The Gossip Web (21 page)

             
“Hey, Heidi,” I started off my request slowly, trying to ask her without sounding paranoid. “Could you do me a favor tonight?”

             
“Oh, don’t worry, Jade. I won’t be drinking,” she announced proudly.

             
I frowned at her remark and replied, “No, that’s not what I was going to ask you.”

             
“Then what is it?” She sounded curious.

             
After biting my lip shamefully, I forced myself to ask, “I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind checking up on Trace at the party tonight?”

             
There was silence on her end, and I thought maybe she hadn’t heard me.

             
“Heidi? You there?” I inquired nervously.

             
“Yeah, I’m here,” She said. “So, let me get this straight. You want me to spy on Trace?” Heidi asked me bluntly.

             
“No, Heidi!” I replied with a frown. “Not spy on him.”

             
She laughed at me and asked, “Okay? So what then?”

             
“Just watch out for him…and see that he doesn’t get into any trouble---”

             
“And make sure he stays away from Gloria Malone, right?” Heidi finished for me.

             
I wasn’t surprised that she figured out my agenda. “Yes, that too,” I replied with a sigh.

             
“Jade Cannon! I’m surprised at you!” Heidi said with a laugh. “I didn’t know you were this obsessed! Seriously though, you have nothing to worry about. Trace is crazy about you.”

             
“What? I am not obsessed, Heidi!” I denied hastily. “I just don’t trust Gloria where Trace is concerned. She’ll do anything to get her hooks into him! She’s a lying, two-faced---” I stopped myself from cursing and took a deep breath to steady my nerves. “Will you watch him for me or not?” I inquired irritably,

             
“Of course I will,” Heidi replied cheerfully. “Anything for you, best friend.”

             
“Thanks, Heidi,” I said, and exhaled deeply.

             
“No problem---but I need to get ready now. I’m going to wear that cute little black dress with the rhinestones. Jason is going to love it!” There was a long pause before she said, “Well, I’ll call you later tonight, Jade! Bye!”
             

             
“Okay. Bye,” I told her as I hung up the phone with a smile.

             
If Gloria tried to pull anything tonight I’d know about it, and I would be one step ahead of her. However, as I thought about it some more, I wondered what I would gain from hearing about her putting the moves on Trace. With a sigh, I lied down comfortably on my bed and wished I’d agreed to go to the party tonight. If I had been there with Trace I could’ve protected him from her guile; and I might have gone too, if I hadn’t ran into that damn door earlier! My head still sort of throbbed and I knew I was in no condition to party. Now I had no choice but to wait for Heidi’s call---and until I got that call I would worry all night.

26

IT WAS AROUND NINE O’FIVE WHEN HEIDI CALLED ME BACK,
and
I almost missed the call. I was in the bathroom drying off from the shower when I heard the loud ring of my cell vibrating along my bedroom walls. I rushed into my room frantically, my towel falling off my body as I grabbed the phone and screamed, “Hello?”

“Hey! Jade!” Heidi said happily over the line. I could hear loud music in the background mixed with the voices of other kids laughing and talking. For a second, I wished I could be there with her. I hadn’t been to a party in so long…not since eighth grade, I think. God, I was such a loser.

“What’s up?” I asked her eagerly; I couldn’t wait to hear all about Trace.

“This party is off the hook! You should’ve come, Jade!” She replied happily. “It is…so much fin!”

Raising my eyebrows at her comment, I asked, “Heidi, did you just say fin?”

“Huh? Fin who?” She mumbled, sounding sloshed.

I snickered and shook my head. And she said she wasn’t going to drink. “Never mind. How’s Trace?”

“Oh, he’s good.”

“Is he?” I inquired hopefully.

“Yep. He’s over by the kitchen, I think. Wait---no, he’s in the kitchen,” Heidi giggled suddenly. “The drinks are in the kitchen too, Jade. Jason made me this really nice pink drink. It’s really good!. He told me it’s a princess drink for me…cause I’m a princess!”

“That’s nice, Heidi,” I replied, biting my lip anxiously.

I felt a sudden rush of guilt for asking Heidi to spy on Trace, but the feeling passed when I realized I was doing it for his own good. He obviously couldn’t see Gloria for the conniving bitch she was. Somebody in this relationship had to be wise to her schemes.

I hoped I didn’t sound too demanding as I asked Heidi hastily, “Hey, could you go check on Trace for me? I just want to make sure he’s alright.”

“Yeah, sure. Hold on a second.” I heard scuffling on her end and a voice yell, “Watch out!” Then finally, Heidi came back on the line. “Okay, I found him for you, Jade.”

“And?” I pressed.

“He’s uh, here…in the kitchen.” Her voice sounded sort of grim, causing my heart to drop. A million scenarios ran through my mind, and I couldn’t help but worry.

“What is it, Heidi? What happened? Is Trace okay?” I asked her warily.

Heidi coughed and cleared her throat. “He’s fine, Jade. Just hanging out---”

“Oh? With who?” I interrupted her curiously.

“His friends,” she replied shortly. “You know, the people he usually hangs around with at school…the pops.”

The pops? Boy, was she really drunk. But, as intoxicated as she was, I was worried by Heidi’s behavior. She was being very elusive, which was like her but wasn’t. There was something happening that she didn’t want me to know about. It had to be something that was going to upset me.

“Heidi, what’s going on? Why are you acting so secretive?”

“I’m not, Jade,” she sighed. Then I heard rustling and a voice laugh---and I realized it sounded like Trace’s laugh! I was so close to him and yet so far.

I pressed my cell phone tightly to my ear, hoping to hear Trace’s voice again. “Heidi! Are you near Trace?” I asked her hastily.

“Yeah---hello? Jade, I’m not going to lie to you, okay?” She droned on, the loud sounds of the party vibrating against my ear. “I’ll just tell you the truth.”

“What’s happening?” I asked her nervously, afraid of what she was about to tell me.

I heard her take a deep breath. “Uh, well…I don’t know how to put this delicately so I’m going to just give it to you straight.”

“Okay?” I breathed, petrified.

“Jade, Trace is kind of with Gloria right now,” Heidi stated, and my heart dropped at the news. Of course he was with Gloria. How could I actually believe that I could keep the two of them apart?

Trying to keep my mind clear of any assumptions, I took a slow and much needed deep breath before I asked her, “What are they doing?”

“Just hanging out. That’s all.” She was having a hard time keeping her voice calm, and it was painfully obvious to me that she was lying. Heidi was a terrific actress and she could fool just about anyone---but not me. Ever since fifth grade, when she broke the arm off of one of my Barbie dolls and lied about it horribly, I knew when she was fibbing.

“Just tell me the truth!” I said fiercely, growing irritated with her.

“Okay, okay,” Heidi sighed. “There sitting really close to each other, and---” I heard her hiccup before she continued, “And Gloria is really working him, Jade. She has a hand on his shoulder and…she keeps leaning in towards his face. The girl moves fast.” She started to laugh and I was confused by her demeanor. Nothing that she had told me so far had been the least bit funny, but I realized it was probably the booze that was making her act this way.

“Heidi, is there anything else you want to tell me?” I asked her hastily. I was beyond furious and eager to end the call.

“No, nothing else. That’s all...”

I sighed, disappointed by the truth. “Okay, well I’m going to go now. Have fun.”

“I’m sorry, Jade,” Heidi stated quickly. “I didn’t want to tell you---but you asked.”

“I know, Heidi,” I whispered sadly, wishing that I hadn’t.

She hiccupped again. “But cheer up, Jade. It’ll be okay.”

I shook my head and replied angrily, “Gloria has devoted herself to destroying my life. She has Trace and I have nothing! It’s not going to be okay, Heidi.”

“Well, at least you have your health,” I heard her mumble before the line went dead.
             
Glaring down at my cell phone as the screen blinked that the call had ended, I suppressed the urge to toss it at the wall. I fell down atop my bed, on the brink of screaming. I was fuming, stark raving mad! How could Trace do this to me? Especially after what he’d said earlier. This love-triangle between him, Gloria, and I, was just insane. Our relationship---or whatever it was--- wasn’t doing me any good. Maybe I was right before, and I had to end it. For good this time.

27

AFTER PACING MY ROOM FOR ABOUT AN HOUR OR SO---
terrible thoughts about Trace and Gloria racing through my mind---I decided to split and go take a walk. I figured it would help clear my head and give me some idea as to what I should do. As usual, I was in another tight spot. I knew that I had to take action soon, before I went into a downward spiral again. Who knew a guy could cause a girl so much stress?

But there was another reason as to why I wanted to get out of the house. My father had informed me earlier that Erika was coming over for a visit and he requested some alone time with her. Yuck. I guess he didn’t mind me wandering the darkened subdivision at night since his girlfriend was coming over to play. I didn’t mind leaving though; I definitely did not want to witness the two of them making out like they were two kids my age. I saw enough of that after the winter formal. With that gross information in hand, I hurried out of my house at full speed. I wasn’t sure where I was headed, but it didn’t matter to me so long as I was far away from my house. Seeing Erika would only worsen my mood anyways. She always knew how not to cheer me up.

I’d been walking for nearly ten minutes before I realized that someone was following close behind me. The streetlamps sent a large shadow alongside of mine, and my heart raced with fear. I dared not to turn around, but I hurried my pace and kicked my legs into high gear. After running for what seemed like an eternity, I ran out of breath and slowed down just as a playground came into view.

Without a moment’s hesitation, I ran over towards the slide and crawled up the ladder. Keeping my head low as I crouched down on the fort, I searched for my stalker in stealth. I peered around the street cautiously, but I found no one in sight. Whoever it was seemed to have left. After sighing with relief, I climbed down the ladder and landed on the ground carefully.

“Hey, Jade,” a voice said from behind me. I screamed from surprise and hurled a fist in the direction of the voice.

“Ouch! Watch where you’re throwing those things!” Trace growled, rubbing his chest furiously. Absolutely shocked that he was standing there, I simply stared at him dumbly. What was he doing here?

Trace laughed suddenly. “You know, I think you like causing physical pain, Jade,” he told me with a smile.

I searched around the dim park fearfully, finding no one else in sight. He must’ve been the person I’d been running from. Glaring at him angrily, I asked, “Were you the one following me?”

He shoved his hands inside his jean pockets and replied, “Yeah. You’re a tough girl to catch.”

Upon remembering he lived all the way across town, I asked him, “What are you even doing over here anyways?”

“I needed to see you,” Trace said, taking a step closer. “I was driving over to your house when I saw you walking down the road---so I decided to park my car and trail after you.”

I felt a smile forming on my face, but I pushed it away when the mental image of him holding Gloria filled my head. Now I was even more flustered. I moved away from Trace quickly, just as my face burned with anger. Avoiding his heavy stare, I mumbled, “That’s creepy. You should’ve told me you were following me.”