I'm sorry for the crime
That I involved you in this time
You're the only friend I got
dedication goes to salmasey for making me that awesome cover to the side.
✝ Chapter Fifteen | Don't Charge Me For The Crime ✝
Throughout the rest of the day, I couldn’t focus my mind kept drifting to the fight. I wanted to know what started the fight and if Jack was okay. Before Stephanie broke up the fight, he was getting his face punched into a pulp.
So when the last bell of the day rang, I bolted out of my seat and paraded the hallways in search of the blond haired boy. The thought of ditching Adam crossed my mind, but I didn’t care. I needed to make sure Jack was alright.
It took me some time to process that I actually cared about someone’s well-being. That was a definite first and I secretly hoped it would be the last. The last thing I needed was for some boy to soften me up.
After roaming the hallways for a couple minutes, I realized that I didn’t exactly know where to look for Jack. I had no idea where his locker was or what his last class of the day was. The only thing that came to mind was the parking space where I bumped into him and kneed him in his precious jewels.
Deciding to give it a shot, I breezed through the parking lot and sure enough, I saw him walking to the familiar red pickup truck. My feet picked up their pace until I was practically trailing behind him. “Jack!” I called out.
He whipped around instantly, a weak smile stretching onto his bruised face. Dark patches circled around his straight nose – which looked slightly broken now. Some of the bruises arced along his jawline and a hint of red stained the corner of his lip. But despite all the obvious pain he must have been in, he still managed to smile and his clear eyes continued to resonate with amusement.
“Wow,” I said before I could stop myself. “He sure did a number on you.”
Jack gave me a knowing look. “You think?”
“I’m sorry. Are you okay?”
He raked a hand through his tousled hair. “I’m all right.” His gaze dropped to the pavement as a wave of awkward silence engulfed us. He thumbed a loose string on his jeans and as he did so, I noticed something. Jack had this aura of confidence about him, like nothing can ever get him down. But as I stood there staring at him, I noticed he was lacking that confidence. He looked almost vulnerable.
I didn’t notice how long the silence was until Jack finally spoke up. “Do you want a ride or something?”
“Oh, no. I’m going to catch a ride with Adam.”
His head dipped in a slight nod. “Ah, cool.”
The silence continued. I couldn’t believe neither of us had anything to say. Obviously, I wouldn’t be getting answers that way. “I’m surprised you didn’t get in trouble with the principal or something.”
“Stephanie let me off the hook.”
“Why?” I questioned, twisting my face in confusion. “Stephanie hates everyone. Why would she just let you slide?”
He shrugged his shoulder in the most nonchalant way possible. It was so careless that it was almost suspicious. “Look, I don’t know and I don’t really care. As long as I’m free, I’m not really stressing the issue.” The confidence that usually radiated from him was slowly coming back again.
My arms folded against my barely-there chest. “What? So, Lou Sanders gets reprimanded but you just get away without even batting an eye?” I tried to act more oblivious than I really was. I knew it had something to do with what he and Stephanie were laughing over.
He slapped a hand on the hood of his truck. “Guess so.”
“What was the fight about? Why did you pick a fight with Lou?” I couldn’t help the wry tone that came to my voice.
“Because I was sick of him thinking he can just screw everyone over. He was the one who took those pictures of you. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it earlier considering we were in his house. And, I kind of wanted to punch his pretty little face for a long time now.”
Against my will, a grin spread across my face. That guy deserved a reality check a long time ago. “Well, thanks for sticking up for me. I have to go before Adam flips on me. I’ll see you around.”
Jack nodded, agreeing. He opened the door to his truck and slipped into the seat. By then, I had already started my journey back to the school building when Jack called out after me.
“Yeah?” I asked as I glanced over my shoulder.
“Do you want to maybe grab something to eat sometime?” His tongue swept over his lips, making them appear more kissable than ever.
Even though a ruse of butterflies circled around in the pit of my stomach at the sound of that question, I tried to keep my cool. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were trying to ask me out.”
A whole hearted laugh erupted from him. “But I’m assuming you know better.”
"So, it isn’t a date?”
His smile widened and seeing the row of white teeth almost made me past out right there and then. “Nope, no it’s not. It’s just a casual hangout between friends. That’s all.”
“Well, friend, I guess I wouldn’t mind going on this casual non-date between friends.” In an attempt to appear more seductive than I actually was, I caught my bottom lip with my teeth. God, there was something wrong with me. “As long as it’s platonic.”
“Oh, yeah. Totally platonic.” He flashed a smile in my direction once more before he got back into his car and started up the engine. I watched as he backed out of his parking space and waved goodbye as the red truck pulled out of the school and onto the highway.
I knew I shouldn’t have given him the time of day from the beginning, but it was too late. I was already falling for him.
I didn’t notice that Adam’s car had pulled up beside me until the horn sounded, pounding loudly in my eardrums. “Jesus,” I muttered under my breath as I quickly got into the passenger’s seat.
He drove off almost immediately, not wanting to waste any more time. “You were talking to him again,” Adam stated. It wasn’t a question and he definitely didn’t want an answer. “Is he the reason you dressed nice today? Not that you don’t always look nice, you always look spectacular but today … You curled your hair. You never curl your hair.”
My brows furrowed as I turned to face him. His hand was loosely placed at the top of the steering wheel, and the wind blew back his dark waves, exposing his forehead. His bright eyes remained fixed on the road, but I looked at him, truly looked at him. “You’re very observant,” I finally said.
Adam sighed. “As a friend, I have to be. I don’t need to ask you if you’re having a bad day, I’m supposed to know. I guess I wouldn’t expect you to know that because you don’t really consider us friends and that’s okay. Just being able to talk to you is enough for me.” The words flew out of his mouth with ease and a smooth flow that made me think he was waiting to say them for a long time.
I fell silent after hearing that because honestly, it was true. I guess I never really appreciated Adam being there for me until now.
He didn’t let us sit in silence for too long because he turned on the radio and the sound of a male’s sweet, tender voice filled the car.
Mustering up the strength to do something nice for once, I planted a chaste kiss onto Adam’s cheek. I heard him take in a sharp breath, but by then I was already looking out the window again.
“W-what was t-that for?”
“For being there for me. I know I always treat you like shit and I never want you around, but I want you to know that I do care about you. I didn’t at first, but you kind of grew on me.” Saying those words made me sound like a softy, but he needed to hear them.
Adam’s face scrunched in distaste. “Gross! Like fungus?”
Playfully shoving him, I laughed. “Yeah, kinda like fungus.”
“So,” he said, his fingers drumming on the steering wheel. “Are we having a moment? Are you going to be nice to me from now on? Is this a sign of the apocalypse?”
“I’m not completely heartless, you know,” I pointed out.
His adam’s apple lolled as he threw his head back, laughing. “Oh, I know. You were actually fun to be around before West came along. And you want to know something? I knew West was a scumbag, just like I know Jake is a douche.”
“It’s Jack,” I corrected him.
“Whatever.”
I knew the conversation was taking a turn for the worst. “Adam, he’s different. When I’m around him, I feel different.”
“Why wouldn’t you? He’s gorgeous.”
I bit my lower lip to keep from laughing at how uncomfortable Adam looked after saying that. I knew if I let him continue, he would end up saying something he regretted. “Adam, just shut up and drive.”
✝ ✝ ✝ ✝
When I got home, Mom wasn’t there. She left a note saying she went out for drinks with Gregory, and I didn’t want to imagine what activity those drinks would eventually lead to. But all jokes aside, I was happy she found someone. Sitting around and being forced to think about Dad was hard on her. It was hard on me to have to witness it.
If being with an old, Nazi-obsessed history teacher made her happy, then so be it.
My mind thought back to my Dad’s wedding. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be a bridesmaid. His girlfriend didn’t even know me. Why would she ask me to be her bridesmaid? I would be better off sitting the very far, far, far, far, back row. If for any reason I felt uncomfortable, at least then, I could make a quick exit.
Then I thought to Jack. Just the thought of him made me smile. It was funny considering I’ve only really known him for a short amount of time. And even then, I was still scratching the surface.
Plus, it didn’t help that every time I looked at him, I was mesmerized by his beautiful blue eyes. It was torture, but I liked it.
Deciding to get some work done, I began to complete my homework – just the way Stephanie taught me. I hated to admit that her teaching method was very effective and I didn’t feel all that intimidated by the work. I still had trouble reading full paragraphs, but once I was able to pronounce each word in a sentence, it would become easier. I was no expert, but I was getting there.
Who knew Stephanie Bradmoore was good for something?
Before I knew it, the sun had set and darkness covered the streets. Mom still didn’t come home nor did she call to let me know she would be home late. I silently wished she was alright because I didn’t completely trust Mr. Lawrence.
The sound the doorbell chiming through the house caught my attention. Slowly lifting myself off the couch, I ambled over to the front door and pulled it open. What I saw – no, who I saw on the other side made my jaw fall open.
Stephanie stood there, looking disoriented. Her dark hair shot out in all directions and looked like the definition of bed head. Her usually olive skin looked almost ghostly under the dim yellow light. She was wearing the same clothes from earlier, but they looked less expensive now. Thick, brown patches stained her clothes as if she purposely rolled around in mud.
Even though the rest of her looked pretty bad, when I saw her bloodshot red eyes I knew something was wrong.
I thought it was impossible to see Stephanie look less-than-fabulous. “Stephanie?” I questioned, still trying to believe it. “Why are you here?”
She swallowed harshly and rubbed her arms nervously. “C-can I come in?”
“Uh…” I contemplated whether or not I should let her into my house. She looked like an entirely different person.
Instead of waiting for my response, Stephanie pushed past me and walked into my house, letting her eyes wander around the living room.
Nope, same old Stephanie. “Yes, you may come in,” I said with sarcasm coating my words as I shut the door. “Now, why are you here? If you’re here for our tutoring session, it’s a bit too late and you look like trash, literally.”
She sent me a cold glare. “I didn’t have anywhere to go. In case you haven’t noticed, I don’t really have any friends and if I go home, my dad would kill me.” She shifted uncomfortably. “Do you have clothes I can change into?”
My brows raised in shock. “You want to wear my clothes? Mine? As in, it belongs to me?
“Did I stutter?” she asked, her voice rising in anger.
Somehow, I found humor in the situation. Crossing my arms across my chest, I gave her an incredulous look. “Look, you can have an attitude all you want. At school, you may be able to get away with it, but you’re in my territory now. So you better show me some respect if you want my help.”
Stephanie stared back at me helplessly. “Sorry.”
Heaving a long sigh, I gestured towards the staircase. “I have clothes in my room. Follow me.” As I jogged up the stairs, I couldn’t help but wonder what exactly happened to her. I wasn’t particularly fond of her, but I never wanted to wish her any misfortune.
Once were in my bedroom, I tossed a pair of clothes into her direction and plopped down on the edge of my bed, awaiting her reaction. As suspected, she made a disgusted face as she examined the gym shorts and band t-shirt. “These are your clothes?”
I narrowed my eyes. “Is it not good enough for you?”
She opened her mouth to respond but when she saw my intense glare, she pressed her lips together. “This is fine, thank you.”
Tipping my head in gratitude, I sucked in a breath and clapped my hands together. “So, tell me. What kind of mess are you in that your daddy can’t know?”
“I crashed my car,” she blurted out as she began undressing herself. “I’m not worried about the car. He’ll just buy me a new one, but I’m afraid he’ll ground me for life if he finds out how I crashed it.”
“Let me guess!” I squealed as I jumped up and down in fake excitement. “Drunk driving?”
She shook her head.
“Texting and driving!”
She gave me a blank look.
“Sexing…and driving?”
Stephanie sighed heavily.
“So, what is it?”
She stared at me with her coffee-colored eyes for a while before she finally answered. “It’s this.” She reached into her shirt’s breast pocket and pulled out a clear plastic baggie. It wasn’t necessarily the fact that she was carrying a sandwich bag with her that surprised me.
What surprised me was to see the white powdery substance at the bottom of the bag.
✝
A/N: Hey everyone. Thanks for waiting for this chapter to come out considering that it took quite a while to update it. I think I scraped this like two times because I didn't think it was good enough and now, I'm still not happy with how this chapter came out. But hey... it's here!
Question of the chapter....do we feel bad for Stephanie? Not even a little bit?
And also, feel free to make me some stuff for this story. Ya know, banners, covers, outfits, and all that creative stuff because I like getting free stuff. just like everyone else who is in their right mind. I think I can only make those stuff for other people, I can never do my own.
So anyway...vote, comment and share the love!
~lara <3