The Road to L.A. (6 page)

              "That's not good," Carly replied. 

To which Aaron retorted, "Not at all."

Carly couldn’t help but notice how flirtatious Amanda had suddenly become with Jake.  She watched, her curiosity mounting, as Amanda continued to latch herself onto the handsome quarterback.  She laughed sweetly at every word he said.  The female twin's gaze remained locked on Jake’s face as if he were an idol she revered. At that moment, Carly felt a pang of jealousy.  And it absolutely horrified her.  She struggled to deny it, but she had clearly felt it.  It was writhing inside of her now as she watched Jake and Amanda intently, their bodies so close together and his arm wrapped around the pretty twin's shoulders.  She shook her head in an attempt to clear her thoughts.       

              “Look what Judy Crayson is wearing,” Aaron remarked, cutting through her silent brooding. 

Carly followed his gaze and noted Judy’s mismatched attire.  She nodded in agreement and laughed out loud.  She also silently thanked Aaron for the change in topic.  In fact, she almost felt the urge to reach over and hug him. Carly had to admit that she enjoyed Aaron’s company.  They sat on the log for what seemed hours, commenting on people’s outfits and pointing out eccentric hairstyles.  When Aaron didn’t have his nose in a book, he could actually be engaging and amusing all at the same time.  And he was extremely funny. 

Every so often, though, Carly glanced in Jake’s direction, curious about what he and Amanda were doing.  She looked now and almost wished she hadn’t done so.  The embers of jealous emotion were now lit and seemed to grow in intensity as she continued to spy on them.  Amanda was squeezing the toned muscle on Jake’s upper arm.  It wasn’t the squeezing and friendly touching that bothered Carly, it was how close Amanda was to him.  They were so close, they could have easily locked lips.  Carly jerked her head back to the bonfire and silently reprimanded herself for her silly thoughts.   

              “Carly, are you even listening?” Aaron asked, waving his arms in front of her face. 

              “Huh?” Carly mumbled.  He shook his head and chuckled at her sheepish expression. 

“Sorry, I’m just a bit distracted, I guess.”

“You think?” he replied sarcastically with a huge grin on his face.  He playfully ruffled her hair before standing up and stretching.

              “I’ll be right back.  I’m going to find a restroom.”

Carly watched as Aaron sauntered away. 

Attempting to resist the urge, but losing the battle, Carly’s gaze shot back in Jake's direction.  Again, she wished she hadn’t done so.  Even though it looked as though Amanda had put some distance between herself and Jake, an even larger threat had materialized.  Carly immediately recognized Susan, and the blonde cheer captain had her skinny hands all over Jake's arm.  She still had her cheerleading outfit on, as did her entourage of girlfriends.  Amanda joined Carly in front of the bonfire moments later, mumbling something about “skinny" and "annoying sluts.”  The twin plopped herself next to Carly on the log and wrinkled her nose in disgust. 

              “She just shows up like she owns the place and sinks her bony claws into him like she owns him!” Amanda sputtered. 

Carly was thankful that Aaron returned only seconds later with a bottle of water.   

              “Damn, just looking at her makes me sick to my stomach,” Amanda growled, still staring at her nemesis. 

              “That’s the beer that’s making you sick, Mandy, “ Aaron said, grinning devilishly.  Amanda shot him a malevolent glare, failing to find even a hint of humor in his remark.

              "Here, have some water," he said. 

Amanda just glared at the bottle in his outstretched hand before emitting a loud groan and stomping off. 

              "She's going to be hurting tomorrow."

              "Yup," Carly concurred. 

Turning to spy further on her best friend, she was met with the sight of Jake accompanying Susan to a trail that led into a heavily wooded area.  She followed their departure with narrowed eyes, biting at her lower lip in a sudden state of agitation. 

              “What’s wrong?” Aaron asked, taking note of her troubled expression. 

Aaron’s voice, however, seemed like a faraway echo hardly worth noticing.  Carly shot up and stood on tiptoe, watching Jake and Susan’s retreat into the wooded area until she could no longer see them.  Just as Amanda had done moments earlier, Carly groaned loudly and stomped away.  Aaron was left alone to ponder what had gotten into his sister and now his friend.

Approaching Roy, Carly rudely interrupted the conversation he was having with a pretty brunette.  He noted the annoyance in Carly’s tone, and thus did not protest. 

              “Where did Jake go off to?  And why was he with Susan?” Carly demanded with both hands on her hips. 

Roy held up both of his hands and stepped back, attempting to pacify her. 

“Whoa, little lady, I don’t know where Jake is.” 

              “Don’t try to cover for him, Roy,” Carly continued in the same demanding tone. 

              “Look,” Roy finally admitted, “he left with Susan.  Where they went, I don’t know.” 

Roy’s expression suddenly mutated from one of confusion to one of newfound curiosity.

              “Why does it matter anyway?  Roy asked, folding his arms across his broad chest. 

              “It doesn’t.  I-it’s just that, uh…”Carly stammered.  She was having trouble explaining herself.  Thankfully, Amanda appeared and saved her from further embarrassment.   

              “It’s because Susan is a skank and Jake should stay as far away from her as possible.” Amanda blurted this out so loudly that almost everyone there had heard it and were now laughing. 

              “You’re drunk, Mandy.  You need to tone it down,” Roy advised her.  His face had taken on an uncharacteristically serious expression.   

Just then, Susan came bounding toward them with Jake reluctantly following behind her.  The blonde appeared to be bubbling over with anger as evinced by the deep scowl on her face.  She came to a screeching halt just a few safe feet in front of Amanda. 

              “I heard what you said about me!  What is your fucking problem?” Susan burst out, then stepped back a few more feet just in case the drunken twin decided to attack her.  

              “You, you’re my problem.  You’re not good enough for Jake,” Amanda returned, keeping a surprisingly calm stance.

              “And what makes you think you know what’s good for him?” Susan challenged, placing her hands firmly on her thin hips. 

The confrontation had attracted a huge crowd of people as they watched the two girls.  Some of the bystanders weren't at all above instigating a fight as they gasped and groaned at the angry words emanating from both girls.   

Amanda puffed up and answered, “I know what's good for him because I'm his friend.  In fact, I've been his friend for a long time."   

Taking a daring step toward Susan, Amanda added for good measure, "And I don't think he should be dating a skank like you.”

A collective gasp sounded out from the crowd. 

Susan squealed with anger and instinctively lunged at Amanda, her arms flailing about as if she would scratch Amanda to death.  Amanda simply sidestepped and laughed at Susan’s feeble attempt to strike her.  Susan quickly gathered and composed herself and decided to go about this in a lady-like fashion. She glanced at Carly and demanded that the girl accompany her on a little walk to calm her frazzled nerves.  Carly gritted her teeth at the thought, but obliged out of pure courtesy. 

Before departing, though, Susan turned to Amanda and threatened through clenched teeth, “This isn’t over.” 

Having anticipated a physical altercation, the disappointed crowd booed as the cheerleading captain left the scene.  Carly could hear Amanda shouting that whenever Susan was ready for a re-match, she would be waiting.  Susan ignored Amanda’s threat.  At the moment, the skinny cheerleading captain had more important matters to handle.  Carly remained anxiously curious about Susan’s motive for a “stroll,” knowing instinctively that the purported walk was nothing but a pretense.  They continued at a steadfast pace, no words spoken for a long while.  Carly’s apprehension continued to grow until she could no longer contain herself.  She turned to Susan and asked, “Why did you ask me to go for a walk with you?”

Susan sighed slowly, chewing at her lower lip while searching for the right words.  Susan’s apparent hesitancy only served to intensify Carly’s apprehension. 

              “Look,” Susan started, “I know you and Amanda are, like, really close to Jake.”  Carly nodded and her eyes narrowed on Susan’s face. 

              “But, Jake and I decided tonight that we are going to date.  I'm his girlfriend now.” The last part was said with a boastful tone.

Carly’s throat knotted up and she felt as if she would asphyxiate right there in front of Susan.  But she held her ground and continued to listen to what Susan had to say. 

              “And since Jake and I are together now, I just feel as if…”

Susan looked at Carly, but only briefly.  The blonde quickly averted her gaze. Carly took note of how uncomfortable Susan was and it made her equally uncomfortable. 

              “Just spit it out,” Carly said, growing impatient. 

              “I just think you and Amanda shouldn’t be hanging out with Jake as much anymore.  It just wouldn’t seem…” Susan fished for the right word, then concluded, “…appropriate.” 

Carly could feel the knot in her throat restricting all airflow, and she swallowed hard to hold back the angry tears that were struggling to burst through. 

              “Sorry, Carly.  If you were in my situation you’d probably want the same thing, right?”

              “We’ve all been friends for years, Susan.  You can’t expect…” 

Carly couldn’t finish.  She suddenly hated this selfish bitch that was intent on breaking up close-knit friendships that had endured for so long.  Jake was like family to her, and she couldn’t bear the thought of someone taking that away from her. 

Composing herself somewhat, Carly replied bitterly, “I need some time alone, please."

She turned and walked away, leaving Susan by herself.  What she wanted right now was refuge, a place to cry.  She figured the cluster of trees at the edge of Taylor’s property would provide her some sanctuary.  Her brisk walk soon turned into a hurried jog.  The tears had started to fall, and she didn’t want anyone to see her.  Susan’s words replayed themselves over and over again in her mind.  She just couldn't fathom that Jake would purposely jeopardize their close friendship for a superficial, selfish bitch that he barely even knew.  And so much for trying to be friends with Susan and her popular cheerleader clique. That definitely wouldn't be happening now.  In her mind, Susan was her enemy.

Carly slowed when she had reached the wooded area and slumped down on a large rock.  She buried her face in her hands and tried to steady herself.  She was in the process of calming her emotions when she heard the pounding footsteps approaching hastily.

              “Carly!”

She recognized the voice and at first decided not to respond.  But when the voice called out for her again, she spoke up.

“I’m here, Jake.” 

He followed the sound of her voice, and in mere seconds he was standing before her in the moonlight. 

              “What do you want?” she asked in a small voice, hoping her eyes weren’t red and puffy. 

              “I saw you take off.  You looked upset.  So I followed you.”

              “I’m fine, Jake,” was all Carly said in that same small voice. 

Carly was surprised when Jake chuckled and said, “You’re full of shit.  I know when something is wrong with you.”

Carly didn’t immediately respond.  

              “What’s wrong?  You can tell me,” Jake prompted.

She sighed and looked up at her tall, handsome friend.

“Why did I ever think that you would never end up dating some horrible, self-centered bitch.  I must’ve been crazy.” 

              “Is this about Susan?” Jake asked. 

Carly’s silence confirmed Jake’s suspicion. 

“Are you jealous?” he teased, his blue eyes sparkling even in the enveloping darkness.

Carly groaned and stood up.  Her temper was beginning to displace the sadness.

              “Jake Harmon, I am not jealous.  And I don’t think this is funny at all.  I don’t know why you find this all so humorous.” 

Carly turned and stomped off, walking further into the maze of trees.  Naturally, Jake was able to keep up with her, and he continued his banter.

“I like it when you’re angry, Carly.  It’s really sexy.” 

              “Yeah, screw you,” Carly spat.  “No wait, why don’t you go screw that skinny bitch.  It’s obviously what you want.”

              “Now you’re starting to sound like Amanda, insulting people.  Who would’ve thought,” Jake said. 

              “Yeah, well maybe Amanda and I know what we’re talking about.”