Secrets, Lies and Dragonflies

Chapter 28

The stairs roar like thunder. Everyone squeezes in, like we're piling into one of those little clown cars. Six months ago, my closet was twice as big as this whole bedroom so having all four of them crammed inside my space is almost comical.

"Look at you, little miss cautious. Fell off your bike, huh?" Vincent snickers. "As slow as you ride? Guess you've been holding out on me all this time."

"Well, actually—"

"I'm just kidding. I heard all about how you went pedal to the medal down the mountain in the middle of the night. Seriously didn't know you had it in you," he says with an air of pride.

"Yeah, between all of us, my money would have been on Vince for the first one in a cast," says Ethan.

Lindsey and Abigail obviously gave them the parent-approved version of what happened.

"Trust me, I wasn't looking to beat you at anything, Vince," I say. "And especially not if it meant I'd be in this much pain."

"Good point. You can have this win," he says, fidgeting around my room. The boys have never been in here before and Vince almost seems nervous. His attention's drawn to the air horn on my night stand. Before I can stop him, he presses the button. I'm pretty sure everyone in our entire town is running out of their homes to find out what's going on.

"Vincent," Aunt Amy says, as if she's scolding a two year old. "Put that down, young man, before you give me a heart attack." She sets the tray full of snacks on the dresser and hands me pills. "You're due for another dose in four to six hours. Just holler if you're starting to hurt too much." She spins in Vincent's direction. "But refrain from calling me with the air horn, Mr. Saunders. That's only to be used in cases of emergencies." She ruffles his head as she walks past him.

After Aunt Amy leaves, the food is scarfed down while everyone takes turns signing my cast. To my relief, Ethan never mentions the awkward fiasco about coming to Chuck's house to give us a ride home.

Abigail and Lindsey brief me on what I missed in school today and take turns narrating other people's latest posts. In no time, my cast is covered with drawings and funny sentiments.

Pacing like a caged animal, Vince mentions he has to go help his dad, but anyone can see he doesn't do too well in small spaces.

Trailing after him, Ethan air quotes and rolls his eyes, saying his parents are holding a "family meeting" tonight.

Alone with Abigail and Lindsey, things suddenly feel off.

Abigail finally breaks the silence. "So, Lindsey talked to Chuck about, well, you know."

"Oh yeah? And how'd that go?" I ask.

Lindsey avoids eye contact. "He said he didn't even know it was you. It was really dark and that you barely brushed the side of his car, and, well, he was surprised that you even had to go to the hospital."

"Really." My neck grows hotter. "That's what he said?" Flashes of his headlights coming at me and the feel of his Jaguar striking me off my bike hit me like it's happening all over again. "And you believed him? If my face and my arms aren't proof of how hard he knocked me off my bike, why don't you go check the bike itself out? He drove OVER it."

"Shhhh. Let's all relax," Abigail says. She shoots Lindsey a darted stare. "There's no sense in getting Mackenzie all upset, is there? She's already been through a lot."

Maybe she's planning to convince Lindsey to cut the Neanderthal loose. I told her about the girl in the car. She must know he's obviously only after one thing.