Monday morning found me sitting in the driver's seat of the Beast, staring at the front doors of my school, debating the merits of ditching.
Mom had sounded so reasonable the night before, convincing me that if I missed the last few days of my high school career, I'd regret it.
Stewing in that car, I questioned her wisdom.
"Hey!"
Snapping my head to the right, I saw Sierra knocking on the passenger side window.
I pressed the button, rolling it down as I sighed, "Remind me why I'm here again?"
Sierra smiled, "Because your mother convinced you it was a good idea? Just like mine did to me?"
Leveling my stare at the brick-fronted building, I groaned.
"Tell you what-" Sierra offered, "-if we get to lunch and we're miserable, we'll skip and spend the rest of the day at the movies?"
Cocking an eyebrow, I said, "I'm going to hold you to that."
I rolled up the window, locking the doors as I stepped out and slung my backpack over my shoulder.
Meeting Sierra on the other side, we started walking as I asked, "So, did I miss anything interesting while I was out?"
She stiffened next to me.
"What?"
"Well..." She looked away as we began to cross the parking lot.
"What, Sierra?"
"Are you sure you want to know?"
"Yes?" Anxiety rose within me, "Seriously, you're freaking me out."
Turning toward me, Sierra spoke quietly, "So, you know how Rowan and her friends were weird about you that day at the mall?"
It seemed like a lifetime ago, but I nodded, "Yeah?"
"I found out why."
Ice water filled my veins, "Why?"
Taking a breath, she eyed me warily, "There's a rumor going around."
Gritting my teeth, I asked, "About?"
"About what you and Nate did after Prom."
"What?" I frowned, "We didn't do anything-"
"I know that, but that's not stopping Nate and his lackeys from telling everyone that you did some depraved shit to him that night."
"Wh-"
"Yeah. I've been trying to set the record straight, but it's not doing much."
Stunned, my memory flashed back to prom, to the cold, hateful look in his eyes-
-he wanted revenge.
Disbelief and rage warred within me, "That motherfucker-"
"I know."
We reached the doors, and as Sierra pulled one open, I followed her inside, acutely conscious of the eyes that turned to watch me.
"You sure we have to wait until lunch?" I asked, only half joking.
"Just hang in there. You can do this."
Across the lobby, Owen waved, standing next to Zane. Heading toward them, I could hear the giddy whispers I left in my wake.
"Hey, you're back!" Owen greeted.
"For better or worse," I muttered.
His enthusiasm faded, "So, you heard, huh?"
"Yeah. What the hell, man?"
"I don't even know."
Looking at two of them, I asked, "You were both there - you saw Nate, right? How he was too drunk to stand upright?"
Zane nodded.
"How the fuck does anyone believe that we went back to his place and got freaky?"
"I mean," Owen shrugged, "You were his date, people saw you together, and you both left around the same time-"
"Oh, shit," I breathed.
"You want to know the funny thing?" Zane said, "he stormed out because he was freaking out about his lost keys - we found them later on Faith's patio; the dumbass lost them before we even got to Prom!"
Dread trickled down my spine.
Yeah, funny...
"Look, Hailey," Owen faced me, "we know it didn't happen - Nate's just trying to save face, and anyone stupid enough to believe him deserves to look like an idiot."
"I guess," I murmured, glancing behind me at the sea of judgmental faces.
"Hey," Sierra placed a hand on my shoulder, "if anybody says shit to you, let me handle it - I've got lawyer parents, and I'm still under eighteen - I'll get a lighter sentence."
As Owen and Zane laughed, I cracked a smile, my first of the day.
By lunchtime, sticking out the day had become a personal challenge. With stares and whispers following me wherever I went, I forced myself to hold my head high, knowing that I hadn't touched Nate.
I mean, I spent the night fucking Faith's daddy, but I hadn't laid a finger on Nate...
My mood dimmed as my thoughts turned to Jason, to the bright hopes I'd held that night, and how they'd been so thoroughly dashed to pieces.
Walking through the halls, I spotted Sierra at her locker.
She smiled, asking as I got closer, "So? What's the verdict?"
Gritting my teeth, I answered, "Fuck these assholes; they're not going to scare me off."
"Atta girl." Grabbing her lunch, she shut the door.
On the way to the lunchroom, we talked about anything but Nate, trying to keep things light.
But, when we reached the cafeteria, Sierra froze, staring at Faith at our usual table.
Turning, she instead headed toward two vacant seats at the other end of the room.
After a second's pause, I followed her.
"So, how's that going?"
Sierra set her lunch down on the table, "Well, every time I see her, I flash back to that night in her fucking kitchen, so, I guess, 'not great'?"
"Fair." I replied, sitting across from her.
Glancing away, her eyes were glassy as she said, "I'm going to be super honest - I'm really not up for discussing it; can we please just talk about something else?"
"Okay," I sighed, thinking back. "Well, do you want to know something I found out on Saturday?"
"At the funeral?"
I nodded.
"What?" she asked, opening her lunch.
Glancing around, I said, "Apparently, I have a half-sister."
Her jaw dropped, "What?!"
"Yeah, her name's Ellie," I laughed. "I guess 'daddy dearest' has a whole other family now."
"Cute. How old is she?"
"Like, thirteen?" I shrugged.
"Okay, but have you talked to her?"
"No?" I paused, "I've kind of been busy with other stuff."
"Right," Sierra muttered, chastened, "well, are you going to?"
"I don't know," I answered, honest and unsure.
She frowned, "Why not? Like, give me half an hour and I guarantee that I can track this kid down."
"You're scary," I joked, "but, honestly? I'm not sure I want her to know about me."
"Why not?"
I shrugged, "Maybe he's gotten better. Maybe he's actually a good father to her. Who am I to ruin that? To come in like, 'Hey, your dad is the asshole who knocked up and then abandoned my mother!'"
"Hailey," Sierra's eyes burned into mine, "people like that don't change."
Sour uncertainty settled into my bones, "Yeah, but maybe she hasn't figured it out yet."
"What do you mean?"
"Maybe she hasn't realized what kind of person he is? He might be a monster, but maybe she hasn't seen that side of him yet." Shaking my head, I muttered, "I don't want to be the person who destroys that illusion."
"Okay," Sierra's voice was soft, "I get that. But," she pointed at me with her fork, "the instant that you decide you want to contact her, let me know - I'll have her info in a heartbeat!"