Breaking Her Rules

Chapter 45

Dad talks to Trevor, and the two of them arrange a meeting with George Addison. He doesn't tell Dan or me anything about it, but the two of us can hear harsh conversations coming from our parents' room late at night. Dan and I have made a habit of staying up late and sitting out by the pool, now that the weather is warmer. I study for my exams and he writes articles about musicians. His article about Two Soap Dolls was a huge success, and he's now being asked to write more and more.

At some stage, the press gets a hold of the news that George Addison is alive, and one morning when I'm walking out of my house towards the bus stop there's actually a news van out the front of my house.

'Is your dad home?' the reporter asks. I ignore her, and keep walking.

At school I find Lucas, Ainsley, Julian and Findlay. We, the children of Dime's the Limit, sit in a tight circle and discuss what we now know. The police have let my dad off the hook and have charged George Addison a fine for evading police and wasting police time. He has made a public announcement, stating that he was sickened by the media spotlight and needed to get away from it. And he has revealed that he wants to rebuild his relationships with his band mates, and meet his daughter.

During our discussion, I see Lexington walking towards us. She gets a few stares from students, but she ignores them, and keeps her eyes on our group. She stops just short of us and says, 'Do you mind if I sit with you guys?'

'We don't mind,' I say.

She sits down awkwardly next to Findlay, and without a word he puts an arm around her shoulder and hugs her close to him. She closes her eyes.

Julian shifts awkwardly in his seat. I catch his eye and just shake my head. Now is not the time to feel awkward about this. Now is the time to support the girl who just found out who her father is.

'So what do we do now?' Findlay asks.

'Let's get really drunk,' Julian says, and I laugh.

'We can do that at formal,' I say.

'At the after party,' Ainsley says. 'If anyone is caught drinking at the school formal they get expelled.'

'Fuck the man!' Julian says, but we all know that we won't drink until the after party. Getting expelled right before graduation wouldn't be worth it.

'Who are you going to formal with?' Ainsley asks me across the table.

I swallow, because I haven't discussed this with anyone yet, and it feels awkward to declare it in front of everyone.

'Uh,' I say. 'Luke asked me.'

I glance up at Lucas, who has his chin in his hand and is hiding a cheesy grin behind his fingers.

Ainsley raises her eyebrows and then looks over at Lucas, and then back to me. 'And you said yes?' she exclaims.

'I guess so?'

'Really?' Ainsley asks, and then she lets out a laugh. 'Oh my god,' she says. 'I just had this flash back to when we were about nine and you told me that Lucas was going to take you to formal and propose to you there.'

I stare, shocked, at Ainsley, my cheeks suddenly hot, but everyone else is laughing. I look over at Lucas to see his reaction and see that he is grinning at me.

'Don't get your hopes up, Maisy,' he tells me, chuckling.

I put my head on the table, hiding my face in shame, but then Lucas puts his arm around me. I look up at him again and bite my lip, because now I can't help but laugh too.

Lucas rubs his hand up and down my arm and pulls me closer to him. Julian raises his eyebrows suggestively at me and I just poke my tongue out at him.

When the bell rings I stand up and gather my books, preparing to go off to homeroom with Ainsley and Julian, but before I leave Lucas grabs my hand. I spin around and find that he's much closer than I expected. I inhale sharply and look up into his eyes.

'How come you never said you had a crush on me?' he asks me.

'I was just a kid,' I say. 'That's what little kids do, dream about marrying their best friend.'

'What about later?' he asks. 'When we were in high school.'

'I...' I stare at him. 'What was I supposed to say?'

His shoulders drop. 'You're right. I didn't say anything either. But I just always thought you liked Watson.'

'What would you have done if you had known I didn't like Watson?' I ask quietly.

Lucas steps back. 'You know what,' he says. 'Probably nothing. Because I was a coward. I mean even when Duncan tried to tell me that you were seeing Watson behind my back, I should have just told you how I felt. I should have just been honest. But instead I spread stupid rumours about you, because I was a coward.'

I swallow, and then in one bold move I reach out and grab his hand, stepping closer to him. 'I was just as much of a coward as you.'

He curls his fingers around mine and presses his thumb into my palm, making small circles. 'We better go to class,' he says.

I sigh, and drop his hand. 'I'll see you in chemistry.'

'I'll be waiting with bated breath,' he teases as he walks off.