The Road Trip

Chapter 10 - Hell Hath No Fury

Chapter 10

Hell Hath No Fury

Waking up in the morning is not fun for very many people. There’s this state where you’re so groggy you’re not sure if you’re awake or in a land of dreams. Everything just seems blurred together, and no matter how hard you try you can’t keep your eyes open. This just so happens to be me every single freaking morning of my life.

I woke up to laughs and giggles, hushed voices and harsh whispers. I groaned and rolled over, only to be stopped by a large object in the way. The only reason I was able to jolt myself awake and sit straight up was because a shock went through my body. Suddenly, I remembered falling asleep next to Trent in his hospital bed. I didn’t remember going home.

And sure enough, I was still laying in the hospital, mushed up next to Trent. My face was inches from his, and his eyes were just fluttering open. My heart stopped for a moment before we both screamed at the top of our lungs. I jumped from the bed, stumbling over my feet and falling to my back. Paisley, Chris, and Luke were standing at the end of the bed, laughing their heads off.

“What the hell?!” Trent exclaimed, pushing himself up. He winced slightly but overall looked better than he had the day before.

“You guys are so cute,” Paisley cooed, shaking her head. “You haven’t slept together since you were little.”

I couldn’t help but wrinkle my face slightly; what teenager hears a sentence like that and doesn’t get a dirty image in their brain?

“Look at this,” Chris said, shoving a phone in my face. There was a picture on the screen of Trent and me. His arm was slung over my waist, and my leg was resting over his hips. Our noses were practically touching. “That was like, an hour ago. I have more if you want to see.”

“I’d rather not,” I grumbled, standing up from the floor. My butt was stinging from the fall.

‘Don’t be grumpy,’ Trent signed at me, smirking. ‘You know you enjoyed it.’ It was really hard for me not to flip him the middle finger in that moment. If Paisley hadn’t been standing there, I would have.

Paisley walked over to Trent, who still looked confused and slightly disgusted. “How’s your head feeling today?” She asked, placing a hand on his forehead. I’m not sure what she thought it would do. Her fingertips didn’t have magic healing powers.

“I feel fine,” He groaned, shoving her hand away. “When can I go home?”

“Soon,” Our heads turned to see the doctor walking in, who previously been unnoticed. “Everything went fine through the night, so you’re good to go as soon as your mom signs the release papers.”

“Yes!” Trent exclaimed, fist pumping in the air. I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. He was going to be just fine.

And then my phone started ringing, and I realized I hadn’t set an alarm the night before. Who knows how long I had been asleep. I rushed to grab my phone as my heart dropped through my feet. Lilly’s name flashed across the screen.

I gulped, “Hello?”

“Where the hell are you?!” She screeched loudly. I pulled the phone away from my ear. “Mrs. Caraway is throwing a hissy fit because her star dancer is thirty minutes late to rehearsal.”

“Crap,” I hissed, grabbing my dance bag from its discarded place on the floor. “I’ll be there in five.” Over my shoulder, I called, “See you guys later!”

At that moment I was really glad that I lived in a small town. Everything was close together, so it was only a five-minute drive to my dance studio. I ran two red lights and plowed through three stop signs to get there, and once I did, I barely managed to park the car before sprinting into the building. Everyone was already in the classroom, practicing our routine. The second I burst in, everyone froze.

Mrs. Caraway’s icy glare settled on me, and I felt like I was being shoved into a freezer. Goosebumps literally appeared on my arms and legs. “Miss Knight, how kind of you to join us,” She forced a smile, which was sickly sweet. “Please take your place on the dance floor.”

It would have been better if she had yelled or said how disappointed in me. But she was trying to hide her anger and act like nothing was wrong. That meant there was some serious punishment in store for me later.

Hell hath no fury like a scorned Mrs. Caraway.

* * * * * * * * * *

“Addison, point your toes!” Mrs. Caraway yelled, throwing her hands in the air. For the past two hours, we had been running my solo, and she had been extra harsh. I was pretty sure I had it down to perfection, but every time I ran through it, she found flaws in my technique. At this point, I didn’t think there was anything left to correct.

But I bit my lip and pointed my toes even farther than they already were because there was nothing else I could do. This was my punishment for being late, and the only way to appease Mrs. Caraway’s anger was to endure it.

Suddenly, she stopped the music. I dropped out of my pirouette and turned to face her. “You’re sloppy, that’s all I have to say. We’re done for today. Get a drink and go home.”

Panting, I gasped, “I’m sorry I was late,” My chest was heaving from all the effort I had just exerted and all I wanted to do was take a nap, but Mrs. Caraway needed an apology. The only reason she hadn’t taken away my solo was because we were so close to the competition. “I’m not trying to make excuses, but I have a friend in the hospital. I was visiting him.”

It was a low move, I knew that. It wasn’t even completely true, because under normal circumstances I wouldn’t have put my dance career into jeopardy for Trent Daniels. But this wasn’t normal circumstances, and I was desperate to get back into her good graces.

Immediately, her face softened. “Oh honey, why didn’t you say something earlier? Are they going to be okay?”

“They’re going to be fine,” I nodded, wiping some sweat from my forehead. My sprained wrist was aching. “Actually, they’re going home today, so I should probably go visit them.”

“If you need anything let me know,” She called as I walked out of the door. Guilt ate at my stomach as I gripped the strap of my dance bag, hauling it onto my shoulder. I had lied. That wasn’t right, but it had gotten her to forgive me. That should count for something, right?

Lilly was sitting on the hood of her car, sunglasses on her nose. When she saw me, she smiled and waved, motioning for me to come over. “I was wondering how long she’d keep you in there. Was she pissed?”

“Oh yeah,” I nodded, sitting down next to her. “She kept correcting things that weren’t even there. I swear if I pointed my toes another inch they would’ve broken off.”

She laughed, shaking her head. “Well, you were late. That’s on you.”

I couldn’t help but feel a little flair of anger towards her. Everyone just assumed I had been off having the time of my life, and simply didn’t care if I was late to dance rehearsal or not. Sure, I had slept in and that’s why I had been late. But I had been with Trent in the hospital, it wasn’t like I was hungover or something.

So, when I spoke, the words came out a little more harshly than I had intended. “Trent’s in the hospital, okay? That’s why I was late.” She looked a little surprised, her mouth opening and closing like a dead fish. I continued. “And now I have to go. See you later, Lilly.”

“Addison, wait!” She called once I was halfway to my car. “I didn’t know, I’m sorry!” Slowly, I turned around. Lilly was chasing after me. “Do you want to come over? We can watch movies and eat ice cream.”

Lilly and I weren’t super close. She was my best friend on my dance team, but we never really hung out outside of class. However, she had been over a few times, so she knew who the Daniels’ were. In fact, she had met them before. At one point I had thought she and Luke would make a cute couple since they were the same age, but they hadn’t exactly hit it off.

And by that, I mean they were both terrible flirts. Messages got mixed and they were both convinced one hated the other.

“I can’t today, I have to go home and check on Trent,” I explained, giving her an apologetic look that was not at all sincere. I had no obligation to check on Trent, but I really was not in the mood to hang out with friends at the moment. Mrs. Caraway had seen to that.

“Let me come with you. I’ll help you take care of Trent.”

“Fine,” I sighed, defeated. “Meet me at my house, then.”

When I got home, Lilly pulled in right behind me. She had stayed on my tale the whole way, even though I had tried to shake her quite a few times.

Don’t get me wrong, I loved her to death, but there are certain times when you just want to be alone. This was one of those times. Her prescience was unneeded and unwanted, but it was being forced upon me whether I liked it or not. Before I got out of the car, I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and forced a smile.

Happy thoughts.

“Hey there,” Lilly called, waving frantically. “How’re you?”

“In the ten minutes since I last spoke with you?” I asked, placing a hand on my hip. “Just great. Thanks for asking.” I quickly looked to my next-door neighbors, because I only had one thing on my mind; Trent. The Daniels’ car was back in their driveway, which meant Trent was home. I sucked in a breath.

Lilly must’ve followed my gaze because she said, “Come on, let’s go visit him. I’m sure he could use the company.” But suddenly I was hesitant. What if Trent was sleeping and I woke him up? What if he was in pain and just wanted to be left alone? What if, despite what he said, he was furious with me and I was the last person he wanted to see?

All were possibilities, and I was scared. Nervously, I pulled at the Velcro on my wrist brace. “I-I think I’m going to take a shower first,” I stuttered, “Besides, it’s not like Trent is going anywhere.”

When I opened the front door, Liam was vacuuming the living room, cleaning up something that looked suspiciously like a bag of crushed up potato chips. His hair was tousled like it hadn’t been washed, and there were dark, heavy bags under his eyes. He was shirtless, wearing nothing but boxers. He looked tired and stressed like he was about to blow a fuse any minute.

“Hey, Liam,” I said gently, giving him a small wave. He barely glanced at me, grunted, and went back to his housework. I winced, grabbing Lilly’s hand and dragging her through the living room. We did not need to hang around when he was in that kind of mood.

“What’s wrong with your brother?” Lilly asked as soon as we were out of earshot.

“Girlfriend troubles,” I muttered bitterly, shaking my head. “Nia’s being a bitch.”

“The pregnant one?” She c****d her head to the side. I nodded, flopping down on my bed with a groan. “Gosh, well aren’t you just a ray of sunshine.”

“Shut up,” I glared at her, hoping she would shut her mouth. I couldn’t take much more. “I have a right to be in a bad mood. Liam can’t go on my road trip and Trent just got back from the hospital. I’m going to feel so bad leaving him here when I leave this weekend.”

She scoffed, “Trent will be fine. I’m sure he’ll have no shortage of people wanting to take care of him.”

Lilly was referring to all the girls who were in love with Trent Daniels. He was hot, star athlete for our high school swim team, and had the ability to be very sweet when he wanted to be. He was a catch, not even I could deny that.

“Ew,” I wrinkled my nose. Just thinking about all the skanks made me sick. Not that Trent would ever hook up with them. He hadn’t had a girlfriend since Alexandria, which, in my opinion, was a little bit sad.

She rolled her eyes, “You’re such a prude.”

“I am not!” I screeched, whacking her arm. Just because I didn’t like thinking about Trent doing things with a bunch of girls did not make me a prude!

“Oh really? Have you had s*x with Josh yet?” She questioned, raising an eyebrow at me. Lilly knew the answer to that question, but she just had to ask for the purpose of embarrassing me. It worked too. My cheeks started to burn, so I lowered my head and buried my face in my purple comforter. “Exactly.”

“Just go take a shower,” I told her, my voice muffled through the bed sheets. She didn’t respond, but I could hear her laughing as her footsteps headed down the hallway.

Once she was gone to take a shower in the guest bathroom, I pulled out my cell phone. If I was going over to the Daniels’, I needed to make sure it was safe first.

Hey, how’s Trent doing? Is it safe to come over?

While I waited for a reply, I set to work picking out an outfit suitable for visiting the neighbors. Any other day and I would’ve put on pajamas, but for some reason, I wanted to look...acceptable. Not nice, necessarily, but I didn’t want to wear baggy pants and a t-shirt. That just wouldn’t cut it.

After I had picked out some denim booty shorts and a black, strappy tank top, my phone buzzed with a message. Luke had texted back faster than expected.

He’s doing good. He just woke up from a nap, so if you want to see him before he goes back to sleep, make it quick.

Be there in ten.

* * * * * * * * * * *

It took about twenty minutes for Lilly to get out of the shower, which made us really late getting over to the Daniels’. In the time I was waiting for her I had time to bathe, dry my hair, and apply a good amount of makeup. Usually, I just didn’t bother, but I had the extra time, so I thought, why not?

When Lilly exited the bathroom, hair sopping wet, I grabbed her wrist and started yanking her down the hall. She still had a damp towel clutched in her hand; eyes wide with confusion. “Addison, what the hell are you doing?!”

“We’re going to Trent’s house. Now.”

“Hurry much?” Lilly asked sarcastically, yanking her arm from my grip. “Let me brush my hair at least.” Her hair looked fine. Sure, it looked a little ratty, but it was fine. Especially because she didn’t care about the Daniels brothers. So, I couldn’t help but let out a tired, exasperated sigh.

“Lilly, I’ve been waiting for twenty minutes. If you want to brush your hair you can come over later.” I was exhausted and beyond frustrated with life. Lilly wasn’t doing anything wrong, I was just in desperate need of some sleep, and she was lucky enough to be on the receiving end of my frustration and anger.

“Well fine,” She mumbled, running a hand through her dripping hair. She let the towel drop to the ground and twisted her hair into a messy bun, securing it with a black hair tie that was around her wrist. “Let’s go.”

Never in my life had I been nervous to visit the Daniels’. They were practically my family. Are you ever nervous walking into your grandma’s house? But as I walked across my lawn and up their front steps, my heart started pounding faster and faster. My hands were getting slick with sweat, and I couldn’t seem to stand still as I waited for someone to answer the door. Lilly shot me an amused glance, which I forced myself to ignore.

Luke opened the door an agonizing minute later. ‘Hey,’ He signed, nodding his head at Lilly. ‘Come on in.’ I felt a little bit strange as I followed Lilly in the door and gulped. Luke must’ve noticed because he shook his head at me. ‘He’s fine Addie, calm down.’

‘I-I’m fine,’ Suddenly, my mouth was dry. ‘I’m just going to go get a drink of water. I’ll be back.’

As I started to walk towards the kitchen, Lilly called, “No, don’t leave me!”

“You’ll be fine,” I laughed and continued walking.

The Daniels’ lived in a fairly nice house. It was pretty much the same layout as mine, except Paisley had decorated the interior with whites, browns, and blues. The gorgeous couch that had once been pearl white was now a light brown from all the boys that came through the house, but her living room was still spectacular. There was a glass coffee table, a big flat screen TV, and bright blue curtains draped over all the windows. It was classy and elegant with a splash of color; I was in love with it all.

But when I saw who was leaning back against the couch, feet propped onto the coffee table, I froze. Spider-Man 2 was playing on the TV, but Trent didn’t seem to be watching it. When I walked in, his head turned.

“Hey,” He smiled, motioning for me forward. “I didn’t know you were coming over tonight.”

“Yeah,” I said meekly, sitting down next to him. I made sure there was a large amount of space between us. “Just thought I’d check in.”

“You and everyone else in town,” He muttered darkly, rolling his eyes. “It’s just a concussion, Addison, I’m not dying. Look, no more head wrap,” He pointed to his head, which was no longer wrapped in a white bandage. “You’re still wearing the wrist brace, so I’d say your worse off than I am.”

I glanced down at my wrist, which was still wrapped in the black Velcro brace. The pain had subsided for the most part. I shrugged, “It only hurts when I do things like pick something up. Or move. Or breathe.”

He chuckled, “Always the optimist, I see. Have you been to the doctor yet?” I stiffened a little when he said doctor. My mom had tried to take me, but I had insisted that I was fine. I couldn’t risk it being broken and having to wear a cast. It would’ve made dancing really difficult.

“I’m fine,” I dismissed it with the wave of a hand. He frowned, obviously disagreeing, but returned his attention to the movie without another word. His lips were pursed slightly, and his eyebrows were knitting together. He was thinking.

I was thinking too. All I could think about was Josh and Alexandria. Here I was, sitting next to Trent, and I couldn’t bring myself to tell him about his best friend and ex-girlfriend. He deserved to know, more so than I did, but the thought of having to be the bearer of bad news scared me. There was no telling how he would react, but if I didn’t tell him it would be a million times worse.

It was time to come clean.