Twisted Proposal (19 page)

“Sure, thanks.” I considered telling him I needed a ride out of town but decided I still wanted to try out Briarwood. "Just drop me off at the top of the hill," I said.

Kevin promised to be there all week if I wanted to talk again. When I reached the house, I noticed a police cruiser parked in front and froze. I didn’t think Stuart would
actually
call the cops.

Zach was shooting hoops, and I avoided going inside. It had to be at least 1am, what was he doing up?
Didn’t he have school in the morning?

“What’s going on? Wait, I thought you didn’t like basketball?” I asked, my stomach growling.

He didn’t smile. “They thought you ran away. I thought you ran away. You’re in deep shit.”

              “I went for a jog. I left all my stuff here, didn’t I? If I was planning on leaving I would have at least grabbed the wooden boxes in my closet,” I explained, but he’d stopped listening and went back to shooting hoops.
Great! What a killjoy!
I marched inside, my buzz disappearing fast.

              “Addison, get your ass in here,” Stuart yelled.

I frowned, but graced him with my presence in the formal living. Two cops, Stuart, and Petra were all staring at me for some kind of explanation.

              “Yeah?”  I thought about laughing but pushed it down.

              “What is the meaning of staying out till 2am? I thought you were going for a short run. Do you know you could have been hurt? Or worse,” he lectured.

              I’d been gone five hours.
No way.
I giggled. The weed was definitely getting to me. “You’re joking, right?”  The cops gave me a hard glare.

“Do you see anyone laughing? This isn’t funny!” Petra added.

“Stuart, you live in a fucking gated community, for crying out loud. I don’t even know why you called the cops!”

              “Why are you doing this to us?” Petra cried.

              “Please, you love the attention.” I snapped at her.

“Enough, you’re grounded. Go to your room.” Stuart ordered.

“Like I have anywhere else to go.” I said.

As I started for the stairs, Stuart caught my elbow. “Apologize to your mother.”

Ripping my arm away from him, I got right in his face. “That woman is
not
my mother,” Then I ran up to my room.

I hid in the closet, anticipating a beating from Stuart, but no one came. So I showered and changed for bed. My stomach gurgled to remind me that I was hungry.

              “You’re ruining our family!” Lexus announced, barging into my room, it had to be about 3 a.m. via the adjoining bathroom. She was dressed in a black skirt and midriff blue top. She looked like she had walked right out of the eighties. Instead of responding to her, I laughed to myself, leaving the room.

              “What’s funny? It’s true,” she argued following me to the kitchen. “What is your problem? You act like we owe you something.”

              “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said, pulling out the bread from the pantry.

              “But I do. You're just some poor kid looking to score some cash from Jackson. Well, just so you know, he doesn’t even like you. He’s just being nice to you because his dad told him to. So take that.”

              She was getting on my last nerve. Like I even cared what she thought, but that didn’t stop me from slamming the cabinet door in frustration. “Shut up Lexus,”

“What? You think just because you lived in the slums we're supposed to feel sorry for you?”

              I scoffed as I made a peanut butter sandwich. All the while, she kept running her mouth about how she thought her family was doing a “good thing” by letting me live with them.
Like they had a choice.
I wanted to pound her stupid face, but I stuffed the sandwich into my mouth walking away.

“If your mother wasn't such a whore, this whole mess wouldn’t be happening,” she called after me.

              I whirled around and pushed her against the island. Her eyes were wide and reminded me of a small child.  “Is there anything else you’d like to say?”

              She didn’t answer.

              “Addison,” Stuart said from behind me. I released her and backed away. Lexus ran to her father, crying and claiming I was trying to kill her. Grabbing a cup from the cabinet, I poured myself a glass of milk and stomped out of the room.
Send me away, like I care.

Chapter Nineteen

I headed upstairs and tried calling Dr. Franklin again, but wound up leaving yet another desperate message.
Why wasn’t she calling me back?
It was getting on my nerves. I so didn’t need this drama. Just as I was getting ready to pass out on my bed, Stuart walked into my room and flipped on the light. I sat up.

              “We need to talk,” he grabbed my desk chair and sat down.

             
Here we go.
“This can’t wait till morning?”

              “No, do you know a man named Henry Maddox?” He picked up a pen on my desk and began twiddling it.

             
Henry? The man from the letter Dr. Franklin found him.
I felt a surge of happiness rush through me, but didn’t want him to know that, so I yawned and straightened my face.  “Uh, yeah, I think. Why?”

              “Well, he apparently has something very important he wishes to discuss with you.”

              “Important?” I asked, confused.
Maybe it was a will or something
. “Okay,”

              “What’s this about? I don’t need any more surprises from you.”

I couldn’t keep from laughing. “Me? Why don’t you tell me what you’re hiding and I’ll tell you what I know about Henry.” I wasn’t stupid.

“Fine, if that’s how you want to be.” He stood and paused near the door. “Addison....”

I leaned against the headboard. “Yes?” 

              “You need to be mindful that this is your family now. Please try to respect that. This is going to be a big adjustment for all of us.”

I didn’t care about his family, and it was obvious they didn’t care about me. “Anything else?”

“Yes, you can lose the attitude. You’re lucky you were just grounded after that little display earlier.”

“Are you threatening me?”

“No, reminding you. You are no longer in Illinois, free to do whatever the hell want. You’re in my care now. There are rules and consequences.”

I jumped to my feet. “Allowing Lexus to stay out late and handing over your credit card is not my idea of consequences. It’s called pacifying, Stuart. You aren’t teaching them anything, except how they can control you.”

He shut my door and turned around, his face flushed. “Rule number one: Don’t tell me how to raise my children. I’m the adult, and you’re the child.”

“Of course I am.” I threw my arms in the air             

“Four weeks now instead of two. Keep going, and I’ll make your life a prison.”

“You already are.”

He cleared the space between us in seconds and towered three inches above me, forcing me to back off.
Maybe I wasn’t ready to take him on just yet.
I sat down on the bed, glaring at the phone, wishing it would ring. 

“You’re grounded for two months. Now, it’s almost morning and you have tests to take. I just hope this little excursion doesn’t cost you Briarwood.”

“You may be my biological father, but you do not get to tell me what to do.”

“That’s exactly what it means. It’s not that bad living here. I hope one day you’ll see that,” he said softly and left.

I tried not to let it faze me, but it did. Elizabeth would have swung at me if I had talked to her like that. Deep down inside I wanted him to like me, and I hated myself for it. I turned the light off and crawled into bed, but lay awake thinking running away.

***

I woke up to the sound of an alarm going off and groaned. My chest burned reminding me of the copious amounts of weed I’d smoked just hours before. Finding the alarm o my desk, I hit it till it stopped.

I went to the bathroom and brushed my teeth, washed my face and tried to cover up the dark circles under my eyes. I’d found some eye wash in one of the drawers and hoped it would clear up the redness. These tests could be a shot at freedom.

When I came out of the bathroom, another grey skirt and blue button-up shirt were lying on the bed. I put on the clothes without question, but instead of black loafers, I pulled on a pair of knee-high socks and black-and-white Converse that were on the floor of the closet. My hand was stiff and the knuckles were a bluish black. No swelling though.

I was downstairs drinking a cup of coffee when Stuart walked in.  “Thanks for the wake up alarm.”

“Good morning, Addison.”

I sat at the breakfast nook picking at a muffin from the rack in front of me.

“I’m going to drop you off at Briarwood for testing on my way to work. I have something for you.” He placed a silver box on the table in front of me.

“What is it?”

“Go ahead and open it,” he urged.

I lifted the top off, half expecting to see a plane ticket to Switzerland. “A cell phone?” I questioned, peering down at the phone again, afraid to touch it.

“Yeah, it’s a cell phone. Now you have 1000 anytime minutes, uh, free texting and Internet. Just try not to go over that, and we won’t have a problem.”

              I glanced at Stuart in disbelief.
Over a thousand minutes! Was that even possible?
Other than Dr. Franklin, who would I call? It seemed like such an extravagant and unnecessary gift.

             
“Do you like it?”

              “I …I’ve never had a one.” I picked up the small white phone and turned it over in my hand. “Thank you, but I don’t deserve it.” I placed it back in the box.

              “No, you don’t, but it’s something that everyone needs, especially now. So I bought the simplest model at the store,” He sat next to me and began to show me how to work it.

              “What’s going on?” interrupted Petra.

              “Nothing, honey. I was just showing Addison her new cell phone. She’s never had one before.”

“Never had a cell phone. Surprise, surprise. Do you think she deserves a phone?

Poor Lexus is still having nightmares.” She sneered in my direction.

              “That’s what I said.” I wanted her to know I wasn’t the one who initiated this.

“I’m sure the shopping trip I scheduled for Lexus today will take care of everything,” Stuart said and Petra forced a smile on her plastic face. “I’m going to drop Addison off at Briarwood.” He discarded the box in the trash.

              “Will you be home for dinner?”

He grazed her cheek with a barely-there kiss. “Of course.”

I followed him outside, but caught the death gaze from Petra as I passed. She certainly didn’t like me, but at least the feeling was mutual.

We didn’t talk on the way to Briarwood, which didn’t bother me. I tried to prepare myself for what would be on the test, but it was hard to concentrate. Last night I had meant to study, but then the whole Jackson thing happened, and the rest was history. I peered over at Stuart. He seemed like he was in a good mood. I wondered if I should tell him what had happened. Just when I was going to open my mouth, his phone rang. Lexus.
Go figure!

When we arrived at Briarwood, they were still arguing on the phone. I noticed the parking lot was filling with convertibles and SUVs. It appeared to be a typical day of school for the rich kids of America.

The testing office was on the outskirts of campus, in an insignificant office building. We walked in and up to an abandoned desk. I noticed a bell sitting on the desk and tapped it. Stuart nudged me, frowning.

“What? It’s there for a reason,” I said, as someone shuffled around in the back, and a woman in a pinstriped suit came rushing toward us.

              “Addison?” she guessed, holding a piece of paper.

I nodded.

              Stuart leaned forward to shake her hand. “I’m Mr. McDaniel, her father. I’ll be back to pick her up when she’s finished.”

              “Of course, why don’t you follow me?” she instructed me, dismissing Stuart. I followed her to a small office and she instructed me to sit in a chair. “I’m Dr. Thornton, the school’s admissions counselor.” She took a seat behind a large cluttered desk. “As you’ve probably figured out.” She slid on a pair of zebra-striped reading glasses. “Okay, it suggests we start with the IQ and Rorschach. Are you familiar with these?”

“Yes.” I had to take them over a year ago after getting in a fight at school.

              “It says your mother passed recently.” She glanced up at me.

“My aunt and yes, a few weeks ago.”

“And I see she was a graduate of ours.” She cleared off an area on her desk by scraping stuff into one of her drawers.

“They both were. I mean my mom and aunt.”

“You mean the twins. I thought you looked familiar. Now you’re the daughter of…”

“Eve Solomon.”

“Oh, she was very eccentric. Vibrant personality, if I do remember myself.” She excused herself for a moment.
That was odd.

She came back bearing a cup of coffee for herself and a donut, which she handed to me. I murmured a thank you; even though I wasn’t hungry, I ate it anyway.

“Now, have you talked to anyone about your mother’s, I mean aunt’s death?” she started.

“I’d rather not.”

“Your mother and aunt certainly left some rather large shoes to fill…” She went on to reiterate what Dean Marshall had said. Then she added that they were both honor roll students, witty, arrogant, classy, and fun.

              I felt betrayed by the end of our short conversation but didn’t have time to express my feelings because Dr. Thornton moved right into giving the tests. By the time we finished, it was close to noon, and I was tired of answering questions about ink blots or random addition and subtraction questions.

              “I'm going out to grab us some lunch.” She handed me a stack of booklets and answer sheets.

              “What are these?”

              “More tests, honey. Briarwood is very thorough.” She headed to her door.

“Isn’t someone going to watch me?”
What kind of place was this?

“Yes, of course. Dr. Morrison, the school psychologist. He’s going to watch over you and answer any questions you might have."

She escorted me to a small room with desks. A man in the back was making a cup of coffee. He seemed a little young to be the school psychologist, not what I pictured at all. His dark brown hair was combed back, and he wore black rimmed glasses and a tweed jacket. It just seemed odd.

“Dr. Morrison," Dr. Thornton said. "Glad you could make it. I would like you to meet Addison Solomon. Our newest potential.”

“Addison?” he asked as he approached. "Nice to meet you." He extended his right hand.

“Hello.” I noticed he had a slight accent but couldn’t place it.

He took the booklets and answer sheets from me. “There are five tests: History, Math, Social Science, Hard Science, and the last one will test your general knowledge. We also need a writing sample. The essay topic is on the other side of the dry erase board,” he instructed and handed me a blue booklet and answer sheet, along with a sharpened pencil. Then he set the timer for forty-five minutes. “You may begin.” He started the clock and then slipped out the door.

              I opened the booklet. History.
I hated these kinds of tests.
They always made me feel dumb. I filled out what I knew, and what I didn’t know, I guessed, which seemed to be a lot. When I was finished with that, I took the Math test. It was easier than I had anticipated.

              “How about we break for lunch before continuing?” Dr. Morrison suggested, and I nodded.

He led me to a kitchenette with a few long tables where Dr. Thornton had lunch spread out like a picnic. There was salad, soup, and sandwiches for each of us. Eating with them was weird, and I tried to play with my new phone but got bored so I put it away. I moved my sandwich off to the side and prayed for non-meat soup.

“You don’t like turkey?” Dr. Thornton pried, watching me with interest.

“I don’t eat meat. Sorry.”

“Your mother was a vegetarian as well,” she commented.

“Oh?” Elizabeth was always craved meaty foods when we could afford it.

“Yes, I distinctly remember Eve despising the fact that we served meat in the dining room. She even protested it one day.”

“Sounds like something she would do.”
From what I heard anyway…

“How much more does she have to do?” she directed at Dr. Morrison.

              “We have three of the tests remaining and the written essay.”

              “You finished two of the tests already?” she asked, amazed.

              “Did I do something wrong?” I asked.

              “Of course not. Now, I’ll just be in my office.” She took the finished tests with her.

Two hours later, I was ready for the written essay.

              “Explain a time in your life that you realized you could do anything,” Dr. Morrison read aloud, then handed me the standard blue book.

I guess I could write about my current situation, but who wanted to hear that, plus I was limited to 1500 words
. So I decided to write about the events leading up to Elizabeth’s death.