Page 89 of Save Me
People start to whisper to one another, gasping over the fact that the once ‘royal couple’ of Fairfield are now ending their reign in a very public manner. Casey glances at me before taking her seat and fixing her eyes on the front of the room where Mr Dalton has just walked in with his usual friendly smile and exuberant attitude to life.
That was…weird!
As usual, as soon as the lesson has ended, Xander leaves the room without any kind of acknowledgment of me, something that hurts each and every time, even if it is just for appearances’ sake. However, it does give me a chance to gather my things and let the likes of Kyle leave without me running into him on the way out.
“Hey!” I practically jump when I hear Casey’s voice from behind me, especially as it’s sounding so friendly and out of character. “Xander told me what he did to you,” she says sadly and takes a moment to swallow at the same time as I feel a blush spreading across my cheeks through complete embarrassment. “Are you ok?”
“I will be…or not,” I half-laugh, “thank you for saying something earlier and for helping me when I was ill.” She shrugs and gives me a genuine smile; one a friend would give you on any regular day. I have to admit, it’s a little disconcerting, given our history. “Why are you being nice to me?”
“Because I know my brother loves you and if you’ve managed to get Xander to do that,” she says, then pauses with a pensive look on her face, “you must be ok.”
I giggle over her small compliment, prompting her to do the same. It’s still weird but I can accept that she’s trying to be nice.
“Well, thank you,” I say with a nod before walking out the door. She falls into step beside me and when we reach the hall, she takes my hand and looks at me with what looks like concern.
“Tomorrow, I want you to come and sit with us at lunch,” she says with a genuine smile. “I know you can’t sit with Xander, and Kaiden is gone, so come sit with us.”
“Really? You don’t have to do that, Casey. I know I’m not the most popular girl in school, so-” I begin to babble while half thinking about how Kai is going to react when I tell him about this thoroughly surreal turn of events. Who knew being forced into marriage by a psychotic cult leader was the thing I needed to win over the school’s social elite?!
“Will you just sit with us…please?” She rolls her eyes with an impatient huff. “Xander means a lot to me, and I want us to get along, for his sake, so he knows someone is watching out for you at school when he can’t. He’s such a moody ass at the moment, and I know it’s because he can’t be by your side. I want us to be friends, ok?”
“Ok, thank you,” I reply with a grateful smile, willing to accept her olive branch for both her and Xander. “I’ve gotta go, Leo’s waiting for me.”
“Yeah, give him my number.” She leans in with a suggestive smirk on her face, one that Xander also has in his remit. “He’s seriously cute and it would piss Kyle off, no end!”
“First off, Xander would kill me, secondly, he’s over ten years older than you, and has a son, and thirdly, I don’t want anyone knowingly getting anywhere near Mayfield,” I reply with a more than serious expression. I wouldn’t wish Mayfield on anyone, not even Kyle.
“Hmm, good point,” she pouts. “Oh, well, maybe one day. I’ll see you tomorrow, and don’t worry, I’ll warn everyone to not be a dick to you.”
As soon as we get outside the classroom, we both spot Xander leaning casually up against the lockers, trying but failing to look inconspicuous. He glances up and sees us talking, which has him smiling with teeth and dimples, before quickly looking away, though without a lot of subtlety. Casey shakes her head over his piss-poor acting before sashaying toward him with her usual grace and confidence. He slings his arm across her shoulders, looking proud of his sister for reaching out to me, not to mention speaking up against her ex-boyfriend in front of the whole class. Still, I can’t help but slump a little, thinking what I wouldn’t give to be normal and be able to walk out with them.
When Leo pulls the car up outside of my house, I notice him glance at me through the rear-view mirror, warning me of something unpleasant. My heart sinks when I look up to see Oliver’s car parked upfront. Raised voices have me darting my attention back over to the front door where Oliver and Mum are having a very heated argument. I sigh as I watch him running his fingers through his hair in frustration, while she points at him with disgust written all over her usually placid features. I am loving my confident, strong mother, right now, but I’m also feared of what might happen if Oliver doesn’t get his own way. With that in mind, I quickly gather my bag to get out of the car as fast as is humanly possible.
“You gonna be ok?” Leo asks in a hushed voice.
I just smile and nod, then get out to try and calm the situation before things turn ugly. Mum sees me first but remains in her angry stance of arms folded, back straight, head up, and refusing to take any bullshit. I tentatively smile at her at the same time as Oliver spins around to see me walking up the path. Before I can reach them, he marches up to meet me halfway and takes hold of my bicep to leads me back to my mother.
“Beth, please tell your mother that as your fiancé, I should be able to come to your house to see you!” he growls, all the while glaring at my mother with fury in his eyes.
“I have told you that you are no longer welcome in this house,” she replies defiantly, “not after what you did to my daughter. That was despicable. I wouldn’t treat a dog so poorly!”
“I’m sorry if I was little… rough, but she needs to understand the ways of-”
“For fuck’s sake! I don’t want to hear any of your bullshit!” She slams her arms down her sides and completely loses her calm composure. “If I had my way, you and your sadistic organization would be sent straight to hell!”
I brace myself as I watch him lean in close to her with a nasty glint in his eye, one that has my heart rate rising. I quickly glance at Leo for help, who is now looking just as anxious over the oncoming altercation between my mother and Oliver.
“Don’t push me, Mrs Taylor,” he growls like an angry, wild, animal, readying itself to attack at any moment. “I will not tolerate anyone slandering the Mayfield name!”
My mother is still set on self-destruct when she laughs menacingly in his face, telling him how little she thinks of him and his cult. When I see his hands clench into tight fists, I step in between them, ready to take the brunt of his wrath.
“Mum, please let me handle this,” I say calmly, pleading with her to let me save her. “Please?” I mouth before she tuts and relents with a complete slump of her shoulders.
“Fine, but he’s not coming in!” she huffs, then walks back inside of the house.
I then turn my attention back to the angry bear behind me, throwing him a half-hearted smile in the hopes that it might make him calm down, if only a little. It sort of works, but when he grabs hold of my hands, it still feels aggressive.
“Oliver, try to understand, my mother isn’t Mayfield, and you are never going to convince her that striking someone you supposedly love is going to be acceptable.”