Mistrust (31 page)

We stop walking and I turn to face Lindsey. “How does it feel, Lindsey?”

“What?” She puts her hand on her hip while her jaw tightens. I look around to see we’ve got a small crowd gathering, mostly teenagers who have their phones out and are recording it. They’re probably hoping for a confrontation they can post on social media.

“How does it feel to know you’re not his first choice? And probably not even his second?” I start walking backwards and flip her the bird. Mariah claps a hand to her mouth, but not before a rumbling laugh sneaks out.

“Shut up, Mariah!” Lindsey screams at her.

Jordan’s standing like a statue, mouth wide open, gawking. “Oh my God, she’s such a bitch, I can’t believe she said that to you.”

We walk away, and we hear Lindsey screaming at Mariah and Jordan because they didn’t defend her.

“Man, I was about to smack that bitch for what she said,” Sam excitedly says.

“I wouldn’t let you, they’re not worth getting banned from the mall.”

Sam smiles and so does Sophie. “Thanks, Dakota, I’m so embarrassed they pushed me and said what they said. What did I ever do to them?”

“Don’t be embarrassed. It shows how ugly they are, not you.”

“Did you see the look on Mariah’s face? That was priceless,” Sam says, still bouncing high from adrenaline.

“I gotta say, I’m really surprised by her.”

“How so?” Sophie asks.

“I didn’t think she’d stand around and let them act like that. Jordan, well after what we learned last night, nothing really surprises me, but Mariah . . .” I shrug my shoulders. “She hung her head in shame when Lindsey was being bitchy and laughed when I told her she’s nothing more than sloppy thirds.”

“Still, Mariah’s mom wouldn’t be happy with her,” Sam says. “She’s such a nice lady and I know she’d be upset with Mariah if anyone ever told her what happened.” Her eyes light up and she smiles in a devious kind of way.

“No,” I say looking at Sam and shaking my head. “You’re not going to do anything, Sam.”

We get to Starbucks and Sam goes first to get something to eat while Sophie and I grab a table. “You don’t think she’ll say anything to Mariah’s mom?” Sophie shifts her eyes to look at Sam.

“She won’t. She was just hyped up, and her brain is probably going a million miles an hour.”

I get tapped on the shoulder and look up to see a woman standing beside me. I catch a glimpse of her teenage daughter sheltered behind her. “Are you the young lady who told that other girl she’s some guy’s third choice?” she looks at me with a scowl on her face, and I’m beginning to think what I said may have repercussions.

I sneak a look at Sam who’s still in the line then turn my eyes back at the lady who’s beside me. “Yes, ma’am I am.” I wait for the well-deserved lecture. I should’ve just ignored what Lindsey did, but putting her hands on someone is not only wrong, it’s immoral too.
Not cool, Lindsey, not cool.

“I’m really proud of you for standing up for your friend. I didn’t see it all, but my daughter Josephine, did, and she told me exactly what happened. I only saw the tail end of it, and I was about to intervene but my daughter stopped me. If I was your mom, I’d be extremely proud of you.” Josephine steps to the side and hugs her mom. “She gets picked on all the time, and if there were more girls like you around, I’d know she’d be safe at school.”

“Thank you, ma’am.” I look at Josephine, and the first thing I notice is how much depth her incredible eyes hold. She’s young, maybe Sam’s age, but she’s so beautiful, yet really sad. She also has Downs’ Syndrome and it makes my heart burst with compassion. “You’re very beautiful, Josephine.”

She smiles at me and shyly ducks behind her mom again. “She’s very timid.” Her mom tries to get her to move from behind her, but she doesn’t want to. “I’ll leave you girls to have your lunch. But like I say to Josephine, many people have ugly hearts, and sometimes we come across people who have golden hearts.” She smiles and leaves.

“Who was that?” Sam asks as she plonks down and takes a drink.

“A lady who thanked us for what happened back there with Lindsey.”

Sam frowns. “She thanked you? She didn’t rip it into you?”

“Her daughter who has Downs’ Syndrome told her what happened. She wants people to stand up for their friends.”

“Cool.” Sam starts her lunch.

“My treat, Sophie. What do you want?”

Sophie has been deep in thought, not really commenting or saying too much since the lady came over with her daughter. She looks as if she’s really bothered by something, but at the same time, who wouldn’t be, considering what Lindsey said about her. “You know, I’m not a slut,” she says to Sam, as if her approval is necessary.

Sam flicks her hand at Sophie and rolls her eyes. “I know that.” She sips on her drink again before going back to her lunch.

“I need to make sure you know I’m not a slut.” She looks at Sam, then me, waiting for us to say something.

“You don’t need our validation, Sophie. We don’t believe a word Lindsey says. And even if you were a slut, which you’re not, it has nothing to do with us,” I say pointing to Sam then me. Sam’s too busy stuffing food into her mouth to do much more than nod her head in agreement.

Sophie looks down at her hands, twisting in her lap beneath the table, and she nods her head. Her cheeks grow pink and I see her visibly gulp. “Thank you,” she whispers.

“C’mon. Let’s get lunch.”

When we finish lunch, we decide to get some frozen yogurt. It’s something Sam and I love, and we introduce Sophie to all our favorite flavors.

“I like this flavor,” Sophie says as she samples the salted caramel. “It’s really good.”

“I want to buy a bath bomb for Mom,” I say as I eat my vanilla yogurt.

“That’s sweet. I should get something for my mom too, she works so hard.”

“There’s a Lush store downstairs, it sells all kinds of natural bath products. We’ll go after we’ve finished,” Sam says to Sophie. “I think Mom would like a bath bomb.”

“We don’t have a bath, only a shower. Maybe I can find a nice body wash for Mom.”

As we walk down stairs heading toward Lush, Sam gets a text a message. “Mom’s messaging.” She stops to see what Mom wants. I keep walking but I’ve got my head turned as I watch Sam and I walk straight into someone else.

“Sorry,” I mumble as I fall over the person I walked into. A masculine hand shoots out to help me up and I grab on to it. Slowly my gaze draws up jean clad legs and I meet the eyes of my math teacher, Mr. C. “Oh, Mr. Collins, I’m sorry.”

He hoists me up, and immediately I take a step back while dusting off my butt. “It’s okay, Dakota. Are you hurt?”

He steps closer to assess me, and I step back again. “I’m fine.”

Mr. C smiles at me and continues to look me over. “How’s your vacation?” he asks. Sophie and Sam step up beside me. I turn to look at them and they both edge closer to me. “Hello, girls. I was just asking Dakota how her vacation has been. How have you all been?” he asks my sister and Sophie.

“Good, thank you,” Sam replies in a cold tone. “We have to go. Mom will be meeting us soon.”

“Take care, girls,” he says as we go to step away.

“Bye,” I reply in a strained voice. When we’re a safe distance away from Mr. C, I discretely look over my shoulder, to see he’s actually following behind us. “What?” I whisper. “Don’t turn around, but Mr. C is following us.”

“Huh?” Sophie huffs in annoyance and turns to look. “No he’s not.” She stops and turns around.

Both Sam and I stop too, and when I turn, he’s disappeared. “I swear he was right behind us.”

“Maybe he was heading into a store around here,” Sophie tries to justify what I saw.

Unease flutters in my stomach and my pulse doubles as a dreadful niggling sensation settles within. “Something’s off with him,” I say, fear overtaking me.

“What’s wrong?” Sam asks.

My hands ball into fists and my jaw tightens in anticipation that something horrible is lurking nearby. “Let’s go.” The three of us quickly walk to the other end of the mall, and stop only when Sam sees a t-shirt she likes at Charlotte Russe. “What are you doing?”

“What? He’s not here. And I like this, what do you think?” She holds the t-shirt up against her and though I’m extremely cautious of my surroundings, I still take a second to admire it.

“It looks good,” I answer. “I like it.”

Our attention is quickly drawn to the store next to where we’ve stopped when we hear a deep, burly voice say, “Girls, store security. Show me your bags.”

We all look to our left, and see Lindsey and her stuck-up posse leaving the store, while an older guy in a security uniform quickly approaches Lindsey.

“Now this is interesting. Hang on a second.” Sam grabs her phone, and starts recording what’s happening.

When Lindsey sees us, her face turns tomato red and she turns her back to us. “What?” she half yells at the security guy. He may be older, but he looks like he’s been doing this for a long time and can take anyone down who’d attempt to cross him.

“This is so amusing. Can’t wait to upload it to social media,” Sam says loudly so Lindsey can hear it. “I wonder how many shares I can get on this considering Lindsey’s been stopped for shoplifting.” Sam chuckles as she now moves to sit at a bench close by while she continues to record.

“We believe you’ve got some items you haven’t paid for and I’ll need to see inside your bag,” the security guard says, loudly.

Ding, ding, ding.
Sam’s right. Lindsey’s been stopped for shoplifting.

“I can afford anything I want in here, why would I shoplift?” Lindsey defensively scoffs at the guard, who’s now crossed his arms and looks unimpressed. He’s probably heard every excuse under the sun.

Lindsey looks back at us and snarls, while Jordan and Mariah slide as far away from her as possible. “Look, we’ve got you on surveillance. I was watching you and your two little friends who refused to put anything in their bags when you asked them to.”

Sophie, Sam and I look over to Mariah and Jordan, and their faces turn the same shade of tomato red as Lindsey’s. We turn back to watch Lindsey. She sneaks a look over her shoulder and uncomfortably shifts. The guard’s eyes travel the length of her body and he catches how she tightens the grip on the bags she’s holding. He straightens his body and shakes his head. “I wouldn’t run if I were you,” he warns her.

Lindsey looks like she’s a wounded animal backed into a corner. Her eyes are wild as her shoulders shake uncontrollably from the adrenaline and fear pumping through her body. “She’s going to run,” Sophie whispers.

“Not in those shoes,” Sam says loudly.

And she takes off. She turns and runs toward the exit. But the security guard, although old, is agile and fit and he catches her before she’s made it three stores away. He grabs her arm and escorts her back.

“Why did you run? I told you not to,” he says while marching her back to the store. “Now I gotta call the police, and I didn’t want to do that. I was going to give you a warning.”

Lindsey’s face is covered in tears. Her bottom lip is quivering as she’s pleading with the guard to let her go. “I’m so sorry, I promise I won’t do it again,” she says between sobs.

“It’s too late for that now, girl. Should’ve thought about it before you decided to run.”

Jordan and Mariah leave her and start walking away. “Oh my God,” Sophie bursts as she springs to her feet. Both Jordan and Mariah turn to look back at Sophie. “You two are going to leave her to deal with this on her own?”

“We didn’t steal anything,” Jordan bitchily replies.

“But she’s your best friend. You both stood there and backed her up when she pushed me to the ground and tried humiliating me, but you’re walking away when she gets caught for shoplifting? Great friends you are.”

“We didn’t shoplift,” Mariah finally speaks. “And we told her not to.”

“Thank God you’re not my friends. You don’t know what he’s going to say or do to her in there and you’re walking away. Wow, great friends.” Sophie shakes her head and huffs in disgust at them both.

“Whatever, slut girl,” Jordan spits toward Sophie.

“You did not.” Sophie runs for her, and Jordan lets out a high-pitched squeal as she tries to run from Sophie. Sophie grabs her by the ponytail, yanking her head back before turning her around and backing her up against the nearest wall. Jordan squints and cowers from Sophie.

“Sophie, she ain’t worth the hassle,” I call, trying to calm her.

“I’m so sorry,” Jordan profusely snivels. “I’m sorry, I promise I won’t do it again. Please, Sophie, please! Let me go!”

“There’s only so much bullying a person can take before they snap and teach the bully a lesson,” Sophie spits in Jordan’s face while heaving her from the scruff of her incredibly teeny tiny shirt. “You’re a damn coward. Look at you.” Sophie lets her go and steps back from her. “You think you have power in numbers yet all you are is a worthless bully. Karma will kick your ass, exactly like Lindsey got hers.” She points to Sam who’s still recording. “I just hope I’m around to see you get yours, bitch.”

Sophie turns her back, and walks away. Jordan, the quivering bully she is, runs away shouting over her shoulder, “You’re all nothing. Losers!”