After Mr. Gale finishes his announcement, the guests return to talking, eating, and drinking. Mr. and Mrs. Gale go around with bright smiles.
"What are you guys doing after this thing?" Riley asks.
"I don't know," I shrug.
"I'm going to bed," Dani states.
"No idea," Lizzy shrugs.
"I'll probably get food and go to sleep," Jack shrugs as well.
"How's the party?" Leo says from behind me, making me snap around and back up a step.
"Boring," Jack states.
"I think that's the only thing we'll ever agree on," Leo rolls his eyes. "Look, you guys can leave at any time."
"But what if we want to be bored to death?" Dani rolls her eyes too.
"Then you're welcome to stay until ten. Only because I can't kick you out," he puts on a fake smile before stepping away.
"Why is he like that?" Riley asks as if there's an answer.
"That is a question we will never get the answer to," I shrug. After a while of talking, I try to find those I came with to see what our plan is. I find Olivia and Bree outside, Olivia's wearing Bree's suit jacket over her shoulders.
"Hey, what's the plan?" I ask.
"Dad and Pops left after the announcement. They'll come get us when we want to leave. Why?" Olivia explains.
"Just wanna make sure I know what we're doing," I shrug. "Why you guys out here?"
"I can't take any more of that music," Olivia smiles.
"Most of those people are assholes, at least from what I've seen," Bree shrugs.
"You're not wrong. You guys can call if you want to, I'm gonna stay for another hour or two. Help the guys if Leo fucks with us," I shrug.
"We'll let you know if we leave." Olivia nods and I do the same before going back inside. I find my friends sitting at one of the tables in the backyard. There are a few people out here but not many and the music is barely heard.
"Wanna go to the arcade after school on Tuesday?" Dani asks the group as I walk over and join them, putting my jacket on the back of my chair.
"I should be free," Riley shrugs. We all agree to go, and Lizzy says she'll be bringing Caleb.
"Real question, though," Jack starts. "Does Kayla seem off to you?" He nods to Kayla who's sitting all by herself along the edge of the big yard. She's looking at her black flats. Wearing a flowing white strapless dress with black polka dots as she holds a small purse-like bag in her hands that she fiddles with. I think it's called a clutch purse? Her long blond hair is styled even more than usual.
"Yeah, she looks sad. And she's not trailing Leo like usual," Dani agrees.
"She hasn't been acting normal for the past week," I comment. "She tries to stop Leo from being an ass and I've seen them arguing about something in the halls all the time."
"Should we do anything about it?" Riley asks.
"We could ask if something's wrong?" I shrug.
"Yeah, you go do that. Leo will go ape shit if it's not just you," Jack nods.
"He'll go ape shit either way," I get up anyway.
"We'll come over if you give us the signal," Dani scratches the side of her nose as we would if we need to get out of a situation. We made that signal when we all met, just in case we're doing something and need an excuse to leave the situation. Like if we were out hanging out and ran into someone that we didn't like. We could give that signal and let each other know that we gotta go. So I nod and walk toward Kayla. She keeps her head down as I approach her.
"You look nice," I try to start a conversation instead of just coming over and bombarding her with questions.
"Thanks," she glances up, her grey eyes focused on something else as she goes back to looking at the ground. "Wait, why are you being nice to me?" She gives me a confused look. "Don't you hate me and Leo?"
"I hate Leo, yes. But that won't stop me from being a decent person," I answer. "Figured I'd give you a compliment."
"Oh, so you don't hate me?"
"I don't hate you," I confirm. "I honestly don't know what to think of you anymore. You've never actually done anything to me or my friends besides help Leo. But lately, you seem off."
"How so?" She looks even more confused.
"You try to stop Leo instead of helping him and I've seen you guys arguing. It's like someone replaced Leo's sidekick with you. Uh- no offense," I try not to sound rude.
"None taken," she assures. "I just don't like what he does anymore. He's agg-"
"What the hell are you doing!?" Leo interrupts.
"Just talking," Kayla says, a little timider than I would see her acting at school. She used to take no shit from anyone. She was always brutally honest and loud about what she thought. Now she doesn't help Leo instead, she tries to stop him. She also isn't as mean to random strangers anymore.
"Why?! Are you trying to join his group of misfits?" he almost yells at Kayla.
"Dude, chill out. I was just telling her that she looks nice," I try to reason slightly. "You don't have to get so upset."
"I'm not upset!" He throws his drink to the grass, causing people to look over. "Don't accuse me of shit!"
"Leo, leave it," Kayla sounds as firm as she used to be when she would say something to back Leo up. But now she's directing it to him instead of an innocent person.
"Don't tell me what to do! I've had enough of that already!" Leo takes a step forward. "Don't talk to this dip shit unless you're telling him to fuck off!"
"I'm not your damned minion, alright! You can't just order me around and expect me to do what you want!" Kayla yells back.
"You'll do whatever I say," he lowers his voice. "Don't forget the debt you have yet to repay. I own you until you repay me." Kayla's face goes pale.
"Lay off, Leo," I tell him.
"I told you not to tell me what to do!" He snaps his head towards me.
"Look, I've tried to reason with you but you just don't listen. Do you?" I roll my eyes.
"I'm warning you, get out of my sight," if he keeps his jaw like that he'll grind his teeth into dust.
"And I'm telling you to lay off," I return.
"Kayla, let's go somewhere more private," he grabs her elbow and she jerks her arm back.
"No."
"You wanna cause more of a scene?"
"Leo-" he whirls around and throws his fist into my jaw, sending my head jerking to the side as I feel my teeth hit the inside of my cheek.
Did he get stronger since the last time he punched me?
I quickly recover and send my own fist into his nose. He stumbles back and holds his nose as everyone who sees us lets out gasps and either comes closer to watch or stays where they are. Dani, Jack, Riley, and Lizzy get up and jog over as Leo swings again. I move to the side this time, making him lose some balance due to the weight behind his fist. Using that to my advantage, I trip him, sending him to the grass.
"Son of a bitch!" Leo quickly charges toward me. He rams his shoulder into my stomach, knocking us both to the ground. I land on my back as he hits my stomach. It hurts like hell, but I ignore it for the time being. Leo positions himself to sit on my stomach as he sends his fist wailing into my eye. I'll definitely have a black eye for at least a day. "I told you to stay out of it. Tracy." After another hit to my jaw, I manage to get him off of me.
I hit his stomach twice before backing away. As I back away he recovers and looks angrier than I've ever seen him. He tries charging me again but I step away and he stumbles before quickly stabilizing himself and getting a hit on my stomach. Jabbing my left fist into his nose, blood spills down his face before I give him a right hook to the eye.
I dodge another punch and knee him in the stomach before backing up again. When will he stop? I can't even turn and walk away because he'll just attack me again. He trips me before I can stop him, and I hit the grass. We wrestle on the ground for a minute before I stand up and raise my arm to hit him. Before I can swing, I feel someone grab my arm at my elbow. I turn and find that it's Mr. Gale. Shit.
He doesn't say a word, he just drags me past everyone at the party and out the front door. He shoves me out and I stumble a little before catching myself. Mr. Gale walks back inside as Olivia and Bree come over to me, followed by all my friends.
"What the hell happened?" Olivia asks as Dani hands me my jacket.
"That prick hit me," I nod to the house.
"Mr. Gale?" Bree questions.
"No, Leo."
"Oh, that makes more sense," Olivia nods. I wipe my hand over my mouth and look at it to make sure I'm not bleeding. I may have a black eye and a fat lip though.
"Why?" Bree asks as I put my jacket on.
"I was talking to Kayla, he got pissed about it and threatened her so I tried to get him to chill. He hit me and we fought until his dad stepped in." My friends nod to confirm.
Olivia asks, "you gonna get Dad to pick you up?"
I shake my head, "Nah, I'm gonna go for a walk."
"You sure?" Riley asks.
"Yeah, you guys enjoy the party," I nod.
"Alright," they all go inside and I start walking away from the party.
"Nice fight," Shawn's familiar voice sounds behind me. I whip around to face him. "You would've won if no one stepped in."
"I don't care who would've won," I roll my eyes.
"Why? Do you not like fighting?" he smiles slyly.
"No, not that it's any of your business."
"Well, if you-"
"TJ!" Lizzy jogs over to us. "Can I join you?"
"You sure?" I question and she nods. "Okay," I nod.
"Bye, Shawn."
"Will you be needing a ride?" Shawn asks as we step away.
"I can have Dad drop you off when he gets me," I offer.
"Okay. I got a ride," she tells him. We walk away in silence. When Lizzy opens her mouth to speak, I hold up my hand to stop her until I hear Shawn walk back into the party. Then give her a nod. "Is something wrong? You've been acting weird almost all night," we walk down the side of the street.
"No, I'm fine," I lie. "Just got a lot on my mind lately."
"Yeah, that much is obvious. What about Shawn? You've been especially weird around him," she questions.
"If I tell you, you have to promise not to think I'm going crazy. I already think that enough," I mutter the last part as we continue down the sidewalk.
"I promise," she nods.
"Okay. I met Shawn before tonight. A few times actually."
"How?"
"When I first met him, it was the same night I told you about seeing the wolf after I wiped out on the jump. That night I couldn't sleep…" I explain everything and what Shawn told me. Then I let Lizzy process everything I've told her.
"Wow. That's unsettling," I nod in agreement. "I think we should tell your dads. Or Olivia."
"I know. I just don't want them to get all paranoid or think that I'm crazy," I shake my head at my thoughts.
"But, isn't it better to have more people know and help figure it out? Instead of fewer people trying to help?" She has a good point.
"I guess you're right," I nod.
"Are you going to tell someone?"
"I'll tell Olivia and Bree. I don't know about telling Dad and Pops though."
"Okay," she nods. "Do you think he's gonna do anything? Like, hurt anyone?"
"He seems like he could but I don't think he will. If he wanted to hurt me I think he would have tried by now," I shrug.
"I hope not. He's trying to get Mom to move in with him already. I'd rather not but Mom's considering it."
"You can probly stay at my house if you guys move in with him. And if not you can keep a closer eye on him. Know what he does when he isn't creeping the hell out of me," I point out.
"Thanks," she smiles and a breeze goes by, causing her to shiver slightly in the dark.
"Here," I take my jacket off.
"No, you'll be cold," she protests.
"It's just a jacket," I shrug. "And I have pockets and sleeves. You don't." And inhuman body temperature. She sighs before taking it and putting it on and saying, "thanks."
"No problem," I smile. We follow the sidewalk in silence for a while as the half-moon and stars give us little light. Wincing, I hold my ears when my phone starts going off. I know it's my ringtone but it sounds like it's on full volume right in my ear.
Lizzy takes the phone out of my jacket pocket and quickly reads who's calling.
"It's Olivia," she's confused and looking a little panicked, but I can barely hear her over the phone itself.
"Answer it. Or shut it off or something." I keep my ears covered as my jaw clenches and Lizzy answers the phone. My ears start to feel normal after a few seconds and I can hear the conversation clearly even though the phone is up to Lizzy's ear.
"Lizzy, is Travis with you?" Olivia questions over the phone.
"Yeah he's right here," she hands me my phone and I take a breath before putting it to my ear.
"Put it on speaker." I do as she says with a slight wince at the volume.
"Yeah?"
"Caleb just came running out of the house. He looked upset and he wouldn't stop for anyone. Dani and Riley are trying to catch up with him while Jack gets his mom. You guys better head back, he was headed your way," Olivia explains quickly.
"Okay, we'll meet him halfway." Olivia agrees and Lizzy and I turn around and start walking back the way we came. "I'll go ahead to find him. I can find him faster if I run," Lizzy nods and I run ahead. As I run down the pavement of the sidewalk, I see Caleb running straight toward me only a few yards in front of me. Dani and Riley are a few more yards behind him. I slow down a little so I don't run him over as I get closer. Tears are streaming down his face as he runs.
"Caleb, what's wrong?" I ask as I stop him and kneel down to get eye to eye with him. He doesn't say anything, he just keeps sniffling and bawling as he quickly hides his face in my shoulder and his arms fall around my neck. I can feel his tears making my shirt wet as he cries.
I gently rub his back in an attempt to calm him down as Dani and Riley catch up. The only sound to be heard now is Caleb's sobs and the crickets in the night. After a few seconds, I hear footsteps running behind me and know it's Lizzy as she catches up.
"What happened?" She asks, frantically as she kneels next to us.
"He won't say anything," Dani shrugs. Wordlessly, Caleb reaches for Lizzy and he moves to her arms, now burying his face in the collar of the jacket on Lizzy's shoulders.
"It's okay, buddy," she whispers as Dani, Riley, and I wait, worried. When she pulls him away from her shoulders she asks, "what happened?"
"M-mom s-said we have t-to m-move," Caleb says through those annoying breaths that you do when you try to talk while you're sobbing.
"Do you know where and why?" Lizzy wipes away some of his tears with her thumb as more replace them.
"She-she said we're g-going with Shawn."
"Can you guys give us a minute?" she looks at us. We all nod and walk a few feet away. I can't help but hear them talking, even though I try not to eavesdrop.
"Sh-she said we have to g-go with h-him so we c-can live in a-a normal house," Caleb breaks down again and goes back to Lizzy's shoulder.
"It's okay. It's supposed to be a good thing. Now you'll have space for toys and all that cool stuff you want," I can tell she doesn't want to go any more than he does.
"B-but what about T-Travis, and D-Dani, and everyone else? They won't know where to f-find us," Caleb wipes his face as he looks at her.
"We can give them the address and we'll be able to hang out with them all the time," Lizzy assures him.
"But I don't want to live with Shawn."
"I don't either. But it's up to Mom. She's trying to do what's best for us."
As she speaks, Shawn's car pulls up and he steps out as Ms. James runs over to Lizzy and Caleb. "Oh my god, you nearly scared me to death," Lizzy and Caleb stand up as Caleb sniffles and composes himself. "Why are you crying?" Caleb turns back to Lizzy and hugs her as he buries his face in the side of her dress, instead of answering.
"Can we stay with Travis tonight?" Lizzy asks as she rubs her hand on Caleb's back.
"Both of you?" Ms. James questions and Caleb and Lizzy both nod. "I guess if it's okay with his parents." Lizzy turns to me and I nod as I take my phone out to text Pops to ask. I know he'll say she can but it's better to ask.
"Thanks," Lizzy tells her mom as Pops answers with yes.
"We should get back to the party," Shawn says to Ms. James as he sends a glare my way.
"Okay, have fun," Lizzy nods and the couple gets back in the car and turns around to head back to the party.