The Price of a Gift (The Price of Secrets Series) (23 page)

It was pretty amazing. I had no clue my gift could evolve like that. I wonder if I pushed my limits with the rest of my abilities, if they would progress as
well? I could think about that later. Right now we need to find Phoebe. "Jaycee, you said you know where she is?"

The knock on the window had the three of us jumping out of our seats. It was Kayla. She opened the door and climbed in beside Jaycee. "Sorry I'm late. I got volunteered into picking up all the gym equipment. So where are we going?" Kayla asked as she put her seatbelt on.

Daniel and I turned to look at Jaycee. She confidently said, "I think we should try the dam first."

We pulled into a gravel parking area beside the lake. My gut told me that Phoebe was close by. Jaycee was smart making the connection. The bridge is right here at the dam and I can hear the cars crossing over it from where we’re standing. Also, the spillway on the dam has been opened. So that could be the sound of rushing water. Plus the dam is only about two miles from Phoebe's house. Daniel parked and we all got out. We walked the path down to the water's edge. I had flashbacks of my Grandfather bringing me down here to fish when I was a little girl. I never had the heart to tell him that I hated fishing. Now I wouldn't trade those memories of him for anything. After walking on the bank for a few minutes, we saw someone up ahead sitting in the
grass.

"Hey, is that
Phebs?" Kayla asked. They couldn't make out if it was her or not because the person was wearing a hoodie.

Yet I knew it was her. I could feel her from all the way over here. Pain and sorrow, she was drowning in it. She had her knees pulled up to her chest and her head was resting on them. "Yeah, that's her." I answered solemnly.

Kayla took off running toward her and we followed. "Phoebe!" Kayla yelled. Phoebe's head jerked up and looked in our direction. Within seconds Kayla was on her knees hugging Phebs. Jaycee and I joined them on the grass. Daniel stayed back a few feet. I figured he was wanting to give us space. Kayla held Phoebe's face in her hands. "Why did you skip school today? We have been worried sick. What's wrong?" It was like watching a mother taking care of her child.

"How did you guys find me?" Phoebe asked. Her beautiful green eyes were red and swollen and her cheeks were
tear stained. Either she didn't put any makeup on this morning or she has cried it all off.

"Lucky guess."
Jaycee said. "What's going on Phebs?"

I laid my hand on Phoebe's knee. I could feel her grief but I refused to look in her mind. Whateve
r she was going through was hers to tell. "You can tell us anything. We are here for you."

"Why? Why are you here for me with the way I've treated you guys?"

"Because we love you. Just because you were mad at us doesn't change that." Kayla said.

Phoebe looked past us at Daniel. He was sitting on the grass looking out over the lake. "You can trust him." I said. "You have my word."

She started crying again. "I'm so sorry. I was mad at you because in the back of my mind I was afraid you guys were right about Brad." We all stayed quiet so she could tell us at her own pace. After wiping her eyes she continued. "Brad told me that y’all were jealous and that I didn't need you guys. I thought he was just being a protective boyfriend." She pulled at a strand of grass and started wrapping it around her finger. "At first he was so sweet. He would send me text messages all the time. Saying stuff like how sexy I am and how lucky he is to have me." She started hitting her forehead with the palm of her hand. "Stupid, I was so stupid. Why didn't I just listen to you?" Her question was to the three of us but she wasn't expecting an answer. "He started doing things here and there that made me uncomfortable. Like he would try to let his hand roam sometimes when we were kissing. But he would stop when I said no. He would just smile and say how he loved a challenge." She gave a humorless laugh. "About a week or so ago we went to the mall. I caught him selling pills to some guy. When I asked him about it he acted like he was going to cry. He said it was just some leftover prescriptions he had and that he did it so he could have money to take me out to eat to a nice restaurant. Said he wanted to spoil me. He begged me not to break up with him. I felt sorry for him. I thought, dang he must really like me to worry about me breaking up with him. After I assured him that I was not leaving him, he tried to get me to have sex with him. Of course I said no. He got a little mad but then said it was just because he wanted me so much and he didn't think I wanted him. I kept telling him that I just wasn't ready. That it didn't have anything to do with him." She paused and looked up at the clouds, as if she was sending up a silent prayer for support. "I thought he was cool with it because the next day he showed up with flowers for me. I remember thinking how lucky I was to have him as my boyfriend." She lost it, and started bawling.

I knew how this story was going to end. I could already feel the fury building up inside of me. I was almost blind with rage. I had to calm myself down, realizing that it wasn't just my anger I was feeling, it was all of ours.
Including Daniel's. Usually I don't really pick up on him, but I sure was now. I looked over at him and saw him picking up rocks and flinging them into the water.

Phoebe
had composed herself enough to speak again. "Two nights ago he picked me up and said he had a surprise for me. We went back to his house. He didn't tell me until we got there that his parents were out of town for a high school reunion. When he opened his front door I was speechless. In front of the fireplace was a blanket on the floor with two place settings on it. There were candles everywhere, just waiting to be lit. And he had made dinner for me. Actually, he heated up food his mom left in the refrigerator for him. He even had music playing in the background. It was like something you would only see on T.V. or in a movie. After we finished eating he pulled me up off the floor and asked me to slow dance with him. We danced to a few songs then he started kissing me. He told me he loved me and that he had never told a girl that before. I felt so special. I told him I loved him too. I don't know if I really loved him or the whole idea of being in love. That was when he started trying to touch me. I said no but then he was like if I love him I would say yes. That he wanted to show me how much he loved me, and that if I say no he will have to stop seeing me cause he wouldn't be able to handle being rejected by me. That scared me, because I didn't want to lose him. I kept trying to say no but it was just happening so fast. I told him that I was a virgin and he said that was ok he would show me what to do." She was sobbing. My heart broke for her. "Before I knew it, he had my shirt off and I just stopped saying no. I figured we were too far into it to say no anymore. And I just let it happen. Why, why, why didn't I just make him take me home?" She laid her head on Kayla's lap.

"
Shhh, it's ok sweetie." Kayla soothed.

After a few silent minutes,
Phoebe sat up and used her shirt sleeve to wipe her face. "No it's not. When it was over he took me straight home. He leaned over and kissed me goodbye and he drove away. Yesterday I text him but he never text me back. So then I started calling him. I kept leaving him messages but he never called me back. Then this morning I text him that I was worried about him and that I was going to go by his house to make sure he was ok. That was when he finally text me back. It said, and I quote, 'it's just not working out between us but we could still be friends'." She let out a scream. "I gave him the one thing I can't take back, that I can't replace, and he texts me that! Why didn't I just listen to you Hannah? I just can't believe I fell for his crap and now nobody is gonna want to be with me. I've ruined myself."

I grabbed her hands. "You listen to me right now. First of all, any guy would be lucky to have you as their girlfriend. And second of all, nobody ever has to find out. This will stay between us.
Phebs, you have not ruined yourself. You made a mistake. Everyone makes them. You will not allow that scum to define who you are. We don't look at you any differently and you shouldn't either. You are one of the strongest people I know. You will get through this and we are going to help you."

I looked over at Jaycee expecting to see her getting ready to chime in. Instead, she was sitting there shaking. She got to her feet and started pacing.
"That bastard! Who does he think he is?" She took a deep breath. "He must pay. Hear my words, hear ..."

I never even saw Daniel get up, but there he was standing behind Jaycee with his hand on her
shoulder. "Jaycee stop. You need to calm down." He relaxed his tone. "I just mean that Phoebe needs your energy to be positive and focused on her."

Without a word Jaycee went to Phoebe and sat down beside her and hugged her. After she calmed down she said, "Don't worry. Your secret is safe with us. Nobody will ever know that you were out in public in a sweatshirt and no makeup on." Jaycee was back to normal. But what ever happened between her and Daniel was crazy weird.

.......So when Samantha came to me pleading that I help Phoebe she must have known this was going to happen. I can't help but feel guilty. If I had been honest with Phoebe and trusted her with my secret maybe none of this would have happened. Because then I would've been able to just tell her what I saw that day at my pool party instead of sounding judgy and accusing. Jaycee tried to make me feel better by reminding me that it's not just my secret, but my family's too. Which is true, but I still feel like I let both Phoebe and Samantha down. At least Phebs is doing better now and is starting to act like herself. It took a while to convince her that her life wasn't over, that she can't take back what happened but she can learn from it. Next time she meets a creep she will see the warning signs quicker. She's still not sure if she is going to tell her mom or not. I hope she does. Moms seem to always know how to make things better and say the right things. (I think it's because they have already went through their teens and either had the same problems or had a friend that did.) The four of us even went dress shopping together today. I must say we are going to be the hottest girls at my birthday party. Phebs needs this distraction, heck, all four of us do. We even talked Phoebe into letting Chase be her date for the party. I know it will be as friends but it will help her get back to normal. And she trusts Chase. When I gave Daniel his invitation he promised he would be there. He said he wouldn't miss it for the world. He even asked me if I would be his date. I said yes. Shocker, I know. I can't wait until he sees me in my dress. Or better yet, I can't wait to see him see me in my dress.

Chapter 17

"Today is the big day!" I said to myself as I got out of bed. I looked over at my alarm clock. It's only eight so I must be excited to be up at this hour on a Saturday. I have so much to do today before the party. Tracey, my mom's friend and our hair stylist, is fixing mine and Jaycee's hair after lunch. Then we are going to the rec center and are getting dressed there. So I have to take a shower and pack up my makeup bag and bring my dress and stuff with me. I checked in with Kayla and Phoebe last night and invited them to come early so they could get ready with us. Kayla, Jaycee and I have been treating Phoebe like she is gonna break or something. She finally got sick of it and told us to knock it off, which was a good sign that she's doing much better. I'm supposed to call Jaycee at nine to make sure she is awake. Mike got his license last week so he is dropping her off at the salon to meet me. Thinking of Jaycee's boyfriend makes me think of my almost boyfriend. Even though Daniel assured me he will be there tonight, I'm worried. He has been gone for the past three days visiting his grandparents in Oklahoma. He is supposed to be back home sometime this morning. And let me just say that the last three days have been torture for me. I can't express how much I have missed him, school just wasn't the same without him. If I sat down and gave myself time to think about it I would probably be freaked out because of how attached I am to him already. I literally feel like half of me has been missing since Daniel left. Oh my gosh, how pathetic do I sound right now. Go get yourself some breakfast Hannah and snap out of it.

"Good morning, my almost sixteen year old daughter." Mom was already in the kitchen making breakfast.

"Good morning my almost..." My smart remark was interrupted.

"If you finish that sentence there will be no pancakes for you." Mom pretended to take my plate away. "Are you ready for your party?"

"Yes, I can't wait. I have my whole day planned out."

"Good. Jaycee's mom and I are going to finish decorating the rec center while you girls get ready. Your dad is going to meet us there later. He didn't get home until after one o'clock this morning and I'm going to let him get his rest." Mom looked up and saw Dad walk into the kitchen. "Well, speak of the devil. What are you doing up?"

Dad walked over and kissed me on top of my head then walked over to kiss Mom good morning. "I woke up when you got out of bed and I couldn't go back to sleep. I figured you would need my help today."

I heard Dad leave last night while I was on the phone with Kayla but I didn't think anything more about it. "Why were you out so late?" I asked.

"I started group counseling for a family recently. Last night the father called me and wanted me to meet him at the hospital. His son tried to commit suicide by taking a handful of pills." Dad poured himself a cup of coffee. "I stayed with them for support. The frustrating thing is that I felt that this boy was falling into a deep depression. I tried to tell the parents my concerns, but they were too involved with their own problems to heed my warnings. So last night they got to watch their child have his stomach pumped."

"That's terrible." I wanted to ask more questions, but with patient confidentiality, I knew that was all the information I was going to get out of him. It made me think of myself doubts about the way I handled Phoebe's situation. I knew Dad was feeling the same type of guilt. "I believe that
everything happens for a reason. Maybe this had to happen to prevent something worse."

Dad smiled. "You're a smart kid. Maybe you should take your own advice." He had picked up on my fears about Phoebe. No fair. Just when I thought I had this whole mind blocking thing figured out. Being his daughter makes it very difficult to get away with anything.

We drove into downtown Hudson, which to be honest, is a short drive. Mom dropped me off at Martin & Co., the salon where Tracey works, and left to go pick up the cake and appetizers while I get my hair done. Mike pulled into the parking lot before I walked inside, so I waited on Jaycee. She got out of the car and blew Mike a kiss. "Barf." I teased.

"Oh hush." She said in an uncharacteristically happy tone. "This is our day Hannah. Tonight is
gonna be epic. There's magic in the air, I can feel it. And no, it is not because it's Halloween." She entwined her arm with mine. "Let's go get gorgeous."

"Whatever you're taking, you need to take it
every day."

"Haven't heard from Daniel yet huh?" She asked.

I shook my head. I hate being that transparent, even to Jaycee.

"Don't worry. He'll be there tonight." We went inside, ready for Tracey to work her own form of magic.
Which included tweezers, scissors, combs, brushes, hair spray, gels and more.

After we were done, and had promised to send pictures of our dresses to Tracey, Mom drove us to the rec center. It was unrecognizable. The transformation was astonishing. The first thing I saw
was white strands of light all over the ceiling. Silver, black and white decorations were everywhere. There was a disco ball hanging in the center of the dance floor. Each table was set up with black tablecloths, white silk rose petals and silver battery operated candelabra centerpieces. Mom said using real candles would be a fire hazard, but these were just as pretty. Mom even put a basket at the front door with a few extra masks just in case someone needs one. I saw Dad over in the corner setting up a smoke machine. It will be just enough to cover the concrete floor and give the illusion of walking on a cloud. Our parents have worked really hard on this place. Now I feel bad for asking them to stay in the kitchen area when the party starts. Well, almost.