Rebel Wrong

Chapter Two: Leaving the Love Behind

The last week of school before Christmas break went by quickly for Cade. She didn't really talk to anyone and instead focused on studying for her finals. She had been letting her grades slide over the last couple of months. They had seemed the least important on her list of things to do, after picking up more hours at work and spending more nights watching over her mother. 

She hadn't seen or spoken to her mother in over a week. The first thirty days of her recovery were to be spent locked away from everyone from her past, even her teenage daughter that she still technically had custody over.

Honestly, she couldn't care less if she ever spoke to her mother again. It was a welcome relief to not have to worry about where her mother was or even if she were still alive. She could actually be a teenager again, without any responsibilities.

"You need to look at this from a different perspective," Trevor Marsh, her best friend since kindergarten, told her as he watched her pack up her things. 

She had been procrastinating the whole moving process, hoping to convince her brother to let her stay with him. That was a no-go. It turns out that Axel was going to move to New York after the first of the year, with a little financial support from their father, of course.

"And what perspective is that?" she inquired, even though she already knew the answer. Trevor was like her other half; she knew everything about him.

"Imagine all the babes in bikinis!" he exclaimed, sitting up on her bed. 

"Of course," she groaned, rolling her eyes. 

"Cade, if you love me, you will take candid pictures of women at the beach and send them to me." He gave her a puppy dog pout and even added the whining for emphasis.

"Well, it's a good thing I don't love you then," she told him, giving him a serious look.

"This is the reason why you have no friends," he said, glaring at her.

"I'm pretty sure that you're the reason I have no friends. People still talk about you head banging to Metallica at Homecoming our freshman year," she frowned at him.

"Ah, that means I'm legendary," he pointed out. "You're lucky to be my friend."

"Yeah, lucky," she snorted. 

She finished packing a little while later. Trevor was taking a nap on the couch in the living room. He said it tired him out to watch her do all that work. He was a pain in the ass, but he was her pain in the ass.

She worried about him being all alone. Even though he acted like a cocky jackass when he was around her, he was normally shy and quiet in public. He almost passed out when Julie Johnson asked him if she could borrow a pencil, and she was average looking. 

A couple of hours later and they were on their way to the airport. Trevor was giving her a ride. She hadn't even bothered to ask her brother. She was pretty sure that he didn't even know that she was leaving today, even though she had told him at least a dozen times over the past few days.

"But seriously though, one bikini beach picture," Trevor said, for the fifth time that day. 

"I said, maybe!" Cade let out an annoyed breath. It was like dealing with a child.

"And I don't want any of those old ladies in bikinis. I want young, hot girls," he clarified.

"I am not your porn supplier," she said, rolling her eyes. 

"Hey, you ruined my one chance at life long happiness. You owe me this." He turned to glare at her as turned into the parking lot of the airport. 

"What are you talking about?" she demanded. He claimed that she ruined his life at least three times a week. 

"The new cashier at the Chinese place we always go to!" he exclaimed.

"Ah..." Cade drew a blank as she tried to recall whatever it was he was upset about. 

"You told her about my sensitivity to spicy foods," he added.

"And by sensitivity you mean...?" she pressed, trying not to laugh. 

"Don't even play the innocent card! You practically announced to the entire place that I get diarrhea!" He was starting to get himself worked up. 

Cade couldn't hold it in anymore. She burst out laughing. She really hadn't been trying to embarrass him, at least not that time. He was going for some spicy egg rolls and she just reminded him what could happen. It wasn't her fault that the weird song playing in the restaurant suddenly stopped at the precise moment she said that. 

"It's not funny!" he whined. 

Though she'd never admit it to him, Cade was really going to miss Trevor. He was such a giant dork and he was so clueless about girls, and pretty much everything in life, that it was easy to make fun of him. He was always making her laugh, even when he wasn't trying to. Him just being Trevor could make her cry with laughter.

Neither of them spoke as they grabbed her bags from the back end of Trevor’s snow-filled truck and began the long hike into the airport. It was pretty packed, what with it being the day before Christmas Eve and all. Her actual flight was supposed to have left yesterday morning, but there had been a big snow storm that went through the Midwest and all flights had been cancelled because of it.

She really didn't mind the delay. She had actually been hoping for an asteroid to hit Earth and destroy all of man kind just so she could avoid having to see her father again. He made her mother look like the world's greatest parent. 

"It's okay, Cade, you can cry," Trevor told her after they had gotten inside the warm comfort of the heated airport.

"I'm not gonna cry," she replied, almost carelessly as she surveyed the airport.

"Really, you can go ahead and let it all out," he said, sniffling a bit.

Cade turned to look at her best friend. He quickly glanced away from her and pretended to be preoccupied with the giant electronic board that showed all the take-off and arrival times for the flights.

“Hey! You just want me to cry so you won’t be embarrassed about crying!” she accused him.

“It’s not manly if the guy cries first!” he objected.

“Trust me, Trev, no one could think you’re any less manly than you already are,” she said, frowning at him.

It took him a moment to comprehend her words and realize that she was actually insulting him. That was another thing she loved about Trevor. He was too oblivious to know when someone was insulting him. He was the reason that she was able to perfect her art of subtle insults.

"I'm not even going to miss you," he replied, angrily.

"Sure you will. Who else will point out who isn't wearing a bra at school?" She gave him a serious look.

His blue eyes widened and his ears started to turn red. "You told me when Mrs. Calhoun wasn't wearing a bra!" he exclaimed in outrage. "She has great-grandchildren, Cade!" 

Cade had to bite her lip to keep from laughing out loud. This was one of the last times that she was going to be able to tease Trevor like this, so she had to make it memorable. 

"I'm sorry, Trev," she apologized once she saw his pouty face. She could never say know to that. He looked like a lost little puppy.

"I'm just so upset that you're moving to California," he sighed.

Any other girl would have gotten butterflies in her stomach at those words, but Cade knew better.

"I should be the one going! You don't even appreciate all the women in bikinis!" he sniffled. 

"There's my best friend," she sighed, rolling her eyes.

They stood awkwardly in the middle of the airport. Neither one of them was that good at expressing their feelings. They had been inseparable since they were six and didn't find the need to tell each other how much they cared.

"Don't forget about me, okay?" Trevor said, staring at his feet. His ears were bright red, so she knew that he was blushing.

"Trev, it took me about eight years to warm up to you. I think your best friend title will stay safely intact," she assured him. 

"You're a horrible person," he said, looking up at her and shaking his head.

"Go talk to people and make new friends, then you won't have to deal with me anymore," she told him.

Trevor thought about it for a moment, cringed, and then gave her a forced smile. "I love you," he finally admitted.

Cade smiled. "I love you, too," she replied. Then she did something that surprised both of them. She hugged him.

It was just a spur of the moment thing. They were never the touchy-feely types, Trevor especially, but she just felt the sudden urge to hug him. 

"This is getting weird," he whispered as he awkwardly hugged her back.

"That's why I did it," she laughed. He laughed too, and slowly he began to relax. 

It was weird to be hugging her best friend, but she really didn't mind. She needed to be close to someone and Trevor was the one that was always there for her.

They hugged until Cade deemed it time to get checked in so she wouldn't miss her flight, because that would just be terrible. Trevor gave her a playful punch on the arm, trying to gain back some of his manliness after the sappy hug. They said goodbye again and then Cade was on her way.

The plane ride was long and boring. There was a bratty kid that was screaming his head off just a few rows ahead of her, and of course the parents just let him scream. If someone has a child that is that annoying, they should definitely consider driving next time. Cade knew she wasn't the only one plotting the child's untimely death.

When they landed, Cade practically sprinted off of the plane, running into the annoying demon child, on accident of course. She quickly found her baggage and hauled it through the airport until she made it to the pick-up area and she dropped all of her bags on the ground.

She cringed when she saw the man dressed like a chauffeur, holding a sign with her last name written on it. She felt bad for the guy. How degrading did it have to feel to wait at an airport, for who knows how long, holding up a sign? 

"Uh hey, I'm Cade," she awkwardly introduced herself.

The chauffeur eyed her up and down. "It's a little chilly out, Miss, you might want to put on a jacket," he told her.

In preparation for the change from the snowy Michigan weather to the sunny California weather, Cade had changed into jean shorts, flip flops, and a loose tank top. She didn't want to be the dork that walked out of the airport in snow pants and a parka.

“It’s sixty-five degrees out and sunny, I think I’ll be fine,” she replied, rolling her eyes. The guy was still frowning at her. “I just came out of below freezing temperatures and eight inches of snow. This isn’t going to faze me,” she assured the older man.

The man chose not to pick a fight with her, and instead let out a heavy sigh as he grabbed two of her bags and turned to walk out of the airport.

He led her to a fancy, black town car and immediately began to load her bags into the trunk. She didn't bother waiting for him to open the door for her and instead got into the backseat herself.

The drive through L.A. was relatively peaceful. Cade tried her best to remain unimpressed, but when the ocean came into view, she couldn't help but to feel a little giddy. She had only seen the ocean one time and that's when she was nine and went to Texas for her great-uncle's funeral. Even then she hadn't actually gotten to swim in it.

The scenery was great, but she couldn't really enjoy it. Knowing that she'd soon have to come face-to-face with her father for the first time in almost two years made her feel anxious.

When they approached Beverly Hills, she started to get more anxious. She wished she would have just skipped her flight so she could spend Christmas with Trevor and his family. His parents loved her. They were always nice to her and shoved food at her, trying to keep her around because they knew that she was their son's only friend. His dad even offered to pay for plane tickets so Trevor could come and visit her.

Trevor and her home in Michigan quickly left her mind when they approached the gated community that she would soon be living in. Over the brick wall and palm trees, Cade could see that all of the homes were large and extravagant.

She was not disappointed when they finally pulled into the driveway of a large, two story colonial style home with a large front porch, and impressive columns out front. It looked like a smaller version of the White House.

“Hi dear, I’m Winny,” a plump older woman greeted Cade as soon as she stepped into the pristine manor.

Winny reminded Cade of a character straight out of Gone With the Wind. She wore a long blue dress with a white apron covering it, and her gray hair was pulled back tightly in a bun. 

"Is my dad here?" Cade immediately asked. She wanted to have a few words with him.

"Oh dear," Winny gave her a sad look. "They didn't know how long it'd take you to get in, what with all the weather delays and all, so entire family left for Switzerland yesterday, for Christmas." 

Cade knew she shouldn't be upset. This wasn't the first time her father had done something selfish, completely forgetting about his children. She was just going to have to get used to being ignored again.