Playing with Fire (8 page)

Alison kicked her overflowing laundry basket and fell to the floor with a yelp to nurse her stubbed toe. She made a mental note never to kick anything in flip-flops again. Elise had stopped showing up since they couldn't pay her, and the house was a wreck. Everywhere there were signs that things were not normal. Newspapers sat on the driveway. Dead flowers rotted in the vases. Flat couch pillows went unfluffed. And there were enough dust bunnies skittering about that if they banded together they could probably take over. Alison's dad certainly wouldn't put up much of a fight—he had
only been getting dressed to go to the country club, and Alison had noticed that he usually just wore the same shirt. By five-thirty he was home, usually tipsy, and flopped in front of the TV. He'd worn a groove in the leather sofa and littered the coffee table with empty take-out containers. He might as well be waving a white flag of surrender. He and Alison hadn't had a conversation since she didn't know when.

If Helen got out of prison unexpectedly, the shock of seeing her husband and perfect home in such a state would probably kill her. Alison smiled at the thought before grabbing an armful of dirty clothes and staggering down the hall to the laundry room. She did not want to do laundry—in fact, she wasn't even sure she could figure out how—but her dad wasn't going to and she needed something to wear.

She shoved the load into the machine, dumped in some soap, pushed “normal,” and hoped everything would work out. Water poured into the machine, and Alison turned to leave, satisfied. Then she noticed what was hanging on the back of the laundry room door. It was the red halter dress she had gotten about a month ago to
wear to the autumn formal tonight. It hung forlornly, waiting for an iron that would never come.

The dress was perfect. Even her mother had agreed. And the dance plans had all been set. She, Chad, Kelly, and Tom were going to share a limo. They were going to have sushi. They were going to stand up through the sunroof in the back of the long black car and drive through town screaming at the top of their lungs. They were going to eat and dance and laugh. Only instead she was here, alone, at her falling-apart home, washing dirty denim.

Alison reached out and felt the silky hem of the dress. Kelly and Chad were still going to the formal. Together, she knew, since Kelly had been kind enough to mention it several times the night before. Tom probably had a date, too. They were probably all getting ready right now…

Suddenly the dress hanging on the door looked a little blurry, and Alison found herself slumping. Right in the middle of the laundry room floor, she suddenly fell apart. It was all too much. Too, too much.

She knew it was stupid to miss people who had been so mean to her. But Alison felt more
alone than she had in her whole life. She ached with it. And the person she was loneliest for was the person who had caused this nightmare: Kelly.

Pulling herself together, Alison grabbed her cell phone. She scrolled through the long list of numbers—none of which she called anymore. Zoey Ramirez was at the bottom. She hit “send” and then hung up almost immediately. Zoey had a tutoring appointment. Or at least that's what she'd said. She was probably going to the dance, too, and didn't want Alison to feel bad.

“Ugh.” Alison shoved her phone in her pocket and stumbled down the hall to the kitchen. The moment she stepped on the marble floor she knew it was a mistake.

“Hi, Dad,” she mumbled. Her father was slumped at the counter looking blearily at a stack of mail and drinking something that looked like iced tea and smelled like rubbing alcohol.

“Hmph,” her father greeted her without looking up.

“Everything okay?” Alison ventured, not really wanting to hear the answer.

“Our accountant quit. I can't deal with this
garbage.” Her father threw up his hands, almost knocking his drink and the bills off the counter. “Everyone wants money. Do you have any idea what we pay for your school?” he asked accusingly.

Alison did not have a clue and didn't really want to. She'd never had to think about anything like that…until now. Her father shuffled through the stack of bills until he located one on Stafford letterhead. It was too late to back out of the room. Alison took it from him and looked at the number in red and then the due date. Her tuition was due a week ago—and the figure was huge.

“They called yesterday. I asked for a little more time but…” Jack Rose let the words die in his mouth. Alison could guess the rest. The daughter of a criminal was one thing. The free-loading daughter of a criminal was another. She was about to be kicked out of school.

“All we ever wanted was the best for you.” Her dad was slurring and his voice sounded wet. He was drunk and skipping right over the angry part to the weepy part. Alison knew she had to get out of there. Now.

“Don't worry about it, Dad,” she said lightly. “I'm going to Kelly's tonight, but we can talk about it in the morning.” Alison ducked quickly out of the kitchen before her dad could say another word. He had no clue about what was going on with her and Kelly, but why she had said she was going to her cousin's house was beyond her. It almost sounded fun…until she recalled everything that had happened and what Kelly was really doing tonight, with
her
boyfriend.

Throwing the few clean things she had left in her drawers into a duffel along with the school bill she still had in her hand, Alison tiptoed back downstairs. Her dad's suit jacket hung over the banister. She silently felt the pockets until she found his wallet. Slipping out all of the bills, she pushed them into the pocket of her hoodie. Then she yelled, “Good-bye,” and sprinted out the door. She had no idea where she was going; she just knew she could not stay in that house one minute longer.

WUNDERTWIN
1
. Tom typed in his password and waited for his dad's computer to retrieve his e-mail. The connection seemed slow, so while the cursor spun he clicked on his father's desktop files. There was a document about a case he was working on, a partially written campaign speech (drafted by some lackey, no doubt), and another document marked
CONFIDENTIAL
. That looked interesting…

Tom leaned closer to the screen, reading carefully. The letter had to do with his bid for Congress and included a list of potential campaign donors. Tom recognized most of the names, but one in
particular caught his eye—Tamara Diamond. She had the cash, all right.

The computer chimed, letting him know his mail was in, but he ignored it as he eyed the list. Then the doorbell rang. Chad was early.

Bummer,
Tom thought. He would have to finish the report another time. Right now he had a hot date as a third wheel—he was off to the dance with Chad and Kelly.

Normally Tom was not the third-wheel type. There were plenty of girls who would have loved to be his date to the formal. But since the only date he wanted was Kelly, and since Kelly was his best friend's girl, well, he had no choice but to tag along. For now.

“Calm down,” Tom called as the doorball rang a second time. He straightened his jacket and yanked open the door.

The girl on the doorstep smiled sheepishly. “Hey.”

Tom smiled back, confused. “Alison. What are you doing here?” he asked. Then, because that sounded kind of rude, he tried again. “I mean, I was expect—I wasn't expecting you. Zoey's not here.”

“Right. I knew that.” Alison hit her forehead with her palm. “And you”—Alison looked Tom up and down, admiring his suit—“are clearly off to the dance.”

Tom wished it weren't so obvious. Way back when, before Alison's mom was arrested and Kelly stole Chad, and Alison fell way, way off the A-list, Alison was supposed to be going with them to the dance. Tom wished he could turn back time…for a couple of reasons. The first was blond and beautiful—and would have been his date for the dance by default. He'd had a better chance at snagging Kelly when she wasn't on Chad's arm. The second was the brunette standing on his front porch.

He would never say it to Kelly or Chad, but Tom felt bad for Alison, especially after seeing her face when the news came on the other day. He couldn't believe Zoey had made her watch that. It was so rude and embarrassing. For most of the people in Silver Spring it was a delicious scandal, but for Helen Rose and her daughter it was a long, hard fall from grace. And Zoey seemed to think that Alison deserved it.

Tom could not figure out his sister. First she
acted like Alison had never stopped being her best friend when they both knew the girl had turned on her in the worst possible way on the worst possible night…the night their mom had died in a car crash. Now Alison seemed to be the only friend Zoey had, but then Zoey pulled a stunt like that. Did she like Alison or hate her?

“So, is Zoey going, too?” Alison asked. “After her tutoring session?” She was still standing on the porch looking a little embarrassed. Like some public school kid selling magazine subscriptions.

“Uh, no. Um. Do you want to come in?” Tom looked over Alison's shoulder, hoping she would say no, hoping Chad and the limo would be late. This could get really awkward. As if it weren't already. “The dance isn't really Zoey's scene. I don't know when she's coming back, but you can wait for her if you want.”

“That would be great.” Alison looked relieved, and beat. She followed Tom into the living room and slumped down on the couch beside her bag. It looked like she had brought enough stuff to stay for a week.

“Where are you going?” Tom asked, pointing at the duffel.
And how did you get here?
he wondered. There was no car in the drive when she rang the bell.

“I, uh…” Alison looked at her bag like she had never seen it before. “I guess I don't know,” she said quietly.

In her capris and Pumas, she was not dressed to go out, but Tom suddenly wished he could invite her along to the formal as his date. Then he stepped back into reality. If the scene in the living room right now was awkward, the scene in the limo with Chad and Kelly would be torturous. Not to mention the fact that being nice to Alison in public…well, it wasn't going to happen. Tom was not ready to jump off that bridge.

“Uh, Zoey should be here soon. I think.” Tom tossed the TV remote onto the couch near Alison's hand. “Debbie…I mean, Deirdre is upstairs if you need anything.” Alison just kept looking at him. Blinking.

“I think I'm just going to wait outside,” Tom said. Backing slowly out of the room, he felt like he was making a desperate escape—like Alison was a wounded animal that might attack. He
went out the front door and sat on the stoop. When the limo pulled into the circular drive he breathed a sigh of relief and hurried for the door before anyone could get out. Time to turn his attention to the night at hand—and his best friend's girlfriend.

Lightning flashed in Alison's dream. One moment she was in the lunchroom at Stafford, eating alone on a platform high above the other students. The next she was caught in a storm inside the school. Still at her high table, she felt the rain begin and heard the laughter of the other students. She was on display and would not be allowed down until she ate all of the food on her tray. But the food was writhing. She could barely pick it up, let alone choke it down. Lightning flashed again and Alison opened her eyes and sat up.

“Look who's up.” Kelly stood in the doorway of Grandmother Diamond's pool house with her
cell phone in her hand. “Hello, Sleeping Beauty,” she sneered.

Remembering where she was, Alison felt her blood go cold. She had arrived after midnight—it was a long walk from Zoey's—punched in the alarm code on the back gate, and let herself into the pool house. She could not think of anywhere else to go and had hoped no one would find her—at least not until morning.

Alison stared at Kelly. She was still wearing her silky dress and heels. She looked great. And Alison looked…Oh. It was bad.

Alison was dressed in sweats. She was wrapped in her old pink unicorns-and-rainbows sleeping bag, and there were probably streaks of black mascara on her cheeks. Rubbing her finger under her eyes, she looked down and shoved her old stuffed dog deeper into the bag. He was still a little wet from her tears. It was the only way Alison could get to sleep these days.

“What are you doing here?” Alison gulped. She was trying to sound fierce or accusing. Instead she sounded like a surprised kid in a sleeping bag.

“We just stopped by for a little private after-party,” Kelly said casually.

Oh, no. Kelly said “we.”
As that idea sank in, Chad's face appeared at Kelly's side. Then Tom's. They looked surprised to see her, and worse, they looked like they felt sorry for her.

Alison struggled to stand up but was too wrapped in her bag. She fell over, caught herself, and ended up crawling across the floor to kick free.

“Smooth.” Kelly's giggles echoed in Alison's ears.

Taking a deep breath, Alison stood up. She wasn't going down without a fight. “Hi, guys,” she said casually. “I didn't realize this was a sleepover.”

“It's not,” Kelly said snidely.

“Pool party, then?” Alison kept smiling. She reached into her bag and pulled out her swimsuit. Her cousin looked a little stunned—like she'd been expecting Alison to just lie there and be humiliated.

As she slipped into the bathroom and closed the door, Alison's heart was pounding. Kelly
had the upper hand when they were at school, but this was family turf and Alison was determined to hold her own.

She pulled her hair into a short ponytail and adjusted her tankini, grateful she had shoved it into her duffel. It had broad brown and green stripes. It looked great on her and she knew it. She emerged from the bathroom ready to make a splash. Kelly, Chad, and Tom were still fully dressed and standing by the door.

“So, Chip, how about a dip?” Alison punched Tom lightly on the shoulder as she squeezed past him into the warm, dark night air. It was an old joke between her and Kelly. Without pausing to see if anyone was going to join her, Alison walked to the diving board and climbed the short ladder. She stood for a moment near the steps, then took three long strides, jumped once, arced out over the water, and sliced into it with barely a splash. She knew it was a good dive as soon as she left the board and was grateful for all the swimming lessons her mother had insisted upon. When she pulled herself up at the side of the pool, Tom was clapping. Kelly shushed him, but Alison bowed her head and held up a
hand, soaking in the applause. “You should see my cannonball.” She laughed.

“That sounds like a challenge.” Tom looked at Alison slyly and started loosening his tie.

Kelly gave Tom a withering look. “You're not going in.”

If he heard her, Tom did not let on. He marched to the diving board in his boxer shorts, jumped once on the end, tucked his knees, and smacked down into the water, sending up a mini tidal wave. Kelly stepped out of the way of the splash, but Chad got soaked.

“Dude, you did not just do that.” Chad was smiling as he looked at his dripping pants. “Might as well go in now.” He shrugged apologetically at Kelly and pulled off his jacket and shirt.

Alison hid her smile. Two down. “Come on in, Kel, the water's fine,” Alison coaxed. Kicking off from the side of the pool, she did a perfect backstroke toward the hot tub.

“Fine.” Kelly turned in a huff. Alison knew this was not going as Kelly had planned. She also knew there was no way Kelly would get in the pool in her underwear. She kept a suit
in the pool house. “But I'm only getting in the hot tub.”

“There's a hot tub?” Tom asked.

“Yup,” Alison called from across the pool. She slid into the water and fired the jets. It was so hot she had to catch her breath. But it felt great—almost as good as making Kelly do something she didn't want to.

“Ow. Ow. Ow. How can you stand this heat?” Tom flinched, making faces as he stepped into the whirlpool.

“Oh, you get used to it.” Alison laughed easily and Tom joined her. She wasn't sure if he knew she was talking about the burns she had gotten from Kelly, but it felt great to laugh about it.

“Got room for me?” Chad stood on the edge of the hot tub between Tom and Alison and waited for Tom to move over so he could sit between them. Was he getting jealous?

“So how was the dance?” Alison asked. She wanted to make sure the three of them looked like they were having a good time when Kelly came back out of the pool house.

Chad shrugged. “Okay, I guess. You didn't miss much.”

But she had, really. She had missed him and being a part of the crowd.

“You should have seen Nelson and Kaminski on the dance floor, though.” Tom stood up and did an imitation of their PE teacher slow dancing with their geometry teacher, his arms wrapped all the way around himself so he was playing with his own hair.

Chad cracked up, putting his head really, really close to Alison's shoulder. “I wish you could have seen it.” He laughed.

“I just wanted to relax tonight.” Alison shrugged, still grinning. “It's been a rough week.”

“You can say that again.” Chad's smile faded. He was looking right into Alison's blue eyes and she could tell what he was thinking—that he was sorry for whatever part he'd played in making her life difficult. Alison waited, hoping he would say it, but what happened next was even better. Kelly emerged just in time to catch them gazing at each other. Tom waved her over, but Chad didn't look away.

“Al, I'm really…” Chad stumbled on his own tongue.

Out of the corner of her eye, Alison watched Kelly approach. She stepped into the tub, squealing at the heat, and settled between Alison and Chad. The tub went silent.

“Don't let me break up the party,” Kelly sniped. She put Chad's arm around her shoulders. “Miss me?”

“Not much,” Alison said brightly. Her work here was done. Now it was playtime. “Double cannonball?” she asked Tom, checking to see if Chad was paying attention. He was.

“Oh, yeah!” Another great thing about Tom—he was up for anything. They were on the board about to jump when Alison's heart stopped for the second time that night.

Grandmother Diamond was standing on the deck with her arms crossed. Alison could tell by her posture that she was glaring at them.

“Cannonball!” Tom yelled. His splash was enormous, but not loud enough to cover Grandmother Diamond's booming voice.

“Get out of my pool this instant! Kelly! Alison! You should be ashamed of yourselves. I was about to call the police. You're lucky I didn't have you arrested!”

“Like the rest of the family?” Alison said before she could stop herself. Her grandmother looked at her sharply, then looked away as if she hadn't heard anything.

“I thought you were intruders,” Grandmother Diamond went on, glaring at Kelly. Chad cowered behind her, and Tom was now out of the pool, shivering in the night air. “You
are
intruders. And I want you all dressed and out of here immediately.”

Alison hesitated. She glanced at Kelly, then looked at her bare feet. “I'm so sorry, Grandmother. I should have called to tell you I was coming. I was just sleeping in the pool house. Our place is so empty…and then when Kelly showed up with the guys, well…we didn't mean to disturb you. It was inconsiderate of us, I know. I guess I'm under a lot of stress.” She raised her eyes to meet her grandmother's. “Can I stay? Your house is the only place that feels like home.”

Tamara Diamond's expression relaxed. Alison could feel her anger softening, like melting ice cream. She had laid it on extra thick for Kelly's benefit.

“Of course you may stay.” Grandmother Diamond smiled at her granddaughter affectionately. “But the rest of you have to go. Kelly, I am calling your parents as soon as I get back into the house.” Alison smiled. That phone call was icing on the cake. Aunt Phoebe would be mortified by her mother's anger, and Kelly would get a lengthy lecture. She would pretend to ignore it but…

Alison didn't even have to look up to know Kelly was already fuming. The heat coming off that girl was intense. She was a volcano about to blow.

Alison scampered up to the boys and gave each of them a peck on the cheek. “Thanks for coming, guys!” she bubbled. Then she waved at her cousin's retreating back. “Love you, Kel. See you Monday!”