She stared into her mirror as she put her lipstick on. Her hair was just right, one hundred brushes exactly and with a faux diamond clip holding the right-side hair back. Granny Faye and Judy were in Branson this week, but they called last night. They were having a blast and promised to bring her back a hat. Sometimes her grandmother was a bit…off.
When her parents died, she had been so sad. Her parents weren’t really there before they died, it was always nannies looking after them. When her and her sister moved in with Granny Faye, it was the first time she felt like she belonged. She wasn’t forced to dress like the little princess anymore or always act prim and proper. Even though she still did enough where Judy calls her Princess Di on occasion.
Her eyes drifted to the picture she had taped to her mirror. It was of her and Mel freshman year. That was the year that Lindsay knew she was in love with Melanie. It was also the year she found out Melanie liked older girls. She was seeing some senior at the time. Lindsay never learned her name, but she was insanely jealous of her.
Shaking her head, clearing it of stupid thoughts, she stood brushing her hands down her tight-fitting blouse. Today was the day, she was going to get Melanie’s attention. She wasn’t going to college a virgin.
Grabbing her keys, she went out and got into her car. It had been a gift from her grandmother. She had told her she didn’t want her to spend her money on her, but her grandmother was insistent. She told her that she shouldn’t ever have to depend on someone else for things like rides and food. As much as she loved her friends, they weren’t the most reliable.
All she wanted was to study art, fall in love and have a family. She also wanted to work in a museum, she had such plans. This year was going to be a turning point in her life. She would get a girlfriend, if not Melanie, someone else she wanted. She was going to stop being so proper and maybe a little wild. No more turning down Brian’s party invitations when Mrs. Kingsley is visiting her daughter in Minnesota. She was going to try the pot that was offered to her on most weekends by her friends. She was going to live her life and not be scared of what people will think. It was all leftovers from her parents’ attitude, they were so worried that anyone would see any faults in their family. This was supposed to be the best years of her life, she was going to make the most of it now.
As she entered the library before school started, she saw Justin sitting alone at a table. Going over to him she sat down across from him and looked at the book he was reading.
“Bertram Cope’s Year,” she read.
Justin looked up, blinking at her like he just realized she was there. “Have you read it?” he asked.
“No, I’ve never even heard of it. What’s it about?”
Justin closed his book and clasped his hands over it. “It’s been referred to by some to be the first American homosexual novel.”
“And they have that here?” she asked, hoping she didn’t sound as scandalized as she felt.
“No.”
“Where did you get it?” she asked curiously.
“Ethan let me borrow it. Don’t know where he got it.”
Her eyebrows rose. “You and Ethan, huh?”
“Not like that, he’s nice and all but not my type.” Justin protectively slid a piece of paper into the book.
“Oh. Why aren’t you hanging out with everyone at the pit?” They usually hung out at the pit waiting for the bell to ring. The real reason was Brian could hide there for a smoke.
“Don’t really feel like seeing them. They aren’t my friends, I’m nothing to them.”
She was shocked at the venom in his tone. “Hey, where is this coming from?”
“Well, first Brian fucked me and now he’s avoiding me like the plague. Then Mel and Emmett invited me to go into the city with them. We walked all around Music Row, I thought it would be just one street but it’s so much more. I really liked it. But then they took me to a club they like, soon after we got there, both left me. I was alone, first time there in the city and all alone. Then this creep starts feeling me up, he was older than my dad. An hour I waited there for them to come back but they didn’t. I was lucky that Mr. Murray was there, he made the creep leave and took me home. If that’s what they think friendship is, I don’t need it.”
She was so mad; she couldn’t believe they took him into downtown and left him there alone. It’s not safe in the best of times but recently there have been a string of murders of young teen boys in the city.
“I understand. I will talk to them; I promise you that. I’m so sorry they left you there.”
Justin just shrugged and put his book back in his backpack and left. She wondered who she should confront first, Brian for not keeping it in his pants or Mel and Emmett.
Brian couldn’t believe what he was hearing. First Lindsay gets on him for leading Justin on but then she told him about what Emmett and Mel did. They took Justin into the city and left him. He had been with Lindsay when she confronted Mel and Emmett. The two shamefully admitted that they did take Justin with them but had forgotten he was with them. They had left and didn’t remember Justin until they were getting off of I-24. They turned around and drove back but by the time they got there, the bartender had told them Justin left with some old guy.
The two had been worried but were too scared to call Justin’s house to check on him. That was all Brian could stand, he yelled at them for being so irresponsible. They knew just as well as he did there was four murdered teenage boys in the last year from that area. All raped and all strangled. How could they be so careless.
Justin didn’t join them for lunch. He wasn’t even in the cafeteria. They had seen him in gym just before lunch, but he refused to speak to any of them. Brian didn’t make it any better telling him to stop acting like a drama queen.
As Brian was getting in his car to go to work, he saw Justin getting in a car. It wasn’t just any car; it was a brand-new red Mustang. It was a very familiar car too. He had seen the car for the past three weeks driving up and down Main Street. What was he doing with David Cameron? David Cameron graduated four years ago. The car was given to him by his parents when he got accepted to Vanderbilt for med school. What was he doing here? And what was he doing with Justin? He was much too old…wasn’t he?
“I feel like a child,” Justin bitched, glaring at David before looking back out the car window.
“I have better things to do than pick you up too.”
“At least it’s only for today,” Justin said, not looking back over at the older boy.
“You still whine like you did when you were five,” David said.
Justin rolled his eyes. The Camerons had been close friends of his great aunt. When they moved here David’s grandmother came and helped them learn about the town. Now they think he needs a babysitter.
Yesterday while he was walking around Nashville, his parents got a distressing call. His grandmother had fallen down in her home. His dad was taking his mom up there but was coming back. Molly was staying with a friend. When Justin got home last night no one was home, there was just a note on the table to call Mrs. Cameron. He did and she told him because he wasn’t home when they came around earlier, they would take him to school and pick him up. No matter what he said, they wouldn’t listen. That’s why Mr. Cameron dropped him off this morning and David picked him up. He hoped to go another eleven years without seeing him. He had only met him once when he was young and they visited his great aunt.
“I’m going to slow down, just jump out,” David said, thinking he was funny…he wasn’t.
“Do you always have to be a dick?”
“Don’t like playing chaperone, sorry.”
“Next time I’ll blow some guy to get a ride,” Justin snapped, pissed off.
David looked at him and Justin wished to bring back what he said. He hoped he wasn’t about to get gay bashed…again.