Chapter Twenty-Two: "From Celebrity City Girl To Secluded Country Girl."
THE bell for the end of the day rang and I jumped out of my seat like it was on fire.
I prance my way to my locker and grab my things before boarding the bus. I'm the first one on, so I take a seat at the middle where I sat prior, and pull out my headphones, placing them in my ears and blasting my music loud enough where I can't hear myself think.
The seat next to me got taken, and I glance up with a smile to see my chemistry partner. "Hey."
I couldn't hear him but I read his lips, so I take a headphone out. "Hi."
More peopleâincluding the twins, Lance, and Louisâstart boarding the bus so I start to turn my music down, but Atticus stops me. "Wait. What was that you were listening to?" He grins.
"Nothing," I whisper, chuckling. "Just something from one of my favourite movies is all."
"You're into action movies?"
I scoff. "Of course. What do I peg you for?"
"I see you as a sappy rom-com fanatic." He laughs.
"Oh, no," I giggle, "I'm more towards action and sci-fi. I mean, I'll watch those 'sappy' movies if I'm in the mood or if I have to, but other than that, I stay clear."
"Noted." He grins, and I blush a little. "So, Sweetheart, excited for tomorrow?"
"Not a chance," I grin.
"You know, a night with me will change that." He winks.
"I'm already forced to spend three out of seven days with you," I laugh, "aside from school. I'm not holding my breath."
"You'll see, Miss May." He assures me. I stare at him for a few moments, trying to study his conceitedness but come up empty handed. I'm not used to people other than Johnny and Justin and the other guys flirting with me. It's weird come to think of it, but a slight part of me gets butterflies from it.
I don't even say much, but he still flirts. Maybe he has an interest in me? No, he's hot and flirts, probably has a lot of girls on a weekly basis. He's probably just being the horny teenager boys are.
It makes me frown.
"Hey, what's wrong?"
I get dragged out of my thoughts and turn to my bus buddy. "Nothing."
Atticus gets dropped off, and a couple minutes later, so are me and the Rebels. God, that's such a weird name for them. Before I even make it two steps towards the house, I'm circled.
Man, this feeling is all too familiar.
"Do you mind?" I say, trying to walk around Lance but he only steps in front of me.
"Yes." They say in harmony.
I sigh. I haven't really spoken to any of them since Liam revealed that I was talking to Atticus, except for Lucas who is oblivious to any family tension between them and me. "What do you want?"
"What's going on with you and Atticus O'Connor?" Landon speaks up.
"Nothing." I say.
"That's crap." Liam interferes. "You're talking to him on a daily basis and he was with you at lunch."
"For five minutes." I correct. "Besides, it doesn't matter. Not to you, anyway."
"It does," Lance says.
"Oh yeah?" I snort, "And why's that?"
"It doesn't matter," Louis says.
"Well then, there you go." I hiss, and move around them, only to get stopped again.
"Why are you talking to him?"
"Because I can, Landon, that's why." I laugh.
"He's not good news."
"Yeah, well, from what I've heard, neither are you guys either." I retaliate, and push Louis aside.
"What has Atticus said about us?" I continue to get questioned.
"He doesn't say anything about any of you so just drop it."
"That's crap, he's had to of said something." Liam says.
I open the door to the house as I get bombarded with more interrogations. "I said nothing so leave me the hell alone!"
"What's going on?" Ella asks, concern in her voice. She's cooking dinner, and I sigh, shaking my head and running my hands over my face.
"Nothing, it's stupid." I reply, and head up the stairs.
But I'm not alone.
I ignore the boy as I continue up to my floor, tossing my bag on my bed. I turn around and see Landon. Knowing that it's him kinda makes me a little more comfortable, but not really. All of the brothers are giving me mixed signals at school and at the residence, and I don't know why.
I know that they don't want any involvement with me at school, but at the house, I don't know why they're suddenly questioning my actions and whereabouts. Whatever conflict they have with Atticus can stay between them and Atticus. I don't want to be in their business; I just want to pass my classes, get a job, save up, and get the hell out of here.
"I'm not talking to you." I say bluntly, taking off my cardigan and dropping to my floor, pulling out my safe.
"Why not?" He asks, and I stand up, seeing him sat comfortably upon my bed, though I don't know how considering that thing is rock solid.
"Because," I say. "It's none of your business. Atticus doesn't talk about you, alright? I don't know why he would anyway."
"He's just bad news, Blue." He says softly.
"At school, I'm invisible to you guys. You don't spare me glances, don't make efforts on communication. Atticus has nothing to use to put me and you guys together. To everyone else, we're just classmates, so let's keep it that way." I say, and walk to my bathroom with the safe in my hand.
At least in here, I can take my medication without Landon knowing what it is. Then I remember that I ran out.
Shit! I huff out in annoyance, and open the door after locking my safe up again.
"Why did you bring that in the bathroom with you?" He asks.
"Where's your local doctors office?" I ignore his question, putting my safe back underneath my bed.
"In town, why?"
"I need to do something."
"Is it your cast?"
If I say no, more questions will be asked. "Yes."
"Does it need to come off?"
"Landon, I needed to get it fixed last week, remember?"
"Yeah." He nods. "Wait, so why do you need to get it checked if you aren't having it off yet?"
Damn it! "It feels loose." I mentally sigh in relief. Thank the heavens I'm a good liar and can make up anything on the spot. Worst case scenario, I have to loosen it myself.
"Want me to take you?" He asks worriedly. "I don't want you in pain."
I ignore the flutter my heart makes and shake my head. "No. Where in town?"
"I don't know, it's like a five or ten minute walk down the street from the school."
Great! I'll just go at lunch. "Okay, thanks."
"I can go with you if you want, Blue." Landon tells me. "I have no problem with it."
"It's fine," I say. "You came with me last time, I don't want to be the burden."
"You aren't." He says sternly.
"I woke you up at one in the morning on a school night, and you stayed with me at the hospital while I got my cast fixed."
"Which, in the end I skipped the day anyway, so you didn't cause any distress."
"Whatever," I mutter, "I still don't want you to come."
"Does it have anything to do with what's in your safe?"
"Didn't I just tell you it was because of my loose cast?" I ask with raised eyebrows.
At first, I thought he genuinely wanted to help me, but now I know that he's just digging for details. Prying his greedy little fingers into my personal life, making it out to be like he's the hero.
Not today.
I refuse to let anyone in this country know the real me if I can help it.
"Shit, right." He cusses very quietly, just where I can barely hear him. "I just thoughtâ" he speaks louder, but I cut him short. It saves him the hassle and me the annoyance.
"I know." I say a little too harsh. "But you're still not finding out."
"I will." He says with determination. "You may be from the city, Blue, but us country folk have our way with words and emotion. I'll get it out of you, or you'll eventually break. I have that effect."
I feel a little wary of his words, but it's nothing I haven't heard before. If he's trying to be intimidating, it won't work. Not easily.
"I don't wear my heart on my sleeve, Landon. I won't crack."
"Then I might as well start digging now." He smirks, and walks away as he leaves me with my jaw hanging down. I'm at a complete loss for words; he can't be serious, can he? "Close your mouth, Blue, you'll catch horseflies." He shouts from the bottom of the stairs, and my eyes widen and I shut my mouth.
"Jerk." I grumble.
He can't be serious about digging his way through my walls, right? I mean, he's too arrogant and inconsiderate to even care! I shouldn't even be on his mind.
Jeez, what did I just get myself into?
***
"Brooklyn!" I hear my name being shouted.
I stand up from my desk chair and hop downstairs. I smell tonight's dinner lingering in the air, and it isn't long until I can tell that we're having pizza for dinner. Then I enter the kitchen, and there's also mozzarella sticks being made.
"Can I pull you aside for a minute?" Ella says, coming up to me and grabbing hold of my shoulder. I give her a confused nod, but nonetheless follow her.
"What's up?" I question, once we reach the second living space on the main floor. It's tucked behind the kitchen and beside the living room. It's more of an isolated place, not as much social. There's only two large chairs in it, overlooking the lake and faces west, so you catch the sundown.
"I want to tell you that I spoke to your parents." She starts, a little cautious with her words.
Oh how wonderful. They can call my guardian but not me? Not ask how I am, how Canada is, how my life was in prison?
"And?" I say, a slight crack of hurt showing. It hurts knowing that my dad hasn't called me in almost two months, when beforehand, we spoke all the time. It hurts knowing how much can change in a matter of minutes. One minute, I was dancing away having the time of my life with my best friends. The next, I'm shipped off without even a hug goodbye.
And that was uncommon for my dad to do.
"Your parents have agreed to reactivate your debit and credit cards." She tells me.
"Oh." I say defeatedly. I was hoping for an update; maybe a few questions as to how I'm doing or anything related to me. I was always a high hoper, thinking that even though we're going through a rough patch, that even though talking is hard, they'll at least show some care. They're breaking my heart more and more each day. "Did they say anything else?"
"I'm afraid not, dear. Things are hectic on their end of the line and they're working through it. They miss you, though; that I do know."
"I'm not calling you a liar, Mrs. McGibbon, but I'm not going to believe it until I see it."
"They truly do care about you, Brooklyn." She presses. "You may not see it now, but your parents love you so muchâ"
"Then why did they ship me here, then?" I snap, my voice cracking. "Why did they send me to another country, when I could just stay home and live with one of my friends?"
"Brooklyn, honey, it's not that simpleâ"
"It is, Ella." I whisper. "It is, and you don't realize how much it hurts to have the people you thought loved you most, just send you away like a postcard."
Ella takes a deep breath, and sighs it out. "Even though I don't know what you said, just trust me, honey, okay? They'll come around eventually."
"Can you answer me this, then?" I huff. She nods. "Why haven't they answered my calls? My texts, my emails?"
She remains silent.
"Do you know where I was before I came here, Mrs. McGibbon?"
"Please call me Ella, Brooklyn." She sighs. "But yes, I do."
"Where was I?"
She hesitates, running her hands down her face tiredly. If this situation is tiring her out, imagine how I feel.
"You were in jail." She whispers.
Tears start running down my face as I start to remember what that month was like. "I sent them letters. Every day for thirty-one days, I sent them letters. I called them, and I never got an answer. I'd contact their bosses, their assistants, their colleagues and I reached out to them, and do you know what they did to me, Ella? Do you know?"
She shakes her head. "I don't." I can tell she's starting to get a little emotional as well, and I can't blame her. She has five kids already, and it must be extra hard taking in a juvenile.
"They had their assistants tell me that they didn't want to speak to me. The letters? They put a 'Return to Sender' stamp back on them without even opening it. They didn't even visit me. All this money, and they couldn't fly out once."
Immediately, I'm pulled into her arms, sulking in her chest as she tells me that it's always worse before it gets better, and that she'll always be there for me.
I don't know if she knows why I was in jail, or what happened during it, but I think if she knew, especially with previous visits, then she wouldn't be saying these kind words to me. It makes me think that if she ever knew, if any of them knew, then I would be an outcast.
Or worse, uninvited.
"I'm so sorry, Brooklyn," she murmurs in my ear.
"Yeah, I am too."
We pull away after a few moments, and I give her a reassuring smile before wiping the tears away with the back of my hand. She smiles back and we head back into the dining room once I look presentable.
"Whoa." Liam breathes. "You're like a tomato, Cupcake."
"What?" I furrow my eyebrows.
"Your faceâ"
"Have you been crying?" Lance interferes.
"No." I lie. "The air. . . it's dry and makes my eyes blotchy, red, and teary."
"Is that something you're allergic to, too?" Landon laughs.
"No." I say, rolling my eyes. "It just happens sometimes when homemade mozzarella sticks are made."
He just shakes his head and smirks, turning his attention to his baby brother who is trying to tell him about a new toy car that Linda, their secretary, had gotten him when his father couldn't make it to his soccer game as a sorry gift.
I smile as Landon and Lucas have their own little conversations. Lucas is ultimately my all-time favourite McGibbon. He's pretty much everything that the other four aren't: smart, funny, and absolutely freaking adorable. And he doesn't have a mean cell in his bodyâsomething his brother's definitely have. Okay, so that last part was a lie. The only thing he shares with his brothers is the cuteness.
"Need any help?" I ask Ella as she places another stack of mozzarella sticks into the deep fryer.
"Sure, why not?" She grins. "You can go into the pantry and grab me some ketchup and plum sauce, please."
I nod, and walk to the other side of the counter where their pantry is. Their pantry is like a small walk-in closet; enough where all of Ella's family and myself can fit inside without being squished by each other.
I scan the shelves of all different types of condiments and soups, and my eyes find the ketchup. I spend an extra minute or two looking for the plum sauce, but come up with nothing. I'm about to turn away when an arm reaches out and grabs a jar.
"It was right in front of you, genius." I turn and see Louis rolling his eyes at me. "Maybe you should get a pair of glasses, considering you can't even see the problems right in front of you."
I furrow my eyebrows at his statement, and run my tongue across my lips. What was that all about, I think to myself.
Walking back in confusion, I place said condiments on the counter beside Ella, and she thanks me, but a little voice interrupts my response.
"Brooklyn!" Lucas exclaims.
"Yeah, bud?" I say, turning my head around to face him.
"Come here!" He requests happily, and I glance at Ella. She gives me a grin and nods her head, signalling me to go see what he wants.
I walk over to Lucas, and he has a sudden pout on his face. "What's wrong?" I question, a frown of its own on my face. His pouts are so cute, he could get away with anything.
"You said you'd teach me Spanish," he whines. "But you haven't."
Oh gosh. I almost forgot about teaching him! Though how can I teach a seven year old a language when he's just starting on reading and writing? Lucas is a lot smarter than most seven year olds I've met, so I still have hope in him. Besides, Landon apparently knows some up his sleeve, so if Lucas is confused, I'd assume Landon can help him out.
"I'm sorry," I say softly. "Tell you what, how about you show me the animals outside, and I'll teach you some Spanish."
"Deal!" He grins widely, and I return the expression, winking at him before setting dinnerware up.
***
After dinner, and by the time the boy was done eating, it was already too dark for him to go outside, so I told him we could do it another day. He asked last night about doing it today, but I told him I was busy with school and that we could do it the day after that.
I woke up this morning quite a bit before my alarm and couldn't fall back asleep, so I got dressed. I threw on a pair of ripped white shorts with deeper pockets, alongside a red plaid shirt that was knotted at the bottom, and threw my hair up in a half-up before knotting a bandana around my head. Once I was satisfied and was done swooning over how good I looked today, I went downstairs to have an early start.
As I descend down the stairs, I hear clatter in the kitchen, so I must not be the only one who is awake.
I turn right once I reach the bottom of the stairs and see Ella starting to prep breakfast. Nobody else is in the main room, so I find it safe to discuss my afternoon plans with her so she doesn't worry about me. I could always text her, but I think this way will save me hassle in case I forget.
"Morning." I say tiredly as I sit across from her at the little bar made in the island.
"You're up early, good morning." She says softly.
"Yeah, I woke up before my alarm." I explain. "Hey, can I talk to you?"
"Of course."
"I know that you guys have issues with Atticus." I begin, and she tenses. She tried to hide it, but I caught it quickly so I know I'm right.
"It's complicated." She sighs.
"I'm sure it is, but I'm not trying to interfere with the conflict between you guys, but I'm going to be around Atticus a lot for the year."
"Are you two together?"
"No." I say immediately. "I don't really know him that well."
"Oh?" She says, taken aback. I nod.
"He's going to be my tutor in a couple subjects." I explain. "I didn't want to tell you last night because the boys seem to have a huge issue with it, but I don't have much of a choice. I'm needing another tutor for my other subjects too, but I don't know who the other person is, so I just want to let you know, so you won't have to worry about me when I don't come back immediately."
"I understand that education becomes top priority at your level," she agrees. "The boy may not be our family favourite, but I've known Atticus and his folks for some time and I know that he is an extremely intelligent boy."
"Is he?" I say in shock. He doesn't peg me for a school nerd. More of the boy who skips all the time but manages to pass all his classes anyway.
"How often do you plan on seeing him?" She asks.
"Three times a week." I reply. "I start after school, so I am not completely sure if I will be back for dinner in time."
"No worries, dear." She smiles lightly. "If you don't end up having supper, I'll make sure to leave you some."
"That won't be necessary, Ella," I say softly.
"Nonsense." She scoffs.
"Really." I argue, "I'm not feeling all the best, so an appetite is kind of nonexistent at the moment."
"Perhaps if you're ill you shouldn't go to school or study and instead come back and rest."
"It's not that bad, just not well enough for an appetite." I assure her. I hear noise coming from upstairs so I drop the conversation so we can't be overheard. It's worse enough that if the McGibbon boys are on the bus on the way back then I'll be hearing about it. "Can this stay between us, please?"
She nods.
"Only us." I say more sternly. I don't want any drama right now. Whatever it is that this family has with his, I want no involvement. This is strictly a teacher-student thing with a strict confidentiality agreement. Just work and go. I have my own personal issues as do they, and the last thing I need on my plate is additives.
"Of course."
"Morning mom." One of the twins yawns, coming in the kitchen.
"Morning honey." Ella replies. "Sleep well?"
"Wonderfully." He lazily smiles.
"Clearly." I mutter, snickering under my breath.
"What was that, Blue, I couldn't hear you."
Landon.
"Nothing, just glad you slept well." I grin, shaking my head amusedly. I know it's natural; I have more guy friends than girls and we've all had sleepovers. Plus, I often slept in the same bed with Justin, so I knew what to expect and how it worked.
Landon then looks down, and a huge smirk grows on his beautiful, tired face. "This is from you, darling." He winks, grabbing out some orange juice and a glass.
"Perv." I laugh.
"Where are your brothers?" Ella asks, checking the clock on the stovetop. I look up, and see that it's already seven. Had we really talked that long? She is right though; most of them are already awake.
"Lance is sleeping in because it's Senior Ditch Day, Liam is skipping as per usual, Louis is probably masturbating and hoping he can pass out afterwards so he has an excuse to stay home."
"Oh my God," I whisper, bursting out laughing.
"Jesus Christ, Landon, you need to keep your boy business to yourself." His mother grumbles.
"Sorry mom, sometimes I forget you're a girl." He snickers, and he immediately gets glared daggers from Ella, making me slap his arm. With my cast so it hurts. "Ow! What the hell, Blue?!"
"Whoopsies." I shrug.
For the next short while, the three of us have engaged in conversation, and Landon and I finally head out the door for the bus.
As I see the bus approaching, Landon scoots closer to me. "Yes?" I question, raising my eyebrow. He closes in, enough where I can smell him clearly, and his breath fans over my neck as he leans in. I gulp, my body stiff at his close proximity, and suck in a breath as his mouth brushes my ear.
"Those shorts make your ass look great." He whispers huskily, and my eyes widen. I swing myself around, shock as my expression with a little hint of uneasiness.
"Wâwhat?" I sputter out, my cheeks burning as I gape at him.
He smirks, "You're cute when you blush." Then blinks and walks away as the bus comes to a stop.
I'm left speechless and gawking as I watch him board the bus. Quickly snapping out of my thoughts, I take my seat, and plop in my headphones.
Did Landon literally just flirt with me? He said my shorts make my bum look nice and called me cute? Why would he even be complimenting me? We're nothing but roommates at home and strangers to the public.
Why would Landon be flirting more heavily with me now all of a sudden? Sure, there was the occasional daily flirt between us, but this is the third time in less than twenty minutes. Not to mention the invasion of personal space a minute ago. That was new, and I definitely didn't miss the slight brush of his fingers over my waist.
Could this have something to do with yesterday, and how this is just a trick so I can pour my heart out to him and show and tell him everything that's happened to me as to why I keep all my stuff in safes and avoid conversation about myself and my past at all costs?
Oh my gosh, my brain is in overdrive and it isn't even seven thirty.
Somebody save my poor soul.