Rumors (8 page)

“
Allie—Allie wait!” Tara called out. From the sounds of water
splashing behind me, I knew she, and perhaps Shane, were scrambling
out of the hot tub, too. I didn’t know where I was going—it’s not
like I had keys to either of the two cars we had carpooled
in.

“
Hold on, Allie!” Shane’s voice also called. I reached the
fence and dropped my towel long enough to slip my clothes back on.
By the time I finished dressing, Tara and Shane had caught up to
me.

“
I didn’t mean it,” Tara said. “Really, I—” Her words were cut
short when we heard a quick siren on the other side of the fence
behind us. The red and blue lights flashed in our eyes.

“
Cops!” Austin shouted. All of them leaped out of the tub,
ditching their beer cans and clothes. They sprinted to the far side
of the fence. Tara, Shane, and I followed suite, ignoring the cop
who stepped out of his vehicle.

“
Hey, you kids there!” he hollered. “Hold it!”

Oh, crap!

My heart
thumped in my chest as I took off after the others, almost tripping
on a crumpled beer can. I could still hear the cop yelling at us. I
chanced a look over my shoulder, seeing him running along the fence
towards us.

Tonya,
Ben, and Landon had already scaled the fence and were nowhere to be
seen. Austin was already on the other side, waiting for Tara. Shane
lifted her enough so she could pull herself up and over, letting
Austin catch her. Then Shane gave me a boost. As I swung my leg
over the top, my sweatpants caught on the sharp, pointed edge,
grazing my thigh. The unexpected jolt was enough to throw off my
jump. I landed awkwardly, twisting my right ankle. I grimaced in
pain just before Shane landed next to me. He pulled me to my feet
while I hobbled after him for a few steps.

“
Stop!” The cop was fifty feet away, pointing his flashlight
at us as he drew near. Shane swore under his breath, holding my
bicep as he tugged me alongside him. Adrenaline kicked in,
providing a low anesthetic for the pain. I ignored my body’s
attempts to slow me down, warning me of my injured
ankle.

I shook
Shane off. “I’m fine! I can run!” We had no idea which direction
everyone else had run. After a few feet, we cut across the road,
aiming to lodge ourselves between the close-knit houses along the
street—and to escape the cop’s view. Glancing over my shoulder, my
face fell in dismay. He had seen where we’d turned and was gaining
on us! Whatever happened to the overweight, donut-eating cops
everyone stereotyped? We could have really used one of them at the
moment, instead of this guy, who was fit and chasing us like he had
something to prove.

Just let us go already!
I wanted to
shout. I hoped he’d consider us good and scared and surrender the
pursuit, but it seemed we were out of luck. Not only that, but we
could also hear him on his radio, calling for backup.

Really?
You need backup?

“
Come on, come on!” Shane’s hushed voice called to me as we
leaped over bushes and slipped passed trees. We stumbled back onto
another street, running at a diagonal to hide between another row
of houses. As we crossed the curb, my damaged ankle finally gave
out and I fell to my knees with a grunt. Shane had already made it
between the houses before he looked back and saw me struggling to
my feet. Just up the road, a cop car flashed its lights, heading my
way—and not fifteen feet behind me was Hero-cop.

“
Shane, run! Get out of here!” I cried. He hesitated until I
shouted again. “Go!” On my feet once more, I turned right. My
crippled run slowed me down, but at least I was drawing the cop on
foot in my direction, away from Shane. I knew that if someone were
to get caught tonight, it was better that it be me.

Not
thirty seconds later, Hero-cop wrapped his large hand around my
bicep, whipping me to a halt. Without even giving me a chance to
face him, he ordered me to my knees.

“
Put your hands behind your back,” he commanded, his voice
booming with authority. His handcuffs clanked together with
anticipation. I kneeled on the curb, my eyes catching the curious
onlookers driving by and a woman peeking through her blinds. I
tried to ignore their stares, my face flushed and my breaths
heaving in my chest. Some teenagers driving by hollered at me with
laughter, mocking my arrest. I kept my eyes down, anger and
adrenaline keeping me heated, despite the cold weather wrapping its
icy breath around me.

With the
handcuffs locked in place, the cop turned me around to face him and
his unwarranted “backup.” He was definitely younger—probably new in
his career, which explained his zealous chase and unexpected
fitness.

“
What have we got here, Jared?” The second cop said, assessing
my appearance. He looked a few years older and didn’t strut the way
Hero-cop did. “They gave you a pretty decent chase,
huh?”

Hero-cop
shook his head with a laugh. I swear his chest puffed out as he
spoke, highlighting his muscled frame. “Nah, it was
nothin’.”

I rolled my eyes at his ego. I couldn’t help myself from
speaking. “Yeah, good for you for catching an injured
sixteen-year-old
girl
.” I didn’t break away from his glare. “Fantastic job.” His
frown hardened, while the other cop seemed to suppress a smile. I
knew I shouldn’t have said it. It certainly wouldn’t help my
situation, but the anger I’d felt at my so-called friends needed to
be redirected somewhere.

“
Have a seat,” Hero-cop said, gripping my arm and yanking me
backwards. I landed on my rear, seated on the edge of the
curb.

Whatever. I probably deserved that.

The
other cop winked at me with a grin. Confused but happy for a
possible ally, I let a smile slip in return, while Hero-cop flipped
through a notepad.

“
Caught this one and a few of her friends drinking inside
Jordan Apartments. The ol’ hot tub break in again,” Hero-cop said,
glancing at me like I was being scolded.

“
For what it’s worth, I wasn’t drinking.” I shook my head to
knock strands of hair away from my eyes.

“
We’ll see about that,” Hero-cop said. “Evan, I need to grab
the breathalyzer from your car. Be right back.”

Officer
Evan nodded. Turning to me, he asked, “So what’s your
name?”

“
Allie Collins.”

“
You have ID on you, Allie?”

“
No, I don’t.” I’d left my purse, with my wallet and phone,
inside Shane’s car. I wondered how those guys were doing, assuming
they had made their way back to the cars by now.

“
Well,” Officer Evan started.

Hero-cop
cut him off. “Guess that means you’ll be under arrest so your
parents can come and claim you from jail—if they want.”

I
suppressed the urge to retort with another rude remark. I knew at
this point I shouldn’t press my luck, even if this cop thought he
was hardcore or something. It was obviously a slow night for him if
he was willing to take the pursuit this far.

“
Breathe into this,” he instructed. I blew into the tube,
confident that this was one test I’d pass. Hero-cop seemed
disappointed with the results. Bringing me to my feet, Officer Evan
escorted me into the back of his police car. I’d never sat in one
before and, as the door slammed shut, I felt claustrophobic,
staring at the caged wall that barred me from the front
seats.

How did I get myself into this mess?
I wondered, watching the two cops getting into a discussion
outside my window. As both cops situated themselves in the front
seat, Hero-cop looked peeved but didn’t say anything more to me—not
even when Officer Evan dropped him off at his car. Once we were
alone, he turned his head towards me and said, “I convinced Officer
Harmon to let me take you home. You obviously weren’t drinking.
Consider this a warning.”

I nodded
my head. “Thanks.”

He
smiled at me with one more quick wink. “No problem.

“
What were you doing breaking into an apartment complex
anyway?” Mom asked, her arms folded across her chest and her
posture rigid. She closed the door behind me.

“
There wasn’t actually any breaking…” I started to say, trying
to ease my way towards my bedroom around the corner.

“
And why would you think it’s ok to stick around while your
friends drank?” Mom’s voice rose higher with each question. At this
rate, I expected she might reach the level of “only dogs can hear
you.” I almost made a joke about that, but held my tongue. She was
most definitely not in the mood. As for my previous irritation and
conflict with Tara, the adrenaline rush from being chased and
nearly arrested had pushed those feelings aside for now.

“
About them being my friends… I’ll admit that’s a little in
question these days…” I took another side step, adding a bit of
distance between us. My friendship with Tara and the rest of them
would take a little time to figure out.

Mom
threw up her hands. “Well, that’s obvious! I can’t believe they all
ditched you and left you to take the rap.” She let out a
disgruntled sigh and then mumbled with a shake of her head, “And to
think I thought that boy was so nice…”

Thinking
about Shane and remembering the concern in his eyes as he saw me
fall, I felt like I needed to put a plug in for him. I was the one
who had told him to leave, after all. “They didn’t ditch me on
purpose. We all split up after we jumped the—” Mom’s glare made me
pause and I mumbled the last word, “—fence.”

“
Allie, it is very late—and I know your sisters are wide
awake, listening through their door.” We heard a quick thunk from
the hallway, indicating Mom’s statement was correct. I tried not to
laugh, but the sound escaped anyway. My sisters were so
nosy.

Mom
sighed. “Just please go to bed, and don’t expect to have any plans
this weekend.”

I had
figured as much.

***

With no
phone and being grounded from leaving the house, the rest of the
weekend passed by without incident, other than Shane stopping by to
return my phone. I was on the couch, elevating my foot to ease the
swelling, when Mom opened the door.

I
couldn’t hear the conversation, but whatever murmured exchange took
place was short and to the point. Mom passed by the living room
with my phone in her hands. I eyed the phone before checking Mom’s
expression.

“
Don’t even think about it,” she reprimanded as she kept
walking.

With my
phone locked away, I didn’t have a chance to talk to Tara or Shane
until Monday morning. My phone seemed heavier in my hands when I
saw the bombardment of new text messages, mostly from Tara and a
few from Shane. Tara’s were a stream of apologies that had been
sent throughout the weekend. Shane apologized for how the evening
played out, though he didn’t make a big deal about it. Barely
making it to school on time, I jumped out of my car and hurried to
class without a chance to talk with either of them.

The
rumors were back. I could feel it. With all the experience I
acquired since the beginning of the school year, my peripheral
vision had a knack for picking up on the questionable looks from
other students. As I stepped into my first period class, a spray of
whispering showered the room—only pausing when my eyes caught the
murmuring culprits looking back at me. I could barely focus on what
my English teacher was saying. Instead, an anxious weight in my
chest made me feel self-conscious and uncertain. People were
talking about me again, and I was sure it had something to do with
the weekend incident.

I found
Taylor after my English class, assuming she would know if anything
was going on. She liked keeping up with the latest happenings at
school.

“
So did you hear what happened to you this weekend?” she
asked, her eyes wide in exaggeration. She grinned when I rolled my
eyes.

“
Just get it over with. What’s everyone saying about me this
time?” I asked.

“
Well, it’s more exciting than what
really
happened,” Taylor said,
clipping her locker shut.

“
It always is,” I said with a shake of my head. “Just tell
me.”