Catching Fireflies (17 page)

She stood up. “Let’s go inside. I want you to show me some of these posts you were talking about.”

Katie turned pale. “I can’t. They’re really ugly.”

“All the more reason for me to see them,” Paula said briskly. “The pictures, too.”

Katie was slow to follow her into her office, but once there she logged on, made a few clicks and then pointed first to the revealing photos and then to a series of posts on a social-networking site. Paula sat down to read them and once again felt her temper stir. “And you’re sure who this
teenidol
is?”

“A hundred percent,” Katie said, standing behind her to look over her shoulder.

“And there are more posts like this?”

“Lots of them,” Katie confirmed. “I can show you.”

“I think I’ll just print out these for now,” Paula said, tight-lipped with fury. She gazed into her granddaughter’s eyes. “Tell me who’s doing this.”

“Annabelle,” Katie said in a voice barely above a whisper.

Paula couldn’t hide her shock. “Annabelle Litchfield?”

Katie nodded, then asked, “Now do you blame me for yelling at her today?”

“Not a bit,” Paula said, “though it might have been wiser to get me or another adult involved instead.”

“I know that,” Katie said with evident frustration.

“But Misty wouldn’t allow it, even now,” Paula realized. “Why on earth would Annabelle hate Misty enough do something like this to her? What can that child possibly have done to her?”

“Annabelle’s boyfriend, Greg…” She looked to Paula.

“The football captain? Greg Bennett?”

“Uh-huh. He likes Misty. Or maybe he’s just on some kind of power trip because she won’t pay attention to him. Anyway, he keeps asking her out, even though she’s told him no, like, a hundred times. Everybody in school knows about it, because Greg is too dumb to keep his mouth shut about how he wants to get into Misty’s pants.”

The words were no sooner out of her mouth than Katie flushed. “Sorry, Grandma.”

Paula patted her hand. “Not to worry. At least now I understand the root of the problem. Annabelle’s jealous and taking Greg’s disgusting behavior out on Misty.”

“That’s it exactly,” Katie said, then threw her arms around Paula’s shoulders from behind in an awkward hug. “I knew you’d understand. I just knew it. Can you fix it?”

“Believe me, I’ll handle this,” Paula said grimly. Annabelle might be her parents’ little darling and the pride of Serenity because of her beautiful voice, but a bully was a bully. She wasn’t going to be allowed to terrorize Misty another minute if Paula had anything to say about it.

“One more thing,” she said to her granddaughter. “Why hasn’t Misty spoken to her parents? They should know about this.”

“They’re probably getting a divorce, and it’s really, really bad at home right now. Misty doesn’t want them worrying about her. Plus, it’s humiliating, you know? The stuff Annabelle is saying is really nasty. Nobody would want a parent to see that, even if they know it’s not true.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Paula said.

But the truth was, it was more of a reflection on Annabelle Litchfield and her twisted mind than it was on poor Misty. She could understand, though, why a young woman Misty’s age might not be able to make that distinction when she was the victim of such terrible harassment.

* * *

Misty hadn’t left the house all day. She was pretty sure her mom hadn’t even noticed. From everything she’d read online, her mom probably had some kind of depression. She wondered if she ought to call her dad and beg him to do something. Her own efforts to get through to her mom and cheer her up sure hadn’t accomplished anything. Who knew what would happen if her mom heard about those pictures supposedly of Misty that Annabelle had posted on the internet?

Every time the phone rang during the day, Misty froze. She worried at first it could be the school, calling to find out why she wasn’t there. Then she panicked that it might be another parent calling about the awful pictures. It would be just like some stupid kid to leave them on the screen of their computer or to print out copies and leave ’em lying around for anyone to see.

She eavesdropped at the top of the steps, but so far her mom hadn’t even bothered answering the calls. For once, she was glad that her mother was too lethargic to care about who might be calling.

She was just starting to think she’d made it through the day without everything getting any worse when Jake came in from school. Her brother spotted her at the top of the steps and raced up, his face red, one eye bloodied, a scratch on his cheek. He handed her a fistful of pictures. Misty sat down hard, the tears she’d managed to keep at bay all day finally spilling over.

“Is it you?” Jake asked in a voice filled with indignation.

“Are you crazy?” she asked, infuriated that her brother even had to ask.

“That’s what I told the guys at school, but they didn’t believe me.”

“You got in a fight because of me?” she asked. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay.” He gave her a cocky grin. “You should see the other guy.” He sat down beside her. “Who would do this to you?”

“You saw the page, Jake. You know who did it.”

His eyes widened. “Annabelle? Why? What did you ever do to her?”

“She thinks I want her boyfriend,” Misty told him.

“Greg? He’s a jerk!”

Misty smiled for the first time all day. “I couldn’t agree with you more.”

“Have Mom and Dad seen these?” he asked.

“No, and I don’t want them to know about any of this. Things are awful enough around here.”

“Maybe they could help, though. I think they’d want to.”

“You’ve seen Mom. She can barely get through the day,” Misty said. “And Dad’s never even here.”

“They’re gonna hear about this,” Jake predicted. “You can’t hide it from ’em. They’ll be on your side.”

Misty wished she was as sure of that as her brother was. “Or they could believe what they see.”

“No way,” Jake said.

“You did,” she reminded him.

“Only for a second,” he conceded. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have doubted you even for that long.”

She nudged him in the ribs. “You still fought for me. Thanks for that.”

“Nobody talks about my sister the way the guys at school were talking,” he said with bravado. “I don’t care how many times I get a black eye. I’ll always defend you.”

Touched, Misty hugged him fiercely until he complained.

“Stop!” he pleaded.

“You defend me, you get hugs.”

“Even though my ribs hurt?”

She frowned at him. “How bad did this fight get?”

He gave her an offhand shrug. “Bad enough.”

“Are you in trouble at school?”

“No, I waited till I was off school property before I caught up with them. Smart, huh?”

“I guess we’ll know when we find out how many calls mom and dad get from the kids you beat up.”

He winced. “I never thought of that. Do you think they’ll tell? If it were me, I wouldn’t want my folks to know that some kid beat me up because I was saying lousy stuff about his sister.”

Misty regarded him with surprise. Apparently Jake had both a code of honor and common sense. It gave her a whole new sense of appreciation for a boy she’d mostly thought of as an annoying pest.

* * *

J.C. had worked up a pretty good sweat at the gym. He knew he was trying to sublimate the desire to call Laura. Their date had gone a little too well. Not only had he opened up to her in ways he’d never expected to, but the attraction he felt to her had intensified. He’d resisted the urge to kiss her when he’d dropped her off at her apartment, but just barely. Something told him that once he’d crossed that line, he’d be lost, all of his resolve wiped out in an instant.

Glancing across the gym, he noticed that Cal’s workout seemed a little more intense than usual, as well. Wiping his face with a towel, he crossed the room.

“Everything okay? You look thoroughly ticked off about something.”

“You have no idea,” Cal muttered, putting the weights he’d been lifting back onto the stand. “Do you have some time? I’d like to talk this through with an objective outsider. Something tells me you’d be the perfect person.”

“Sure. I can spare some time,” J.C. said. If it would keep him from going home to an empty house yet again, he could spare a lot of time.

“Let’s grab a couple of drinks in the café and sit out on the deck. I don’t think anyone’s out there. We’ll need some privacy for this.”

In the café Cal grabbed two bottles of water. “You hungry? Want anything else?”

“Water’s good,” J.C. said, accepting one of the bottles.

“Put ’em on my account,” Cal told the young man behind the counter, then led the way outside.

Dusk had already fallen. Though the air felt more like a humid summer day than late fall, there was a faint breeze stirring the oaks that shadowed the deck. There was the scent of some sort of flower in the air, though J.C. had no idea what it might be. It smelled nice—a lot like Laura’s perfume, now that he thought about it.

“What’s up?” he asked when Cal seemed to be lost in thought.

“Just trying to figure out how much of this I can tell you.”

“I’m good at keeping secrets,” J.C. reminded him. “The whole patient-confidentiality thing is great training.”

“Right,” Cal said, looking satisfied. “I know you’ve been worried about Misty Dawson.”

J.C. paused before the bottle of water reached his lips. “I have been.”

“Well, I think it’s about to get really ugly.”

Cal described what he’d been told about an incident at school between Annabelle Litchfield and Cal’s stepdaughter. “I don’t know exactly what set Katie off like that, but it had to be really bad,” Cal said. “She’s a pretty even-tempered kid.”

“And Laura stepped in?” J.C. asked.

Cal nodded. “And apparently knew enough about what’s been going on between Annabelle and Misty to convince Betty not to punish Katie.”

“How about Annabelle?”

“She’s off the hook for the moment.”

J.C. was startled. “How can that be?”

“Annabelle’s mother,” Cal said succinctly. “The principal is not going to mete out punishment to Annabelle until she knows with a hundred percent certainty that Mariah doesn’t have a leg to stand on when she leaps to her daughter’s defense. I can’t blame Betty for that. Mariah’s a terror when she’s on a tear.”

“So I’ve heard. How’d Laura handle all this?”

“I think it shook her up, but she’s steady as a rock. She never once wavered in her belief that Katie was in the right. I have to respect her for that, especially when she knows it’s likely to make her Mariah’s first target.”

J.C. regarded him with real concern. “How bad could this get for her?”

Cal actually chuckled for the first time since the somber conversation had started. “Thought that might be your first worry. It could get bad for a time, but Laura’s tough enough and determined enough to weather whatever happens. And if these suspicions about the bullying are confirmed, the whole town would turn out on Laura’s side if necessary. We had a few incidents over the years, and the entire community has come down hard on the kids involved. Everyone wants to send the message that being bullied is not just an acceptable part of growing up. It’s inexcusable, no matter what form it takes.”

J.C. nodded. “Good to hear, and you’ve just confirmed my impression of Laura. Misty and Katie are lucky to have her in their corner.”

Cal gave him a long look. “How about you? Are you lucky to have her in your life these days?”

J.C. thought about denying that she was in his life, but he doubted Cal—or anyone else in town—would believe him. “Yeah, I’m pretty darn lucky, too.”

And more aware of it by the day.

11

L
aura was completely drained by the time she got home. She’d never been more grateful to have an entire evening stretching out ahead of her with absolutely nothing to do. She’d finished grading tests before leaving school. Her lesson plan for tomorrow was in place. She could soak in a bubble bath, have a glass of wine and a slice of leftover pizza, then crawl into bed with a book.

However, before she’d even glanced through the day’s mail, there was a knock on her door. She opened it to find Annie, Raylene and Sarah on her doorstep, laden with bags that seemed to be overflowing with chips and who knew what else.

“Did we have plans?” she asked, knowing perfectly well that they didn’t.

“Nope, but I heard from my mom that you’d had a really lousy day,” Annie said, “so we’re here to offer moral support. It’s what Sweet Magnolias do. Mom, Maddie, Jeanette and Helen couldn’t make it, but we’ve pretty well nailed the routine by now. Raylene can almost make Helen’s lethal margaritas.”

“What do you mean,
almost?
” Raylene said indignantly. “The last ones I made knocked you on your butt.”

Annie grinned. “But I’m a lightweight. And I’m not sure knocking us on our butts is supposed to be the purpose. I think they’re just intended to create a relaxing buzz.”

“Well, I can do that, too,” Raylene said, then turned to Laura. “Do you have a blender?”

“Sure.”

“Plenty of ice?”

“Yes, but no lime juice or tequila,” Laura said.

“Oh, we have the necessary ingredients,” Raylene said. “We never go anywhere without being prepared.”

“Then let’s get this party started,” Annie said exuberantly.

Sarah grinned at Laura. “You look a little shell-shocked. Maybe you should just have a seat in the living room and let us do the work. We’ll find whatever we need.”

Though she didn’t doubt for a second that they could easily handle the preparations, Laura couldn’t seem to stop herself from following along as they pulled together what looked like an entire meal, plus margaritas, in less than fifteen minutes.

“I cheated,” Annie admitted. “Mom made the guacamole. It takes her maybe two minutes. It would take me forever, and it wouldn’t be half as good.”

“I just bought stuff,” Sarah confessed. “Any actual cooking was done by Raylene, so it’s guaranteed to be edible. She might not be a chef, and I would never say this in front of Dana Sue, but I swear Raylene’s every bit as good as she is.”