Ch. 25

The next morning I laid in my bed, reminiscing over the previous evening's activities. I couldn't help but alternate between a giggle and a blush when I thought about how sweet and gentle Jake had been. It was everything a first time should be, and the butterflies in my stomach were working overtime as I mulled over every last detail.

When I trudged down the stairs for breakfast, I wondered if my parents would be able to tell that my whole life had changed; that I was no longer the little girl they undoubtedly perceived me to be.

But they carried on as if nothing had happened--much to my relief.

"Are you going to the festival today?" my dad asked over his morning cup of coffee.

"I am. Ruby's coming to pick me up soon."

"Does she have many royal responsibilities today?" Mom questioned with a laugh in her voice.

I smiled and rolled my eyes. Ruby's imperial position had brought about several new jokes in my house. My parents loved her dearly, but couldn't resist getting in a good rib every now and then.

"She has some free time until this afternoon," I explained. "We don't want to miss out on our annual pig-out session at the shortcake stand." Ruby and I had always made it a point to devour as many pieces of strawberry shortcake as we could before nausea kicked in, forcing us to swear off pastries forever. Or at least for a few hours.

"Will you be seeing Jake later?" my mom asked, a tiny smile playing upon her lips.

The familiar feeling of warmth spread across my face as I forced myself not to throw up. Did she somehow know after all? "I'm going to meet up with him later."

"You two sure have been seeing a lot of each other lately," my dad observed, opening the morning paper. I suspected his intent was to sound casual, but thick curiosity laced his voice.

I shrugged. "I suppose."

They knew. They definitely knew. That wasn't possible, was it? I wanted to die.

"What time is it anyway?" I asked, holding out my wrist to look at a watch that was not there. "I better hop in the shower--Ruby will be here soon!" And I raced off, relieved to be away from their parental scrutiny.

"You didn't even eat!" I heard my mom call after me.

"I'm not really hungry," I answered back. Shutting the bathroom door behind me. I ignored the pains of starvation as I turned on the shower and attempted to drown out my anxiety.

I heard Ruby honk about an hour later and ran down the stairs, hoping to avoid my parents. Thankfully, they were no where in sight.

"I'm leaving," I called over my shoulder and quickly closed the door behind me.

This would be the true test. If anyone would notice that something had changed with me it would be Ruby.

"Hey girl!" she chirped, as I slid into her convertible. "You ready to binge on strawberry shortcake?"

"You know it." I smiled back and buckled my seat belt. Ruby acted completely natural, as if she had no idea that my world had been knocked off it's axis in the best possible way.

"So how did the rest of yesterday go?" I asked. "I take it you made it through your many obligations okay?"

"Ugh! Barely. I was up to my knees is pig poop and chicken feed!" she exclaimed dramatically. "I swear, I have taken two showers since then and I can still smell the animal stench on me!"

"What's on your agenda today?" I asked, laughing at her magnified tale.

"I get to host the pie eating contest!" she announced with a smile. "It should be more fun than passing out a bunch of 4H ribbons, anyway. Plus, Tommy entered it," she swooned. Things were starting to heat up between Ruby and Tommy Mathews, and I couldn't have been happier for her. I hated to admit it, but I was shocked that things were going so well. Tommy wasn't the usual type of guy Ruby fell for. He was much more laid back and low key, not her typical crush material. I guessed it was true what they said about opposites attracting, or at least I hoped so for her sake.

Ruby pulled her car into the festival just as the late morning mob was starting to arrive. Saturday was usually the busiest day, and I felt lucky to have even found a decent parking space.

The crowd was thick as we made our way through the fair and a soft breeze from the lake skimmed my skin. We ran into several friends along the way and the atmosphere felt relaxed. We were enjoying ourselves immensely, until a familiar voice rang out from the army of festival-goers.

"What's up, Monroe?" I would recognize that patronizing tone anywhere.

Brett.

My nerves tensed immediately.

"Just ignore him," Ruby advised, grabbing my elbow and steering me in the opposite direction.

"Hey, you two!" I could tell his voice was getting closer as we attempted to make our way through the horde of people. "Where do you think you're running off to?"

Before I knew it, he was standing in front of us with his friends, preventing me and Ruby from moving forward.

"Leave us alone, Brett," Ruby demanded. "Remember what the cops said the last time you got in our way?" It wasn't so much a question as it was a threat.

A slow smirk spread across Brett's face as he smugly lifted his chin. "My uncle cleared up that little misunderstanding," he sneered. "He works for the police department and took care of everything for me. He explained to those two rookie cops how things were gonna go down. They won't be bothering me anymore." He nudged his friends and they all began to snicker.

I swallowed hard as I felt a cold sweat come over me. What did that mean? That he could bully me any time he wanted without repercussion? My heart fell into my stomach as I tried to decide how to handle the situation. "I don't want to argue with you, Brett," I pleaded quietly.

"Well I don't want to argue with you either, Addy," he said sweetly. But the look on his face said otherwise.

"I just want to go home and pretend like nothing ever happened," I continued, my voice shaking slightly.

"Go ahead." His words came out like a dare.

"Come on, Addy," Ruby said, grabbing my arm again. She pushed through Brett and his friends and we quickly made our way past them. I wanted to look over my shoulder but fought the urge. We walked for a couple of minutes in silence, then finally I couldn't take it any longer. I had to know if they were following us. And sure enough--they were.

Brett waved to me as we made eye contact, and I felt impaled under his steady gaze. He quickened his pace.

"He's behind us," I said in a panic, glancing over at Ruby.

We lengthened our stride as we weaved through the crowd, Brett and his friends hot on our tail the entire time.

"He's crazy," Ruby blurted out, but I was too afraid to respond. My voice wouldn't work. I saw her look behind us again and then shout, "Come on!"

Fear mounted in my chest and my only thought was to run as fast as I could.

When the base of the festival came into view, my eyes began to search for Ruby's car. I turned around one last time, hoping to find that we had lost Brett through the maze of people, but he was still hot on our trail and getting closer.

As we exited the fair, a strangled noise escaped from the back of my throat, finally breaking through the tense silence. I tried to call out to Ruby but was unable to form any words, yet I could sense she was running alongside me.

Once the crowd was no longer a hindrance we broke into a sprint. Relief washed over me when Ruby's car came into view. We were almost there. I was so focused on our escape that I didn't see the SUV until it was too late.

The last thing I remember was hearing Ruby scream. Then everything went black.

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