I skip my afternoon classes, choosing to hide out with Toby on the bleachers. The gym classes haven’t started coming outside yet, so no one catches us until last period when the security cop does his rounds in the parking lot and hauls us into Vice Principal Davidson’s office.
“Well?” Davidson drums his fingers together in front of his face. “Which one of you would like to explain why you felt the need to cut your afternoon classes and sit on the cold bleachers for hours?”
Neither of us says a word. I don’t want to make this worse. I just want my detention because that’s more time I can be with Toby.
“Fine. Since neither of you wants to talk, it’s a week of detention for you both. Mr. Michaels, that means you’ll have detention all of next week as well. And I’ll be calling both of your parents.”
Wonderful. Mom and Dad are going to ground me for at least a month, and I’m sure they’ll put an end to Toby tutoring me too.
Davidson looks back and forth between us. “Go. I don’t want to see either of you right now. Just know I’m highly disappointed. A few weeks ago, neither of you had any prior infractions, not a one. Now, you’ve both gone off the deep end.” He shakes his head and waves us out of his office. “Just go. I can’t look at you anymore.” I refrain from telling him that he’ll be seeing us in about ten minutes when detention starts.
Toby walks me to my locker. “Sorry I got you in trouble.”
“Are you kidding? It was my idea. I wanted to get detention.”
“Why?” His brow wrinkles.
“To be with you. I’m not losing a second with you.”
He takes my hand in his and kisses the back of it. “I don’t even know what to say except you’re amazing.”
Every moment with him feels like a good-bye. Maybe because I know that’s where we’re headed. To a good-bye.
Davidson separates us the second we walk through the door, so we’re reduced to texting and staring at each other for the hour.
Toby: I probably shouldn’t come over tonight, huh?
Damn it. I can’t let my parents keep me from seeing him. We don’t have much time left together.
Becca: Yes, you should. Just wait until after my parents go to sleep .
Toby: Sneak in?
Becca: Why not? I’m already grounded. What’s the worst that can happen?
Toby: I hate that I’m making you into this person who lies and sneaks around. I never wanted this.
I look over at him and sigh.
Becca: You didn’t. And like you, I wouldn’t take it back.
Toby: I love you.
Becca: I love you too.
After detention, I go home and face two hours of my parents’ screaming. I tune them out after about thirty minutes. I can only take so much of “We’re so disappointed in your lack of judgment. What would make you think it was okay to skip class for a boy?” I can’t tell them the truth. They’ll end up making me break up with Toby. They’re too overprotective to blindly accept Meredith’s accusation as a lie.
When they’re through yelling, I go to my room and lock the door. I text Toby.
Becca: Come now.
Toby: Already here. Parked next door.
Becca: At Meredith’s?
Is he crazy?
Toby: Tried to reason with her one last time.
Becca: Any luck?
I hold my breath, waiting for his response.
Toby: None. Give me a second to move my car down the road so no one sees it.
I unlock my window and open it all the way. Toby comes walking up the driveway, barely visible in the dark. He climbs the tree in front of the house and slips in the window.
“You made that look easy.”
“I was determined.” And most likely fueled by rage after talking to Meredith.
“What did Meredith say?”
“She gave me an option.”
I perk up for a second. “What was it?” I’ll take just about anything over what she has planned.
“She wants me to publicly dump you and promise to stay away from you for good.”
With all the secrets and all the lies, I should’ve expected this, but it doesn’t hurt any less because I know what Toby needs to do. I won’t let Meredith ruin him because of me. My heart clenches as I look into his eyes and say, “Then do it.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
“No way. I’m not humiliating you in front of everyone, and I’m not going back to sneaking around. I don’t want her to have this kind of control over me for the rest of my life. She’ll back off for now if I go through with this, but the next time I piss her off, she’ll threaten me with it again. I’m not going to be her bitch.”
“Then tell her you’re going to do it. Friday. At the pep rally. Only we’ll out her instead. We’ll tell everyone how she threatened us. How she made you pretend to date her. We’ll expose her for a liar before she can say anything.”
“What if she tells everyone anyway? Some people may still believe her. I don’t exactly have a big following anymore.”
Once again, I know Tori could fix this. People would believe her over Meredith. But she won’t help us. She probably wants to see us suffer as much as Meredith does. “This is our only option, unless you do what Meredith asked.”
“No.” He reaches for me and pulls me to him. “I’m not breaking up with you.”
I lean my head back and find his lips. His kiss is hungry. His hands are in my hair and then running up and down my back. He pulls me closer, but I back us up to the bed.
“What are you doing?” he asks when we’re lying on the mattress. “I’m not asking for this. I’m sorry if I got a little carried away just now, but this isn’t what I was trying to—”
I press my finger to his lips. “I know. I just thought we’d be more comfortable here.”
He smiles, and I lower my finger to kiss him again. We’re a tangle of limbs as he kisses my mouth, my jaw, and my neck. I have to stifle a few moans. The last thing I need is Dad breaking down the door. Finally at about midnight, Toby lies flat on his back, and I put my head on his chest. We fall asleep in each other’s arms.
He’s gone when I wake up in the morning, but he left me a text.