Chapter 5:Mix up when Leonid met with Selena
Selena walked closer to Sophia on their small bed and she cleans her tears.“ You can tell me! What the matter is? Tell me how you got the money?” Selena ask and their mother stood in beside the door and she was listen to her daughters.“ Listen! I promise, I will not tell mum, remember you don’t always lie to me “ Selena says.“ I hope you will not tell mum but I trust you since you promise then you will fulfill it” Sophia says and she stare at Selena.“ That day that Olivia took me to the night club, they refuse to employ so I waited so that I can speak to the boss my self but a billionaire showed up and he said he wanted to have a night with me and he offered me money so I had to accepted, I was desperate when the doctor said that you have to just little time so I accepted and the next morning he offered me $10,000 and that was how I was able to pay your hospital bills” Sophia says and Selena gets emotional and she hugs Sophia and their mum heard and tears fell off from their eyes.“ You lost your virginity in a horrible way only because of me, I feel so guilty right but Know one thing, I will never forget what you did to me, you had ti uncomfortable your self it’s to save my life” Selena says and she cried.“ I can do anything for you” Sophia says and they both hug and their mother cried and she left the door step of their room.“ Oh lord, Sophia had to do this for her twin sister, I have failed as a mother, I don’t deserve to be mother or to be called a mother” Roseline says and she stare at the money Sophia gage to her.“ I will make use of this money to open a new business, my daughters have to stop suffering” she says and she determined to open a business.It’s in the midnight and Sophia I already at sleep and Selena thought about the young billionaire, Sophia talked about and she wants to meet him at all cost, she is willing to ask Sophia some questions about him.“ For that young billionaire to offer Sophia a lot of money that means, he has money and she must be very rich. I think I just meet him, that is my dream man ” Selena says and she smiles.It’s the next day and Selena had already dressed up for to go the hospital for check up and she thought of asking Sophia about Leonid.“ Sophia! Do you know his name? I mean this guy, that dis Virgin you” Selena ask.“ His name is Leonid Ford. Why did you ask?Did you know him?” Sophia ask.“ I just wanted to know, I just feel sorry for you. I know that l lost my virginity to my ex isles boyfriend because I loved him so much. Do you know his house? I mean this Leonid of a guy” Selena ask.“ No, we only met at the hotel. Why all this question, I don’t want to know talk about because each time I remember, I feel so bad but at the same time, I want to meet with him and apologize to him because I spoke bad to him that day” Sophia says and Selena stare at her and she smiles.“ Humm… I see. I will leave now for the hospital” Selena says.“ Let me come with you Selena, you can’t go alone” Sophia says and Selena smiles. “ I guess, I am not a baby anymore, you can do the house chores, let me catch up” Selena says and Sophia let her went alone.Sophia smiled after she saw her twin sister was already fine, and their mother also fine.“ I am happy that Selena is fine mum” Sophie she and her mother stood up from the sofa she was and she walked closer to her and hold her hand.“ All thanks to you” her mum’s age and they both hug and Sophia still thought about Leonid, her feelings for him grows a little by little even though, she thought, she will never meet him again.Selena already did her check up and she took the result and she went out of the hospital, Leonid was also in that same hospital, to pick up his dad’s test result, he saw when Selena was walking out of the hospital and he thought usd was Sophia and he ran after her and hold her hand.“ Hey!” He says and Selena stare at him and she already admire him because Leonid already look rich and handsome and she smiled without knowing who he was.What will Selena do at this point? She has been dreaming to meet him?Flashed back in school I couldn’t decide what to wear. At first I thought casual, like jeans and a button-down; then I thought no, in case his parents are there I should wear a dress, something somber like my gray scoop neck with the skinny belt. Then that looked too much like a funeral outfit, so I tried a marigold silk shirtdress, but that looked too spring, too cheerful.The elevator doors ding open and I step out into the hallway. It’s early Monday morning, an hour before school starts. I’m carrying a wicker basket of freshly baked chocolate chunk cookies and a get-well card covered in pink- and red-lipsticked lips. I’m wearing a navy turtleneck sweater and a camel-colored miniskirt, cream tights, brown suede ankle booties with a high heel. I curled my hair and did it halfway up, halfway down.Fingers crossed I don’t look as guilty as I feel.At least it wasn’t as bad as it could have been—that’s what I keep telling myself. It certainly looked bad that night. It looked horrible.
Finally Aunt Bette springs into action. I hear her struggle with my door on her side for a second, and then it swings open fast.“Thank goodness,” I say, relieved. I’m about to step into the hallway when I spot some stuff on the floor. It looks like white sand, or a chalk of some kind. To the left I can see it was laid in a thin, perfect line, but directly in front of my door it’s been totally messed up by Aunt Bette’s footprints.What in the world?I think about stooping over and touching it, but I’m a little spooked.Aunt Bette has always been into weird things, like smudgings and crystals and channeling different energies. She used to always bring back trinkets and lucky charms whenever she went overseas. I know that stuff is all harmless, but I point down at the chalk and say, “What is that stuff?”Aunt Bette looks up guiltily. “It’s nothing. I—I’ll clean it up.”I nod, like Okay, sure, while stepping past her. “I’ll see you in a few hours.”“Wait,” she says urgently. “Where are y
Selena lets out a howl of victory and does a spin, whipping the flannel around over her head like a lasso. “This is a teachable moment, Dan. When I want something, I take it. Boom. End of story.” Dan’s face turns bright pink. I bust up laughing because she’s so crazy.Selena must hear me, because immediately she looks over to where I’m standing. She nudges her chin my way the slightest bit. I smile back, quick, and am about to climb on my bike and ride away, when Selena does something surprising.She holds up a finger, like I should wait up for her.It happens so fast I wonder if maybe I imagined it. We haven’t really ever done this before. Acknowledge each other in public, out in the open. I guess we can now, since our whole revenge plan is over. But I take out the book I need to read for English class and flip through it, so I don’t look obvious. I watch as she grinds out her cigarette.“Come on, Selena. Give it back.”Selena puts it on over her sweatshirt. “But I want to wear it. I
So Kim did steal from Paul? I guess Frank can see the shock on my face, because he shakes his head, like I’ve got the wrong idea. “Think of it more as an inevitable lawsuit settlement.”“But it’s not like this place makes that much money. What could it have been? Maybe a thousand dollars, max? That’s not going to get her far. It’s not like that’s buying her a mansion or something. She hasn’t talked to her parents in years. She could be . . . homeless.”“She’ll be okay,” Frank says again, but this time he’s less sure.The tears come right then. I can’t stop, and Frank looks uncomfortable as shit. Wiping my nose with my sleeve, I say, “If she calls, will you tell her I came looking for her?”Frank nods, but it’s the kind of nod where we both know that won’t ever happen. Kim’s gone for good.I’m crying my eyes out as Frank leads me out of a side door and into the alleyway. He tells me good-bye and then shuts the door in my face. I try to call Kim’s cell, but the number’s disconnected. Of
He’d do the same thing for me,” Rennie says, and I can’t believe she can keep a straight face saying it. As if Leonid would lift a finger for anybody but himself! “Oh, and speaking of that, I’m not going to be at practice for the rest of this week. Leonid got a few appointments off island to see a sports-medicine specialist.” She smiles to herself, pleased. “He’s getting his hard cast off tomorrow, right on schedule.”My head snaps up. “Why do you have to miss practice for that?”Rennie ignores me and says, “Ash, can you be in charge?”Ashlin casts an uneasy look my way. “Sure. Lil and I can do it together—right, Lil?”Incredulously I ask, “Are you quitting the squad or something?”“No, I’m not quitting the squad,” Rennie snaps. “That’s not what I said.”“Well, you have missed, like, three practices already,” I say, and my voice shakes a little as I say it, because I’m scared. I’m actually calling her out on her BS for once.Rennie’s cheeks heat up. “When I signed on to rep Leonid’s n
But my biggest problem right now is that I don’t have enough booth coverage. I got Nadia and her friends to do the scavenger hunt, and I got the drama kids to do a campfire story hour, but I still need judges for the costume contest.And then there’s the face-painting booth.Ever since freshman year, Rennie and I have manned the facepainting booth. We’d paint butterflies and stars and tiger stripes on the little kids’ faces. It was our thing. I think it will be a perfect opportunity for us to talk, away from Ashlin and Leonid and everybody else. Just me and Rennie, like it used to be.I take a deep breath and say to her, “We’re still doing the face-painting booth, right?”Rennie scrunches her face up. “I don’t think I can. Sorry.” Except she doesn’t look sorry.“That’s okay,” I say. But it’s not. It’s far from okay.“I need time to get into my costume. Fall Fest is at what, five? And over at eight? There won’t be enough time, even if I rush home after school.” Rennie shrugs. “Plus, so
I watch Alex chase a group of girls with the chain saw. He almost trips but catches himself. Across the room I can hear Leonid’s guffaw. It echoes throughout the gym.I bite a piece of candy off my candy bracelet. In an hour and a half it’ll all be over. I wasn’t going to go to the haunted maze because I didn’t want to see Rennie, but now I think I will go. I have as much right to be there as she does. They’re my friends too. Look how Leonid and Alex showed up for me tonight. They’re not in her pocket as much as she thinks.I don’t think I ever understood the power of a Halloween costume before tonight. Probably because I never had a very good one.When I was a kid, my mom made my costumes herself. Other kids would buy theirs at the drugstore, the kind that came with a mask and a plastic suit to put on over your clothes. Those kids would run around, breaking sticks as Superman or shooting pretend webs out of their wrists like SpiderMan.Mom wouldn’t allow it. “There’s no creativity in
I reach out and touch his arm. His shirt is so unbelievably soft, and I feel his bicep underneath. It’s big and tight and cut, probably from the weeks he’s spent on crutches. I say, “I’m so sorry you got hurt at the dance.” And despite everything Leonid did to me, it feels good to apologize. Because I truly did not mean for him to be hurt so bad that his whole life might be screwed up.He shrugs his shoulders. “Shit happens, you know?”“Yup,” I say, nodding, because it is true. “Shit happens.” It happens to all of us.There’s an awkward second, where neither of us knows what to say. Leonid rustles his hand through his hair. “I should go find my friends. Hope you make it out of here alive.” He positions his crutches and goes to take a step forward, but I shift my body so he can’t. It gives me a surge of adrenaline.Put myself out there. That was Selena’s advice.What do I have to lose?“It’s, um, been a long time, huh?” The words get kind of caught up in my throat.Leonid’s head falls