Secrets (11 page)

“I don’t either.”

They looked at each other. What were they talking about? The potential stalker or each other? Sarah turned her gaze away, suddenly very interested in her floor covering.

Scott cleared his throat, and stepped back. “You shouldn’t stay alone tonight.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“Don’t be stubborn. Have someone come stay with you.”

“There’s no one to call.”

He frowned and shook his head. “What do you mean?”

“There’s no one I can call,” she said turning away and pretending to rifle through her mail on the counter. She was too embarrassed to look at him with the truth of her isolated status.

“You have parents.”

“Yes, well they’re older and sickly. I can’t burden them with this. My brother is only fifteen, and my friends are either married or almost.”

“So? Tell them what’s going on. Be smart, Sarah.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“Sure, as I walk out of here and you’re in this quiet apartment that someone came up to the door of last night. That’s how you will be fine?”

She quivered inside at his accurate description. She took a deep breath. “Yes. I’ll be fine.”

Silence met her. She peeked up at him through her lashes. He stood with his hands on his hips and toe tapping. He looked pissed. “You know burying your head isn’t going to make this go away, or change that it’s happening.”

“I know that.”

“Do you? Tell your family. Burden them, be smart. Be safe.”

“You don’t understand about my family. It’s really complicated.”

“Okay. I don’t get it. But if you won’t go to them, stay with Kelly.”

“She’s getting married tomorrow. I can’t show up there for a sleep over tonight of all nights.”

Scott narrowed his gaze. “John and Cassie’s then.”

“They have two little boys in the house. No way.”

“Okay, pick another friend. There has to be someone.”

“No, there doesn’t. There is no one else. There you go, former prom queen is the utter cliché, all the glory at eighteen, and near loser in her twenties. I have few friends. Do you need me to spell it out for you more? The fact that I told you I don’t go out much? I don’t do much but with the Tyler family. None of that got through to you, did it? I’m not who I was in high school.”

He was quiet watching her as she talked. She started pacing as she spoke, dropping her head after her tirade, feeling him still tracking her movements with his gaze.

“Vanessa needs me home, so I can’t stay here.”

She looked back at him. His tone was kinder than it had been. Finally, he seemed to comprehend she was a loner, loser, a complete and utter lame, washed out, prom queen.

“You stay here?” Her tone came out more high strung than she meant it to.

“Am I that distasteful for you?”

“No, I didn’t mean it that way. I was just surprised.”

“Did you miss the part where I was at the police station with you?”

She smiled, chagrined. “No.”

“Why would you be shocked I’m worried about you staying here alone? You say you have nowhere you feel like you can go…why wouldn’t I offer you help?”

“I’m not your responsibility or even a friend.”

“Call me your friend. Look, it’s getting late. Just come back to my house tonight, and we’ll figure something more permanent out tomorrow when we have time.”

“What about Vanessa?”

“What about her?”

“She’ll scratch my eyes out.”

Scott sighed as he squeezed the bridge of his nose with his hand. “She’s not going to scratch your eyes out. It’s my house. I bring home who I want.”

“You don’t usually bring me home though.” Who did Scott usually bring home? And how often?

“I guess tonight, I am.”

****

Sarah wasn’t sure what was going on. She was holding a bag, filled with things for spending the night at Scott Delano’s house.
Spending the night.
It was weird and confusing. And even freakier, she was excited about it. As she sat in Scott’s truck, while they drove in silence, she was freaking excited about being with him and going to his house for the night.

Scott parked his truck. She followed him holding her bag. She felt like an idiot. She was not friends with Scott. She was barely tolerated by Scott. And now she was spending the night with him?

They walked into the house. It was warm and cheery. Every light in the house seemed to be on. It wasn’t like how she kept her house. She turned off everything, and even kept her toaster unplugged. Not so here. The entry stepped directly down into the living room. It was a mish-mosh of furniture, nothing particularly matched or complemented each other. But it gave off a kind of homey, comfortable ambiance. It was relaxed and cluttered, where hers was sterile and formal.

They entered into the kitchen, a galley type set-up with white cabinets, a beat up wood floor, and a four person table off the end of it.

Here Sarah stopped dead, almost hidden behind the corner. Angie sat at the table, typing on a laptop. Vanessa sat across from her, filing her nails, with an open bottle of nail polish before her. They both looked up as Scott came in. He walked over to a counter and dumped his keys and wallet he’d just dug from his back pocket.

“Hey, Scotty.”

“Hi, Uncle Scott. You missed dinner.”

“There’s some left in the fridge,” Vanessa added.

Why had she done this to herself? She should be at home, all alone in her immaculate, color coordinated apartment, sitting before her computer working, or on her sewing machine, creating. She should be at home, comfortable and productive, spending her time just as she liked, not wasting it in an uncomfortable situation she wanted nothing to do with.

No, instead she was peeking in on this homey, domestic scene. A scene she had no business witnessing, with a man who had very little interest in her, other than in some kind of passing concern. She was barely just comfortable in Scott’s presence, now she was witnessing him at home? Staying in his house? It suddenly felt very, very wrong to be there, watching him.

“Where were you?” Vanessa asked Scott as Sarah stayed nearly out of view wanting to hide in the crawlspace of the house.

“I was—”

“What is she doing here?”

Scott turned at Vanessa’s near screech at seeing Sarah hiding around the corner.

“Sarah?” Angie said, straining her neck to see around Scott.

Sarah really didn’t want to step into the kitchen. But what choice did she have now? “Hi, Angie.”

“What are you doing here?” Angie asked.

“She’s staying the night,” Scott announced, as he turned and passed around Sarah, going over to a cabinet. He was in the process of rummaging around the cabinet, pulling out a plate, totally unconcerned about Sarah being there, and the drama surrounding his last careless statement.

“She’s staying the night?” Vanessa echoed. She slammed the brush of her nail polish back into the bottle. “Scotty, please. Angie’s here.”

“Yeah, I noticed. So what?” Scott asked unconcerned as he opened the fridge and poked his head inside it.

She should smack Scott, then Vanessa, and go home.

“I want to talk to you right now. Alone.”

“I’m starving and eating dinner first, and then maybe we’ll get to your theatrics.”

“No, we’ll talk right now. What is she doing here?”

“Sarah was threatened by someone today, and now she’s staying the night to be careful. Nothing more. End of discussion,” Scott said all the while pulling out sealed containers, putting helpings on a plate and sticking it into the microwave, turning it on, and leaning against the counter as nonchalantly as could be waiting for his dinner.

Angie glanced around the room. “Threatened how? Like at the shop?”

“It’s probably nothing. Just pranks. I’m probably just being scared of the dark.”

“No, you’re not,” Scott said simply. End of discussion. And it worked because Vanessa closed her mouth, as she’d been about to say something.

“Here eat something.” Scott handed her the plate.

Surprised, she grabbed it.

“I didn’t make that for her,” Vanessa snapped.

Scott was already scooping up food for his plate. “You’re really going to do this? Squabble over a few pieces of chicken and potatoes? We’re that juvenile, we can’t feed Sarah dinner?”

Sarah wanted to slide the plate away. But her stomach was rumbling. She’d skipped lunch. The heated up meal smelled really good.

Vanessa glanced back at her. “I’m surprised she even eats. I picture diet pop and celery sticks for her.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Sarah bristled.

“Would you can it? Both of you?” Scott glared from one to the other.

Sarah stared at the food, while Vanessa glared at her. She took a bite and met Vanessa’s angry gaze, as if saying
ha
. The chicken and the mashed potatoes tasted like heaven. Some kind of custom marinade smothered them. Vanessa was an amazing cook. Sarah glanced up and found Scott watching her. She usually ate alone, and suddenly she was being watched and judged as if she was the show for the evening. She didn’t like it.

“You made this?” she asked Vanessa, choking on her tongue in her attempt to use a polite tone.

“Yeah, see that’s what’s called cooking.”

“I was just going to say it’s good.”

Vanessa frowned at the compliment. “Well yeah, all my cooking is.”

Scott nodded. “That’s true. It almost makes up for her attitude.”

Angie laughed. Vanessa pursed her lips before she smiled finally, at Scott, who was smiling at her. There was no resisting Scott’s boyish, charming grin.

“Okay, Scotty, point taken.”

Sarah was annoyed now. They had an obvious rhythm, a familiarity, that she didn’t have and was nowhere near part of.

“Good.” Scott sat across from Sarah, next to Angie and started eating. He ate quickly, cleanly, and with a man-like appetite. He was so lean, there couldn’t be an extra pound anywhere, yet he ate enough to accommodate a linebacker.

She ate a few bites and then started picking at hers. Angie and Scott started talking about her day, and Vanessa left for a few minutes.

“Just eat it.”

Sarah sat up straighter when Scott’s voice suddenly cut through her day dreaming. She glanced up. He nodded at her plate.

“I am eating.”

“No, you’re twirling it around. Put it on your fork and eat it.”

“Quit telling me what to do.”

“Quit acting like an idiot. Eat something.”

“You just called me an idiot. You’re about as sensitive as a door knob, you know that?”

“I don’t have to be sensitive. I have you figured out.”

“Oh, please, you haven’t figured me out.”

“I’ve figured out enough,” he said, his tone quieter. “I don’t think you’ll hurt anything by taking a few bites.”

What could she say? Of course, it wouldn’t hurt her. But she wasn’t his teenage child in need of guidance, or to be threatened to eat all her dinner before she left the table. But she did take another bite because Angie was watching their exchange with teenager interest she didn’t bother hiding. Sarah would have said more if Angie wasn’t there. But Angie was and she didn’t want to add to Angie’s image problem. Not that Sarah had a problem. She did not have a problem. She was not anorexic as Scott was implying. She knew what anorexic was and she most definitely wasn’t. She was careful and she didn’t like to eat in front of people. That did not mean she had a problem.

The phone rang. Scott got up grabbing it.

“Yeah?”

There was a long pause. Scott spoke again. “Yeah, I know. Sorry, baby, I’ve been busy. You know how it is.” Pause again. “Sure. Sure, of course I was going to call you. Really, baby, I was. You know, I mean it. I know it’s been a week—”

Pause again. Scott turned his back on them, his gaze riveted out the window.

“Okay, it’s been several weeks. But you know I’ve got a lot of stuff going on.” Scott glanced her way. She didn’t bother to conceal that she was avidly listening and watching him. He turned away from her again, his hand rubbing absently at his neck.

“No, you don’t have to remind me of what we did…look, baby, I have company. I can’t talk about this right now.”

He lifted the phone away from his ear as he listened to
baby’s
response.

“Yeah. I will. Honey, I promise, I’ll call you later. I will. I said I will.” He clicked the phone without so much as a goodbye. Sarah could hear a woman’s voice crackling out of the phone before he hung up on
baby
.

Sarah’s mouth dropped. She blinked in surprise. “Did you just hang up on that girl?”

Scott glanced at her. “It was nothing.”

“Oh, so, I was just the excuse for blowing off…what is her name?”

“Carrie, or Sherry…something like that,” he mumbled.

“You don’t even know her name?”

“I knew it. It just slipped my mind.”

“Along with your ability to call her and let her down easily, nicely, like a man should?”

He wrinkled his eyebrows. “You don’t have me figured out either, Sarah Langston.”

“Oh, was I mistaken? That wasn’t a blow off? Is she your girlfriend that somehow slipped your mind?”

Vanessa sauntered in on the tail end of Sarah’s comment.

“Scotty never has a girlfriend; it’s more like several girlfriends.”

Scott got up, his chair scraping against the floor as he took his plate to the sink and nearly slammed it down. “Shut up, both of you.”

“Just warning ice queen here what she’s in for. Or is that what I’m supposed to shut up about? To be clear, Sarah, three weeks has been the longest the same girl has been around. So don’t for a second think you’re anything special.”

Sarah shut her eyes, and let out a long, slow breath. “I know it’s hard for you to grasp, but just because two people are together doesn’t mean they’re…” Sarah stopped. Angie was staring and hanging off their conversation, so Sarah snapped her lips shut.

“Doesn’t mean what?”

Sarah wanted to shriek in frustration. The woman was as antagonistic as anyone she had ever had the misfortune to meet. But having it out in front of a sixteen-year-old girl was not proper.

“Mom. Lay off Sarah.”

“Sarah? Oh my, don’t we have my daughter in a twitter over you. But, Angie, sweets, I can say anything I want.”