Falling Behind (Falling Series) Read online

  “Night. Love you, Baby,” he said, jogging back toward his truck.

  “You, too.” I called back to him. I cringed as I smoothed my dress down and opened my front door. Mom sat waiting on the couch.

  Chapter Seven

  Reese

  “Hi, Honey. I’m glad you came home, tonight.” Mom looked me over and must have seen something she didn’t like. Her face twisted in pain before she covered it quickly with a smile.

  “Me, too. I had so much fun, but I am exhausted.”

  She patted the couch. “Can we talk for a minute?”

  “Yeah, I need to talk to you, anyway. I’m glad you’re up.” I sat down next to her, tucking my legs underneath me.

  “Do you want to talk about your relationship with Josh?” She quirked her eyebrows at me.

  “No, actually I needed to talk to you about Candice. But why, what made you think I wanted to talk about Josh?”

  She smiled and then frowned, again. “Oh I don’t know. I thought you might want to discuss birth control or something since your neck is covered in hickeys.” She pointed toward my neck. “By the way, I don’t agree with those and you are definitely grounded. Be glad your dad is out of town.”

  I groaned, damn him. I have always told him no hickeys. “We aren’t having sex, Mom. I don’t need birth control.” I lied. “Now can we talk about Candice?”

  She held up one finger. “One more thing. Just because you’re dating him and you guys are getting serious does not mean you have to have sex with him. You don’t have to do anything you aren’t ready for.”

  “Geez, Mom, I know.” I waited to see if she had any other insightful-but-too-late information.

  “Go ahead, what’s going on with Candice?” Mom sat back against the couch, relaxing.

  “I, uh, I don’t know where to start.” I fiddled with my dress and wished I could go take a shower; I felt dirty. But, I knew I needed to tell mom about the abuse. She would know how to help her.

  “Start at the beginning.” She closed her eyes.

  “Alex is abusing her and it’s getting worse.”

  Mom shot up. Facing me and gripped my hand. “The bruises on her neck tonight weren’t hickeys, were they?”

  I shook my head. “She tried to break up with him last night and he choked her. Her body is covered in bruises.” Tears poured from our eyes.

  “We need to. No, I need to talk to Candice’s parents. Where is she tonight?”

  “With Alex. I don’t know where. Titus was looking for her.”

  Mom stood and headed toward the dining room. Her purse lay on the table. She fished around in it and came back to me with her cell phone in hand. “Call Titus, now. I’ll call Candice’s parents.”

  Titus’ phone rang and rang. He didn’t answer. I checked my messages. I had two texts and a voice mail.

  I could hear mom talking to one of Candice’s parents. Filling them in on the few details I gave her.

  One text was from Titus asking if I was coming to the party. I deleted it. The next text was from Josh saying thank you and that he loved me. I deleted it. I clicked on my voicemail. It was from Titus. I listened.

  “Hey Reese, Candice is here. She and Alex seem to be getting along okay. Except for a small argument they had earlier. I’m staying for awhile. I’ll keep my eye on her. Call me when you get this.” He hung up. I saved it and dialed him again. Several rings and his voicemail picked up again. I left a message, hung up and dialed again. Finally, his voice came live, through the phone.

  “Hey, what’s going on?” His voice eased some of the tension in my body. I relaxed, a little.

  “Just checking on Candice. How’s everything?”

  “Well, they, um, they, well, uh”—

  He was stuttering and tripping over his words this wasn’t good. He cleared his throat and started again.

  “They left a while ago. She said she was staying at his house. I couldn’t stop her. I couldn’t even get her alone to sneak her home. He wasn’t letting her out of his sight.” Titus was nervous. He was talking faster than I do.

  “Okay, don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of it. Just don’t be mad at me. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

  “Reese, what…” I hung up.

  “Mom, she went to Alex’s house. Titus couldn’t get her away from him.” My vision blurred and I slumped down on the couch. It was my fault because I had to please my boyfriend. Because I was worried about coming home to tell my mom, I wasn’t there to stop her from making this mistake. I just hoped my decision didn’t hurt her, more.

  Mom looked at me with tears in her own eyes. She was already off the phone and putting her shoes on. “Where are you going?” I asked.

  “We are going,”—

  There was a knock at the door. I jumped. Mom reached over and opened the door as she slipped on her other shoe.

  Candice’s dad stood in our doorway.

  “Reese, can you take me to Alex’s house?”

  “Yes, Sir.” My stomach clenched in fear.

  “May I please borrow your daughter so we can go get mine from his house?”

  “Of course, George, why don’t I drive? It’ll give you time to talk to Reese about what’s going on.” She grabbed her keys and purse and ushered us outside.

  “Fine.” He slid into the passenger seat and turned to face me. “Is there more going on than my daughter sneaking out?”

  “Yes, sir, she is being abused.” Tears filled my eyes. She was never going to forgive me.

  “Why do you say that?” His words were strained and his face contorted.

  “Ty and I both noticed bruises on her shoulders and wrists recently.”

  He swore before turning around in his seat. We pulled up outside of Alex’s and he got out. “Thank you, Diane, I’ll be right back.”

  Mom turned toward me and reached for my hand. “I know you’re scared that she’s going to be mad. She will be, at first; but she will get over it.” She squeezed my hand and dropped it back into my lap. Candice came toward the car with Mr. Warner still talking to Alex’s parents.

  When Candice climbed in the back seat, she glared at me before turning away. My heart broke. She would never forgive me. At least Titus wasn’t involved. She could turn to him.

  When Mom pulled into our driveway, Candice got out without saying a word and her dad thanked us again, steering her by the elbow to their car. Mom pulled me into a hug and led me into the house.

  “I know it’s late, but can Ty come over, please?”

  “He can’t stay to long, but go ahead. Good night, Honey.”

  Me: Can you come over?

  Ty: Around the corner

  I headed out the door, just as he was turning the corner. I headed toward his car, thinking we could sit in it to talk. He shook his head, got out and gestured toward the house.

  Silently, I led us into the house. Mom was already in her room. I plopped down on the couch, leaning into the corner. Titus sat next to me, intertwining his fingers with mine.

  “You’re shaking. What’s wrong, Reese?”

  “She ha-hates me.” My words broke on a sob as I lost control.

  “Who?”

  “Candice. I told Mom about the bruises and she said she had seen some, too. She called Candice’s parents.” I took a deep breath; this next part was the hardest. I betrayed my friend. I lost her trust. “I b-be-betrayed her. Ty, I took her dad to Alex’s house so he could pick her up.”

  Titus rubbed soothing circles on my hand with his thumb and matching circles with the hand on my back as I cried. “You did the right thing, Reese. She was in danger. Serious danger. Her parents had to know.”

  Throwing my head back on the couch cushion I sighed, “She’s never going to speak to me, again.”

  Titus moved his arm, that I had pinned behind my back, and gripped my chin, turning my face toward him. “Hey, she will speak to you, again. I promise to help her understand that you saved her.”

  That’s when I heard the tire
s screeching around the corner and knew Josh was checking up on me. “Shoot, your car is out front. He’s going to be pissed.”

  “If he gets pissed over this then screw him, Reese. Our friend is”—

  My phone lit up with a message interrupting him.

  Josh: I drop you off early so he can come over? What’s up?

  Me: Candice got caught at Alex’s and she’s pissed @ me.

  Me: Shutting phone off talk 2 u 2morrow

  Before he could even answer I shut my phone off and looked at Ty. “He’s pissed.” Seconds later he was beating on my front door, which woke my mom. Thank goodness Dad isn’t home.

  Mom, wrapping her robe around her, came barreling down the hall. “What the heck is going on?” She flicked her eyes toward Titus and cinched her robe tighter. “Sorry, Ty, who’s at the door?”

  My head dropped into my hands again and I mumbled. “Josh.”

  I felt Titus move. He stood up. “Let me get the door.” Walking toward the front door he looked at Mom for approval and she nodded. Opening the door, he said, “Josh, let’s talk outside. You woke up Reese’s mom.”

  They walked out and Mom sat next to me. “Honey, I know your upset about Candice and Ty is one of your best friends; but maybe Josh doesn’t understand all of that and when he drove by and saw Ty’s car here, it upset him.”

  “You think?” I snapped and then bit my bottom lip; it wasn’t her fault.

  “I know it doesn’t seem fair that he gets so upset with you over Ty, but you two just started dating. Give it time. Candice will come around too. Ty was right, you saved her. Maybe nothing happened tonight, but you saved her.

  “And I’m proud of you for speaking to her dad. He can be very intimidating.” She shifted as if she wanted to get up and check on the guys. “Should I check on them?”

  Shaking my head no, she responded with a small nod. “Good night, Sweetie. Both guys can come in for fifteen minutes, then everyone needs to leave.”

  “Thanks, Mom, I love you.” I swatted at a runaway tear. I had been blinking them back until she said she was proud of me. Then I lost it.

  “Love you, too.”

  Titus poked his head back in “He insists on staying.”

  “Come in, my mom gave us fifteen minutes; then you both have to leave, anyway.”

  Titus nodded and opened the door to let Josh in. “I’ll see you guys at school, tomorrow.” He glanced at my phone and then smiled at me before shutting the door.

  Josh stood there, looking out of place in my home. He looked up and then down everywhere but at me. “Josh, look at me.” He did what I said and stepped closer. “Please, sit.” I patted the couch.

  Sitting, he put a hand on my leg and squeezed a little. “I’m sorry, Reese. Ty explained what you had to do tonight, and I’m sorry. I overreacted.” He looked up at me, through his long lashes, batting those lime colored eyes, obscured by his dilated pupils.

  Tears started flowing down my cheek. He reached up and swiped them away with one hand while his other nervously tapped out a rhythm on his knee. I wasn’t sure what was going on with him. Why was he nervous? Was it nerves or was he just fidgety? “You did the best thing for her. Informing someone is the first step.” He tipped his head back and inhaled deeply before blowing it all out and looking at me again. “Was she in denial?”

  “Yeah, she would give us stupid excuses for the bruises.” I wiped my snot on the sleeve of my hoodie. It had been a long day and I was done talking about it. I just wanted to go to bed. “I’m sorry, Josh; can we hang out and talk about it later? Like tomorrow?”

  “Yeah, I guess I should get going. I don’t want your mom mad at me.” He stood up and pulled me toward him.

  “She isn’t. She understands a lot.” I slipped my hand in his and led him toward his truck.

  Josh sat on his seat facing me and pulled me in for a kiss goodbye. He still tasted of alcohol. The taste was even stronger. There was a hard liquor taste some type of medicinal taste I couldn’t place. When he pulled me in closer, all I wanted to do was pull away. Before I knew it my shirt was up over my bra and he was unbuttoning my pants.

  I stepped back and pulled my shirt down. “I better go. See you tomorrow.” I turned and walk away.

  He let out a grunt and whispered, “Yeah, see ya.” I could hear the frustration in his voice. But I wasn’t about to let it bother me, tonight.

  Chapter Eight

  Titus

  I lay in bed for twenty minutes with my phone on my chest. She was supposed to call me. He should have been gone, already. She asked me not to be mad at her. I wouldn’t be. But I did need to know what she had done. Was it about telling about Candice and how George ended up at Alex’s house? Reese did the right thing, whatever it was. Or was there something else? Gah, I wish she would call me, already. Closing my eyes, I told myself to relax, give her five more minutes before I called her.

  I was lying under the old willow in my backyard and there someone next to me. Not so close that they were pressed against me, but close enough that our fingers brushed each other. Turning my head I saw Reese staring at me, with a nervous half-smile gracing her soft pink lips. “What’s going on?” I asked.

  “Ty, I’ve liked you for so long. Now that Josh and Candice are out of the picture, we can be together.”

  I looked at her in confusion. Josh and Candice? She was just with him tonight and Candice isn’t going anywhere. “What do you mean now that they’re ‘out of the picture’?” I sat up, pulling my hand from hers. No matter how much I wanted this, I would not be with her while she was dating Josh and I couldn’t break my promise to Candice.

  “It’s over between us. I broke up with him. I lo”—

  A cell phone rang, interrupting her. Was she about to say she loved me? I waited for her to answer her phone. She looked at me, expectantly. I fished my cell out of my pocket. It wasn’t ringing. But the ringing continued.

  The vibration on my chest combined with the ringing finally woke me. “Hello?”

  “Ty? It’s me. Were you asleep?” Reese’s voice sounded rough and thick with emotion.

  “Yeah, I dosed off. What time is it?” I sat up pushing my fingers through my hair and rubbing my eyes open.

  “Midnight. You just left, like a half hour ago. Mom wanted to talk more after Josh left.”

  “So, what happened?” I swear I heard a sniffle on the other end of the phone.

  “I-I ruined my friendship, Ty. I put her life in danger for my boyfriend by not insisting we go out to The Orchard. I’m so stupid. I told Mom all about Candice’s bruises and then I sat there while she called George. I took him over to Alex’s and watched the hatred flare in her eyes when we picked her up. She didn’t say a single word to me. Sh-sh-she ha-a-ates me.”

  “Reese, listen to me. Okay?” I waited, but I didn’t hear anything except her continued sobs. “Are you listening?”

  She squeaked. “Yeah.”

  “Good. Candice is upset right now. She got caught lying to her parents. She was caught at her boyfriend’s and it was obvious that you had ratted her out. Once she’s no longer grounded for the lying and she’s talking to someone about the abuse, she’ll realize that you potentially saved her life. And you definitely helped her get out of an abusive relationship. I know it hurts to have her mad at you, but it won’t last.”

  “Thanks, Ty. But if I would have been at The Orchard, instead of being with my stupid pushy boyfriend at the dance, things could have been different. I could have come home to my house with Candice and we could have told my mom, together. She would have never gotten busted and she wouldn’t be pissed at me, right now.”

  “Reese?”

  “Yeah, Ty?”

  “What do you mean by pushy boyfriend? Is… is he pushing you to do things that you aren’t ready for?” I hope he isn’t forcing her to screw him.

  “No, no, not at all. I said ‘pushy’ because I really wanted to go out to the party and keep an eye on C─ to make sure she came hom
e with me. Josh wanted some quality time. He wanted to— he didn’t want to be around a bunch of people at a party.”

  Well, that totally sounded like a cover up. What was she hiding? “I don’t know what that means, but you can’t blame yourself. You did the right thing by telling your mom. Whether you were at the party or not, you were still planning on telling about her, right?”

  “I know; but Ty, she wouldn’t be grounded right now and her parents wouldn’t have found out that she was at Alex’s.”

  “They needed to find out, Reese. She needed to be caught. Trust me, please, this will all blow over.” I waited several seconds for Reese to agree or argue more about how this was all her fault. After a short time of nothing, I asked, “Reese, you still there?”

  “Yeah, I gotta go. I’ll talk to you, later.” She whimpered into the phone, again.

  I blew out a huge sigh “Yeah, alright, ‘bye.” I dropped my phone on the bed beside me and closed my eyes. How were both my best friends in such screwed up relationships? I didn’t know what exactly was going on with Reese and Josh but something was up. I’d heard rumors that he was using coke with a few of the other football players. Now I wondered if it was more than just the normal rumor mill. There seemed to be some truth to it. When he had shown up at Reese’s, he looked spun—eyes wide, pupils dilated and grinding his teeth. I needed to keep an eye on all of them; a task that just got harder since the girls weren’t talking.

  Mom’s singing filtered through the house and through my closed door. Waking up, I stretched before rolling out of bed and making my way to the bathroom. Mom said that she needed my help, today. I’m sure it was about mowing the lawn or pulling weeds or something like that. Thank God I don’t drink. Saturday, housework day, would be much worse if I did. I quickly brushed my teeth and combed my hair before throwing on a ball cap and rushing to find mom before she had to come get me.

  “Morning, Mom.”

  She was standing in the dining room cleaning the ceiling fan blades. I was wrong; it was going to be a detail-the-house day. Maybe I won’t have to pull weeds, after all. Then again, I’m not sure which is worse.