“You’re not? Where are you?”
“Um, I’s not sure. Lemme sheck.” I walked to the corner to check the cross streets.
“Don’t go anywhere. I’ll be there soon.”
I nodded, even though he couldn’t see me, and headed back to my Jeep. I was beginning to feel cold and wanted to lie down. Crawling into the backseat of my Jeep, I curled up in a ball on the small, narrow bench seat that was built for someone with an elf’s stature. I pulled my jacket up over my icy cheeks, trying to warm them.
• • •
I woke the next morning feeling like a cement truck had parked on top of my head. Squinting in the sunlight streaming through the window, I cursed the liquor gods for not only tempting me the night before, but for punishing me this morning. My tongue tasted like a goat had taken a shit in my mouth.
My head felt like it was in a vise as I turned to find that Trent’s side of the bed was empty. I racked my throbbing brain, trying to remember how I’d gotten here. I vaguely remembered calling Trent last night, but for the life of me, I couldn’t recall what the conversation had entailed. The memories of my fight with Cameo were as clear as day. They bounced around in my head like a frog on crack. Along with the desolate feelings I’d had from the party.
The urge to pull the blanket over my head and slip into a sleep-induced coma was strong. If it wasn’t for my stubborn bladder that was insisting I visit the bathroom, I wouldn’t have moved. I gingerly climbed from the bed, but the room swayed slightly. I couldn’t believe I’d allowed myself to get so wasted. It was a total rookie move.
After a shower and half a bottle of mouthwash, I felt like death wasn’t as imminent as I first thought when I woke up. I left the bedroom to find Trent sitting in the living room. I figured I probably had a few things to apologize for, besides the fact that he had to lug my stupid ass home.
I stopped in my tracks at the unusual sight of Trent sitting on the couch doing nothing. I say unusual because Trent never just sat. Normally, he was busy on his computer and the TV was always on. The living room seemed like a morgue without the distraction of background noise. I must have been more of a mess last night than I thought.
“Trent,” I said tentatively, edging closer to him.
He looked up blankly. Something else was wrong. This wasn’t brought on by drunk-ass me last night.
“Is everything okay?” The question was asinine. Of course everything wasn’t okay, but how else would I get to whatever was bothering him?
He looked at me for a moment. His mouth opened to answer, but nothing came out. He snapped it closed before dropping his face into his hands. Now I really felt reason to panic. Something was terribly wrong. I hurried to his side, ignoring the side effects of my hangover. All I cared about was finding out who had wronged the person I loved. I would make whoever it was pay for doing this to him.
Sitting down on the coffee table in front of him, I grabbed his hands, silently imploring him to tell me what was wrong. His hands lay in mine like dead fish. “Trent, what is going on?” I asked, trying to keep the hysterical edge out of my voice.
“Have you ever wondered what I did in my old school that got me in so much trouble?” he finally asked in a flat voice.
His words momentarily confused me. “You mean before you moved to Woodfalls?”
He nodded his head.
“Well, yeah, I guess, why?” We all had. In a town the size of Woodfalls, that kind of secret was practically against the law.
“I was kicked out for hacking into the school computer.”
I wasn’t surprised. I’d always suspected it was something like that. What I didn’t understand was why he was mentioning it now.
“What do you know about hacking?”
I shrugged my shoulders. I really didn’t know anything other than it sucked major ass when someone hacked my Instagram or Facebook accounts. It happened to me once and resulted in my entire friend base getting spammed with erectile dysfunction ads. “Someone hacked my Facebook account once. That sucked,” I answered.
“Right,” he said. It was strange to see so many conflicting emotions on his face.
“Okay, so you’re a hacker. You didn’t steal someone’s identity and ruin their life or something, right?” I thought I was making a joke, but mentally I was crossing my fingers. I didn’t know how I would handle it if he confirmed that fear.
I could see him mentally weighing his words before he answered. “I was a hacker, and no, I never did anything that bad.”
“You were a hacker, but not anymore? I guess I still don’t understand what the problem is.”
“At my old high school, I set up my own little enterprise. I’d hack into the school computers in our district and change grades for a fee.”
“Oh lord. No, you didn’t,” I laughed. Straight-as-an-arrow, Trent had done something illegal. I had myself a bad boy after all and didn’t even realize it. “And you got busted,” I stated as all the pieces clicked into place.
“It wasn’t funny, and I got busted all right. Shit hit the fan with the school district and my parents. I was expelled from school and they threatened to fine my parents and even send me to juvie. Luckily, I was a minor, so there wasn’t much they could do. Plus, it was my first offense. It is on my permanent record in the state of Missouri, so after that, it seemed I would never get a fair shake at any school there. My parents made the huge decision to move us out of state so I could start over with a clean slate. That’s how we ended up in Woodfalls. I promised I’d keep my nose clean and wouldn’t hack again,” he finished. His voice broke like there was more he wanted to say, but he wouldn’t look at me. I wondered again what I was missing.