She popped back in as soon as I thought she was gone. “Oh and Sarah, no offense, but Ringo isn’t into football so he didn’t try out for the team.”

  “That’s fine,” I said and stared at Vonnie once they left. “What’s that about?”

  “Not much. Jason’s been bugging Ringo about football because he’s a great runner and always wins during cross-country and baseball. He and Drake are the stars of the track team too. But, neither guy wants to do football. Rob and Owen are talking about quitting. They just haven’t figured out how to tell Dad they’d rather be on the Varsity Cheer Squad.”

  I winced. I didn’t envy them talking to the police chief about that. The twins were fabulous last year on J.V. and this year they’d managed to stay on the other cheer squad despite all their football practices. “I wish them luck with that.”

  “Me too,” Vonnie said. “They don’t have Dad convinced that cheerleading is a macho sport yet. He thinks they just want to do it to chase girls.”

  “Well, that is a benefit for them. Ms. Olson says we need good muscle strength, flexibility and endurance just like other athletes. And I felt a lot safer last year when they were catching me in basket tosses than I do with the girls on Varsity now.”

  Vonnie gave me a long look, but she didn’t ask for details. That was great because I’d have felt majorly disloyal if I bitched to an outsider about the way Denise acted when Ms. Olson talked to me about stunts and dance moves. Vonnie picked up the remote and started channel surfing. We finally settled on a NCIS marathon, one of her faves, and I could take a nap. Yeah, I was a real party animal!

  NINE

  Abbie and Marcie showed up a short time later, after they finished their shifts at the Jumping Java espresso stand. Still dressed to make tips, Abbie wore a skin-tight red tank top, matching shorts over black fishnet stockings and three-inch stilettos. At five-foot-nine-inches barefoot, she was taller than most of the guys at school.

  Marcie always said the guys talked to her boobs and today they couldn’t have missed them since she wore a low-cut, clinging white tee under her loose denim shirt, sloppy jeans and running shoes. I knew she’d taken off the shirt and just had on the tee while she worked. I usually got my espressos at the stand because they were cheaper than the ones at the school and like Marcie said, she made more tips when she dressed like a skank.

  She had promised to get me a job with them when I turned sixteen. My life would be a lot easier when I had my own money to spend.

  “Hey, you look better.” Marcie passed me a pack of sour gummi treats. She sprawled on the floor next to me. “Did you think about which of the J.V. cheerleaders we should ask to join our squad?”

  Most of the younger girls only cheered for fun. They weren’t serious and would wash out in the first round of our six days a week regular practices, not to mention the games and Rec Cheering competitions. “Yeah,” I said. “B.J. and Dallas.”

  Abbie sat down, arms curled around her long legs, still tanned from the summer and her time at basketball camp. “Isn’t Dallas the blonde one? Marve Taylor’s daughter?”

  “So what?” Marcie handed out red licorice vines. “Will she show up for practices and games? If she does, she’s better than Denise or Janet.”

  “If she agrees, she’ll be there.” Then, I remembered B.J. and Dallas co-captained the J.V. squad. “They run junior varsity now since I moved up. Maybe Ms. Olson won’t let them.”

  “She said it was up to us. We can have whoever we want on Senior Varsity and she wasn’t happy with Denise and Janet when school started, but we’d already lost some cheerleaders over the summer,” Abbie announced. “If our squad is done with Denise and Janet, she’ll suspend them. We’re done. We took a vote last night after the game and it was unanimous. Everybody wants them gone.”

  “Even Brianna, who is totally into giving everyone way too many chances, was majorly furious,” Marcie added. “We had zip in the way of notice. They just didn’t show for the game.”

  “They didn’t call Ms. Olson either,” Abbie said.

  The words hit me hard. “What about me? Last night was my third absence. Is she mad at me?”

  “Nope.” Marcie pulled out another strand of red licorice. “You’re excused until the doctor says you can cheer again. Besides, you showed up last night when you should have been home in bed. Why are you at Vonnie’s anyway?”

  “We have a deal. I come here to Hotel Rivers when I need to escape. My stepsister had a slumber party. No way was I staying home to clean up that mess.”

  Marcie groaned in sympathy. “That kid needs a good kick in the backside. I’m so glad you’re stuck with her and I’m not. I’d flush her headfirst down the toilet.”

  “Want to stay over one night?” I reached for some licorice. “I’ll sell peanuts and popcorn while you do it.”

  “I’ll handle the tickets at the door,” Vonnie said.

  “Be nice.” Abbie told us. “Life will kick her in the teeth until she shapes up. Back off and let it happen.”

  “I don’t know.” Vonnie got to her feet. “Personally, I’d bet on the toilet treatment first. Anybody want ice cream?”

  “Definitely.” Abbie followed Vonnie to the kitchen. “I’m starved. We were swamped all day and neither of us got lunch.”

  “She eats all the time and never gains an ounce.” Marcie got to her feet and held out a hand to me. “She’s not anorexic, just disgusting. Come on. Otherwise, they’ll pig out and we won’t get any.”

  I laughed and let her pull me to my feet. “I didn’t know Timber started the nickname for her.”

  “They’re like brother and sister, especially since he moved in with her family last summer after he got out of the hospital and the rehab center.” Marcie walked beside me to the kitchen. “When are you baking cookies for him? I’ll help if I can eat some.”

  Abbie shook her head. “Marcie, you junk out and then you bitch about your weight. Why don’t you use your self-discipline? You have more than anyone else I know.”

  “Not according to my stepmother. She’s in the running for the Wicked Witch of Stewart Falls. I’m fat, ugly and the town whore, if you ask her, which is totally bogus. I’ve been out since middle school and she always gripes about me being gay.” Marcie twisted her fingers together. “I don’t care.”

  “Sure, you do.” I said. “I tell myself the same thing. I say I don’t care when Bruce starts in on me. He’s my stepdad and a total loser. And it still tears me apart when he’s mean to me.”

  “He really is.” Vonnie took four bowls from the cupboard. “He talks to Sarah like she’s dirt and he does it in front of me. It’s so gross.”

  “Yeah,” Abbie agreed. “Marcie lives on the far side of Lake James and her cell doesn’t always work. When I call her on the landline, her stepmom shouts for the Blob that ate S.F. Once I asked her if she’d do it if I was a guy calling for my girlfriend and the bitch slammed down the phone.”

  I perched on the low counter that served as a breakfast bar. “What I hate is the way they say it’s a joke. I feel like my heart’s been yanked out and it’s lying on the floor while they stomp all over it.”

  “And when I cry, my dad says, “Oh, Marcie. What’s wrong with you? Get a sense of humor. Stop being so sensitive.”

  “Like what else are you supposed to be?” I demanded. “Bruce used to sing that song about short people having no reason to live until I cried. My grandma told him if he didn’t cut it out, she’d teach me all the words to the one about knowing a dirt-bag when I saw one, even if she had to make up a new song.”

  “I like your grandma,” Vonnie said. “She doesn’t take any prisoners.” When I looked confused, she went on, “It’s what my dad says about tough soldiers.”

  “Well, my parents are still married to each other.” Abbie spooned out the banana split ice cream. “I can’t help. Rocky doesn’t make a secret of the fact he and your mom divorced before she died. What would you do if he found someone new, Vonnie?”

  “He has, but they have issues.” Vonnie opened the fridge and took out the chocolate syrup. “He screwed up the relationship because of the wars he’s been in, and he really freaks out at certain noises. They split up and then her Army unit shipped out to Afghanistan.”

  “So, they’re divorced?” I was learning more about Vonnie this weekend than I had in ages. “That’s too bad.”

  “Oh, they’re not divorced yet. My dad would never do that to her when she’s in a war zone. He writes, emails her and they Skype, but he doesn’t know where she lives state-side.” Vonnie sounded perfectly cheerful. “She wanted Dad to get help, but he wouldn’t see a counselor until she walked out on him.”

  “Maybe if she’s the right person, they’ll get back together.” I knew it was goofy, but I wanted Chief Rivers to be happy. He was sure decent to me. “Of course then, you’ll have an evil stepmom too.”

  “I don’t think so.” Vonnie squirted chocolate sauce on top of the ice-cream. “I trust my dad. He listens to me and the boys. If somebody treats us bad, he kicks that person’s butt. He says it’s his job as our father. Of course, if we need it, he kicks our butts too. J.D.’s always nice when she talks to one of us and I can tell her the stuff I don’t want to share with Dad.”

  Marcie and I shared a look. Vonnie might be naive, but I wished she was right. Some parents might trust their kids and not allow other adults to pick on them. Unfortunately, that wasn’t Mom’s or Bruce’s style.

  “Rocky said if I had a bad time, I could come here,” I told Marcie. “You might check it out and see if Rivers Hotel is open for you.”

  “He said any-time and anywhere. He’ll even come get you, Sarah.” Vonnie said.

  “Nice.” Abbie carried her ice cream toward the living-room. “I’m thinking of a cheer for you two. I’ve got the first line. Step-parents got no reason to live.”

  Marcie began to snap her fingers. “All the hell they give.”

  “Throw us away. Away. Away.” I slid off the counter and added some hip action, but not enough to hurt my bruised ribs. “Lose the bucks our real folks pay.”

  Abbie and Marcie roared with laughter. “You’re a natural, Sarah,” Abbie said. “No wonder we’re keeping you.”

  Vonnie trailed after us. “You guys need another verse for your cheer, maybe one that includes the names.” She widened her light blue eyes and tried to look innocent. “Then, you could do it at a home game.”

  “Yeah, but our stepparents never come to the games,” I said. “They hate us.”

  “They’ll still hear about it from the other people who do come to the games,” Vonnie pointed out. “You know what this town is like. Everybody talks about everybody else. Is that a problem?”

  “Not for me,” Marcie said. “What about you, Sarah?”

  “Nope.” Taking my ice cream, I headed back to the living-room, trying not to feel guilty. Everybody in Stewart Falls went to the tire shop Bruce managed for brakes, batteries, tires, and all that stuff. He’d definitely get hassled about the cheer if the squad actually did it.

  Abbie and Marcie stuck around the rest of the afternoon. We called B.J. and Dallas. They were thrilled and promised to be at practice on Monday. I told them I’d help teach the cheers and dances so they’d be ready on Friday for the game with Silverton.

  “Are you coming to the party at my house after the game?” Abbie asked me. “You and Vonnie are both invited. Your dad could talk to my folks if you want, Vonnie. They’ll be there. No booze or drugs. They’ve gotten totally strict since Uncle Walt died last spring in that car accident while he was wasted. Besides, we have our first Rec Cheering competition on Saturday so that means the party has to end by midnight.”

  “I don’t remember ever seeing your uncle sober,” Marcie said. “Timber doesn’t drink anymore. He used to be a major party animal and go with his dad everywhere.”

  “I’m glad that Timber doesn’t get in as many fights either,” Abbie agreed. “I was real scared for him. I thought he’d end up dead or in jail forever. Now, he’s talking about college and not on an athletic scholarship either. He actually plans to get a business degree.”

  “Awesome.” Vonnie passed over a sack of potato chips. “He really likes you, Sarah. I wish Warren looked at me the way Timber looks at you.”

  “I’ve got Jason,” I protested. “And he’s who I want. Is he coming to your party, Abbie?”

  “If you want, you can bring him, Sarah.” Abbie grabbed a handful of chips. “He’s not as much fun as Timber was last year. And I’m not saying that because we went to State when Timber was the quarterback.”

  “The guys on the team don’t like Jason,” Marcie said. “At the dance, he really griped about them and the way the offensive linemen played. Then Jason told Dave that a kindergartener could block better. I thought Dave was going to beat up Jason, but Timber took Dave outside to cool down.”

  “If the team doesn’t get it together, next week will be worse,” Abbie said. “Those farm boys from Silverton are like tanks. They run over us whenever they get the chance.”

  “They’re sure buff—” Marcie sighed. “Timber got along great with them last year. Remember when he invited them to the party, and they came. It was terrific.”

  “Only because the cheerleaders each had five or six of them chasing after them and they loved it. They were super happy with you for suggesting it to Timber.” Abbie pointed out. “I’ll ask him to bring them again this year.”

  “How?” Vonnie handed the potato chips to Marcie. “Don’t they have to take the activity bus back to Silverton?”

  “Yeah, but nobody says they have to stay there,” I said.

  They all laughed. I was glad Jason hadn’t shown up yet. It upset him when I hung out with the other cheerleaders. Regardless of what he said, it wasn’t as if we only talked about guys.

  Besides, I wasn’t dead yet. I didn’t want to date anybody else. I just shouldn’t have to feel like a total slut if I noticed a hunk. I liked Timber. Everybody at the academy did. He was a good guy, a nice guy. But I’m Jason’s girl. I belong to him and I love him.

  Before they left, Abbie and Marcie taught me the new cheer, the “Snappy Dance.” It was a cross between a cha-cha and a jive with a lot of finger snaps. They said we’d do it next Friday night at the football game and I could teach it to B.J. and Dallas at practice after school.

  Abbie and Marcie went home before Chief Rivers arrived. He’d remembered cheese lasagna for me. He also had the two giant combination pizzas he always brought home for Vonnie, the twins and any of their friends who showed up around dinnertime. Vonnie usually claimed the leftover pizza for Sunday breakfast, provided the twins left any after their midnight fridge raids.

  The five of us had just sat down to eat when Jason arrived. Chief Rivers invited Jason to join us for the meal, but he refused. He was still angry about the game and the dance last night. I saw it in his face and the stiff way he walked.

  I dreaded going out on the porch with him, but I didn’t dare avoid it. When Jason got mad, he didn’t care who heard him yell at me. He closed the front door behind us and I rushed into speech. “I’m sorry I didn’t stay, but I felt awful. My head was killing me.”

  “Whose fault is that?” Jason asked. “You flirted with Rob during the break at practice on Tuesday. Did you expect me to take that?”

  “We were talking about English Lit and our presentation.” My voice shook. I struggled to steady it. “I can’t cut everybody dead at school, Jason.”

  “Not everyone, only other guys.” He wrapped my braid around his fist and gave a little tug. “You’re my lucky charm, right?”

  “Ouch.” The next pull hurt my head and my face. “Stop it. Jason, I said I was sorry.”

  “No other guys.” He leaned down to kiss me. “And don’t stay here again. I know what those brothers of Vonnie’s really want. I’ve heard them talk about you in the locker room.”

  “They’re always nice when I’m here. And Vonnie’s my best friend. I don’t want to give her up. I need friends, Jason.”

  “You have me.” He kissed me and mashed my lips against my teeth. “I’m who you want. Vonnie can stay at your house. I don’t care about that unless you two are all over Warren and his friends.”

  I nearly said Vonnie wouldn’t. Bruce was awful when she did, but I couldn’t. If I argued with Jason, he’d be furious. I’d wait until he calmed down. Then we could talk about it. I’d explain that the twins usually ignored me when I was at the house with Vonnie and everything would be okay.

  “I’ll be cheering at the game next Friday,” I said, “and I’ll stay the whole time, and come to the dance afterward.”

  “You’d better.” He kissed me again. It wasn’t gentle or sweet this time either. It was rough, like he was still mad at me.

  I tasted blood. My blood. I wriggled away and touched my lower lip with my finger. It came away red. “I’ve got to go.”

  “Remember, I need my lucky charm with me, Sarah.”

  “Okay.” I scurried into the house and locked the door behind me, surprised when the deadbolt actually worked. The Rivers tended to leave the lock open so anyone who needed to come in, could. Chief Rivers only secured it after dark, or when nobody was home.

  What was I going to do? How could I fix things with Jason? Why did I keep making the same mistakes over and over with him? Who was I to disagree with him? I knew how much he cared about me. Didn’t I?

  Instead of returning to the kitchen and dinner, I went down the hall to Vonnie’s room. I huddled on the double bed, wrapping my afghan around me, and hugging Cappy tight.

  Last Tuesday, when I’d climbed the stairs in the field house, Jason was right in front of me, with Rob beside him going off about the darned iPod again.

  Rita and Kait were next to me, laughing at Rob, but they didn’t see anything. They didn’t see it when I climbed the step behind Jason. They didn’t see when he stopped suddenly. Or when his right elbow came back and collided with me.