Bad Reputation Read online

  I smiled sweetly. “Good. Then stop staring at me or I’ll shove this beer bottle up your ass.”

  He stood up and pulled me closer to him. “Feisty. Just the way I like ‘em.”

  I tried to pull away, but he had his arm around my waist. “Let me go,” I told him.

  “Or we could go upstairs,” He said, kissing my ear.

  I tried to pull away. What had Dad told me to do in a situation like this? Oh yeah, make a scene. “Let go of me!” I yelled. “Get the hell away from me!”

  “Hey man, leave her alone,” A deep voice said.

  I froze. I knew that voice.

  The guy stared at my savior for a moment and then turned back to me. “Bitch,” He said before walking off.

  “What are you doing here?”

  I turned to face my brother. I was at a loss for words.

  “What are you doing here, Chrysantheumum?”

  “I- I don’t know.”

  “I didn’t give you many rules. But one of them was that you don’t come down here when there’s a party going on.”

  “I know.”

  “Then what are you doing here?”

  Tyler came over. “Hey Josh, what are you doing here?”

  I looked away as Josh said, “Trying to ask Chrissy the same thing.”

  I caught Whitney’s eye. She looked terrified. We both knew that I was in huge trouble.

  “Come on, man, lay off her,” Tyler said.

  Joshua spun around. “You stay out of this. I know your older brother would be furious if I told him that you and Cameron were here,” He turned to Whitney. “And I’m pretty sure that Shane doesn’t know that you’re here right now, either.”

  “Joshua, leave them out of it,” I commanded.

  He turned to me. “Get upstairs, Chrysanthemum. Now.”

  I stared at him for a second. I was going to refuse, but I knew that I’d only make things worse for my friends if I did that. Without saying anything, I turned and hurried up the stairs and into the loft. I would have slammed the door if there had been one.

  A few minutes later, Joshua came storming in. “What the fuck were you thinking?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Why would you go there after I told you not to? Do you think I just make up these rules for fun? I could get in trouble, Chrissy. And then you’d be sent to a foster home.”

  “I’m sorry, alright?” I cried. “I just wanted to go to a party. I’ve never been to one before. I didn’t even see Greg, if that makes you feel any better.”

  “Do you know what could have happened to you down there?”

  “Yes, Joshua, I’m not stupid. I know what that guy wanted to do.”

  “That’s exactly why I didn’t want you going down there. You’re lucky I was there.”

  “If you’re so worried about me, then why did you leave me alone in Los Angeles?”

  “What?”

  I stood up. “You just left me there. You didn’t even say goodbye. I was your little sister and you abandoned me. You left me with Dad, who couldn’t even take care of himself. So, don’t act like you’re so perfect. Because you’ve fucked up plenty.”

  “Stop it, Chrysanthemum. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “What? You can’t handle it when someone tells the truth about you?”

  “You better watch your mouth.”

  “Or what? You’re going to hit me? I’m not scared of you. Everyone else might be, but I’m not. I know what you really are. You’re a coward! You-”

  Joshua punched me. Right in the eye.

  I was down on the floor in a second. I wasn’t really surprised, I knew what would happen if I provoked him. But once I started talking, I couldn’t stop. It all came pouring out. Even though I was expecting the punch, it still hurt.

  I got up and ran down the stairs. I looked around for anyone I knew at the party, but it seemed like they had all left. So, I ran all the way to Whitney’s house.

  Even though it was nearly two o’clock in the morning, the living room lights were still on. Whitney answered the door.

  “Chrissy? What happened?” She cried when she saw my face.

  “Joshua hit me,” I told her.

  She led me inside and made me put a steak on my eye.

  “That jerk,” She muttered. “I swear, next time I see him, I’ll kill him.”

  “Yeah, well I was being a jerk too,” I told her.

  “You? Yeah right.”

  I told her what had happened.

  “Huh. I guess you were being a jerk. What are you going to do now?”

  “I don’t know. I guess I’ll go home in the morning. What happened after I went upstairs?”

  “Josh yelled at us for letting you go to the party. Then we all went home.”

  “What happened with you and Tyler at the party?”

  “Nothing. I kept making moves, but he ignored them… Maybe he’s gay.”

  I felt bad for Whitney, but at the same time, I was happy that he didn’t seem to like her. However, if she was right, if he didn’t like girls, then that would count me out as well.

  Early the next morning, I went home. Joshua was sleeping but woke up when I came in.

  He looked at my face. “Did I do that?”

  I glared at him. “What do you think?”

  He got up. “Chrissy, I’m sorry.”

  “No, you’re not.”

  “I am. Really. I felt horrible. I went out looking for you last night. I was calling all my friends. Ask any one of them.”

  “I was at Whitney’s.”

  “I know. Jack told me.”

  I didn’t say anything.

  “Does it hurt?”

  I nodded.

  “I’ll be right back.” A few minutes later Joshua came back with a zip-loc full of ice.

  I held it to my eye as I said, “I’m sorry about everything I said last night.”

  “No, you were right. I should have told you why I left.”

  “Why did you leave?”

  “Because I did something I shouldn’t have. And people were threatening to hurt you and Dad. So, I made a deal with them. If I disappeared, they’d leave you guys alone.”

  I was quiet. “You left to protect us?”

  Joshua nodded.

  I hugged him. “I’m sorry,” I told him. “I’m sorry for everything I’ve ever said and done to you.”

  He laughed. “You’re forgiven. But let’s make a deal. From now on, we’ll be completely honest with each other. Sound good?”

  I nodded. “It’s a deal.”

  Chapter 8

  Whitney didn't walk to the bus stop with me the next day, and I didn't see her on the bus or in the halls. At lunch, I texted her. She said she was sick. Even though I had my customers, Whitney was really my only friend. So, at lunch, I sat down to eat by myself.

  “Chrissy?”

  I looked up. “Hey, Tyler.”

  “What are you doing by yourself?”

  “Whitney’s at home. She’s sick.”

  “You don't have anyone else to sit with?”

  I shrugged. “I guess not.”

  “Why don't you come sit with the us?”

  “Alright.”

  I followed Tyler to his lunch table, where Caleb, Cameron, and Kyle were sitting.

  “Hey, Chrissy,” Cameron said as he moved over and made room for me.

  “Hi,” I said. Besides my first day here and the party, I hadn’t talked to my brother’s friends very much. Other than Tyler, of course. We sat next to each other in all the classes we had together and spent most of the class texting. Even with me only half-listening, school was a breeze. And I’m not bragging, that’s just how it is. That’s how it’s always been.

  “You tired of hanging around Whitney?” Caleb asked.

  I shook my head. “She's just sick.”

  Everyone went back to their conversation, and I was surprised to find that it was one I could easily be a part of. The guys were t
alking about skateboarding. I knew a bit about skateboarding and had hung out with my L.A. friends at the skatepark a lot. Cameron and Caleb told me about the skate shop they worked at after school.

  “You should swing by sometime,” Caleb told me.

  I nodded. “I probably will. I used to skateboard a little back home, and I miss it.”

  “How come you never hang out with us?” Kyle asked.

  I shrugged. “I usually hang out with Whitney. Besides, you guys don't want me hanging around. I’m just Joshua’s little sister.”

  “We don't mind,” Cameron said.

  Caleb smirked. “Not at all. Isn't that right, Tyler?”

  Tyler’s head snapped up as he turned to glare at Caleb. Then he turned to me. “No, we don't. You should come over after school today. We were actually going to film ourselves skateboarding and put it up on Youtube.”

  I nodded. “Sounds cool. I’ll come watch.”

  Later that day, while we were all walking home from the bus stop, I decided to ask Tyler if he liked Whitney. It was the least I could do for her while she was sick.

  I grabbed Tyler’s arm. He stopped walking. “What’s wrong?” He asked.

  “Can I ask you something?”

  He looked at everyone else. They had stopped walking too. “Go on, guys. We’ll catch up in a minute.”

  After everyone kept walking, I asked, “You don’t have a girlfriend, right? I mean, you haven’t mentioned one, so I’m assuming you don’t.”

  “No, I don’t have a girlfriend. Why?”

  “Whitney wanted me to ask. I don’t know if you can tell, but she likes you. She wanted me to ask if you like her.”

  Tyler laughed. “Chrissy, I’m not dumb. I know Whitney likes me. She makes it pretty obvious. But I don’t like her. It’s easier to pretend that I’m oblivious than to tell her I don’t like her. I don’t want to hurt her feelings or anything.”

  I nodded. “Oh,” It wasn’t my fault that he didn’t like her, so I didn’t think it would hurt to ask, “Do you like anyone?”

  “Yeah, I actually do.”

  “Is it anyone I’d know?”

  He hesitated for a second before saying, “I like you, Chrissy.”

  I didn’t say anything. The boy that I liked actually liked me back!

  “I know you probably don’t like me. Whitney’s your best friend. Besides, nothing could ever happen between us with Josh around, and-”

  I kissed Tyler. When I pulled away, I said, “Screw them. We’ll find a way to make it work.”

  Before Tyler could say anything, I heard people cheering. I looked past Tyler, to see Caleb, Kyle, and Cameron cheering. I grinned as I flipped them off. Then I kissed Tyler again. We’d find a way to make this work.

  Things worked. For about four days, at least. Whitney was out sick for half the week, so she didn’t know that I had been hanging out with Tyler and his friends, holding hands with him in the hallways, and eating lunch with him and his friends. When she came back to school on Thursday, I didn’t tell her about Tyler and me. I wanted to find the right time to tell her.

  Joshua had no clue about Tyler and me, and everyone was happy to keep the secret from him.

  After we told Jordan that we were going out, Jordan had talked to me when Tyler left the room.

  “Go easy on him,” He told me. “He’s kind of clueless about girls.”

  I smiled. “What? You think I’m too much for him to handle?”

  Jordan smiled back. “You’re a Scoppio. I think you guys don’t even know how to handle yourselves.”

  I laughed. He had that right.

  Anyway, things worked for about four days. Then on Friday, everything kind of blew up in our faces.

  We had the day off from school, and Whitney and I were sitting in her room. We were doing English homework, even though we weren’t in the same class, when Whitney asked, “Are you working on more outfits tonight?”

  I shook my head. “No, Joshua and his friends are going to the hockey game tonight, and they said that I could come. Cameron and Caleb got tickets from one of their coworkers or something. They got like, ten, and we haven’t found enough people to come. I’m sure that they wouldn’t mind if you came too.”

  “Is Tyler going to be there?”

  I nodded. I didn’t mention that it was kind of our first date.

  “Did you ever find out if he likes anyone?”

  I took a deep breath. It was time to tell her.

  “Whitney, I have something to tell you,” I said carefully. “And I know you aren’t going to like it.”

  Whitney grinned. “Let me guess, these jeans make my ass look fat, right?”

  I shook my head. “You look great. You always do,” I was trying to make her happy before I broke her heart. “It’s about Tyler… He, um-”

  “Oh my god! He likes me, doesn’t he? And you’re just trying to trick me!” Whitney said excitedly. “Oh my god, this is so great. I’ll find you a guy and we can all go on dates together. It’ll be so much fun.”

  “Tyler and I are dating,” I blurted.

  Whitney’s face fell. “What?”

  I sat down on the bed next to her. “I’m so sorry, Whitney. But I liked him before I knew that you did, and I know that doesn’t make the fact that I kissed him ok, but I really like him.”

  “You kissed him?” Whitney cried. “Oh my god! Oh my god, you knew I liked him! You’re such a slut!”

  “Whitney, you don’t own him. I like him, and now we’re going out.”

  “But I like him too.”

  “I know. And I feel so bad about this. But he makes me happy. And he makes me forget about California. He makes me feel like I belong here.”

  Whitney started crying. “Don’t I make you happy? I thought we were friends.”

  “We are, but-”

  “Don’t. Nothing you say will make me not hate you.”

  “You don’t mean that.”

  “I do. Now get out.”

  I stood up. “I’ll see you at school on Monday.”

  “No, you won’t. We aren’t friends anymore, Chrissy. And you know what? You and Josh are exactly like each other. You’re both mean and cold-hearted. You two deserve each other. You are exactly like your brother, even though you pretend not to be.”

  “Fuck you,” I said. “It’s no wonder you don’t have any friends. You’re a complete bitch. That’s why people don’t like you. Not because of your brothers. Because of you.”

  “Get out of my house.”

  “Gladly,” I said, slamming her bedroom door behind me.

  I went over to the Peribat house. Jordan and Cameron were gone, but Tyler was home.

  When I walked in, Tyler asked, “What’s wrong?”

  “What makes you think something’s wrong?” I asked.

  “You look angry.”

  I tried to school my face into a neutral expression. Showing emotion was considered a weakness in the Scoppio family.

  “Why are you mad?”

  “Whitney! I told her about us. And I knew she’d be upset, but she was so rude about it! She called me a slut, she told me that I was exactly like Joshua! How could she say that? She knows how I feel about him! She’s such a bitch!”

  “I thought you and Josh were getting along better?”

  “We are. But he’s still a criminal. I am not, and I never will be.”

  I hadn’t realized I was pacing until Tyler grabbed my shoulders and made me look at him. “Calm down. Forget her. Forget what she said. You are not like your brother.”

  I smiled. “You always know what to say.”

  “It’s a gift,” Tyler said, leaning in to kiss me.

  Our kiss was interrupted by my brother shouting, “Get away from my sister!”

  I turned around. This time, I wasn’t scared of my brother’s reaction. I was already in a bad enough mood without him ruining our kiss. “What the hell are you doing here?”

  “Whitney told me that I might be able to find yo
u here,” Joshua looked past me, saying, “Kissing him.”

  “Whitney told you?” I cried.

  “Yeah. What happened to our agreement, Chrysanthemum? I thought we weren’t keeping secrets anymore?”

  Wait a minute, was Joshua hurt? Because I hid something from him? I had never stopped to think about that possibility when I decided to keep this from him.

  “I’m sorry. I should have told you. But I didn’t want you to get mad at either of us. We really like each other. We were just doing what we thought was best.”

  Joshua looked at Tyler. “Do you have anything to say for yourself?”

  Tyler rolled his eyes. He was used to my brother’s attitude. “Josh, don’t do this.”

  My brother laughed. It scared me more than his yelling. “Don’t do what? Protect my little sister? You’re lucky I don’t kick your ass.”

  “Josh, stop,” I told him.

  He stared at me for a second, before storming out the front door.

  I ran out the front door, chasing him.

  “What is your problem?” I yelled.

  “You’re my little sister. You’re my responsibility. You can’t see him and that’s final.”

  “Why can’t I?” I asked after I caught up to him.

  “Because. Too many things can go wrong.”

  “So what? Things go wrong. But I like him, and he likes me. I want to take a chance on this. Don’t ruin this for me, like you’ve already ruined the rest of my life!”

  Joshua stopped walking. He turned around. “Excuse me?”

  I didn’t say anything. I hadn’t meant to say that out loud.

  “I ruined your life? You didn’t talk to me for three years. And then you suddenly call me and tell me that you need my help. I fucking saved you. You were going to go into a foster home. It’s not too late for me to send you to one, you know.”

  “Josh, I’m sorry,” I muttered. “I didn’t mean-”

  “You want to talk about ruining lives? You ruined my life! I had a great thing going for me. I lived alone and I could do whatever I wanted. And now you’re here, and suddenly you live with me and I can’t do anything without worrying about you. You follow me around and you hang out with my friends. I have to watch after you. I can’t get in trouble because if I do then you’ll get taken away. I can’t even bring a girl home! Are you sure you want to talk about who ruined whose life, Chrysanthemum? Because you ruined mine!”