CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Helen arrived that evening and a family meeting was held. The kids weren’t involved. Analise, James, Helen, and David were the only ones included. It was around eleven that night when the doorbell rang again. Logan and Nate filtered inside. The screeching from the family meeting had penetrated all rooms in the mansion. They needed peace and quiet. Mason grinned as the three of them took over the theater room.

As they watched basketball, I stayed in my room and did my homework. It was already late, but I knew they needed that time to settle down. Too much chaos had happened. When it was midnight, my eyes were starting to droop. We had napped during the day, but I couldn’t hold out much longer. It was one in the morning when I crawled in bed. I felt Mason slip in later and I opened my eyes a crack. It was around three.

Everyone was quiet the next morning. Nate had gone to pick his parents up at the airport. Logan took off in the yellow Escalade, but not after he riffled a hand through my hair and kissed my cheek. “See ya, kiddo.”

I glared at his back, but Mason chuckled behind me. When I turned to glare at him, he kissed me on the lips and tapped my butt. “Let’s go. I’ll give you a ride.”

We stopped for my morning coffee so I was happy.

The next few days were quiet. It was strange.

The Elite stuck close to my side. Lunch was spent at a restaurant every day and I realized they took turns fitting the bill. I figured my turn was coming up, but I wasn’t rich so I wasn’t sure what to do. Adam never asked about the guys. No one did, but I felt as if they knew. Then I realized they probably did know.

Mason and Logan returned to school that Tuesday while Nate was shipped to Brazil with his parents. They hadn’t been happy about his involvement and Logan confessed one night that they blamed Mason for all of Nate’s troubles. He said that they deemed him an unhealthy influence. I ventured once to ask Mason when Nate would come back and his jaw hardened. When he replied that he didn’t know, it seemed to pain him.

I never asked again.

Now it was Friday.

The parents hadn’t clued us in to their family meeting, what was talked about, what they had decided, or if there had been anything to decide in the first place. Helen booked herself a hotel room in town, and the guys had stayed with her for the last two nights. When Garrett arrived from Boston, I hadn’t the heart to tell him about Helen’s arrival. I wasn’t sure if he knew and to be truthful, I didn’t want to be included in their relationship.

When Becky halted at my locker after our first class, she was red in the face. Her red hair had been swept back in a ponytail, but half of it had been forgotten. She gasped and leaned against a locker for breath.

“You okay?”

She shook her head and held a finger up. One moment.

I closed my locker and waited.

Then she gasped out, “Sorry—mile today.”

My eyebrow arched.

The redness spread from her cheeks to her entire face. It slipped down her neck and she yanked her shirt away from her neck and started to fan herself with it. “Sorry. I had to run the mile this morning for gym. I met Coach early and he said I could try out for the squad.”

“The squad?”

She nodded her head in earnest and shot her arms up in the air. “I’m a cheerleader! Congratulate me.”

“Congratulations.” I inched back a step. “Who are you cheering for?”

“For the hockey team. Their first game is next Thursday night.”

“That’s right.”

Her eyes sparkled. “I get to cheer for Adam.”

I frowned. “I thought he had a job at the country club.”

“He does.” Her eyes lost a little of the sparkle, but she frowned, twirled some strands of hair around her finger, and the sparkle doubled back. “I’m sure he’ll cut down on his hours. I’m not sure. I don’t care. I’m a cheerleader, Sam! Aren’t you happy for me?”

She started bouncing in place. Her hands clapped together with each bounce.

I nodded with my eyes wide. “I am very happy for you.”

“Yay!” She pretended to do a cheer, but as she lifted her leg in the air, she kicked someone in the head.

“Ouch! Watch out!” they growled before they shoved through the crowd.

“Oh!” Her hand flew to her mouth. She edged close to me. “You think I hurt him?”

I shrugged. I didn’t care. “Do you know where Adam is?”

“Oh yeah!” The cheerleader bounce was back in her step. She wiggled her hips and pointed towards the senior hallway. “He was talking to Rebecca Lindstrom.”

“Thanks.”

“Wait.” She danced in front of me and stopped me. “Why are you going to see Adam?” Her dancing stopped.

“Because he has a job.”

“I have a job.”

“You do?”

“Yeah, well—no.”

I started to edge around her again. “I need money. Adam has a job. I was hoping to talk to him about it.” I tilted my head to the side as I studied her. She was biting her lip and she twisted her hands together in front of her. “Is that okay with you?”

Her shoulders dropped an inch. “Yeah. I’ll talk to you later?”

I nodded. “You bet.” I patted her shoulder as I hurried away. When I got to the senior hallway, Adam and a tall black-haired girl were pressed together in front of his locker. His head was bent towards hers and she was looking up. If I couldn’t have heard their voices, I would’ve assumed they were kissing. As I drew closer, I cleared my throat and waited.

Adam glanced up and went back down. Then his head jerked up again and surprised flared in his eyes. “Samantha! Hey.”

She turned around with a snooty pout on her lips. Her shirt was tied tight around her chest and lifted up to show her midriff. As she let out an annoyed breath, her hands smoothed out her skirt. It was inched down as a result. “Hi, Samantha.”

“Rebecca.” I tried for a blank look. “How are you?” I remembered that she was friends with Jessica, had been since first grade. They grew up next door to each other.

“Good.”

“Hey.” Adam stepped out from his locker and to the side. Rebecca frowned at their distance. “What’s going on?”

“You have a job, right?”

“Right.” His eyes shifted back and forth. “So?”