Sweet Harmony (10 page)

Her dad sighed. He knew she didn't give empty threats.

"Very well, Annamarie," he said.

Somehow his exasperation—like she was a nuisance instead of a distraught daughter—pissed her off even more. Another angry tear burned her cheek. She was surprised her tears weren't turning into hot lava because of her rage.

"When did you think you were going to tell me that Mom was cheating on you?" she whispered, her voice laced with malice.

"You found out
about that?" He sighed again. She wanted to choke him so he couldn't do it anymore.

"I found out," she
said. "BUT I SHOULD HAVE HEARD IT FROM YOU!"

Her sudden yelling must have shocked him because she heard him yelp on the other end of the line.

"Listen, sweetie—"

"Don't you dare call me sweetie right now." Sweetie was a childhood endearment he'd used when she was little.

"All right, all right." Her dad groaned.

"Tell me how long you've been lying to me and Yuri," she said.

Her dad was silent.

"Dad, if I fly down there, I
'll do horrible things." Her voice dropped to a sinister whisper. "You remember the time I let a wild dog out in the middle of rehearsal and the performance had to be cancelled? I can do worse. Much worse. I wasn't even trying to make trouble then."

"
Fine." Her dad cleared his throat. "I've known for three months."

That's when he decided to send me away to school
, she thought.

"Why didn't you tell me then?" she asked.

"I was hoping your mother was just having some sort of crisis or quick fling and would come back to me." For the first time, his voice broke. "This wouldn't be the first time she…"

The words stung. This wasn't the first time she
had an affair? He didn't need to finish the sentence for her to realize the truth. Her already broken heart shattered more.

"How many times has she done this?"

"A few." Her dad sounded defiant, but she could hear a quaver in his voice. "I won't tell you more than that. You're only sixteen and I don't want you to hear about these kinds of things."

"Hear about it?" she snapped. "Because of her, I'm in the middle of it."

"Which was why I sent you away," her dad said. "Do you think I want to be alone right now while your mother parades around California with a man just two years older than her own daughter?  Of course not. But I sent you away. Not for me, but for
you
."

"But why?" Being at this school when she should have been at home made her feel lonely and depressed. She didn't
believe he'd done anything for her.

"Thi
nk about it, Annamarie," her dad said. "The paparazzi have showed up at our house multiple times every day asking about your mother. I wanted to save you from that."

Annamarie swallowed, her heart wrenching.

"I'm old enough that I could have handled it."

"I d
idn't want you to handle it. I wanted you to be somewhere safe." Her dad was choking on his emotions now. "I wanted Yuri to be somewhere safe too."

All of the burning rage she'd felt toward him
ebbed away. She still blamed him for not telling her, but she'd never heard his voice crack before. Her dad was all cool control and perfect disposition. He'd worked hard after his Brooklyn days to make himself into a perfect gentlemen. Now all that was being stripped away in the heat of his emotion. How many nights had he suffered because of her mom? For the first time ever, she saw her dad as less of a parent and more of a broken-hearted man. And she couldn't waste all of her rage on him. This was her mom's fault. Just because the woman's phone was disconnected didn't mean that she could spend all day screaming at the only parent who still cared enough about her to remain in her life.

"Have you talked to Mom?" she asked, fighting to maintain her self-control, pretty much the hardest thing in the world for her to do.

"Not really." Her dad swallowed. "She talks to me through her divorce lawyer."

The words were another blow. She'd read
about divorce papers in the article, but to hear about the split from her dad just made it so much worse.

"The divorce is really happening
then?" she whispered.

"I'm afraid so, Annamarie," her dad said, his voice trembling again.

"And us?" she asked. "What about Yuri and me? Who gets to take care of us?"

She knew that she was almost an adult, but Yuri had
seven years to go until he was eighteen. She prayed he wouldn't spend his teenage years in a boarding school when he should be at home with his dad.

"She hasn't mentioned you
two, except…" Her dad paused.

"Except?" The pause was horrifying.

"Except when I said that if we get divorce, I want custody of you and Yuri," he said. "She agreed to it with no argument."

The words crippled her. She fell to the bed and placed her hand over her mouth to forbid the sound of her weeping. She didn't want him to know how hurt she was. It made her
seem weak. Still she couldn't help but wonder how her mom could just throw her away so easily. Yeah, she'd been hell on two legs growing up, but she'd always loved her parent.

"Are you crying?" Her dad sounded confused and horrified.

"Of course not." She wiped away the flowing tears as if he could see her.

"Yes, you are," her dad said.

Okay, so I am,
she thought, hanging her head.

"I know I haven't been the best father to you over the years, but I want you to know something," her dad said. "I love you. I'll always be here for you."

She could tell he meant the words. Once again, she had two choices—scorn his love or accept it. She thought he'd been scorned enough.

"I love you too," she said, fighting to sound strong.

"I'm sorry I messed this up so badly. I just didn't know what to do. Sending you to a boarding school seemed like the best option." Her dad sighed. "Do you forgive me?"

"Yes, Dad." She stared out the window. "I forgive you."

"Good." He grunted.

"I
still want to go home," she said. "I want to be with you."

"No." Her dad's voice was harsh enough it even made her flinch.

"But why?" She knew what was going on now. What was the point of not heading home?

"I'll come
to get you in a little while after everything calms down," her dad said. "The academy doesn't allow visitors, so reporters can't legally go on campus. I want you to stay there and lay low."

She didn't want to lay low. Who cared if a reporter stuck a camera in her face?

"Don't do this," she said. "I need to be with you now."

"Annamarie, do you remember the time you punched my personal assistant because you heard him talking about me behind my back?"
her dad asked.

The man had deserved it. He'd call her dad words she wasn't even allowed to say.

"Ugh, yeah," she said.

"Now tell me, what are you going to do when a whole bunch of people st
art talking bad about our family?"

Okay, he had a good point. Her temper wouldn't hold out long.
She'd probably end up punching out a reporter or two.

"Fine." She hung her head in defeat.
"I'll stay at the school a little while longer."

"Finally, you see reason," her dad said. "I'll give you a call in a few
days' time to make sure you're okay."

"Okay, Dad. Bye."

She ended the phone call and looked in the mirror. Her haunted face stared back at her. She placed the phone on her bedside table and sunk onto the mattress. With a groan, she placed her hand behind her head.
Why is this happening to me?
she thought. She didn't believe she'd be able to think of her mom without feeling angry ever again.

Chapter Ten

Annamarie watched her mom parade around in a clown costume holding onto the arm of a well-toned body builder with skin as golden as a coconut's husk. She rushed up to her parent and tried to pull her away, but the woman didn't budge. Desperately, Annamarie tried to stand between the two of them, but since she was so small, the woman looked over her head like she was nothing but an unimportant fly.

For the first time, she realized her dad and Yuri lingered behind a pane of glass
watching them. Her dad's face was blank and his hazel eyes were empty and staring. Yuri didn't look like his animated, crybaby self either. His freckled face was pale and his mouth was thin. Both her dad and her brother were like standing corpses, frozen in time. When she reached the glass pane, she pounded against it, her palms aching.

"Dad, why aren't you trying to stop her?" she asked.

Her dad didn't say anything. He just kept on staring straight ahead. She was truly on her own, not that this was anything new. Maybe if she broke the glass, she'd stop the trance her dad was under. She punched the pane. Her knuckles collided with the glass, but to her surprise, she felt nothing.

"Toilet girl," Daniel said from behind her.

She whirled around.

Daniel staggered toward her.

"Punch me instead," he said.

"I don't want to punch you," she yelled, then felt searing pain go through her right side as she flailed.

Her eyes flew open. She was disoriented. Instead of being on her bed, she was curled up on the floor. She must have fallen off her mattress mid-dream. Her ivory sheets were tangled around her legs. Shoot. She peeled away the sheets and noticed the fabric was drenched with her sweat and tears. A shaky sigh escaped her lips. It took her a moment to remember why her stomach churned and her heart ached like somebody had struck it with a hot poker.

My mom betrayed me…

She staggered to her feet. The urge to cry was stronger than ever. She didn't know how Daniel could say he felt empty when his mom left him. She was anything but empty. In fact, she was so full she felt like she was going to puke all over the carpet.
You can't keep doing this
.
Today is a school day. Put on your freaking clothes and head to class.
She straightened up and her jaw clenched. It didn't matter what her mom did—well, okay, it did matter—but she needed to get on with her life. She had to be strong and go to class so she wasn't given more detention on top of everything else.

After she pulled on her uniform, she heard the sound of squealing in the hall.
What is it this time?
she thought, wondering what could possibly be deserving of such fanfare. She shook her head just as her door opened and Daniel darkened her doorstep.

"Good morning, toilet girl," Daniel said, grinning.

It was too early in the morning for this crap.

"Who says there's anything good about it?" she
asked, wondering what the heck he was doing in her dorm room.

His grin didn't fade. He walked over to her and seized her hand. One second she was standing in the middle of her
room, the next she was being forcibly dragged into the hall.

"I
'm going to hit you," she threatened him.

"Yeah, yeah." Daniel didn't sound intimidated.

"Where are you taking me?" She dug her heels into the carpet. "I have to go to class."

"Class doesn't start for another forty-five minutes," he said.

"But I haven't brushed my teeth yet." Her breath probably smelled like a bamboo's backside.

"Brush them later."

Freaking Daniel. Why did everything have to go his way? She could have kicked him and escaped his grip, but she had to admit she was a little curious about where he was taking her.

After he dragged her through the
exit of the dorm, she saw Owen walking across the grounds. He froze and stared at the two of them. Daniel completely ignored Owen and yanked her through the back door of the school. When they made it to the recreation room, he finally released her arm.

"What's the big idea?" She placed her hand
s on her hips.

"Just go inside." He opened the door and shoved her
into the room.

Just as she opened her mouth to complain, she froze
because she caught sight of the coffee table. It was laden with glistening honeydew and cantaloupe. A bowl of strawberries was next to a giant plate of clotted whipped cream. A bowl of marmalade and a plate of butter sat beside a mountain of golden toast.

"What
's going on?" she asked.

"Jay said you
only eat out of a vending machine," Daniel said.

Jay? Oh, Jaiden. She realized Jay must have b
een Daniel's nickname for his best friend. Still she couldn't figure out why Daniel would put in so much effort for her.

"I thought we
weren't in timeout anymore." She didn't like special treatment. "You aren't supposed to be nice to me."

"We aren't
in timeout." Daniel scowled at her. "I can't fight with an opponent who's buried in the ground. You keep eating those vending machine donuts all the time and you're going to die."

"I thought that would be your fondest wish."

"Only if I'm the one killing you," he said.

The two of them stared at each other. Something hot and intense burned between them. It wasn't anger, but then
, what was it? Her heart was hammering so hard it was like a buffalo was ramming her ribcage. There was also a herd of creatures in her stomach a heck of a lot larger than butterflies. She didn't like the unknown emotion. She liked to charge at problems head on. How could she face something when she didn't know what it was?

"Are you going to eat
or what?" Daniel finally asked, breaking through her thoughts.

"I'm going to eat, but only because it's a shame to let those strawberries go to waste." Strawberries were her favorite fruit. "Don't think it's because I want to eat with you or anything."

"And don't you think I did this to be nice to you." Daniel glared at her, his eyes dark and penetrating.

"Believe me, I don't." She stuck
her tongue out at him.

Daniel rolled his eyes, but then he led her over to the food and sat down.

****

As
Annamarie walked down the hall, she had the strangest sensation somebody was watching her again. When she turned around, she saw no one. The hall was well lit, so if there was somebody there, she would have seen them. She blamed her paranoia on what had happened to her yesterday. Of course she thought people were out to get her. Her mom had plunged a knife into her heart. She headed into the main hall and followed behind a group of guys.

"I heard you're asking Donna to the homecoming dance." One guy elbowed
his blond friend. "Did she faint from horror?"

"Shut up." The
boy being elbowed turned red. "She said yes, actually."

"Miracles do happen."
The first boy chortled.

Annamarie
slowed her pace. She guessed they would have dances here, wouldn't they? Since she'd spent her entire life being homeschooled, she'd only seen those types of events on television. Normally at the dance, a beautiful girl in a fancy dress paraded around with her dream guy. She tried to imagine herself in a gown and sparkly shoes and failed. The last time she'd worn high heels she'd fallen down two flights of stairs. Shrugging off the thought, she headed out the door and headed outside.

Like usual, Jaiden was waiting for her
by the tree. She trotted over to him and he shocked her by giving her a hug. He wore sweet cologne that smelled like an ocean breeze. When he released her, she felt dizzy.

"How are you?" Jaiden asked.

Judging by his sudden embrace, Daniel must have told him about her family problems. Great. Just what she needed.

"I can't believe Daniel told you," she groaned.

"Told me what?" Jaiden stared at her, an eyebrow raised in curiosity.

Okay, maybe he
hadn't spilled the beans. She was pleasantly surprised. Even though she wasn't the one who'd done something wrong, her mom's actions made her feel a deep, resounding sense of shame as if she was the one who'd cheated and hurt her family.

"It's nothing." She forced a smile
on her face and thought of a quick distraction from the topic at hand. "I hear the school is having a dance. That's fun. Are you going to ask anybody?"

"I'm thinking about it." Jaiden shrugged. "There's somebody I
like a lot. I'm just not sure she'll say yes to going with me."

"Why wouldn't she?"
She didn't know how Jaiden could be nervous about asking somebody out. Every girl on campus worshipped him. "You're handsome and smart. Unlike Daniel, you also know how to control yourself."

"Well, there's a problem with this girl,
" he said. "She's amazing, but she's also a bit of an airhead. I don't think she knows when a guy likes her."

She was dying of curiosity now. Who was the girl
that Jaiden liked?

"Who is it?" she asked. "I could help you, if you want. I'd put in
a good word for you."

"I don't think that would help me much." Jaiden ruffled her hair. "I'll tell you
who, but not right now."

"I have to know wh
o she is
right now
." She pretended to be furious and glared at him.

"Nope." Jaiden winked. "I'm not going to say a word."

"I bet you anything you'll tell me by the end of lunch," she said.

"I'm not going to," Jaiden said. "Why
do you want to know so much anyway?"

"No reason. I
just do."

She feigned a glare.
Jaiden chuckled and ruffled her hair again.

****

When Annamarie headed back to the dorm, she heard girls whispering. It was unnerving to see so many people staring and pointing at her. She knew there were going to be rumors about her and Daniel after his display that morning. She cursed the guy for not thinking before acting until she remembered she was guilty of the same thing. As she tossed her head back and stared into the sky, somebody ran up to her. It was Owen.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey yourself," Owen said, panting after having to run to her. "You're the center of attention again. I've been hearing all sorts of stuff."

"Don't even tell me." She groaned and rolled her eyes. "I don't care
what anyone is saying about my mom."

"Speaking of your mom, are you okay?" Owen slowed his pace a little.

"Yeah, I'm okay." Strangely, her peace of mind was thanks to Daniel.

"If you need anybody to talk to, I'm here." Owen nudged her with his elbow and gave her an encouraging grin.

"I know, buddy." She punched his arm, trying to be tough. "I'll be okay. Just give me a couple of days."

Silence fell between them.
Annamarie headed around a corner and saw Bridget standing with a tall boy in a suit who had to be a senior. Bridget was whispering in his ear and the guy nodded, his lips pursed.

"Looks like Bridget has a boyfriend."
Annamarie whistled. "I suppose looks really can get you everything."

"Yeah, it seems that way."
Owen looked curious. "That's weird. She always spouted crap about saving herself for Daniel, even though he said he can't stand her."

Maybe Daniel's taste wasn't as awful as she thought.

"Oh, well." She shrugged. "It doesn't matter."

"Yeah." Owen shuddered. "I'd sell my kidney to have a girlfriend, but even I wouldn't touch Bridget with a ten foot pole.
She's too crazy to be worth it.

She laughed and shook her head. "Well, maybe that guy is a masochist."

"I find that hard to believe." Owen shrugged. "I know the guy she's talking to. It's Nathan Dawson. He's always been odd, but not odd enough to date Bridget."

"Oh, well. I guess it doesn't matter.
Let them have their romance." Annamarie shrugged. "Want to play cards with me today?"

"Shouldn't you be
practicing your flute?" Owen raised an eyebrow. "The oboe instructor gave me so much homework I'm going to die."

She winced. May
be she should practice a little or else she'd never master "Row, Row, Row Your Boat."