Reason and Romance (River Valley Book 1) Read online

  Vaughn’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh, you didn’t know that? Yes, she was late, and oh my God, it was the biggest piece of gossip we had. You had Mr. Melbourne who was so furious and so ashamed that he couldn’t look at Alex without wanting to kill him. You had his wife—well, his ex-wife now—storming into the school. You had Alex’s parents involved! Listen, it was huge. And that’s my point, Adrian. How can you not discuss something that juicy? Admit it, you’re curious. You want to know how it ended for Alex and Lindsay, even though it’s an old story.”

  Adrian crossed her arms. “It’s fun to talk about other people until you are the person being gossiped about. Have you ever been the object of scorn? When it happens to you, you want to tell them to fuck off, but you can’t because that’ll add to the gossip, so there’s nothing you can do, but smile. And that’s just—”

  She was actually ranting, and that was something she didn’t do, so she stopped before she could embarrass herself any further.

  Vaughn gazed at her for a long moment. Her habitual smile faded from her lips until there was only a keen intelligence in those brown eyes. No, this wasn’t a stupid girl, and Adrian had the feeling Vaughn saw and understood too much.

  “Why did they talk about you at your old school?” Vaughn said finally.

  Adrian’s lips turned up into a humorless smile. Oh yes, the other girl had seen more than Adrian wanted. “My mother was the reason. And that’s all you’re getting from me.”

  “I’m sorry—”

  “No. I do not want your pity—”

  Vaughn grabbed her arm. “God, Adrian!” she said with the first trace of irritation Adrian had ever heard. “If you had only let me finish! I don’t feel sorry for you, and you know why? You slap down people who try to be friendly. Me, Justin, Quentin, and oh, just about everyone else. Travis Cates is the only one who can get through to you, and we would all like to know how he did it because otherwise you’re this big black hole of bitchiness.” She released her grip. “Not everyone is out to get you, so here’s my advice. Grow up, Adrian!”

  The outburst was so unexpected that Adrian could only stare. What did Vaughn know about Adrian’s life? She’d never experienced having a whole town talk about her dead mother, so she didn’t have any right.

  But before Adrian could retort, Vaughn stalked off.

  A sick buzzing sensation was rattling inside her mind as Adrian looked after the other girl’s retreating figure. Vaughn wasn’t a friend, so it wasn’t like she was important. God.

  “That was rough,” Grant said from behind.

  Adrian closed her eyes briefly. She hadn’t heard him approach, but his deep voice was unmistakable. For such a big guy he could move like a ghost.

  “Didn’t your mother ever tell you it’s not nice to eavesdrop?” she said nastily.

  “No. She’s dead.”

  “Oh. I was being sarcastic, obviously.”

  “And I obviously let it slide by.”

  “What the hell do you want?”

  She heard him move this time. When she opened her eyes, Grant was standing in the spot Vaughn had vacated. At least there was one good thing about his size—no one was standing near them because he took up so much space by himself. Just as well since Adrian didn’t want any eyewitnesses repeating her words.

  “I’m here to do preventive control,” Grant said. His blue eyes shifted over the crowd in the hallway. “I don’t want the school going down in flames.”

  “I’m not going on a psychotic murder spree.”

  “You should talk to Vaughn. It would be a start.”

  “What are you, my keeper now?”

  Grant shifted his gaze back to her. His voice was as calm as ever, as if her tone didn’t bother him. “I’m not going to argue with you, Adrian. So don’t pull that shit on me. Now, the way I see it, you have two choices. You can go on and be immature. Or you can talk to Vaughn and make nice.”

  “Why should I? She’s a gossip vulture.”

  He lifted his eyebrows. “And you’re a bitch,” he said mildly. “Who are you to pass judgment on someone else?”

  “And who are you to judge me?”

  A glint of humor warmed those neutral eyes until they lightened. She’d always thought Alex was far more attractive—and that opinion still hadn’t changed—but if Grant ever smiled, it would be a dangerous thing for the Varner High girls.

  “Your keeper. Isn’t that what you called me? Someone has to keep the system running.”

  “Who died and left you in charge?”

  “Who else wants the job?”

  His calmness was so maddening, so infuriating that she inhaled sharply. But before she could say anything, he walked away. Great! Vaughn had figuratively slapped her in the face, and Grant was finishing the job by kicking the chair out from under her. And neither of them would oblige her by fighting with her.

  Her shoulders slumped. The day had started with so much promise, but now all she wanted to do was to crawl into bed and pull the blankets over her head. Every time she thought she’d found her footing, she lost it again.

  She trudged to AP English. At least Mr. Melbourne would be there. It was almost sad how much she wanted to fight with him, just so she could relieve her black mood, but when she took her seat, there was a young, pretty woman behind his desk instead.

  “Mr. Melbourne has taken a leave of absence,” the woman said, “so I’ll be substituting for him until this semester ends. Fortunately, he left his lesson plans behind, so we won’t lose any time.”

  A surprised murmur ran around the classroom as Adrian’s classmates digested this piece of news. “Did something happen to him?” Justin called out. “Is he sick?”

  Trust Justin to be concerned about the teacher’s health.

  “I’m afraid I don’t have anything to share. What you know is what I know. Shall we begin with the class attendance?”

  Adrian lowered her eyes, so her confusion wouldn’t show, but her thoughts were swirling madly. Mr. Melbourne had spoken to her at Homecoming dance and told her that she didn’t need to go to detention anymore. Had he prepared for his leave of absence in advance—yes, he must have done so. From the sound of it, he was gone this whole semester and she wouldn’t see him for a few months.

  This was what she’d prayed for. She’d hated the man for so long. Or rather, she’d hated him for a handful of weeks, but these weeks had been torturous. She’d geared up for battle every time she walked into the AP English classroom, but now she didn’t need to do it anymore.

  She was … free.

  And she couldn’t even rejoice.

  She murmured “here” when the substitute teacher called her name. The woman’s gaze slid over her face for one or two seconds before she called out another name. By then, Adrian knew Mr. Melbourne hadn’t left the woman any notes about her, not even a warning footnote.

  It was by far the most pleasant class she’d ever had, or at least it should have been, but she sat in her seat like a frozen slab of ice. She might as well have been invisible because no one seemed to remember she was there. The teacher didn’t pick on her; the kids didn’t talk to her or glance her way. They were too busy speculating about Mr. Melbourne’s absence and swapping stories about Homecoming dance.

  She doodled in her notebook. I was there too!

  The sharp bite of resentment took her aback. She’d owned them at the dance and she’d made a splash, but now it was as if nothing had ever happened. No one was saying hi or reminiscing about the delicious Quentin-and-Mandy-and-Vaughn faux fight with her. Even Justin, who usually greeted her, was huddled with Alex and others, trying to figure out what had forced Mr. Melbourne to take time off.

  Quentin’s voice was the loudest, of course. “Maybe he needs a triple bypass, courtesy of Alex,” he suggested. “Or maybe he has Alex-itis.”

  People laughed, and Adrian couldn’t resist looking over her shoulder. Alex and his friends always sat together, their desks grouped in the same vicinity. Sort of like a f
ormidable phalanx, a bastion of arrogance even, but it meant they always had each other. No matter what happened, Alex could be sure to count on Quentin, Justin, and Grant as backup.

  And Adrian had only Travis.

  Even as she thought of him, she knew it wasn’t quite true. Yes, they talked every day at school and they ate lunch together, but she’d never been over to his house. She didn’t even know where he lived. She hadn’t even invited him to hang out after school. So what kind of person did that make her?

  Her eyes burning, Adrian stared at the whiteboard. She wasn’t a bad person; she really wasn’t! She’d only done what she had to do in order to survive. They’d attacked her, and she’d responded in kind.

  What else could she have done?

  And yet Vaughn’s words were on a feedback loop. “Oh, I don’t feel sorry for you, and you know why? You slap down people who try to be friendly. Me, Justin, Quentin, and oh, just about everyone else … not everyone is out to get you, so here’s my advice. Grow up, Adrian!”

  She pinched the bridge of her nose. Oh, it didn’t do any good to think about this. The blonde wasn’t her friend, so it wasn’t like the outburst meant anything.

  Travis intercepted her after the class ended. “Dude,” he said sagely, when he saw her in the hallway. “Who stole the last watermelon?”

  “I’m sorry?”

  “My neighbor grows watermelons, see? And we trade him bread or sunflowers for them, but a lot of other people want them too, so sometimes we don’t get anything. And I don’t think I’m making any sense,” he concluded. “So why do you look so sad?”

  “You can tell?”

  “Mm-hmm. It’s you, dude!”

  Suddenly Adrian couldn’t take it anymore. She leaned her head against his shoulder, drawing comfort from his familiar presence.

  “I feel like shit,” she said quietly.

  To his credit, Travis didn’t pester her with any questions, but only guided her outside. They were cutting class, and a part of Adrian wanted to turn back, but it would only be more of the same. She’d only stew with Vaughn’s comments circulating and circulating until she went stark raving mad.

  They walked across the grass. As always, the heat rose up as a suffocating vise all around her, but this time she welcomed it. She was so tired of feeling barren and cold. Travis’s arm was a solid weight around her waist.

  “Convenience store’s at the end of this block. How about a Slurpee?”

  She had to laugh. “Why not?”

  They stashed their backpacks in his car, so they wouldn’t be burdened, but instead of driving, they walked to the store. As he’d said, it wasn’t that far, and the exercise helped to clear some cobwebs from her brain.

  “I had a fight with Vaughn,” she said abruptly.

  He bobbed his head to music that only he could hear, but when she was done telling him her version, he straightened. “I thought you didn’t like her. You don’t care what she thinks. So why are you upset about it?”

  It was a good question.

  “Or maybe you do care what she thinks.”

  She sighed. “Maybe.” A pebble was in her way, so she kicked it off the sidewalk. “She said she was trying to be friendly, but seriously—”

  “Dude, you bite people’s heads off. You scare them.”

  Her back stiffened. She knew people had stayed away from her at the beginning because Alex hadn’t exactly welcomed her. She also knew Mandy Fitzpatrick had said things. They’d certainly heard about her and Mr. Melbourne, but what else could she have done? Be a professional doormat?

  “I’m not a monster,” she said.

  “You don’t want to be. Frankenstein’s ugly as shit. And he smells.”

  Some of her ire faded. Shaking her head, she smiled up at the morning sky. Was it even possible to get upset with Travis Cates? She didn’t think so.

  The convenience store was a cool blast of air-conditioning haven when they walked inside. She’d never really cared much for junk food, but now she went straight for the Slurpee machine. She grabbed a cup and filled it with cherry flavored slush before getting a couple of bags of chips. Might as well go wild.

  Travis’s haul was bigger than hers. He had a few Twinkies and chocolate bars and gummy worms. That, and a gigantic Slurpee.

  “Can you finish all of that?” she asked, amused.

  “Oh yeah. Watch me.”

  They sat on the curb outside the store. Luckily, there was an overhanging canopy, so they weren’t sitting directly in the sun. Now that she was chilling, she crossed her legs and sat on the pavement. “Why do I scare them?” she asked. “I mean, it’s not like I jumped out of the bushes and shouted ‘boo!’ at the whole school.”

  “You’re the Big Enchilada.” Travis hefted his drink. “The Big Slurpee. If you do or say something, it’s like a royal … um, rule. No, that’s not it. Royal …”

  “Decree?”

  “Yeah. Montgomery’s the king, and you’re the queen, see? Before, it was just girls who didn’t last long. People weren’t scared. Now that it’s you …” Travis waved a hand. “No one knows what to say anymore.”

  “Sucks for them.”

  Grinning, he bit on his straw. “You gotta think, dude. Even kings and queens have their courts. Or else it gets lonely.”

  Adrian looked away. She didn’t think he’d meant it as a pointed reference, but sometimes it was easy to forget how surprisingly shrewd he could be under that guileless exterior.

  Even kings and queens have their courts. Or else it gets lonely.

  She knew what she had to do next. Or rather, she’d always known, but now she needed to gather enough courage. She’d never liked eating humble pie, but maybe, just maybe, she was in the wrong this time.

  It was almost lunch time when she cornered Vaughn in the hallway. They had most classes together, but the blonde was always surrounded by friends, and the last thing Adrian wanted was an audience.

  Vaughn glanced up from her backpack. She stilled when she saw Adrian, then she bent her head and dug through her books again.

  Adrian supposed she deserved that silent snub. “I’ve thought about what you said,” she began, determined to finish this. “I do have a knee-jerk defensive reaction to people, and you were right about that.”

  It was a speech she’d rehearsed, and while it had sounded fine in the privacy of her mind, every word came out coldly.

  A little smile tugged at Vaughn’s mouth. “Is that all you have to say? I deserve a prize for being right?”

  Adrian held onto her temper. “No, that’s not it.” God, this part was harder than she’d thought it would be. “I guess I am a bitch, Vaughn. I don’t really apologize for that, because if you went through what I’ve gone through, you’d probably understand. But it’s not always what I want to be. I … I don’t make friends easily. Even back at home, most of my friends were my boyfriend’s. And, well, I am—”

  Vaughn lifted a hand. “You don’t have to tell me all of this.”

  “Good. It was getting a little awkward.”

  The blonde chuckled, but then she sobered. “If we’re doing confession time …” she said, the mockery gone from her voice, “I do love gossiping about other people. It’s not always pretty, and it’s not always right. It’s my vice, you could say. And yes, I did gossip a lot about you when you first got here.” She grimaced. “Actually, I’m the chief one who spread all the rumors. Almost all of them anyway.”

  Adrian opened her mouth, but Vaughn continued. “I’m the opposite of you, Adrian. I’m used to being liked. And … yes, I’ll admit that I’m hurt because you don’t like me.” Her smile was self-deprecating. “That doesn’t usually happen.”

  A sliver of bitterness flashed through Adrian. “I wish I was used to being liked.”

  Vaughn looked at her for a long moment. “So what now?” she said finally.

  Adrian hesitated. She’d said her piece, and Vaughn had said hers. After this, she didn’t think she’d be able to see the othe
r girl as a shallow blonde. And she didn’t think Vaughn would be spreading so many rumors about her in the future. So they technically did have a truce, but …

  Or else it gets lonely.

  Adrian took a deep breath and smiled. “So what can you tell me about Alex and Lindsay Melbourne?”

  She was rewarded by a flashing smile. “Oh, you’ve asked the right person, honey.” Vaughn kicked her locker shut. “It is a tawdry tale of abundant sex, teenage melodrama, hysterical mothers, angry fathers …”

  Still talking, they walked to the cafeteria together.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  “I’m telling you, Alex Montgomery got him fired.”

  “No, he quit because Alex and Lindsay got back together, and he’s moving his whole family to the other side of the country, just to get her away from Alex.”

  Adrian trudged to her locker. Who would have thought Mr. Melbourne’s leave of absence would set off a minor firestorm of gossip and speculation? He hadn’t seemed that popular, but much to her surprise, she heard some regretful comments. Apparently he’d worked with many Spanish-speaking students to improve their English.

  There could be only one victor in the court of public opinion, however, and it most certainly wasn’t Mr. Melbourne. Vaughn had confirmed as much when she’d briefly stopped Adrian in the hallway after lunch.

  “It is crazy out here!” she’d said, beaming. “At last count, there were at least fifteen rumors, and only half of them started by me. God, Alex’s added to his own legend. There are probably some gullible fools who think he killed the poor man.”

  “Maybe he can use Quentin’s money to get good defense lawyers,” Adrian had said.

  “Oh, Adrian, you’ve added to your own legend too, you know. Some people think you got rid of Mr. Melbourne. I swear, there is never a boring moment with you around.”

  Vaughn had hurried off to snatch up the latest morsel of gossip, so Adrian hadn’t had time to digest the implications of what she’d said. Oddly enough, it seemed to echo what Travis had said about her being the so-called queen of the Varner High social jungle, but that wasn’t what she’d set out to be.