Don’t Let Go

24. Aurora

24

Aurora

I’ve been on edge since that preposterous party last night. Luckily for me, Tyler kept his mouth shut, and no one seemed to be the wiser we attended that party.

Sleep avoided me, and I took advantage of it by taking a longer shower and getting ready for school. As everyone else woke up and pulled themselves together, I was downstairs cooking breakfast. I called Chloe while flipping pancakes, using my Bluetooth headphones to talk to keep anyone from eavesdropping too much.

“I need to stay over at your house during the week. Eating cold cereal or grabbing a pastry is getting old fast around here,” Chloe said. In the background was a popping sound.

“I thought you loved your Pop-Tarts,” I laughed, moving on to flipping the eggs.

“I do, but my thighs don’t.” She breathed into the phone like she always did when she cradled the phone between her ear and shoulder. “Did you hear about the shooting at that party last night?”

I knew she was going to bring that up.

“Yes. I was there.”

She gasped. “What! I heard Palolo was, too, but he left before the shooting. What happened?”

I sucked on my teeth. “I came with Paolo, but I ditched him. I was talking to Tyler upstairs when it happened.” I looked behind my shoulder to make sure no one came downstairs. “We had to jump over a body on the stairs and were held at gunpoint when we tried for the back door. Another shooter knew my mamma and let us go.”

“Wow!” she said with a mouthful of pastry. She swallowed loudly, smacking her lips. “What were you doing upstairs with Tyler? Were you alone?”

Of course, she was drawn to that piece of info and not the body or looking down the barrel of a gun. Violence is expected when your family has ties with the mob.

I grabbed a plate and slid the eggs onto it, moving on to making the bacon and finishing the pancakes. “I wanted to escape Paolo, but I guess he left me there. What a great boyfriend to leave me at the scene of a shooting, and he never texted to see if I was okay either.” I brushed off the nauseous feeling creeping up my throat. “As for Tyler and I, we were talking. That’s it I swear. I heard the shots and knew we had to get out of there fast. Tyler probably thinks I’m insane since I couldn’t stop laughing afterward. Perhaps I did crack a little. It was such a rush to be that close to danger again.”

Chloe clicked her tongue. I could picture her lips in a disapproving frown. She loved to party, but she knew the risks. One rule was to never be boxed in, like Tyler and I were up in that room.

“Girl, you need to be more careful,” her tone was sharp but full of love and concern.

“I know. It won’t happen again.” I drew an X over my breast, crossing my heart, not that it mattered. “You’d think I would’ve learned from the drag races last year.”

“You’d think,” she said deadpan and sniffed. “I’ll see you at school. I have to stop and get some gas for my car before first period.”

I looked behind me, seeing Lizzy’s head full of dark curls bob down the stairs with her bunny in hand. “I gotta go and feed the wolves. See you soon.” I ended the call and put my headphones on the counter.

Lizzy wiggled into a seat and sat with her arms folded in front of her like a little princess. Her bunny sat in its own chair. “Pancakes! My favorite!”

I giggled, making her a plate. “Yes. They are even blueberry. Grab some silverware for the table, please.”

Lizzy hopped down and grabbed a handful of butter knives and forks, making a place setting for four people.

“I can’t believe breakfast is ready. When did you get up?” Carmen asked as she opened the fridge and grabbed the orange juice.

I shrugged, placing a plate of food in front of Lizzy and another for Carmen. “I couldn’t fall back asleep. Why don’t you get a glass and share that juice with everyone else?” I gave Carmen a pointed look, proving I was serious about sharing.

She gave a heavy sigh but complied. “Okay, Mamma ,” she muttered as she grabbed more glasses and poured juice into them.

I smiled, pleased they were listening to me for once.

Tyler lingered in the kitchen doorway. He eyed the fourth set of silverware and saw the extra glass of juice at the table, yet he remained with his feet planted.

“Come on. Join us,” I said, putting a plate down for him.

“Thanks,” Ty replied quietly, pouring himself into a chair.

I sat at the table with Ty across from me. Lizzy talked about a video she watched in her English class. I smiled and nodded to my baby sister’s story, but my attention was on Tyler. I didn’t want him to give away something was wrong and pique their interest. Carmen was especially nosy and loved to drag my name in the mud when it came to Mamma.

Between bites, Tyler would occasionally glance over at me. I could feel the burning questions in his dark brown eyes. I wanted to tell him that shooting was out of the ordinary, even for South Phoenix. We had our problems like most big cities with mobs and gangs running amok, but high school kids usually didn’t have to dodge bullets from a team of shooters when partying. Was there a stray bullet or a stabbing every once in a while? Yes, but nothing like last night.

I tugged on my silver loop earring and focused on my food. Lizzy continued to cheerfully talk as she ate, not realizing no one was listening.

I nudged Tyler’s leg with the tip of my foot. He looked at me. His gaze held mine, and his dark eyes were deep and mysterious. Any girl could lose her train of thought when he had his eyes on her. I swallowed. My throat is suddenly dry. “Thank you,” I mouthed, nodding to my sisters.

He nodded. Tyler might not have understood why it was important to keep the party a secret, but at least he respected my wishes to keep it under lock and key.

Tonight, we had another basketball game and it was Tyler’s first official game with South Ridge. The Mesa Trojans pulled up in their bus. All their boys bounced out with smiles on their faces. If we won this game, then our team would make it to the finals and be that much closer to winning the championships.

I wasn’t needed at the gym until about half an hour before the game started. I had ninety minutes to kill.

My bandmates took off to the diner down the street to eat and talk about some anime show they all streamed. I bailed since I had no idea what they were talking about. I wanted to talk about makeup or the latest book I read. Most of the girls in band didn’t wear makeup, or at least I didn’t think they did.

While walking across campus to locate my friends, someone shouted my name. It echoed in my ears.

Paolo jogged to catch up with me. “Hey, babe! Where are you going?”

I kicked a rock, watching it skip down the sidewalk and hit a tree. “I’m looking for my friends.”

“Come watch practice. After the game, we can grab some food and then later….” He pulled me in close and squeezed my left ass cheek. “Some sweet sugar.”

I wiggled out of his embrace. “I can’t play on an empty stomach. I didn’t eat lunch yet because I’ve been in the library helping Helen with her paper, and the printer jammed so—”

“Whatever.” He brushed past me, stomping to the gym like a child who was told he couldn’t eat ice cream for dinner.

The day was coming fast when I finally snapped and told Paolo I was done. No more “sugar,” no more anything. I couldn’t take his possessiveness anymore or his need to control me. I didn’t like his tongue trying to make its way down my throat or how he thought my job was to always make sure he was happy. The problem was when did I make my great escape?

Pushing my boyfriend to the back of my mind, I found my friends at our usual table. They liked to attend the games to fake cheer like maniacs and try to catch a player’s eye, no matter what team.

Once, Chloe caught the eye of a player from some Queen Creek school and he tripped over his big feet and did a face-plant on the floor. It was hilarious and also went viral with all the phones recording.

Part of me thought she was trying to live up to that. Nothing like it has happened since.

“What’s up?” I asked, sitting next to Chloe.

She flicked her hair over a shoulder dramatically and leaned in closer. “We’re plotting a world takeover. You want in?”

She didn’t blink. Her eyes stared right into my soul.

I chuckled nervously. “Sure. How are you planning on doing it?”

Chloe laughed like a mad scientist. “We’ll create an app that brainwashes people. Once enough of them are under our control, we’ll have them attack anyone not in our control. In a few months, we’ll rule.”

I nodded. “Not bad, but I see one issue.”

Chloe frowned. “What?”

“Who will create this app? None of us can put a computer back together, let alone design something like that.”

Maria laughed, gesturing with her soda can. “She has a point. I don’t know Photoshop, let alone how to do anything that extreme.”

Gabs nudged Maria with her shoulder. “That’s because you’re hopeless.”

Chloe exhaled, laying her head on her crossed arms. “My plan is a flop!”

We laughed at her, always one for a show. It’s surprising she’s not in drama.

She jumped up fast, startling all three of us. “Unless I charm a geek and get him to make the app. Plan B is on, girls. Just need that missing piece.”

I rolled my eyes. “Good luck with that plan. Once you own the world, I’ll be your chef.”

She giggled, putting an arm around my waist. “Girl, you’ll also do my makeup. I need to look my best as queen of the world.”

“Of course.” I stole a chip from Maria. “Can we get some real food? I hate playing on fumes.”

“We can get burgers,” Gabs answered a little too quickly.

Chloe laughed and wiggled her eyebrows. “You just want to flirt with the cute waiter there.”

“Oh?” This drew my interest.

Maria laid her head on Gabriela’s shoulder. “She loves him,” she said in a dreamy voice.

Gabs shrugged Maria off. “Stop it. I don’t love him. I only met him a couple of days ago. He has cute dimples, is all… and he smells nice, like an ocean breeze on a hot summer day.”

“Plus, you can’t help watching him walk away with that ass of his.” Chloe winked.

Gabs smacked Chloe’s wrist. “Lay off my waiter.”

Chloe raised her hands in surrender. “Hands off. I know, girl.”

I got up and walked over to Gabs. “Come on, then.” I grabbed her arm, yanking her up. “Now I need food and to see this hot waiter.”

Gabs dragged her feet as she followed us to the burger joint.

As soon as we entered, Gabs used us as a human shield while we followed the hostess to our table. Chloe poked my arm and nodded to a tall guy in a black uniform. “That’s him,” she mouthed.

I glanced at him as we took a seat. He was muscular, like he played on a sports team, maybe baseball, with those perfectly tanned and toned arms and legs. He had a crooked smile, yet charming in its imperfection. His light brown hair was all over like he’d recently come from the pool. I could see why Gabs was crushing on him.

I admit he’s cute.

Gabs sat across from me at the table. I couldn’t help but grin at her. “Not bad.”

She puffed up, about to tell us off for teasing her when lover boy came over to take our drink order.

“Hello, ladies. I’m Jeff, and I’ll be your waiter. What can I get you all to drink while you look over the menu?” He was ready with his pen and pad of paper.

Chloe had to be first. “I’ll take an iced tea with no lemon.”

He nodded and looked at me. “I’ll have a Diet Coke.”

Next was Gabs. She turned red. “I’ll have a Diet Coke, too,” she said in one breath.

Maria elbowed her playfully. “And I’ll take a Sprite.”

“I’ll get those drinks for you. Take your time with the menu, and let me know if you have any questions.” He left for the kitchen.

All three of us burst into giggles. Gabs was as still as a statue. “This isn’t funny,” she grumbled, staring at the table.

“Come on. You never act like this. We’re only playing with you.” Chloe crossed her heart. “I promise.”

Gabs pouted. “I don’t like being teased.”

“Subject change then,” Chloe snaked her arm around my shoulders. “There’s a rumor going around Rory is getting close to Tyler.”

Gabs and Maria leaned forward. Their eyes glued to me. “This true?” they both said in unison.

I shrugged Chloe off and gave her the evil eye. I didn’t want to talk about Ty.

“We talk, so what? He understands me in a way most don’t. We’re in the same dead parent club.”

Maria licked her lips. “He’s hot, though, and he smells good. He walks by me going to third, so I know.”

I drummed my fingernails on the table. “Yeah. He’s cute and all, but I’m with—”

Chloe smacked my arm. “Don’t you say Paolo. You know you need to drop that loser like yesterday’s trash.”

“I know.” I sank into my seat. “Let’s talk about something other than relationships.”

We discussed the game and the new horror movie coming out. The idle chitchat put me at ease. We ordered our burgers and ate them as we continued to talk. We all paid and left a tip for the cute waiter. Gabs was the last to leave the table. Maria and Chloe went to the bathroom, and I stood by the wall near the kitchen doors, awkwardly waiting for my friends.

Gabs was alone, taking one last sip of her soda before leaving the table. Jeff came by to pick up what remained of the dishes. I saw them talking but couldn’t make out the words. She smiled big and nodded. He wiped his hand on his apron and grabbed a pen from his pocket, handing it to her. She leaned over the table and wrote something on a piece of paper. He accepted it happily and shoved it into his back pocket. They stood there for a moment longer, lingering. She finally moved toward me but was quick to turn and wave at him. He smiled and returned to cleaning the table.

She was about to burst with joy, yet refused to say a word to me.

I looked past her to Jeff as he walked away with the dishes. “He asked for your number?”

Her smile was infectious. “Yes!”

Maria and Chloe joined us and saw how happy Gabs was. “You win the lottery?” Chloe asked, eyeing her like she’d gone batty.

“She’s boy crazy, is all. He wanted her number,” I said.

“And we missed this!” Chloe smacked Maria. “Why couldn’t you have gone to the bathroom alone?”

She shrugged. “Because you had to pee too.”

Chloe squished her lips to the side. “Right.”

We all laughed as we headed for the door. I checked my phone. No missed messages. That’s a relief. Paolo being at practice gave him something to focus on besides bothering me.

The time reminded me I needed to get to the gym soon to set up with everyone else.

“Are you staying for the whole game?” I asked my friends, hoping they were. I wanted to catch a ride home with them since Carmen had to pick up Lizzy today.

Chloe looked at her nails as if in deep thought. “We’ll probably leave at halftime, to be honest. Why?”

I hung my head. “Just curious.”

The kindness gene in me didn’t want to force them to stay. It’s frustrating being so damn nice.

They dropped me off at the gym and moved on to the library to wait until the doors opened for the public. I entered through the back and ran into Tyler. He wore black shorts and his jersey was tight against his abs. I looked away to avoid staring at his chest, but water droplets trailed down his forehead as if he had poured water over himself to cool off. Without thinking, I reached out and wiped them away.

“Funny running into you here,” he joked, not mentioning the awkward touching thing.

My hand ran across my jeans until the motion burned my fingertips. “You know me. Always up for bumping into guys.” I resaid the words in my head and mentally kicked myself. I sounded like a fool.

“You need to be careful. There are crazies around here.” He hit his chest like Tarzan. “I’ll protect you, though.”

I bit my lower lip to keep from smiling too much. “Thanks, hero.” I playfully hit his arm. “You ready for your first game as a Mustang?”

His cocky mood slipped a little, showing the fear he kept inside. “It’s weird to have a uniform that’s not blue, but at least I’m playin’ ball, right?” he asked, tugging on his black jersey.

The way he looked at me to answer broke my heart. He needed someone to tell him he was doing the right thing.

“Yes. It doesn’t matter what high school team you’re on as long as they’re good and the college scouts are watching.”

He cracked his knuckles. “Thanks for that. Now I’m thinking of the scouts out there watching me with a team I’ve only practiced with a few times.”

“I’m sorry. I’m not the girl to come to for pep talks.” I had a sinking feeling I made him feel worse.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s the thought that counts.” He took a step back and motioned for the locker room. “I should get back, and you need to do….” He looked at me and was clueless. “You need to do whatever you need to for band.”

“Right.” I moved closer to the wall to let him pass.

I smacked myself on the forehead with an open palm while walking to the bathroom to change into my uniform.

Could I be any more awkward?

I tugged on the collar of my shirt and slipped into the band room where the stands were. Before lunch, I snuck my instrument in there so I didn’t have to drag it around with me all day. My fellow bandmates came in as a herd, talking and laughing as one.

We set up our stands and warmed up as the rival team used the court for last-minute exercises. After about five minutes, they switched, and the home team got to work out for a handful of minutes. Tyler had the ball and was showing off his serious skills.

Alice elbowed me and hissed, “Stop playing out of tune.”

Crap. I didn’t notice I wasn’t blowing into my mouthpiece correctly. My focus was lost on Tyler shooting hoops. He never missed.

Paolo was on the floor, too. He spotted me and waved as if we were okay, and he didn’t diss me earlier. That boy was hot and cold more than a woman going through menopause.

The floor cleared, and the doors opened. My friends sat in the bleachers on the left of the band so they could wave at me.

All was quiet as we played the national anthem. The crowd cheered as the home team ran onto the court, and they turned their backs and booed as the competition ran out next.

A whistle blew, and the game was on. Despite attending every game, I didn’t know all the moves of the sport. The other team was good and was already up by nine points in a few minutes.

Paolo shook from anger and barked at anyone nearby, a cheerleader jumping too much or a fellow player not running fast enough.

I licked my lips and prayed I didn’t need to get a ride from him tonight. Win or lose, he’d be annoying and horny.

Tyler stole the ball as the other team was about to make another run for the hoop. He made it across the court and scored some well-needed points. The game was back and forth for the first half; by halftime, everyone in the crowd was breathless from screaming. The teams went to the locker rooms for a break, and people exited to stretch their legs or buy popcorn from the guy with the cart outside in the parking lot.

Everyone returned when the last minute counted down, starting the second half. I spotted my friends returning with huge smiles. I eyed Chloe, and she mouthed, “It got exciting.”

The game continued with as much fire as it started. There was hardly a moment to spare; the band played when there were timeouts called and only for a few notes.

It seemed the entire room buzzed and cheered. The cheerleaders dripped with sweat from all the dancing. I’d never seen them with such spirit, not even at football games. Back and forth the game went, tying, and then one team went up by a few points only to be matched.

At last, the final minute of the game was on the clock and slipping away fast. We were down by two points. No one made a sound. All we heard were the players’ heavy breathing, the squeaks of their sneakers, and the basketball bouncing on the hardwood floor.

The other team was about to score again, which would be the last nail in our coffin. Losing this game meant we were out of the finals and at risk of losing a lot of money for the entire school. That might not affect me too much, but my sisters still needed this place, and many of my classmates were in the same boat. We didn’t want to see our high school crumble and become a footnote in the city’s history.

Tyler stole the ball and ran like Michael Myers was about to kill him. He shot the ball into the hoop scoring three points as the last few seconds ticked away.

We won the game!

Kids stomped the bleachers to the point where you couldn’t hear anything else. Confetti should’ve rained down on us. We weren’t done yet, and we had hope now, thanks to Tyler.

All the boys high-fived each other—even Paolo, though he avoided Tyler and went to the locker room with Bryce as they talked.

I grabbed my stuff and made it down to catch Tyler walking to the locker room.

“Nice save there,” I said, nodding toward the court.

He winked, flashing me a bright smile. “Thanks! I missed playing the game. More than I thought I did.”

“You played amazingly.” I put my stand down and resisted pushing a curl of his hair off his sweaty forehead. “This is your high school now, too. We need to take care of it.”

Tyler leaned in closer. His mouth was to my ear as if he needed to share a secret with me. “I think you’re my lucky charm.”

James came by and smacked Tyler on the back. “Damn, I love you, man. I knew having you on the team was a great idea. We need to celebrate!” James looked over at me. “You don’t mind us taking your boyfriend away, do you?”

Boyfriend? Tyler?

I was tongued-tied. “You know—”

James placed a hand on my shoulder. “I’ll have Paolo make it up to you.” He nudged me and hit Ty again. “Come on, man.”

Oh, Paolo. Right.

“No worries.” I locked eyes with Ty. He grinned, and for some reason, I grinned, too. I had this strange feeling like I wanted to kiss him right here and now. Maybe it was all the excitement; it had me in this weird mood. After all, Ty did call me his lucky charm.

I couldn’t stop staring at his lips.

Chloe whacked me. “Hey, loser, we won!”

Maria squinted at Chloe. “That makes no sense.”

Chloe waved Maria off. “Whatevas. We need to go party.”

Guess I had my ride after all. I ditched my stand in the band room and changed my clothes in the bathroom again. Unfortunately, I had to drag my trombone to the car with me.

“Put that thing in the trunk. I don’t want it taking up my legroom,” Gabs said, eyeing my huge case.

“Of course.” I shoved it in the back and added my backpack, too.

We all climbed into the car.

“We’re going to have some fun, ladies,” Chloe sang, turning over the engine.

Maria rode shotgun. “Where to?”

Chloe fixed the rearview mirror and backed out of the parking spot. “That’s a surprise, but it’ll be amazeballs, trust me.”

For once, I didn’t have a pit of fear in my stomach. I wanted to be on the edge tonight. We won. That was out of this world. Maybe it was time I let my hair down and acted like someone new. Just for one night, I wasn’t Rory, the girl who always looked out for everyone but herself. No, I was someone else.

Tonight, I was capable of anything.