Tallulah “Are you scared of heights like your mom?” I thought that was an odd question. It was the first thing he asked when we got in his vehicle. I’d been a little distracted thinking that I was sitting in Nash Lee’s famous silver Escalade. Girls had wanted to be in this Escalade since the moment he’d driven it into the parking lot the first time at school. A lot had been whispered to have happened in the back of this Escalade as well. But the question about my fear of heights snapped me back to the moment. Away from my thoughts. “No. That’s my mom’s issue. Not mine.” He flashed me a grin. “Good.” Then he didn’t say any more about it. The next thing he asked was “Are your parents divorced?” I shook my head. “They were never married. I’ve never met my dad. Don’t care to.” He frowned. “Sounds like a douche.” I nodded my head in agreement. “I can’t imagine what my mother ever saw in him. Unless he charmed her. She’s easily charmed. Lives in a happy place where bad things don’t happen. Even when they do, she finds the bright side and carries on.” When I was younger, that had annoyed me about my mom. I wanted her to acc ept reality. I didn’t understand why she didn’t get upset about bad things.
Like the time we had to go a month on peanut butter sandwiches and milk because our car had broken down and to fix it cost most of her monthly paycheck. But instead of being upset, she’d cut the sandwiches in funny shapes. Made a new story out of the sandwich characters every night. It was just how she was. Always optimistic. I understood that as I got older. And now I was thankful for it. She’d k ept me smiling many times when I just wanted to cry. “I always loved trick-or-treating at your house the best. Your mom had the best decorations and homemade treats. Those cupcakes were more exciting than any candy. And one year it was Rice Krispies treats shaped like pumpkins. A kid’s jackpot.” I smiled. Mom always loved Halloween and Christmas. She made both those holidays big. Her excitement over them made me equally excited. It wouldn’t be but a few more weeks before she’d have me crawl into the attic and hand her down the Halloween decorations. She may have painted the ceilings, but she still wouldn’t climb the attic ladder. That was my job. “We spent days before Halloween making those. You should see what all she makes for Christmas. My teachers look forward to the large holiday tins full of treats she brings up to the school. It was embarrassing when she k ept doing it once I got to junior high school, but I got over it. Now I don’t make a fuss when I have to haul all those tins to the school and hand them out.” Nash chuckled. “Damn, she’s like Martha Stewart.” “Not even close! Martha cleans her house a lot more often than my mom.”
Nash was still grinning when he pulled into the burger place in town. “I called in our order. Wait here. I’ll go grab it.” I nodded, confused. Why weren’t we eating in there? My first thought was he was embarrassed to be seen with me. I almost expected that. But then I figured that couldn’t be it. He was taking me to the football game and out afterward. I tried not to let the old Tallulah leak through. The self-conscious one. The girl who tried to hide from everyone so no one would make fun of her. Blakely was walking out with a group of cheerleaders. They were all dressed for the game. I knew they hadn’t actually eaten in there. Not before they cheered for hours on the field. But several had to-go cups of coffee or soda. Blakely was looking back inside, and she sighed dramatically, then said something to the other girls. I couldn’t be sure, but it looked like she was talking about Nash. Almost as if she felt sorry for him. Or pitied him. When he walked out, she said something to him, and he paused. His entire body tensed, and I reacted before I could think it through. Opening the door to his Escalade, I st epped out. I was almost to the group before the other girls started to notice me. I’d never tried to actually strut. Until now. I held my head high. Put on a confident face and slung my hair back over my left shoulder. I had seen this done hundreds of times by the very group of girls I was about to approach. Drawing attention to myself like this made me want to puke. But I didn’t let that show. I acted as if I owned the world and it was amusing. “You found friends,” I said to Nash as I slipped an arm around his free one and stood there beside him. “Aren’t y’all
gonna be late?” I asked as sweetly as I could, ke eping my eyes on Blakely. She looked confused and surprised. “Are you with her?” Blakely finally asked, her face turning from the pity she had to a pinched, angry look. “Tallulah, this is Blakely. I’m sure you’ve never met her. She’s very self-absorbed. Doesn’t make friends easily,” Nash said with ease. Not missing a beat. I felt like giving him a high five. “I know who she is!” Blakely snapped. “Everybody knows about the fat girl who lost weight. Freak.” She said the words in hopes of hurting me. But I had spent years watching people quietly from the corner. I could read expressions better than most. She was jealous. She had left Nash but hadn’t expected him to move on so easily or quickly. It was hurting her ego. “I was unaware that weight loss was freakish. You’ve enlightened me,” I r eplied with a smile. She started to say something else to me but snapped her mouth shut, then swung her gaze back to Nash. “We broke up, what? Three days ago? And you’re already out with someone?” She sounded outraged. Was this girl for real? I had seen her with Hunter since Monday. “Oh, y’all just broke up on Tuesday? Was Hunter aware of that? Because the groping session that was going on in the hallway during second period Monday between the two of you made it seem you were perfectly available.” Her eyes widened then went to slits as she glared at me. “Stay out of this, bitch! No one asked for your fucking opinion.”
Nash moved then. He stood between us in a protective move. “Don’t speak to her like that. In fact, Blakely, if you could not speak to me at all, that would be best.” He turned and took my hand. “Let’s go. She’s a waste of our time.” I couldn’t help but glance back over my shoulder as we walked to his Escalade and flash her a smile. “BITCH!” she yelled at me. “Are you taunting her?” Nash asked me with a trace of humor in his tone. “Probably,” I admitted. “You’re a little spitfire, Miss Liddell. I never knew.” I shrugged as he opened the passenger door for me. “There is a lot you don’t know about me.” He was still watching me after I climbed in and sat down. “I’d like to change that.” The smile that spread across my face was so big it almost hurt. Almost.