Helpless

Chapter 40

Lindsey Wells followed closely behind Jill Hawkins as the students left the auditorium. Jill, who hadn’t returned a single text from the more than forty that Lindsey had sent, appeared committed to ending their friendship.

Empty.

Lindsey had never felt more empty and alone in all her life. She missed Jill’s friendship each and every day. She missed it so much that it physically hurt. But thanks to Fidelius Charm, everyone at school now believed that it was Lindsey who wrote the blog posts detailing an affair with Jill’s father. Some people even believed Jill was the mysterious Fidelius Charm, ratting out her dad by breaking the scandalous news. Rumors about Lindsey spread around Shilo as fast as it took someone to type The secret is out. Coach Hawkins is sleeping with Lindsey Wells, and hit SEND.

School had once been Lindsey’s oasis, and soccer her favorite escape. But school no longer felt safe to her, either.

No place did.

Jill disappeared around a corner, and Lindsey followed close behind. But the next moment Lindsey saw Jill, her friend was no longer alone.

Three senior girls surrounded her. Gretchen Stiller, Mandy Jensen, and Clair Hubert, known to some around school as the witches, kept pace with Jill stride for stride as they walked a long corridor lined on both sides with metal lockers.

The witches were considered the popular girls. They intimidated others. They seemed more worldly than most (not everybody went to Europe for the summer). They weren’t athletes. Too messy. Nor were they honor students. Too hard. The witches were nothing more than rich girls with the right bodies to attract the boys and the right attitudes to act above it all. They went to college parties. They could make you feel inches tall with just a glance. One did coke. None of them were virgins.

Jill was trying to walk faster than the witches. But the three girls, dressed in their skinny jeans and empire-waist shirts, weren’t making it easy for her to get away.

“Hey, Jilly. How’s your daddy doing?” Lindsey overheard Gretchen say.

“Did Lindsey sleep over last night?” Mandy asked. “Does she stay in your room or your dad’s?”

“No, she sleeps in Jill’s room but then sneaks out to sleep with her dad,” Clair said.

“Oh, that’s so cute,” Mandy said. “Is Lindsey going to be your new mom?”

Lindsey’s heart sank. How could they be so cruel?

Jill glanced over her shoulder and saw that Lindsey was coming to intervene. Jill made a subtle shake of her head. “Shut up,” Jill said softly, but loud enough for Lindsey to still hear. Jill started walking again.

Of course the witches followed, as did Lindsey. Lindsey stayed back, though; that was what Jill wanted. Her friend’s inner strength amazed her.

“You don’t tell us to shut up, bitch,” Gretchen said. “You know what I think? I think Jill here owes each of us an hour of service. I mean, we had to sit through that stupid seminar because of what her daddy did.”

Clair nodded. “I could use somebody to do my French homework. Are you good at French, Jill?”

Jill stopped walking and looked Gretchen in the eye. “I have an idea, Gretchen,” Jill said in a calm voice. “Why don’t you go fuck yourself?”

Lindsey put her hand to her mouth to suppress a surprised but delighted laugh.

Gretchen turned her head and looked in Lindsey’s direction. “Oh, check it out,” Gretchen said. “It’s Daddy’s little girlfriend coming to the rescue. How poetic.”

Jill shoved her hands against Gretchen’s shoulders. The taller girl stumbled backward, several staggered steps. Jill turned to walk away, but before she could make it very far, Clair reached out and grabbed hold of Jill’s ponytail. Clair yanked on Jill’s hair as though she were pulling a rope attached to a bell. Jill’s head snapped back, and she let out a painful yelp. Mandy entered into the fracas and pushed Jill hard in her back. Jill fell into a row of lockers and tumbled to the floor. She let out another painful groan as soon as she landed.

Lindsey saw Clair pull her leg back, as if readying to kick Jill in her side. That was when Lindsey knew it was time to step in and help. She charged at Clair and pushed the already off-balance girl to the floor. Clair landed on the floor, not far from where Jill lay.

Jill scampered back to her feet and made fists with her hands. “Just leave us alone!” she screamed.

“Is Coach going to be your prom date, Lindsey?” Mandy asked.

“You don’t know anything,” Lindsey said.

“Your parents are divorced, isn’t that right?” Clair addressed Lindsey. “So is the coach like a father figure to you? A daddy replacement?” Clair kept the tone of her voice overly empathetic, which only put more sting in her sarcasm.

“You don’t even know what you’re talking about,” Lindsey retorted.

The witches formed a tight circle around the pair. Lindsey and Jill eyed each other and without words agreed that they would fight, not flee.

Thankfully, it didn’t come to that. Merle Gornick, Lindsey’s chemistry teacher, emerged from around the corner. “Don’t you girls have someplace you’re supposed to be?” she asked.

“Yes, Mrs. Gornick,” the witches said in unison. Gretchen stopped and turned, mouthing the words, “Say hi to Daddy,” as clearly as if she’d spoken them aloud. Merle must have guessed the other three were the aggressors, because she left Jill and Lindsey to gather up their things. She followed close behind the three girls, and when they reached the end of the hallway, they all disappeared around a corner.

Lindsey helped Jill put on her backpack. Both girls were breathing hard from the adrenaline rush.

“Can we talk?” Lindsey said to Jill.

Jill shrugged. “Sure. I guess.”

“I didn’t do this. I never had an affair with your dad. God, that’s so gross to even think about.”

This time, Jill seemed more open to listening. A good sign, Lindsey thought.

“Well then, why did the police confiscate your computer? Why did Fidelius Charm send out another batch of messages about you and my dad?”

“For the same reason that people think you’re Fidelius Charm,” Lindsey said.

“They what? That’s ridiculous,” Jill snapped.

“So is the idea of sleeping with your dad,” Lindsey said. “You’ve got to believe me, Jill. I swear to you it’s true. I’ve never done anything like that. I’d never.”

Jill sighed. “Look, is that FBI lady still hanging around?”

Lindsey’s insides went cold. It had been hard enough to sit through the mandatory assembly with Agent Lorraine Miles at the podium. She knew her pictures were probably the real reason the agent had come back to Shilo to address the students. Her mother had been in a rage ever since that embarrassing episode. And now with the police confiscating her computer, Facebook rumors escalating, she and her mother weren’t even on speaking terms. Apparently, her mother, like the witches, believed that Lindsey and the coach were having an affair. Lindsey’s stomach had been in knots for the entire hour of that assembly. She’d have skipped out if she could, but attendance was mandatory.

What could Jill want with Agent Miles? she wondered.

“I think so. Why?” Lindsey asked.

“You say you didn’t write those blog posts. Well, she knows about computers. Maybe she can help explain who did.”

“Would you believe me if she can?” Lindsey asked.

Again Jill shrugged. “Maybe. I think so,” she said. “We used to be on the same team. Before all this, I mean.”

“So?”

“So, maybe it’s time we get on the same team again,” said Jill.