In My Father's Shadow (28 page)

“You don’t know a thing about me,” Jennifer
snarled.

“I know enough about people like you,” Stephanie bit
back. “Stay away from me and stay away from Ally. I’m surprised she
hasn’t beat the crap out of you yet.”

“She’s better than that,” Jamie added from behind
Jennifer. Jennifer jumped and turned, finding Jamie and RJ sneering
at her.

“I’d steer clear of her if I was you,” RJ suggested.
“But hey, that’s just my opinion.”

“You guys are just pathetic,” Jennifer said before
stomping away.

“I really wish Ally would beat her up,” RJ
sighed.

“She won’t,” Cole said. “You guys ready to get out of
here? This party sucks.”

***

Stephanie slipped next to Cole at dinner Monday night
and smiled at Jamie. “How’s your birthday been?” she asked.

He shrugged despondently and set his fork aside as he
shoved his tray. “Okay, I guess. Did you know Ally actually had my
birthday present delivered?”

“At least she didn’t forget,” Cole said, looking
around for her but he knew he wouldn’t find her. She’d done an
impressive job of avoiding them lately and it was starting to
really bug him. None of them had heard a thing from her – not even
about her physical. He wondered if she’d received bad news and was
off by herself, sulking. They’d all heard that she’d lost her
temper a few times with people who’d asked about her father and
while they’d had their share of questions, they’d at least managed
not to tick people off. Cole knew the wick of her temper was
shrinking and it was only a matter of time until she blew.

“How was practice?” Jamie asked, as he made another
attempt at his meal.

“Weird,” Stephanie said. “Did you guys know Ally quit
the team?”

“I doubt that,” Cole said, giving Stephanie a
skeptical look. “The princess loves her sports.”

“It’s true. Coach Morgan told us that Ally resigned
from the team,” Stephanie said. “She wouldn’t tell us why. She said
it was Ally’s decision and if she wanted us to know, she’d tell
us.”

“Like father like daughter,” RJ muttered, earning a
couple of angry glares. He sighed and scrubbed his face. “Okay,
uncalled for, I know. Sorry.”

“Something’s going on and we really need to find out
what,” Cole said, standing to scan the cafeteria. He spotted Jeana
and crossed the room to sit beside her. “Jeana, where’s Ally?”

She shrugged. “I saw her earlier for a few minutes in
our room but she didn’t say anything except she’d be back
later.”

Cole thanked her and returned to his table, relaying
what Jeana had told him.

“She’s probably in the workout room,” Jamie said.
“I’d bet money on it.”

RJ sighed. “Let’s go.”

“I think you three need to handle this,” Stephanie
said. “I’ll talk to you later.”

***

They found her on the treadmill, running at a good
pace, music player ear buds in her ears. Cole stormed to the
machine and yanked on the ear bud cord. “Why’d you quit the
basketball team?”

She kept running. “Because.” She brushed at the sweat
on her brow.

“You don’t just quit, cuz,” Jamie said.

Ally turned a hateful glare on RJ. “Maybe I wanted to
follow in my father’s footsteps and abandon my team. You know,
disloyalty and all that.”

“Whatever,” RJ said.

Cole gave him a dark look. “Ally, quit messing around
and tell us what’s going on.”

Her pace slowed as she started her cool down period.
“I have my reasons, okay? Now will you leave me alone?”

“Why can’t you just tell us what’s going on?” Cole
asked.

The treadmill stopped and she jumped off, grabbed a
towel, and wiped her face. “Why do you care, huh? The team will do
fine without me.”

“This is not about the team, Ally,” Jamie said,
grabbing her arm.

She yanked out of his grasp and picked up her bag. “I
quit because it was the thing to do.” She stalked away to the
girls’ locker room.

Cole ran after her and took her arm. “Al, we need to
talk about this. I thought we were through with doing things
halfway? I thought we were going to do this?”

She met his gaze and sighed. The pain and indecision
in her eyes tore at his heart. He wondered how things had soured so
rapidly - again. “I can’t. As long as you doubt my father, I can’t
be with you.”

He let go of her arm and ran his hands through his
hair. “I don’t know what I think, honestly.”

“Well, when you figure it out, let me know.” She
turned on her heel and pushed through the locker room door.

***

Ally continued her avoidance and Cole’s anxiety
increased. She refused to budge and he was afraid maybe they’d gone
too far. Maybe the rift that had developed between her and the
others might have become too wide to mend. Jamie was constantly on
edge, not sure what side of the fence to be on while RJ grew more
and more despondent. Stephanie became the talkative one at meals
and other times, constantly trying to draw them all out and lift
their spirits.

And Cole wondered what exactly he thought of the
whole situation. It killed him to see her hurting but he couldn’t
lie to her for the sake of being together. He just wished she’d
give him a chance to sit down and talk to her. Maybe they could
figure it out together.

As January ended and February began, Stephanie went
on and on about the Winter Party being planned for Valentine’s
weekend. Out of Control had agreed to play at the party,
alternating sets with a DJ and practice was the only reprieve Cole
had lately. He scowled as heart shaped decorations and little
cupids appeared all over the school. He normally hated Valentine’s
Day but it was irritating him more than usual this year. He still
loved Ally and he ached for her constantly. Other girls approached
him hopefully, asking him who he was taking to the Winter Party,
wanting to be his date. But he turned them all away. None of them
compared to Ally and he would settle for nothing less.

Cole fretted as he made his way to the girls’ dorm.
Stephanie had asked the guys to come to her room that night,
stating that she needed to talk to them about something. He didn’t
want to go; he longed to just head over to the music room and bang
on the drums, but she refused to take no for an answer. He sighed,
smiling at a freshman who held the door open for him.

***

Ally cringed when someone knocked on the door, hoping
it wasn’t the guys but disappointed when she opened it and found
Stephanie smiling nervously. It was definitely the last person she
wanted to see.

“Yes?” Ally asked politely.

“I just wanted to talk to you for a minute,”
Stephanie said.

Ally leaned in the door frame, crossing her ankles
and folding her arms over her chest. “So, talk.”

Stephanie bit her lip. “It’s about Cole, and the
others.”

“I don’t want to talk about them,” Ally said,
shifting her weight.

“Please,” Stephanie begged. “Just hear me out.”

“Fine,” Ally conceded, curious as to what the girl
had to say. She kept her cool façade in place and lifted a brow.
“You have two minutes.”

“They’re all hurting, Ally,” Stephanie began.
“Especially Cole.”

Ally snorted and turned her head. “I doubt that.”

“Well you wouldn’t see it,” Stephanie said, anger
growing in her voice at Ally’s flippant manner. “You avoid them all
the time.”

“What do you want me to do?” Ally asked, pushing away
from the door frame. “Tell them they were right? Tell them my
father really is a lowlife scum? How would you like it?”

Stephanie shrugged. “My father drinks too much and is
about to marry a woman who isn’t much older than me. I don’t care
what anyone says about him.”

“Well, my father’s not. He’s a good man. Yeah, he
screwed up but he’s paid for it!” Ally defended, hands tightening
into fists at her side.

“I’m not saying he hasn’t,” Stephanie argued. “All
I’m saying is maybe the boys had a point. Maybe you should listen
to what they have to say instead of getting all defensive.”

“You don’t know my father and you don’t know
everything that’s going on!” Ally took a deep breath. “You come
here and in a matter of days, you think you’re an expert on us all.
You think you know everything. Well, you don’t. But you succeeded
in alienating me so you could have them all to yourself. That’s
what you wanted, right?”

“No, not at all,” Stephanie claimed, her eyes
flashing. “All I wanted was to fit in but you never gave me a
chance! How do you think it feels to see Nate always showering you
with affection like you’re the daughter he wishes he had? Everyone
dotes on you. Cole’s right! You’re nothing but a spoiled little
princess who has to have everything her way!”

“You think you know me now, huh?” Ally said, danger
lurking in her eyes.

“I know what I see,” Stephanie said, not backing
down. “You can’t stand that maybe the guys want to hang around with
me, too. Maybe they actually like me. You hate that you’re not the
only girl, anymore – the one they look after and protect. You hate
that I’m here and they don’t pour all their attention on just you.
And maybe my dad is a bit worthless, but at least he’s not a washed
up coke head who abandons his friends when he thinks he’s found
something better!”

Ally didn’t think – her mind experienced a temporary
whiteout. She just reacted without any foresight. She reached back
and swung, connecting with Stephanie’s mouth. Stephanie stumbled,
holding her lip while shock and disbelief washed over Ally’s
face.

“Ally! What the hell is the matter with you?” Cole
yelled as he ran down the hall. He pulled Stephanie’s hands away
from her face and examined her bleeding lip.

“I’m sorry,” Ally whispered, hand pressed to her
mouth. “I’m sorry.”

“You should be,” Cole said, glancing over his
shoulder at her. “I don’t know what the hell your problem is
lately, but you don’t need to take it out on Steph!”

But Ally didn’t hear him. She bolted down the hall,
pushing past a confused RJ and Jamie, and sped out of the building,
her mind a blur of thoughts and pain. She ran through the cold, the
exercise comforting and welcome, and headed to her favorite place.
Her feet pounded on the slushy concrete as her mind directed her
body around the campus to the sports facility. She slogged through
the snow and slush and, finally reaching the ball fields, plopped
down on what she knew was the pitcher’s mound. She hugged her knees
to her chest and rocked back and forth, silent tears running down
her cheeks.

She didn’t know how long she sat there shivering in
the cold she didn’t feel until a warm coat fell around her
shoulders. She looked up to find Jeana smiling sadly at her.

“Come on, Ally,” she said in a gentle tone. “Let’s
get you inside.”

Ally nodded and stood, her pants soaked and her legs
numb. She hugged the jacket around her body and allowed Jeana to
lead her back to the dorms, her shivers increasing with each step.
Stephanie’s door was open and Jamie looked out, catching her
glance. Ally ducked her head at the disappointment she found in his
eyes and entered her room sadly.

Chapter Twenty-Three

“No, Jeana,” Ally stated firmly Saturday night. “I’m
not going.

“Come on,” Jeana persisted, tugging on Ally’s arm.
“It’s the Winter Party! You have to go!”

“I can’t,” Ally whispered as she sank to her bed.

Jeana sat next to her. “You’ve been acting weird
lately. First you fight with the boys, then you quit the basketball
team, and then you punch Stephanie. Come on. Fess up!”

Ally sighed and told her the whole story. She didn’t
cry; she had no tears left. She just stoically told Jeana about the
conversation with her father, the fight she had with the boys, the
dire warning from the State Team reps, everything.

“That sucks,” Jeana consoled. “And they’re wrong,
Ally. You know that. Uncle Jay would never do that to the other
guys. There’s no way in hell. There has to be more to the story –
something the adults aren’t telling you guys, yet.”

Ally smiled gratefully. “That’s what I think.”

“Why’d you quit the team?” she asked. “I mean, they
didn’t specifically tell you to do it.”

Ally got up and pulled a paper from her dresser
drawer. She handed it to Jeana. Jeana looked over the paper before
raising her head.

“So these State Team idiots are afraid that if you
play basketball, you’ll injure your ankle again?” Jeana asked.
“Don’t they think that it will strengthen it if you work it?”

“Not really,” Ally shrugged. “Coach Morgan said that
it didn’t mean I had to resign, but I was taking a real risk if I
played. I told her I had to quit. I want this softball thing so
badly. I’ve always wanted to make the National Team.”

“I know,” Jeana agreed. “So when do you see them
again?”

“Spring break. I go for another physical and if I
pass, I work out for them. They’ll decide if they want me or not.
If they do, I’m accepted on a preliminary basis. If I stay healthy,
I’m on.”

“Will you play softball for school?” Jeana asked as
she handed the paper back to Ally.

“I don’t know. I want to,” Ally mused. “I’ll make
that decision after I talk to them again in March.”

“So, why did you hit Stephanie?” Jeana asked.

Ally relayed the argument they’d had and why she’d
hit her, a touch of guilt in her voice. “I didn’t mean to do it, it
just happened.”

“I would have hit her, too if she said that stuff
about my dad,” Jeana agreed. “She had no right to say that. She
barely knows Uncle Jay and she doesn’t know what he went through or
anything.” Jeana sighed. “Honestly, Ally, I don’t like her a whole
lot.”

“I’m so tired of thinking about it,” Ally said,
rubbing her head wearily. “And it’s affecting Alec, too. Ren told
me he caught Alec yelling at Cole.”

“Ren’s still talking to you?” Jeana asked, brow
raised.