Chapter 14: Chapter 14
Lexy had no younger brothers or sisters, so she was the best choice for sleepovers, especially since her parents’ bedroom was in the back of their expansive one-story house, and Lexy’s room was near the living room, toward the middle of the house. It didn’t hurt that she had her own bathroom, and her older sister was away at college, so they were generally undisturbed and it didn’t bother her parents if they stayed up super late making macaroni and cheese with music playing on the radio while they slumped on the sofa, as they were doing the night of Halley’s revelation that she was the enemy.
Beth stared at her half-eaten bowl of pasta and fought the urge to vomit that had been testing her will power and gut strength all night long, ever since she’d first seen Sammy and Carly together, something that, in retrospect, didn’t seem so bad now that she had seen him with Halley.
“It’s not like she likes him,” Andi reasoned. “She was just doing that to piss you off. And you’re letting it work.”
Beth rolled her eyes. “You’re right. I’ll stop.” She plastered a fake smile on her face and set the bowl down on the coffee table next to her Dr. Pepper can.
“I never thought Sammy was that cute anyway,” Lexy offered, scraping the last noodles off of the bottom of her bowl. “He always seemed like he thought he was so hot and stuff, and he’s really not.”
Ignoring the fact that she sounded way too much like Ryan, Beth closed her eyes in an attempt to shut out the world.
“Besides, Michael spoke up for you, which is just another indicator that he’s crushing on you—hard,” Lexy continued. “So how do you think that makes me feel?”
“I don’t think tonight is about you, Lex. No offense,” Brittany stated from Lexy’s dad’s recliner across the room. Mr. Ellis didn’t mind if someone else sat in his chair as long as he didn’t want to be sitting in it himself, and since Beth had heard him snoring when she’d gone to the bathroom earlier, she was pretty sure Brittany was safe.
“It doesn’t have to be about me,” Beth remarked, her voice trailing off. She wondered if going to sleep would make her feel better, but something told her she’d have weird dreams about Sammy and Halley. She took a few deep breaths. While her friends seemed to think talking about it would help, Beth just wanted them to be quiet. There was really only one person who would know what to say in this situation, and since Ryan wasn’t accessible out Lexy’s bedroom window, and she wasn’t allowed to call him after 9:00, that would have to wait. Now, Beth really just wanted to go home….
“She doesn’t even like him, though, that’s the thing,” Andi said, not for the first time. “She just did that to piss you off. Who is this girl anyway? Do we even know who her parents are or where she lives?”
“Nope, not a damn thing,” Brittany replied. “I asked around the store if anyone knew her, but everyone looked at me like they thought I was crazy, like I’d just invented her.”
“And she never comes in?” Lexy asked.
“Not while I’m working. Do you even know how she gets to the ball park?” Brittany was looking directly at Beth, and the weight of her stare brought her back to the conversation.
“I don’t know. I guess we can see if we can figure it out at the next game.”
“Ooh, we could follow her home!” Lexy offered.
“I bet she rides with Sammy’s parents next week,” Andi said, “just to further confuse him.”
“No way in hell is Halley getting into a vehicle with crazy Mr. Burk.” Brittany seemed confident. “Besides, Sammy lives out in the country, and Halley must live in town, the way she just appears out of nowhere.”
“She really only did that the first time we saw her. She must’ve been with them on the square tonight before they headed out to the creek. We just didn’t see her,” Beth surmised.
“Yeah, she probably had her face buried in someone’s lap.” Lexy set her own bowl down and picked up Beth’s, and she let her have it. The mac and cheese was getting cold now, the cheese coagulating around the top layer like putty. Lexy ate it just the same.
“Maybe Michael knows more about Halley,” Andi wondered aloud. “You could ask him at batting practice tomorrow, Beth, while you’re thanking him.”
“I don’t think I’ll be attending batting practice tomorrow,” Beth replied, nestling further down into Lexy’s plush sofa. Maybe it would swallow her up, and she’d become part of its chocolate brown softness forever.
“Why not? You can’t hide from this.” Lexy stacked both empty bowls together.
“You’re right, since I live with one of the biggest problems. But I don’t have to go to batting practice. It’s not like I have to score that.” She remembered Halley’s comment that keeping score was so difficult. It wasn’t—not nearly as difficult as being in the presence of dozens of scrutinizing, judgmental eyes, and she was sure that half of the baseball team was present that night, and the other half would know what happened before church was over the next morning whether they attended one of the local places of worship or not.
“Who do we play next? Away or home?” Andi asked, as if she were part of the team. Maybe she was.
“Uh, Lockton. Home,” Beth managed.
“Tuesday?” Brittany asked. Beth nodded. “I have to work.”
“Don’t you have a friend from Lockton?” Andi asked. “Zoey?”
“Yeah, but I haven’t seen her in a year or so. Why?”
“Just thought that’s where she was from, that’s all. Think she’ll come?”
“I don’t know why she would. Her brother is older than Shane. I think he graduated last year. Maybe if she has a boyfriend on the team or something.” Beth hadn’t thought about Zoey Carter in ages. They’d been very good friends from third grade until about eighth when they’d grown apart. Having met at church camp the summer they were both seven, they’d had a lot in common, and even though Lockton was a good forty minutes’ drive Zoey’s parents and her older sister had been more than happy to play taxi cab driver, shuttling the girls back and forth. Once Beth realized that Zoey was drop dead gorgeous, however, things had changed. She couldn’t go anywhere without guys drooling all over Zoey, and Evelyn had remarked that it was not a good idea for Beth to hang out with someone so much prettier than her, advising her daughter that she should always be the prettiest girl in the group. Beth had thought the advice horrible and insisted that she didn’t care that Zoey could be a supermodel, but it wasn’t long before she realized they’d grown apart. Thinking of her friend brought back memories of all of the good times they’d had together, and her heart ached even more. “I’ll call her this week and see if she can come. It would be nice to see her again.”
“She can drive can’t she?” Andi asked, and it became clearer to Beth why her friend had mentioned Zoey in the first place.
“Her birthday is in June, but I have no idea if she’s gotten her license or anything.” If she drove anything like her older sister, Beth wouldn’t want to be in the same car as Zoey anyway.
“Early birthdays are the best,” Brittany noted. “I think we should get some sleep, worry about all of this tomorrow. Although, you’ll probably feel better in the morning.
“I’m tired of everything changing,” Beth muttered, pulling herself up off of the couch. “I just want to go back to where I was a few weeks ago, when Sammy didn’t know I existed, Halley lived on some other planet, and the entire senior class didn’t just moo at me.”
“I don’t think that was the entire senior class,” Lexy offered, linking her arm through Beth’s. “I think there were plenty of juniors and even some sophomores out there.”
“That’s very helpful, Lexy.” Andi nudged their hostess in the back hard enough to make Lexy squeal. “You’re not fat, Beth. Everyone knows that. Even Shane. It’s just an easy thing to say to get you riled up. Works every time.”
Beth logically knew that Andi was right. She had been a little chunky when she was younger, but she had grown out of it, and while she was more like a size five than a zero or a three like some of the girls that hung out with Shane, she wasn’t fat. He just had a way of taking the worst thoughts in her mind and turning them so that they appeared to be real, not just to her but to everyone assessing the situation. And since everyone and their dog seemed interested in the inner thoughts and opinions of Shane Monroe, it seemed the entire town had reached the conclusion that Beth Monroe had thunder thighs, lived in a barn, and was large enough to be a linebacker.
“Not everyone has that opinion,” Brittany whispered as Beth followed Lexy and Andi into the bedroom. “Michael’s a good guy. You should totally give him a chance.”
“I can’t,” Beth replied, nodding at Lexy, not that she would anyway. Michael was a good guy—and totally not her type. At all. But then, she’d thought Sammy was her type, and look where that had gotten her.
Brittany seemed to understand her reasoning, at least as she had voiced it, and she gave her a small smile as they both went to their bags and pulled out their pajamas. Beth wished there was some way to shift Michael’s attention to Lexy, but she might as well be wishing to do the same thing and get Sammy to notice her instead of Halley. And since Beth wasn’t a sorceress or a witch, she knew that would never happen either. Hopeful that Brittany was right, she found a spot on Lexy’s large bed and curled up, praying the situation would be more hopeful in the morning.