The Low Notes (25 page)

“
What do you think is gonna happen?” he asked.

“
I love him,” she growled.

“
And?”

Nina stared angrily at him. He couldn't possibly understand. She’d never given him enough information for him to get it. It was too precious to talk about.

“
He loves me, too,” she answered.

James rolled his eyes and moved closer to the car, waving Nick to come with them.

“
Did he tell you that?” he whispered before Nick was in earshot. The three of them climbed in the car and once Nina was buckled in the passenger seat, she peered out the window despondently.

“
He didn't have to,” she said in barely audibly cry.

Chapter Fifty-Four

For the first time in months Nina woke up with a smile on her face. The weather was getting better; birds were chirping outside her window and it was a very special day.

“
Happy Birthday!” James yelled as he and Nick popped into Nina’s bedroom, flinging the door open unexpectedly. Nina jumped then the flash of a camera went off in her face. James’ annual surprise birthday photo, a tradition Nina had many times tried to outlaw. She laughed as she flopped back down against her pillow, covering her eyes.

“
Thank you,” she grumbled, a chuckle in her voice.

“
So it’s up to you whether or not we skip school today. The day is yours my dear,” James said, opening up her closet to pick something fabulous for her to wear. Nina sat up and wiped the sleep out of her eyes.

“
We should
probably
go to school.”

“
Okay, get ready. Breakfast will be waiting downstairs,” James ordered, throwing two hangers of clothes onto the bed before he and Nick bounced out as cheerfully as they'd come in.

Nina ate the breakfast James and Nick prepared with love as quickly as she could choke it down. There were pancakes that were a little runny in the middle and eggs that were dark brown on one side as well as an assortment of cereals Nina had always loved. She liked the clothes James picked and was thankful the weather was nice enough to wear a dress. She had to throw on a white button-up sweater over her shoulders but the look was still cute.

Spooning a mass of marshmallow bits and honey grain stars into her mouth, Nina remembered the last time she’d worn the dress. It was an emerald green linen dress that fit her tightly in the bodice, with thin straps and a bell skirt that came above her knee. It was the dress she’d worn on her first date with Kevin. She lowered her eyes as she finished up her bowl of cereal, thinking about the breakfast she’d had with Kevin once.

“
Ready to go?” Nick asked sweetly. Nina smiled at him and nodded, swallowing the lump in her throat.

When they arrived at school, Nina saw her locker had been decorated with balloons and glitter-covered construction paper cut-outs of birthday cupcakes complete with candles. James and Nick smiled at each other, proud that their two days of scheming had paid off. Nina hugged both of them and kissed them each on the cheek. Opening her locker took some maneuvering. Moving the balloons that were taped to the metal door, she finally reached the combination wheel and got it open.

“
Gosh, you guys really went all out, didn’t you?” she exclaimed, reaching inside pulling out a large white box. It was wrapped with a big red bow. Nina looked at James with a wide grin as she started pulling the ribbon loose. James, however, had a very confused look on his face.

“
That’s not from me, Nina,” he said.

She made a face at him as if she didn’t believe him. Setting the big, rectangular box on the floor, she shimmied off the top and looked down into red tissue paper. A small note had been folded and placed on top which Nina grabbed and read to herself.

For the one I ruined. Happy Birthday, Nina.

Her heart leapt inside her chest and she felt her skin growing red. She took a deep breath and pulled the red tissue paper back to reveal a stunning black dress. Nina made an audible sigh as she lifted the dress out of the box and took in how beautiful it was. Holding it up to her body, her smile was beaming uncontrollably until she glanced up at James. His lips were tight and his eyes were empty as he watched her nearly twirl around the hallway like Cinderella.

“
Who’s it from?” Nick asked innocently as Nina shot James a warning look.

“
My dad,” she lied easily.

****

James and Nina parted ways to get to their classes. Nina tucked the dress back into its box and back into her locker carefully and soon she had only one mission for the day. Find Kevin.

She was heading toward his classroom, not caring about the fact she might be late for her own class when Todd stopped her in the hall just outside Kevin’s door.
Damn
, she thought. Nina had forgotten Todd had Kevin’s class third period. She flinched when he touched her arm.

“
Hey gorgeous! Happy birthday,” Todd said smoothly. He dug in his pocket and pulled out a small box wrapped in pink paper. Nina stared at the box nervously. Small boxes from boys were generally a big deal.

“
Aren’t you going to open it?” he asked.

Nina met his eyes and forced a smile as she awkwardly took the gift from his hands. She pulled at the paper and revealed the small black box underneath. She lifted the top and nearly dropped it. The usual noise of the busy hallway grew louder in her ears as she stared down at the pair of square cut diamond earrings. She knew they were real. The way the sparkled even in the crude florescent light of the school was brilliant. At first she simply shook her head, mouth gaping. Then Nina looked up at Todd to see him grinning from ear to ear.

Then her eyes focused past Todd for an instant and she saw Kevin standing behind him taking in the scene. She locked eyes with Kevin before he turned into his classroom, his jaw tense, his eyes harsh.

“
Do you like them? You should put them on,” Todd offered in a quaking voice. Nina looked Todd square in the eye and jutted the box forward. “I can’t accept these Todd.”

“
Of course you can, they’re a gift. Eighteen is a special birthday and I wanted you to have a special gift,” Todd replied. He wouldn’t take the box from her. Nina pushed the box into his chest and let her frustration get the better of her. Her head was reeling, only imagining what Kevin might be thinking watching this play out from just a few feet away.

“
We’re not getting back together. Thanks but no thanks,” she said angrily as she took one look into Kevin’s room and stormed off.

Chapter Fifty-Five

Kevin watched the clock waiting for the obligatory bell to ring and prayed Todd Dawson would be late though he was just outside the door. Todd managed to sneak in in the nick of time and Kevin grit his teeth as he watched him walk to his desk. He’d noticed Todd the minute he saw Nina’s reaction to him the first day he showed up at school. Ever since he’d made his assumption about Todd’s relationship with Nina, each time he saw the boy his skin crawled. Seeing Todd with his devil-may-care attitude and his wannabe haircut made Kevin want to scream or laugh or punch him in the face.

He cleared his throat before standing to start his class. “Alright, pass in your homework and turn your books to the start of chapter twelve.”

A shudder ran through Kevin as he heard a voice from the back of the room.

“
Uh, Mr. Reed? I forgot my paper in my locker, can I go get it?” Todd asked.

Kevin’s eyes zeroed in on Todd and a pulse of excitement went through him when he realized this was his chance.

“
Did you mean ‘
May
I go get it’?” Kevin retorted.

A wrinkle set between Todd’s eyes and he blinked for a moment, confused.

“
May
I go get my paper, Mr. Reed?”

Kevin turned to the board to write his notes for the day, turning his back on Todd as he spoke.

“
No, Todd. You may not. You had time to visit in the hallway before my class which means you had time to get to your locker and get your homework.”

“
But Mr. Reed,” Todd pleaded.

Kevin whipped around to see the look on Todd’s face. “Maybe you’ll learn to be more careful with your time.”

Todd shut up fast and the rest of the class stared in awe of their teacher’s surprising bravado. When Kevin finally broke the gaze he’d fixed on Todd, he went on teaching with a sense of satisfaction he hadn’t felt in some time.

When the bell rang and the students started to leave, Kevin took a seat at his desk. Todd walked by glaring as he did, his ego bruised twice that day. Kevin smirked when the last student cleared the room and he began grading papers, thankful he had a free period. A whole hour to himself to gloat.

There was a tiny knock on the door and his brown eyes lifted lazily to see a figure in the doorway. His heart clenched when he focused on Nina standing before him, her head cocked to one side, a half smile on her pink lips.

“
Hi,” he breathed.

“
How did you manage to get into my locker?” she asked with a skeptical look.

“
I have my ways.”

“
Well thank you. The dress is beautiful,” Nina said coming further into the room.

“
Yeah, it’ll look great with those earrings.”

Nina pulled her head back and made a face. He saw her eyes squint at him and he regretted his words instantly.

“
What the hell does that mean?” she asked, coming closer, keeping her voice in an angry hush.

His hand ran through his hair as he grasped for words. An apology? A comeback? He didn’t know whether or not he should fight her. Was he even angry at her or just that scumbag Todd?

“
I...”

“
Not that it’s any of your business, but I gave those earrings back because I didn’t like what they implied. Todd thinks he’s someone he’s not and he doesn’t know I have feelings for someone else,” Nina said, turning her eyes away from him in shame as she finished.

Kevin sighed and looked her over slowly as she dug her foot into the cheap blue carpet. She was wearing the green dress she'd worn on their first date. All he had to do was say it back. Tell her the truth and all of the pain in her eyes would go away and the clench he felt in his chest each time he saw her would stop as well.

“
Nina...”

“
Thanks for the dress. I have class,” she said, cutting him off.

“
Why won’t you let me talk?” he blurted.

A waning smile graced her delicate face and she breathed deep before she answered him. “Because you’ve made it clear you have nothing to say.”

Chapter Fifty-Six

Nina walked out to meet James at his car, slightly annoyed she hadn’t driven herself. Nick and James were standing together, James leaning against the car, chatting Nick up about something, playfully touching his arm every few minutes. It made Nina smile to know James had found a boy. Though Nick still hadn’t been able to tell James he liked him in return, it was easy to see he did. Just then Nina heard feet pounding on the asphalt behind her and Todd rushed to her side.

“
Hey,” he said out of breath. “I’ve been calling your name. Why didn’t you stop?”

“
I didn’t hear you. Sorry,” she said quietly, still keeping a brisk pace toward James. She wasn’t interested in having another awkward conversation with Todd about those stupid, albeit gorgeous, earrings.

“
It hurts my feelings that you won’t take my gift. It’s not some ploy to try and get you back, I picked them out for you and I want you to have them,” he started.

Nina held back the urge to roll her eyes then she saw someone doing it for her. Kevin brushed past them on the narrow sidewalk heading over to the teacher’s lot. He caught Nina’s eye for a moment, looked down at Todd holding the earrings once again and rolled his eyes before walking off. She watched him carefully as Todd continued to try and convince her of his innocent intentions but Nina wasn’t listening. Kevin was shaking his head as he nearly stomped his way to his vehicle. It looked like he was talking to himself.

“
Can you give me a second?” she stammered. She didn’t wait for him to reply before she walked over to Kevin swiftly.

“
Hey!” she called out, close enough for Kevin to hear but far enough from her friends to be heard distinctly. Kevin turned and saw Nina trying to keep herself in check as she approached.

“
Do you have something to say now? Whatever you’re mumbling to yourself you ought to have the guts to say to me,” she said, her eyes piercing him.

Kevin gave her a look of disbelief and opened his mouth to speak when Nina cut him off.

“
You can’t keep rolling your eyes at me and giving me the cold shoulder all passive aggressive every time you see me with Todd. He’s my friend,” she snapped.

Kevin laughed unexpectedly. “Yeah, I remember you told me you two used to be
friends
. He’s the guy, isn’t he?”

Her face fell. She searched his wild eyes for something more than his jealousy-induced quest to figure out who she’d slept with. She knew what he was doing. He was scared and she could see it.