Castles On The Sand Part 23

"I don't know," I admit.

"I wish I had a better opinion of her parents, but my contact with them has been almost all negative."

"You mean fighting with them to keep funding the library?"

"Yeah, they're a couple of control freaks, and after what happened to her older sister, I worry about her. She's the sort of person who reacts to discipline by acting out, isn't she?"

"I really don't know what's going on."

Siraj gives her another speculative look, then returns to sorting through the fliers set out on the counter.

The next day, as Kailie and I step onto campus, Alex stands at the edge of the parking lot, waiting. With a glance at Kailie, he draws me aside.

It's a bitterly cold morning, but the sky is the kind of gray that promises a warm afternoon. My lungs sting a little every time I inhale. Alex, as always, just wears his dad's military jacket and doesn't seem to mind the temperature at all.

Everyone, and I mean everyone in the parking lot turns to stare at me and him. Kailie shoots me a knowing smile and struts on across the parking lot towards the school.

"So, yeah," says Alex. "A lot of people got text messages yesterday saying you and I hooked up."

"Oh," I say. "Well... whatever."

"What's going on?"

"Kailie. Another one of her games." I try to figure out what she's retaliating against me for this time, and come up blank. I was nice to her yesterday when she wanted to come to work with me. Now I remember her tapping away at her phone. Apparently this is what she was doing.

"What?" says Alex.

"She does this. Told me JP was cheating on me, trashed my Facebook page-"

"Why?"

"Because she's like that."

"I thought you two were friends."

"We are."

"So how, exactly, do you define the term, 'friend'?"

"She's having a rough time right now."

"Still."

"Look, I'm sorry. Really."

He shrugs. "My friends are all jealous of me now. Your friends say you hooked up with the senior cla.s.s psycho, while mine say I totally hit the jackpot."

I laugh, my breath steaming in the air, my cheeks flus.h.i.+ng warm. "I thought you said never to use that term."

"I'm quoting."

"I'll talk to Kailie."

"How long do I have until your brother hears it and comes to kill me?"

"At least an hour."

He smiles and looks down at me with the same unreadable look in his eyes that he had over dinner with his mother. After a moment he says, "I'll see you around."

"Yeah. See you." I make it about ten more steps before I run into Carson, who looks like I just punched him in the stomach.

He stands with his arms folded across his chest. "Mom doesn't want you to date Mormons, or you just don't want to date me. He's still investigating, you know. He's talking about getting baptized."

"I am not dating Alex," I say. "He's a friend."

"Does he know that?"

"It's another of Kailie's pranks, okay? Ignore."

This doesn't calm him down, though. "It's not the text messages that bother me," he says. "What was that?" He waves an arm at the place where Alex and I stood. "The two of you off talking?"

"He's a friend," I repeat.

"Since when?"

"I dunno. Try talking to him sometime. He's actually a nice person."

"To you. Of course he is."

"Listen, please don't give me a hard time. I helped him go visit his mom on Sat.u.r.day. We did not hook up."

"Because you don't want to? You're not interested in him?"

"See you around." I push past him and keep walking, irritated even though I know that Carson's hurt. He's got the wrong idea, so I know he'll get over it.

When I arrive at work that afternoon, I don't even wait for Siraj to ask.

"My friend is sending around nasty text messages telling the whole school that I'll do s.e.xual favors for anyone."

"So in other words, your day was fine?"

"Yes."

"Explain to me why this person is your friend?"

"We've been friends forever. Since we were little." I sit down at my computer and boot it up.

"So, habit, not because she deserves your friends.h.i.+p." He swivels my chair so that I face him and not my computer. Despite his initial joke, his expression is grave.

I think over what to say, and decide to just tell him everything. "First she told everyone I hooked up with this one guy, and then when that didn't bother anyone, she started saying I'll hook up with anyone."

"Madison, there comes a point when that sort of thing isn't just cruel. It's illegal. How many messages has she sent?"

"I don't know, but I don't want to talk to the police. It'll blow over."

"Do you think anyone might do anything because of those messages? Do you have a boyfriend who might get jealous?"

"No. The person most likely to get hurt is her. I guess the last time she did something like this-"

"She the one who altered your Facebook page?"

"Yeah. People were real mean to her."

"Sounds like she deserved it. I didn't say anything when you got two black eyes, but I can't just sit by while-"

The gla.s.s doors sweep open and Ryan storms into the library. This, I feel, is a historic moment. Ryan in a library. Wordlessly, he holds his phone out to me. On the screen is a message that says that I will do something very lewd to him if he ever wants. He just has to come find me.

"From Kailie?" I say.

"Yep."

"I'm not going to-"

"No. No, I know that. I just thought you should see it."

"Madison," says Siraj, "that is quite serious, what she is doing."

"You don't know the whole story."

"Does anything justify this?" says Ryan. "Look, it's me, and I think this is excessive. I kind of want to go punch her lights out."

"Leave her alone," I say.

"Leave her alone?"

The doors open again and in walks Alex, wearing a suit and looking furious. "What are you doing?" he says to Ryan.

Who in turn holds his hands up in the air.

"Whoa," I say. "Hold on. Ryan's not doing anything."

Siraj clears his throat. "My usual jokes aside, things are getting too exciting in here. This is a library, not a televised courtroom. Madison, I would like to report your friend to-"

"No. Don't."

"Why are you protecting her?" says Ryan.

"Can I have a moment?" says Alex.

"Dude, you're, like, talking," says Ryan.

I get up and beckon Alex back to the conference room. Once we're both inside, I shut the door. "I'm sorry," I say.

In a suit, Alex looks at least twenty-five. His bearing is all adult ease and confidence, even while he's angry. "You have nothing to apologize for."

"My friend is being awful."

"Yeah, she really is. She do this a lot?"

I shrug. "Sometimes."

"Why is she your friend?"

"Everyone keeps asking that."

"You got an answer?"

"You don't know what she's going through, all right?" Even I don't know anything more than the circ.u.mstantial evidence, I think.

He shakes his head, disgusted.

"What did she text you?" I ask.

"Nothing. She doesn't have my phone number."

That makes me feel a little better. Still, I'm thoroughly embarra.s.sed now.

"Madison, is there anything I can do?"

"No. It'll be fine. I'm just really, really sorry."

"Stop apologizing for something that isn't your fault."

"That's nice of you to say."

"I'm not being nice." His expression is unreadable again as he looks down at me. "Listen, what has to happen in order to get her to stop?"

"I don't know."

"Do you have a guess?"

"Well," I try to keep my tone light, "we could just make it all go away by getting together."

Alex lifts an eyebrow. "That a joke?"

"Y-yeah. I mean, totally. Of course." It feels like the temperature in the room just climbed ten degrees, and my heart's beating like it wants to break my ribs.

He holds my gaze a moment longer, then looks down. "Anyway. I need to get to court."