| |
Hours after Brandon left, Leah was still reeling from the news that Will might try to burn something or even someone. She’d put on a brave front for Brandon but deep inside, the fear was trying to take over. She kept telling herself that Brandon would find Will and all this would be over soon.
She just hoped it was true.
Parents and students were shuffling out of the building which meant that the last two classes of the day had come to an end. She answered a few questions before the last patrons left, locking the doors and setting the alarm behind them.
Carly and Melanie were walking toward the offices. “How were classes tonight?” she asked, meeting up with them.
“Great,” Carly said at the same time that Mel said, “Shitty.”
Both Leah and Carly gave Mel a questioning look.
“I had a new student and she is one of those kids who have so much heart and love for dance but no talent.”
“That is the worst,” Carly sympathized. “Do you remember that girl we danced with when we were like twelve? Stacey I think was her name. Remember how much she loved to dance and tried so hard but she just never got better?”
“Yeah,” Mel said and collapsed in her desk chair. “This little girl is just like that. It really breaks my heart.”
“I’m sorry,” Leah said. “I wish there was something I could do to help.”
“It’ll be fine.” Mel waived it off. “It’s part of the job.”
“Wanna go grab a drink?” Carly asked. “Or several? Getting shitfaced is always a good cure for problems.”
“Sounds good to me,” Mel said. “Leah?”
“Brandon is coming by to get me, but if he’s in, then I’m in too. I could use a drink after that news about Will.”
“Tell the truth,” Carly asked, “are you scared?” They had been busy most of the day since Brandon had left that afternoon, so this was the first time they’d had a chance to talk about it.
“I’m trying hard not to be, but I am.”
“Me too,” Melanie said. “And I hate it. I hate that I am letting some douchebag, crazy person get to me.”
“Same,” Carly said. “I really hope Bran finds him soon. Being afraid is not something I am good at.”
“No,” Melanie exaggerated her gasp. “I would have never guessed.”
“Fuck off.”
“Do you guys ever do anything but curse at each other.” They all looked up to find Brandon standing in the doorway.
“Why the hell did we give him the code to get in here?” Carly looked at her. “All he does is annoy me.”
She stood and went to him. “He has a code because he is my boyfriend and he wants me to be safe.”
“Gag,” Melanie said. “You two make me sick.”
Leah hugged him and in her ear, so that only she could hear him, he whispered, “I love when you call me your boyfriend.”
She looked up at him, a huge smile on her face. “How was your day?”
“Uninformative.”
“How is this guy a ghost?” Carly asked. “No one is that good.”
“And,” Mel added, “this is a small town. Everyone sees everything.”
“I have no idea,” he said. “It’s a puzzle.”
“To take our mind off it, we were thinking about going to get drinks,” Leah told him.
“Drinks is too tame for what we are going to do. We are going to get drunk,” Carly said.
“You in?” Leah asked.
“Absofuckinglutely,” he answered.
––––––––
By the time they got to Gayle’s, it was after nine. It wasn’t too busy considering it was Tuesday night and so they grabbed a table right upfront. Brandon went to get their drinks and when he returned Logan and Tony were with him.
“Look who I found,” he said, passing out drinks
Leah took a long sip of her beer and waved.
“Jesus, are you following me,” Mel said, “cause you know, I'm a fucking grown adult and I can take care of myself.”
“I’m not following you,” Logan sneered. “I was here first having dinner with Tony.”
“Do you guys possibly think that we can get through a night without you two bickering?” Carly sounded annoyed.
“You’re talking to me about not bickering when all you and Tony do is fight and pick at each other,” Mel said.
Carly looked at Tony. “Can we call a truce, just for tonight?”
He nodded his head once and saluted her with his beer.
“There, done,” she said. “Now we can all get drunk in peace.”
“We’re getting drunk?” Logan asked, eyebrows raised.
“We are.” Leah motioned to the girls. “You guys can do whatever you want.”
“Rough day, huh?” Tony said to Carly.
“Rough life,” she said and downed her beer.
Leah watched as her friend got up and went to the bar to get another drink.
“She okay?” Brandon sat in her vacated seat.
“I don’t know,” Leah answered honestly. “She seems a little off today.”
Logan sat down next to Brandon and asked, “What’s up with the case?”
“Nothing new, but Tony I talked to your dad today.”
“You did?” he asked his eyes carefully watching Carly as she made her way back to the table.
“Yeah, I need some help with the case and he was gracious enough to help out.”
“Dad’s good at what he does,” Tony said. “Hope he can help.”
“I’m man enough to say that this case is kicking my ass.”
Carly rejoined them and handed them all a shot glass. “Shots ladies and gents.”
Leah had never been a shot person but what the hell, she was starting a new life and with that meant new experiences.
“I’m out,” Brandon said.
“Pussy,” Carly said and took the glass back, downing it herself.
Everyone else grabbed a shot. “Should we toast?” Logan asked.
“To us,” Melanie said and they all clinked glasses and then downed what was in them.
“What the fuck was that?” Logan said, chasing it with his beer.
“I don’t know,” Carly said. “I just told the bartender to make me something good.”
“If that’s good, I’d hate to see what’s bad,” Tony said.
“I wanna dance,” Carly announced and headed out to the empty dance floor. The jukebox was playing some old school hip-hop and Carly immediately began grinding her hips to the beat.
“I better go with her,” Mel said and started to stand.
“I’ll go,” Tony said, shocking them all.
Mouth gaping, Melanie sat back down. “Did that just happen?”
“Unless we are all dreaming, yes it happened.” Leah looked at Brandon to see what he thought of this development.
He shrugged. “As long as I don’t have to dance with her.”
Leah rolled her eyes at his comment. “You are such a guy.”
“I would hope so,” he said. “Plus, you like all my guy parts.”
“Seriously,” Melanie said. “That was too far. I’m never going to be able to unhear that.”
“I’m with her,” Logan said.
“I change my mind, then,” Melanie said glaring at Logan. “If he agrees with me, I am losing my mind.”
“Remember the truce?” Logan asked.
“I never agreed to that.”
Logan sighed. “I need another beer.”
“Me too,” Brandon said and went with him to the bar.
“Okay, what is up with Carly?” Leah asked Melanie when they were alone. They both watched as she gyrated her body around Tony. Tony that until this moment, she had seemed to hate.
“I don’t really know. She’s been getting some phone calls that she won’t answer.”
“Do you think it’s...” Leah trailed off. Both she and Melanie knew the story about Carly’s mom and what had happened years ago. As far as Leah knew, no one else in town knew, not even Brandon or Carly’s own dad.
“I can only assume it has something to do with that,” Mel said. “That’s the only thing that gets her like this.”
Leah remembered back to the day that Carly came into their shared room crying. She had gone to see her boyfriend, Rob at his place and instead of finding him alone studying like he said he was, he was with another girl. But not just any girl. Her own mom. Her mom begged her to not tell her dad but Carly was not interested in keeping the lie. Until it came out that her mom was pregnant with Rob’s child.
Carly swore that it would kill her dad to find out and in the end made a deal with her mom. Leave town and never contact anyone in the family again and Carly would keep the secret.
Tina was reluctant at first but then Carly started bringing up things she had remembered as a child about her mom sneaking in the house in the middle of the night and having strange men over when her dad wasn’t around. It seemed she had hidden it away deep inside herself that her mom had always been this way.
Tina finally agreed to Carly’s demands and left and as far as Leah knew she had never been heard from again.
“It seems weird that she would get in touch after all this time, don’t you think?”
“Let’s hope we are wrong and it is something else entirely,” Mel said. “Like maybe she has decided that instead of hating Tony she wants to get it on with him.” She indicated to the dance floor. “Because that is not what you do when you hate someone.”
Carly had herself wrapped around Tony, his hands inching closer to her ass.
“If you wanna dance like that, I may change my stance on dancing and let you drag me out there,” Brandon said, handing her another beer.
“I can guarantee that I don’t have her moves but if you don’t mind me being pressed up against you, I’m willing to try.”
“Having you pressed up against me is one of my favorite things,” he said and took her hand leading her to the floor.
They danced for what felt like forever, his body holding hers tightly. Along with the dancing she drank several more beers and by the time they were back at Brandon’s house, she considered herself officially drunk.
And if the sex was any indication, she was willing to get drunk again very soon.