“I see, and who dropped you off? That wasn’t Jennifer’s car I passed on the way in, and that wasn’t her driving either. Who was he, Eden?”
I flinched at the sharp tone and impending doom I heard in his voice. I had not anticipated having to lie on the fly. A barefaced lie was about to fall off my tongue, but then, there was no way to bend the facts because the truth, any of it, would land me in hot water. I didn’t even hesitate, and the lie slipped through my lips as smoothly as breathing.
“Clarissa made her brother drive me home.”
Scoffing in disbelief, he said, “Clarissa—as in Clarissa Johnson? I didn’t know she had a brother. I thought you two hated each other, why on earth would she arrange a ride home for you, and why didn’t Jennifer just bring you home?”
I rose from the bed and started removing the only two pieces of jewelry I ever wore, my mother’s bracelet and necklace, to buy some time to build further on my lie. Walking toward my vanity, I cast a hurt look over my shoulder at Dad and turned back toward the vanity to open my jewelry box.
“The lake trip was a volleyball thing, a preseason sort of team rally. Unfortunately, Jennifer had to go home early and asked Clarissa to make sure I made it home. Clarissa knew she couldn’t risk leaving me out there after she told Jennifer she would take me home without Coach suspending her for the first three games. Trust me, she thought about leaving me there. Besides, if she had, I would have just called you. Why are you acting so suspicious? I’ve done nothing to make you question my intentions.”
I glanced over at the end of my master lie and noticed he no longer held any of the suspicions I accused him of in his expression. A wave of relief swept over me with a cloud of guilt hot on its heels. I didn’t usually have to lie to Dad about anything other than taking my medication, so I surprised even myself with just how convincing I’d been. The only question in my mind was how long I could keep it up before the guilt finally broke me. Closing my jewelry box, I went and sat back on my bed. I could tell he was mulling over my story as he sat there.
“You know I can still talk to Clarissa’s parents about her attitude and bullying, Eden. By all rights, we could have brought her up on charges with that little stunt she and her friends pulled on you last October. Pushing you into the mud is what caused you to crack your head against the concrete wall under the bleachers. I’m just glad that Graves boy found you and had the good sense to bring you home. It’s not too late; you can still file assault charges. The statute of limitations for assault in this state is three years. If you ask me, those kids didn’t learn a damn thing.
Echo giggled in my head, He got the toned-down version of what really happened, and he is still feeling vengeful. Imagine if he knew the whole story. The power you could wield over Clarissa just because your dad is a cop!
I rolled my eyes more for Echo’s benefit than Dad’s, “Thanks, Dad, but I think I am good in that department. I can fight my own battles, I don’t need you to fight them for me, I appreciate it, but I’m seventeen. I’m not a little girl anymore.”
I was sure my face flushed with the uncomfortable vibe bouncing between us. His expression softened into an adoring smile as he leaned over to hug me and then stood.
“Okay Honey Bear, well goodnight, I’ll see you in the morning, and we can talk about our end of summer trip over waffles and bacon. Sound good?”
“Yeah, that sounds great, see you in the morning.”
Getting in bed, I pulled the covers up to my chin. He hit the lights, closed the door, and I listened as his footsteps retreated down the stairs and toward the living room. Sighing, I settled in thankful that I hadn’t got caught in my lies—this time. Before long, I was being swept up in the familiar ebb and flow of emotions, both mine and Echo’s, intermingling, twisting in and out of each other. Those emotions ranged from what I believed to be love, whole and pure, all the way down the spectrum to the toxic presence of anger and bitter resentment. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the memories Drew, and I made earlier that evening. The sense of happiness grew stronger as I drifted off to sleep with the undertones of desire I wasn’t ready to give in to. There was no denying that my thoughts and feelings for Drew elicited a physical response as well as an emotional one. I just hoped my growing emotions wouldn’t give me away to Dad’s ever-watchful eye. If he found out about Drew, it would turn my life upside down.
Chapter Four
Of Dreams and Memories
Sleep had come easily enough, but sound sleep? Not so much. Echo’s thoughts and memories had a habit of coming to the surface when I slept. When I was in Echo’s memories, I could see everything just fine,
