The Pledge (17 page)

I knew I was being disrespectful, but I didn't care. This had officially turned into the worst day of my life.

“Courtland didn't do anything wrong,” Bree said, and my mouth hung open.

“Well, how do you explain your eye?” Principal Abernathy asked.

I was wondering the same thing.

“It's my fault,” I said.

“No, Courtland, it's not. We were just playing around. It's no big deal.” She shrugged and sat back in her chair.

I wanted to give Bree a hug. We had been best friends for two years, but at that moment there was no doubt in my mind we would be friends for life. I had taken my anger out on her, and she still had my back.

Principal Abernathy ran a hand over his semi-bald head. “Bree, are you sure that's what happened?”

She nodded and looked him dead in the eye.

He looked at me. “Is there anything you want to add to this story?”

I opened my mouth to say no, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized I had done enough lying in the past twenty-four hours to last me a lifetime. “I punched her,” I said before I lost my nerve. “I thought she had spread a rumor about me, and I punched her.”

“Courtland,” Bree said, looking at me like I was crazy.

I turned to her. “Look, I appreciate your having my back, but I'm not going to let you cover for me. Whatever my punishment is, I'm just going to have to deal with it.”

Bree and I locked eyes, and I guess my determination showed, because I saw admiration in hers.

“Very well, Miss Murphy. As you know, we have a zero tolerance policy for fighting. You are hereby suspended for three days, during which time you will not be able to participate in any school activities.”

I nodded, thinking I had gotten off pretty easy, until he spoke again.

“I'm sure your squad is going to miss you in Orlando.”

My mouth dropped open. I had forgotten all about our cheerleading competition. “I can't compete?” I squeaked.

He shook his head, and he actually seemed as though he felt sorry for me. “I'm afraid not,” he said gently.

At that, I burst into tears, and I sat there crying until my daddy came to get me.

I don't think he had ever been up to my school before. When he saw me crying, he gathered me into his arms and gave me an awkward hug, trying to comfort me.

We were silent for most of the drive home. “Where's Momma?” I finally said.

“She's still not feeling well.”

“What's my punishment?” I finally asked.

He gave a dry laugh. “I think you've been punished enough. I know how much that competition meant to you.”

I looked up in surprise. “You do?”

He took his eyes off the road long enough to glance at me. “Yeah. I was going to surprise you and come see you cheer.”

“You were?” My eyes grew wide with shock.

He laughed as he came to a stop at a traffic light. “I know it's hard to believe, but I wanted to see you out there.”

I didn't know what to say, so I just looked out the window.

“You want to tell me what happened today? Something must have really set you off for you to punch your best friend.”

Everything in me wanted to break down and tell my daddy what had happened. He hadn't shown an interest in anything I had done in a long time, and as much as I wanted to share everything that had happened, I knew he would get mad and go after Allen.

“You know, you really can talk to me,” he said. “I know I haven't been the best father, and I'm sorry. When that guy broke in our house, it made me realize a few things.” He took a deep breath, then looked me directly in the eyes. “Courtland, I'm an alcoholic.”

My mouth hung open in shock. Momma had told me the same thing a while back, but hearing Daddy say it was different. “I've started attending AA meetings, and I've learned that this disease affects more than me. I'm sorry for the way I've been treating you. I want you guys to know how much you mean to me. That could have been me in that body bag.” He looked at me with tears in his eyes. “It could have been you, your sister or your mother. I don't know what I would do without you guys.”

He paused, trying to compose himself.

I touched his shoulder. “It's okay, Daddy. Nothing happened to us.”

The light turned green, but since we were in the police car, people just sat behind us, patiently waiting for us to go.

“But something happened to me,” he said. “I realized that I want to be a part of you girls' lives again. I've been hiding behind my work and alcohol, using that as an excuse not to get to know you, but I'm tired of making excuses. Please talk to me. What's going on with you? It's not like you to get into fights. Even though the charges against Allen were dropped, I know this stuff has to have affected you.” He gave a dry laugh. “I know I haven't helped matters. I'm your father. I'm supposed to be the first example you see of how to be treated in a relationship, but I haven't done a good job the last few years. I can't change the past, but I can start doing things differently right now. I'm really trying to change, baby. I haven't had a drink since the break-in at the house, and you know I've been going to church.”

Someone behind us finally honked, and Daddy looked up like he had just realized where we were. The light was turning yellow, and we eased on through it and Daddy pulled over the first chance he got.

“What's going on, Courtland? Please talk to me.”

I shrugged. “Just teenage stuff—you know, female issues,” I said, figuring that would turn him off. Most guys hated any kind of allusion to menstrual cycles.

“Do you need some medicine?” he asked.

“I really just want to lie down.” I grabbed my stomach for emphasis, and he nodded and pulled off without another word.

When we finally made it home, Momma was lying on the sofa in the den, and Aunt Dani was sitting there with her watching
A Wedding Story
on The Learning Channel.

“So what'd they do to you?” Aunt Dani asked, grinning at me as she threw the remote on the table.

“Dani, please,” Momma said, rubbing her head like she had a headache.

“Girl, you know I want the details. I thought I was the wild one in the family. Now it looks like Corky is following in my footsteps. I've been training her well.” Her face lit up, like I had gotten all A's on my report card.

“Dani, this isn't cute,” Momma said, letting out a violent cough. She turned to me. “Why were you fighting?”

Everyone looked at me expectantly, and I just stood there. How could I explain everything that had led up to me punching Bree?

“Will you guys just leave me alone?” I screamed. Momma looked like I had slapped her. I ran out of the room, ignoring Momma insisting that I get back there.

As I closed my door, I heard Daddy telling her to leave me alone, and I breathed a sigh of relief. For the first time in my life, he seemed to have my back.

Exhaustion slapped me in the face the moment I spotted my bed. I had been up all night, and suddenly I was tired enough to sleep for a month. I climbed into the bed, pulled the covers over my head and prayed that when I woke up this day would be only a bad dream.

I woke
up to the smell of smoke along with the chirping of the smoke detector and someone screaming.

Still half-asleep, I jumped up and banged my toe on the edge of the bed as I made my way to the door.

“Step back,” I heard Momma yell.

I fanned the smoke from in front of my face and headed toward the voices, trying to figure out what was going on.

“Donna, help me,” Aunt Dani yelled.

Fully awake, I ignored the pain in my toe and sprinted to the kitchen, my mind racing as I tried to figure out a way out of the burning house.

“Momma,” I yelled.

“Corky, stay back,” Aunt Dani yelled.

I stopped at the entry to the kitchen and burst out laughing when I took in the scene. Momma was calmly sitting at the table peeling potatoes while Aunt Dani, covered in flour, was standing near the stove wearing a long apron and oven mitts, shaking a fork at a skillet on the stove. She looked like a baseball catcher trying to get a hit.

“What's going on?” I asked.

“Girl, this grease keeps popping me,” Aunt Dani said, almost tripping in her high heels.

“That's what grease does, Dani,” Momma said calmly.

“Is the chicken burning?” I asked. I walked over to the stove, elbowing Aunt Dani out of the way to look in the skillet. It looked like Aunt Dani had just put a drumstick in there because it was still covered with flour, but the bits of chicken crust at the bottom of the skillet were burning.

I shook my head and grabbed the fork from her. “I'll do it,” I said.

She looked relieved as she tossed her hair out of the way and switched over to sit next to my mother at the table. She picked up a potato, looked at it for a second, then put it back down and sat back and watched us work.

“Well, I tried to be domesticated,” she said, crossing her arms. “My man is just going to have to accept the fact that we'll be eating out after we get married.”

“You're getting married?” I screamed, turning toward her. “Miles proposed?”

“No, but I'll get a proposal soon,” she said confidently.

“Can I be one of your bridesmaids?” I asked.

She shrugged. “I guess.”

“Gee, thanks,” I said sarcastically, turning to put more chicken in the skillet. “How are you feeling, Momma?”

“I'll be fine. I'm more worried about you.”

Suddenly I remembered the past twenty-four hours.

“Girl, I thought you were never going to wake up,” Aunt Dani said. “I went up there to check on you, like, five times.”

“Why were you so tired?” Momma asked.

I looked to see if she was trying to catch me in a lie, but she was focused on the potato she was cutting up. “I didn't sleep too well last night,” I said.

“Nervous about the competition?” she asked, and looked at me.

“Well, she doesn't have to worry about that anymore,” Aunt Dani said.

I wanted to roll my eyes at her. Even though she was only a few years older than me and often acted like she was younger, I tried to respect her, but there were times when it was hard.

Aunt Dani glanced at her watch and jumped up. “I've got to run,” she said. “I've got to get ready for tonight.”

“Where were you last night?” I asked and bit my lip the moment the words came out. “I tried calling you, but no one answered.” I prayed they didn't notice how nervous I looked about my lie.

“Girl, I was out with my man. We're going out tonight, too.”

“Well, have fun,” I said.

“Always.” She grabbed her purse and was just about to walk out the door when she spun around. “Oh, I forgot to show you guys my new modeling cards.”

She pulled a card out of her purse, which featured her in a bunch of different poses and had her phone number, e-mail address and a Web site on it. I wasn't an expert, but I didn't see anything that blew me away.

“I think I'm going to try and get some gigs in Atlanta. You know they say that's the black New York.”

“Sounds good,” Momma said, sounding about as interested as I felt.

“See you guys later,” she said. She blew kisses at us, then she was gone.

“Where are Daddy and Cory?” I asked as I turned the chicken.

“Your daddy took her to her tae kwon do class,” she said. “Don't you have a Worth the Wait meeting tonight?”

“Oh, man. I totally forgot,” I said. I had never missed a meeting, but after all I had gone through, there was no way I was going. “I'll just have to catch the next meeting.”

“No, you'll go to this one,” Momma said sharply, slamming her knife on the table. “Apparently you need it.”

I jumped at the sound and turned to look at her.

“Are you ready to tell me what's going on?”

I gulped. “What are you talking about?” I started rearranging the cooked chicken on a paper-towel-covered plate to give me something to do. “Are you going to make green beans?” I didn't wait for her to respond before I went to the cabinet, grabbed a can of beans, then went to the refrigerator and got some chicken broth and bacon, which I started frying in a pot.

“Courtland, look at me,” she demanded.

I turned to face her, still not looking her in the eyes.

“What is going on? You call here early this morning with some crazy excuse about leaving early for a team breakfast and forgetting your cheerleading uniform, then you get suspended from school for punching your best friend. I go into your room and your bed doesn't look like it's been slept in, a strange number is on the caller ID and the bathroom window is partially opened. Something's not adding up here. Did you sneak out of this house last night to see Allen?”

I looked up at her and my eyes widened in shock. “You think I wasn't young once?” she said. “You think I don't know you've still been in touch with him? Baby, talk to me. There's something going on with you I don't know about. I can feel it in my spirit.”

I looked down on the floor, trying to find the words to tell her all that had been going on. I took a deep breath, but before I could say anything, the phone rang.

I lunged for it, but my momma stopped me. “Let it go to voice mail,” she said.

“But, Momma—”

“Courtland,” she said in her warning tone, and I knew to let it go.

The phone rang and rang, and after it stopped, it started up again a few seconds later. Momma sighed and snatched it off the hook.

“Hello,” she snapped. She listened for a few minutes, murmured a few uh-huhs and said a few things I couldn't make out, then she glanced at me before finally saying, “I'll make sure she's there.”

When she hung up, I waited for her to say something, but she went back to making dinner. “Who was that?” I finally asked.

“Andrea. She wanted to know if you were going to be at tonight's meeting.”

“I guess you said yes,” I said, fighting the urge to roll my eyes and neck.

“Go get dressed,” she said. “We're leaving in five minutes.”

“I can drive myself,” I said with an attitude.

“You think I really trust you to do what you say you're going to do?” she asked.

I didn't bother to argue. I went upstairs, ran a comb through my hair, which was all over my head, and stomped downstairs, not really caring how I looked.

Momma and I rode to the church in silence, and when we pulled up, Andrea was at the door greeting everyone who walked in with a hug.

“I'll be back to get you when the meeting is over.” I nodded, watching Bree hug Andrea. “You need to apologize to her,” Momma said softly.

“I will,” I said.

Bree had already gone inside by the time I made it to the door. “Hey, Andrea,” I said, giving our adviser a hug. She gave me a tight squeeze.

“Hey, Courtland. How are you?” She gazed into my eyes like she really wanted to know the answer.

“I'm not having a great day,” I said honestly.

“Bree told me what happened at school, but I want to hear your side. I don't know if I'll be able to talk after tonight's meeting, but I want us to get together soon,” she said.

“Okay.” I really liked the idea. Bree's suggestion that I talk to Andrea made sense. I needed to talk with someone, and Andrea had always been cool and honest. I had a feeling she wouldn't spread all my business, and obviously she knew how to keep a secret, since she hadn't mentioned anything about seeing me at Wal-Mart.

I headed in and looked around for Bree, who was sitting off from the other girls. I slid in next to her.

“Hey,” I said shyly.

She looked up at me. “Hey,” she said and went back to reading her book.

“What are you reading?” I asked.

She closed the book so I could see the cover but then opened it so fast I didn't have a chance to see the title.

“Looks good,” I said, not really knowing what to say.

“Did you come over here for a reason?” she asked, staring at me. I guess she had time to think about what I'd done, and now she was angry. I really couldn't blame her.

Her eye had turned black and it looked like it really hurt.

I couldn't believe I had done that to my best friend.

“Bree, I am so sorry,” I said. “I should have known you would never have told anyone about our conversation. I guess everything that's happened lately built up and I took it out on you. Please forgive me.”

She shrugged and looked down at her book. “I'll consider it,” she said, glancing at me out of the corner of her eye. When I saw her smile, I threw my arms around her.

“I should make you get down on your hands and knees and beg,” she said. “I can't believe you punched me.”

I got on my knees in front of her and clasped my hands. “Please, please, please forgive me,” I said.

A couple of the girls started laughing at us, but I didn't care. I realized at that moment that Bree was a great friend. She always had my back, and even though I had done something horrible to her, she was willing to forgive me.

“What, y'all a couple now?” someone said, and we all burst out laughing.

“She's not my type,” I joked. “I like them tall, dark and sexy.”

“Me, too,” Emily said, and I rolled my eyes, not believing she was admitting to liking black guys. I had always suspected, but her words confirmed it for me.

We quieted down when Andrea walked in.

She smiled. “I see you guys are in a good mood today,” she said.

A few girls nodded.

She grew quiet and glanced around the room. “I see a few of you brought in articles to discuss.”

I groaned to myself, realizing I had forgotten one.

“Today I want to do something a little different. Is that okay?”

I sat back, relieved. Although Andrea wasn't strict, she did like for us all to participate, and I didn't like letting her down.

“Why don't we get a little more comfortable? You guys form a circle with your chairs.”

We got up and dragged our chairs so they were no longer in straight lines, and once we got settled, Andrea walked over to get a beautifully wrapped box along with a Victoria's Secret shopping bag.

“How many of you hugged me when you walked in?” she asked, and all of the girls in the room raised their hands except for one who had come in late.

Andrea smiled and pulled tiny gold boxes out of the bag and handed one to each of us. I shook mine, trying to figure out what could be inside. Andrea gave really good gifts. Once she had given us all white fitted T-shirts with Worth the Wait written in black letters and she had been hinting that she was going to give us purity rings during a purity ball we were planning.

“Don't shake them,” she said. I placed mine on my lap, as did a few of the other girls, although a few still tried to sneak and shake them.

“Who was the first one to give me a hug today?” she asked.

Two girls raised their hands, then glared at each other.

“You know I spoke to you when you came in, Lindsey, so put your hand down,” Maria said.

Lindsey eyed the present and raised her hand higher. “I hugged her first,” she said. “When you came in, Andrea had run to her car, remember?”

Maria lowered her hand.

Andrea handed the present to Lindsey, who bounced in her seat. “Can I open it?” she said.

“Not yet. I want you girls to open the smaller packages first.”

“I want one,” Kaya said, flopping back in her seat. She was the one who had come in late, and her brown eyes glowed with jealousy.

“Are you sure?” Andrea said.