Chapter Thirteen— Well, Not Quite a Honey Tree

As I passed Nickolas’ car on the way to gym, it was nothing more than a painful reminder that he hadn’t spoken to me in five days. Not a word, not a glance. I sat next to him and he couldn’t be bothered to talk to the girl that stayed with him for two days.

Whatever.

Mona set her lunch tray beside mine and sat down. I tried not to look at Nickolas as he sat alone at the corner table. Some girls passed him and decided to engage him. Not that I noticed.

“You look pissed,” Mona pointed out. “And you have been since Tuesday. What’s up?”

“Nothing.” I didn’t look her in the eye because I knew she’d know I was lying. I opened my milk and glanced back at Nickolas. The girls were sitting all around him and he was wearing a smile that made me burn.

“Oh. Fuck.” When I looked, Mona was staring back at Nickolas. “It happened. You fell for him.”

I blinked. “Um, no. I did not fall for him. I’m mad at him.”

She looked at me with attitude as her brow rose and her arms crossed. She even crossed her legs. “Sure. What did he do? Make you fall in love with him?”

I huffed. “No. He’s acting like he can’t even see me. I don’t have a clue why. I stayed with him all weekend and now it’s like he—”

Mona spat her water out and yelled. “WHAT THE FUCK!?” Every eye was on us. “YOU SLEPT WITH HIM?!”

“No,” I said quieter. I looked as casually as I could and I saw Nickolas watching me. I guess that got his attention. “But thanks for making the school think I’m a moron.”

She wiped her mouth. “Jesus. You scared me. Why did you stay with him all weekend if you didn’t have sex? Isn’t that the point of a sleepover?”

“What kind of sleepovers do you have?”

She smirked. “Good ones.”

I smiled only halfway. “I was stuck out in the rain and the other option was to sleep on the porch. Nickolas drove by and said I could stay with him.”

She looked at me skeptically. “Where did you sleep?”

“Guest room.”

“Did you spend the weekend with just him?”

No. “Yeah. I worked on our project.”

Still so much disbelief in her eyes. “Nick doesn’t like people. Why would he just find kindness in his heart for you? I don’t get it.”

I shrugged.

“Do you like him?”

I played dumb. “As opposed to hate? Sure. I don’t hate him.”

“No,” she patted my knee. “I mean, do you wanna get all up on that,” she pointed to him. He didn’t notice. He was back talking to that girl. His arms were on the table and he was leaning into her, smiling like she was a long lost puppy. “That fucker,” Mona said. I just noticed she was staring at him. “You have a thing for him and he’s just flirting with that whore. KNOCK IT OFF, WEAVER!” She threw a carrot at his head.

I looked forward immediately. “I hate you.”

“You’re welcome, babe.”

Ten seconds and then a carrot was dropped on the table. Nickolas’ hands appeared on the table as he bent down. “I think you dropped this.”

“I didn’t, douche,” Mona said. “I threw it at you. You have something going on with my girlfriend and you’re flirting with some whore. What’s your deal?”

“I never said we had anything going on,” I told her.

She tapped her nails on the table and looked up at Nickolas. “You let her sleep at your house for two days. Why?”

He laughed. “She didn’t sleep in my house.”

“Huh?”

I turned my eyes to him as he said, “She never slept at my house. Where did you hear that?”

Are you kidding me?

Mona looked confused. “Um, Posey told me.”

All I could do was stare at him while he lied. “Now, why would she say a thing like that? Does someone wanna get my attention? A little desperate, don’t you think?”

I felt like I was punched in the stomach. I didn’t know why he was lying and I didn’t care. The fact that after everything that happened last weekend, he was doing this, I just couldn’t bear it.

How, how was this that same boy from Saturday? The one who pretty much took care of me? The one who gave me his mother’s dress?

I stood up and grabbed my backpack so I could run far away from here. “I’ll see you later, Mona.” I started walking, trying to ignore the burning in my eyes.

I was out the door before I was caught by the arm. Mona. “What’s going on? Why was he lying?”

“You believe me?”

She smiled. “Of course I do, sweet pea. You don’t seem the type to lie about something so unbelievable. I sure would like to know what has him lying.”

I think I knew why. He didn’t want anyone thinking that he could care at all about me. And he didn’t. Dahlia was the only reason he stopped his car. That was fine with me. I could live with her and Mona being the only ones who cared about me.

“Doesn’t matter,” I sniffled. “I need to get to class.”

Nickolas busted out of the cafeteria and Mona hissed at him.

“What?” he smiled like the cocky prick he was. “Don’t get pissy cuz your orphan thinks that the way to get in my pants is to lie.”

“Christ, you are such an asshole,” she snapped. “How about you go get hit by a bus, save the world one step at a time.”

I walked past the both of them, this time, Mona didn’t follow. I went straight to my next class and sat down.

I felt mortified beyond words. I shouldn’t be embarrassed in front of Mona. She knew the truth. Most of it. She though I could somehow have feelings for Nickolas. I don’t even hate myself that much, to like a guy like him.

Class was about to start when Nickolas finally came in. He sat beside me and didn’t say a word. I was fine with that. The only things I had to say to him were hostile.

When class started, all I could do was try not to look at him. I couldn’t understand a thing that was going on between us. Everything, I told him everything. And he told me a decent amount of stuff. I don’t need to be his friend, but I wanted to at least be treated like a person.

I felt a meltdown coming and right in the middle of class, I stood.

“Do you have something to say?” Mars asked as I was putting my things into my backpack.

I felt all eyes on me, including the pair I wish I didn’t care about. “Not a thing,” I said before I walked out of the room. I didn’t look back.

I got on my bike and started peddling, hoping it would keep me from crying from stress. I just felt so broken.

When I pass that bitch’s house, I slammed my foot on the pedals, making me come to a sudden stop. There were a great many things that would never be right in this world. Almost none of them I could fix. This, this I would fix.

I parked my bike and got off of it. I pulled my tie off and dropped my backpack on the sidewalk. The car was gone and I only hoped that it meant the whore wasn’t here. Maybe she had a job being a bitch somewhere.

I went around back, breaking the lock off of the fence to get into the backyard. The second I was there, I knew I was doing the right thing. There was a very large pinecone tree in the corner. Around it, a rope with six feet of slack. The end had a collar on it. I bit back my rage to find the puppy.

Once I was at the back door, I tried opening it. Locked, like I thought it would be. But as luck would have it, the window was open. I walked over to it and got on my tiptoes to ply the screen off. With a crack, I snapped the plastic. Oh well. I chucked it over the fence so they wouldn’t suspect until it was too late.

Now the tricky part. I hopped up and caught the stucco wall with the tips of my toes and the ledge of the window with my fingers. The wall started crumbling as my feet scraped it. I was losing balance. I pulled myself up and got half of my body in, making me halfway in and out.

“I’m Winnie the fucking Pooh,” I huffed to myself as my legs swung. I got enough momentum to fall inside of the house and land on my ass. I made a sound as I struggled to get up.

First things first. I whistled to try and hear where the dog was. I was in the kitchen, and she was nowhere to be seen. I had sight of the whole bottom floor and she just wasn’t here.

I heard a bark in the distance and I could tell it was from upstairs. I followed the sound and got up to a hallway. When I turned my head, my heart shattered.

The puppy saw me and yipped in excitement. She tried running for me but the chain around her neck stopped her suddenly, making her cry out in pain. I ran to her and dropped to my knees, finding a way to get it off of her.

“Shh,” I said. “Stay still.”

She wouldn’t stop jumping, even when it hurt her. The chain around her neck was more than a choke chain. It had prongs on the inside, making it dig into her every time she moved too much. I unsnapped it and she was free. She ran onto my lap and licked my face. Such a dog, being abused by people and still so trusting of humans. Then, I wasn’t a human.

“It’s okay, baby,” I said as I petted her. The red dots peeking through the fur on her neck were filling me with more anger. Beside her little prison, past the puddles of pee, were two bowls that were too far for her to reach. One without food and one without water. Both bone dry. She hadn’t had water in god knew how long. “I’m taking you home, Scully.” I renamed her something I liked, I didn’t care about what they call her.

I took her downstairs and to the kitchen. I set her down and started looking around for a bag of food. She followed me like, well, a puppy. Under the kitchen sink, I found three bags of dog food and some bowls. I couldn’t feed her here. Not when that cow could be home any time. I grabbed the bags, the bowls, and Scully before I went out the back door. I left it open, hoping they would just assume she got out. I did the same with the fence.

“Stay,” I told her when I set her on the sidewalk. She did as she was told and I put the stolen items in my backpack. Then I picked her up again and walked my bike home.

No one was home, so getting her to my room was easy. I set her on the floor and closed the door. Then I filled her dishes with food and water. Both were empty in five minutes. I filled them again and decided I probably had to kill those people.

I went to my closet and started making a little area for her. I didn’t have a dog bed, but I had a pillow for her that she was small enough for. I set up her food and water in there. When I was at school, she’d need to stay in there. It would be difficult to try and hide her from the Thunes till I had a plan, but I was without a choice.

I played with Scully for a while before I felt my phone vibrating. I didn’t know the number, but I answered it. “Hello?”

“Posey?” I heard someone sniffle.

“Dahlia? Honey, is that you?”

“Um, Nicky left his phone on the table and I hit the button. It asked me what I wanted and I said you and then it started ringing.” Guess my number was in his phone. Literally couldn’t imagine why. “Can you please come home? I miss you.”

My chest ached. Home. Like I belonged there or something. “Dahlia,” I said, hardly holding it together. “Sweetheart, I don’t think—”

She cried. “Please, please come back. Nicky said you don’t want to come over anymore and I told him that you would miss me and he just said I couldn’t see you anymore.”

I wanted to kill him. I really did. I could picture it in my head, my hands around his throat, cutting off his air. “I miss you, so, so much,” I told her. “But, but I can’t come and see you. Nicky doesn’t want me there and you need to listen to him.”

She cried hard enough to start hiccuping. “But I don’t understand. Why can’t you come? I wanna see you again. Did I scare you when I was my coyote?”

“No,” I said in a second. “I love you, Dahlia. I wish that I could be in your life, but Nicky’s right. I don’t belong there.” That was when I lost it. The tears that hurt came and I just couldn’t do a thing to stop them. Somebody finally loved me, and not only could I not see her, but I was shattering her tiny heart. She didn’t know why I couldn’t see her. All she knew, was that she asked to see me and I told her no.

“Don’t cry, Posey,” she said through her own tears. “Just come back home and we can be happy.”

“What are you doing?” I heard Nickolas’ voice as he took the phone from her.

I heard her scream. “GIVE IT BACK! POSEY, CAN YOU HEAR ME!?”

“Posey?” he said into the phone.

I tried to even out my voice. “She called. You need to have a talk with her. And you better not tell her some bullshit about me not wanting to see her. Tell her the truth.”

There was a pause. “You don’t get to tell me how to raise my kid.” I could still hear her screaming for me. Asking him to make me come back to her.

I couldn’t fight him. There was no stopping him or changing his mind. “Fine. Could you at least tell her I love her. Please?” my voice cracked.

He hung up.

And I couldn’t stop crying.

***

“Thanks for the ride,” I told Mona before I went to get out of her car. She said she could bring me to my new job for a few weeks. Then it would collide with her mascot stuff.

“No problemo, honey bunny. Anything I can do to help.” She hugged me. “Feel better, and call if you need anything. Otherwise I’ll be here later to pick you up.” She kissed my cheek and I said my goodbye before going in.

The building was pretty small. An open area in the front and the kitchen round back. I headed in and was given my instructions. Peel potatoes and then mash them. I could do that.

I sat at the table with ten bags of potatoes and peeled, all while trying to not look at Nickolas. He was moving around the back of the room and I just couldn’t stand the sight of him.

I couldn’t sleep the night before, being petrified that Dahlia thought I hated her. I had no clue what Nickolas told her after he hung up, and I’d have to ask him. I didn’t know if he’d tell the truth. He lied to Mona and tried to make me look desperate and crazy. Why? Fun? I didn’t earn the treatment I got. But then again, I never really got treated well.

“Excuse me?” I heard in a familiar and sexy voice.

Nickolas turned to Nash as he entered the room. “Get out of here. I didn’t change my mind and I won’t. So stop following me.”

Nash passed him. “I’m not here for you. I’m here for her.” He pointed to me and my heart raced.

“Her,” Nickolas scoffed. “What the hell could you want with her?”

Nash arched an eyebrow. “I don’t like that you’re insinuating that she has nothing to offer. But, she’s none of your concern and neither is our conversation.” He looked to me. “A word, Posey?”

I got up and tried to keep the excited grin off of my face as I walked around the counter to him. Nickolas went back to the stove and I stood with Nash. “Yeah?”

He smiled at me and I almost melted. “Well, I understand that I don’t know you very well, but I would like to. I wanted to ask if you’d like to have dinner with me next Saturday night.”

This stunning man wanted to go on a date with me. No one ever asked me out. I couldn’t say yes fast enough.

“Good.” Nash smiled wider. “I have a place in mind. Small, intimate. You should dress up.” He told me where it was. “I can pick you up around six if that works for you.”

“It does.” I’d have to go through Mona’s closet for something nice to wear but I didn’t think she’d mind.

“I’ll see you then.” He nodded. Then he put his lips on mine for half a second before he left.

“Huh.” I smiled to myself before I sat back down for the rest of my shift. I would be in bliss if I weren’t still worried about Dahlia. Either way, I was humming while I peeled the potatoes. After I was done, I had to take them to the stove to cook. I stood beside Nickolas but I hardly noticed.

“You let him kiss you,” Nickolas said without inflection.

I didn’t look at him. “And?”

“And you hardly know him. I told you that he was dangerous and you needed to stay clear, so you decide to start dating him?”

“Yup.” I smiled.

“Your funeral.” He walked away… and came right back. “Do you understand what will happen if you sleep with him? If you haven’t already.”

Already? What did he think of me? “Its none of your business. Nothing involving me is your business. Not anymore.”

He shut his eyes. “Don’t have sex with him. Please.”

“Why?”

His eyes opened and the numbness was gone. “Because it might make him more attached to you than you’d like.”

My eyebrow rose. “That’s the point of sex, to enhance a relationship. And you and I have no relationship to speak of. Again, this isn’t your business. You decided to be an asshole and try to make Mona think I’m a psycho. You’re also the one that’s making Dahlia miserable. That is why I’m done with you.” I poked his chest.

I went back to cooking and he went off to pout. I started humming again because he couldn’t ruin my good mood. Not that it was something I would have to justify, but I wouldn’t sleep with Nash. Not unless I loved him. I had so little. I couldn’t just give parts of myself away like that unless I knew the person I was giving it to was going to take care of them.

Nickolas lurked around all afternoon. Bumping into me, muttering. I ignored him. I just thought of Nash and what he had planned. I didn’t know the protocol for a date. Boys never gave me much attention growing up. One or two, but it was nothing.

So I stood there, fretting and giddy over what was to come.