometimes I wonder if I’ll ever be happy again.”

“Sure you will.” He slid off the branch, turned, and reached up for her. “Tell you what, I’ll make it my mission to see that you are.” He placed his hands firmly around her waist and pulled her down toward him.

“You don’t have to,” she said. They were so close, she could feel his breath on her cheek.

“I know.” He stepped back, bent, and picked up the plate he’d tossed down. “But no one should have to face entry into Westwood
and
Terri the Tattler without some sort of safety net.”

She laughed and was surprised at how good it felt to laugh again. “Thanks,” she told him.

“For what?”

“For making me laugh.”

He bowed from the waist. “It’s a Harrison specialty. Just ask any of my teachers. Want to go back to the party with me?”

She shook her head. “Thanks, but no thanks.”

“Then I’ll see you at school come Monday.”

“Sure,” she said. “Come Monday.” She watched him return to the patio alone.

“Where did you disappear to?” It was Terri’s first question when they arrived home from the party that night. “I looked for you everyplace to introduce you around.”

“I sort of hung out with a tree in the backyard.”

Terri stared at Beth as if she’d lost her mind. “You could have had a good time, you know. You didn’t have to hide.”

“I had an okay time.”

“I wanted to point out Jared Harrison to you.”

Beth’s head snapped up. “Why?”

A gooey smile spread over Terri’s face. “I have plans for him and me.”

“Plans?”

“Absolutely. I think he’s totally buff, and this year I intend to make him my guy. Count on it.”

10
 

T
he halls of Westwood were clogged with students returning for classes, and when the tardy bell rang, Beth was still lost in the halls where Terri had abandoned her. “Meet me at the front door at three-fifteen,” Terri had yelled before speeding away. Beth finally found her way to homeroom, where she received a reprimand from her teacher for being late. At lunch she sat by herself. She was poking at her meal halfheartedly when Jared Harrison plunked his lunch tray next to hers.

“Want some company?” he asked.

“Sit only if you want to face social ostracism.”

“Things can’t be that bad.”

She wanted to tell somebody how much she missed her friends—and her former life—but she couldn’t find the words. Plus, she was afraid she’d burst into tears and make a spectacle of herself. “Things are just different,” she wound up saying.

“Show me your class schedule. Maybe we’ll have a class together.” She showed him her card. “Sixth-period algebra.” He handed it back. “We can sit together.”

The knowledge calmed her. At least his was one friendly face. “
If
I survive until then.”

“You’ll make it. You have to. I don’t want to face Sheffield by myself.”

“Is she tough?”

He snorted. “You could say that.”

Beth’s heart sank. She was having trouble concentrating in classes already. How was she ever going to make it through a really rough one? “Maybe I could drop it.”

“What—and leave me to fight the Lion all by myself?”

He looked panicked, and it made her smile. “Okay—I’ll give it a try.”

The bell rang, and he stood. “I got to run. Literally. Phys ed next period. Nice to see you again, Beth.”

She ducked into the bathroom and brushed her long brown hair. Just seeing Jared had brightened her day considerably, and now she could look forward to seeing him again in class.

Behind her a bathroom stall door opened, and a girl’s image flashed in the mirror. She was about Beth’s height, but waif thin. Her short hair stood up in spikes in a bright shade of orange that matched her lipstick. A line of stud earrings followed the curve of each ear, and a nose ring jutted from one nostril. The girl wore a short denim skirt, a denim vest, and a black tank top. On her upper left arm, Beth saw a crude heart-shaped tattoo. The girl dropped a duffel bag to the floor and stepped up to the sink, where she bent and splashed water on her face. When she raised her head, she caught Beth’s gaze in the mirror and snarled, “Something bothering you?”

“Uh—no.”

“Then stop staring.”

Beth glanced away, but when the girl leaned closer to the mirror and tucked her nose ring into her nostril and out of sight, Beth gawked again.

“I told you to get out of my face!”

Beth didn’t need a second warning. She snatched up her books and ran from the bathroom and the belligerent, weird-looking girl.

In algebra class, Jared signaled to her from the back of the room, and she hurried to the seat he’d saved for her. She took copious notes when Mrs. Sheffield detailed what was expected, and only looked up when the final bell rang.

Jared waited while Beth gathered her things. “I’m exhausted from watching you take notes,” he said.

“I don’t want to get behind.”

“Catching the bus home?”

“Not today. Aunt Camille insisted on picking us up on the first day. We’re meeting out front.”

“Come on. I’ll walk with you.”

She felt less intimidated walking alongside
Jared in the crowded, noisy halls. Once outside, she looked around for Terri. “Guess she’s late.”

“I’ll wait with you. Let’s sit.” A stone bench beneath a large tree offered shade from the hot afternoon sun. Cars and buses lined up in the loading zone. “Day one is over,” he said. “You’ll never have to go through it again.”

“I’ll remind myself of that tomorrow when I’m still lost wandering the halls.”

Just then a motorcycle roared around a waiting bus and screeched to a stop almost in front of the bench. A guy dressed in torn jeans and a black T-shirt balanced the sleek cycle and gunned the big engine. The girl with orange hair and an attitude flopped her duffel bag onto the seat, put on a helmet, and swung onto the bike behind the driver. He glanced over his shoulder once before revving the engine and speeding off. “Who’s
she
?” Beth asked.

“Sloane Alonso.”

“You know her?”

“Everybody knows Sloane.”

Beth made a face. “She’s scary.”

“She’s all right.”

“You
like
her?”

“I told you, I like everybody.”

“Really? She’s so different from the other kids I’ve met.”

“She’s got problems.”

“Such as?”

“Rotten home life. The worst. When things get really bad, she’s been known to bring a sleeping bag and crash here at the school.”

“You’re joking.” But Beth could tell by his expression that he wasn’t. “Where does she sleep?”

“Girls’ bathrooms, janitors’ closets, anyplace she can sneak into without getting caught.”

“And nobody knows? Not the principal, or a teacher?”

“Nobody knows and everybody knows, if you get my meaning. There are a lot of rumors. If she gets caught, she’ll be suspended.”

“Why doesn’t she just let somebody in authority know about her rotten home life?”

“ ’Cause she’d probably get sent to some foster home.”

“Seems like that would be better than living the way she does.”

“She doesn’t think so. Some of us help her out. We bring her food. Keep our mouths shut.”

Beth held her breath. Was he asking her not to tell anyone? “It’s none of my business.”

Jared grinned amiably. “I figured you for the type to keep a secret. Not like your cousin.”

“What did Terri do to Sloane?”

“Ratted on her once. Got her into trouble. Terri didn’t have to, but she did. It really bummed a lot of us out.”

“Is that why kids don’t like Terri?”

Jared shrugged. “There are lots of things about Terri that put kids off. She carries around this ‘I’m better than you’ attitude. I don’t mean to slam her. I know she’s your cousin and all.”

“No problem.” Beth knew exactly what Jared meant. In the weeks she’d lived with Terri, Beth had felt no special affection for her cousin. Terri had an abrasive quality—not like Sloane’s, but like a thornbush that repelled closeness. “Do
you
feed Sloane?”

“Sure. It’s the least I can do for her.”

“Is that guy on the motorcycle her boyfriend?”

“I guess. He’s new from the one she had last school year. She always dates older guys. Mostly because they can drive.” He draped his elbows over the back of the bench. “Which is my main goal. I can’t wait until I can drive unrestricted.”

Her fifteenth birthday was in March, so she had a long time before she’d be sixteen and driving. A long time before she could return home on her own. “One day you’ll drive this baby to the mall without me,” her father had joked the day he’d brought the van home from the car lot. And she’d rolled her eyes and groaned, “No way! It’s ugly. If my friends see me in this, I’ll die!” Except that she hadn’t died. Her family had.

“Excuse me.” Jared snapped his fingers in front of her face. “Is it something I said, or do you just check out on people?”

“Sorry.” Embarrassed, she stood. She hadn’t expected to be blindsided by such an innocent memory.

Terri, rushing up, saved her from having to explain. “Sorry I’m late, but I got to talking—”
She stopped abruptly when she saw Jared.

He rose and grabbed his books. “Catch you tomorrow.”

He walked away. Terri grabbed Beth’s arm. “All right,
cousin
. Just what do you think you’re doing?”

11
 

“W
hat’s that supposed to mean?” Beth asked.

“I told you at the party I liked Jared. I thought you understood that he was ‘hands off.’ ”

“But I wasn’t—”

“I
saw
you sitting here making friendly with him.” Terri’s face had turned red, and her eyes narrowed.

Beth almost lost her patience and blasted Terri, but a car’s horn interrupted her.

“Over here!” Aunt Camille called, waving.

“This isn’t over,” Terri hissed as the two
of them hurried to the car. Beth settled in the backseat, and Terri took the front.

“I know I’m late, but I got hung up at a meeting,” Aunt Camille said. “Hope you haven’t been waiting too long.” When neither girl answered, Camille asked Beth, “How was your first day?”

“Aren’t you going to ask about
my
day?” Terri asked before Beth could answer.

“Well, of course. But you’ve done this before at Westwood. Beth hasn’t.” Camille caught Beth’s eye in the rearview mirror. “So tell me about it. Do you like your classes? Did you find your way around easily? Meet any interesting new kids?”

“Yes. No. Yes.”

“Okay, I promise not to badger you. I’m not trying to pry, honey. I’m only trying to make sure you’re happy.”

How could Beth tell her that she wasn’t happy? That she didn’t know how to be happy anymore?

“Tell you what,” Camille said. “Since Jack’s on the road, why don’t we go out for dinner? Chinese all right?”

Beth and Terri agreed, but once they’d been served their food, Beth could hardly
swallow it. She kept remembering every other first day of school in her life. How she and her brother and sister sat around the table and took turns telling about their new classes. And how Doug and Allison always argued over who went first. And how their mother would have made one of their special desserts. Last year she’d baked a chocolate cake with white icing—Allison’s favorite.

“You’re not eating much,” Aunt Camille said to Beth.

“I’m not real hungry.”

“No matter. We’ll take it home.”