In the Middle of Nowhere (24 page)

“Jaques!” Tessa huffed.

“Sorry, sis.”

Officer Cutie shook Jaques’s hand. “Thank
you.”

After Jaques was done charming the policeman,
he ushered him toward the foyer. As soon as they left the room, I
looked at Tessa.

“Are you parents gonna be pissed when Jaques
tells them what happened?”

“No,” she stated without hesitation as she
walked away toward the kitchen.

“Really?” I said as I followed her. “Not at
all?”

“Jaques isn’t gonna tell them
anything
,” she said with the utmost confidence.

I was confused. “But he just said—“

Tessa stopped and turned toward me. “He was
just saying that, Willow, to kiss up to Officer Collins. He’d never
rat me out to our parents. Never.”

“Lucky you,” I said as I leaned against the
cold, granite countertop while coming to terms with my reality. “I,
on the other hand, am gonna be screwed!”

• • •

“Willow Ann Flynn! What were you thinking?”
my mother scolded me, as her dark green eyes grew even darker with
anger. “Your father would be so disappointed in you!”

I got angry and shot back, “Don’t bring Daddy
into this! He’s not here anymore to say how he’d feel and you’ve
had no problem replacing him, have you, you whore!”

My mom, who had been sitting at the kitchen
table, jumped up and lunged at me. She grabbed me around my throat
and started squeezing. I couldn’t believe the power she held within
her slender, little fingers. I couldn’t breathe as she continued to
strangle me. I tried to fight her off, but all the muscles in my
body were frozen. I couldn’t move and could feel myself going
unconscious. With one last burst of energy I screamed,
“Stopppppp!”

I woke up and found myself lying next to
Tessa. She moved.

“What are you saying?” she asked
groggily.

I shook my head. “Nothing. I was just having
a bad dream.”

I turned on my side and faced the wall. The
sun was starting to stream in through her bedroom window. I glanced
at the clock and saw that it was nine. I got up and closed the
blinds remembering that we hadn’t gone to bed until 4:00 A.M. I
definitely needed more sleep.

I forced my eyes closed as I thought back to
the dream. It seemed so real. I called my mother a whore and she
tried to kill me. Why had I dreamt it? Did I really think of my
mother as a whore? Did I feel that she was, in a way, killing me,
or the part of me that was of my father, by marrying Brian?

I pulled the covers over my head and tried to
go back to sleep so I could forget the events of the night before
and the horrible dream that, somehow, crept inside and invaded
me.

• • •

Tessa finally dropped me off at my house
around noon. Luckily my mom and James weren’t home and I was
thankful to be alone in the house.

As soon as I walked in the front door,
Princess came up to me and brushed her spine against my leg. I felt
so badly for my cat. I had been neglecting her lately. I was so
busy with my own life, I forgot to pay attention to my furry
friend.

I knelt down and petted her. “Hi, there,
Princess.” She purred as I stroked her.

I leaned over and kissed the top of her head.
“I love you,” I said and meant it. Even though I hadn’t spent much
time with my cat, I realized I really did love her and would miss
her terribly if anything ever happened to her. I couldn’t think
that way and removed any such thought from my head.

I also realized that I had neglected more
than my cat lately. It was already Sunday afternoon and I hadn’t
done a stitch of homework.

I grabbed a bowl of cereal and headed
upstairs just as my mom and James came home. James headed for the
television, while my mother carried groceries into the kitchen.

“Did you have fun last night, Willow?” she
called over her shoulder.

“You could say that,” I said as I spooned
some Chocolate O’s into my mouth. “I have a ton of homework, Mom.
I’ll be in my room doing it.” I walked out of the kitchen.

“You should have been working on it over the
weekend and not waited until today, Willow, since—” she called
after me as I headed up the stairs. Her voice trailed off as I
walked down the hallway and farther away from her.

I knew my mom was right, of course, but I
also knew that saving my homework until the last minute was
definitely worth it. I’d never forget the previous night and would
most likely never have another one like it for the rest of my
life.

CHAPTER
THIRTY-THREE

I was never so happy to go to school,
freezing ferry ride and all. At the same time I was nervous,
envisioning my mother being called down to the principal’s office
at my brother’s elementary school, where Mr. Woods would calmly
explain to her how her irresponsible, sixteen-year-old-daughter
broke in and trespassed along with a bunch of underage,
alcohol-toting teens.

I wondered if I’d be able to hear my mother’s
reaction across Casco Bay all the way to Portland High when he
dropped the bomb. What would she do once she found out? Ground me
to the house or to my room indefinitely? I should’ve packed my
belongings just in case my mother demanded that I go and live
elsewhere. I felt that I was a disappointment to her lately, but
also didn’t care at the same time and couldn’t explain why.

I looked out the window and saw that we were
almost at the dock in Portland. I thought back to the night before.
I had just finished my homework when Tessa called. I almost didn’t
pick up. I didn’t feel like talking to her and rehashing our
idiotic adventure.

“Hey,” I had said.

“I guess Rocky and Connor got grounded for
breaking into the school, Connor forever because it’s the second
time he got caught doing it. He’s such a moron. Nice way to spend
the rest of your senior year, locked up in solitary.”

“I’m gonna be just as grounded as them, by
the way, probably even more because my mother works at that
freakin’ school. I can just hear her now about how much of an
embarrassment I am.”

“So what,” Tessa had said. “Is your mom
perfect? Didn’t she ever screw up?”

“Not like me, I’m sure,” I sighed as I
gathered my books and placed them into my backpack.

“Well, either way, you gotta admit that it
was kind of fun.”

I became annoyed. “It was for you because
your parents are never gonna find out! I would love to have an
older brother cover for me and my mother not always breathing down
my neck about everything I did.”

I could sense Tessa thinking on the other end
before she answered. “Trust me. You wouldn’t.”

The boat pulled into the harbor and snapped
me back to reality. Maybe Tessa was right. Maybe having a mother
who cared, even if it meant being punished, was better than having
no one care at all.

• • •

I was as slow as a snail as I made my way
toward my homeroom. I took a seat in the back and looked around.
Most of the students were already there, but Tessa was noticeably
absent. I wasn’t surprised. She was always late for homeroom and
would come up with some lame excuse for Mr. Singer. He bought it
each and every time. It still annoyed me how much she got away with
just because she was flirtatious. I couldn’t be bothered.

Obediently I raised my hand when called and
said, “Here.” There was one minute left in homeroom and Tessa still
hadn’t appeared. Morning announcements were over and I gathered my
things for first period. Just then the door to our classroom swung
open. Here she comes, I thought to myself, even before Tessa
entered. I was dying to hear what excuse she had this morning; her
locker contained a hidden bomb that detonated the second she opened
it or her ride to school got detained as it had to wait behind a
blockade so a convoy containing the president of the United States
could pass by.

I was ready and poised, waiting for her tall
tale. No one entered right away. Voices could be heard coming from
beyond the threshold. Everyone looked at the door to see who was
there.

My jaw dropped when the mysterious student
entered. Michael Cooper walked in, strolled over to Mr. Singer and
said, “Here.” The bell rang. The other students got up and headed
for the door. Michael searched the room and found me. He stared at
me. I remained frozen in my seat and stared back.

• • •

“What are you doing here?” I whispered as I
looked around to make sure no else was nearby. “I thought you were
sick?”

“I am, I mean I was.” Michael turned away to
cough.

“You still sound sick to me.”

He touched my arm and tried to reassure me.
“I’m fine.”

We stood in a small, dead-end hallway where
the custodial staff resided, far away from the other classrooms. I
was skipping my English class and would most certainly get a
detention because of it, but I didn’t care.

“Your mom doesn’t mind that you’re here?
Can’t you get even sicker?” I asked. I had done more research on CF
and found out that a person who was in a weakened state could get
worse if exposed to even the common cold. A high school, or any
school for that matter, was a cesspool of germs waiting to invade
the most vulnerable.

He looked away when he answered. “She doesn’t
know.”

“What? Why not?” I was shocked.

“She left early this morning and went on a
field trip with my brother’s school. I felt bad for canceling our
plans the other night.”

“But you were in the hospital, Michael. I
think that’s as good an excuse as any.”

“I know, but I still wanted to see you.”
Michael brushed a wisp of hair from my forehead and let his fingers
linger. “I needed to see you,” he leaned in closer, “to touch
you.”

I studied Michael, his face, his eyes, his
complexion. He didn’t look as sickly as I’d expect having been in
the hospital only two days prior. His hair was still short and his
dark eyes more intense than ever. He slowly licked his lips and
they glistened brightly, even in the dimly lit hallway.

“You’re the reason I got better so quickly,”
he confessed. “Your pretty face was the light at the end of my
tunnel.” He smiled when he said this and that very moment melted
all my worries and fears away.

I looked down. “I just don’t want you to get
sick again. I’d rather you just stayed home in Portland and got
tutored and I’ll come over to your house to visit you,” I
rambled.

“Would your mom really let you?” he asked,
hopeful.

I paused and thought about the harsh
punishment I would most likely receive later, but for some reason,
I felt optimistic. I looked up at Michael and smiled. “I think
so.”

Michael flashed a toothy grin and said,
“Great. Then I’d better get back home before my mom finds out I
left. She’ll have a fit if she knows I escaped.”

I giggled. Michael leaned down toward me and
closed his eyes. His lips moved toward mine. I closed my eyes and
waited. Little, flittering butterflies overtook my stomach as I
lifted my face toward his.

The sound of squeaky wheels filled the
hallway as one of the janitors pushed a garbage can toward us.
“Hey! What are you kids doing? You know you’re not supposed to be
down here!”

Startled, Michael and I separated and stared
at the grumpy, old man. He waved his hand in the air and growled.
“Hurry up. Be on your way, you two.”

Michael rolled his eyes and grabbed my hand.
“Come on.” He walked me to the door of my English class and, only
then, let go of it. He stared into my eyes as if trying to memorize
them. “I’ll call you,” he said. “I promise.”

I smiled. “Okay.”

Michael turned and walked away down the
Language Arts hallway and left me staring after him, praying that
he’d remain strong and healthy enough so that he’d be able to keep
his latest promise.

• • •

The rest of the morning passed by rather
quickly. Because I had seen Michael earlier, I was feeling really
good, almost giddy.

I ran into Tessa in the lunchroom.

“Do you still have to buy your lunch?” she
asked.

I held up my brown bag. “Brought it,
why?”

“I wanna sit with you.”

I shrugged. “Sure.” We walked over to a table
and sat. Since I wasn’t speaking to Erica or Taylor, I had started
eating lunch with some other girls who attended my sweet sixteen.
Despite the fact that the senior girls didn’t like it, Tessa didn’t
care and still sat with the guys. Now it was just the two of
us.

I pulled out my turkey sandwich and took a
bite. “Why aren’t you over there with Connor?”

“Cuz he’s an idiot and I’m pissed at
him.”

“Why? What’d he do now?”

“It’s what he didn’t do. He didn’t call me on
Sunday. At all.”

“So? Is that so unusual?”

Tessa lowered her voice. “It is if you sleep
with me the day before.” She looked toward the popular table and
glared. “Who the hell does he think he is?”