The Stillburrow Crush (18 page)

She hurried the last part, like she was interrupting something he'd been saying, and then she hung up. When I saw her appear out of the corner of my eye, staring me down, I acted like I was pouring all my attention into scrubbing the top shelf.

"Do we need to get a pregnancy test taken for you too?"

she finally asked.

After pausing a moment to discover I wasn't actually going to sink through the floor from mortification, I lifted my chin high and said, "No, we most certainly do not."

166

The Stillburrow Crush

by Linda Kage

She sniffed at my bitter tone like she didn't believe me, but after that she turned away, left me alone in the kitchen, and never broached the subject again.

I spent the rest of Thanksgiving break cleaning. Through the remainder of Friday and all day Saturday, neither Mom nor I left the house. She kept busy by finding things for me to do. I polished windows, washed curtains, scrubbed the walls and dusted every inch of wood to a reflecting shine.

Mom told Dad about the wine at lunch on Friday. He said nothing but looked at me with distinct disappointment, which made me lower my head in guilt. That man could pack more blame in one look than Mom could in two days' worth of cleaning duty.

On Sunday, she couldn't find anything else for me to clean.

I sat between her and Dad through church. Marty didn't show but neither did any of the Eggrows. After lunch, I was sent to my room where I remained the rest of the day. We didn't hear from Marty. Mom and Dad didn't call him either, to see if he was all right. And I couldn't be freed to go search him out.

So none of us knew how the Marty-Abby situation was progressing.

It was Monday morning before I got wind of any late-breaking news. I arrived late to school, running in the front door after the first bell had already rung. Mom and Dad had argued the night before in their bedroom. I could barely hear them through the wall, so it was hard to make out specific words, but the tone of voice was clear.

I lay in the dark, waiting for the discussion to come to a close, but it dragged on. I heard Marty's name mentioned a 167

The Stillburrow Crush

by Linda Kage

few times. Sometimes, Dad would say, "He's got to live his own life, Andrea." Finally Mom said, louder than before, "He should've learned something from our mistake."

Everything grew incredibly quiet after that. My eyes stung and I strained to hear my father say, "I didn't realize you thought of our life together as a mistake."

Not much was said after that and their words grew increasingly quiet. Finally, I heard the door open. It clicked so softly I hardly caught the sound. But then muffled footsteps moved down the hall past my door and into the living room.

They didn't return while I was awake. I wondered which one of them had stayed on the couch.

The next morning, I slept in. My eyes hurt when I woke.

Dried tears were crusted to my cheeks. Dad was already out in the shop when I dared to leave my room and Mom was in the kitchen with her legs crossed under the table, sipping coffee and staring at an old family picture on the wall.

I ate a silent and speedy breakfast with her but spent too long in the shower. I dawdled over getting dressed and didn't leave the house until Mom called to me, telling me it was getting late. I couldn't find all the homework and books I needed for school. It was hard to locate my stuff since Mom had made me clean my room.

Students were already clearing the halls and teachers were pulling their classroom doors shut when I raced through the front doors. It was a shock to see Luke standing next to my locker, pacing. His hands were in his pockets and he looked like an expectant father outside the door of a delivery room.

He took a step in my direction when he caught sight of me.

168

The Stillburrow Crush

by Linda Kage

"What's going on?" he said instantly. He crowded in around me as I dropped my book bag by my locker and began working on the combination of my lock.

"I'm late," I said. My voice was breathless and harried. I opened the locker door and it covered his face. He made a sound of disgust and moved it so it opened the entire way and he could lean toward me as I dug inside my cubby.

"Your mom said you were grounded."

"Oh, yeah." I made it sound like I'd forgotten all about that torture, and I yanked out the supplies I needed for first hour.

I glanced up at Luke and saw the concern on his face. Then I wiped my bangs out of my eyes and said, "She found out about the wine."

Luke glanced up and down the empty halls and leaned closer. "No wonder she sounded so ticked off on the phone."

I blew out a breath and slammed my locker. "Let's just say it was a bad weekend all around."

"Why?" Luke followed close behind me as I started up the hall toward my classroom. "Something else happened, didn't it?" His fingers wrapped around my upper arm, pulling me around to face him.

"You're going to be late for class too," I said.

"What's going on, Carrie?" he said in a low demand.

I sighed and checked the quiet halls. "I'll talk to you later, OK?"

He nodded, bobbing his head quickly, while giving me a concerned look. His fingers squeezed briefly, and then he let go, racing down the hall in the opposite direction toward his own class. The bell rang just as I eased inside the room. The 169

The Stillburrow Crush

by Linda Kage

teacher slid me a short, condemning look and then waited to start until I slumped into the first available seat.

I noticed it immediately: the stares and the whispers.

I saw more than one person glance at me and then away when I caught them doing so. The teacher also noticed the lack of attention and spent a couple of minutes lecturing us about talking while she was trying to teach. But as soon as she started teaching again, someone would turn around and whisper something to the person behind them.

Finally, the teacher gave up and assigned us extra homework. Whispers continued to circulate around me and glances steadily hit in my direction. I figured it was about Abby and Marty. Pregnancy was big news in our school since girls so rarely came up pregnant before they left the twelfth grade.

There'd probably only been a dozen or so high school girls who'd gotten pregnant since my mom had had her turn years ago. Now it was the son she'd been carrying who'd caused the damage.

When the bell rang, students swarmed into the halls spreading gossip like a brush fire. I followed at the end, feeling like the spark that had lit the fuse. People stopped talking and stared at me when I passed. "That's her," I could almost hear them snicker behind their hands. "Marty Paxton's sister." I began to feel like I was the one who was pregnant.

I caught E.T. near my locker. He seemed leery about approaching me, but I grabbed his arm and dragged him with me as I went by.

170

The Stillburrow Crush

by Linda Kage

"What's going on?" I hissed, even though I was already sure I knew.

"Is Abby Eggrow really pregnant?" was all he could say.

"Where'd you hear that?"

He shrugged. "I don't know.
Everyone's
been asking me since I'm your friend and you're Marty's sister, and he's roommates with my brother." He puffed out his chest a little, like that gave him importance. "Is it really Marty's kid?"

"Look," I said, and edged in closer to him so I could speak confidentially, "that's nobody's business but Abby and Marty's. Who started the rumor, anyway? Does Egghead know about it?"

E.T.'s eyes shot open wide and his head bobbed. "He knows," he said in a horrified whisper. "I saw him storming down the halls right after class. He's fuming."

"Well I would be too if everyone was spreading rumors like that about my daughter."

"Rumors?" E.T. frowned at me. "She's not pregnant, then?"

I sighed. "I guess you'll find out in nine months when she does or doesn't have a baby, won't you?"

E.T. gave me a disappointed look. "Fine," he said, already turning away. "Don't tell me."

"Fine, I won't," I called after him. "And quit spreading gossip. It's beneath you, E.T."

I had to go the bathroom before the next class started, making me almost late again. The girls in there shut up when they saw me enter and they quickly began to file out. I turned on the water and let it spray out into my cupped hands. I 171

The Stillburrow Crush

by Linda Kage

dipped my head and wet my face, shuddering when the icy cold droplets hit my nose and cheeks. When I dabbed myself dry with a handful of paper towels, I stared at my reflection in the mirror.

This was not the way I'd wanted to end my terrible weekend. But I should've expected it. Of course the news would leak and spread. I knew that. I just hadn't been aware it would seep out so fast or that it'd personally affect me.

Liz and Jill came inside the bathroom but pulled up short when they caught sight of me. Then they glared and folded their arms until I dropped my head and murmured an,

"Excuse me." I brushed past them and fled. I wasn't sure if they held me responsible for Marty and Abby's actions or what, but I could tell I wasn't on their A-list.

I could've stuck around and defended myself but I didn't feel like going into a battle at the moment. If they wanted to be mad at me for something my brother and their friend had done, then I wasn't going to cry about it and throw a fit. They could think whatever they wanted. I didn't care about their opinions.

Suddenly, I wanted to see Luke, but I missed him in the halls.

My next class was history with Mr. Decker. It was the class I shared with Abby, but she wasn't present when I arrived and she never showed. When the sign-up sheet hit my desk, I read the word
Excused
by her name. I'd just signed my own name on the list when the secretary's voice came through the intercom.

"Mr. Decker?"

172

The Stillburrow Crush

by Linda Kage

The teacher paused and looked toward the speaker box at the corner where the ceiling met the wall. "Yes?"

"Could you send Carrie Paxton to the principal's office, please?"

Mr. Decker glanced at me. "Sure," he called.

[Back to Table of Contents]

173

The Stillburrow Crush

by Linda Kage

The principal of SEC shut the door to his office. I was already seated at the chair in front of his desk when he came in, but I had no idea what this was about. I figured it had to involve Marty, but why would Abby's dad want to talk to me about that? I would've thought he'd prefer to avoid me.

Mr. Eggrow came around his desk silently and sat in his chair. He rested his elbows gingerly on his desktop and stared at me as he folded his hands, carefully interlacing each finger.

I sank back in the chair. For a moment, he said nothing and my eyes began to wander around the room, catching sight of pictures on the wall of Abby and her sister, Sidney.

Finally, he spoke. "Do you know what the penalty is for defamation?"

I frowned. "Defamation?" I said slowly.

His voice rose to a harsh, almost uncontrolled pitch. "Lying about another individual, Miss Paxton." He spat out the name Paxton like it was a piece of stale gum he needed to be rid of.

My mouth worked. "I don't..." What in God's name was he talking about? "No, I don't know the penalty."

"People go to jail for it," he said. He was quickly losing control of the anger I could see simmering just beneath the surface, and I was becoming increasingly confused. But
defamation
? I tried to think of anything I might've written in the paper but came up blank.

"Not only does it hurt the person being lied about, but it decreases the worth of the person spreading the lie as well. I 174

The Stillburrow Crush

by Linda Kage

hope you realize the destruction you've not only done to this school, but what you're doing to yourself."

My chest sucked in around my ribs when I inhaled sharply.

I shook my head. "I'm sorry, but I have no idea what you're talking about."

He stood up slowly, his fingers flexing into a fist and then loosening. My eyes bugged. I had the feeling he wanted those constricting fingers wrapped around my neck. It didn't matter that his wide desk was between us. His looming stance scared the living daylights out of me. "Lies have been going around this school that my daughter's pregnant, and I know you started them."

I shot to my feet.
"What?!"

"I'm giving you out-of-school suspension and refusing you any make-up homework. Your mother's already been called, so you can leave right now." My mouth dropped open as he nailed me with a menacing glare. "I don't want to see you in these halls for the rest of the week."

"But I didn't—"

He held up his hand and looked away. His jaw worked a few times before he hissed, "Just leave, Carrie."

My chin trembled. "Mr. Eggrow, I swear I didn't say anything about Abby to anyone. And besides, it couldn't be defamation because it's not a lie. She is pregnant. Marty told us—"

I knew the instant I said it, I shouldn't have. His eyes flashed warningly and his hand fisted again. But this was injustice. I had to defend myself.

175

The Stillburrow Crush

by Linda Kage

"I'm aware your brother went to your house and told your family that," he said with strained patience. "But we've taken Abby to a real doctor since and had everything checked. She is definitely not pregnant."

The air left my lungs. Not pregnant? All this fuss and the girl wasn't even pregnant? I shook my head and stared at the desktop. Why hadn't Marty called and straightened everything out? My parents were fighting, my schoolmates were gossiping, and all because someone wasn't pregnant?

"Pregnant or not pregnant," I said, using the calmest voice I had, "I didn't talk to anyone. Mr. Eggrow, I don't—"

"Get out of here!" He roared it so loudly I jumped. "Get out of my office. Get out of my school." He started around his desk after me. "Get out of my town."