To Trina’s delight, we had time for a short ride before we cleaned stalls. It didn’t take us long since Gabe jumped in to help. He fed the hay while Fiona watered. After we gave the last of my carrots to Xanadu, Trina and I met Ned Jansen in the parking lot. He drove us back to the Kincaids. “Okay,” I said when we walked in the door. “You start on your homework and I’ll fix dinner.”
“Can we have mac and cheese and broccoli?” Trina asked. “That’s my favorite meal.”
“Sure,” I said. “Sounds good to me.”
Annie hadn’t arrived so we ate without her and I saved a plate of food. After that, I cleaned up the kitchen while Trina finished up her homework. I only had to help with math. She could do the rest of it herself. She was super sweet. I really liked the kid even more after spending the afternoon with her.
Once she finished her homework and I checked it, we pulled out a game of Skip-Bo and she dealt the cards. The first game, she beat me. The second I was close to winning when I heard a key in the door.
“Oh, Sarah, I’m so sorry I’m late,” Annie said as she hustled in, looking totally professional in a black suit and heels. “Everything took forever, and I had to get some papers finished so we could file them first thing in the morning.”
“It’s cool,” I said, and gave the clock a quick glance. It was almost nine. “We had a terrific time.”
After I agreed to look after Trina the next day and Annie paid me, Mr. Jansen drove me home. I walked in through the garage door into the downstairs. Warren looked up from the computer parts spread all over the kitchen table. “How’d it go?”
“Absolutely amazing.”
“Grab a soda and tell me about it.”
I pulled a Coke out of his fridge and plopped down on the couch. Missy, the Golden Lab puppy, brought me one of her squeaky toys and we played tug-of-war with the purple dragon for a couple minutes. Lady, her mom, opened one eye, sighed, and went back to sleep.
“I made more than a hundred bucks,” I told Warren. “Ninety for six hours of sitting and thirty as a tip. Can you keep it down here for me?”
“Sure. Then, Princess Priss won’t steal that, too.” Warren got up and went over to the bottom cupboard. He pulled out a clean, instant cocoa container. He always washed out the empties and used them for computer parts. “Here you go. I’ll talk to Aunt Cathy about helping you open a bank account. I’d do it with you, but I’m not eighteen yet.”
I put the five twenties in the brown plastic box and snapped on the lid. Then I put it up in the cupboard where Warren kept his breakfast stuff and shoved the last twenty dollars in my pants pocket. After that, I cuddled Missy on my lap. Even if she was six months old, she didn’t know she wasn’t a baby anymore. While I snuggled her, I told Warren about taking care of Trina and how great it was at Annie’s.
“You look thrilled and happy for the first time in ages,” Warren said. “I’m glad.”
“Me, too.” I stared at him. “So, are you ever going to ask Vonnie out? Or do I have to keep doing it for you?”
Warren laughed. “I can do my own romancing, Ms. Cupid.”
“Then, why don’t you?” I asked.
“Because I’d be totally stupid to expose a girl I liked to Bruce and his verbal abuse.” Warren headed for the kitchen and grabbed a sack of potato chips. He came over and sat down next to me. “If I’m overprotective of my little sister with the creep, how bad would I be with a girl I loved? I might kill him.”
“Vonnie handles him great,” I said, taking a handful of chips to share with the puppy. Lady got up and came across for a couple. “And if it comes to rearranging his face, she could do it herself. She’s been taking Tai-Kwon Do for more than a year and Rocky’s been in almost as many wars as our dad. There’s no way that Rocky would let Bruce get away with hassling Vonnie.”
“Leave it alone, Sarah.”
“I won’t, Warren. If you didn’t like her, it’d be okay. I’d tell her to let it go. Right now, she keeps hoping and praying you’ll go for her and she won’t look at other guys. Believe me. They look at her.”
“I know.” Warren glared at me. “And to think I wanted you to have your confidence back. All right, you little pest. You win.”
“If you don’t ask her out for Friday night, I’m taking her to Abbie’s party with me. I’ll tell her you’re not interested and to check out the really ripped guys from Silverton.”
“I bet you would.” Warren put his hands on my shoulders. “All right, Ms. Fix-it. You win. I’ll ask Vonnie out.”
“Because...” I let my voice trail off.
“I like her.” Warren sounded as if the words were dragged out of him by a semi. “But you owe me. I want you to think about your relationship with Jason. I called him on Sunday about helping clean the barns. He refused. He said the accident was your fault. You asked for it because you were careless.”
“I know. I told you that already.”
“You’re my little sister.” Warren put his arm around me. “I promised Dad when he and Mom split, I’d take care of you forever and ever. I love you a lot. If Jason’s hurting you, tell me.”
“And what will you do?” I tried not to blubber. “Stomp him into the ground like Timber? I don’t want you guys in trouble, much less jail. I can handle Jason. I’m okay. I fell down the stairs because I was stupid. I’m going to be a lot more careful from now on, Warren.”
“And you’re going to tell me if anything goes wrong, Sarah.”
“I’ll think about it. That’s the best I can offer right now.” I stood up and started for the stairs then turned around. “Warren, have you talked to the social worker like Mom and Bruce?”
“Yes. She came to see me at the college today. We had lunch together.” Warren tossed a chip to Lady, and she caught it in mid-air. “She thinks Bruce hurts you.”
“He says rude stuff, but he’s never touched me.”
“I told her I watch him for that kind of crap.” Warren gave a chip to Missy and then ate one himself. “Bruce better not put his hands on you, Sarah. I don’t care if it happens today, tomorrow, or a million years from now. If he comes near you, I want to hear about it. Got it?”
“Got it.” I went upstairs to do my homework. It seemed like Helene talked to everyone about me. Why didn’t she just come straight to me and ask her questions? Then I could tell her the truth and stop all of this. I considered that. Well, maybe I could tell her enough of the truth for her to chill out and let us breathe.
Mom came out of the family room when she heard me close the door to Warren’s. “Where have you been?”
“Downstairs.” I headed for the guest-room, oops my new room.
Mom followed me. “Sarah, I need to know where you are. I’m your mother.”
That stopped me. “What?” I turned around and eyeballed her. I was close enough that I could smell the wine on her breath. So, she’d been home for a while. That was new and different. I thought Book City owned her body and soul.
“Hello,” I said, “This is me you’re talking to and you haven’t cared where I am and what I do for six years, not since you replaced me with Princess Priss and her dad. As long as I check in with Warren, everything’s fine.”
“Don’t be disrespectful to me, young lady.”
“I’m not,” I said. “You’re changing the rules for no reason. I haven’t done anything wrong.”
She looked a little embarrassed. “I’m not saying that you did. I just want you to call me if you’re not coming straight home.”
I just stood and shook my head. “Oh my Gawd!”
This had nothing to do with me. It was all Helene and her big investigation. Mom and Bruce wanted to cover their butts so they could play the parts of loving parents when they actually didn’t give a rat’s backside about me. Once Helene went away, all the pretense would end.
“Okay,” I said. “I’ll post my schedule on your fridge for the next few weeks until things change back. Then you and Bruce can return to normal, and all this Addams Family creepy stuff will stop here in Priscilla’s Palace.”
“I have news for you, Sarah. This is the new normal.”
“Fine. Then tomorrow after cheer practice, I’ll be at Annie Kincaid’s babysitting her daughter. And I’ll be here about eight-thirty or nine. Friday, I’m going to Rita’s after school so we can prep for the game. From the school dance, we’re going to the party at Abbie’s.”
“Will Rita and B.J. spend Saturday night here?” Mom asked.
“Nope. Their folks won’t let them so like you already agreed, I’m at their places all weekend.”
Mom sighed and shook her head. “I still can’t believe you’ll look after some stranger’s kid when you won’t watch your own sister.”
I heaved a sigh of my own and gave her my fave TSTL look, as if she truly was the stupidest woman alive. “I don’t have a sister who lives here,” I said, for the millionth time in six years. “Dallas has a mom that she lives with so she won’t be moving in anytime soon. And Abbie has parents, too. I’m sure Smarmy Marvy has other daughters, but those are the only two I know. However, if you have names, I’m good with you moving them in and Princess Priss out.”
Mom gave me the evil eye. “I wasn’t talking about your biological sisters, Sarah. Priscilla has been your sister for six years.”
“No, she hasn’t. My sisters don’t crap on me.” I planted my hands on my hips and met her glare for glare. “Princess Priss is your problem, not mine. Annie pays me to take care of Trina. And if her kid was a brat, I wouldn’t.”
With that, I walked away. I had a ton of homework to do and I was finished with my part in the family drama. Maybe they could find some other teen to play my role when Helene came to visit. Of course, they probably wouldn’t try if it meant paying a performer. No wonder I was stuck here!
* * *
I felt as if some of my teachers watched me a little differently during the day, but none of them said anything unrelated to their classes. I wondered if Helene had come to the academy to talk to them. I didn’t want to ask. Cheer practice went well. Ms. Olson didn’t give me any weird looks or act strange, so I began to feel normal again.
The stunts didn’t scare me at all today. I realized Janet and Denise had freaked me a little even when I pretended I wasn’t afraid of them, but I wasn’t telling anyone that. Mrs. Gallatin, Darcy’s mom, brought Trina over from the elementary school, and the kid watched us from the bleachers while we rehearsed each routine over and over again. Timing was crucial, especially with our first Rec Cheer competition in two days.
When Trina got bored playing audience, she pulled a book out of her back-pack to read one of Harry Potter’s adventures. The hardback was huge, nearly as big as the kid. After practice, she hung around to talk to B.J. and Dallas. I went out to see if the limo had arrived to take us to the Kincaid’s, but it wasn’t in the parking lot yet.
Jason leaned against his car and waited for me. I went over to him. “Hi. How’d it go today?”
“Rob still can’t catch the ball. Owen messes up the signals. Luis and the other offensive linemen act like clowns at a circus, and Dave sucks when he tries to block so I can run the ball.”
“Things will be better tomorrow night,” I said, trying to cheer him up. “Ms. Olson always tells us that a bad dress rehearsal means a great performance.”
Jason glared at me. “It’s your fault the team is so lousy.”
“What?” I blinked up at him. “How do you figure that?”
“I saw you flirt with Dave the other day. “
“That’s bogus and you know it. So Dave talked to me while he waited for the bus. Big deal.” Of course, I didn’t mention Dave thought we should break up because Jason acted like a jerk sometimes. He didn’t need to hear that. It would just make him angrier.
“What about that cowboy and his buddies who follow you around all day?” Jason demanded. “I told him to leave you alone, but he says he has questions about horses that only you can answer. And that’s why he’s stalking you.”
“Gabe?” I shook my head. “He’s like B.J.’s big brother. He loves the horses more than any girl. He just wants to do the best job he can for my grandmother. She’s not the most patient person in the world. She thinks he should know more than he does.”
“I told you Rob and Owen think you’re hot and to stay away from them.”
“The twins are my best friend’s brothers. I haven’t done anything wrong, Jason. I never talk to them on the phone and they’ve never asked me out or said a word you couldn’t hear.”
“You just have to get the whole team all worked up. The guys are so busy chasing after you that they don’t think about the game.”
“Get over yourself.” I planted my hands on my hips. “I’d love it if I was really that hot, but I’m not. It isn’t much fun being blamed for stuff that isn’t my fault. Maybe if you stopped acting like a big baby and took some responsibility when things go wrong, the guys would try harder.”
Fury filled his face and glittered in his eyes, so they sparked like blue diamonds. “Anything else?”
“Oh yeah. I’ll tell Abbie we should cheer at the girls’ soccer games until Powder Puff Football starts in the spring. At least, those teams win!”
Jason’s hands came up. They closed around my throat. He gripped hard.
I coughed, struggled to breathe. Just before the world went black, he let go. I backed away. I’d totally pissed him off. I wasn’t sure why I let my mouth overload my common sense.
He took a step toward me. “Sarah, I’m sorry.”
I kept backing away. I slid out of his letterman’s jacket and let it fall to the ground. I barely managed a whisper. “This isn’t working for me. I can’t do anything right. I’m through trying.”
“Sarah, don’t go.”
This time I didn’t listen. I turned and ran back into the gym. We were soooo finished!