Page 103 of My Fault
When I went downstairs, Nicholas was in the kitchen with his father, immersed in a conversation. They stopped talking when I came in.
“Where’s Mom?” I asked, walking over to the refrigerator and taking out the milk.
“She’s resting still. I’ll take you to school today if it’s all right,” William said with a tense smile. The day before, my car had been making strange noises, and we had taken it to a garage. William looked more serious than normal. Whatever happened yesterday must have left my mother in bad shape if she didn’t want to get out of bed. I nodded, making a mental note to find out what the hell had happened between them.
Thankfully, Nicholas hardly looked at me. I didn’t want to see his face. Not knowing what he knew about me.
William took another sip of his coffee and turned to me.
“You ready, Noah?” he asked.
“As soon as you knot my tie, I will be.” He smiled. It was the first time I’d ever asked him for anything directly. It was strange. Without realizing it, I’d come to trust him, and I felt comfortable enough that I wasn’t afraid to ride alone with him.
The day passed mercifully quickly: Jenna couldn’t stop apologizing for letting me drink so much, even if she shouldn’t have. It was my fault, my fault alone. More girls who didn’t even know me came up to ask me what it was like to live with Nicholas Leister. I guess I’d turned into the talk of the school, and everyone either wanted to criticize me or be my friend. Jenna told me that was the price of popularity and I’d better get used to it, but I just wanted to crawl under a rock and hide. Especially because of the haters who couldn’t stand that I got to hang out with him whenever I wanted, and one of those was Cassie, Anna’s sister. I didn’t know what she was up to, but every time we looked at each other, she’d start whispering to whoever was next to her and laughing. It was childish, and I wasn’t in the mood for childish nonsense. I ignored her and her groupies and spent the day with Jenna and her friends. Surprisingly, I liked them. They were making plans for parties and all kinds of other stuff.
On the way out, I didn’t see my mother’s car waiting for me, but as more people left, I did see someone crouching behind a tree and leering.
Ronnie.
Adrenaline flooded my body. If he was the one writing the letters, I was screwed. He smiled when he realized I’d seen him and motioned for me to come over. He was some ways off, but if he tried anything, he’d easily be seen. There were still enough students around that I didn’t feel completely vulnerable. But where the hell was Mom?
I told myself I should just try to get it over with, and I walked over as resolutely as I could. When I was close enough, I looked at his nearly shaved head and the dozens of tattoos on his arms and neck.
“What?” I asked, cutting to the chase and trying to convince him he hadn’t gotten to me.
He laughed.
“Not so fast, sugar. You know you look sexy in that naughty schoolgirl uniform. You’re a bad little rich girl, I’d love to take it off and spank you,” he said, coming out from behind the tree and standing up straight.
“You’re gross, and if that’s all you have to say…” I turned around to walk off, but he held me back.
“You think you can just humiliate me the way you did and come out smelling like roses?” he whispered into my ear. I tried to get away from him but couldn’t, and a part of me wanted to listen anyway to figure out if he was the one sending the letters.
With all the self-control I could muster, I told him, “You’re a sore loser, and if I were you, I’d find a new hobby.”
“You’re a frisky one,” he replied. “I could use a girl like you, but if you open your mouth to spit some more of that bullshit, I promise you, I’ll—”
“You’ll what?” I asked, motioning behind me to be sure he knew doing anything to me there would be a stupid idea.
Thinking it over, he responded pensively, “I’ll do it all, baby, you can believe that. Just give me a little time. Anyway, I got something for you, something I’ll bet you didn’t expect.”
Then I saw it: the letter. It was him. Ronnie was the one threatening me.
“Your sick joke isn’t as scary as it was before,” I said, trying to keep a cool head. “What’s to keep me from reporting you for stalking?”
He seemed to find that funny.
“I’m just the messenger, sugar,” he said, stroking my face with the envelope. “Seems I’m not the only one who wants to get his hands on you.”
I didn’t get it. If he wasn’t writing the letters, who the hell was?
Just as I reached out to grab it, a car pulled up.
“Get away from her!” Nicholas shouted. He jumped out and ran in front of me.
Ronnie didn’t seem to care. Actually he smiled, as if this was what he’d wanted all along. I put the letter into my bag before Nicholas could see it.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” he shouted. He was clearly on edge.
