Page 32 of Save Me
“Thanks, big brother,” Casey grins like the Cheshire Cat without moving from her position on the bed. “I take it you want to lay claim to my side of the bargain?”
Pulling up a garden chair to the side of Casey, which is as far away from Kyle as possible, I slump forward to rest my arms on top of my knees, ready to finally get some answers. Meanwhile, Casey finally pulls off her ridiculous glasses and turns to face me, baring her ass to Kyle who makes no attempt to hide his gawking at her behind. Usually, I’d have thrown him in the pool by now, but fortunately for him, I have more pressing things on my mind.
“So, get this,” she begins with a conspirational wink, “turns out she’s involved with this guy who’s like thirty or something, and ridiculously wealthy. He and his father own Lawrence Technologies, which is, like, huge!”
“I already know about Lawrence, is that it?” I huff with disappointment.
“Yeah, but this guy, Lawrence, is highly dodgy. His father has this reputation for forcing himself on women and being completely ruthless in business. But no one can touch him or his son, aka, Beth’s beau!”
“Don’t ever call him that!” I snap without thinking about it.
“Well, anyway, for some reason he’s got his sights set on her. In fact, my source reckons marriage could be on the cards! And her father has given him his blessing.”
“Who’s your source?”
She shakes her head while turning back to face the sun, all before she taps the side of her nose with her index finger.
“Can’t tell you, she made me promise,” she replies. “She seemed pretty nervous when I talked to her about it. She refused to give me anything other than what I’ve already told you.”
“Fuck’s sake!” I grumble as I run my hand over my face in frustration. Her information has only opened up another can of worms. Whatever Lawrence thinks is going on between him and Beth, the feelings are not reciprocated, because she clearly doesn’t like him the way he likes her. All he makes her feel is fear.
“Told you she wasn’t for you, brother!” Casey shrugs before placing her hand on my knee, showing genuine concern, which is a rarity from her these days. “Stay clear, it’s for the best.”
I cover her hand with mine, nodding, before getting up to go and write this shitty day off with a run along the beach.
Chapter 12
Beth
“Right guys, you know the drill,” Mr Dalton grins from the front of the classroom, “it’s Friday, it’s nearly the end of the month, so we’re going to have an impromptu debate!”
Mr Dalton is one of those teachers who students love. He can get the whole class to not only behave but also apply themselves, because he’s just that kind of friendly guy you can’t say no to. He chuckles to himself when he hears half the class groan over his announcement, while the other half whoop with glee, clearly pleased for the chance to argue with one another. I, however, feel empty, as I have done all week.
It has nothing to do with Mr Dalton or his propensity for throwing a good debate at the end of the month, it’s because I can’t get Sunday’s impending dinner date with Oliver out of my head. I’ve never been left alone with my ‘fiancée’ before and to say I’m dreading it doesn’t even come close to how I’m feeling.
“You’ll have five minutes to talk about which side of the argument you wish to stand on before we open the floor,” he cries out over the noise of everyone’s reactions. “Should your parents always bail you out? Go!”
Well, what a question for my first high school debate. Thanks up there, truly hilarious! I sink into my chair, grimacing over the fact that I’m about to listen to everyone around me discuss the merits of having your parents’ unconditional support when I’m currently the one having to pay for my dad’s life changing fuck up. This does not bode well for the weekend ahead of me if this is the way it’s going to begin.
Kai turns toward me with gusto before delving into a mini-debate with himself over which side to argue on. Luckily, he doesn’t seem to notice that I’m not returning any of his arguments, or even saying anything at this point. Instead, I just smile and nod now and then. I don’t really want to think about it…at all.
“Ok, guys, time’s up!” Mr Dalton claps his hands together with excitement, obviously liking a good dispute as well as the next person. His low baritone voice has everyone settling down within a minute or two, even the more popular crowd who try to push it with the odd whisper in any other class. “Casey, you usually have something controversial to say, what’s your viewpoint?”
“Thank you, Mr Dalton,” she replies in a professional tone of voice, taking this all very seriously; she is no doubt very good at arguing. “Of course your parents should always have your back,” she begins, pulling a face as though any other argument would be ludicrous, “they are your protectors, your pack, if you like. If they don’t bail you out, who will?”
“Your pimp!” someone shouts, which is followed by the class erupting into raucous laughter. A random pencil gets thrown at whoever shouted, not that this stops Casey in her one-woman rant against crappy parents. She merely huffs noisily and flips the bird before continuing to argue her point.
“Like I was saying, your parents should be the people who you can rely upon, no matter what. The people who you can trust.”
“Not everyone has good, trustworthy parents, Casey,” the boy next to me speaks up, causing me to wither when all eyes suddenly turn to look in our direction. “What about them?”
“The question wasn’t ‘do your parents’, it was ‘should your parents’,” she argues.
“Yeah, but does that mean people with shitty parents shouldn’t have the same backup?” He gestures with his hands as he talks. “That isn’t fair!”
“What do you think, Beth?” Mr Dalton asks, suddenly standing right in front of my desk, eyeballing me with the expectation that I should say something more profound than sullenly shrugging my shoulders. Even without being in the mood that I’m currently in, I would have probably opted to stay clear of this discussion. In fact, I feel a shudder run down my spine when he smiles encouragingly at me. I instantly sit up, trying to look him directly in the eye without throwing up. “You seem to have been very quiet on the matter, what’s your opinion?”
“Well,” I reply quietly, almost a whisper really, “life isn’t fair, so unfortunately that’s a non-point.” I instantly look at Kai apologetically, thus demonstrating how bad I am at arguing with anyone. Being Kai, he just smiles and waits for me to continue.