Hoax (15 page)

             
Now it was my turn.  I grabbed him by his collar and got into his face, “Don’t you ever talk about Corinne like that.  Ever.”  I punched him once, square in the nose and left him bleeding.  Ryan wrangled me under control but I doubted I could ever get past him talking about my girl. 

             
He pushed me away and laughed.  No one else said anything.  He made his way over to Sean and I steeled myself for what was next.  I stood there and questioned why it was that I was their friend.  I looked up to see Corinne through the cafeteria windows watching the show.  I’ve never felt so ashamed of myself as I did in that moment.  She had front row seats to the worst part of me. 

             
She bolted through the doors and they crashed behind her.  I thought maybe she was going to tear my ass up right there in front of everyone and I deserved nothing less. But when her eyes met mine I knew that wasn’t true.  Her eyes, as always, told me what she was up to.  They were angry and determined. 

             
She went in that circle of wanna-be thugs and grabbed Sean and ran him out of there like nothing I’d ever seen.  The whole lot of them stood there in shock, including me.  Eventually I came out of my stupor and chased after her.  I made it to the parking lot just in time to see her truck skid out.  I made myself wait about thirty minutes and then called her.  It rang endlessly and then went to voicemail.  I drove past her house and she still wasn’t home.  I spent the next two hours in my car, texting her and calling her.  I finally decided to call Sean to see if he was alright.  I had his number from last year when he was my Civics study partner. 

             
“Abel?” He answered.

             
“Yeah, I just wanted to make sure you were ok.”  I lied through my teeth.

             
“You mean you’re using that to ask me if Corinne is ok.” He laughed and I’d been caught.

             
“Yeah, kinda, sorry.”

             
“She’s pissed and upset.  I tried to tell her that you’ve never done anything to me but she wasn’t having it.”

             
“Thanks, man.”

             
“Can I tell you something Abel?”  Sean usually didn’t talk much, so I knew if he wanted to tell me something, it must be important.

             
“Shoot.”

             
“You’re better than those guys.  After we get out of high school?  When we get to the real world?  You can’t bully your way through college or a job or having a family.  And Corinne is gorgeous, no doubt.  But as a person, she’s amazing.  If you ever have to make a choice, remember that.” 

             
I heard someone calling him. He made his excuses and got off of the phone. 

             
I called Corinne, I had to keep trying.  She answered the phone and gave me a tongue lashing and it was probably only ten percent of what I deserved.  She started to cry towards the end of the conversation and I couldn’t listen this way anymore.  Not being able to see her, to hold her while she cried, was torture.  I got in my truck and drove to her house.  Her parents weren’t home and even if they were, I didn’t care right now.  I walked to the backdoor, the one closest to her room, and knocked but there was no answer.  I texted her and then I waited.  Just as I decided that she wasn’t going to open the door, I heard the lock turn and she opened it and I fell into her house. 

             
We went back and forth, mostly me listening to her tell me all the wretched things that I already knew about myself.  She told me she wouldn’t have anything to do with my friends and that was more than fine with me.  They didn’t deserve to breathe the same air as she did.  She leaned against the open door and it crushed me not to have my arms around her.  But when a fresh set of tears barreled down her cheeks, my efforts became futile.  I reached over, prepared to be rejected but found the opposite.  She pummeled into my chest and fisted the back of my shirt.  I put one hand on her back and one on the back of her head and held on for dear life because Corinne in my arms was my life. 

             
I bent down, my mouth next to her ear and whispered in the strongest voice I could muster, “I’m so sorry.  I never wanted you to see that part of my life.”  She nodded, her face against my chest and squeezed me tighter. 

             
She broke away first, there was no way I would, and her lips touched mine for a millisecond.  But her hands remained on my hips

             
“Sean said I should probably watch my back from now on.  I’m kinda freaked out.  He might pull a Carrie on me.”  She laughed a little but it was so far from funny.

             
“He won’t touch you.  He made a comment about you today and I clocked him before the Sean thing.”

             
“You did? What did he say?” 

             
“He made a lewd comment about,” I pointed to her body in a roundabout way.  “Your body and I won’t stand for it.”

             
She put her forehead against the center of my chest and exhaled.

             
“Come in, sit down.”  She moved away and I stepped inside, grateful she was even speaking to me at this point.   She sat down on the couch across from mine and put her fingertips over her mouth.  This was her signal to me that she was choosing her words.

             
“How much do you know about Sean?”

             
“He’s smart, we studied together last year.  His Dad is a prick and I’ve never even seen his mom.  That’s all I know.” 

             
She pulled her legs under her on the couch and then realized where she was, in her parents’ stuck up house, and put them back on the floor. 

             
“Sean’s mom died eighteen months ago of uterine cancer.  That’s why you didn’t see her; she was fighting for her life. His Dad is such an ass because he has a hard time juggling four kids without a wife and their mother.  And Sean has to go home, do homework and cook and clean for five people because he’s the oldest.  Then on top of that he has to go to school and be terrorized because he’s too skinny, too nice, too opposite of whatever Brett’s standards are.  So, he deserves your defense a whole hell of a lot more than I do.”

             
I blew out a breath and scrubbed my face with my hands.  She was right.  Of course she was right.  I had no idea that Sean went through all of that; had no idea that his home life was shit.  I pinched my forehead in between my thumb and the rest of my fingers and worked through what a bastard I had turned out to be.  Her home phone rang and she jumped up to answer it.  She looked confused for a minute but answered ‘Yes, Sir’ and then hung up.  As soon as she did her cell phone alerted her and she picked it up and laughed. 

             
She returned and instead of sitting across the room she sat next to me, sat like she actually liked me again. 

             
“Sean texted me and said ‘Give the guy a break.  He loves you.’”

             
“And?”
Please let her listen to Sean.  I will kiss him flat on the lips and never let anyone touch him ever again if she does.

             
“I don’t know Abel.  It won’t be solved tonight.  I won’t ask you to change who you are or who your friends are, even what you do with them.  What I’m saying is that I won’t be a part of it.  And as much as I hate to even speak the words, I won’t be with someone who chooses to participate in it, aggressively or passively.  I just won’t do it.”

             
But in opposition the words that flowed from her beautiful mouth, she leaned back and wrapped her arms around my stomach and rested her head against my shoulder. 

             
“Worst—day—ever.” She said against my back, I could feel the heat from her mouth on my skin through my shirt.

             
“Understatement—of—year.” 

             
“Ok, I’m going to bed.  You look like Hell Abel, go home, sleep.”

             
“Ok, goodnight.” I got up to leave and the impending doom crashed down on me and I found myself needing her like I’ve never needed her before.

             
I turned around as she stood up from the couch and walked towards the kitchen.  Our eyes met and I knew that she needed what I was about to give her as much as I needed to take from her.  I picked her up and set her on the kitchen counter and without hesitation she let me.  Her legs wrapped around my torso and her fingernails scraped against the back of my head, searching desperately for the hair I had to cut off for school regulations.  Her tongue moved in my mouth, slowly and deliberately and I never wanted for her to lose this vehement desire for me.  I reached for her hips, shifted her closer to the edge of the counter, wanting to meld her body into mine if only for this moment, if only for tonight.  We progressively slowed down, open mouths closed, lips and hands calmed.  We rested our foreheads together as we caught our breath and she sighed.

             
“Doesn’t change anything.” She whispered.

             
“I know.” I breathed back and I forced myself to break away from her.  I yearned to see her look at me through loving eyes again.  I realized as I stood there the difference between who I was over the summer and who I pretended to be at school.  It was ten times harder to be popular, runs with Brett, Abel.  It was full of stress.  It overflowed with guilt. It felt like shit and it caused me to lose sleep.

             
  I walked out on her, still panting on the counter.  Something had to give.

Corinne

              I sat there on the counter and let my heart slow down while my brain and my body had a heated argument.  I really didn’t want to be
that
girl.  The one who came in and made the guy give up his friends and be—well—whipped.  At least I found a way to tell him the truth today, not as fiercely as I wanted to, but it was done.  As much as it hurt me and him, it had to be said.  And truth be told, my prayer was that he picked me.

             
I got down from the counter.  I swear I would never look at that kitchen again the same again.  I locked the backdoor and went to shower and go to bed.  While Abel was here, my dad called and said that he and Mom were going to stay overnight wherever they were.  I didn’t know if that was a normal thing or not, considering I had never lived with them.  And I realized that I didn’t really know anything about my parents.

             
I lay in the bed that night and as exhausted as I was, couldn’t make myself sleep.  I promised Sean I would go see his BMX race the next day.  Abel said he would come too but I didn’t know if he would or not. 

              The smile that sprang to Sean’s face was priceless.  The guy just couldn’t be sweeter.  Yeah, he was a little on the skinny side but he was really cute and had a set of green eyes that any girl could get lost in.  And it was here, at the BMX track that his slender frame favored him.  Over every single hill he jumped the highest and he already won three heats.  I forced myself to pay attention since none of Sean’s family showed up for these things.  It was the least I could do since Sean was probably going to be my lifeline through this thing with Abel. 

             
Plus, paying attention kept me from looking around for Abel to show up—kinda.

             
It was halfway through the final race that tanned arms folded next to me on the barricade.  Turning my head to see whose arms they were wasn’t necessary.  A wave of consciousness rippled through me before I even saw him.  Sean whizzed by us and a few seconds later, claimed first place.  I cheered and jumped for him.  He deserved it. Abel smiled at me making a rukus and joined in with me.  For a moment we were both just happy for Sean.

             
We clapped just as loudly through the trophy ceremony and then Sean came down to hug me and fist bump Abel. 

             
“Thanks for coming.  I’ve never had anyone in the stands before.  And you, girl, you’ve got a set of lungs.” He hugged me again. 

             
“Yeah, you should’ve heard her at the Silent Film concert.  At one point I couldn’t hear the singer for her.” I slapped his shoulder and blushed.  I had to be strong and not let myself remember that night.  That was the night I fell in love with Abel. 

             
I cleared my throat, not willing to let it ruin Sean’s afterglow. 

             
“Dude, I’m taking you for pizza!  You’ve got to be starving after all that.”